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The latest on how science and medical writers are using social media to report the news, develop sources, and publish and promote their journalism.
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Medical Journalists Get Social
How social media tools can make life better for editors and writers
For UNC Med/Sci Journalism
Sept. 26, 2009
Source: Matt McDonald, BrandFlakesforBreakfast.com
Journalists are using Twitter and other social media to:
• Find and cultivate sources.
• Follow news and events in real time.
• Discover story ideas.
• Share scoops and useful information.
• Promote their work.
• AND – connect and interact with readers.
Four ways to deploy social media
• Institution: Reuters, AHCJ, FoodSafety.gov
• Person: Ivan Oransky, Maryn McKenna, Christine Gorman, Scott Hensley, Helen Branswell
• Topic: Medicare, patient-centered health care, swine flu, pediatrics, HIV, electronic medical records
• Geography: Connect with people in Brazil or Omaha using brightkite.com or twitterlocal.net.
Why should journalists care?May 2009: Social vs. Search
Facebook drew 82.9 million unique visitors in May, up from 68.5 million in January.
Twitter logged 19.7 million uniques.
Google May uniques: 144.4 million; Yahoo, 135.5 million; MSN, 97.5 million.
source: Compete Web analytics
What’s journalism’s future in social media?
-- “It’s not information overload, it’s filter failure.”
-- Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody
-- “We’re heading into an incredibly messy but also wonderful period of innovation and experimentation that combines technology and people and pushes great and outlandish ideas out into the real world. The result will be a huge number of failures but also a large number of successes. … This is why I’ve grown more and more certain that we will not lack for a supply of quality news and information.”
– Dan Gillmor’s blog, May 2009
Where to find more on using social media
• Websites that follow new media on a practical level:
Mashable.comReadwriteweb.comPaidcontent.orgPoynter.org (e-media tidbits) • People who have useful takes on journalism and new media:
JayRosen: @jayrosen_nyuDanGillmor: @dangillmorClay Shirky: @cshirkyJeff Jarvis: @jeffjarvis
Questions?
Find these slides at:slideshare.com/nancyshute
Find me at:[email protected]
[email protected]/nancyshute
