A Publish2 network
Social networks aren't optional
This is the third part of my "First Year in Journalism" series of thoughts. This is the second part of my "First Year in Journalism" series of thoughts. Also see: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.
I just blew up a few paragraphs and started this post over. This isn't a difficult idea and I've already been chirping about it constantly: Be where your audience is. If people in town are known to say things while they're at the Chinese restaurant, then learn to use chopsticks. If they're more apt to Tweet with loose lips, then you'd best find yourself a Twitter profile.
Jason Molinet has been doing a phenomenal job on this network of playing devil's advocate to my assertion — so phenomenal in fact that I'd like to use one of his arguments to cement my point.
In a recent discussion on "the Internet revolution" (his words) and social networks, he had this to say:
To that I have these things to say:
• Newspapers need to "chase" social networks for the exact reason I listed above;
• Relationships over the Web are much more "meaningful" than in print, where the public rarely has a chance to interact in a back-and-forth discussion with their news source (letters to the editor — a faceless entity as far as most of the public is concerned — do not count);
• Most of all: It's not all about advertising, but advertising certainly plays a bigger role than it used to. You can't just produce something and drop it on someone's doorstep the way you can with print. You have to figure out where each reader's "doorstep" is (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) — that means advertising.
I'm all for it, though, due in large part to my second bullet point.
I just blew up a few paragraphs and started this post over. This isn't a difficult idea and I've already been chirping about it constantly: Be where your audience is. If people in town are known to say things while they're at the Chinese restaurant, then learn to use chopsticks. If they're more apt to Tweet with loose lips, then you'd best find yourself a Twitter profile.
Jason Molinet has been doing a phenomenal job on this network of playing devil's advocate to my assertion — so phenomenal in fact that I'd like to use one of his arguments to cement my point.
In a recent discussion on "the Internet revolution" (his words) and social networks, he had this to say:
Why do newspapers need to chase these? It's a case of the tail wagging the dog. Media web managers are so hungry for web traffic that finding a way to tap into these social networks isn't about developing meaningful connections so much as funneling off visitors. It's all about advertising -- not publishing.
To that I have these things to say:
• Newspapers need to "chase" social networks for the exact reason I listed above;
• Relationships over the Web are much more "meaningful" than in print, where the public rarely has a chance to interact in a back-and-forth discussion with their news source (letters to the editor — a faceless entity as far as most of the public is concerned — do not count);
• Most of all: It's not all about advertising, but advertising certainly plays a bigger role than it used to. You can't just produce something and drop it on someone's doorstep the way you can with print. You have to figure out where each reader's "doorstep" is (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) — that means advertising.
I'm all for it, though, due in large part to my second bullet point.
Tags: social networks, web 2.0
Add a Comment
-
Comment by Jason Molinet on January 8, 2009 at 10:16am
- Being a New York sportswriter for most of my life, I can attest to the burnout that creeps in. No set schedule. Constantly chasing news. Noon deadlines and midnight deadlines. Weekends. Six- and seven-day work weeks during busy months. This business already demanded your attention 24-7. Now editors and publishers are asking reporters to do even more. I'm not sure time management is the answer for all this either. I'm sure it's not that way everywhere, but that's my experience...
-
Comment by Paul Balcerak on January 8, 2009 at 12:05am -
There's certainly some truth to what you're saying, but I disagree that "it's judgement day" [sic] and "the sky is falling" — rather, I think Judgment Day has already passed and the sky has already fallen.
And while it's not entirely economically feasible for everyone, there's plenty of technology available to allow answering a phone, Twittering, blogging and good old-fashioned story writing from anywhere in the world (i.e. iPhone). It's just a matter of adapting to a new time management system.
-
-
Paul, I hear you. I'm a big fan of social networks. I've even developed Facebook apps and used Twitter to deliver news. The Internet has made the ability to communicate over multiple platforms an exciting time for grass roots journalism.
But for big media companies, this is not good. It's judgement day.
In case no one has noticed the sky is falling! Classifieds are gone and the current economic climate has forced everyone to reevaluate how they spend ad dollars. Seriously bad news for newspapers -- headline in 80-point helvetica bold. The free flow of information on the web has served one purpose in the case of newspapers -- to steal a product that costs money and manpower to create.
How do you right this imbalance? My suggestion is to turn the clock back to 1995 and start charging for access.
Media organizations need to own their content and develop their own audience -- independent of the Facebooks of the world. And lock down their content.
By the way, in my opinion, another problem with chasing these social networks? It puts more and more burden on reporters to update blogs, Twitter, etc. It takes time away from going out and reporting a story or working the phones. Oh, and don't forget to post a web-only story ASAP and then edit video you shot while writing the story for the daily paper. Even Matt Drudge would choke on all that...
About
Find out more
Badge
© 2009 Created by Ryan Sholin on Ning. Create Your Own Social Network
You need to be a member of Wired Journalists to add comments!
Join this social network