Social media sites valuable tool

Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, blogs, podcasts, Twitter – the wave of technology available at our fingertips shows no signs of slowing down. I’ve longed ignored most of this thinking it had little use for my needs. Boy, when did I get so out of touch?

I was using the Internet before it was being called the Internet many years ago. When I was in college, I took several online courses through bulletin boards. You couldn’t surf the Internet, there wasn’t anything there. You could log onto bulletin boards, usually set up by a savvy professor, to interact with your classmates. When I took my first course, nobody understood what I was doing and they all thought it was some form of cheating. I ignored their comments, recognizing its benefits.

As more people caught on, the depth of the Internet’s content expanded, and I continued to be an advocate of its use and usefulness. I reveled when my small weekly newspaper went online, looking for every opportunity to post breaking news stories.

I have to admit, however, that I missed the Social Media wave. What was I doing? I was likely up to my eyeballs in deadlines, copy editing, page building and the many other functions of running a daily newspaper to see a great idea and its benefits.

The first time I went to MySpace, I was checking out a potential new reporter. It was the idea of my former News Editor, Matt Williamson. It was a great tip then, and it’s a great tip now. If you’re looking to hire someone, Google them, then check out MySpace and Facebook.

Since that first time, I’ve mostly ignored it. I was aware of it, but didn’t see how it could help me. How could I have been so wrong?

Social Media sites are a direct connection to our readers. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can set up his or her own page in a matter of minutes. hether you choose a blog, a page on Facebook or MySpace, or set up your own Web site, there are many benefits.

First, with the exception of a Web site, it’s free. You can set up a blog site for every member of your newsroom, and it’s all free.

It connects to the reader. I’ve always said that a newspaper must connect to its readers. What better way then to provide them a connection to the writers, photographers, columnists and editors. Yes, they could call, or drop by or send you an e-mail, but many people are more likely to be open, honest and brutal when they have that distance between their computer and yours.

With shrinking ad revenues and page count, the boundlessness of the Internet makes it attractive real estate for newspapers and magazines. You can publish anything at any time, anyone can view it and you can broaden your readership to those that might not pay for a print subscription.
I decided to give it a try for myself and recently started my own blog, http://www.thepracticaleditor.blogspot.com/. The blog contains many of my old Practical Editor columns I’ve written for Publisher’s Auxiliary since 2005. I was sabotaged in my initial attempts, as my computer decided to eat all of my old columns. Luckily, Stan Schwartz had kept copies of my old columns and came to my rescue. For now, the blog contains the columns and I plan to add other items in the future.

I also created a page, or profile, on http://www.linkedin.com/, a professional networking site designed for professionals. Several of my media, and non-media colleagues, recommended the site as a good networking tool. Why not?

Many of my friends have also urged me to create a Facebook page, which I plan to do eventually. I’ll limit that page to friends and family.
I welcome Publisher’s Auxiliary readers and any of my colleagues, to check out my initial attempts in social media sites and welcome your ideas and suggestions.