Social media sites have become much like the newspaper boys of the 20th century, who let people know why they should be reading the paper every day.
These social networking sites, like Twitter and Facebook, each have unique purposes to a publication and should be used as promotional tools, said a social media expert today.
Robin J. Phillips, digital director of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Business Journalism, talked about the uniqueness of each site and the value each has to news organizations.
Here is how she broke the two down in her presentation:
Community
Twitter -"People you don't know but who have common interests."
Facebook - "People you know or who know someone you know."
From this end I think both sites have value to a high school publication. Twitter can be used to get your stories to a wider audience outside your community by searching by topic. If you do a story about texting and driving, and come use a #textinganddriving, any one looking for that issue could be directed to your story.
Facebook could also be a way to broaden your audience. Friends of students at your school who like your newspaper Facebook page could be temped to go to your site from a suggestion. In theory this could grow the traffic on your site exponentially.
Phillips also addressed each sites Advantages
Twitter: "Real-time search engine; platform for listening, promoting work; crowdsourcing."
Facebook: "Excellent source for finding sources; listening, sharing work, crowdsourcing."
Both of these sites give students more venues to take. They make searching for specific people, searching for trends and promoting easier.
The real difference I see is that Twitter might be a better avenue to get your work out to people, while Facebook could drive the people to go to your site. They both have their advantages, but high school newspapers need to embrace both to not only grow their programs and reach, but also to give students the skills that news organizations are using now.
Chad Renning
Sandra Day O'Connor High School
Phoenix
Love your comparison of social media to the old time newspaper boy...very unique observation. Extra! Extra!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, fantastic photo Chad. I love the perspective. Second, genius comparison of the newspaper boy to a Twitter feed. Perfect analogy to illustrate to journalism teachers the need for using such sites. Don't we all want to increase readership? I loved how Phillips explained that through these sites, people are looking for a relationship. That boy on the street is a person making a connection with another human being. For too long, we have relied on some sort of advertising to do that work for us. Social media has enabled us to form personal connections with many people with little time and effort. It goes back to storytelling, though. Our posts have to tell the story of who we are, or they are feeds or posts worth ignoring.
ReplyDeleteRhonda Dickens
Chisholm Trail High School
Fort Worth, Texas
Chad! Thanks for the great suggestions for practical application. I want to incorporate more social media, and now I think I know how!
ReplyDelete