How is a journalist like a blacksmith?

This weekend I had a long conversation with my dad, during which he told me that unfortunately I picked the wrong career. Journalism is dying. He’d been reading a couple business blogs lately that mentioned the changing face of journalism and the dire situation we are facing.

He told me, “Kate, I see journalism like the blacksmith profession. Sure there are still horse in need of shoes, but they are few and far between.” To him journalists are a diminishing breed, set to be nearly distinct except in some choice parts of the country.

I’ve given this analogy a lot of thought over the last three days and I’ve reached two conclusions. He’s right and he’s dead wrong. (At this point he’ll grin and shake his head at me.)

He’s right: Old-school journalists, the ones who pounded the pavement and worked for weeks to get a big juicy story, are shrinking in numbers. Thanks to the internet, the immediacy of news, free sites, blogs and citizen journalism there isn’t a large demand for strong, in-depth, well-written analysis pieces. These old-school journalists are the blacksmiths of today – few and far between.

He’s dead wrong: New media is unchartered territory. It’s the wild-west of today. And when the Wild West was first being tamed blacksmiths were in high demand, after all those cowboys needed their horses. New journalists, the ones who can adjust to the changing media models and write fast solid copy, are in high demand. Yes, citizen journalism and the idea that anybody and everybody has writing talent is polluting the waters. But those of us traditionally trained bring a concept of ethics, an appreciation for well-written copy and our love for the written world to the world of new media.

So, to his suggestion I become a nurse… I’m thinking more along the lines of pursuing new media more doggedly. Darwin had one solid idea… survival of the fittest is based on those that are best able to adapt to their surroundings. I’m adapting. Journalism is evolving. Blacksmith or not… I’m in it for the long haul because even after 10 years of seeing clips published I still love seeing my name in the byline slot. And for some reason I can write.

If I Taught Twitter 101

In the last couple days several universities have said they will begin offering a Twitter class for communication students. (Like at DePaul.)Is this a 3 credit course?

That got me thinking… what have I learned from Twitter that I would teach in a class of eager-to-learn students?

• Sign-up. If you are dragging your feet, stop it.
• Post a pic.
• Customize your background. Don’t know how? Google it.
• Include your website/blog/LinkedIn profile on the Web portion of your profile.
• Make your bio short and witty.
• Include your e-mail in the bio.
  
• Consider your name a brand – market it.
• Don’t waste your first tweets on the mundane ‘I don’t know what to say’ tweets.
• Tweet useful/interesting things.
• If you want your followers to grow tweet key words.
• It’s not all about the number of followers you have, but rather their quality.
• Be selective in who you follow, more is not always better. Follow those who you can learn from, who you find interesting.
• Begin building relationships through replies.
• Use hash tags to make it easier for others to find your tweets on a particular topic.
• Join the various #chat groups. And participate.
• Tweet interesting articles by offering a link.
• Shorten links using Bit.ly or tinyurl.
• Add your twitter name to your automatic e-mail signature, your LinkedIn profile too.
• Glance at trending topics from time to time to know what the day’s topics of interest are, this could help you catch breaking stories.
• Keep at it.

Harnessing the LinkedIn Potential

This week I've spent a couple hours researching, thinking and talking to others about how to take better advantage of LinkedIn. Sure, I am on the site - have been for years. Yes, I keep my profile current. Still, I've not seen significant results from the site; while from other social media outlets, like Twitter and Facebook, I can see direct results. So, thus launched my week of discovery in how to harness the power of the networking site.

So far, here's what I've learned:

1. Make sure your profile is complete. As painful as it may be to post that pic, or fill in the details on the job you had five years ago it's key to success on the site.
   
2. Join groups. Find things you like, areas you are interested in, knowledge you have and join the appropriate group.
   
3. Become an active group participant. Most groups have an 'introduce yourself' thread in the discussion area. Utilize that.
   
4. Throw your work around. You can't be afraid to leave relevant links to your work, blog, publication, in the groups and on your page.
   
5. Update your status frequently. No need to update as often as you send out a tweet, but it doesn't hurt to post short, pointed status updates daily.
   
6. Find your contacts. LinkedIn only works if you've got a big network. Grow yours by looking up the various sources, editors and writers you've been in contact with during the week.
   
7. Utilize the tools LinkedIn provides. @KristaCanfield sent me this link via Twitter on Monday. It's all about the success stories from utilizing the site. Read a couple, take away a point or two. Or try skimming the LinkedIn blog.
   
8. Use keywords. This is especially important in your status updates. Pick words that someone may search when looking for an expert like you.
   
9. Get recommendations. While it is a simple sentence or two from a former client or editor, these help build transparency and build up your reputation.
   

A Journalism Power Shift is Underway

Those of us who are freelancers and social media addicts know the one thing imperative to getting into and surviving in this business is building a personal brand. Is it going to happen overnight? No, of course not. Will you spend months working on it and still have little to show for it, quiet possibly. But like every idea it needs to start somewhere.

According to the State of the Media Report for 2009, which is put out by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, there is a power shift going on. The power is moving from institutions to individuals. The report states: “Through search, email, blogs, social media and more, consumers are gravitating to the work of individual writers and voices, and away somewhat from institutional brand. Journalists who have left legacy news organizations are attracting funding to create their own websites... It would be a mistake to overstate the movement at this point. But for a few journalists at least, there are signs of a new prospect: individual journalists, funded by a mix of sources, offering expert coverage to many places.”

With this in mind, we all need to spend a little time daily thinking about how we can grow our personal brand. What little thing can we do daily or what larger things can we try weekly? For each person it will be a different answer but no less important. What are you going to do?

I'm personally going to work on more frequent blog updates as well as more interaction with my fellow freelancers in the blogging community.

So You Want to Start a Blog?

I’ve had a couple friends and professional acquaintances in the last week ask me about starting a blog. They wanted tips and tricks of the trade. I’m no blogging pro - I’ve started half a dozen blogs over the past five years and ditched most of them because they were silly, pointless, or boring. But I do keep this professional blog and a fashion blog over on tumblr.

So here’s what I’d say:

Pick a topic. I think some of the best blogs are the ones that are focused. Trying to talk about too many things you are going to lose the interest of your readers or never grab readers in the first place.

Post regularly. You don’t necessarily have to post daily, nor do you need to post each day of the work week, but your blog should never go dark for several days in a row. You want readers to stay interested, to keep coming back.

Encourage discussion. Allow comments on your blog, respond to the notes people leave you. Ask questions to your readers.

Read other blogs. To be a good blogger you need to be up on the topics being covered by others, especially those with a similar subject matter. And more than just read the blogs, comment on them, share thoughts, etc.. This will build audience and expand your knowledge.

Funk it up. Add pictures, links, colorful or bold words. It’s got to be more than just text.

Give your info. Give a short bio. Don’t forget to add ways they can contact you, your e-mail address, twitter name, linkedin address, etc...

What Journalism School Should Offer

I read an article today written by Mark Coughlan, a fellow freelance journalist based our of Dublin, Ireland, entitled ‘Giving Journalism Education a Kick in the Arse.’ And I have to say I laughed and then felt the need to give my own two sense. The gist of his post was that there are some things Journalism schools should keep when training the next generation, and there are somethings that need to be revised. As my earlier post would suggest, I concur.

What to add:

Intro to Web Writing. No journalism student should leave a four-year university and not know how to write for the web. And no, it is not the same as writing for a print publication, sorry.

Advanced Web Writing. Once the basics are learned in an advanced course should be at least offered, if not required, to help students understand how to pen timely stories for the web. News breaks and a site needs the story up that same day - again unlike the print side.

Intro to Social Media. This should walk the students through the biggest social media sites. They should learn how to use the sites both to cultivate sources as well as to build a recognizable ‘brand’ around his/her name. Also teach what not to do (like no drunken half-clothed party shots from the weekend), what to do (yes have your clips accessible on LinkedIn) and what’s optional (website - semi-optional, blog - a must.)

Basic Web Design. Students shouldn’t just graduate with the knowledge of how to lay a page out in InDesign. They need to be able to create pages, make their own website, and sorry but it’s got to look better than the sites from the 90s.

Integration 101. As a journalism major, there is something lacking from the education if you don’t know how to take and mildly edit a picture, film and edit video, etc... Even without any desire to go into TV or photography, more and more writers are being asked to cross over.

New Media Ethics. Now that the content sharing lines tend to blur thanks to blogs, home-made sites and social media, what’s ethical when it come to using pictures, video, art, etc... It’s not as black and white as print.

But I Don't Want to Social Media...

Today I read a rant by a recent journalism grad who thinks it is ludicrous for a potential employer to demand candidates know the ins and outs of social media sites. This writer then went on to bemoan her unemployed state and I thought - yeah, no duh!

It is almost irresponsible for a writer not to understand the importance of social media and its huge impact on the world. It is likewise ridiculous for those writers not to know how to utilize a select few social media outlets. Does that mean all recent grads need to join Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Plurk, Bebo, LinkedIn, FriendFeed, YouTube, etc? No. But a responsible modern journalist should actively belong to a few sites and know the general feel of the others.

I’m in the process of hiring a summer intern and one of the main qualifications I have is a working knowledge of both Facebook and Twitter. Since I control the web content for the teen site, Twitter and Facebook are used daily. If I have to take the time to explain every aspect of both these sites to an intern it is time spent away from our main goal - building the brand.

So it’s not ridiculous for employers to ask that an applicant know social media. And if you think it is you need to jump on the bandwagon fast.

Social Media's A Must

A couple months ago I had a friend and fellow writer tell me that she does not 'do' the social media thing. My first reaction was to nod and say "Yeah it's a big time waster." How many times have you logged on to one of the sites and the next time you looked at the clock it was hours later and you hadn't accomplished much of anything - more than a handful. Maybe she was smart not to 'do' social media

But then, the more I got to thinking about it the more I realized this friend is going to be left behind. In the shrinking world of writing, where a name and a reputation can propel a person forward or cast them aside, social media is the tool to build that name. I've landed nearly as many freelance gigs via social media as I have via pitches and job postings.

Social media, for a freelancer and a writer of any kind, is a must! It's your chance to voice your opinions, showcase your writing style and build a loyal following.

Sure, facebook and myspace can be addictive and a true time waster. And true, people tweet about what they had for their last meal more often than they tweet something profound. OK, Linkedin isn't the same as face-to-face networking. But the key is to figure out how to utilize these sites to your advantage.

Another freelancing friend of mine is a huge fan of Linkedin. She is on there daily updating her status, making new connections and adding clips. Through that medium she's landed gigs from a variety of companies. She's also got news angles and press releases she might not have seen otherwise that give her the ability to pitch mags with new information. Every week when I get my Linkedin updates her name is always on the e-mail with a huge list of things she has done on the site that week. For her Linkedin is the key and she's working that angle.

I've had luck connecting through Twitter. I've interviewed two people for the hip hop publication that I edit for via links on Twitter. I've also landed a couple writing assignments after followers have enjoyed what I tweeted about. Am I tweeting profound words of wisdom in every update. Hell no. But I am mixing in a bit of real life, with a bit of my writing and a dash of humor. It's working for me.

So get out there, get social media accounts. 'Do' that thing!