Twitter for Journalists

@stevebuttryGazette CommunicationsCanwest News Service

Jan. 20, 2010#twjtips

Resources to help journo tweeps

• “Twitter tips for journalists” on my blog: stevebuttry.wordpress.com

• “Breaking news” and “Twitter”categories on my blog

• These slides (and other Twitter slideshows) at slideshare.net/stevebuttry

• #twjtips

How do you use Twitter?(and let’s ask my tweeps)

How @snolen uses Twitter. via @mathewi

• “Best reporting tool I’ve ever come across.”• Needed photojournalist in specific region of

India; Globe & Mail photo desk tried for a week w/ no luck; she posted on Twitter (@mathewi & others retweeted) & had photog in two hours

• Found a key source for story on Tamil Tigers

How Twitter helps journalists

• Quickly locate eyewitnesses & participants in breaking news

• Connect with sources, journalists• Monitor community discussion, get

story ideas• Promote content• Write tight (no lead longer than a

tweet)

How do I get started?1. Open account2. Be sure to fill in bio, location, picture3. Decide how to use phone4. Follow some people5. Start Twittering

Twitter terminology1. Tweet, an update (noun or verb), up to

140 characters2. Tweeps, your followers3. Retweet, to pass on a link or thought

(can be quote, paraphrase, starting point)

4. Tweetup, a physical gathering of tweeps

5. Fail whale, over-capacity graphic

What should I tweet about?

• Link to a new blog post, story, video, photo

• Retweet (with a comment) a link from a colleague

• Reply to someone from your community

• Tweet an unfolding story• Tweet something insightful or funny

Linking with Twitter

• Use compressed links: bit.ly, tinyurl.com, is.gd, tr.im, etc.

• Write a headline or a comment; give tweeps a reason to click

• Credit

People to follow

• Look for sources (find people)• Ask sources• Journalists in other communities• When someone follows you, check out to

see whether you should follow back• When you follow someone, check whom

they follow• Tweeps mentioned in interesting tweets

David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen

“We had a two-month transit strike a year ago, and Twitter was useful for getting a feel for how traffic was moving in the early days, and then how things were going during the staged return to work.”Useful for “epic lineups for H1N1 vaccines. … These tweeps were a real force multiplier that gave us clues where to send our reporters to find the most important goings-on, and what questions to ask the Powers That Be.”

David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen

“Word that a piano that was in a public space at a downtown grocery store had been taken away and replaced with shelves of potted plants for sale. People loved that piano and there’s been a minor firestorm since it was removed. It’s a real slice-of-downtown-life kind of a story, and something I wouldn’t have known about without one angry person’s tweet.”

Quakes show Twitter’s value• Indonesia• Twitter HQ• Lists• Location search• Term or hashtag search

Examples from one day in Iowa

• Click trends• Search hashtag #iagaymarriage• @tdorman from Supreme Court, press

conference• @DM_in_the_PM from rally• @dianeheldt from court

Twitter’s value in breaking newsnot happening in Iran, Haiti

• Emergency landing• DC Metro crash• @jkrums on Hudson emergency landing• @2drinksbehind on Denver plane crash• Fargo flooding

Twitter twists

• Tweetbeep & Tweetscan• Interface w/other social media• Publish2• TweetDeck, Tweetie, etc.• Twitpic• Lists, favorites, retweets

Ways to use Twitter

• Follow people on the beat (put their feeds on beatblog)

• Crowdsource (“Does anyone know anything about …?”)

• Story ideas (ask, monitor chat)• Connect with eyewitnesses• Drive traffic to blog posts, stories

Ethical considerations

• How do you identify yourself?• Separate personal and professional

Twitter feeds?• How do you verify?• What language is acceptable (WTF)?• What, if any, opinions are OK?

Let’s check advice from the tweeps

Wrapping up

• These slides at slideshare.net/stevebuttry

• Follow me on Twitter: @stevebuttry• Twitter tips, links to journalists & helpful

resources on Twitter on my blog: stevebuttry.wordpress.com

Final advice

From @mathewi (Globe and Mail):Don’t answer, “What are you doing?” Answer, “What am I thinking?”

And from @stevebuttry:“What do I want to know?”