The BBC's Social Media Countryfile

One of my Sunday morning pleasures is watching [*Countryfile*](http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/countryfile/) on BBC1. It’s a form of masochism, I think, watching a show about the beautiful countryside while sat in the heart of urban Lewisham. But it’s my Sunday and I’ll torment myself if I want to.Now, the BBC has a fondness for indulging in brand extension, and the latest of those is a new [*Countryfile Magazine*](http://www.bbccountryfile.com/). That’s not very notable. They do that a lot. What is interesting is that they’ve launched it as a social media offering with a [podcast](http://www.bbccountryfile.com/podcast.asp), [forums](http://forum.bbccountryfile.com/) and (pseudo-)[blogs](http://www.bbccountryfile.com/blogs.asp). And all those offering were online *before *the mag was launched.

I think it’s a good call. The social media element of the product is integral from the start, rather than pasted on later. It’s not additional work on top of producing the magazine, but part of what the title is all about. It’ll be interesting to see how it works. So far, the forum has only 41 registered users, but it’s early days.