This week Arianna Huffington launched HuffPost Social News a social network that will be used to build a news community. I agree with Huffington's statement in today's blog post, "The Web has given us control over the news we consume," Huffington Post.

The Web has changed the way we consume news. More and more time is being spent in front of computers reading news even from the loyal reporter community. Friends and colleagues who are reporters and former reporters are canceling subscriptions and opting for paperless. It's more convenient - no more having to rely upon the delivery of the morning paper to your front door or hopefully somewhere close to the front door especially in in-climate weather - and it's more green to follow a couple of clicks and read or watch the news online.

Media who recognize the value of social networks and how to maximize the use of social networks to reinvent themselves will be the victors. Twitter is not media nor will become media, but it is a social networking site that can certainly be utilized by media. I share articles from those I follow including some media sources.

Building a brand social network gives media a way to shift from building a subscriber base to building a loyal supporter base and frankly opens up a whole new world and market to media sources. Huffington Post has two key elements that work, 1) a face with high name recognition. Whether or not they agree with Arianna Huffington she is high profile and interesting enough to capture attention. 2) Its own personality of coverage.

Rather than assume a Huffington type profile is necessary to succeed, media outlets should look to identify one or more personalities focused on different areas of interest for the online media source and find ways to effectively, and interestingly, develop a following. That following will serve as the base for the social network community.

The question that remains to be seen is how much of this industry with significant investments in heavy printing equipment, fleets and machinery will be able to act nimble and make swift changes to compete.