The Social Media Institute: December 2008

If you have ever found yourself wondering how some people seem to know about every new technological development, current event, or even helpful obscure facts, this is how they do it.

The transition from traditional news media to social news media is well underway. Even the 500lb gorillas Tribune Co. and the New York Times are struggling to turn a profit. The Tribune has already filed for Chapter 11 protection and the Times is not far behind. A wave of remorseful nostalgia washes over many loyal readers, but a revolution of news reporting and gathering is happening whether we like it or not.

Despite the short-term turmoil of television, print and radio the revolution of journalism does not mean Armageddon for mainstream media. It is a signal to adapt to the methods already being used widely to obtain information. It is not enough anymore to simply have a news web site that is a reflection of the daily newspaper. Companies and news providers must engage their audiences in unprecedented ways. This is not nearly as difficult as it sounds, but it must be done quickly to stay afloat. Social media is the driving force behind this concept.

Here are 10 easy ways to get the news using social media:

1. Do not stick to one source of news media. Rule #1. CNN, MSNBC, Fox... they are good, but none of them will ever have the whole story or will be able to update you as fast as the following methods all by themselves. This rule applies for any news provider.

2. Use a news aggregator. No joke. Whether you choose to use an RSS feeder or customized homepage, this is must for anyone who uses the Internet. Here is a compiled list of web-based aggregators. If you are not familiar with bloglines or Google Reader, both provide step-by-step instructions on how to get started. Instead of surfing through your favorite online newspapers, blogs and mashup sites, assign them all appear on one homepage. This is one giant step toward maintaining mental sanity amid the inherent chaos of social media sites.

3. Follow news sources on Twitter. I am not just talking about the BBC and CNN. Click here to view a list of news organizations that have Twitter accounts you can follow. If you use TweetDeck, you can have each one you follow only show up in a special column on your screen. Remember that some are automated and others are manually managed.

4. Watch TwitScoop and Tweet clouds. Popular catch phrase terms and hashtags will appear in these tools. The bigger a word becomes in the "scoop" or "cloud," the more people are talking about it. Click on the word, and it will bring you to a site that will list every tweet related to it within the past few hours or days (your choice). Links to sources are often provided in these tweets. This is an unbelievably fast and accurate way to hear about news as it happens.

5. Start using Delicious or Digg. Or both, if you really want to be efficient. Either will provide you with a wealth of news and information you would never find listed on the Wall Street Journal's homepage or hear on NPR. I prefer Delicious. You can view my profile here.

6. Visit Technorati once a week (at least). Simply put, Technorati is an Internet search engine for searching blogs. It is a self-submission directory and web crawler which covers around 112.8 million blogs and more than 250 millions pieces of tagged social media.

7. Read and engage with iReport. iReport is a user-generated news site. This means the stories submitted by users are not edited, fact-checked or screened before they post. Some are tagged for usage by CNN. Obviously, I am not arguing that this is 100% reliable, but no news source on Earth is- let this be one more way to cross-reference what you hear.

8. Comment, retweet, and link to your favorite news and online information. Social media news exists because people are choosing to engage with it on a personal level. Return the favor, and the power of citizen journalism and information sharing will continue to grow at an exponential rate. The goal is to continue creating communities of people sharing data to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness. People will notice what you do and will be inclined to share information with you that you may not have known otherwise.

9. Pay attention to group-generated blogs. There are thousands of sites that are maintained by groups of professionals in their respective industries. This is a reliable way to cut through the bull crap in news reporting and get information from the source. Think of it as cutting out the middle man of translation. Great examples for communications and technology-related fields are AdAge, Mashable and WIRED.

10. Subscribe to text-based updates from your favorite news sources. You can do this either by subscribing to the New York Times (or any other provider) or simply using Twitter. Simple as that. This is especially handy for people who don't want to pay for mobile web-browsing and are frequent travelers.

While many students are racing to clean up their Facebook profiles, many are using the social networking site to their professional advantage.

On that note, I am happy to share that the Waggener Edstrom Staffing Facebook page, Careers with Waggener Edstrom, is live. If you are a Facebook member, I encourage you to add this page to your Favorites, become a Fan, and/or share the link with your Facebook PR contacts.

What to expect:

1. A photo album introducing the members of the Staffing Team
2. A listing of upcoming events at which various staffing team members will be in attendance (viewable once you log in)
3. Our WE Connect blog RSS feed, showcasing several of the Waggener Edstrom bloggers
4. Notes listing some of current agency openings
5. A list of agency awards
6. Several quotes from candidates complimenting the Staffing team

Love or hate what you have read, please feel free leave a comment or send me an email at pauljmatson@gmail.com