Doc gives a bit of advice to newspapers. Some great ones, a few of which I’ve mentioned here before. My favorite:

Fourth, start following, and linking to, local bloggers and even competing papers (such as the local arts weeklies). You’re not the only game in town anymore, and haven’t been for some time. Instead you’re the biggest fish in your pond’s ecosystem. Learn to get along and support each other, and everybody will benefit.

The shark doesn’t eat the remora. Likewise, the big media companies shouldn’t compete with the bloggers, but recognize their importance.

Also of note, Doc mentions the controversy happening out in LA with ther LATimes publisher. And now he’s out  .

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Jonathan, over at Web 2.0 newspapers , adds a bit to the argument traveling around lately about newspapers and communities. I highly doubt there is person reading his blog or this one who doesn’t think he’s right.
It’s funny, because even the most clueless newspaper people I know wouldn’t deny that online community is important, even if they weren’t sure what it meant.

As I mention in a comment on Jonathan’s post, the difference between now and five years ago, when I was yelling “community!” at my newspaper, is this.

Then, we should have been trying to create a community. Now, we need to think about joining them.

Then, slashdot. Now, blogosphere. Next, Jabber.

Whuh? That’s right, folks. Like Stowe Boyd (who graciously auctioned www.podosphere.com off to me -yeehah) says, :”The Buddylist is the Center of the Universe” .

And Gtalk supports Jabber, and all players will eventually melt down to interop, and any social network can be built on top of the presence of IM.

This is not a publishing medium, it’s communication. Whether you publish and subscribe, store and forward, use voice, text or avatar, you need one identity, one voice. IM will be open in Second Life as well as on the desktop.
When IM adds a store and forward component, email is dead and the game is over. Pure conversation.

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