Tweets of hope at daily newspapers

The revolution isn’t always heralded by sweeping redesigns. Sometimes, it’s just an unexpected bit of polite conversation. Like this:

Imagine that. A major metro newspaper thanking a small blog for a link. It’s overcoat weather in hell, apparently.

And look at the second tweet: friendly, sensible advice! Why, if the newspaper could do this, maybe the story wouldn’t be as dire next week when the September circulation figures are released.

I kid, but I think this stuff is great.

I’m seeing a lot more of this lately, as the people inside of large media organizations smash against the walls of expectation and intertia to create little surprises like The Sun’s civil discourse, or Chicago Tribune’s @coloneltribune character/feed on Twitter.

From what I hear, these aren’t being slavishly tracked for ROI, but treated as little experiments in connecting with readers in news ways. Good.