Not about technology, social media is about readers and their expectations

"There are a lot of trends in social media that can actually help our mission. But we start from the very simple principle that it's not about the technology. It's not about a widget. It's about the reader and the reader expectations."

-- Paul Rossi, publisher of the The Economist, speaking at a MediaBistro conference panel

The great promise of the Web for magazine publishers is to provide an interactive complement to their print publication. Inviting readers to comment on stories, blogs and in some cases submit their own can drive engagement and create a community in a way that print publications never could, but it has to match the magazine's brand.

The Economist, for example, has begun packing its Web site with audio content. Indeed, come this Friday afternoon, visitors can find the entire content of the print magazine available in audio files. Video has been a much slower starter for the venerable weekly, Rossi said, largely because the editors haven't figured out how to introduce it in a way that complements the publication's reporting.

Conversely, Rossi said that the magazine had introduced a popular interactive debate to its Web site, where experts present opposing viewpoints on one of the hot-button issues of the day, and viewers are invited to vote on who won. That feature, Rossi said, was a perfect online counterpart to The Economist's editorial mission of informing and guiding public debate.