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Local journalist offers insight on social media

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It’s no secret that social media has turned many industries upside down, but how has this technology changed the media? Shannan Bowen, StarNews Media’s social networking and crime writer and “Talk and Squawk” blogger, knows best. Bowen addressed the UNCW Communication Studies Society on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 on the many aspects involving social media and technology in journalism.

Bowen says social media has helped StarNews Media reach audiences, such as college students, that they could not reach in the past. It has encouraged them to be more innovative and create new ways to keep the audience interested. For instance, when Tropical Storm Hanna hit Wilmington, leaving some without power, StarNews Media created @SNOHurricane on Twitter to deliver information on the weather by tweeting and retweeting. Bowen said this received a lot of traffic because the power was out and the only sources for updates were cell phones.

Social media sites are not only useful for media outlets to reach the public, but they are also helpful for hearing from the public. The public is the media’s link to what is happening around the community in its nooks and crannies. Bowen said they often use tips from Twitter or Facebook, and once they verify the information, they have a lead. Bowen did urge that it is “very important not to take tweets or Facebook posts at face value in journalism—that would be bad journalism!”

Bowen emphasized the rise of niche social marketing by discussing Ning.com, a social media site that allows the user to create the network. Many local businesses and groups are using Ning.com to form a network of their own. StarNews Media created several sites using this platform such as WilmOnFilm , a network for local film fans, and Conscience Online for local non-profits.

Her advice to college students interested in careers involving social media:

  • Keep up with major developments
  • Read communication related blogs
  • Know what is developing in the e-industry
  • Create your own blog and interact with others

Check out Shannan Bowen’s blog post Living a double life on Facebook.

Rachel Kaylor

Comments

5 responses to “Local journalist offers insight on social media”

  1. Anna Kate Babnik Avatar
    Anna Kate Babnik

    I think Shannan Bowen makes an excellent point on the importance of social media for media outlets, especially local media outlets constantly searching for feedback. I get the majority of my breaking news by following CNN on Twitter because it’s a convenient and quick way to stay up to dates on world and national news. I was especially interested in how Star New’s used Twitter when dealing with a hurricane that resulted in a power outage. It reminded me of the current shift to mobile alerts in case of emergencies (i.e. school shootings, natural disasters, etc.). Also, I think social media is a great way for media outlets to get feedback from their viewers in an easy and direct format. Twitter and blogging may be the new frontier of the newspaper’s editorial section!

    Reply
  2. Maxann Keller Avatar
    Maxann Keller

    Convenience is becoming a necessity these days, with our dependence on busy schedules, mobile access, and mass amounts of activity. We still crave the same amount of information, even if that means we only have have the amount of time to find it and process it. Social media sites are quickly becoming the substitute for tangible news papers and eventually could make its way to replace the need for television newscasts. If you look at the four P’s of Production and relate it to their 4 C’s of Consumerism, “Place” is almost wiped out because “Convenience” is so much more desired when the location of the media is almost everywhere!
    Shannan Bowen brought up many good points when she explained why her social media “Tweets” were so successful in reaching the public. She explained how they were more easily accessible, sure, but they were posted right when things happened, making the information as up to date as possible. Thats great service, and isn’t that what we are all searching for in the long run? Someone who understands our busy schedules and conforms their line of work to meet our needs.

    Reply
  3. Irene Liu Avatar
    Irene Liu

    Social media has come a long way but it is very valuable in our society today. Rachel mentioned how StarNews created a twitter name to reach out to individuals about the store and power outages. If it weren’t for social media like twitter, facebook, and etc it would be hard to reach society due to their hectic work hours and involvement in their personal lives. I agree with Rachel when she talked about how social media can lead to other things like tips. Criminals might not ever think about how posting up a status of the crime the committed could be a bad thing. They don’t realize their bragging on social media is a perfect way to get them caught for their crime.
    Social media has came a long way and it will continue to grow and in a way take over our way of communicating

    Reply
  4. Jocelyn Walson Avatar
    Jocelyn Walson

    I am in the beginning stages of using social media for my job/internship. It is amazing what you can do with twitter! I completely agree with Bowen’s statement, “very important not to take tweets or Facebook posts at face value”. This is important not only for journalism.
    I use Twitter for my job to get my name out there. The more followers I have the more exposure I have as well. I am an entrepreneur and that is who I want to follow and who I want to follow me. The issue that I am having is the amount of spam like followers.
    There is a trend among this group that “auto-tweet”. Using various sites like google-alert and bitly you can set up automatic tweets. These tweets contain a link to an article that is circulating. Doing this gives the perception of adding value which is what everyone in business is focusing on today. The issue I have with this is whether or not it is really honest and true value. Yes, you are getting your name out there, yes you are offering something for free. In my opinion it sends a message that these people are experts in the subject matter and they simply are not. They are taking the easy road and in the end they will not see a profit from doing this.

    Reply
  5. Karly Rivenbark Avatar
    Karly Rivenbark

    We can all agree that social networking sites are having a significant impact on the world we live in. Twitter and Facebook, unheard of when we were born, are now staples of our lives. The question I have – are these new technologies going to supplement the media we already use, or replace them? Star News reaching college students shows that social media does indeed improve brand relationships with new demographics – but when these college students are of “newspaper-reading-age,” will there be a need for StarNews to run press at all? I appreciate the advances we’re making as an online community, I just don’t want us to lose sight of real community.

    Reply

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