Global Media News

How to Use LinkedIn to Build Your Brand

Depending on the industry you're in, there are countless ways to utilize social media platforms such as LinkedIn to build a brand. For the purpose of Global Media News, let's focus on ways that can be quite useful for journalists in particular.

1. Raise your LinkedIn SEO

-          Make your profile public and claim your URL.

Search engines won’t be able to find private profiles and neither will other LinkedIn users. Since journalists use their full names, that would be the best option for your URL. Try some variation of your name, using an initial and a last name or last name then first name, if your name is already taken.

-          Get your headline right

When searching LinkedIn, potential connections will only see your name, photo, and headline. Utilize this 140-character limit space efficiently. Instead of a vague job title be specific about your job title, company or beat even and also include the location.

-          Get your links right

LinkedIn allows you to add up to three links on your profile. For most people, this would include their company website, their blog and some other social media site. The key is to edit the default settings and create more search engine friendly text.

So instead of “My Company”, write “New Media Writer at The Catalyst in Old Westbury”. Instead of “My Blog”, try “Blog about Writing for Media”. You have now given the reader an insight as to what the links are about and you have added more keywords to your profile. You do this by selecting “other” from the drop-down menu then enter your website manually.

For more information on how to increase the SEO qualities of your LinkedIn account, please visit this link: How to Make Google Love Your LinkedIn Profile

2. Who should you connect with on LinkedIn (and who shouldn’t you)?

LinkedIn is all about connections, the more you have the better visibility your profile will have and more people you will be able to search for. But it’s also about quality connections, it’s worth identifying the so called ‘super connectors’ in your field and start connecting with them – if they have 1000 relevant connections that will save you a lot of leg work.

Don’t connect with your competitors unless you know they have more useful connections than you do. Yes you can hide them from browsing your connections but your connections will still come up in search results so be wary of connecting with competitors.

Read more at Super Connectors on LinkedIn

3. How can you stand out against the other millions of Journalists on LinkedIn?

Be yourself and don't spam! Your network probably knows what you do and they are likely to let you know when they have a referral for you, so it’s better to get mindshare – creating daily awareness and staying visible. Share interesting and valuable information, and avoid selling yourself all of the time. 

This two part video series from Media Bistro sums it up. It discusses the value of using LinkedIn and goes into detail about crowd-sourcing, as well as using LinkedIn efficiently and effectively.

Click here to be taken to the LinkedIn for Journalists videos: Media Bistro On Demand

German Journalist Urged to Stop Using Google

In the wake of potential spies watching your every move, the union that represents German journalists recommended that their journalists no longer use the powerful search engine, Google. The same goes with the search box on Yahoo!

This latest move by the German union is part of the domino effect of the feeling of insecurity after former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden leaked information about the NSA (National Security Agency). Google is outraged by the NSA spying and has called for "urgent reform."

Michael Konken is the head of the union of journalists in Germany. He says "The searches made by journalists are just as confidential as the contact details of their sources and the contents of their communication with them." In other words, he believes that privacy is being invaded and journalists are no longer protected.

This move would affect German journalists greatly because the search engine is a great way to find sources, fact check, and find story ideas. The concern to protect privacy is legitimate and understandable, but would the quality of work be hurt by not using Google? It will be interesting to see if sacrificing Google is worth the potential downside effects of effective reporting.

Twitter News beats Facebook News in Growth and Number of Users

Get Ready For Google Helpouts!

     Customer Service in America is not only very difficult at times but it can cause chaos as well. Many people have decided to take to social media to voice their concerns but even so you have to wait for a response and sometimes you might not even receive one. Especially when you are trying to put something together or figure out how to use a product you just bought.

    Don't worry, Google has come up with a solution for this! Google Helpouts, this new resource/service developed but Google allows individuals to contact a "real" person through video chatting. According to The Wall Street Journal:

"There are plenty of how-to services available on the Web, including message boards, YouTube videos and question-and-answer sites like Quora. Helpouts, which will be powered by Google’s video-chat product Hangouts and will work on smartphones, joins a more niche group of services like LiveNinja that offer people live one-on-one advice sessions. Helpouts will work on any device, so a stranded biker could get personal roadside advice on fixing a flat tire, for example."

    

    How innovative is this new service. I know for myself I always search Google on my phone or computer anytime I need a video to explain how to do something. Sometimes you can not quite find the right one. Helpouts will solve all this with one-on-one sessions with a professional.

    What will this do to say Youtube? Well in my opinion nothing. Youtube and Helpouts are much different. Helpouts bring a professional to any device you have and they help you right than and there are your own pace. Youtube does not have that one on one service, which is better for some people. That one on one aspect makes these two websites very different and the popularity of each is based on the consumer.

According to the Google Helpouts web page, these professionals will be able to list their qualifications so that you can better choose the professional you need.

 

 "Other areas Google plans to target are the arts, education, home repair, and health, among others. In personal fitness, for example, online classes make sense for people uncomfortable going to the gym and trainers who want to fill up their schedules, said Ann Scott-Plante, co-founder of Wello, a start-up that specializes in such sessions."

Keep a lookout for more news and updates on Google Helpouts!

 

US Government spying on Google Data

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt is outraged on  the U.S. government spying on the company's data centers . He said "It's really outrageous that the National Security Agency (NSA) was looking between the Google data centers, if that's true," Schmidt told The Wall Street Journal.

 

"The steps that the organization was willing to do without good judgment to pursue its mission and potentially violate people's privacy, it's not okay."

Schmidt criticized other NSA activities and the collections of millions of phone records  He specifically mentioned;

 "The National Security Agency allegedly collected the phone records of every phone call of 320 million people in order to identify roughly 300 people who might be a risk. That's just bad public policy…and perhaps illegal,"

Google has registered complaints against President Obama, the NSA and members of Congress. Schmidt was a major donor to the Obama campaign and has been an advisor both to the campaign and the administration.

The WSJ cites an NSA response which states that the reports of their spying on Google and Yahoo! data centers contained errors and that the agency complies with all relevant laws.  According to a Washington Post report on Wednesday, the NSA had tapped directly into communications links used by Google and Yahoo to move enormous amounts of email and other user information among overseas data centers.

The NSA stated that "NSA conducts all of its activities in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies—and assertions to the contrary do a grave disservice to the nation, its allies and partners, and the men and women who make up the National Security Agency."

"There clearly are cases where evil people exist, but you don't have to violate the privacy of every single citizen of America to find them." says Schmidt.

 

Internships Make a Difference

 

 

Working for free as an intern for many may seem like a waste of time but in the world of news it's a  must if you plan on succeeding.

 In news or mainly journalism finding a steady job tends to be hard. Many journalist starts as freelance journalists while praying that they hopefully find a permanent job at any paper or magazine. As I approach the end of my college career I'm starting to hear that more and more. When I meet journalists that are in the field working many of them tend to tell me that they pick jobs up as they go. They tell me they pitch ideas to different papers or magazines and whichever editor like the idea hires them for that time period. Most importantly they tell me they know of freelance job openings because of pervious internships they took part in. By interning they were able to build relationships with other media professionals such as themselves.

Well I bet the question to comes to mind now is how do you find an internship or  what are the requirements for one ?

I know this because I asked myself the same questions. 

The first step in finding an internship is picking what company you want to work for. For example if your into entertainment news maybe interning for BET would be perfect or if your into hardcore news then ABC studios may be the best way to go. But this step is by far the most important.

If you’re not sure what type of internship you want to pursue but know you want it to be in the field of journalism then visiting websites like Internmatch.com  would be perfect. Internmatch.com is a website that allows you to filter the type of journalisms job you are looking for. Whether it deals with television, radio, or print the website brings all sources to you at once. It highlights whether the internship is paid or for free. But most importantly it tells you the requirements you need before applying for a position as an intern. 

For many places the main requirement is going to be a resume and cover letter. The resume highlights your past work experiences and your cover letter gives a brief overview of who you are as a person. But some places may ask for you to hand in writing samples or videos of your work. Some internship’s require experience while most will take someone without experience as long they are quick on their toes. 

I currently intern with my school paper. I choose to do a school internship  first to get some experience before going out into the real world. By interning for the school paper I am able to understand how a paper works, so when I’m out there in the big world I should feel more confident in my abilities to fulfill tasks. 

I found this amazing video on YouTube called Internship Info From Employers that highlights what employers are looking for from interns. It gives great details on what they expect from interns and also ways in which an intern can impress the company they are trying to intern for. 

 

 

By doing internships you are able to build your resume. It allows you to create relationships with professionals that are in the industry. If you impress them they may hire you or even help you find out about job openings. 

While interning  may seem like a waste of time to many I think they are extremely important.

 

Run and Hide But Search Engines Still Have You In Their Sight

    Internet search engines have been a growing trend over the past two decades. They have grown dramatically with the expansion of technology such as the smartphone. By having a smartphone it lets you use the search engines in the palm of your hand at almost any time.

Search engines act as a sort of library, for all people who are involved in the internet community. Google and Bing may be great search engines but they act as a threat for many people. Some adults may look back at there teens and may suffer for what they have posted on social media sites.

Some inappropriate pictures or posts may haunt people in their later life when they need to look clean while trying to find a career job. Once something is posted it stays in the search engines until it gets buried deep in the new generation of internet posting.

So therefore some people who are college graduates and are actively searching for a career jobs may get rejected. That is because inappropriate pictures from social media sites such as “Facebook” or “Myspace” may come back to bite them in the behind.

What may scare some people is that corporations aren’t the only ones doing background checks, search engines are giving out free information to other research companies. For example a website called PeopleSmart.com is one of many sites that charges people very low rates to do full checkups on any citizen in the United States. For a rate of just $0.95 you can look up someone’s: full name, age, phone number, current address, prior residence. But the most disturbing is for $19.95 you can look up: full name, age, phone number, current address, prior residence, relatives, neighbors, criminal check, bankruptcies, judgments, liens, businesses, properties and work information.

So if you think that you can hide, the answer is impossible. This is just the beginning of the new era of information sharing. Back before the internet age people would have to do a tremendous amount of researching to figure out something that can just take seconds now.

 

 

 

Global Media News Webcast #7: October 31, 2013

 From OWWR's New Media Newsroom:

This week's audio is listenable: good content,  but mediocre audio . . .

Global Media News for Thursday, October 31, 2013

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering new media news from around the world.  GMN is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury. 

This week on Global Media News:  Twitter, Twitter, Twitter!

• @Pontifex Hits Ten Million Followers!  Who is His Holiness @Pontifex you ask?
• White House Fires @Natsecwonk Jofi Joseph for Snarky Tweets
• #TFN:  Twitter for Newsrooms? What's a journalist to do?
• Everybody Hashtag!  Social Media "Copycats" Share the Same Features.
• Sol Wave House: First Twitter Hotel in Majorca.  #Winterbreak?
• Tuning-In with Twitter: Change the channel with a tweet?
• When Atheletes Tweet . . .
• Another Story about Celebrity Tweets . . .

Listen to our next webcast from the New Media Newsroom streaming live on Thursday, November 8,  @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live? Our next webcast of the season will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, November 8, , 2013.

Follow our New Media News feed:  @OWWRGMN

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