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Calling all journalists trying to figure out this whole facebook thing. You might have another social network to pick up soon: Publish2 - a social networking tool for journalists. It’s a tool that the creators are saying could provide a more intelligent way (better news judgment) to aggregate news than Digg users, as most Digg users focus more on tech news than a wide variety of topics.

I picked this up from Mashable - social networking news that you all should be reading.

So what is Publish2? As described by its creators:

Publish2 is a social network and 2.0 platform for journalists (and independent “news bloggers,” “citizen” journalists, student journalists, i.e. ALL journalists, BROADLY defined), which aims to put journalists at the center of news on the web by creating a journalist-powered news aggregator.

It looks like these guys are taking a stab at taking some marketshare from Digg, which, the Publish2 blog says, is managed by people with small niche-interests and “are disproportionately more effective at filtering news on the web.”

So how do you add more intelligence to news aggregation??? Add journalists, says Publish2.

Standing on Digg’s shoulders, Publish2 solves the WHO problem by creating a platform for networking the one group of people who are disproportionately more likely to be effective news filters across every conceivable topic: JOURNALISTS

That might a backlash from traditional internet social networkers, especially Digg users.

The media is often behind Internet trends because that’s what they’re reporting on. Reporters are more often picking up on trends after they’ve either blown up or become a passing fad, rather than having their finger on the birth of a web/news trend. (example: Lolcats was so last week by the time we were photoshopping our own news pictures here).

Still, coming from the media arena, this tool looks interesting. Here’s some of the features Publish2 is promising, as described in the Publish2 blog:

• A targeted, community-defined social network
• A platform for building their their personal brands
• A suite of Web 2.0 productivity tools
  

Sorry to whet your appetites and not give you any grub to dine on. Even the beta of this network isn’t publicly available yet.

Mashable makes a good point that the creators of Publish2 may have let the cat out of the bag too soon. Things that get announced before they ever show up somtimes fall short of expectations, but who knows. Judging by the way the media can anticipate things (e.g. superbowls, presidential primary debates, ect.), a huge buzz might stir up for this network.

Sign up to get some updates on the Publish2 beta and how this project is progressing.

You guys like the idea of a social networking for journalists? Can they pick better stories than Digg users or Newsvine?