The Modern Media teams’ picks of some of this week’s most interesting media stories!

Twitter and Publishers: Enemies or Friends?

• “Twitter just extended not only an olive branch to the content industry, but a lifeline too”, says GigaOM’s David Meyer of the platform’s expanded tweet feature. Announced this week, expanded tweets allow the reader to preview an article’s headline and introduction, tweet or retweet — and to click through to the full piece on the publisher’s website.
• Meyer’s olive branch angle is in response to recent buzz that Twitter “threatens” traditional media entities by becoming one itself. “If that sounds like the kind of thing a media company might do, it’s probably because it is the kind of thing a media company would do,” wrote GigaOM senior writer Mathew Ingram earlier this month, referrring to Twitter’s partnership with NASCAR. (The partnership involved hiring an editor to curate the tweet stream around an upcoming race.) On board for expanded tweets are The Wall Street Journal, Time and The New York Times, among other publishers.

Google+: Ghost Town or Great Tool?

• For months now, after data from research firm comScore showed that Google+ users are signing up—but then not doing much there, the buzz about Google+ has been grim. “Virtual ghost town” was used (and reused) to describe the platform.
• But this week, Guy Kawasaki (who is all business, all the time and no newbie) shared that he spends a full two hours a day on G+ in support of his brand as a writer, speaker and venture advisor. With a chart comparing the platform with Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, Guy reveals why: Google+ has powerful and sophisticated features that the competition doesn’t, and Google+ does things in ways that make more sense to him. As he says, “The key to social media is to use the right tool for the job … the question remains, should you use Google+?” Good advice, and good question!

Is Hanging Out More Fun Than a Webinar?

• If you’ve ever done a webinar, it’s like that – but free, with an unimaginably bigger marketing potential and with better functionality, writes Patrick Smith of TheMediaBriefing of Hangout On Air. Smith’s piece, which highlights this new tool’s potential for media organizations, was a winner. Launched by Google in May, the new hangouts are live video chats with up to 10 people, just as a regular hangout is. But Hangouts On Air can be viewed by an audience unlimited in size; everyone participates via chat. The event is then uploaded to YouTube, ready for posting on a website. We’d love to hear from you if you have or have plans to replace the webinar!

New Launch: The Wall Street Journal’s “DC Bureau”

Cheers!