The Independent is looking at different ways to make its content more accessible on social media and delivered in a more useful way, said digital media editor Jack Riley on the paper's site.

Riley believes that media organisations have been going too broad with their social media strategies, and that big general Twitter or Facebook accounts are not as useful for readers. "Giving people content in categories which best represent the individual topics in which they're interested" could be a better idea, he thinks.

In order to allow people to specify their interests more precisely, the Independent is looking at tools to let people get their social networks-based news from the paper in tighter categories. You can now 'like' individual commentators, for example, or individual Premiership football teams, to receive dedicated updates on Facebook. Readers are far more likely to be interested in a specific team than sports in general, Riley believes.

The paper has been working with a company called Ultra Knowledge, which provides user engagement tools for brands and publishers. More specific areas to 'like' will be rolled out soon.

The Independent has made a big effort to take into account the new ways in which people are now reading the news, said Riley, and was one of the first big sites to integrate features like the 'Recommend' button. Referrals from Facebook grew 680% between January and December 2010, he wrote, and those from Twitter were up 250%. The Independent's Facebook page has more than 32,000 fans.

Offering readers the chance to specify exactly what they are interested in makes sense, allowing them to create a more personalized feed, although it does of course somewhat limit the serendipitous aspect of discovery. It will give the Independent small, loyal, focused groups with whom it can try to establish a relationship. ReadWriteWeb's Marshall KirkPatrick believes that "media sites all over the web are sure to implement this kind of feature soon."

Source: Independent