The Big Blog has updated its design — specifically the middle sidebar — to encourage user engagement and conversation off the blog.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has embedded a Twitter feed into the sidebar, added links to The Big Blog’s Facebook page, made it easy for people to embed and get Big Blog headlines elsewhere and added other new features.

To some — particularly old-media types — this may sound counter intuitive. Why would you want people to have conversations away from your core product?

“I think it is important that you reach people where they are, instead of demanding they come to where you are,” lead Big Blogger Monica Guzman said.

On the Web, you can’t force people to come where you are. By reaching out onto Twitter, Facebook and other platforms, Guzman is hoping to build The Big Blog’s brand and user base beyond just the blog itself.

“There is always a venue to come back to The Big Blog,” she said. “As long as it exists, it doesn’t really feel like letting people leave. Or if it is linking or getting people off the site, it is with the knowledge that thanks to us, they got there. There is a sense in which you build the blog’s reputation and the blog’s usefulness on other channels.”

Guzman regularly links out to other content and doesn’t cling to outdated beliefs that sending people to other Web sites is a bad idea. Guzman wants The Big Blog to be the place to go to find out what’s going on in Seattle, and that can mean sending people to other places on the Web for more information. She acts as a guide, mixing in original content with links to other quality content.

The Big Blog utilizes two Twitter accounts. One for Big Blog headlines and alerts. Guzman has regular meet ups and office hours and she posts on The Big Blog account about these. The other account is her personal account, where she shares her thoughts throughout the day, which posts she is working on, etc. Her three most recent tweets from her personal account are embedded onto The Big Blog.

Another new feature is The Big Blog’s “Featured Comment.” This feature doesn’t send users off site, but it is designed to further foment engagement.

“Whenever I see a comment that, in my mind at least, really contributes to the debate, without further dividing the two sides, I put it up there,” Guzman said “Or when it shows a particular bit of insight from a reader. I hope that encourages better conversation.”