Are you saying Avatar broke ground yesterday and the news was announced via some obscure person on Twitter but wasn't covered by the Disney Parks Blog (the nerve center for Disney social media)? There were reports of Rohde and Cameron being in DAK a few months ago through social media before the Disney Blog released a story.
As for the rest of your post, neither Potter 2.0 nor Transformers has even been announced yet, Thus the point that these things get announced through social media first. Sometimes with the companies knowledge and sometimes not. Hard to determine on a case by case basis. I am sure Uni loves the buzz. Avatarland has. Yep, first through the web and then from Iger hisownself. Universal is going to time these announcements to maximize publicity and to try to keep attendance numbers up in the meantime. Yes, sometimes they will use social media "leaks", sometimes they will be true leaks and sometimes they will be through press releases. Though I contend the latter will be increasingly rare.
I'm also not sure why you're differentiating between old and new media. Traditional media uses social media and certainly is informed of Disney PR news even if it's announced via the blog posts. I am just observing and commenting on how information dissemination is changing radically. Michael Crichton saw all of this.
And how is the Disney blog being used for trial balloons? I see what I suspect are trial balloons more and more through social media. Not necessarily the official blog. Cheaper than surveys that is for certain. All I see there is new merchandise that I don't want, special events I'm not going to pay to attend, and construction pictures. Cynical much?
Where's the trial balloon or the genuine dialogue with readers of the blog? Disney can pay megabucks for surveys which they do. But I believe they have also learned to take the temperature of the fan community through sites like this. And I am convinced they do. Those blinded by cynacism can't see it.
