Successful techniques used by leading consumer and B2B Web sites analyzed in new report from award-winning research and consulting firm.

WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT, 23 April - The best practices in publishing social media online are revealed in a new report issued by Shore Communications Inc. (http://www.shore.com), the research and consulting service supplying content industry executives with ground-breaking thought leadership in publishing services. The report provides detailed profiles of leading consumer and B2B portals that have used social media such as weblogs, Wikis, social bookmarks, social networking, collaborative databases, ratings, reviews, bulletin boards and forums using content contributed from their audiences.

“Our research shows that it’s not the tools of social media that make it a powerful communication form as much as how those tools have been deployed,” said John Blossom, President of Shore Communications Inc. “More established Web sites equipped with appropriate social media features can benefit from them as much as social media ‘pure plays’. The key is to treat your audience contributors as serious publishers and to help them to be successful publishers as much as you would any professional contributor.”

The 69-page report, entitled “Social Media Best Practices: Profiles and Recommendations”, outlines key best practices for social media publishing, as developed through an analysis of nine leading Web sites that incorporate social media offerings. The report provides detailed profiles of social media features found in ALM Legal Weblogs, Amazon.com, Flickr, ITtoolbox, LinkedIn, Newsvine, VerdictSearch, Wikipedia and Zagat, as well as sixteen key best practices recommendations for social media site development, further summarized into a two-page checklist for reviewing publishing product plans.

“Social media treated as a serious editorial asset can become the cornerstone of a publishing strategy that has the potential to supplement and eventually to replace print as a key driver for revenues from highly focused audiences,” said Shore President John Blossom. “Publishers need to embrace social media aggressively if they are to offset dwindling print revenues and build high-margin subscription and ad sales from a new generation of media audiences.”

Further details on the report, including a complimentary executive summary and registration for downloading the report may be found at the following Web address: http://shore.com/research/current/reports/SCI200703.html

ABOUT SHORE

Shore Communications Inc. provides consulting and research services to guide executives marketing enterprise and media publishing and technology products and services. Leading publishing and content technology executives engage Shore to get highly actionable strategic insights into how to succeed in today's business, scholarly and public content marketplaces from one of the content industry's most recognized and respected consulting teams. Shore’s research, commentary, private consulting and confidential advisory services provide valuable insights into the products, practices and behaviors that maximize the value of content and related technologies through all stages of its creation, organization, marketing, deployment and use. Shore has been named twice by EContent Magazine as one of the 100 companies that matter most in the content industry. Shore’s ContentBlogger weblog received the 2007 CODiE award for Best Media Blog from the Software and Information Industry Association.

For more information about Shore and report purchases, please contact John Blossom at 203.226.9488, jblossom@shore.com, or visit http://shore.com/us/resources/press/.

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