You know the old saying that the truth is stranger than fiction? It seems to be playing out right now. I assigned students in my public relations writing class this lab to write a letter convincing Ashton Kutcher to hire them as his social media manager. They were to focus specifically on Kutcher's (@aplusk) active and massive Twitter … [Read more...]
Identification First, Journalism Second
Journalists are trained to identify themselves when they approach sources for interviews. I teach student journalists to identify themselves by their full name and publication, even when attempting to interview a source they speak to regularly and only for work. Identifying yourself as a reporter allows the source to decide whether to consent … [Read more...]
5 Tweeters I Appreciate
We social media people spend a lot of time together. Some of this time is productive, while some is not. Regardless, many of us feel as if we know one another pretty well. We rely on each other to answer questions, support our goals, provide insights, and build us up when we're down. That's a lot of work for friends who we may never even have … [Read more...]
How to Manage Twitter Lists
If you're reading this, you probably know I'm a nerd. If not, let me inform you - I am a nerd. I love learning, books, presentations, data, pens, and all manner of other dorky things. My passion for information gathering and sharing initially attracted me to Twitter. Now I'm addicted. I love following new people just to see what I can … [Read more...]
Putting the ‘Social’ Back in Social Media
This post is inspired by Amber Naslund, a communications and business strategist and the Vice President of Social Strategy for Radian6. You can read Amber's post What I Wish More People Knew About Me on Brass Tack Thinking.Let’s do a quick activity. First, how many Facebook friends do you have? I have 826. Second, how many people follow … [Read more...]
To Tweet or not to Tweet: Verification in an online world
I did it, and it's so embarrassing. I am one of thousands, maybe even millions, of people who retweeted a quote, part of which was attributed falsely to Martin Luther King, Jr. The quote is: “I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies … [Read more...]
Your president is an impostor
Your university's president is fake. At least he may be on Twitter. University presidents use Twitter to communicate with students and constituents about issues concerning the university. For example, the president at Texas A&M has reached his 5,000 friend limit on Facebook. However, the Internet's anonimity also makes them subject to … [Read more...]