Upcoming social media workshops in June: NYC, Chicago, Boston, Providence

Posted on May 29, 2010 by Robert Ivan

Sree Sreenivasan, Columbia J-school digital media professor; contributing editor to DNAinfo.com; and one of AdAge’s 25 people to follow on Twitter, is offering a series of workshops in June – in NYC; Chicago; Boston/Cambridge; Providence. More on him at http://sree.net and you can see how he uses social media by connecting with him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sreenet | Facebook: http://facebook.com/sreetips (tech tips and job leads) | LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/sreenivasan

He promises his sessions, like his tweets, will most likely be: * helpful * useful * informative * relevant * practical * actionable * entertaining * fun * occasionally funny

==> You can track his workshops at http://bit.ly/workshops and/or ask him to add you to his monthly tech tips & tricks mailing list: sree@sree.net

NEW YORK CITY:
Wed, June 2, 6:45-9:45 pm, NYC: Mediabistro workshop at Chinatown YMCA: BASIC Social Networking for Media Professionals – register here – USE THIS DISCOUNT CODE, SREE25 – save 25% on the class price: http://bit.ly/sreemb6
(this is the basic session; the advanced one is June 30; you can attend, one or both)

Wed, June 30, 6:45-9:45 pm, NYC: Mediabistro workshop at Chinatown YMCA: ADVANCED Social Networking for Media Professionals – register here – USE THIS DISCOUNT CODE, SREE25 – save 25% on the class price: http://bit.ly/sreemb7 Note: Sree will be joined by Soraya Darabi, a socmedia star who has more than 400,000 followers. (this is the advance session; the basic one is June 2; you can attend, one or both)

CHICAGO:
Thurs, June 17, 6-8 pm: A FREE intermediate/advanced social media workshop, hosted by Chicago chapters of SAJA & AAJA at Bloomberg Chicago bureau. Limited seating so please RSVP only if you can make it. Details: http://bit.ly/sreechi

BOSTON:
Thursday, June 24, 6:30-8:30 pm, Cambridge: FREE social media workshop at Cambridge Marriott. Limited seats available for outsiders – if you’d like to attend, e-mail sree@sree.net

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND:
Monday, June 7: 1-2:30 pm: FREE social media workshop at the Providence Journal. Limited seats available for outsiders – if you’d like to attend, e-mail sree@sree.net

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SOME RECENT ARTICLES ABOUT SREE’S WORK IN SOCMEDIA

NEW YORK OBSERVER: The Twitter Tutor – http://sree.ly/sreenyo

MEDIABISTRO: So, What Do You Do, Sree Sreenivasan?
http://bit.ly/sreembprofile

HUFFINGTON POST: Sree Sreenivasan on Using Social Media For Better Journalism -
http://bit.ly/sreehuffpo

LEAP (Sarah Davidson’s blog): Tweet or Die http://bit.ly/9unBJW

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ATTENDEE COMMENTS FROM PREVIOUS SREE SESSIONS
“This seminar couldn’t be better. Sree is articulate and engaging, and really understands both his subject and the needs of the media professionals who attended the seminar.” — Lynn Brenner

“Sree knows his stuff. He packs lots of information into a totally engaging, fast-paced class. I strongly recommend this class for anyone who wants to understand social networking and how to apply it to their professional endeavors.” — TaRessa Stovall

“Sree was wonderful. He has a real knack for imparting an understanding of social networks and technology for the young and old.” — Peter Zehren

“Sree was absolutely terrific! He made a topic that is very difficult for many people to fully grasp very comprehensive.” — Melissa Schwartz

“Sree’s presentation was well thought out and the time flew by. He truly knows his stuff and engaged students as well.” — Anita Aboulafia

Prof. Sree Sreenivasan | sree@sree.net
Dean of Student Affairs, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism
http://www.sree.net | http://www.sreetips.com
Contributing editor, DNAinfo: http://DNAinfo.com
FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/sreetips
TWITTER: @sreenet – http://twitter.com/sreenet

Advanced Social Media Workshop

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Robert Ivan

Special Advanced Social Media Workshop, hosted by AAJA & SAJA at Columbia Journalism School. Free for AAJA & SAJA members, $20 for others.
SPEAKER: Prof. Sree Sreenivasan

Wed, April 28, 2010
6:30-8 pm

Columbia Journalism School
116th St & Broadway (#1 train to 116th St)

RSVP to: http://sree.ly/aajasaja28

Sign up for AAJA membership (open to all): http://aaja.org/membership
Sign up for SAJA membeship (open to all): http://bit.ly/sajamem

Free for members of those groups or pay $20 at the door if you are not a member.

We will check membership status at the door.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP: Already comfortable on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn? Then it’s time to take it your social-media skills to the next level.

This special, advanced social-media class is designed to specifically help media pros make the most of social-media tools. You will be expected to know all the basics and be ready to dive into a session filled with practical, actionable tips and case studies.

# How to deepen your connection with your audience via social media

# New tools you must absolutely know and use

# How to build your personal brand

# How to find, on deadline, specific types of people you need for work

# The best ways to increase your followers, fans, and connections

# How to get the “right” followers, fans, and connections

# Metrics: why you need to understand them and how you can do just that

# Sustainable social media — how to keep from drowning in information and make time to participate efficiently

Versions of this have been taught by Sree at CNN, NBC, ABC, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Boston Globe, Washington Post, NPR, Mediabistro and elsewhere.

THE SPEAKER: Prof. Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Student Affairs, Columbia Journalism School & contributing editor, DNAinfo.com – one of AdAge’s 25 media people to follow on Twitter. More on him at http://sree.net and you can see how he uses social media by connecting with him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sreenet | Facebook: http://facebook.com/sreetips | LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/sreenivasan

He promises the workshop, like his tweets, will most likely be: * helpful * useful * informative * relevant * practical * actionable * entertaining * fun * occasionally funny

Here’s one comment from a previous attendee: “Professor Sree’s presentation at the Columbia Club luncheon in Naples was riveting, fast-paced and packed with information. He presented his material clearly, accessing the internet in real-time to introduce his audience to new and useful websites. Sree was friendly and open to questions at all times, and his style and sense of humor contributed to what was a fun learning experience.” – Michael Hanson

BTW, I am also teaching a brand-new workshop with a brand-new topic for a brand-new organization: “Get Beyond Job Hunting: Tips for Journalists and Media Professionals” – Wed, May 12, 6-9 pm (including mixer), NYC – presented by Guruloft at Hive at 55 (55 Broad Street, 13th floor, near Wall Street) – see details & register at http://bit.ly/gljobs – USE THIS DISCOUNT CODE – SREENET – for 15% off.

How not to use Twitter… when technology and incompetence collide.

Posted on September 12, 2008 by Robert Ivan

The Rocky Mountain News tweets the funeral of a 3-year-old, Marten Kudlis, killed when a car ran into the ice cream parlor he was in.

I highly recommend newspapers using Twitter to build an audience while writing/ gathering a story for publication. I think it is great for on-the-scene reporting at breaking news events.

But what is the point of using Twitter at a funeral? This does not add to my self-actualization, it does not inform me or entertain me either. The online editor at the Rocky Mountain News needs to get his head examined for allowing this tasteless stunt.

The Reporter is Berny Morson. John Temple is the editor, publisher and president of the Rocky Mountain News. Links are provided to contact these people. No one has been able to reach these two for a comment at press time.

UPDATE 9-13-2008

John Temple attempts to explain his usage of Twitter for covering this funeral. He claims the following:

Helping the community by sending live feeds like for a road closing
The reporter was out of the way of the mourners
Major funerals are covered by TV and Radio
They’ve taken photos of dead babies (for the mother, with the mother’s permission) and had no complaints
“We must learn to use the new tools at our disposal”

The problem is that this was not a “road closing”. It wasn’t a presidential debate. It wasn’t done for the sake of the family.

Most importantly, The Rocky Mountain News should learn how to use Twitter before unleashing it at a kid’s (or anyone’s) funeral. You don’t have to be a newspaper editor to know that.

John, I’ve always thought that the purpose of a newspaper is to promote self-actualization by providing readers with quality information. Readers use that information to make better decisions on a wide range of topics, from which road to travel on (road closings), to which candidate to vote for. When readers find these interactions favorable over a period of time, then a relationship is cultivated and readers come to view your paper as a reliable source for news, information, guidance, entertainment, and advertising.

Not very long ago, the industry standard for revenue generated per subscriber was roughly $1000. It is easy to see why this is no longer the case. The product is no longer providing that level of quality, relevant, information.

Twitter Immortalized In Newseum, Biz Stone Q&A

Posted on August 12, 2008 by Robert Ivan

As you all know I took a trip to the Newseum in DC recently. In what I think is their new media section I came across the infamous “tweet heard round the world”. I contacted Twitter to get more info and they responded quite quickly. Thank you Mr. Stone!

My email to Twitter:

I couldn’t help but notice your appearance in the Newseum in Washington DC. There is a mention of how Twitter beat out the multibillion dollar Bloomberg News Service by 22 seconds in reporting the May 12th earthquake in China this year.

Introduce yourself
How do you feel about being immortalized in this nation’s news museum?
What was that experience like? Did they call you? Write you? Send a Tweet?
Was the China incident a one-time thing or will Twitter continue to influence the future of news reporting?

Their response:

Hi Robert,

My name is Biz Stone and I’m the co-founder of Twitter. Yes, the Newseum folks emailed with a few questions about how Twitter works and I answered them. We’re happy to be included in the collection. The China incident is by no means isolated on Twitter.

Two weeks ago there was an earthquake in Southern California and Twitter started collecting first-hand reports the same minute the quake struck at 11:42am. Nine minutes later, the AP send out a wire. During those nine minutes, Twitter collected 3,436 updates from people on their way to work, school, the doctor, etc containing the word “quake.”

Later that week another quake struck China. There’s also floods, windstorms, Olympics, and any massively shared event you can imagine surfacing on Twitter in real time. Have a look at the trending topics at search.twitter.com to get an idea of how it works.

Because Twitter has a massive real-time feed of what people all over the planet are seeing, feeling, thinking, and doing we believe there are some interesting compliments to existing news services. We’re just now beginning to explore these opportunities.

Thanks,
Biz Stone, Co-founder
Twitter, Inc.