Sky News prides itself on being ‘first with breaking news’, with over 500 journalists reporting and broadcasting from all corners of the globe.
Recently Sky took the bold step of embedding social media into every journalist’s desktop, and mandating the use of Tweetdeck across the news floor. The BBC has also made a similar move.
media140 founder Ande Gregson spent an afternoon with Julian March, Executive Producer for SkyNews.com to find out about the organisation’s recent experiences with social media in Britain’s May 6 general election.
Being fairly fond of these topics, Ande couldn’t help but slip in a few questions about Sky’s views on citizen journalism, paywalls and the future of social news.
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Duration 8 minutes 26 seconds. More media140 video at www.vimeo/media140
Mark is a newbie to the Media140 blog, but he is an old hand in Internet innovation. He is currently CEO of a phone blogging service called ipadio, which allows users to broadcast audio online by simply making a phone call. Last year, ipadio was named eConsultancy’s Most Innovative New Technology, beating IBM.
What is more interesting: the world economic downturn, or its immediate effect on your neighbourhood?
We at Media140 do not presume to preempt your news consumption choices, but based on our own – perhaps base – preferences, we are betting on the latter.
After a boom in global Internet news which has lasted the best part of a decade, it seems local perspectives have gained a kind of drawing power of which newspapers can only dream.
Nevertheless, magnificent Media140 blogger Peter Bouvier had never heard of hyper-local news until we asked him to look into the rise and rise of borough- and even block-based micro-sites.
Peter discovered that while they represent geographically small districts, hyper-local sites are taking over large tracts of the online news industry.
Peter works as the social media editor for Britain’s National Health Service, has delusions of grandeur and is currently working on a trilogy of epic children’s poems called the Tales of Tikulo.
We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a newsflash.
The monoliths of global and national news organisations are crumbling! Well, okay, that is admittedly not much of a newsflash, since it has been occurring for quite some time. However, it does beg the question; what is replacing them? Read More…
The real-time web is already proving to be an effective – and cost-effective – way for the often under-resourced Third Sector to publicise causes, galvanise support and recruit volunteers.
Media140′s next event, taking place in London on Thursday 4th February, will celebrate this rapid uptake of real-time technology by so many go-ahead charities. We will also examine current and future trends and take a closer look at some of the new tools which may be of real benefit to the sector.
A surprising number of Third Sector organisations have been quick to adopt social media tools, enabling them to further extend their reach via an innovative variety of platforms including live-blogging, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
The event is taking place as part of the inaugural London Social Media Week. Entitled Media140 Third Sector the afternoon event will showcase several NFPs which have already successfully integrated the real-time web into their current campaign strategies. There will also be plenty of opportunities for intrigued and enthusiastic newbies to ask questions about relevant topics, including cross-platform campaigns, real-time fund raising, building support communities and volunteer networks.
An impressive list of charities, non-profits, volunteer organisations and agencies specialising in Third Sector work will all be sharing their respective insights. They will also be able to further enhance their existing networks at the event, which comprises a varied series of keynotes, panels and case studies.
Confirmed speakers include:
• Steve Bridger, Builder of Bridges
• Rachel Beer, Founding partner of Beautiful World
• Jonathan Waddingham, Digital Strategist at JustGiving
• Jacqui Darlow, Digital Marketing Manager Dog’s Trust
• John Carnell, Founder and Chief Executive BullyingUK
• Rob M Dyson, Digital/Social PR Manager, WhizzKidz
• Lucy Buck, Founder of Childsi Foundation
• Jaz Cummins, Web & New Media Manager, Amnesty UK
• Damien Austin-Walker, Head of Technical + Online Systems, Timebank
Venue: We are Social, The Qube, 90 Whitfield St, London W1T 4EZ.
How desperate would you have to be if you found yourself filling out the contact details on the bottom of a blog, in the slight hope that the blogger might take the time to read about your predicament and, hopefully, even help.
When Bader and Waleed, two Iraqi interpreters who had worked for the British military in Basra, read this post about 25 of their compatriots suing the British for lack of protection, that is exactly what they did. The blogger in question, Murcia-based linguist and legal translator Matthew Bennett was so shocked that he got in touch with them to see if there was anything practical he could do to help.
Please take a few minutes to read Bader and Waleed’s story and find out how it made its way, via the blogosphere and Twitter, onto this forum. If you have any constructive suggestions or even if you have only moral support to offer, please take the time to comment – either here or on Matthew’s own blog.
Most Twitter users will clock the phrase “Please RT” several times a day. Every so often, you might even oblige – if it is a link to a particularly interesting post, or even, as so often, and particularly on #charitytuesday, if the Tweet is publicising a cause which is close to your own heart.
Many of Matthew Bennett’s followers did just that when they saw this in his stream on Sunday evening.
Please RT this – Bader and Waleed: two Iraqi interpreters who risked everything to help Britain http://bit.ly/46J6cj
I was one of them. I have been following Matthew almost since I started Tweeting in early 2008. He is a fellow linguist and translator and also shares many of my other interests – in languages, running and good Spanish wines. He is also a former Territorial Army Officer who writes considered and thought-provoking stuff about both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Intrigued by his tweet, I sent a DM asking how and why the two interpreters had found and contacted him. He told me Waleed had read his post referring to Deborah Haynes July piece in the Times and filled in the contact form on his blog:
“I’m an Iraqi who used to work as an interpreter with the British military in Basra. if would be interested in help me [sic] with some of your efforts on our behalf. I have filled in the forms. I have also attached a copy of the rejection form the British Military has already sent me. I applied for assistance but was turned down because I ‘only’ worked for 7 months. During that time I was shot at, threatened and five of my close friends & colleagues were murdered. I now live in Syria with my wife and children, and our circumstances are becoming increasingly desperate”. Read More…
We have already had an extremely heated discussion on this blog about the value of live, real-time, coverage of the many events of interest to the Media140 audience. In a debate which we dubbed “Sifting the News from the Noise” Brian Condon and Steve Jackson, not to mention several engaged commenters, engaged in a lively exchange of views on one of this forum’s busiest days to date.
Media140 regular Caitlin Fitzsimmons has already posted valuable tips about Twitter for bloggers, #FollowFriday and other thorny matters of web etiquette. Here, she suggests some original ways to carry on live covering, without drowning out the rest of “the Conversation” –
If you are going to a conference and you use Twitter, then you may be tempted to tweet about what’s going on at the conference. But if you want to add value and not annoy your followers, then you should think carefully about the why and the how. Personally, I think Twitter can be a fabulous tool for conferences, but most people should think twice before using their own accounts for this purpose.
I think they are both right. I also think there is an easy solution.
There is no doubt in my mind that Twitter can enhance a conference experience and extend its reach. There will generally be a conference hashtag set up for any tweets about the event, so it can provide an immediate camaraderie and means to communicate and collaborate. Tweeting about what is said in sessions can amplify the salient points and spark discussion and debate and further questions. If there is a critical mass of people tweeting then it can help break the ice – after all, one of the biggest reasons to go to many conferences, is the opportunity to network with other attendees.
Hopefully, so the theory goes, the Twitter back channel can also bring the conference to a wider audience. It lets people who are interested but couldn’t attend in person know what is going on and feed back their own thoughts and questions.
The problem is that Twitter is a broadcast medium so it is also reaches a lot of people who are not interested. It’s all very well to say that you can always unfollow someone – this is true, but not very useful advice when any one of your followers may attend a conference and suddenly start tweeting like crazy at any moment in time. You may also want to follow the conference-attending tweeter on any other day of the year, when they are not at a conference. Supposedly the Twitter Snooze tool, which lets you temporarily unfollow someone, can help with this, but it didn’t work the one time I tried it.
One alternative is live-blogging, which is 100% opt-in and offers a permanent record of what happened at the conference. The disadvantage is that it’s not as collaborative and fun as tweeting.
I think setting up a separate Twitter account for the conference is the obvious answer. I’ve done this twice and it works beautifully. Read More…
Can one hashtag really force an established law firm to back down? The Twitter vs Carter Ruck debate is likely to rumble on for a while. For Media140, Journalism.co.uk’s Laura Oliver charts how the story broke on the blogosphere and explains how her own Twitter and Social Media network helped to hone her own perspective on what was really going on:
Some may be proclaiming it a Twitter victory, but I am not going to go quite that far.
But the U-turn by media law firm Carter-Ruck on its attempt to gag the media from reporting a parliamentary question felt like a turning point for social media and my use of Twitter as a journalist.
For many, it was the Guardian that broke the story but I heard the news of Carter Ruck’s action on Twitter first. This is not the first time this has happened with a news story and, as a journalist who reports on the media industry, it is no surprise that plenty of the people I follow on Twitter would be interested in the story.
But what made this story different for me was the value that my Twitter network added to the story:
· I was getting a feed of updates on the story from a range of online sources as they happened;
· I was getting links to comment and analysis from personally recommended blogs;
· Plus links to background material on libel law, the Guardian’s reporting on Trafigura and Carter-Ruck’s previous history with the paper;
· Links to visualisations of the story as it trended on Twitter.
Twitter as a communication tool and as an online community made my job as a reporter infinitely easier. Read More…
How long is it exactly since @Micah kicked off #FF thus: I started #followfriday to highlight our friends we are proud of – ?? In the intervening months, many of us have come to dread the weekly expectations and embarassments, surprises and shocks the simple inclusion of our @twitterhandle in another tweet can bring. It can lead to matters of the most delicate Twetiquette.
For Media140, Caitlin Fitzsimmons has already posted valuable and much RT-ed advice about Twitter for bloggers. Here she comes up with some timely and tested tips on how to transfer all that #FF #love to another forum, enhancing the latter and keeping all your followers happy.
Today is Friday. That means that my Twitter stream, and likely yours, will be filled with random list of Twitter names tagged #followfriday (or just #ff). Most of these tweets will have little or no context or explanation about why you should follow this person. Does anyone actually find this useful?
I don’t know who started the Follow Friday meme but it’s been going strong for at least as long as I’ve been on Twitter. It started as a nice way to recommend people who add particular value to your Twitter life, whether it be through sharing intriguing links, taking part in lively conversations, or just general all-round awesomeness. I’ve found quite a few of the people I follow from Follow Friday recommendations.
Strictly speaking it’s not necessary, since you can always look at who people are following via their profile page, or use tools such as Mr Tweet. All the same, it’s friendly and fun and it has value.
But it’s been getting out of hand. Everyone is doing Follow Friday now and virtually no one is providing context. A random list of names with no explanation does nothing for me, either as the person being recommended or if others are being recommended to me. Until recently, the best I could hope for is a single word theme such as ‘travel’ or ‘journalists’. Read More…
TimeBank is a relatively young charity which has made a significant contribution to the 21st century revolution in the way that the voluntary sector and businesses approach charitable work – both individually and jointly. As TimeBank’s Head of Online and Tech, Damien Austin-Walker, was initially keen to see how he could apply social media concepts and methods to expand and reinforce the existing networks which patently contributed to the charity’s initial – and continuing – success. For Media140’s inaugural #charitytuesday guest post, he explains why he now believes that a separate “Social Media Strategy” may be something of a misnomer:
I joined Twitter myself in June 2007 and a month later, registered another Twitter account, on behalf of my organization TimeBank (a Volunteering Charity www.timebank.org.uk). As TimeBank, I tweeted just the once and did not return to the account until 12 months later.
My initial intentions were…..err….Well I am not sure exactly what they were for the @timebank account. Obviously, I wanted to protect the name but also I wanted to attempt something interesting, by applying social web concepts and methods to the world of volunteering. I had no idea what I would do, how I would do it or even what my aims were – apart from establishing us in this space – just in case it turned out to be beneficial. It was ‘there’ and I do like new toys, so I went away and practiced “as myself” first.
You have to put effort into Twitter, before you start seeing the value. The first benefits which became apparent were the extra depth it added to networking within my own sector(s) and enhanced sharing of information with partners and collaborators. I even feel it has changed the shape of the playing field with our so-called competitors: we are all partners now, on some level.
Embedding with strategy
A few early wins highlighted the potential of the social web and convinced us that there was value; it could help us meet our objectives. These first successes were not earth shattering but, considering the low level of resource so far applied, the signs are promising.
Some small but positive examples:-
General thanks and positive comments: Such as – ICEurope: “Great day w/ @junction49 + @timebank – met some really inspiring young volunteers doing fantastic things in their communities!”
A post linking to a video made for one of our projects received five retweets: over 50% of views of the video over a five-day period after the tweet were from Twitter and the video was liked so much by one re-tweeter that they asked if they could feature it in their monthly e-newsletter.
A volunteer trying to give us some feedback messaged us via Twitter as her email had been blocked by our spam filter. Without this extra channel of communication, she would have received no response and assumed that we just didn’t care.
We have since gone on to build the “social” into our “strategy”. We don’t have a separate ‘Social Media’ strategy; instead, digital and social media are just some of a number of channels which are covered by our overall communications strategy which, in turn, is aligned with our organizational strategy.
It can get uncomfortably hot in the Twitter Celeb kitchen, as a host of eager – but less than circumspect – Tweeters continue to discover. This week it was the turn of winsome songstress @lilyroseallen (followers 1,538, 873 and counting; following: 57). Lily’s initially trenchant views on illegal file sharing unleashed a backlash so immediate and virulent that on Thursday, she Tweeted: “i’ve shut down the blog, the abuse was getting too much”.
By Friday, inevitably, she had even metamorphosed into a meme, trending high, alongside #FF, TGIF & the usual suspects. One particularly innovative comment came from Dan Bull, who posted this catchy homage to Allen’s music on You Tube – sample lyrics: “precludes me from sending your tunes to my friends, so we all lose in the end…”
For Media140, Ben Werdmuller, takes a wider perspective and an extremely thoughtful look at how the music industry is paying the price for its persistent inability to adapt to the new meritocratic economics which now govern the business. Lily and file sharing? Go Ahead and Smile:
It’s been a tough week for Lily Allen. Apparently incensed by illegal Internet file sharing, she started a blog against it. Unfortunately, in the process she cut and paste an entire article from Techdirt without permission, and was outed as having uploaded two illegal mixtapes to her own official site. Whoops; it turns out that people in glass houses shouldn’t really throw stones. Reportedly crippled by embarrassment, she subsequently announced that she has “quit the music business forever” and won’t be releasing any more music. (This statement was quickly diluted by her management.)
But perhaps we shouldn’t be too hard on Ms Allen? Her industry as a whole is in a tailspin, severely damaged by its own failure to adapt to the post-scarcity economics that now govern recorded music. The problem is, the Internet is developing into a cultural meritocracy, where anyone can release their music and have its success or failure dictated solely by the worldwide audience it can attract.
Meanwhile, the labels’ inaction has brought about a situation where downloading music illegally is arguably easier than buying it. Digital Rights Management, device restrictions and the inability to share tracks with your friends are all traits of bought music; illegal music, on the other hand, runs on any digital music player you throw it at and you are also free to use and share it as you please.
22nd - 28th April Big Data Week A week long festival of interconnected global events focusing on the social, political, technological and commercial impacts of Big Data. Hosted in London, Moscow, Sydney, Barcelona, Kuala Lumpur, Chicago and more.
Sydney May 28th Mobile Technology Revolution & The Customer Smartphones, Tablets and Mobile Technology have changed the lives of consumers. They use them in every part of their life; communication, connection, shop, information sourcing, entertainment, working etc. They have transformed they way people connect and live. They expect to be connected and spoken to directly by companies and brands.
Register to attend
6th & 7th June The BIG Science Communication Summit
Inspiring Australia, TechNyou and ScienceRewired are excited to announce a 2-day hands-on summit to map out the next challenges for science communication in Australia and to collaboratively address best-practice solutions.
Register to attend
If you are a registered charity or Not-for-Profit we have a 30% discount on all of our social business workshops.
If you need more information about these sessions please contact info@media140.com
TESTIMONIALS
"The media140 seminars inspired us to move beyond the clutter and hype to engage with practical concepts that help businesses leverage the power of social communities. media140 is out in front of the new frontier" Stephen Broadbant, President ESADE Media Club
