How The Wall Street Journal Is Using Facebook to Cover Facebook

In March, around the time Facebook launched its Timeline format, Poynter published a piece declaring “Facebook Timeline not yet a friend to news organizations.” The post’s author, Jeff Sonderman, wrote “the flashy visual template adds too little style while removing too much substance.”

The social media team at The Wall Street Journal might beg to disagree. In an innovative piece of social journalism, WSJ reporters and editors are using Facebook’s Timeline tool to cover Facebook’s initial public offering.

The news org has created a new Facebook page, www.facebook.com/GoesPublic, using Timeline to not only chronicle its IPO roadshow but to also tell the history of Facebook.

Why use Facebook Timeline?

The Wall Street Journal already uses Timeline for its own Facebook page, Brian Aguilar, a WSJ social media editor who is involved with the project, told me via email.

The

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