journalism - Social Media Week New York (SMWNYC) - MAY 4

9 Events for Publishers, Journalists, and News Outlets at #SMWNYC

Posted on January 24, 2017February 7, 2017 by SMW Staff

The state of publishers and news coverage is constantly changing, and at Social Media Week New York, you will hear from the industry’s trailblazers on how to break through the noise. Below are eight events that will dive into these questions, and get you up to speed on the latest trends.

Get your pass here before we sell out.

1. Distributed Media All-Stars: Experts Share Their Viral Content Secrets (Insider)

Insider has nearly 2 billion video views each month across platforms including Facebook. Nicholas Carlson (Editor-in-Chief, Insider) will moderate a discussion with some of the leading distributed media content creators — all of whom will share their own secret sauce for creating and distributing content with the power to go viral like wildfire.

2. Transforming a 160-year-old Magazine into a Multi-Platform Brand (The Atlantic)

Six years after turning a profit for the first time, The Atlantic begins 2017 with its audience, revenue, and staff at record highs. This year will be marked by a global focus and continued expansion of TheAtlantic.com and CityLab.com. This talk features The Atlantic’s president Bob Cohn, who will detail the transformation of The Atlantic over the last decade, and the challenges and opportunities ahead.

3. Don’t Call Snapchat a Social Media Platform (Sweet)

Snapchat is expanding into a full-blown entertainment and communication platform; it’s so much more than social media, and it is becoming deeply personal. In this talk, Ross Clark (VP and GM, Sweet – Snapchat Discover Channel) will speak on the importance of creating a two-way dialogue with conversational content and about future trends of different digital media that have outgrown their early “social” beginnings.

4. How Hearst’s Prestige Brands Are “Doing the Internet” (Hearst Magazines)

How do you satisfy your core audience while still giving them a variety of what’s trending or relevant? From ELLE’s creative and fashion-forward use of live video tools to Esquire’s Election 2016 coverage to Marie Claire’s insane growth on Instagram, we’ll take a look at how three of Hearst’s titles are harnessing their unique voices and satisfying the rapidly changing social landscape.

5. Video + Media: The Power of Visual Communication in the Digital Age (Brit + Co)

It’s no secret that video now rules the digital media world. Whether it’s a video mini-series, a Facebook Live, or a GIF, visual content is catching the attention of consumers and brands alike. Brit Morin, Founder & CEO of a digital media and commerce company Brit + Co, has always been focused on the visual, and she’s speaking at #SMWNYC on why video is the center of media right now, and the benefits and challenges of making visual communication a core focus of your business.

6. Experiential Brand Storytelling (The New York Times)

In 2016 the New York Times acquired design agency Fake Love as part of an ongoing effort to offer more creative and marketing services to agencies and clients. In this session, NYT’s SVP of Advertising and Innovation Layne Braunstein and Fake Love’s Chief Creative Officer, Sebastian Tomich will share their vision for how they approach experiential brand storytelling.

7. Smart Publishing Automation: At the Intersection of Content & Technology (Reuters)

Nowadays, social channels are driven by algorithms that are reshaping the way content surfaces, and how people interact with it. The only way for publishers to really leverage the scale of content produced – and better serve a differentiated audience in real time – is to adopt a structured data-driven approach to news circulation on those distribution platforms. This session will explain how Reuters automates the publishing of 9,000+ stories a month across multiple geographies and languages using natural language recognition and predictive analytics.

8. Future Publishing Models: VR and 360 Video (The New York Times)

Via NYT’s VR app, users can go underwater or on the campaign trail, experience life through the eyes of a refugee or explore previously unseen worlds and experience stories reported by award-winning journalists, all told in an immersive, 360-degree video experience. In this session, Sam Dolnick (Associate Editor at NYT) and Andy Wright (Publisher, The New York Times Magazine) will share how they have embraced, integrated and innovated in VR and 360 with exceptional results for brands and readers alike.

9. How The Verge Builds Audiences Across Multiple Platforms (Vox Media)

Finding success as a publisher in 2017 means creating content not just for your website, but for platforms ranging from Facebook to Google, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Each has its own audiences, algorithms, and best practices — which can make optimizing even a single story or video a daunting project. Helen Havlak (Engagement Editor, The Verge) will help attendees determine which platforms to invest in, explain how to grow audiences on those platforms, and break down the ways to re-edit and package a story or video to serve those audiences.

Social Media Week returns to New York this February 28 at The TimesCenter. Register to attend here before passes sell out, and view more events on our official schedule here.

The 2016 Election Is Changing (Quickly) Right Before Our Eyes: A Conversation with Blue State Digital’s Joe Rospars

Posted on January 6, 2016February 12, 2016 by Tess Kaytmaz

In 2008, the political news cycle moved to the blogs, and in 2012 it spilled into social media, but remained mostly intact as an insular conversation among journalists and opinion-shapers. In 2016, it’s now disrupted by candidates, trolls, and everyone in between.

Joe Rospars, Founder and CEO of Blue State Digital (and President Barack Obama’s chief digital strategist for both the 2008 and 2012 campaigns) will speak alongside Garance Franke-Ruta (Washington Editor of Yahoo News) for a discussion about how the relationship between campaigns, news media, and the public is being reshaped in real time before our eyes, and what it means for our political process.

This session “2016 Election Throwdown: Campaigns vs. Reporters vs. Everyone Else” will take place on Thursday, February 25 at 12:30pm at the TimesCenter (FWD Stage).

About Joe Rospars

“Joe Rospars is Founder & CEO of Blue State Digital. He previously served as chief digital strategist for Obama for America in 2008 and 2012.

Joe and BSD’s team of more than 200 strategists, creatives, and geeks advise some of the world’s leading brands, campaigns, nonprofits, and cultural institutions to inspire and mobilize people, from the NAACP to Google, the USOC to Freedom to Marry, and Oxfam to EMILY’s List.

For both the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, Joe was Barack Obama’s principal digital strategist and adviser, overseeing the digital integration of the unprecedented fundraising, communications and grassroots mobilization effort. The digital arm of the campaign provided the backbone of design and branding both online and offline, engaged a record-breaking number of Americans through mobile, social, video and the web, and raised more than a billion dollars in mostly small donations from ordinary Americans.

Joe has been recognized as part of the Digital A-List by AdAge, 100 People Who Are Changing America by Rolling Stone, Most Creative People In Business by Fast Company. He has been profiled in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg Businessweek, TIME, Fast Company, and Adweek, among others.” (via Blue State Digital)

View The Initial Program Of Events for SMW New York

Social Media Week New York, now in it’s 8th year, brings together thousands of professionals in marketing, media and technology. We’re excited to announce the initial schedule and speaker lineup for SMW New York, which takes place this February 22-26.

Join us across our two official venues, and hear from organizations such as Ogilvy, Starcom MediaVest, MRY, Forbes, Mashable, MTV, The Economist, GE, Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Spotify and many more!

Register for SMW New York

If you’d like to hear from visionary speakers, and join the thousands of attendees that come to Social Media Week in New York each year, register today by purchasing your pass.

Image Credit: The Guardian

Is Data The Future Of Journalism?

Posted on January 8, 2015January 6, 2015 by Nicole Brown

More than ever, newsrooms are leveraging the power of data, from news gathering to creative storytelling. Data is changing journalism from how story leads are generated to how content is distributed and consumed.

On Thursday February 26, a panel of experts from some of the leading online outlets will discuss the intersection of data and journalism from all angles, covering the most important tech and methodologies shaping how newsrooms clean, analyze and visualize data.

The discussion will cover not only what we’re seeing today but emerging trends that will impact the future of content and its delivery. Panelists include experts from Medium, The New Republic, Vocativ, Business Insider and NYTimes.

Check out the rest of the amazing lineup of events and speakers for Social Media Week here, we hope to see you there!

Why I’m Going To Social Media Week A Second Time

Posted on February 16, 2014July 11, 2014 by Lane Blackmer

A lot of baby boomers seem to trust that millennials know social media just because they’re millennials. I used to think this too — until I attended Social Media Week six months ago.

A career change

I went to school for journalism. I decided when I was just 12 years old that it’s what I wanted to be. I was on the school newspaper every year. I was in yearbook every year. I went to journalism summer camp — hey, don’t knock it — the last two summers of high school. I was on college newspapers and did five internships.

After two years as a freelance journalism and getting very steady work — mostly in hyperlocal news — I had had enough and wanted to quit.

I had no idea what the heck to do next. But I figured what made the most sense was to transition into what we called “the dark side” in journalism school — that’s right, public relations.

I soon nabbed a contracting job at a startup events agency — and I knew a bit more about social media than my boss. Suddenly, it became my job to tweet, post, and write blogs.

I realized I really liked this — and I kind of had a knack for it!

When millennials joined social media, it was a different ballgame

I joined Twitter in 2009, three years after it was founded — basically at the very end of the social media site’s infancy. I didn’t even want to join, but since I was in news, it was kind of required.

I followed local organizations, things related to my university, news people, and local businesses. Being a TV newsroom intern, I got mad praise — like, the mental equivalent of a red velvet cupcake with butter cream frosting — for knowing things via Twitter before my superiors.

My bio read “Journalist. Student. Adventurer. Veritas Inlustrat.” My location was listed and anyone could see my account.

Back then, that was enough.

Hip, aggressive businesses and state organizations followed me. It wasn’t long before I had 500 followers. I literally didn’t have to do anything but exist on Twitter as a journalist and the stories found me.

I started picking up stories from organizations I found out about or from people I’d talked to on Twitter. I got an internship later doing legislative news and even found business and political advocacy trends because people followed me and tweeted about them.

When I started my boss’s Twitter account, I did not earn 500 followers by doing nothing. I did a ton of things and got 200 followers — most of which were probably not going to hire us.

Looking for learning opportunities

When I was in school, I learned the basics in my journalism classes: how to use hashtags, how to search for things, how to tweet your stories. But most of that stuff evolved and was useless two or three years later. Everybody (including both of my parents) had joined Twitter, and there was a lot more static.

I started trying to self-educate. I read social media blogs, but I hadn’t yet found the sources I read now (Social Media Examiner, Mashable’s social media section, and Forbes’ social media section). It wasn’t enough. I asked a friend who was in social media what I could do to learn.

“Well, there’s a conference called Social Media Week,” she said. “Look it up. I might go.”

This was last summer. I had never heard of Social Media Week. When I looked it up, I knew I had to go.

I convinced my boss it was the right thing to do, and off I went!

You think you know, but you have no idea — this is the real world, social media

I completely overbooked my schedule at Social Media Week Chicago last September. I was literally running from place-to-place.

I felt like the smarty-pants in a few sessions, but most of the time I’d never felt so dumb in my life. I’m ashamed to say that I had no clue what ROI was (give me a break, I only took into to marketing in college and I was more focused on making fun of my professor’s True Religion jeans than anything on the smart board).

Another thing I didn’t know about social media was that depending on what you use it for, methods greatly vary. This is obviously a problem for someone who has more than one social media client. I was struck by how many different sessions there were and how many ways businesses use it — from marketing to journalism to analytics to law to human resources.

I tried to go to sessions in which I didn’t already know what I was doing — and it turned out to be the best thing for me. Most of what I learned at Social Media Week 2013 in Chicago is what I use at work now.

Why I’m going again

Feeling like I was in over my head in some sessions at Social Media Week wasn’t discouraging. In fact, it was encouraging.

Although social media wasn’t my expertise yet — and I literally had no idea I was so oblivious until the conference — I realized I’m lucky enough to have a different background. Journalism taught me how to easily ace original content creation and have good judgment on what’s interesting and what’s not.

Furthermore, when I got home I did “interviews” with other professions — otherwise known as networking. I soon learned social media’s dirty little secret: nobody really knows what they’re doing. I met people who work in it, have better jobs than I do, and realized after looking them up on Twitter that I have more followers than they do. Or I notice they could be using their company’s Facebook page better.

I’m not pointing these things out to criticize anybody or be the smarty-pants in the room, I’m pointing it out because it’s so clearly something that will always be evolving. It will be difficult to learn what you do can better in social media from year-to-year if you remain stagnant. That’s why I immediately decided to go to Social Media Week in New York City. Although I now have some good sources of information, that’s certainly not enough.

Given I’m just starting out in social media, thus I don’t have much money, I’m not sure I’ll be going to the next conference. But I do know that I’ll certainly try to get a grant or convince a boss to send me.

Lane Blackmer is a self-employed former journalist. Although she’s no longer a newsie, Lane since discovered other uses for social media such as public relations, marketing, job searching, and trying to win gift cards from her favorite local businesses through contests. Lane inhabits Philadelphia, where’s it’s not always sunny…but at least there’s cheese steaks. You can follow her on Twitter at @LaneBlackmer.

Storytelling and Journalism in the Digital Age: 5 Events You Need at SMW NYC

Posted on January 27, 2014July 11, 2014 by Sara Adam

Digital media’s searchability, sharability and speed are changing the way that we interact with news. Join the conversation as we look at what this means for journalists, marketers and the stories we share!

The Art & Science of Storytelling
Even as we change the ways in which we consume and share content- some things don’t change. The need to tell a compelling story is here to stay. EVP of Advertising at the NYTimes, Meredith Kopit Levien, will dive into new platforms for creating value and sharing engaging content to help you master the art of storytelling for yourself.
Is Social Killing Storytelling?
Well is it? If you are feeling cramped by your character limit or the attention span of your readers, this panel hosted by AOL is here to help. Explore what social media means for storytellers and the ways that social media can be leveraged to share long-form content (because not everything can be said in a tweet).
Calling All Journalists: How to Rebrand Yourself as a Content Marketing & Social Expert
Just because there might be fewer opportunities for writers in traditional print media roles, does not mean that there are fewer total opportunities. This panel of seasoned professionals will help you polish your resume, master the vocab and connect with the wealth of opportunities for journalists to partner with brands in creating content that connects with readers and customers.
Investigative Reporting for the Web: Is Anything Different?
Investigative journalism plays a pivotal role in society, exposing exploitation and injustices happening right under our noses. However, in the age of the Internet, opinions abound and facts can be scarce. Pioneers in the field from BuzzFeed, Propublic, Rueters and the Washington Post will discuss the facts and the role the web plays in the Rennaissance of investigative reporting.
The Changing Face of News Consumption, Hosted by WSJ
Wondering what skills today’s journalists, reporters and editors need to have to succeed in the new mobile news economy? Or which demographic is driving the changes and trends in news delivery? This event hosted by the WSJ will answer these questions and more, introducing you to innovators in the field including, Neal Mann of the WSJ, Anthony de Rosa of Circa and Jim Roberts of Mashable.

Storytelling and journalism are important themes at SMW14, February 18 to 21, but don’t forget about the wealth of other engaging topics, like marketing, health & wellness and entrepreneurship! And did we mention the parties?

Registration is open! Check out the schedule, then get your pass today here, and join us and our partners, Nokia and MKG, for what will be a great week of exploring our always on, always connected world.

Social Media Does, In Fact, Matter — To Every Kind Of Business

Posted on January 6, 2014July 11, 2014 by Lane Blackmer

Let me be honest: I’m sick of seeing posts on LinkedIn looking for volunteers or interns to run social media. Furthermore, many of those that do offer pay, they are only suggesting a $30,000 salary.

The fact is this: those businesses misunderstand what social media is about — as do plenty of fresh-faced college graduates who think the job description consists of tweeting.

Social media managers and strategists don’t post on social media. They create, plan and execute marketing campaigns.

It’s all about social media strategy. Social media matters simply because of this fact — it’s new-age savvy marketing, not a just social tool.

2014: the year of salaried social media jobs

OK, so many businesses aren’t understanding the full importance of social media, but it’s at least important that businesses of every kind — non-profits, corporate and small businesses — recognize its potential. A staggering 88% of marketers would like to know the most effective social media uses.

Forbes declared last month that in 2014, investment in social media would be more than just a luxury — it will become necessary. A quick scan of social media-related postings on LinkedIn show that it’s true — many listings have the words “new position” embedded in there somewhere.

And there’s even data to back up that claim: Business Insider cited Constant Contact’s Small Businesses: Then and Now Survey saying that 87% of small businesses are using social media as a legitimate marketing tool.

The publication also predicted there’d be a vast expansion in these six social media-related jobs: SEO Specialist, Social Media Strategist, Online Community Manger, Social Media Marketing Manager, Social Media Marketing Coordinator, and Blogger or Social Media Copywriter.

This expansion makes sense. The Internet is accessible almost everywhere and folks are consuming more tidbits of information than ever.

People certainly take advantage of it.

According to Chelsea Krost, the average person has their smartphone with them 20 hours out of the entire day. And 80% of people reach for their smartphone when they wake up.

But why are so many skeptical to jump on the bandwagon?

Here’s the big question in social media for businesses: how do I measure the return on investment (ROI)?

That question isn’t easily answered — because there’s no way to be 100% sure you’re tracking the right data to prove this… or that you even can track the right data.

Every company is different. And sometimes it’s about trial and error to figure out which platform is most effective for your business. B2B companies seem to have a lot of success on LinkedIn; while B2C companies, depending on what they do and if they’re business or service oriented, can see great success on Twitter or Instagram.

Regardless, Social Media Examiner reported that some businesses actually have mastered tracking ROI. It seems like most of those businesses don’t have direct proof per se, but use of social media is the differing variable when the company started to see decreases in spending or increases in sales.

Either way, Social Media Examiner’s 2013 Report finds 89% of marketers surveyed claimed increased social media marketing increased exposure and site traffic.

Social media matters — and here’s why

When I talk about social media use I don’t mean quoting eccentric family members at Thanksgiving dinner on Twitter (though I’m guilty of this). I mean using it for marketing, branding, developing brand trust, hearing from individual customers, and doing damage control.

It’s pretty much a given that businesses, marketers, and even individuals (in a lot of fields, you market yourself) should care about these things.

A lot of businesses may not see an ROI on their social media, but the question should be this: why?

Sometimes it’s not about the use of social media as much as how it’s used. Social media can be used poorly or used well. Someone doing a company’s social media should be paid for their expertise — because social media is not just about posting on the platforms, it’s about posting content to the platforms.

According to HubSpot, companies that blog 15 times or more per month see an increase of five times the traffic on their site.

The other key to social media is persistence. Social Media Examiner’s 2013 Report also cited that companies using social media for three or more years said it helped by improving search rankings, creating more partnerships, generating ideas, increasing traffic, providing marketplace insight, and reducing marketing expenses — to name a few things.

Social media in use — effectively — isn’t just about posting. It’s about executing a strategy specifically tailored to a company — and it is proven to help marketing efforts.

So why aren’t you investing in social media?

Lane Blackmer is a self-employed former journalist. Although she’s no longer a newsie, Lane since discovered other uses for social media such as public relations, marketing, job searching and trying to win gift cards from her favorite local businesses through contests. Lane inhabits Philadelphia, where’s it’s not always sunny…but at least there’s cheese steaks. You can follow her on Twitter at @LaneBlackmer.

Image courtesy Social Media Examiner 2013 Report. Featured image courtesy Dan Meyers.

5 Minutes With Huffington Post’s Roy Sekoff

Posted on February 14, 2013January 14, 2015 by Nicky Yates

Yesterday, we helped get things moving towards SMW NYC with our partners, HuffPost Live. Covering how safeguarding free expression and an Open Internet is still a critical issue, they hosted a dynamic exchange on the current issues facing both our country and the global community, with leading thinkers, including: Jillian York of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Andrew Rasiej of Personal Democracy Forum, and Christine Chen of Google and moderated by Ahmed Shihab-Eldin.

Not only was it engaging and get you thinking, but it also displays the professionalism and innovation that represents HuffPost. With their use of Google+ On Air HangOuts, HuffPost Live does live integration of social media better than most.

And we’re thrilled to be partnering with them this year! SMW NYC is honored to have President and co-creator of HuffPost Live, and founding editor of Huffington Post, Roy Sekoff, join us. Before his event, get to know him a bit more:

Roy, this year, our global theme is “Open & Connected: Principles for a Collaborative World.” How does The Huffington Post embody or support this idea?
HuffPost thrives precisely because our staff is utterly committed to all three of these attributes. Openness and transparency are core principles at HuffPost – both culturally and editorially. We are obsessively connected – which is good, because collaboration is the lifeblood of what we do. Rare is the email or GChat that isn’t rapidly – and creatively responded to.

The publishing industry is undergoing change overall; and the Huffington Post has been a leader in that. Where do you see the future of journalism and publishing heading?
HuffPost has been around for almost 8 years. In that time, we have seen the rapid rise of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and so many other game-changing products. We adapted and incorporated them all into what we do, but can’t say that we saw them coming. So, in a time like this, one rife with innovation, trying to look into a crystal ball and divine the future seems like a fool’s game.

The Huffington Post has continued to innovate, making waves in social video. How is the development of HuffPost Live leading the way and where do you see social video heading?
With HuffPost Live, we have placed our bet on people’s growing desire to engage with the news – on the shift from presentation to participation. They want to help shape the stories – and the issues – of our time. HuffPost Live was designed as a platform for engagement – one that puts our users front and center in what we do.

What has been the biggest success from HuffPost Live?
Because of our commitment to engagement, we are proudest of our engagement metrics, which confirm that we have created a unique and addictive social and community offering. Over 6,500 guests have joined us from all over the world via Skype and Google Hangouts. Over 750,000 comments have been left on the HuffPost Live platform (with many more left on HuffPost stories that have HuffPost Live videos embedded in them). And our users are spending over 15 minutes on the site per visit.

As more news and media outlets rely upon citizen journalism, how can the issue of accuracy and accountability be adapted? What recommendations would you have for smaller outlets just getting started?
Accuracy and accountability are vital. For us, that means doing everything we can to assure the accuracy of what we publish, and moving quickly and transparently to correct any mistakes that are made.

Advertorials have come under scrutiny lately, and we’re seeing many outlets experiment with different revenue models. What trends are you seeing for media and entertainment outlets maintaining a profit?
As the old models plateau, brands are clearly looking for fresh ways to reach consumers. And it’s important for publishers to try to lead the way in that innovation – but it’s critical not to blur the lines. Consumers value high-quality content, whether it comes from publishers or advertisers, but they should never be confused about the source. Our key touchstones are authenticity and transparency.

What are you most excited about for SMW NYC?
Thursday’s session on “The Shift from Presentation to Participation.” It will be a great discussion.

We couldn’t agree more. A big thanks to Roy for taking the time to talk with us. Make sure you check him out in-person this SMW NYC or join via livestream!

Friday Finale… Finally For Me

Posted on March 12, 2012November 8, 2012 by smwnyc

This is a guest post by Anna Choi.

While the end was near for dedicated attendees of Social Media Week New York City, Friday was just the beginning of my experience. There was no time to waste and after debating over the serious line up of various events, I was ready for my first SMWNYC gathering.

What Real Time Marketing Really Takes
Emily Steel from the Wall Street Journal led the panel discussion including Beth Waxman-Arteta of JWT, Ryan Davis of Blue State Digital, Bill Wolff of Primetime Programming, and Mike Sommers of Viggle at the Advertising and Marketing Content Hub at JWT. Topics from preparing for and challenge with real time marketing were touched on with much talk about the type transition period social media is fueling.

And what did I take away?

HR/human power is essential behind real time social media, real thought processing and relevance is needed to sustain engagement.
Every brand could use real time marketing, how it’s executed may differ.
Advertising agencies will transition into “brand content” agencies so the meaning of CMO may be defined as editors of content. Simply put, “real time” marketing will be just marketing in the future.
People/consumers are looking for substance and authenticity.
Filtration of information is diminishing, as communication is becoming more real/raw.
Currently real time marketing is a mixture of PR, social media, and brand management.
The thing about authenticity is that it’s imperfect sometimes. Mistakes happen.

Future of Social Technology
Michoel Ogince of Big Fuel and Jason Kincaid of TechCrunch discussed their predictions/opinions on the future of social networks/technology at the Global Society Content Hub at Big Fuel Headquarters. The conversation circled around the topic of humanization and the complex human behavior that social technology has yet to mirror perfectly. It was great to hear the opposing sides that Michoel and Jason brought especially when Path was brought up. They did agree that this is still the early stage of social technology and that if we think it’s really social right now, we’re wrong.

But the discussion also touched on:

Facebook: is it a place to dump a ton of content?
Social gaming (Zynga in particular): gamers invest a lot of money and time in the beginning but it dies off, they hit a wall.
App Store’s future: currently it’s a challenge to find/access specific apps.
Far future: social technology will be penetrated in every aspect to “friending” objects such as your fridge.
Advice for entrepreneurs: be driven by passion, don’t cling on to every “success story advice”.
There will be “niche networks” for social media/technology in the future.

Left Brain Meets Right Brain –The Blueprints for a Sophisticated Social Marketing Campaign (hosted by Shoutlet)
Jason Weaver, the CEO of Shoutlet, led this discussion including David Armano of Edelman Digital, Doug O-Reilly of MWW, Chris Eichman of Rayovac, and Brenda Schmerl of Reader’s Digest. The hour-or-so long conversation revolved around the controversial topic of left brain, right brain, or both. Planning and organizing people who are left-brain dominant among those who are right-brain dominant seemed to be key in finding the balance for a company. There was a debate over people who were both, or a hybrid, and if this category even existed. David Armano walked everyone through what he called a community engagement blueprint when touching on the subject of scenario planning. Improvisation seemed to be a theme for reacting effectively, with the main focus on being able to utilize the strengths of those who are creative and those who are analytical.

My overall impression of Social Media Week NYC was great. (especially since is FREE!) Being a student that is always seeking for more real world information, besides a textbook or some year-old case study, these events left me satisfied. Actually, I take that back, SMW has left me hungry and on the edge of my seat in excitement for what’s next. Being a part of the generation that really digs deep into the data of this social realm is fresh and transformational. I truly can’t wait to see how what’s trending now transitions into traditional.

Anna is a quirky senior at Virginia Tech studying Marketing and International Business. She is curious and thirsty for anything related to social media and brands. Anna aspires to work in an environment that’s constantly battling between the trending and traditional. When she’s not geeking over new digital happenings you can find her working on her new healthy lifestyle and obsessing over froyo. Follow her on twitter @achoi12 or dig deeper on her personal blog, achoi12.tumblr.com, or marketing blog, annanciate.tumblr.com.

Leveraging the Power of Digital and Social Media to Elevate Voices

Posted on March 9, 2012March 8, 2012 by smwnyc

This is a guest post by our event partner, The Brooklyn Bureau. Mark Anthony Thomas is the Director of City Limits; a New York City based non-profit investigative journalism organization. The Brooklyn Bureau Launch is an official Social Media Week event.

Social media has changed the way we communicate with each other, and we’ve seen the introduction of new tools that were beyond the scope of the human imagination even a decade ago. While we can’t claim that our generation’s innovations are more novel than similar groundbreaking technologies of the past, something about the last few years feels especially transformative.

Now that we’ve convened for Social Media Week— which has seen tremendous growth in its three-year history— and connected the globe, the next question should be: how do we transform it?

In this creative era, we’re simultaneously archiving the world’s history while creating new platforms for expression and teaching technology literacy while beta testing new models. This can be exhausting for even the most tech-savvy to stay attuned to, let alone grasp the pulse of how fast things continue to evolve.

The world we live in is one of great opportunity and great inequity, a place of open democracies and closed societies. While we see new technologies break down the language, educational, and geographic barriers that have inhibited many—what’s next? How does this lead to social progress? What does the strength of our collective voices now mean?

Instead of looking to technology to help us shape our lives, we must understand how we can use technology to shape our societies.

First, we must understand that we are social media. Every voice matters and without a variety of voices, the platforms lack full potential. Social platforms are best used when connecting audiences with the best content and information, and enabling opportunities for organizations and curators to cultivate a following and conversations.

Grassroots organizing through digital tools—understanding that free democracies are built on bottom-up activism—can help employ action to truly leverage social media’s power to stem social transformation.

The Arab Spring and the Occupy movements are the latest in the history of human movements and protests, but social media has made it easier to connect as equally as archiving of history has made it easier to learn from the past.

New York City, with all of its amazing assets and diversity, is still one of America’s least civically engaged cities, providing ample audiences and opportunities for us to truly tap into the city’s underserved communities to elevate voices and make an impact here at home.

Just as urbanists look to New York City as America’s largest city to understand how we tackle our most critical issues, the next few years should challenge us to truly leverage the power of digital and social media to turn the tide on citizen apathy and engaging underserved communities.

City Limits and the Brooklyn Community Foundation are taking a step to do just this in Brooklyn, with the launch of the Brooklyn Bureau. Our new site will provide in-depth coverage and civic commentary in Brooklyn—which if separate would be America’s 5^th largest city. This project is one of 19 digital projects jointly funded by the Knight Foundation that address community information needs.

Our event was an invitation to learn more about what we’re doing in Brooklyn, and overall, to serve as a model for leveraging the power of media to increase civic literary. See us in action now.

A Student’s Perspective: Social Media Week Ends with a Tribute to A Great Journalist

Posted on February 24, 2012March 12, 2012 by smwnyc

Hoda Emam is a student at Columbia’s School of Journalism, and one of ten students providing on the ground coverage of SMWNYC. This is her account, both written and photographic, of “Challenging Conventional Wisdom of Social Media: Socmedia Editors Share Their Latest Ideas.”

In the same room that Anthony Shadid’s work was twice decided as worthy of a Pultizer Prize for International Reporting, Social Media Week attendees gathered to celebrate his life.

When news of his death broke out on February 16, the online community took to various social media platforms to mourn his loss. Anthony Shadid was even trending worldwide on Twitter.

At the Columbia School of Journalism Joseph Pulitzer World Room, guests of the event placed down their smart phones and laptops to stand for a moment of silence. Several of the attendees of Social Media Week approached the podium to express their thoughts.

Professor Ann Cooper, an internationally known journalist and executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists said, “It feels like I have lost a trusted guide to what has happened in the Middle East.”

In April 2011, Anthony Shadid and three of his NY Times colleagues were released from captivity in Libya. Their first public event after their return was at Columbia University. In response to why Shadid covers stories that takes him to dangerous parts of the world, Cooper read a comment that Shadid made during the discussion, “We are taking these risks because these stories wouldn’t be told otherwise.”

Shadid was also a great influence for many aspiring journalists including, Namo Abdullah, a graduate student from Kurdistan. Abdullah’s voice trembled as he reminisced Shadid’s support and inspiration over the two years of their friendship. “If there were no Anthony I wouldn’t have understood even my own country, as good as I do now.”

Liz Heron, the NY Times social media editor, had worked with Shadid and his wife Nada Bakri for a period of time. She took to the podium and commented on Shadid’s passing. “It also makes me realize that you know his brand of foreign correspondence is so vital today, even among all these new different models of foreign correspondence that we are coming up with now,” said Heron. “It’s really complimentary to the kind of social media correspondence that is coming up and it can’t be left behind.”

Shadid, 43, was known for his gifted eye for detail and his contextual writing. He leaves behind Columbia Graduate and NY Times reporter Nada Bakri and their two children.

Before moving into the final panel discussion for Social Media Week attendees were reminded of Shadid’s humble character. His twitter page was displayed showing his title as simply a “Journalist and Writer.” In a time when social media is understood to be a platform to display ones credits and experiences, Shadid’s profile is a model of selflessness.

Hoda Emam is currently an Master of Science candidate in Digital Media at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Hoda’s recent experience includes working with ABC News and the United Nations.

A Student’s Perspective: Chris Kaskie Keynote with SoundCtrl’s Creating Music for the Social Web

Posted on February 16, 2012October 16, 2014 by smwnyc

Nikhita Venugopa is a student at Columbia’s School of Journalism. She is one of ten students providing on the ground coverage of SMWNYC- all from the student’s perspective. She is providing her report from Keynote: Chris Kaskie, President of Pitchfork Media followed by SoundCtrl’s Creating Music for the Social Web.

Day Three of Social Media Weekend began at the Hearst Arts and Culture Hub with the keynote speech by Chris Kaskie, President of Pitchfork Media, a Chicago-based webzine and guide devoted to music criticism and news. Kaskie commented on social media’s role in music today and what Pitchfork hopes to achieve through Twitter and Tumblr.

“When it comes to social media, I find myself spending more time trying to figure out how to use it than actually using it,” he said. Kaskie also highlighted the importance of maintaining Pitchfork’s role as a trusted source for music journalism, regardless of their platform of communication.

“The biggest challenge that Pitchfork faces today is the expanding world of music online,” said Kaskie. It’s increasingly common to see people discover music through peer-to-peer interaction and recommendation. “I’m really bummed that when I die, I have to leave my kids logins to my Cloud account and not record collections,” said Kaskie.

The Internet is filled with opinions and comments on music but Kaskie said he hopes that Pitchfork can provide context to “all the noise,” whether it’s on Spotify or Twitter or Facebook. “To me, it’s very social that we’re interacting with people’s social music experience,” said Kaskie.

After Kaskie’s talk, a panel discussion commenced on social media’s effect on the creative process of the music industry. The panel included Kaskie; Maura Johnston, music editor of the Village Voice; Josh Deutsch, co-founder of Downtown Records; rap-artist Asher Roth and moderated by Jesse Kirshbaum, co-founder of Sound Control. In speaking on the role of social media, Deutsch emphasized maintaining the image of a trusted brand, echoing Kaskie’s keynote speech. The panel discussed the differences between creating an album for a major label and a mixed tape for the web. Asher Roth said social media had rewarded music artists by letting them be free. “It’s a more enjoyable experience to create music for just your fan-base,” he said.

From a journalistic perspective, both Johnston and Kaskie agreed that the music’s format does not affect their critique and commentary. “People can make some of the best music in world in their bedroom. It’s a level playing field,” said Kaskie.

Johnston believed that music is visceral and it’s that feeling determines the strength, regardless of whether it’s online or on an album. “It’s the way it hits you,” she added.

However, in response to what they felt was missing from social media, Kaskie said it lacked an editorial, personalized voice. Johnston also commented on the myopic view that can come from the digital world, referring to Spotify, an online music streaming service. She said social media users often forget that there’s more to music than what you can find online.

All four panelists agreed that while social media was a valuable platform for communication, people should step away from it once in a while and explore a world outside Facebook and Twitter. “Go for a walk. Ride a bike,” said Roth. “It’s going to make you a more interesting person. A better tweeter.”

Nikhita Venugopal grew up in Bangalore, India. She moved to New York in July 2011 to attend Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she is currently pursuing a master’s degree. Nikhita studied Media and Communications, Psychology and Literature in India and has interned at Ogilvy as a copywriter and Macmillan Publishers as an editor. She is interested in writing on subjects like education, science, music, arts, social issues and the general eccentricities of the city. You can can follow her on Twitter at @niks_90.

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Reporting on Reporting: The Evolution of Journalism at Mashable’s NextUp NYC

Posted on February 4, 2010February 4, 2010 by Matt Wurst of 360i

Matt Wurst is Manager of Digital Communities at 360i. You can follow him on Twitter @mwurst.

If video killed the radio star, is Internet killing the print and video stars? And if so, how should current journalists adapt and current journalism students prepare?

These are questions that newspapers and television networks are grappling with on a daily basis. They were also among the many topics discussed at Mashable’s “NextUp NYC – The Future Journalist” event last night at the 92YTribeca as part of Social Media Week here in New York.

A year ago, TIME magazine predicted that a journalism crisis was approaching “meltdown proportions” and that “some major cities will no longer have a newspaper.” The alarm bells rang even louder when The Rocky Mountain News and Seattle Post-Intelligencer shut down for good and The Philadelphia Daily News and Minneapolis Star-Tribune filed for bankruptcy soon thereafter.

Video coverage of Wednesday’s panel:

But according to last night’s panelists, Sree Sreenivasan (@sreenet), the Columbia Journalism School Dean of Students, and Vadim Lavrusik (@lavrusik), one of Professor Sreenivasan’s Digital Media graduate students, journalism isn’t dying. It’s simply evolving. Even as many traditionalists feared the end of beat reporters, in-depth coverage, investigative reporting and newsmaker/celebrity accountability, the sounds of their struggles are being drowned out by the sound of keyboards clicking, video streams playing, Twitter feeds refreshing and RSS feeds updating.

With upwards of three hundred journalists, PR gurus and social media aficionados filling the lofted space in lower Manhattan, the teacher and his student optimistically agreed that a new era of “tra-digital” journalism, the surface of which has barely been breached, is upon us. They astutely compared where we are now in a digital age to where radio was in 1912 and television was in 1950. (You can view their shared presentation at http://bit.ly/futurej.)

As a veteran of the news industry and well-connected social media insider, Sreenivasan navigated through the multiple uses of new and emerging platforms and how they can apply to the “old world.” (He doesn’t get GoogleWave yet, but who does?) He emphasized the need for today’s journalists to learn multiple talents while retaining a specialty that distinguishes them from their peers. Working together, Sreenivasan and Lavrusik also explained how to become a multimedia storyteller, “learning and understanding what media is right for what story.”

Some other required qualities and skills for experienced and news journalists alike are to become reliable “pointers,” helping cut through the noisy clutter and sharing good content from across the web. They stressed the value of “community managers” that listen and interact with readers/viewers and don’t simply broadcast their messages in one direction. Additional “best practices” encourage newshounds to think about their own brand and adopt an entrepreneurial spirit.

The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is a top, if not THE top, journalism program in the country. Yet the curriculum taught just a decade ago is already an antiquated relic of a lost era. Faced with advances in technology and expanded use of the Internet, the next generation of journalists is training for professional opportunities in a changing media landscape that might be very different in another ten years down the road. Meanwhile, the journalists of today must reconstruct their skill sets for the growing world of online media.

It is imperative that journalists of today and tomorrow develop a “digital media mindset”—how to think about news stories and packages from an online perspective. Look no further than our hosts for the evening. Mashable plays an important role in the publication of digital news, trends and technologies. (In fact, Mashable has become such an institution in my own daily diet of fact-gathering that it now holds the fourth spot on my iGoogle home page, batting clean-up behind my Gmail inbox and RSS feeds from CNN and ESPN.)

Throughout the course of the discussion, a number of the journalists in the room were taking notes, some even sticking around as the crowds dispersed to learn more, dig deeper – clear indication of a reporter’s nose for information, if you will. And that, as the professor noted throughout his presentation, is just one of several skills that will never be rendered obsolete, along with the ability to observe, ask questions, process thoughts and write.

Social Media & the Haiti Disaster: How the Social Boom Has (And Hasn’t) Changed the News Media

Posted on February 3, 2010February 3, 2010 by Izzy Forman of 360i

Izzy Forman is the Digital Publicity Manager at 360i, where she is responsible for leading a team of digital publicists that builds and nurtures relationships with online influencers (bloggers, editors, forum moderators and fan site creators) to advocate for a brand and its products and services.

Monday’s panel on the role of social media in light of the recent Haiti earthquake focused on a number of ways that social media has (and hasn’t) impacted the how the news media functions during times of crisis. The panel did not shy away from the magnitude of the tragedy in Haiti and covered a lot of ground in the session.

The discussion was led by:

Moderator: Andrew Rasiej, founder of the Personal Democracy Forum and senior technology advisor, The Sunlight Foundation

Panelists:

Ann Curry, news anchor for NBC’s Today Show | @anncurry
Rob Mackey, staff writer The New York Times, The Lede blog | @RobertMackey
Erik Parker, journalist who was in Haiti when the earthquake struck and used social networks to send images, video, tweets | @theparkerreport
Jason Cone, communications director, Doctors Without Borders | @MSF_USA

From the range of stories told and questions asked throughout the afternoon, here are a few points that helped clarify the evolving relationship between social media and news reporting.

A New Frontier in Crisis Communications

The afternoon began with anecdotes from panelists Jason Cone (Doctors Without Borders) and Ann Curry (NBC News) about how they used Twitter to mobilize aid in the first days after the disaster in Port au Prince.

In the context of Twitter, their story unfolded like this: A Doctors Without Borders’ plane couldn’t land. Curry then saw their complaint via Twitter and tweeted a request to the military to let the doctors land. A reader sent Curry the official handle of the US Air Force via Twitter, who subsequently tweeted at them to let the plane land. Finally, Doctors Without Borders landed in Haiti.

This story illustrates the power of concerned citizens (the reader that tweeted the handle), the massive community created by social media, and the meaning of news spread in real time — but it’s only part of the story.

While the anecdote illustrates some of the most obvious benefits of social media, it also reminded me that, at least in the foreseeable future, traditional methods of crisis communications still apply. Even though social media informed Curry of the problem and helped her to get the word out, the issue was ultimately resolved when she contacted US Military leaders directly by utilizing her official relationships as a news reporter.

View this session courtesy of LiveStream:

Watch live streaming video from smw_newyork at livestream.com

The Veracity of a Tweet

As news breaks in real-time and journalists report less from far off places, it makes sense that the opportunity to get information via social networks continents away would be compelling. Yet a story Curry shared about getting information from a Haitian humanitarian-turned-citizen-journalist via Twitter provoked questions from other panelists and the audience about the reliability of such reporting methods.

How does a reporter effectively vet an online source in a breaking news crisis? How does a journalist determine if a minute-by-minute eyewitness account contains a hidden agenda? And how can a story be confirmed or denied without cameras on the ground?

The consensus on the panel seemed to be that effective journalists treat their social media sources just like any other sources — they vet the best that they can, and use source info responsibly and cautiously, like they would do if interviewing people at the scene of a crime.

Curry’s embrace of the opportunity to share breaking news, respond to feedback, and receive real-time information directly from people on the ground, via Twitter, seems indicative of her commitment to getting the most accurate, up-to-date information she can deliver. And while the rules governing reporters and their @ sources are not yet ironed out, social media is one of many very useful tools in reporting breaking news.

Ultimately, the concerned, motivated and tweeting citizen-journalists in Haiti were valuable resources that allowed outlets to report stories and provide information that they never would have known about in the days before Twitter.