Business Networking Strategy

It wasn't going to take long! Guardianweekly.co.uk has just been relaunched as the Guardian Weekly Global Network. A key part of the new site is a social network, with readers invited to submit a profile, comment on the site's articles and even submit their own articles. In true social media style, members are featured on the front page of the social network section of the site, with their last comment displayed together with a link to their profile. An interesting innovation is the 'watchlist' where Members can track comments made by other readers. You can also search other members by location and by profession. There has been a lot of talk about how blogging and web 2.0 are changing the way that news is reported and made. The Guardian have clearly looked at this and recognised the importance of not only engaging readers but also involving them. The site's editor, Mark King, explained, "We want to connect our readers, giving them the opportunity to truly effect change and providing a platform for voices that are often overlooked." Of course, this is also a strong move from a marketing point of view. After all, people are less likely to surf to other news sites if there is a chance their views will feature on The Guardian's.