Social Media Curation Tools GateHouse Media News & Interactive

Social Media Curation Tools

GateHouse MediaNews & Interactive

• What is curation?• Why do we need social media curation?• What is Storify?• Why should we use Storify?• When should we use Storify?• How to use Storify• Storify takeaways• What other tools can we use to curate content?• Conclusion• Questions? Comments?

Agenda

• Curation is when you manually gather information from various sources and present it in a way that makes sense (as opposed to aggregation, which is automated).

• Social media curation entails sifting through all of the Tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram/Flickr/Pinterest photos, Tumblr posts etc. so your reader doesn’t have to.

What is curation?

• It can be overwhelming for readers to poke around the various social media platforms to find the information they may need on a certain topic or about a certain region.

• Using the eyes of a journalist and with the reader in mind, you can filter, select, organize, reflect and add perspective to a collection of social media posts. You can also eliminate the junk.

• You can report on things, have a web presence or at least a placeholder on your site even when you’re not present for the news.

What is curation?

What is Storify?

Storify is a web-based tool created by journalists for social media curation. It is a website that helps you tell stories in a timeline/narrative format by sorting through and choosing posts from social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

• You decide what in the flood of information matters.

What is Storify?

What is Storify?

Storify can be the story but more often we will use it either as a placeholder until we can get the news and/or to enhance a story by embedding it within our article on our website.

What is Storify?

What is Storify?

What is Storify?

STORIFY EXAMPLE:

http://storify.com/WickedLocal/teacher-murdered-at-danvers-high-school

What is Storify?

What is Storify?

“We did not intend for people to just throw together social media and create a scrap pile of tweets. The name is ‘Storify’ because it’s about making stories. It’s about changing how journalism works to acknowledge the fact that everyone on the ground is potentially your eyewitness, and it’s about empowering journalists to draw from that source material.”

-- Burt Herman, Storify CEO and co-founder

What is Storify?

•Storify can add new angles to a story you may not otherwise have; it can show emotion connected to an issue in a way an objective journalist can’t always convey.

•It has been proven in the field to be easy to use, to enhance our coverage and to spread virally on social media, which exposes us to new readers.

•It puts us on many of our readers’ turf. It shows we’re playing on the same playground (Twitter, Facebook, etc).

Why should we use Storify?

•In a sea of social media posts, you help the reader sort through it all and highlight the information that adds value to their experience.

•We can’t be everywhere all the time. Let the eyes and ears of our readers help tell a story, especially when we can’t, and in their own words.

Why should we use Storify?

When should we use Storify?

• Top national stories

• Pop culture

• Weather

• Big local issues (but check Twitter first. You can’t Storify if social media isn’t talking about it.)


SAMPLE STORIFIES:

• Whitey Bulger trial verdict• Constant helicopter activity alarms residents• SCOTUS same-sex marriage ruling• Reaction to former governor’s death• Python found in yard• Herkimer, NY shooting spree• Election turnout• Weather (Hurricane Sandy damage, Blizzard

Nemo aftermath, tornado warning)


How to use Storify

1) Create an account.

Use a paperwideusername ande-mail address.

What is Storify?How to use Storify

How to use Storify

2) You may want to poke around Twitter first to see if there even IS a conversation going on around a topic.

3) Log in to Storify.

4) Create Story

5) Create a Public Story


This is where you build your story.


The left side of the screen is your timeline. The right side is where you find material.

headline

intro graph

6) On the left: write a headline in the first box. Write an intro in the second box. You could include the URL to your site’s story or the homepage at the end of your intro. (so those visiting from Storify know where to find you.)


How to use Storify

7) On the right hand side, work your way through the various social media sites. •Plug in a keyword. Hit return. •Drag the posts you want to your timeline. •Save occasionally.


Twitter: This usually yields the most content. There are sub-options such as “User,” which is where you can find a Twitter account by user name. Find local items by plugging your town & state into Near… and choose a radius.

Facebook: This actually does not usually yield a ton of content because most users’ accounts are private. Check, but know you won’t find a ton.

Google+: Allows you to search for Activities or People. This also may not find a lot of matches.

What is Storify?How to use Storify: Finding content

How to use Storify: Finding content

YouTube: Take the time to watch the video. You can drag it to the timeline, watch it and delete it if you decide it’s inappropriate.

Flickr: This is where you can find photos to break up text if you didn’t already get some out of Twitter and Facebook. You can only see captions after you’ve dragged on to the timeline and even then they aren’t always that informative. Just delete the photo after if you decide not to use it.


Instagram: Search by hashtag. This doesn’t typically yield a ton, but folks tend to tweet their Instagrams, so you may find the photos over in the Twitter search.

Google: This searches Google for websites. You may want to use whatever the official site is for whatever your topic is. Or a link to your homepage.



Embed URLs: This is intended for when you have an embed code (such as from polls or maps). You can also use it to post a staff photo from your site (right click on photo, “copy image location”, paste in this embed URL spot). Play around with it.

Hit the + at the end of the list to edit what sources appear, and add from 10 more spots, such as Tumblr.



• Think of all of those elements you just gathered like you would quotes in your notebook.

• Now how should you string them together?

• What story do these elements tell?


How to use Storify

8) Organize the elements in a way that makes sense to a reader from top to bottom.

• Chronological?• By topic?• Weaving thoughts together?

As you’re gathering the posts, it will start to make sense how you should present them.

To move posts around, just click on one in your timeline and drag and drop it to where you want it to be.

How to use StorifyWhat is Storify?How to use Storify

How to use Storify

9) You should add text between posts or chunks of posts to tie everything together. As is the case with all social media, don’t be afraid to have a lighter voice (if the topic calls for it).

How to use StorifyWhat is Storify?How to use Storify

How to use Storify: Adding text

• To add text, simply hover between posts and a box pops up asking you to “Click to add text.”

• Type your text.

How to use Storify: Finding contentWhat is Storify?How to use Storify: Adding text

How to use Storify

10) When the timeline looks the way you want it to, click Save one last time. Click Publish.

The first time you click this, a box pops up to “Share & notify.”

How to use StorifyHow to use StorifyWhat is Storify?How to use Storify

How to use Storify: Share & Notify

You can post this Storify to your own Twitter and Facebook accounts at the top.

At the bottom, Storify automatically lists the people you included in your timeline and lets you notify them that they’ve been “quoted.”

How to use Storify: Finding contentWhat is Storify?How to use Storify: Share&Notify

This is a good practice, especially for Twitter, because they often re-tweet that notification, which links your Storify and exposes people to your site if you included links/URLs in your Storify.

How to use Storify: Share & Notify

11) Tweak any of the text in these boxes as needed, then hit PUBLICIZE.

How to use Storify: Share & Notify How to use Storify: Share&Notify

How to use Storify

12) The next page is pretty useful. It’s where you get the embed code, a URL link and later where you get stats.

•You will find the URL at the top of the page, in the browser window.

•You can also click on Edit on this page to make changes.

How to use StorifyHow to use StorifyHow to use StorifyWhat is Storify?How to use Storify

How to use Storify

CLICK TO GET EMBED CODECLICK TO GET EMBED CODE

SHOWS VIEWS BY SITE

SHOWS VIEWS BY SITEALLOWS YOU TO

SHARE, BY EMAIL, FACEBOOK, ETC.

ALLOWS YOU TO SHARE, BY EMAIL, FACEBOOK, ETC.

FYI-Stats listed in Storify usually don’t align with the article’s Google Analytics. They’re fun to track anyway!

FYI-Stats listed in Storify usually don’t align with the article’s Google Analytics. They’re fun to track anyway!

COPY FOR URLCOPY FOR URL

How to use StorifyHow to use StorifyHow to use StorifyWhat is Storify?How to use Storify

How to use Storify: Add to online article

1) Copy the embed code from Storify.

2) In Saxo: Click on HTML in the WYSIWYG box. Paste the code at the very end. Click Update and publish as usual.

How to use Storify: Finding contentWhat is Storify?How to use Storify: Add to online


3) In Zope: Click on Source in the long body box in Zope. Paste the code at the very end. Click Source again and publish (You may not see anything in Zope but it will appear on your site.)

How to use Storify: Finding contentWhat is Storify?How to use Storify: Add to online


You can change or add to your Storify timeline and when you hit Publish again, it will update the one embedded in your article.

4) You should also copy the Storify URL and “add relate” it as an external resource to your article in Zope. This is especially good for longer stories that continue to a second page since the embedded Storify won’t be visible unless they click on page 2 (or whatever the last page is).

How to use Storify: Finding contentWhat is Storify?How to use Storify: Finding content

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x521649959/Framingham-fighter-gets-a-bigger-stage

1) Check Twitter first! You can’t Storify without buzz.

2) Be proactive – ask your Twitter followers to comment on a topic. Give them a #hashtag to use so you can find their Tweets (by plugging into the Search section). Tell them the best ones will be included in a Storify.

3) Notify people that you “quoted” them. It’s gratifying for those you had invited to know their post was used, and it alerts others of your existence. Then they re-tweet!

Storify takeaways

Storify takeaways

4) Don’t have a scrap pile of Tweets. Organize them like you would a story, adding text among the posts to move the narrative along. At the very least, consider headers or section labels.

5) Try to build the Storify soon after the event – that’s when you’ll easily find “original” posts and when the conversation will be hot. But if you poke around and don’t see a lot of buzz, check again later. Sometimes it takes a bit for people to react.

Storify takeaways

What other tools can we use to curate content?

There are lots of other tools that help you gather social media posts, but two easy ones are:

RebelMouse

Twitter widget

What is Storify?Other tools?

Other tools: What is RebelMouse?

• RebelMouse allows you to connect any and all of your social media accounts to create a unique web page.

• Unlike Storify, which is a manual process, you can automate RebelMouse to pull content from your accounts on its own.

• Its icon is adorable.

What is Storify?Other tools: What is RebelMouse?

Sample RebelMouse page: https://www.rebelmouse.com/WickedLocal/

https://www.rebelmouse.com/WickedLocal/




Other tools: When would I use RebelMouse?

By filtering with a keyword, Twitter List or account feed, you can:

•Gather live tweeting into a RebelMouse page. Your tweets don’t get buried forever – now they live on their own web page.

•Create a special page based on a topic or major event (an election, a big trial, storm)

•Aggregate all of your social media accounts’ activity into one RebelMouse “dashboard” site

Other tools: What is RebelMouse?What is Storify?Other tools: When do I use RebelMouse?

Other tools: When would I use RebelMouse?

Journalists can take advantage of RebelMouse:

•Gather all stories related to one subject onto a RebelMouse page

•Gather their body of work onto a RebelMouse page

(Users can create multiple sites within the same account.)

Other tools: When would I use RebelMouse?Other tools: What is RebelMouse?What is Storify?Other tools: When do I use RebelMouse?

Other tools: How do I use RebelMouse?

1) Create an account using your publication name. (easiest to connect using Facebook or Twitter)

2) Follow the prompts.3) Connect to any social media accounts you

want to flow on to the page. You can add more later through the “Setup Feeds” button or “Content & Feed” tab.

4) The page looks best when you add a photo to a Facebook or Twitter post. Posts that are only text and a link flow into a “Drafts” folder, which you must moderate (choose to post or delete) or else the stuff just sits there.

Other tools: When would I use RebelMouse?Other tools: What is RebelMouse?What is Storify?Other tools: How do I use RebelMouse?

Other tools: How do I use RebelMouse?

5) You can direct people to your new RebelMouse page by posting a story with a link to your RebelMouse page.

6) RebelMouse gives you the option to embed a feed onto your own site, but it currently does not work with Zope or Saxo. More info to come, but if you want to embed it elsewhere (e.g. WordPress), follow the prompts within the Embed tab in your RebelMouse dashboard.

Other tools: When would I use RebelMouse?Other tools: What is RebelMouse?What is Storify?Other tools: How do I use RebelMouse?

Other tools: Twitter widget

You can embed a Twitter widget to a story in Saxotech and Zope. This automatically pulls in tweets based on a filter you apply when building the widget.

Storify takeaways Other tools: Twitter widget

Sample widget:http://www.wickedlocal.com/danvers/news/x529842951/DA-investigation-closes-Danvers-schools


• Log in to Twitter.

• Click on the cog icon at the top, right of the screen.

• Choose Settings.

• Choose Widgets.

• You will see any widgets you’ve already created.

Other tools: Twitter widgetStorify takeaways Other tools: Twitter widget


• “Create new”

• You can pull in content by 1) user name 2) tweets you have favorited through

your own account3) a list you have created in your own

account4) by hashtag

1 2 3 4



Fill out this form. De-select “auto-expand photos.”



• After you hit “Create Widget,” you will get an embed code. Copy that.

• In Saxo, go to your story in the Edit UI.



At the bottom of the Edit page, under the “Extra Fields” section, paste the code in to the “Twitter widget” spot.



In Zope, click Source in the long story box. Paste the code at the end of the story. Click Source again, save and publish.



Examples of when you could use this tool:

• Tweets using a hashtag related to a breaking news event (#hurricanesandy, #marathonbombing)

• All tweets from local/state politicians when profiling them during elections (@MassGovernor)

• All tweets from a reporter as they live tweet during a trial (@Norman_MillerMW)

SAMPLE: http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge


Conclusion

• We want to bring news to where folks already are – Twitter, Facebook, etc. But we also want to gather that work into one spot, either for ease of use or posterity’s sake.

• There are many tools available that either lets us harness social media posted by our readers or posts from our own accounts.

• Experiment. Dip your toe in the water and let us know what you find.

Other tools: Twitter widgetStorify takeaways Conclusion

Questions? Comments? Ideas?

Q&A

FOR MORE INFO, CONTACT:

Nicole SimmonsRegional digital editor, GH-New [email protected]@Digital_Nicole

www.rebelmouse.com/WickedLocalhttp://storify.com/WickedLocal

Other tools: Twitter widgetStorify takeaways Questions? Comments?

Social MediaCuration Tools

GateHouse MediaNews & Interactive

Documents

Social Media Curation Tools GateHouse Media News & Interactive