Fast Company launches online community

Fast Company says it's the "first major media website to tackle the following problem: Can a business publication blend journalism and online community to create something better than either by itself?"
The publication's answer? Yes. How? With a new online networking platform. Visitors to FastCompany.com can now add their own content in the form of blogs and in conversations with editors on hot topics. There will be member profiles as well, listing content produced and accessible to RSS feeds.
Edward Sussman, president of Mansueto Digital, writes about the new platform:

"First off, here's what it's not: It's not a pure social network. A pure social network tries to recreate what Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook calls the "social graph" of a community that already exists. You go to Facebook or MySpace and find the friends and co-workers you already know. The real world gets reproduced virtually. Maybe you meet a friend of a friend.
We're not that.
We're an entirely new community of people brought together because we want to share ideas about business. We like business. We think it's important. Work gives more meaning to our lives. We believe business profoundly helps define our culture...
Second, the site is not an end to professional journalism. We're still the website of one of the most influential business magazines in the world. Journalists like Robert Safian, Ellen McGirt, Chuck Salter, Linda Tischler, Will Bourne, Charles Fishman, and Adam Penenberg will continue to produce thought-provoking, ground breaking stories."

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