Fast Company Embraces Social Media

In a big way.

All I can say is Holy Smokes! The traditional business publication Fast Company has totally embraced the social media model.

They’ve completely redesigned their web site so that the home page is centered around social media content and are allowing readers to create their own personal profiles for free. The sign up process was simple and straight forward. I was able to create my profile in less than 5 minutes.

Site members can have contacts, join groups, upload multi media files, bookmark content, subscribe to feeds or email newsletters, and even blog right on the site.

This is bold step by a main stream business publication is going to get lots of attention. There will be all sorts of folks watching what happens here.

There’s already talk around the blogosphere.

Jim Turner over at One By One Media says that this move by Fast Company

is truly the new age of thinking among magazines.

In his initial analysis of the Fast Company community Jeremiah Owyang has this to say

Expect this to be a success for Fast Company, but they’ll need to act on the previous recommendations. Expect other business publications to quickly launch similar communities, and soon the industry will be inundated with ‘me toos’.

Chris Brogan shares that Fast Company goes super social and says

The website for FastCompany is no longer a subscription lead generator. It’s a robust network for learning more about the community they’ve fostered, an opportunity to develop other value propositions, and a chance to enhance their community’s numbers and cohesive nature by way of giving them a “home.”

And that’s just the beginning.

With a tag line that reads, “Where the ideas and people meet,” it seems to make perfect sense for Fast Company to embrace the new social media trend.

Like everyone else I’m going to be watching closely to see whether this bold move into the social media environment will be as successful as I expect for Fast Company.