????換句話說(shuō)，社交媒體——以及社交媒體這個(gè)整體——不會(huì)自然而然地發(fā)展好。它需要有一個(gè)工程師團(tuán)隊(duì)不斷進(jìn)行調(diào)整和修補(bǔ)，而這些人對(duì)人們使用科技產(chǎn)品的方式必須有深刻理解。這和廣播與有線電視界的情況截然不同——后者的觀眾只能被動(dòng)地接受相關(guān)企業(yè)灌輸給他們的一切。

????相比在新聞集團(tuán)時(shí)的舉措，米勒在新聞集團(tuán)之外的行動(dòng)顯得更加大膽，更敢于在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)世界弄潮。他投資了媒體公司Maker Studios——谷歌（Google）旗下YouTube的五大渠道合作伙伴之一——及對(duì)講軟件Voxer，還擔(dān)任了圖片提供商Shutterstock和旅游網(wǎng)站TripAdvisor的董事。盡管這些公司都不具備成為下一個(gè)Facebook的潛力，但它們發(fā)展得都不錯(cuò)。他還曾為美國(guó)在線（AOL）效力4年，這也是曾紅極一時(shí)、但在媒體巨頭（指美國(guó)在線與時(shí)代華納合并后的產(chǎn)物）內(nèi)部失去活力的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司，這一經(jīng)歷使米勒能感覺(jué)到媒體巨頭將網(wǎng)絡(luò)業(yè)務(wù)整合進(jìn)其整體戰(zhàn)略中的困難，也知道哪些跡象表明這種整合永遠(yuǎn)無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)。

????新聞集團(tuán)2012年的處境正是如此。盡管新聞集團(tuán)長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)在新聞出版與廣播電視界呼風(fēng)喚雨，但只要把內(nèi)容遷徙到電腦屏幕上，這家公司就完全不知所措。相比傳統(tǒng)媒體行業(yè)的同行，新聞集團(tuán)過(guò)去十年來(lái)在科技領(lǐng)域采取了更多激進(jìn)的行動(dòng)——比如收購(gòu)MySpace及推出The Daily。這份電子出版物深受“相信我們-訂閱吧”商業(yè)模式的拖累。然而，新聞集團(tuán)的大膽行動(dòng)卻罕有回報(bào)。

????經(jīng)過(guò)這幾次痛苦的實(shí)驗(yàn)之后，新聞集團(tuán)終于不再垂涎于互聯(lián)網(wǎng)超級(jí)新星，轉(zhuǎn)而致力于成為它一直以來(lái)早就應(yīng)該變成的那種公司——對(duì)現(xiàn)有內(nèi)容進(jìn)行調(diào)整，使其適用于網(wǎng)絡(luò)的媒體巨頭。可就算是在這一領(lǐng)域，新聞集團(tuán)的表現(xiàn)仍然不盡如人意。福克斯新聞臺(tái)（Fox News）的收視率傲視群雄，但在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上，它的網(wǎng)站卻落后于美國(guó)有線電視新聞網(wǎng)（CNN）、MSNBC和其他四家網(wǎng)站。?？怂贵w育臺(tái)（Fox Sports）的網(wǎng)站也落后于ESPN、《體育畫(huà)報(bào)》（Sports Illustrated）和三家其他體育網(wǎng)站?！尽敦?cái)富》雜志（Fortune）的母公司時(shí)代華納（TimeWarner）擁有CNN與《體育畫(huà)報(bào)》。】

????In other words, social media -- and digital media in general -- doesn't take care of itself. It must be tweaked and tinkered with by a team of engineers who must be attuned to how people are using a technology. That's the polar opposite of broadcast or cable media, where your audience is expected to swallow whatever content you send down the pipe.

????Miller's activities outside News Corp. suggest a more adventurous attitude toward the web than he was able to display at News Corp. He funded Maker Studios--– one of the top five partner channels on Google's (GOOG) YouTube -- as well as walkie-talkie app Voxer. He serves on the boards of Shutterstock and TripAdvisor. None of those companies is the next Facebook, but they are all doing well. After four years at AOL (AOL) -- another once-hot property that languished inside a media giant -- Miller has also learned a thing or two about when a media giant isn't integrating an online business into its larger operations. And when it's showing signs that it never will.

????That describes News Corp. in 2012. What has long been a powerhouse in news publishing and broadcasting simply doesn't understand how content works once it's ported to computer screens. Relative to its peers in old media, News Corp. made some aggressive moves in the past decade like buying MySpace and launching the Daily -- a publication that was doomed by its trust-us-and-subscribe business model. But it has little to show for its boldness.

????So after several painful experiments, News Corp. is finally moving away from being a company lusting after Internet superstars to become what it should have been all along -- a media giant that tailors its existing content to be useful on the web. But even here, News Corp. underperforms. On the web, Fox News, which dominates in cable ratings, lags CNN, MSNBC andfour other sites. Fox Sports' site lags those of ESPN, Sports Illustrated and three others. (Fortune's parent company, TimeWarner, owns CNN and Sports Illustrated.)