The social filter for content has been around for a long time on the web, but prior to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, it was conducted more privately via email messages or impersonal recommendations from a search algorithm.
The public perception was a non-factor, and users were more likely to share softer stories or those based on utility. There was a trust factor between the sharer and the recipient. Before, you were just sharing that funny cat video with your trusted circle. With social media, that circle has now become more of an open field.
So what about search? Search engines like Google fueled an explosion of “so-so” content, but it has also fueled an explosion of quality content, said Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Land. The idea was that quality content would get linked to most. But when media organizations and writers began to better understand how the search algorithms ranked content, they started to create content “optimized” for search results by inter-linking content on their sites or monitoring search trends and filling the coverage with sub-par content to capitalize on search traffic, Sullivan said. And so we saw the explosion of content farms and a race for unique visitors to appease the advertising gods.
The Human Quality Vote
So what kind of content is bringing them to the Post? Breaking news, quality analysis, offbeat features and quality photo galleries and videos. Similar to search, social presents challenges in attracting an audience. Factors such as the time of day and frequency of distribution on a social channel can affect how successful the Post is in engaging readers, Narisetti said. But the Post hasn't had to change its content strategy to attract more social referrals.
"While we have aggressive goals for our social team, the goals are based off [the] Post's unique content rather than trying to rethink our content to get more social referrals," Narisetti said. Instead, the Post is focusing on making it easy for social media users to interact with content via Network News and other integrations.
Social Media Optimization
This means, among other things, providing easy ways to engage content using social media and having reporters take part in conversations on the social web. It means having the entire organization think in "social terms" -- not just broadcasting materials out, but participating in the social ecosystem.
In many ways, social media makes it harder to "game" for the purpose of simply driving lots of traffic to a story that may not be of high quality. Social media's effect on quality isn't quite as systematic as search has been. Mathilde Piard, social media manager at Cox Media digital, said social media is having a positive effect on content.
"I'd rather editorial decisions be driven by what editors and reporters think people will read and be moved to share, rather than by keywords," Piard said. With the latter, she said, you end up with content such as, "What Time Does the Superbowl Start At?"
Social Search
The tide may turn with developments like Google's recent updates to its algorithm, which favors original reporting, and its recent launch of +1. The +1 product adds a social recommendation layer across Google Search results.
When you're searching for a specific piece of content, you can see the results that your friends have recommended. The integration brings the social filter into search, while staying true to Google's core product: search. It also creates a social identity for users. After all, what you recommend using +1 can be seen on your Google Profile.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Goldmund