twitter for journalists, ottawa
DESCRIPTION
These are my slides for three presentations on Twitter for groups of journalists this week in Ottawa. For a handout on my Twitter tips for journalists: http://bit.ly/nNhzoTRANSCRIPT
Twitter for Journalists
@stevebuttryGazette CommunicationsCanwest News Service
Jan. 20, 2010#twjtips
Resources to help journo tweeps
• “Twitter tips for journalists” on my blog: stevebuttry.wordpress.com
• “Breaking news” and “Twitter”categories on my blog
• These slides (and other Twitter slideshows) at slideshare.net/stevebuttry
• #twjtips
How do you use Twitter?(and let’s ask my tweeps)
How @snolen uses Twitter. via @mathewi
• “Best reporting tool I’ve ever come across.”• Needed photojournalist in specific region of
India; Globe & Mail photo desk tried for a week w/ no luck; she posted on Twitter (@mathewi & others retweeted) & had photog in two hours
• Found a key source for story on Tamil Tigers
How Twitter helps journalists
• Quickly locate eyewitnesses & participants in breaking news
• Connect with sources, journalists• Monitor community discussion, get
story ideas• Promote content• Write tight (no lead longer than a
tweet)
How do I get started?1. Open account2. Be sure to fill in bio, location, picture3. Decide how to use phone4. Follow some people5. Start Twittering
Twitter terminology1. Tweet, an update (noun or verb), up to
140 characters2. Tweeps, your followers3. Retweet, to pass on a link or thought
(can be quote, paraphrase, starting point)
4. Tweetup, a physical gathering of tweeps
5. Fail whale, over-capacity graphic
What should I tweet about?
• Link to a new blog post, story, video, photo
• Retweet (with a comment) a link from a colleague
• Reply to someone from your community
• Tweet an unfolding story• Tweet something insightful or funny
Linking with Twitter
• Use compressed links: bit.ly, tinyurl.com, is.gd, tr.im, etc.
• Write a headline or a comment; give tweeps a reason to click
• Credit
People to follow
• Look for sources (find people)• Ask sources• Journalists in other communities• When someone follows you, check out to
see whether you should follow back• When you follow someone, check whom
they follow• Tweeps mentioned in interesting tweets
David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen
“We had a two-month transit strike a year ago, and Twitter was useful for getting a feel for how traffic was moving in the early days, and then how things were going during the staged return to work.”Useful for “epic lineups for H1N1 vaccines. … These tweeps were a real force multiplier that gave us clues where to send our reporters to find the most important goings-on, and what questions to ask the Powers That Be.”
David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen
“Word that a piano that was in a public space at a downtown grocery store had been taken away and replaced with shelves of potted plants for sale. People loved that piano and there’s been a minor firestorm since it was removed. It’s a real slice-of-downtown-life kind of a story, and something I wouldn’t have known about without one angry person’s tweet.”
Quakes show Twitter’s value• Indonesia• Twitter HQ• Lists• Location search• Term or hashtag search
Examples from one day in Iowa
• Click trends• Search hashtag #iagaymarriage• @tdorman from Supreme Court, press
conference• @DM_in_the_PM from rally• @dianeheldt from court
Twitter’s value in breaking newsnot happening in Iran, Haiti
• Emergency landing• DC Metro crash• @jkrums on Hudson emergency landing• @2drinksbehind on Denver plane crash• Fargo flooding
Twitter twists
• Tweetbeep & Tweetscan• Interface w/other social media• Publish2• TweetDeck, Tweetie, etc.• Twitpic• Lists, favorites, retweets
Ways to use Twitter
• Follow people on the beat (put their feeds on beatblog)
• Crowdsource (“Does anyone know anything about …?”)
• Story ideas (ask, monitor chat)• Connect with eyewitnesses• Drive traffic to blog posts, stories
Ethical considerations
• How do you identify yourself?• Separate personal and professional
Twitter feeds?• How do you verify?• What language is acceptable (WTF)?• What, if any, opinions are OK?
Let’s check advice from the tweeps
Wrapping up
• These slides at slideshare.net/stevebuttry
• Follow me on Twitter: @stevebuttry• Twitter tips, links to journalists & helpful
resources on Twitter on my blog: stevebuttry.wordpress.com
Final advice
From @mathewi (Globe and Mail):Don’t answer, “What are you doing?” Answer, “What am I thinking?”
And from @stevebuttry:“What do I want to know?”