(Originally posted on Sept. 22, 2010)
Joy Mayer of the Reynolds Journalism Institute had a conversation with Steve Buttry, director of community engagement at TBD.com, about what engagement means since “engagement” is a word much in use in media circles today and is, after all, the focus of Steve’s job title. Highlights of the answer:
“He says engagement comes down to two-way communication, along with a feeling of affiliation. When a media company is engaged with its community, that’s a meaningful relationship — one that doesn’t involve a ‘we know what’s good for you’ gatekeeper’s attitude. It’s reciprocal, and valued.
“… Communities want to be engaged with each other, Steve says. They want to share a collective experience. TBD is experimenting with what the sharing of a collective experience looks like in the digital world, as a media company.”
When reading that post, some of you may stop cold at the fact that Steve has a staff of six doing all this engaging. Don’t let that stop you — they are trying to engage Washington, D.C., and a network of 167 bloggers. The important takeaway is the two-way communication part.
Newsroom With A View 
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