Leading Your Staffinto the Twitterverse

Steve ButtryInformation Content Conductor

Gazette CommunicationsASNE, April 7, 2009

steve.buttry@gazcomm.com

Thanks, @chhall

Why spend time with Twitter?

1. It improves your journalism2. It connects you with the community3. It changes your newsroom culture4. You can use it quickly5. It shows staff that you are learning and

changing, too

How Twitter helps journalists

1. Quickly locate eyewitnesses & participants in breaking news

2. Connect with sources, journalists3. Monitor community discussion4. Promote content5. 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 with cell phone4. Follow some people5. Start Twittering

Twitter lingo

1. Tweet, an update (noun or verb)2. 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

Twitter basics

1. 140-character limit for tweets2. Attribute (“retweet”) with “RT

@name”3. Direct-message (DM) for private

communication4. Compress links: tinyurl, is.gd. bit.ly 5. #hashtags for topics groups discuss

Your first week on Twitter

1. Tweet about 10 times/day2. Follow about 10 more people/day3. Twittercast an event4. Reply to some tweets (“@name” or

click arrow)5. Direct-message some tweeps

What should I tweet about?

1. Link to a new blog post2. Link to your staff’s best work today3. Retweet (with a comment) a link from

a colleague4. Reply to someone from your

community5. Tweet something insightful or funny

Editors* to follow

1. @johnrobinson (Greensboro News & Record)

2. @chriscobler (Victoria Advocate)3. @kirklapointe (Vancouver Sun)4. @jacklail (Knoxville News Sentinel)5. @stevebuttry (Gazette Communications)* Actually, 4 editors and a conductor

Journalism academics to follow

1. @jayrosen_nyu 2. @jeffjarvis3. @macloo (Mindy McAdams)4. @sreenet (Sree Sreenivasan)5. @wmacphail (Wayne MacPhail)

Journalism bloggers to follow

1. @ryansholin2. @paulbradshaw3. @michelemclellan4. @nextnewsroom (Chris O’Brien)5. @agahran

Reporters to follow

1. @rsylvester (Ron Sylvester, Wichita Eagle)2. @DM_in_the_PM (Daniel P. Finney, Des

Moines Register)3. @bydanielvictor (Harrisburg Patriot-

News)4. @gazettemojo (Jeff Raasch,

GazetteOnline)5. @mollyr (Molly Rossiter, Gazette)

Follow some locals

Search in Twellow or search windowFive I follow from Cedar Rapids, IA1. @hidama (student and twaddict)2. @jenneumann (marketer)3. @jbonewald (Presbyterian minister)4. @Robin_Tucker (real estate agent)5. @christianfong (young business leader)

Ways for journalists to use Twitter

1. Follow people on the beat (put their feeds on beatblog)

2. Crowdsource (“Does anyone know anything about …?”)

3. Story ideas (ask, monitor chat)4. Connect with eyewitnesses5. Drive traffic to blog posts, stories

Examples from Iowa Friday

1. Click trends2. Search hashtag #iagaymarriage3. @tdorman from Supreme Court, press

conference4. @DM_in_the_PM from rally5. @dianeheldt from court

Twitter examples of breaking news

1. Binghamton shooting (Breaking Tweets)2. Airplane incidents (Hudson, Denver,

DFW) 3. Fargo flooding4. OK tornadoes5. California earthquake

Twitter twists

1. Tweetbeep & Tweetscan2. Facebook app3. Publish24. TweetDeck (& other apps)5. Twtpoll

Ethical considerations

1. How do you identify yourself?2. Separate personal and professional

Twitter feeds?3. How do you verify?4. What language is acceptable (WTF)?5. What, if any, opinions are OK?

Now for some advice from your peers

ASNE Twittering panel:Tweeting live: @Cyndi_Brown,

@amestribeditor (Alexandra Hayne), @kirklapointe, @jeremymcbain, @newsdame (Marci Caltabiano-Ponce), @tcallinan (Tom Callinan)

Tweeting earlier in the day: @GerryKern, @johnrobinson, @chriscobler

Now for some advice from your peers

1. My Twitter stream2. Search for hashtag #ASNE3. Search for terms4. CoverItLive5. Individual editors’ Twitter streams

Wrapping up

• These slides at slideshare.net/stevebuttry

• Follow me on Twitter: @stevebuttry• A handout for this webinar, links to

Twitter help, links to journalists on Twitter, advice from Andria Krewson of Charlotte Observer on my blog: stevebuttry.wordpress.com

Blatant plugs

• I can bring API’s Upholding and Updating Ethical Standards seminar to your newsroom, press association or a university

• Handout on “Journalism Ethics in Social Networks” on my blog

• Liveblogging webinar for ASNE April 21

Some 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?”