Psst! Go check out the Tokyopop site! It’s been redesigned and considerably enlarged, with blogs (blogs!) and a new manga column by Stephanie Folse (a.k.a. Telophase), a people column by Chris Arrant, an interview with Beck manga-ka Harold Sakuishi, and a bunch of stuff I’ll probably never read (anime, games) but that other people will probably enjoy. Oh, and it looks like they’re posting fanart and fanfic as well. It’s almost more like a magazine than a publisher site, especially as that single page with every manga on it has disappeared, and clicking on “manga” brings up the featured manga, not all of ’em. Fortunately, there’s a search engine for that unglamorous stuff.
I agree with what they are doing — new media marketing encompasses social features such as blogs and podcasts and causes IMO a connection with the customer and product. Out of the current “Big 3” they are in best position to do this… so go for it!