sherrymims.com » Twitter

Social butterfly effect

Sherry — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 21:42:42 +0000

One of the reasons I wanted to be a journalist is to inform, so I love social media. I find it interactive, instantaneous and full of excitement. New social media sites are popping up at a quick rate, and they’re changing our daily lives just as fast. The best platforms allow you to share information with people who might pass it along as well.

(Of course, you should share good, relevant information and avoid anything inflammatory, but that’s a post for another day.)

When I go on Twitter, I usually go on it to either improve my skills or communicate something. I was lucky Sept. 14 when @Poynter (the voice of the prestigious Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg) tweeted:

Join us now for a live chat w @KimBui about what it takes to stand out as a community/social media editor: http://journ.us/rh1MtG

I asked, “Kim, what qualifications should someone have to be a community/social media editor?”

She replied:

First and foremost a sense of experimentation. You should also be active on most major networks (FB and Twitter) and have tried a few others. Have ideas about how to engage readers better and improve the final product through SM.

Also, network like you’ve never networked before. Most SM editors know each others, so if you know some of us, you’ll get an inside track.

Good, right? You really should read all of Kim Bui’s tips.

I feel like I’m on the right track. I’ve met loads of influential people through the #dbtweetup (Daytona Beach’s monthly Tweet-Up) and have already used my skills for the print product.

In fact, one of my awards from The Daytona Beach News-Journal involved, yes, using Twitter. The crew of the night desk expected it to be a calm Sunday night, but on May 2, 2011, President Barack Obama came on the air and announced the death of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of 9/11.

The Associated Press sent out a scant nine inches right at deadline, so what did I do? As I replated the inside pages, I looked up the @whitehouse Twitter feed and found the exact contents of Obama’s speech to help fill the front page to get it out.

The next day, my former co-worker Kari saw The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s front page flashed on CNN.

Though journalism has changed, the fundamentals are still there, and social networking continues to give us options for improvement. On Sept. 14, I subscribed to Quora, a question-and-answer site. On Sept. 15, Facebook announced a “Subscribe” option, which is great for following a source without having to “friend” someone you don’t know well. Likewise, today, Sept. 20, I signed up to get a promo code for Mail-ette, a site for sharing graphic elements and gaining feedback.

In the future, I’m betting we’ll have better information and a bigger ability to distill and share pertinent information. News is still news — whatever the format.

Janufest

Sherry — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 07:31:22 +0000

As I shared on Twitter in 140 characters or less:

Joyous #Janufest! Since we copy deskers never get holidays off, we created a holiday (Sat.) where we party late & buy presents 4 ourselves!

The time for wearing purple is here. Joyous #Janufest! (You don’t have to be a copy editor, just nocturnal.) #in http://twitpic.com/3s8vnp

We had our third annual “Janufest” on Saturday night, and it was a blast. (No purple feather boas this year, sadly, but I was able to reuse a fun little necklace I had that said “Vamp.” So me, right?)

It almost made up for not getting Christmas off. Almost.

#Twitterholic

Sherry — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 23:23:03 +0000

So, I’ve been, er, unenthusiastic about Twitter in the past, but hey, it’s a new year. I’ve got to add to my social media toolkit.

Trouble is, it’s so easy, I could easily see myself going #overboard…

Presenting:

*splash*

Fake AP Stylebook says

Sherry — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:26:30 +0000

“The correct spelling of “vampire” is “Robert Pattinson” because he’s soooo dreamy.”

Gotta love these spoofs. Check more out at Fake AP Stylebook.

Kutcher wins Twitter war with CNN

Sherry — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:04:15 +0000

When I first heard about Ashton Kutcher’s and CNN’s race to get a million followers on Twitter, I was amused. I was amused until I read what Ashton Kutcher said:

“I found it astonishing that one person can actually have as big of a voice online as what an entire media company can on Twitter,” Kutcher says. “So I just thought that was just kind of an amazing comment on the state of our media, and I said that, if I beat CNN to 1 million viewers, then I would ding-dong ditch Ted Turner — because I don’t think it’s gonna happen.”

About social media overturning traditional media, he says:

“I think it’s a huge statement about social media for one person to actually have the ability to broadcast to as many people as a major media network,” he said in a YouTube video.

“I think it sort of signifies the turning of the tide from traditional news outlets to social media outlets, social news outlets,” Kutcher said.

“With our video cameras on our cellphones and our picture cams and our blogging and our Twittering and our posting and our Facebooking we actually become the source of the news and the broadcasters of the news and the consumers of the news.”

…and then he won:

“We can and will create our media,” he said.

Can you really? Can you really trust some blogger with no journalism background whatsoever to hold the U.S. government accountable?

I don’t think so. I think democracy is in trouble if wannabes are all we have left of the media.

That being said, I don’t think social media is a bad thing. I belong to almost every social networking site there is. I think it really enriches one’s experience and certainly helps with generating story ideas.

In my opinion, it supplements–not replaces–journalism.