Global Media News

How is Geofeedia Helping the Media?

Geofeedia, a location-based social media monitoring platform, is being used by journalists to locate real-time photos and tweets where news breaks.  Contrary to normal news situations, reporters usually rely on text searches like names of places, keywords, and hashtags.  An issue with this is that it's time consuming and you have to sort through all the conversations from people who aren't at the scene.

With Geofeedia, it enables location-based searches for social media content.  The app will work through social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Picasa, Flickr, and YouTube to find the latest geotagged content.

Phil Harris, CEO of Geofeedia stated:

"Most news happens at a location.  Filtering through an unbelievable number of social media posts, it's daunting."

The tool offers potential for journalists trying to verify breaking news story.  If you hear a report of a fire, Geofeedia allows you to enter the address to see the images, videos, and tweets being shared.  This gives you a real-time update of what exactly is happening at the site.

With a steep pricing system at $1,450 a month for five users, the company is allowing free trials.  Harris wants users to realize the value of the application, despite the price tag.  He also describes it as a form of "business intelligence," helping editors make decisions about whether they can cover stories and how they can do it.

Reporters can use Geofeedia to gauge how big a story is so they can determine whether or not they can send a reporter.  The reporter can go to a specific site with a high volume of tweets instead of sending someone to a general area.  Even before getting to the scene, Geofeedia can use tweets and photos to contact eyewitnesses before their reporters even arrive there.

Geofeedia is a tool that tries to help journalists solve the problem of finding the scene and verifying its' legitimacy.  Though verification still poses as a problem, the company does its best to provide help with find the source and giving second-by-second reporting. 

Why Twitter Moments is the 'Go-To' App for Sports News

If you're an avid sports fan or an aspiring journalist, odds are that you use the ESPN or SportsCenter app to get all your sports news, but Twitter Moments might just change that.

In October, Twitter launched a brand new interface which allows users to instantly find and follow trending "moments" around the world. Though moments isn't speaciafally used for sports, it does however cover every facet in the world of sports. 

NBA, NFL, and NHL are just a few examples of how Twitter uses Moments to cover all news from a respective sport. The great thing about Moments is that it organizes all trending stories into one easy to find tab. For example: If you'd like to find out who are the top 4 ranking College Football Teams, all you have to do is follow the NCAA Football tab to get all the up to date statistics and news.

The future looks bright for Twitter. I believe that Moments will soon take over as the number one source for getting all your sports news. Why you ask? Instant gratification. In this era of instant communication and constant flow of information, Twitter has found a way to package its moments in a way that it can be consumed in short bursts of attention. This in turn attracts users because it caters to their need for instant gratification. So if you'd like to stay in the know, i'd recommend you take a moment and download the reinvigorated Twitter.

Three Key Ways to Boost Your Storify

    Storify is one of the best ways to collect and share what many are saying all over the world. It's an efficient way to create stories using social media. Here are three tips journalists can use to improve their Storify.

    Visuals are key! Nothing adds color to a post like pictures and videos. We all know that many readers have a short attention span, so it's best to include visuals that spark their interest. According to Doug Haddix, "To keep readers engaged, you need to break up a sea of gray tweets with visuals." They can make or break a Storify. Videos and pictures are the main ingredients to make your Storify appetizing.

    Don't be afraid to ask for feedback. Every good journalist wants to know how their readers feel about their content. It's also a way for you to improve your Storify and provide what readers want. Asking for feedback can up the viral effect of how well your posts will do in the future. Receiving ideas along with the feedback from previous posts, is a sure way to create fresh content that fascinates your readers.

    The way your Storify appears is everything. It has to be pleasing to the eye or readers will not care for it. With mostly everything in life, from restaurants to clothing stores, displays are intriguing. It's what invite people in. You can change the way your Storify is viewed once published. Make sure that you choose one that is best for your content- whether it has pictures or not.  One with pictures might be displayed as a slideshow. Take time in choosing this option because it is significant for your readers.

How Breaking News is a Breaking the Mold

In a century when news is being watched on computers, iPads, and smartphones, the new Breaking News app by NBC News is providing immediate coverage of breaking stories happening both internationally and right in your own neighborhood.  The app, where overall visits are up 50 percent from January to October, sources the Web for news and then sends out alerts about it.

Cory Bergman, co-founder and gm of the app, says that the goal for Breaking News is, "Did we target this person with something new they need to know right now?"  He went on to say,

“By really focusing on marrying speed and relevancy, the higher the open rate becomes, the more relevant the notification, the more visitors we get to the app. There’s notification fatigue, and the more straightforward we are, the more loyal they are to us.”

Breaking News has even developed different types of alerts.  Users are able to choose among 50,000 different topics and stories to follow.  A recently added emerging story alerts notifies users that a story could potentially evolve into a major story.  Proximity alerts notify users if news is breaking near their actual locations.

The passive personalization is designed to instantly inform you if something important is happening near you.  The proximity alerts are another step in Breaking News' efforts to deliver the most relevant stories to people.  What's different with Breaking News is that alerts are tagged to locations which can include a city or ZIP code.  Alerts are then sent out to people near that location, as long as the user has allowed the app to access their location.

Breaking News is the first news app to distribute its news by a user's location.  Bergman says his team is diving into a new dimension of editorial judgement: determining the geographic impacts of breaking news.

Along with the proximity alert, "Watchlist" is part of the app where users can track breaking news in their favorite interests.  The new design is accompanied with infinite scroll, simple navigation, faster search, and an improved iPad view.

Push notifications are at the center of the Breaking News app.  Bergman says, "It's really the fastest way to reach people." "You turn it on and never have to do anything again."

 

Buzzwords

    Buzzwords are “a word or phrase, often an item of jargon that is fashionable at a particular context.”  Anyone who uses social media sites: Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and other sites, are all too familiar with the latest buzzwords being used and in some cases overused.  The latest buzzword, “squadgoals,” was made famous by Taylor Swift; whose pictures of her and her famous friends have flooded the internet.  It is expected to see “squadgoals” used in hipster, fashion or non personal blogs and vlogs, but one would not expect to see it and other buzzwords used in professional articles.

    Mainstream America is becoming more and more accepting of the usage of buzzwords in place of conventional words.  Today, the art of language is lost and replaced with a social media driven words.  Each buzzword used today replaces sentences that were used in the past.

    As a new media professional, one expects to keep up with the latest technology, means of communication and news.  In order to keep up, does that include replacing words with buzzwords? In this narcissistic era, many are driven by the idea of being famous and will do anything to obtain it. Replacing orthodox journalistic skills with flashy buzzwords in an effort to seem relatable and current is commonly practiced by many professional in order to stay relevant. Social media sites are commonly used by new media professional and the use of buzzwords have a place.  The objective of any social media post is to gain likes, reposts and to engage viewers, listeners and readers. In the new millennium, buzzwords can help obtain this but should not be utilized in place of good writing.

    If a specific buzzwords relate to the topic, by all means use it.  Steer clear of an article, post etc… that is chock-full of boring, meaningless buzzwords. Writers, marketers, personal bloggers and other new media professionals, will attract attention by using clear concise sentences that communicates more information, while overusing buzzwords is unnecessary and may deter attention because of the fluff.  Its better to gain attention with your skills rather than your use of the buzzword of the day.

 

 

 

 

Why You Need A Social Media Calendar/Log

image: kayla hollatz

When it comes to marketing and business, creating a plan is the first step towards success. Creating a social media plan reinforces your marketing strategies and helps you stay consistent with your business' online presence. 

A social media calendar creates an efficient schedule and lines up the dates and times for each post you plan to present on social media and helps you monitor and track the reach of each of those posts.

For example, a business/company may have a social media marketing manager that posts to several different social media platforms a day. Using a tool like Hootsuite can help schedule those posts hours, days, weeks, etc in advance. Before scheduling each post, having an idea of what topics to share with Twitter, links to share with Facebook, or photos to share on Instagram, organizes the way you curate and create content. It helps ensure high quality performing content and cuts out extra time from your marketing strategy.

Using a simple template or spreadsheet including a section for the link, picture, author, social platform, post copy, date, and time are the most significant elements of a social media content calendar. Including extras like audience reach, retweets, shares, or a section for notes also allows you to go back and record how well each post performed on the different platforms.  

The best part about creating these calendars is that you can always easily keep track of information that you upload to social media and be sure that you aren't creating similar posts, unless of course that is your motive. 

 

About.Me: The Best Way to Curate your Online Identities

Have you ever struggled to connect with all your followers in all the different social media platforms you operate? Well today is your lucky day. About.Me is the perfect tool to keep all of your social profiles and connections in sync. 

This platform allows users to create their personal webpage with a wide variety of styles to cater to ones self expression. Once your personal biography and page are up, you can then begin to import all of your contacts and organize them into their respective interests. The key here is to place all of your contacts with similar skills or interests into one folder so can be easier to find someone with a desired skill. Today, we have dozens of social media platforms to cater to your personal preferences. The majority of the public all use the most predominate apps such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. But what if your friends all had different social media accounts?

About.Me allows users to connect and contact each other all through one app, instead of individually contacting people through their preferred platform. You can import your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr profiles so they can be one click away.  This in turn allows users to interact with each other and share ideas even though they may not use the same social media application. Its a great way to make new connections which can ultimately lead to a job. 

In this modern era where, "Its not what you know, its who you know", About.Me offers a service where you can unite all your social media platforms into one place. I think this is a great app to use if you are an avid social media user and/or professional.

5 Ways Journalists Use LinkedIn

    In the media world, it is necessary to have a LinkedIn page to establish your professional identity. Here are five ways that journalists use LinkedIn to their advantage.

1. Following companies and other journalists is a great way to network and build business relationships with professionals in your field. They are able to see what offers companies may have available. They interact with people who share the same career path as them or who can help them advance to the next step. It's all about making connections that have substance.
2. Sharing stories of their success is what many journalists tend to use this site for. With over a million publishers using the LinkedIn share button, their work is bound to travel quickly and possibly catch the attention of those interested in you. This is an excellent shot at getting their life story noticed.
3. Finding news from established sources in the area that interests journalists is another way. Who wants to see news about topics that they feel are irrelevant? No one! Which is why journalists use LinkedIn to organize the news they want to focus on.
4. Getting ideas is one aspect that journalists love this site for. Sometimes thinking of ideas for topics can be difficult so journalists search through archives to see what people are talking about. It's a good tool to discover new topics and trends.
5. Using the connections they made is a large part of how journalists make use of this site. If they are ever looking for a job or want to work on an assignment, they can contact someone to see if they will assist them. All it takes is a little searching and putting yourself out there. Why make connections if you don't use them?

A Storified Version of #EdShift Chat: How to Get a Job Using Social Media!

What is Linkedin? Do Journalists In The Media benefit From This Platform?

    

 

         LinkedIn is the new and upcoming platform for professionals to network on the web.  The platform will allow you to Connect with classmates, faculty, and family professionally and even find new opportunities for internships and full time positions for a job that may interest you.  LinkedIn will also let you manage what potential employers learn about you from the Internet and even help you find key contacts at companies that interest you.  LinkedIn is a new media tool, to not only make your career better, but to let people know the phenomenal type of person and worker you really are.                                                              

    

         Now after watching this short video, you are probably thinking that maybe I could benefit from LinkedIn right?  Especially media professionals, this is a platform that can possibly boost start your career right? Well if you are thinking I'm not to sure how I can benefit from this new and exciting platform, you are completely wrong.  The answer is you can benefit from LinkedIn as long as you would like to during your career.  LinkedIn will allow you as a Journalists to build your professional brand, or even market yourself in your field.  It will also help you find and pursue your career passion by browsing different professionals profiles and even allowing you to connect with these other professionals in your specific field.  LinkedIn is trying to make and help Build and maintain professional relationships, as well as turning professional relationships into opportunities that you will greatly benefit from as you start your first job all the way through the rest of your career. 

     On the other hand, One thing that will draw people and future professionals in to this platform is something every single person love to hear.  The word free.  LinkedIn is free and cost no fee per month.  People sometimes judge a website or media platform right away, all depending on if it cost anything, which isn't right.  However, Social networking service on LinkedIn are free, but if you choose to upgrade to a paid account, you have access to additional features, which some may choose to do, but at first they are more than contempt with the free version. 

    According to Krista Canfield, senior manager in corporate communications at LinkedIn.  She finds that using LinkedIn is very beneficial in a work environment.   "I'm a Newhouse alum so I find Syracuse Oranges in the media business. For me to be able to bring that up at the top of the conversation kicks it off in a completely different way than if we go straight to business." (NAA)

    LinkedIn is something that can change ones life.  Just ask a vice president at an education software start-up named John Hazlett.  Hazlett wasn't happy with his job at all till he discovered LinkedIn and found out the endless possibilities it could do for him with work. “I look at it as a small way that I was able to land a dream job and really grow with a great firm,” Hazlett said. (Washington post)

   LinkedIn is a media platform that has just began and hasn't even shown what it's potential can be yet and how useful it can be to professionals.  Young adults and professionals in their respective fields have already proved to people that LinkedIn is the real deal, and that you can benefit from this platform and become more successful than you ever thought you could be. I’m going to be even more fascinated to see where it goes from here and I get the feeling it’s going to get ever more useful as it evolves and as we all figure out collectively what it can be to us