What exactly is a social media editor/manager?
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Recently, many news organizations and businesses have added social media editors and community managers to their staff. But what exactly are these new positions and what are they responsible for? Below, community managers and social media editors share insight on their positions and responsibilities.
For a little over a year, I have been able to add "Social Media Coordinator" to my job title, though I have been using the medium for years. This means I handle manually tweeting for my newspaper — manual being absolutely key — setting up Twitter accounts for reporters who wish to tweet and teaching those that are reluctant to jump, handling all things Facebook, and coordinating all of the blogging that we do both internally and externally.
As social media becomes even more essential than it was a mere year ago, my job has seeped into our advertising department as we experiment with ways to harness tools like Twitter and make money. This involves occasionally going on sales calls with ad reps and explaining the benefits of social media for businesses, so I've had to learn that aspect of social media, in addition to using it to benefit our newsroom and website.
There are any number of smaller jobs associated with social media that creep up on a daily basis — putting together a tweets page to pull in live updates from sporting events or breaking stories, grabbing a Droid myself and heading out to grab live video of a car engulfed in flames, co-hosting chat shows using CoverItLive software to engage with our readers — all of which means I have to have a variety of skills, from video/audio editing to web design/coding skills. Whatever comes up, I also find I constantly have to stay on top of the latest news, tools and applications for social media. But it's fun, I love it and it's worth it.
The American-Statesman created this position in the summer of 2009 so I could focus on our social media efforts, which are constantly expanding. I'm the main voice behind the @statesman Twitter account and the Statesman Facebook fan page, and I am the chief strategist for our newsroom's use of new social media tools. I work with our staff members to more effectively engage our community, I write a weekly in-house newsletter on best practices and give brown bag-style seminars on new and effective techniques. I also spend a fair amount of time reading up on the latest on the intersection of journalism and social media so we can continue to innovate. I'm also the editor of Hookem.com, our college football fan site, which is an aggregator that is heavy on social media.
I've been a journalist since 1994, and I've been with the Statesman since May 1998. I have held many positions throughout my career, from sportswriter to copy editor to page designer. I moved to the online side in January 2007 as the Internet editor, a new position in our newsroom with responsibilities of working with the newsroom to get breaking news onto the Web quickly and to help our early social media efforts. I've been tweeting as the @statesman since June 2008.
My role was created in recognition of the growing importance of social networking and the huge part it played in people's lives. The appointment was part of the group's wider social media strategy and at the time was one of only a handful of media companies around the world to appoint a full-time social media editor.
My role as social media editor is to find new ways to reach and engage with readers and to help them interact with our content beyond Stuff.co.nz and other Fairfax Media websites. It's about humanizing the brand, allowing readers to feel like they are not just receiving the news, but also have the ability to respond to us, engage with us. Half of the job is about educating people about what social media is!
There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding it, with many thinking it's just a passing fad. My job is to show those people the benefits of social media: whether it's a journalist improving their personal brand through a Twitter profile, or a newspaper boss rejoicing after receiving a brilliant news tip left as comments on a Facebook page.
I personally think it's important for all businesses, not just news media, to have a presence so that they know what their customers are saying about them by opening a new channel of dialogue.
Having someone dedicated to social media also means having the ability to keep on top of new technologies as they present themselves. For example, 18 months ago no one would predict the massive force Twitter would become. Now the question is: what's next?
As the community manager, my primary responsibility is to maintain our Facebook and Twitter accounts. That means posting stories and video, sharing quick tips about things on campus (I tweeted last week that a group was giving out free pizza on the main quad - hugely popular tweet!), helping reporters find sources, responding to questions and complaints, etc. It also involves picking up on breaking news we might cover and just keeping an eye on what folks in the community are talking about.
Beyond the daily stuff, the other editors and I have experimented with ways to get folks in the community to talk to us. Last semester, I had students send me photos of activities on campus, and I did a weekly post on the campus blog. This semester, we created a Monday feature called "That's What You Said" (because we're college students and enjoy our inappropriate humor). We run our favorite reader tweets, Facebook comments and photos, and we've gotten pretty good feedback. We also periodically try one-time things such as soliciting questions via Twitter for forums with the chancellor, that type thing. Sometimes those things work and sometimes they don't. It's been a learning process, but I think we're doing a much better job reaching out to students and taking advantage of new media.
My position as the social media editor is only a halftime position in the newsroom. I'm the features and travel section editor too for the Pioneer Press and have five lifestyle reporters (including our awesome technology reporter @jojeda). As for the social media job, I tweet as @AmyPioneerPress and I'm charged with monitoring and updating our social media sites like Facebook and our Twitter feeds (with the ultimate goal of driving traffic back to our newspaper's Web site). I'm also watching for emerging trends that we can turn into news stories, responding to users via social media and helping promote social media usage among our reporters and editors.
Angela Connor, Social Media Manager, Capstrat
I believe there is a distinct difference in the role of community manager and that of social media manager, though each means different things to different companies. I was a community manager for three years. During that time I launched, nurtured, managed and ultimately grew a brand new community from zero to 15,000 members. It was often rewarding yet grueling work. A lot of blood sweat and tears goes into managing a community particularly when you are responsible for its maintenance and growth. I have strong opinions about the differences in managing a branded community vs. one on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn but we can save that for a different day.
That said, I have been in the role of social media manager at Capstrat exactly two months today. My role is very different now. I am a change agent. It's my job to show clients how they can use social media to meet their goals and objectives. It requires an understanding of the client, knowledge of how social media is being used across a wide array of industries and the ability to shift gears at warp speed. I am working to build an area of the agency that is still perceived in some cases as a fad. The focus isn't in a single area at an agency, A community manager has the luxury of focusing on a core group whereas a social media manager does not. For me, that's a good thing because it makes me push myself to absorb all that I can and immerse myself in different industries.
So much of this will evolve and I doubt that my job will be the same in a month. We have a great opportunity to bring value to organizations through social media. One of my goals is to create a fully integrated strategy for PR and social media because social media is the ultimate PR opportunity. So while I wish I could give you a distinct definition for this work, I don't think I can. Some say social media is the Wild, Wild West. Well, if that's the case then any of us can strike it rich at any given moment.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• Beyond Twitterfeed: Innovative uses of Twitter in the newsroom
• The 20 essential RSS feeds for multimedia journalists
• 10 Journalists you should follow on Twitter
Stephanie Romanski, Web Editor/Social Media Coordinator, Grand Island Independent
For a little over a year, I have been able to add "Social Media Coordinator" to my job title, though I have been using the medium for years. This means I handle manually tweeting for my newspaper — manual being absolutely key — setting up Twitter accounts for reporters who wish to tweet and teaching those that are reluctant to jump, handling all things Facebook, and coordinating all of the blogging that we do both internally and externally. As social media becomes even more essential than it was a mere year ago, my job has seeped into our advertising department as we experiment with ways to harness tools like Twitter and make money. This involves occasionally going on sales calls with ad reps and explaining the benefits of social media for businesses, so I've had to learn that aspect of social media, in addition to using it to benefit our newsroom and website.
There are any number of smaller jobs associated with social media that creep up on a daily basis — putting together a tweets page to pull in live updates from sporting events or breaking stories, grabbing a Droid myself and heading out to grab live video of a car engulfed in flames, co-hosting chat shows using CoverItLive software to engage with our readers — all of which means I have to have a variety of skills, from video/audio editing to web design/coding skills. Whatever comes up, I also find I constantly have to stay on top of the latest news, tools and applications for social media. But it's fun, I love it and it's worth it.
Robert Quigley, Social Media Editor, Statesman.com and Austin360.com
The American-Statesman created this position in the summer of 2009 so I could focus on our social media efforts, which are constantly expanding. I'm the main voice behind the @statesman Twitter account and the Statesman Facebook fan page, and I am the chief strategist for our newsroom's use of new social media tools. I work with our staff members to more effectively engage our community, I write a weekly in-house newsletter on best practices and give brown bag-style seminars on new and effective techniques. I also spend a fair amount of time reading up on the latest on the intersection of journalism and social media so we can continue to innovate. I'm also the editor of Hookem.com, our college football fan site, which is an aggregator that is heavy on social media.I've been a journalist since 1994, and I've been with the Statesman since May 1998. I have held many positions throughout my career, from sportswriter to copy editor to page designer. I moved to the online side in January 2007 as the Internet editor, a new position in our newsroom with responsibilities of working with the newsroom to get breaking news onto the Web quickly and to help our early social media efforts. I've been tweeting as the @statesman since June 2008.
Greer McDonald, Social Media Editor, Stuff.co.nz
My role was created in recognition of the growing importance of social networking and the huge part it played in people's lives. The appointment was part of the group's wider social media strategy and at the time was one of only a handful of media companies around the world to appoint a full-time social media editor.My role as social media editor is to find new ways to reach and engage with readers and to help them interact with our content beyond Stuff.co.nz and other Fairfax Media websites. It's about humanizing the brand, allowing readers to feel like they are not just receiving the news, but also have the ability to respond to us, engage with us. Half of the job is about educating people about what social media is!
There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding it, with many thinking it's just a passing fad. My job is to show those people the benefits of social media: whether it's a journalist improving their personal brand through a Twitter profile, or a newspaper boss rejoicing after receiving a brilliant news tip left as comments on a Facebook page.
I personally think it's important for all businesses, not just news media, to have a presence so that they know what their customers are saying about them by opening a new channel of dialogue.
Having someone dedicated to social media also means having the ability to keep on top of new technologies as they present themselves. For example, 18 months ago no one would predict the massive force Twitter would become. Now the question is: what's next?
Emily Stephenson, Community Manager, Daily Tar Heel
As the community manager, my primary responsibility is to maintain our Facebook and Twitter accounts. That means posting stories and video, sharing quick tips about things on campus (I tweeted last week that a group was giving out free pizza on the main quad - hugely popular tweet!), helping reporters find sources, responding to questions and complaints, etc. It also involves picking up on breaking news we might cover and just keeping an eye on what folks in the community are talking about.Beyond the daily stuff, the other editors and I have experimented with ways to get folks in the community to talk to us. Last semester, I had students send me photos of activities on campus, and I did a weekly post on the campus blog. This semester, we created a Monday feature called "That's What You Said" (because we're college students and enjoy our inappropriate humor). We run our favorite reader tweets, Facebook comments and photos, and we've gotten pretty good feedback. We also periodically try one-time things such as soliciting questions via Twitter for forums with the chancellor, that type thing. Sometimes those things work and sometimes they don't. It's been a learning process, but I think we're doing a much better job reaching out to students and taking advantage of new media.
Amy Nelson, Social Media Editor, St. Paul Pioneer Press
My position as the social media editor is only a halftime position in the newsroom. I'm the features and travel section editor too for the Pioneer Press and have five lifestyle reporters (including our awesome technology reporter @jojeda). As for the social media job, I tweet as @AmyPioneerPress and I'm charged with monitoring and updating our social media sites like Facebook and our Twitter feeds (with the ultimate goal of driving traffic back to our newspaper's Web site). I'm also watching for emerging trends that we can turn into news stories, responding to users via social media and helping promote social media usage among our reporters and editors.Angela Connor, Social Media Manager, Capstrat
Author, "18 Rules of Community Engagement"
I believe there is a distinct difference in the role of community manager and that of social media manager, though each means different things to different companies. I was a community manager for three years. During that time I launched, nurtured, managed and ultimately grew a brand new community from zero to 15,000 members. It was often rewarding yet grueling work. A lot of blood sweat and tears goes into managing a community particularly when you are responsible for its maintenance and growth. I have strong opinions about the differences in managing a branded community vs. one on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn but we can save that for a different day.That said, I have been in the role of social media manager at Capstrat exactly two months today. My role is very different now. I am a change agent. It's my job to show clients how they can use social media to meet their goals and objectives. It requires an understanding of the client, knowledge of how social media is being used across a wide array of industries and the ability to shift gears at warp speed. I am working to build an area of the agency that is still perceived in some cases as a fad. The focus isn't in a single area at an agency, A community manager has the luxury of focusing on a core group whereas a social media manager does not. For me, that's a good thing because it makes me push myself to absorb all that I can and immerse myself in different industries.
So much of this will evolve and I doubt that my job will be the same in a month. We have a great opportunity to bring value to organizations through social media. One of my goals is to create a fully integrated strategy for PR and social media because social media is the ultimate PR opportunity. So while I wish I could give you a distinct definition for this work, I don't think I can. Some say social media is the Wild, Wild West. Well, if that's the case then any of us can strike it rich at any given moment.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• Beyond Twitterfeed: Innovative uses of Twitter in the newsroom
• The 20 essential RSS feeds for multimedia journalists
• 10 Journalists you should follow on Twitter
Labels: social networking
10 Ways to track what people are saying about you on Twitter
Monday, March 29, 2010
Social media has brought out the narcissist in all of us — we want to know what people are saying about us. Luckily, the following tools make it easy to track what other Twitter users are saying about you — or any other subject.
This unique search engine for social media allows you to enter your name or any other search term and track where it was mentioned across the web, including Twitter. Social Mention has a slew of neat features: it calculates the number of retweets, the sentiment of each tweet (whether it was positive or negative), how likely Twitter users will mention you again, and what were the most common words and hashtags included in those tweets. You can also create e-mail alerts based on your search.
If you're a regular Twitter user, you've probably heard about TweetDeck, a downloadable tool for tracking recent tweets. TweetDeck not only allows you to track recent mentions and direct messages, but also allows the user to create a constantly updating column dedicated to a particular search term.
If you want the effect and features of TweetDeck, but don't want to install software, Twitterfall is the tool for you. Twitterfall gets its name because recent tweets and search terms cascade like a waterfall down the screen. You can log in to Twitterfall to follow your friends tweets and of course mentions of your Twitter username.
Twittrratr ("Twitter rater") allows you to enter any search term and see whether recent tweets about that subject were positive or negative. The system works by identifying positive or negative words such as "love," "cool," or "bad." However, you'll have to look at each tweet to determine if the tweet was properly categorized. Some tweets, for example, include "negative" words, but are actually positive.
If you want to find out who is retweeting you, you can enter your username into Retweetrank and receive a list of recent retweets. Retweetrank also lets you know how your retweets compare to others by a number that corresponds to your rank compared to other Twitter users and a percentile number (think SATs).
If you want to track what Twitter users are posting links to your site, you can visit BackTweets, enter your URL, and the site will present recent tweets about your site in reverse chronological order. The best feature of BackTweets is that your username does not have to be included in the site for it to be be listed and even catches tweets with shortened URLs.
One of Twitter's not-so-secret features is the ability to "favorite" tweets by clicking the star icon next to the tweet. Favstar lets you see who has favorited your tweets or the tweets of any other Twitter user.
With the millions of people using Twitter every day, a single tweet can spread around the world. Find out how many people potentially saw your tweets with TweetReach. The site calculates the number of people that saw your tweets based on the number of followers of the people who retweeted it. The site assumes that every one of your followers' followers read each tweet, but it is still an interesting way to track how far a tweet has spread.
UMapper, an online tool for creating versatile online maps, recently introduced a tool to embed a map that contains recent tweets in a particular location. You can, for example, create a map like the one below centered on New York and input a search term in the box in the bottom corner. The map will display the location of recent tweets that include that term. The embeddable map can be posted on your website, blog, or social media profile.
Of course, if you don't want to bother with fancy online tools or software, you can simply go to search.twitter.com and enter your name or other search term to view recent tweets that contain those words.
Click here to follow 10,000 Words on Twitter
Also on 10,000 Words:
• 25 Tools for getting more out of Twitter
• How Twitter saved my career... and my life
• 7 Amazing Twitter visualizations
1. Social Mention
This unique search engine for social media allows you to enter your name or any other search term and track where it was mentioned across the web, including Twitter. Social Mention has a slew of neat features: it calculates the number of retweets, the sentiment of each tweet (whether it was positive or negative), how likely Twitter users will mention you again, and what were the most common words and hashtags included in those tweets. You can also create e-mail alerts based on your search.
2. TweetDeck
If you're a regular Twitter user, you've probably heard about TweetDeck, a downloadable tool for tracking recent tweets. TweetDeck not only allows you to track recent mentions and direct messages, but also allows the user to create a constantly updating column dedicated to a particular search term.
3. Twitterfall
If you want the effect and features of TweetDeck, but don't want to install software, Twitterfall is the tool for you. Twitterfall gets its name because recent tweets and search terms cascade like a waterfall down the screen. You can log in to Twitterfall to follow your friends tweets and of course mentions of your Twitter username.
4. Twitrratr
Twittrratr ("Twitter rater") allows you to enter any search term and see whether recent tweets about that subject were positive or negative. The system works by identifying positive or negative words such as "love," "cool," or "bad." However, you'll have to look at each tweet to determine if the tweet was properly categorized. Some tweets, for example, include "negative" words, but are actually positive.
5. Retweetrank
If you want to find out who is retweeting you, you can enter your username into Retweetrank and receive a list of recent retweets. Retweetrank also lets you know how your retweets compare to others by a number that corresponds to your rank compared to other Twitter users and a percentile number (think SATs).
6. BackTweets
If you want to track what Twitter users are posting links to your site, you can visit BackTweets, enter your URL, and the site will present recent tweets about your site in reverse chronological order. The best feature of BackTweets is that your username does not have to be included in the site for it to be be listed and even catches tweets with shortened URLs.
7. Favstar.fm
One of Twitter's not-so-secret features is the ability to "favorite" tweets by clicking the star icon next to the tweet. Favstar lets you see who has favorited your tweets or the tweets of any other Twitter user.
8. TweetReach
With the millions of people using Twitter every day, a single tweet can spread around the world. Find out how many people potentially saw your tweets with TweetReach. The site calculates the number of people that saw your tweets based on the number of followers of the people who retweeted it. The site assumes that every one of your followers' followers read each tweet, but it is still an interesting way to track how far a tweet has spread.
9. UMapper
UMapper, an online tool for creating versatile online maps, recently introduced a tool to embed a map that contains recent tweets in a particular location. You can, for example, create a map like the one below centered on New York and input a search term in the box in the bottom corner. The map will display the location of recent tweets that include that term. The embeddable map can be posted on your website, blog, or social media profile.
10. Twitter Search
Of course, if you don't want to bother with fancy online tools or software, you can simply go to search.twitter.com and enter your name or other search term to view recent tweets that contain those words.
Click here to follow 10,000 Words on Twitter
Also on 10,000 Words:
• 25 Tools for getting more out of Twitter
• How Twitter saved my career... and my life
• 7 Amazing Twitter visualizations
Labels: social networking
The 5 most controversial photos posted to Twitter
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
It doesn't take to be embroiled in a celebrity scandal these days. A surprise paparazzi photo, an incriminating voice mail or a leaked sex tape can all put a star in hot water. However, some celebrities and even regular people are getting themselves and others in trouble with the photos they post on Twitter. Here are a few of those gaffes:
Republican and "Happy Days" star Scott Baio posted the photo below of US First Lady Michelle Obama and added "WOW He wakes up to this every morning." Many Twitter users were enraged and accused Baio of being a racist among other things. Baio shot back, arguing that his wife's best friend was Black and that the photo and comment were only meant to be a joke.
Republican pundit and Daily Beast columnist Meghan McCain posted what she thought was an innocent photo of herself holding up a copy of a biography of Andy Warhol and preparing for a "spontaneous night in." Her very present cleavage was too much for some to ignore and many Twitter users blasted her for posting the pic. McCain considered deleting her Twitter account altogether but ultimately just apologized and moved on.
A low-cut shirt may be tame compared to Lindsay Lohan's topless photo of herself that she snapped and posted to Twitter. While this may not be the most controversial thing Lohan has ever done, it did prompt a shocked reaction from many Twitter users.
Is a menu of fried chicken, collard greens, and cornbread in celebration of Black History Month racist? A large number of Twitter users thought so. After musician and drummer ?uestlove posted a photo of the NBC cafeteria menu to Twitter, many called the offerings insensitive. The menu was later taken down and NBC officials apologized.
To be fair, when the transit worker in Toronto took a quick catnap, he probably didn't know that his photo was being taken or that the photo would outrage many of the city's residents. The photo came on the heels of a recent fare and hike and for many the photo symbolized the poor customer service of Toronto Transit employees.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• 10 News photos that took retouching too far
• The top 7 mistakes new Twitter users make
• Landmark moments in citizen journalism
Scott Baio v. Michelle Obama
Republican and "Happy Days" star Scott Baio posted the photo below of US First Lady Michelle Obama and added "WOW He wakes up to this every morning." Many Twitter users were enraged and accused Baio of being a racist among other things. Baio shot back, arguing that his wife's best friend was Black and that the photo and comment were only meant to be a joke.
Meghan McCain
Republican pundit and Daily Beast columnist Meghan McCain posted what she thought was an innocent photo of herself holding up a copy of a biography of Andy Warhol and preparing for a "spontaneous night in." Her very present cleavage was too much for some to ignore and many Twitter users blasted her for posting the pic. McCain considered deleting her Twitter account altogether but ultimately just apologized and moved on.
Lindsay Lohan
A low-cut shirt may be tame compared to Lindsay Lohan's topless photo of herself that she snapped and posted to Twitter. While this may not be the most controversial thing Lohan has ever done, it did prompt a shocked reaction from many Twitter users.
NBC's Black History Month menu
Is a menu of fried chicken, collard greens, and cornbread in celebration of Black History Month racist? A large number of Twitter users thought so. After musician and drummer ?uestlove posted a photo of the NBC cafeteria menu to Twitter, many called the offerings insensitive. The menu was later taken down and NBC officials apologized.
Napping transit worker
To be fair, when the transit worker in Toronto took a quick catnap, he probably didn't know that his photo was being taken or that the photo would outrage many of the city's residents. The photo came on the heels of a recent fare and hike and for many the photo symbolized the poor customer service of Toronto Transit employees.
Also on 10,000 Words:
• 10 News photos that took retouching too far
• The top 7 mistakes new Twitter users make
• Landmark moments in citizen journalism
Labels: social networking
How online news media covered the 2010 Winter Olympics
Monday, March 01, 2010
The Olympic athletes weren't the only ones working hard during this year's Winter Olympic Games. News organizations around the world created innovative online projects to capture the power and performances at the Games. Here are a few of those gold medal-level projects:
Perhaps the most interesting part of NBC's Olympic coverage was its Olympic Tracker, a tree map of recent tweets about the Olympic Games. The visualization was created by Stamen Design, the company behind MTV's VMA Tweet Tracker and San Francisco Crimespotting.
Many online news media like USA Today and the Los Angeles Times presented many different interactive infographics that explained the sometimes complex winter games and the strength and athleticism required to compete.
The New York Times was on a roll this Winter Games, producing a slew of multimedia and interactive projects, including an awe-inspiring guide to Vancouver's Olympic venues. Notably, the Times' interactive guide to Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili's fatal crash was criticized for offering what some saw as too intimate of a guide to his final moments.
Boston.com's The Big Picture regularly presents amazing photos surrounding a number of subjects and did not disappoint with its collection of images from Vancouver. The large photos capture the majesty of the 2010 Games.
The Google Street View cameras have documented many places around the world and in honor of the Vancouver Olympics, the team used a snowmobile to present views from the top of the mountains in Whistler and allowed users to take a sneak peek inside the Olympic Village.
Fans didn't wait for news media to create coverage they wanted to see. Some took to Facebook to create a page for the Norwegian curling team's unique pants. The Facebook page was taken down briefly, presumably because the page was not dedicated to a company or brand as required by Facebook. However, the page is back up and at last count had more than half a million fans of the colorful pants.
While NBC carried many of the Olympic Games online, the network's US television broadcasts were heavily criticized, mostly because of the network's lack of live television broadcasts. The lesson learned? While yesterday's audiences were comfortable watching events long after they first happened, today's audience wants its news immediately and not just online.
Also on 10,000 Words
• 10 Ways to improve online sports journalism
• How news media covered the 2008 presidential inauguration
• 8 Interactive online projects that educate and captivate
Perhaps the most interesting part of NBC's Olympic coverage was its Olympic Tracker, a tree map of recent tweets about the Olympic Games. The visualization was created by Stamen Design, the company behind MTV's VMA Tweet Tracker and San Francisco Crimespotting.
Many online news media like USA Today and the Los Angeles Times presented many different interactive infographics that explained the sometimes complex winter games and the strength and athleticism required to compete.
The New York Times was on a roll this Winter Games, producing a slew of multimedia and interactive projects, including an awe-inspiring guide to Vancouver's Olympic venues. Notably, the Times' interactive guide to Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili's fatal crash was criticized for offering what some saw as too intimate of a guide to his final moments.
Boston.com's The Big Picture regularly presents amazing photos surrounding a number of subjects and did not disappoint with its collection of images from Vancouver. The large photos capture the majesty of the 2010 Games.
The Google Street View cameras have documented many places around the world and in honor of the Vancouver Olympics, the team used a snowmobile to present views from the top of the mountains in Whistler and allowed users to take a sneak peek inside the Olympic Village.
Fans didn't wait for news media to create coverage they wanted to see. Some took to Facebook to create a page for the Norwegian curling team's unique pants. The Facebook page was taken down briefly, presumably because the page was not dedicated to a company or brand as required by Facebook. However, the page is back up and at last count had more than half a million fans of the colorful pants.
While NBC carried many of the Olympic Games online, the network's US television broadcasts were heavily criticized, mostly because of the network's lack of live television broadcasts. The lesson learned? While yesterday's audiences were comfortable watching events long after they first happened, today's audience wants its news immediately and not just online.
Also on 10,000 Words
• 10 Ways to improve online sports journalism
• How news media covered the 2008 presidential inauguration
• 8 Interactive online projects that educate and captivate
Labels: flash, photos, social networking
The Twitter Avatar Alphabet
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
How many can you name?
Also on 10,000 Words:
• The top 7 mistakes new Twitter users make
• How to analyze your Twitter followers and friends
• 7 Amazing Twitter visualizations
• Beyond Twitterfeed: Innovative uses of Twitter in the newsroom
• 25 Tools for getting more out of Twitter
Labels: social networking
