But the editor's hegemony over the communication process is under assault on the Web. Despite efforts by big media conglomerates to stifle it, two-way communication is much more powerful online than in print. On a basic level, I get more email from a single Big Picture column than I received letters in my entire print journalism career. Depending on what the email says, it can really knock your arrogance quotient down a peg or two. Despite the threat to journalistic egos, smart sites embrace this two-way communication and structure their offerings to take advantage of it.
Some sites even build their entire reason for being around it.
The two-way approach can be as simple as hosting a guest book where readers can leave comments. It can even take the form of personalization-based features that let users select what type of content they want to see and how they want it presented. Two-way communication can be humbling to writers used to controlling the conversation. But it's also one of the most exciting capabilities of the Web. Get over yourself, and learn to love it.