Journalists and media professionals around the world have been discussing social networks, and that's because the nature of the Web has dramatically changed in the past few years. Before, publishing to the Web was very much a monologue, not a dialogue. Content was put onto a Web site, people read it, and if they were so inclined, perhaps they e-mailed a letter to the editor.

That's not the case today. Internet users expect to participate: to post their own commentary, to ask questions, to offer their own articles, videos and more. The launch of certain frameworks, such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and helped to cement our Web experience as a social one.

There are many good arguments for and against using social media within the context of journalism. But there are many ways to use a social networking platform to also help your newsroom workflow, your reporting and even your storytelling.

Have you considered using a social network to:

* gather reporting, leads, sources for your particular beat

* organize a series of newsroom training seminars for you or your staff

* create a mentoring program for the younger and more experienced reporters in your organization/region/country

* serve as a virtual meeting space for reporters, editors, producers and publishers worldwide

* build a vibrant audience around a specific topic, such as European football?

In my next column, I'm going to show you how to create your own social network using Ning. Don't be intimidated - it's an easy, free service that can be used anywhere!