It’s almost here. (Well, technically, the Indiana Primary is here and has been here for a couple of weeks thanks to the early voting centers that Tippecanoe County has tested and embraced.)

Getting excited in Indiana about a presidential primary is highly unusual. But this year, thanks to the close race between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama for the Democratic nod, Indiana matters. Starting roughly a month ago, our area has seen former President Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Obama, Chelsea Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Gen. Wesley Clark plus a couple of B list actors.

Due to the magnitude of the news — not only here but as America watches, listens and reads — our coverage called for some creativity and innovation. Thankfully, our staff has embraced innovative thinking for online. Here are some examples of how we’ve used our web site to offer readers coverage geared toward the online medium:

– Appearances by Obama and Hillary Clinton were webcast via mogulus.com. (Our videographer is a local high school kid.)

– Reporter Meranda Watling and others provided live updates for most of the events via our Web site and Twitter. I’m not yet sold on Twitter’s ability to deliver a large audience, but the potential is there.

– Beyond the live coverage of the campaigns, we also provided readers deep content online. For example, a Flash graphic on the aforementioned voting centers and a ballot search, both of which are here.

The transition to online has been breathtaking. Our online content is clearly geared toward the audience, as our print side has been geared to the print audience for decades.

And late Tuesday — after we finish off our coverage of the primary, which includes a live video — perhaps, it will be time to take a quick breath.

It’s getting abundantly clear that newspapers and their Web sites will need to change quickly and efficiently to remain relevant to their audience. One of the most successful changes to date has been adding a social-networking aspect.

The most prolific of these has been a site for moms — Lafayettemoms.com has joined many others, including Indymoms.com, the originator. The concept is simple: build a site aimed at a specific group where members with common interests can bond.

Historically newspaper research has focused on audience. “xx percent of our audience is interested in politics, so we’ll give them deep coverage on the issue.”

But as Moms and other group sites have shown, there is an interest in more specialized groups. Groups aimed at pet owners, sports teams and others have emerged. We’ve worked with a local high school on a micro site, shown here, where members of the student paper post news, opinions, photo galleries, etc.

While it may be tempting for some newspapers to divvy up their core audience too much, it would be wise to remember one key strength: most newspapers have a tradition in their community that pre-dates TV, radio and certainly the Web. How newspapers determine how to leverage their longtime experience with the demands within their core audience will go a long way in determining their worth in coming years.