This week’s AdWeek article, Traditional Ads Yield Social Traction, was a fantastic look at how paid media can influence earned media – and points directly to the rise of social media playing a key role in this growing convergence. Brian Morrissey offers some great examples of how big brands wield traditional media to drive awareness and participation in owned/earned media platforms – like microsites housing Twitter feeds or Facebook fan pages. Reading between the lines, it also seems paid campaigns will increasingly be held accountable for their ability to generate a ripple effect in terms of social media buzz – which can only happen when campaign content is truly compelling and provocative. Could it be that social media will also be the driver behind more effective and engaging paid ads? Here’s hoping!