Summary of our Social Media experience

 

Working for our social media blog was indeed a great fun as well as a valuable experience. From the very beginning the process from research to presentation all aspects of social media blog was very interesting. It was a great example of mutual coordination and cooperation among the group members. It also provided us with an opportunity to share our views and experiences not only among the group members but the response and comments received on our posts. The real feedback on our blog from our friends, colleagues and fellow students is indeed a great learning on our part. Collective presentation of our research was also really of great worth.  Overall it was a wonderful experience which should help us in our professional journalistic life.

Iqbal Yousafzai

 

Social media

 

In the traditional world the news organizations had to give out information, and people would consume it. But simply making information available is not enough for today’s public. Today’s audiences expect to be able to choose what they read, and most believe they should be able to contribute content and opinions, too. This shift is generally called the social media.

Basically social media use internet-and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. It has not only benefited journalists but has also helped give individuals a way to speak up to the world.

More and more people prefer reading newspapers online due to the online version being global, free and around forever. If most of the consumers are on line, it is better to reach them online. Traditional media is slowly becoming history. Journalists are now making a good use of social media to engage their audience.

Iqbal Yousafzai

Twitter talk reflections and explanations

As part of our presentation, we had a twitter talk with some very helpful journalists and PR professionals: Rory Cellan-Jones, Adam Westbrook, Katy Creates and Jonathan Morris.

Now, as you will see from the twitter conversation itself, their pearls of wisdom gave us a lot to think about. I also think the exercise demonstrated brilliantly the power of social media for making connections on journalism.

Prior to the morning of the presentation, our group had been trying to organise a bunch of people to converse via Twitter at a set time. Becs had success with Katy, who agreed to join us. But the people I had in mind to involve were proving much harder to pin down. So, what did we do? We twitter monitored!

By watching the live twitter feed, we are able to see which of the people we were following were online at the same time we were. Now, perhaps this was a double stroke of luck (I’m happy at this point in time to attribute it to the power of social media), but monitoring through the morning saw a variety of journalists were online – and in my personal opinion (and rather jammily (I don’t think that’s a word, but I’m going to go with it)), some of the best people to talk about social media.

After a quick @mention, Rory, Adam, Jonathan and Katy were kind enough to respond and agree to join in our conversation.

Now, I really didn’t expect this to happen. I thought I’d give it a go and get no response. ut no, social media strikes again and allowed us to get in contact with people I’m unlikely to ever meet face to face.

Do you think I would have got the same response if I’d emailed them? Or given them a call (if somehow I was able to find their numbers…)? I don’t think I would have.

Social Media is breaking down all sorts of boundaries and opening up the world of communication to all who are willing to use it. Imagine the contacts database you could try to build? It would take some work and willingness, but what a tool.

Social media and romance

Social media is the other name of building relationship and develop conversation among individuals and groups.  

The generational trend gap is evident when it comes to seeking out romantic connections. The younger generations favour social networking sites like Face book and MySpace, with older singles more commonly opting for tailored dating websites. Older singles are also far more likely to subscribe to dating websites, whereas younger generations favour free sites. 
Social Network Sites like Face book are popular with younger folks. 

Privacy settings and private messaging enable amorous couples to go about their courtship as publicly or furtively as they like, with the arguable advantage of there being no set protocol or expectation. However, these sites are designed for social networking rather than dating. 
Older singles often become frustrated with the lack of focus created by social networking websites. These may well be the online domain of teenage loves, crushes, broken hearts and reputations, but to a single looking for a meaningful connection with a likeminded person, the pools of the likes of Face book can seem troublesome and daunting. Teens on the other hand often thrive on this element of online drama and varied interaction. 

Iqbal Yousafzai

Information and social media

Accessibility to internet has brought about radical changes in terms of information and communication. Due to these changes now it is so easy to get online.

Social networking sites like Twitter, Face Book, LinkedIn, foursquare, MySpace etc   bring more and more people online, especially the youngsters.  Twitter in particular is used by journalists as an outlet to release breaking news because it is not only instant but can also effectively reach to a huge number of audiences.

The development of mobile phones having access to internet has also contributed a lot to have up-to-date information, news or progress of events worldwide.

Social media in general is a positive development, especially for freelance journalists as it gives a huge range of possibilities in terms of getting work! It is very tough to step into this industry and when the only media outlets that existed were print publications, there were limited opportunities for young journalists. However, the emergence of online media has created more prospects for writers and journalists both.

Besides many advantages of social media its ethical aspect especially in context of journalism is very important.

The dangerous thing about it is somewhat lack of control. As there could be anyone create a website or a blog etc so there are a number of ethical issues that are raised, especially since the technological advances move at such a fast pace. Defamation is a huge ethical issue in online journalism. As anybody can write their opinions online and people have so much freedom to express, comment or respond instantly on the internet so it is easy to commit libel. For example, writing a defamatory statement about any individual or organization could be considered libel. However, the problem with the online journalism is where to draw a line?

Despite many advantages of social media in terms of the ability to reach out to a mass audience, the immense freedom people have online can also cause more damage than intended.

Iqbal Yousafzai

Social media and journalism content

Sasa Petricic, CBC videojournalist

Sasa Petricic, CBC videojournalist, on social media

Social Media and a glimpse of history

 

“Social media for journalists is like dreams coming true”

Social media for journalists could be like sweet candies and/or dreams coming true… But what we see or read is not necessary facts.

We talk about less privacy and more opinion and speculation. Daisy Griffith, social media strategy and digital content for BBC and others, goes through different ethic aspects that journalists should bear in mind.

The use of social media in our life

Social media has produced a whole new era of media. It means sharing a part of one’s life while soaking in and engaging in parts of other people’s lives. It is the way we stay connected to family and friends as well as meet new peoples. Social media build relationships as we would in real life: share, be considerate, connect people, answer questions, and show some personality.   The collaborative use of a community-driven medium to engage with others in transparent, genuine and honest conversation, being transparent, interesting, informative and listening and responding to what others have to say.

Social media reach audiences that might be inaccessible in real life, whether because of age or socio-economic status or geographical location. Imagine being able to connect around the world with a touch of the mouse, getting almost instantaneous feedback reaching millions of people, creating meaningful and authentic relationships and conversations.

Although social media has affected print media to a great extent, but does that indicate that doom is coming to all other traditional media outlets?

Social media expert does not believe traditional media will go away but sees social and traditional media will work together in the future traditional media is failing because it is not reaching the same audience that it used to reach. Instead, social media is reaching that mass audience.

It is true to conclude that social networks are a boon to some, an annoyance to others.

Ethics and editorial guidelines (II)

 

 

Daisy Griffith, social media strategy and digital content for BBC and others, talking about new ethical guidelines for journalists.