Podcast With Janis Krums

In class we were required to make a podcast. My group, Austin, Ben, and Ginny decided to interview Janis Krums, the citizen journalist who tweeted the picture of the people on the wing of the plane that went down in the Hudson River. We interviewed him about his experience and how the mainstream media picked the story up and how his reach in social media has grown since he posted this picture. We created our podcast by using Audacity over Skype. It was a great interview and we really appreciate him helping us with this project.

Show Notes:

00:10 Ben introduces the show, speakers, and special guest Janis Krums

01:58 Ginny interviews Janis about his experience after podcasting the famous Twit Pic

5:28 Reanne and Janis discuss social media and citizen journalism

9:15 Austin presents concluding thoughts, out-tro, and Thanks to Janis.

Care to know when people are talking about you?

On Wednesday our class learned a cool way to monitor what is being said about a particular subject of interest. The class example was creating a pipe on SXSW. First you have to go to http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/ and create a Yahoo! account if you don't already have one. Then click, 'create a pipe'. I chose to create a pipe about myself. So, I am monitoring a few websites to see if anyone is talking about me. I inserted my Twitter name rcampsey, and I inserted my blog URL. I think it is really interesting how handy technology like this is. Not for me personally, I don't have anybody talking about me that I didn't already know about, but for large companies, or for famous people, or authors, actors, CEOs. The list of people who can benefit from Yahoo pipes is endless. They can monitor for negative feedback, conduct research on how well a PR, marketing, or advertising campaign was received, and use it as an opportunity to create a dialogue with the people that have something to say about them. Another really great thing is that once you create a pipe you can subscribe to the RSS feed for it so that you don't have to keep going back to your pipe page to monitor that! It all comes to you. I love how easy technology makes life.

SXSW Interactive Festival!

I have been working for the SXSW festival for the past few days. It is amazing how many opportunities I have had to see Social networking sites at work. I personally tweeted that the guy from the Sonic commercials was just checked in at registration. I have also seen multiple tweets from the people on the registration crew, but from about people involved in all sections of the festival. Apart from searching for stars I have received several business cards and other promotional material that included peoples' Twitter accounts. Most of those people were headed to the Interactive portion of the festival which includes five days of panel discussions and many parties celebrating the best minds and brightest personalities in emerging technologies. Unfortunately I do not get to attend any of the panels but I look forward to utilizing more technology and listening in on some of the podcasts they are creating of the panels. All sorts of great information can be found on the SXSW interactive website. http://sxsw.com/interactive/

Some tips, so that your Podcast doesn't suck.

I just listened to a SXSW podcasting panel. The panelists suggested these tips to improve your podcast.
1. Know your audience...
Comments, wikis, and twitter help you make your show better through feedback.
2. Good equipment is just cool!
Microphones are the single most important thing for the quality of your podcast.
3. You might need a script, or bullet points to stay on task.
4. Ask leading questions, don't waste peoples time.
5. Edit!!
There are free ones, they come with your computers... USE THEM. Your audience will love you and thank you for it.
6. Flow.
There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. Tell a story. Keep it lean, keep it mean.
7. Leave them wanting more.
8. Casting in podcasting... theme songs are cool!
Rockin podcast+theme song= people will love it! Respect copyrights.
9. Use an intro and outro. Who you are, what is the podcast about. Pre-announce. It will keep them listening.
10. Wrap it up! Thank them for coming. Bait the hook for next time.

We have a class assignment that requires us to produce a podcast. I was a little bit nervous about how to do it, and how to keep it interesting, but I think that these tips will really help! I currently don't listen to any podcasts, but I have several friends that are really into them. I guess they are a lot like blogging, and you have to work really hard to increase your audience. So, if you are needing some tips on how to keep your audience interested this SXSW podcast is a great place to start!

"Is this something you would want your grandmother to see?"

An article by John Hechinger called, College Applicants, Beware: Your Facebook is Showing, suggests that a safe way to determine what should go on your Facebook page is to ask "Is this something you would want your grandmother to see?"

College students are not the only ones that have to worry about what they put on their Facebook page. We have all heard the warnings over and over to be careful about what we post because future employers will be looking and whether or not we get hired could be determined by what we have on our Facebook. Now high school students must consider the same thing because college admissions are now taking an online peek to see what kind of people their applicants really are.

"A new survey of 500 top colleges found that 10% of admissions officers acknowledged looking at social-networking sites to evaluate applicants. Of those colleges making use of the online information, 38% said that what they saw "negatively affected" their views of the applicant."

These universities and institutions use this precautionary measure as a way to protect their name. Although they cannot take the time to review everyone's page it gets much easier when deciding among a few finalists for a scholarship.

Although some colleges admissions staffs have taken it upon themselves to browse potential student's Facebook pages, others intentionally avoid it.

"Sandra Starke, vice provost for enrollment management at the State University of New York at Binghamton, says she instructs her staff to ignore Facebook and other sites because she considers postings to be casual conversations, the online equivalent of street-corner banter. 'At this age, the students are still experimenting,' she says. 'It's a time for them to learn. It's important for them to grow. We need to be careful how we might use Facebook.'"

As I consider this article I find myself wondering, what are they really looking for on a high school student's Facebook page? Just about everyone I know has significantly changed since high school. Some for the better, and unfortunately some for the worse. I feel that any information that they feel reflects on the applicants character cannot be fully trusted. High school, and college are a time of growing up, experimenting, and finding out who you are. Also who is to say that being accepted to a great school wouldn't turn a "questionable" applicant's life around. I think that snooping around on high school students' Facebook pages is a waste of time and will more often than not produce inaccurate judgements of character. Despite my feelings on this issue, I agree that people should carefully consider what they post for the public to see. And the suggested filter "Is this something you would want your grandmother to see" is a wise use of your time. What do you think??

I am a Tweeter

Last time I blogged about maybe wanting to try Twitter, but I was a sceptic. Well, thanks to a good friend I ended up signing up for Twitter. So far, I have 8 followers, and I am following 17 people and organizations. I think that it is very interesting that people are following me and I have no clue who they are. I have received several random requests and I have accepted just to see if anything interesting will happen. So far, nothing. In class we have talked about Twitter being an excellent tool for networking professionally. In my PR class my professor was following someone on Twitter that led them to a web site that formats press releases for you! It is amazing, I already used the site for a class assignment. It is amazing how powerful a tweet can be.
I am going to begin using my Twitter account to try and network for a future career. I hope that it works!

Reaching the Wired Media for Better Coverage

In chapter 4 of PR 2.0 Deirdre Breakenridge discusses tips for public relations professionals to get better media coverage. A few of the things it suggests to do are:

• Develop a solid database of media contacts that will lead to tremendous opportunities in your career and for the brands you represent.
• Gather as much information as possible on the journalists you target; just when when to draw the line so that you don't invade any one's privacy.
• Understand that journalists want to work with PR people who can provide them with timely, accurate, and novel information for their stories so that they can reach their deadlines.
• Invest in research tools when you have the resources and take full advantage of the integrated service platforms that enable you to bundle your PR tasks easily and quickly.
• Find out what journalists expect from you and how they want to be contacted. Each individual journalist might have a PR 2.0 preference, whether it's communication through e-mail, IM, or blogs. (Breakenridge 69)

These tips make a lot of sense. In a way they are kind of common sense. Build relationships, communicate, adjust your style to interact with different individuals. It sounds to me like every day communication. I think that it is very interesting that, maybe because of the Internet, and a decrease in human contact, professionals have to be reminded how to communicate with people. Network, don't be a stalker, help people and that in turn will benefit you, be efficient, and adjust communication styles. I really feel like I am learning a lot from being a Communications major. It's back to basics, but it is the really important stuff that it seems, people have forgotten.