“Hey mom did you sign up to get my tweets?”
“Your tweets, I thought you hated birds?”
“My tweets have nothing to do with birds, most of the time I am just talking about random stuff.”
“Then why don’t you just tell me?”
“Because mom, when I tweet I am talking to more than just you.”
The above is how a Twitter conservation would go with my mom. I have to admit I am not Twitter’s biggest aficionado, but after today I have a new respect for the social networking site.
Josh Hatch talks about social networking
Josh Hatch, the Multimedia Producer at USA Today, kicked off day six of AU bootcamp. Hatch talked about search engine optimization (SEO) and the wonders of social networking. The SEO information was actually really great. By using good key words in the headlines of articles, search engines are then able to find the articles easier. Of course if the articles are more easily found, then they will be read by more people. The SEO information will hopefully help us all get more attention to anything we post online, its all about understanding the way search engines filter information and making our headlines as friendly as possible to search engines.
Hatch gave our group two strategies for making our headlines search-engine-friendly:
1. Use language search engines will respond to
2. Build a navigation display into the website that will display in search engine results
My favorite part of the day was learning about new social networking programs. I am of the Facebook generation, so I thought social networking would be a piece of cake. Not so. Although I have had a profile on Facebook for over five years I have not even begun to scratch the surface as to what is available with social networks. Since starting graduate school at AU just one week ago I have created user accounts with wordpress, twitter, flickr, youtube and delicious.
Before today I thought Twitter was either for famous people or people who are socially awkward and don’t have any real friends. After today I appreciate the fact that Twitter is a platform for sharing small amounts of information with a potentially large group of people. For a reporter, Twitter can be a great source for finding leads to a story. Professor Olmsted did caution us about not using the information on Twitter as fact. Anyone can have a Twitter account and people are free to write whatever they want. In that regard, Twitter may not always have accurate information. None the less Twitter is a wonderful resource to see what people are talking about.
We also created Flickr and Delicious accounts today. Flickr is for sharing pictures and Delicious is for sharing bookmarks. I don’t know that I will be using Flickr or Delicious in the near future but I have the accounts none the less.
Our next speaker of the day was AU alum Rachel Wulff. Wulff is the weekend anchor and I-Team Reporter at WDSU-TV in New Orleans. Unfortunately, I thought class was dismissed until 1:30 before Rachel even got to the classroom so I missed her talk. I would have really liked to hear what she had to say being that I am interested in broadcast.
Laura Pohl gives tips on taking good pictures
This afternoon we heard from photojournalist Laura Pohl. Laura is another AU alum who has worked as a free lance photojournalist and now does multimedia work for a non-for-profit group. Laura’s enthusiam for her craft was noticeable. She clearing is passionate about what she does and also talented. I am not interested in photojournalism at all, but I did find her introduction to PhotoShop to be helpful. Laura also provided our group with a list of key items to remember when taking pictures. The list will be helpful whether a person is interested in photojournalism or not.
AU Bootcampers listening to Laura Pohl's presentation
Looking forward to Day seven of AU Bootcamp…
There’s a lot to like in your blog, but do make sure you maintain journalistic standards. For example, your lead to today’s post:
“Hey mom did you sign up to get my tweets?”
“Your tweets, I thought you hated birds?”
“My tweets have nothing to do with birds, most of the time I am just talking about random stuff.”
“Then why don’t you just tell me?”
“Because mom, when I tweet I am talking to more than just you.”
The above is how a Twitter conservation would good with my mom.
Rule #1: Don’t make stuff up.
Rule #2: Spell “go” correctly.
That said, you do a nice job of providing information and your own thoughts about what you’ve learned. It’s interesting and enjoyable to read. Likewise, you intersperse photos in a natural and pleasant way. Onward!
By: Joshua Hatch on August 4, 2009
at 2:50 am
Spelling has never been my strongest skill. I am a member of the spell check generation! I will work to edit my posts better.
I agree about making things up. Just trying to find an interesting/different way to start my post.
Thank you for taking the time to make the comments. I appreciate your feedback.
By: justinlgibbs on August 4, 2009
at 6:41 pm