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

New WSJ.com site, NOT a redesign!

Posted on September 16, 2008 by Robert Ivan

Given that technology and taste changes so fast, it is a wonder that websites change so little over time. I would say that after 2 years a site should be seriously courting developers for a new product and after 3 years without change readers are starting to wonder if you really care about them. If your site is 4 years old without extensive modifications, you are probably losing customers because the customer experience is so horrible.

I am happy to report that the new WSJ.com site is not a redesign, but a completely new experience.

As you can see from the before and after photos below, the new WSJ.com site is wider, minus a side bar, and less cluttered. My initial reaction is that I like it.

OLD wsj.com site

NEW wsj.com site

I go to log in and right away encounter a problem. On my Imac I cannot log in using Firefox. I can however log in using Safari. As soon as I log in I send WSJ a note using the comment feature about the problem and within 15 minutes the problem is fixed. Maybe it was me, maybe not, either way small glitch corrected.

The WSJ.com site is the only newspaper website I know which offers real online communities. The Journal Community is where people post profiles, make connections, share news items, and form groups around their interests. I set up my profile, which takes about 2 minutes, and peruse the categories for newspaper groups. There are none so I start one. Here it is. Please Join.

Exploring the site, I get lost in a series of links and have to hit the home button a few times to get my bearings. This should resolve itself after a couple visits to the site. I read a few articles and check out the comments section, video tab, interactive graph tab, and slideshow section associated with them. They are nice new features. I should mention that at press time, only paid subscribers can comment on articles and join the community. There is also a newsreel widget that can be downloaded or embedded into any blog or social networking portal.

A redesign takes what was before, moves stuff around, puts bells and whistles on it and calls it done. What the Wall Street Journal did was completely change the way people interact with their product AND expand on the capabilities of what can be done with a multimedia website. Aside from a few kinks that will be worked out in the next few days, I think the new site is a homerun.