By Matthew Boyle | mboyle@flagler.edu
At the Society of Professional Journalists Region Three Spring 2010 Conference last weekend, speakers and panelists drilled Twitter even further into our skulls.
Not that emphasizing Twitter’s importance is a bad thing, but, I don’t think I’ve ever heard more about 140 character mini-messages in my life. Either way, it got me tweeting.
Over the past three days, I’ve tweeted 11 times. Since I opened my Twitter account more than a year ago until the March 19, I tweeted only 39 times. Expect more on-the-go tweets and regular updates from me.
Another thing the conference rejuvenated for me was my Facebook usage. I was going through a rough relationship with Facebook, a separation that brought me close to closing my account.
The SPJ Region 3 conference got me back on Facebook interacting with readers and friends, for better or worse.
Etan Horowitz, a digital media producer for CNN International, taught me and other conference attendees how to use Twitter, Facebook and other social media as a reporting tool instead of just a content promotion tool.
Horowitz showed us how to find Tweeters down to a U.S. postal code or a international city, a way to find previously impossible-to-locate sources and means to generate citizen journalism content.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Older new media poses problems for industry
By Matthew Boyle | mboyle@flagler.edu
Are e-mails still relevant and effective forms of new mass communication? I don’t know the answer to that question but one thing that does surprise me is that people still push e-mail newsletters and e-mail marketing.
I’m shocked that such an emphasis is placed on an archaic new media form. In the day and age of Twitter, Facebook and endless social media and Web 2.0 platforms as well as iPhones, iPod Touches, Kindles, Blackberries and other smartphones, why focus on the new media of old.
Imagine an activist group pushing a Myspace page. It’s outdated. Or, if a professional videographer still uses those antiquated big tapes or if a photographer still uses film for non-aesthetic reasons.
The technology has evolved and, as a society, we’ve adapted to it and developed different uses for it. We still use Myspace, however infrequently. It has become a place for bands and musicians to promote their songs and albums. We still use cameras, but have better digital technology to help us out.
In terms of e-mail marketing and e-mail newsletters, I think the Web 2.0 business needs reform. New media experts out there need to focus and specialize e-mail’s usage so as not to overload readers and subscribers but to hone in on just the right balance of content in their inboxes.
Are e-mails still relevant and effective forms of new mass communication? I don’t know the answer to that question but one thing that does surprise me is that people still push e-mail newsletters and e-mail marketing.
I’m shocked that such an emphasis is placed on an archaic new media form. In the day and age of Twitter, Facebook and endless social media and Web 2.0 platforms as well as iPhones, iPod Touches, Kindles, Blackberries and other smartphones, why focus on the new media of old.
Imagine an activist group pushing a Myspace page. It’s outdated. Or, if a professional videographer still uses those antiquated big tapes or if a photographer still uses film for non-aesthetic reasons.
The technology has evolved and, as a society, we’ve adapted to it and developed different uses for it. We still use Myspace, however infrequently. It has become a place for bands and musicians to promote their songs and albums. We still use cameras, but have better digital technology to help us out.
In terms of e-mail marketing and e-mail newsletters, I think the Web 2.0 business needs reform. New media experts out there need to focus and specialize e-mail’s usage so as not to overload readers and subscribers but to hone in on just the right balance of content in their inboxes.
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