Don’t be selfish on Twitter; tweeting useful information is good business

A journalism student asked me a question last night that reflects a common concern among professional journalists and media managers:

@stevebuttry How can Twitter be used effectively w/o giving away too much content? I don’t want my work being given away for free #ls260

— Stephen Shiflett (@StephenShiflett) September 4, 2012

I wasn’t exactly pleased with my reply (as tirelessly as I encourage journalists to use  Twitter, can I still blame the 140-character limit?):

@stephenshiflett Effective Twitter use w/o worrying about giving it away will drive traffic to sites where you sell ads.

— Steve Buttry (@stevebuttry) September 5, 2012

Then this morning I got around to blogging about some analysis Matt DeRienzo did recent of Digital First Media’s branded Twitter accounts in Connecticut, and I realized Matt had a better answer: Serving your Twitter audience effectively drives traffic to your website better than trying to drive traffic.

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Digital Ninja School: A plan and incentives for newsroom training

Journalists in Digital First newsrooms in Connecticut will earn bonuses as they master important digital skills.

Matt DeRienzo, Group Editor for Connecticut, announced plans today for Digital Ninja School, a plan to help staff members develop skills in five key digital areas: digital publishing, social media, blogging, video and data.

Newsroom training has been a passion of mine since the mid-1990s, and I am pleased and proud that training plays such a prominent role in Digital First efforts to change our company’s business model, culture and workflow. I first discussed this plan with Matt on a visit to the Register Citizen in Torrington last June. As Matt acknowledged on Twitter today, the “ninja” concept is “super hokey.” But what’s super-important is that the ninja “belts” that journalists earn through the program are backed up by actual cash. A journalist earning all five belts will earn $2,000 in bonuses (to say nothing of the opportunities for advancing to positions that pay more.

In each of the five areas, journalists will complete some core requirements and choose some electives to master through a mix of workshops, webinars and hands-on experience. On the Ninja School blog, journalists will document their training and their use of the skills on the job. To complete additional levels, you need to document that you are still using the skills from previous belts.

Journalists take the initiative in deciding which belts to earn first, and what they need to do to master each skill. Supervisors go over plans with the journalists and provide the time and resources to complete the training. Chris March, Matt and I have compiled an extensive list of training resources.

If you expect journalists to use new skills on the job, you need to provide training to help them master those new skills. Through Digital Ninja School, our journalists in Connecticut have resources, time and incentives to become better digital journalists. I look forward to helping in Ninja School training. I hope and expect that a similar comprehensive training program will be offered before long throughout the company.

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A quiz to teach journalists about plagiarism and attribution

The Connecticut newsrooms of Digital First Media have dealt with two instances of plagiarism in recent months.

After the first incident, we encouraged staff members to read my blog posts about attribution and cheating. After the second, Matt DeRienzo, our Connecticut group editor, suggested a quiz to ensure that staff members understand what plagiarism is and how to attribute their research. (After all, plagiarism generally starts with good research; the problem is the failure to attribute.) I developed the questions and Chris March set the quiz up. Matt made sure that every journalist in our Connecticut newsrooms took the quiz, and he discussed the results with them.

We thought the plagiarism and attribution quiz would accomplish several things:

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Leading a Digital First newsroom

Digital First editors are caught in transition.

Many are longtime print editors. However much they have been embracing and resisting the digital transformation the past couple decades (and most of us have been doing some of both), they understand now that the future is digital and they want to help lead that newsroom of the future. Even the editors who are digital natives who’ve worked more online than in print are caught in this transition because they are leading staffs through the transition.

Don’t look at the suggestions here as an exact checklist for the Digital First editor. We want editors who don’t need checklists, who find creative solutions for their newsrooms. The staff dynamic, size and abilities, the community’s needs and the editor’s own strengths, weaknesses and creativity will determine the right leadership approach for each newsroom. And the challenges and opportunities for each newsroom are unique, at least in their details, and leadership must respond to them with solutions that are unique, at least in their details.

Don’t look at this checklist as a yardstick by which to measure the success or failings of a particular editor. Perhaps some editor excels in all of these areas (I wouldn’t, if I were still leading a newsroom), but that would be a rare editor.

View these as my suggestions for Digital First editors trying to meet the challenges and opportunities this transition:

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How a Digital First approach guides a journalist’s work

Digital First means different priorities and processes for journalists.

The name and approach of my company, Digital First Media, is getting a lot of attention in journalism, and other companies have declared they will follow a digital-first approach. But I don’t think the approach is yet widely or well understood. As I’ve visited our company’s newsrooms, I’ve heard again and again from editors that they are “all in” for our digital emphasis. But in the next breath, some editors ask questions about what Digital First means for them and their newsrooms. They believe but they don’t fully understand.

Digital First is way more than just publishing breaking news online and shooting video (though it involves both). Steve Yelvington explained:

Digital First is about making the future your first priority, with everything that implies.

It requires restructuring all your priorities. Not just when you do it, but what you do and how you do it.

In a series of blog posts starting today, I will attempt to explain what those priorities mean. I will explain for my Digital First colleagues as well as for the curious and skeptical journalists who are closely watching our efforts to redirect and redefine journalism.

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What are the ‘advantages of Foursquare’? Learning about engagement around location

As I was live-tweeting an interview of Foursquare General Manager Evan Cohen Tuesday, Joey Kulkin asked a good question:

@stevebuttry What are advantages of 4sq again?—
Joey Kulkin (@incrediblekulk) October 25, 2011

I promised an answer:

I may blog about that: RT @incrediblekulk What are advantages of 4sq again?—
Steve Buttry (@stevebuttry) October 25, 2011

So here goes. Why do I “check in” every time I eat at a restaurant or attend an event (or even at each train stop as I roll home from New York tonight as I write this)?

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Listening to the community on Twitter produces great stories

Lon Seidman shows why journalists and news organizations need to take Twitter seriously.

Lon Seidman

A few years ago, Seidman might have called up a newspaper or TV station to express his anger and a reporter would have gotten a great interview with a businessman who’s frustrated with the local power company’s customer service following a disaster. But now Seidman just takes to Twitter and sounds off to his followers (188 when I checked this morning).

And Matt DeRienzo got a great story because he was paying attention.

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