A New Dawn

As a new media communications major and a hopeful journalist I have thrown myself into the craziness of social media and networking at full force. I have finally pegged twitter and am finally getting the full benefits from using it. More and more each day I get sucked into it. Constantly I am searching the site for interesting postings to re-tweet (RT), which man oh man are there tons!

Another social media network I absolutely love is delicious.com. It is a social bookmarking site and it is so beneficial for someone online. I bookmark everything I look at! Or if I don’t have time to read it at that moment I bookmark it anyway that way I will always have it to read later when I find time. I have pages apon pages of articles and links. It is great to be able to go back and give your sources to someone if they ask or quickly find the link if you want to re-post it.

Currently I am enrolled in a NMC 302: Reporting and I am absolutely loving it. Not only because who doesn’t need practice on good reporting skills or I love the work, but also my professor is absolutely amazing. She is a former newspaper reporter and has been teaching journalism in some form for about 12 years now. Her blog is great and I highly recommend checking out Old Dog, New Media.

In my reporting class we are doing beat journals every week. I have choose to switch around between international news, social networking and the media as my beats. This last week I wrote on social networking and I thought I would share it.

The World of Social Networking: April 19th to 25th, 2009

In social networking news Twitter has continued to dominate headlines. NPR, CNN, New York Times, LA Times, OPB all featuring the Twitter name in stories. On Mashable: The Social Media Guide, a story revealed today, April 24, actor Hugh Jackman used Twitter to help find a charity to donate $100K. He had asked Twitter users to pitch in 140 words or less why their chosen charities should receive the cash.

Mashable blog on Hugh Jackman charity donation.

This isn’t the first time Twitter has helped organize and host scores of successful charity campaigns. Early in the year Twestivals were held around the world where local Twitter communities could gather together offline and socialize to benefit and raise money for charities. It amazes me that this social networking tool can be such a useful campaign and fundraising tool. Most people who don’t use Twitter or have yet to understand its use may have a hard time realizing the powerfulness of the social connections it helps with. To learn click here Twestivals

I myself as a Twitter user have never heard of these Twestivals before but I am very intrigued that the Twitter community is using social networking to benefit those all around the world. It shows you how powerful connections are and if you gather a large group of people from all over with the same interests, concerns and cares then something amazing can come of it.

On CNN a volcano in Alaska makes headlines for having over 7,000 followers on Twitter.com. It would seem silly that a volcano would be making so many friends but then one must realize there are plenty of people all over the world that would enjoy keeping up with its seismic activity.

CNN: Volcano finds followers aflutter on Twitter.

Los Angeles Times wrote on April 22nd about Tweeting from Iraq. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey was visiting Iraq this week as part of a delegation of new media technology executives invited by the State Department to explore ways technology can help rebuild the country. Execs from YouTube and Google were among others participating. They are hoping to use new technologies to promote transparency in government, encourage private-sector development and address many of the social problems Iraq is confronting.

LA Times: Iraq: Twittering from Baghdad

I think this is a great idea but most people in Iraq don’t have access to the internet so it may be difficult at first to get things rolling. But Dorsey had noted that 85% of Iraqis use mobile phones, which allow them to tweet and promote social networking. Who would have thought that social networking would have been called into play to help rebuild Iraq? Not I. It makes sense to me how it can help Iraqis voice their opinions and organize their ideas but can it really work. With the direction technology has been making in media and social networking I don’t doubt that something positive will come of this project. No one thought a revolution via twitter was possible but Moldavians proved a lot of people otherwise.

On NPR I heard of the news that Ashton Kutcher surpassed CNN in a race to one million followers. Each party had agreed to donate mosquito nets to battle malaria win or lose. Again you see how charity comes into play using Twitter.

NPR: Ashton Kutcher bests CNN to Become undisputed Twitter King

Monday, April 20th, I listened to a great piece on NPR about how Twitter and other social networking sites are being used for news sources more. Breaking stories sometimes appear on Wikipedia or Twitter before they are even reported by news organizations. It also talked about how journalists sometimes pick up pieces of news on these sites as a starting point to a breaking story.

NPR: Thumbs to the News: public Turns to Twitter

But the real question that is tackled: can you trust the news you receive from these social networking sites? If you read about a breaking story on someone’s Twitter page does that make it real? A lot of these people who are relaying these breaking news stories aren’t actual journalists or professionals of news. It can be hard to tell if information was even verified because for non-journalist they don’t understand the importance of that. It is frustrating as a hopeful journalist seeing how just about anyone could throw out a juicy news story or any information that might not fully be true and it may be read more than your story, which you worked hard hours to get the facts and get them right. But I do also see the positives of social networking news stories because it is helpful to people who don’t have a lot of time on their hands to quickly get updates about what is going in the world. That is why the New York Times and other established news organizations have social networking sites so they can deliver truthful breaking stories to people around the world. I would personally choose to believe a twitter feed from the NY Times over a man in India who just gave an up date on breaking news in Oregon, not saying this is true but just an example of what could be.

As I search relentlessly for summer internships I have came across quite a few offering experience running social networking sites for companies. For businesses today it is a must to be marketing themselves on these social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace or Twitter. Pizza Hut even put an ad out for a summer job to tweet for the company, I found out through New York Times.

NY Times: Tweeting becomes a summer job opportunity

Businesses need to market themselves on these sites to rack full potential of advertising. It helps consumers connect with businesses like they never have been able to before. Social network sites allow them to get in touch and see how the consumer feels and get input that can help them out in being successful. I think it is a great tool and should be used as much as possible in marketing a product or business. But again social networking sites such as YouTube can also play an enemy. Take for instance an article in BusinessWeek about how a few Domino employees posted a video on YouTube of them molesting food before sending it out to customers.

BusinessWeek: Domino’s Pizza Youtube video lesson: Focus on Standards, and Pack your own Lunch.

At first Domino’s tried to convey it as a hoax but that didn’t work. As you can imagine things haven’t been going very well for Domino’s in trying to put this fiasco behind them. It is hard with social networking to hide information because everything is seen and heard. For one business or entrepreneur it might help build them but for other companies it may be the death of them. I am not saying Domino’s will be closing their doors any time soon but I don’t see customers rushing to their phones to dial in delivery any time soon either.

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I recently returned after an awesome 10 days of traveling around the Yucatan Peninsula. I traveled with two very good friends from my home town of Coos Bay and one’s boyfriend. A few days into the trip we were joined by an amazing New Yorker. It was such a great experience and I couldn’t have been more delighted at the fact that my two friends are both fluent in Spanish too. I speak a little but stopped taking courses after my first year in college, I am a tad bit rusty. It was excellent to be traveling with them because this way it was easy for us to carry on conversations with the locals and always find the best places to eat and get inside view from the people in the area. We flew into Cancun but made a b-line for Isla Mujeres ( a small island off the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula ).

We stayed at a youth hostel named Poc-Na which was recommended in every guide book we read. I carried along with me my trusty Let’s Go! Mexico guidebook (best guidebooks ever! Wrote by Harvard college students for the budget traveler. Perfect!). The time we spent at the Poc-Na was great and we only spent about $10 a night to stay there. Isla Mujeres was my favorite part of the trip because the island was so small we could walk everywhere. There wasn’t as many tourists or travelers and the beaches were low key and beautiful. I was glad I didn’t experiance the Cancun life. After leaving Isla we traveled to the town of Vallavolid which is by far our most cultural experience. There are very few if any travelers walking the streets in Vallavolid but the city does hold a lot of history. Our real reason to stay in Vallavolid was to travel to Chichen Itza -the religious and political center of ancient Mayan civilization. We spent most of a day at Chichen Itza walking around old Mayan architecture. It was an amazing site and it is one of the new seven greatest wonders of the world. There is so much history behind the old civalization.

After chichen Itza it was a mad dash back to the coast. We headed for Tullum where we spent the next two nights living in beach side cabanas with hanging beds. The resort we stayed at – Diamante K – was considered an eco friendly resort. The showers were all double shower heads with beaded curtains keeping everyone from outside from seeing in (doesn’t really work too well) and the lights only came on from around 7pm to 12am every night. There were no plug ins or electricity except for at the restaurant/bar on the resort. Most of the resort was lite up by candle light including the bathroom stalls which were outside. It was a great way to live for a few days and a beautful place. I loved to wake up in the morning and open our window to the crashing waves. Unfortunately the wind was acting up while we were staying there. It seemed as if we were living through a mild hurricane. The whole place brought back memories of when I traveled in Belize with my family and we stayed in a cement hut. In Tullum we even got to check out a cenote which are sinkholes that expose underground water and caverns.

After Tullum we packed up and travled north to Playa Del Carmen. Playa is now the fastest growing city in North America. In just two years the population jumped from 80,000 to 140,000 people. It is said to have a great night life (still cheaper than Cancun) and breath taking beaches. Again the wind was so horrible the water was churned up and the sand was just whipping across you. No one was going snorkling or diving because the wind had made the visibility awful. It was for sure a bummer that we couldn’t get out to the reef. The reef off the coast of Playa is part of the second largest barrier reef that travels all the way down the coast of Belize. Playa was a very touristy and expensive for us so we decided to pack up and travel back up north to Isla Mujeres to spend the last couple days there. We were lucky to book the same hostel again and enjoyed the last few days taking it easy on the white sandy beaches and relaxing. It was an awesome adventure that I was lucky enough to experience with my good friends and I even made a bunch of new ones along the way.

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It amazes me when I sit back and think of what has inspired me in the past few months to take on such a strong determination towards journalism and communications. It has been shocking to realize some of the people who have inspired me the most, people I don’t actually know at all but I have read enough of their work and about them to get a good idea of who they are. People can inspire you in the oddest ways and without knowing it. I love to see and hear about amazing people with their different passions and goals. I would say I have a few too many goals and dreams, but after seeing what other awesome people are doing I find hope for myself that I too will succeed. I love to find inspiration in new people. I want to learn about everyone and share everyones story with the world, that is something that helps drive me to become a great journalist. One day I hope to share my stories…gosh I have tons already! What brings inspiration to you? There are so many things that can effect your thoughts and ideas on a daily basis. Next time you are feeling a little inspiration kicking in try and utilize it and get your creativiness and thoughts flowing. Write it down, draw or paint it, maybe even create it!

Another issue that I have sometimes is I tend to have my best thoughts and ideas come to me while I am driving my car. Grrr can this be frustrating! I can’t write while I am driving! I drive a LOT too. Maybe the fact that I have hours on end for my thoughts to run wild, or the fact I have no one else to talk to so I resort to myself, but I come up with some great ideas while driving. Sadly this causes great many problems and frustrations on my behalf because I end up forgetting them or spending lots of time trying to remember them. Where do you get your best ideas? Is there a certain spot you go to or does your creativeness come to you all the time?

Another time for me is when I am about to fall asleep. I am a big thinker and I think about some stuff way too much. I know how cruddy it can be when I am trying to get to bed and I am thinking about everything from what I have do tomorrow for what great story ideas to write about. Thoughts can sometimes eat away at me too. I have a tendancy to think too much about the past and the future instead of the here and now. I have worked on putting the past behind me so I don’t deal with those issues as much anymore but I still am always thinking ahead of what I want to be doing next. Yes I am a huge dreamer.

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A new term has begun for school and lucky for me I am enrolled in New Media Communications – Reporting course. I am extremely excited to be taking this class. First week we were given a blog to read and I loved it so much I had to re-post the blog.

2008 objectives for today’s non-wired journalist

By: Howard Owens

Many news organizations have bonus plans for newsroom personnel called MBOs (MBA speak for Manage by Objective). The idea is to reward people for doing work that helps advance the company’s strategic goals.

Is there any higher strategic need for news organizations today than becoming more digital savvy?

I suspect there are still too many non-wired journalists in most US newsrooms. Either out of fear, indifference or hubris, too many reporters and editors resist using the Internet for anything beyond the occasional Google search (and heaven forbid they ever click a search result link to Wikipedia) and a daily dose of Romenesko (and heaven forbid if you call him what he is, a blogger).

That just isn’t acceptable.

So to help newsroom managers advance the digital literacy of their organizations, I offer the following MBO plan. I recommend readers pass this along to the top editors at their newspapers. And for non-wired journalists ambitious enough to pursue their own MBO paths, I’ll offer a reward myself (strict rules and details at the bottom of this post).

1. Become a blogger. Start with a favorite topic. For example, if you’re a baseball fan, start with baseball. Find all of the baseball-related blogs you can and become a regular reader of five or six of the best of these blogs. Participate — leave comments; follow links. After three months of blog reading, start your own blog on that topic. Try to post daily for at least six months. For blog topics, avoid anything related to your beat or politics. First, you need to blog about something you are passionate about; second, there are too many political bloggers already (accept maybe for local politics, if you see that need in your community and it won’t conflict with your day job).

2. Buy a small digital camera that can take both stills and video. Open an account with a photo sharing site such as Flickr or Buzznet. Take photos and post them. If necessary, use some online tutorials for digital photography. (NOTE: If company will buy you this camera, great, but if not, remember you have a responsibility to invest in your own career.)

3. With the same camera, make at least three videos. Use the free video editing software that comes with your computer and edit those videos. Post them to YouTube and at least one other video sharing site. There are plenty of online tutorials for shooting and editing video. Your goal here isn’t to make great video, just to learn what is involved in making video so you have the capability in your online journalism tool bag.

4. Related to video, spend at least two hours a week for six weeks on YouTube. Search for topics that interest you and then follow the trails where they lead. Pay attention to the daily most popular and see what other people are watching. Be sure to watch both amateur and professional video.

5. Join a social networking site. Every professional should have a profile on LinkedIn, so make sure you do, also. Facebook has been hot in 2007, but I think you’ll get more out of MySpace, which still remains popular with your future readers. You will get more DIY (the backbone of modern media) experience with MySpace, if you take full advantage of the site features (which, admittedly, I have not). Do Facebook, too, but don’t neglect MySpace.

6. Use social bookmarking. Set up del.icio.us for yourself and use it every day. Learn about tags. Check out Digg and Mixx and similar sites. If you can, get into Scott Karp’s Publish2 beta.

7. Start using RSS. Use RSS to keep up with the news of the day and the blogs you are now reading every day. Make sure your blog has an RSS feed. Here’s Marc Glaser’s guide to RSS.

8. If your current mobile phone doesn’t handle SMS (text messaging), get one that does. SMS works best when you have friends who text, so figure out who those friends are (by now, you have them). For neophytes and gray hairs, a phone with a QWERTY keyboard (Treo, or iPhone) works best. Blackberrys aren’t great SMS handhelds because they mix SMS and e-mail together.

9. Learn to twitter. I’m not a big Twitter user myself, but Ryan Sholin and Jack Lail swear by it. I think there is something to be said for learning how this technology may change information dissemination.

10. Create a Google Map mashup. If you don’t know what those are, google it. If you don’t know what to do or where to start, google it (hint: or you can search this site). There are plenty of tutorials available. It’s easy. All you need is a spreadsheet with appropriate data and enough smarts to follow step-by-step directions.

11. After you’ve done these ten things, document what you’ve learned — write something, such as an essay to your editor or a blog post. Discuss how technology has changed media, and follow the string of where that change might lead. What will your job be like in 10 years? What will media be like in five? How will news reach young readers in a generation? Tomorrow?

I see all of these points as hugely important for journalists to get involved in the new media communications we have today. I have already tried and attempted most of these but there are a few I myself need to work on exploring a bit more, such as tweeting on Twitter.

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