How to blog, tweet and OMG! CATS!

I had the pleasure of hosting Rosemary Armao's journalism class at SUNY Albany this morning.
You might recognized Armao's voice as one of the hosts of WAMC's "The Media Project", which also hosts Freeman Publisher Ira Fusfeld.
I spoke about some of the Freeman's digital initiatives, some tools, and how they help improve journalism. Some of those initiatives are showcased below:

Digital initiatives

View more PowerPoint from Ivan Lajara

I was asked to give tips on blogging and Twitter, and I was probably incomprehensible as I tried to cram too much information into a lecture. I think I said something about cats. Repeatedly.

Still, I want to offer the prospective journalists a quick cheat-sheet on how to blog and how to use Twitter. There are others that are way better than me at this. But you're stuck with me, so here it goes.

Quick tips for blogging:
* What to blog. Do you have a passion? Then you have a blog.Write about what you talk about and about what interests you, your beat, etc.  Have fun.
* Don't make the post too long. Yes, sometimes you want to write long pieces, but generally speaking, a short post will do better (this is where your training as a concise writer comes in handy).
* Have a voice. If you are just starting, this is the best way to develop your voice. Be personal (though you don't have to if you don't want to). Be yourself. So, yes, add an image and at least a bio.

* Watch out for typos. This might be the copy editor in me, but typos, even in blogs, are not coolsies, unless you're doing it on purposies.
* Add an image. Humans are visual people (Pinterest, anyone?) and people respond better to posts with images than those without. It's not my fault, so don't blame me. It's just more attractive to read. If you don't have an image that fits your particular post, include a stock art image (I actually said "post pictures of cats!" during the lecture, but the point holds, as the image above wonderfully illustrates with cuteness).

 Quick tips for Twitter use.
* GET ON TWITTER. Now. I'll wait. (here's an explainer I wrote a while back)
* Are you in. Great! Update an image of yourself (or a cat). Add a bio (link to your blog!), contact info, etc. Don't make your account private. That beats the purpose of the whole thing.
* So what now? I'd give you a Top-10 list if uber media man Craig Kanalley hadn't written a most excellent one already,, for making the most of Twitter. And yes, as Sree Sreenivasan wrote, "make your tweets blue."

There's obviously, a lot more to this. But this should be enough to get you started.

You're welcomsies.

Photo credit: Cheezburger network.

How to cover events live and have users participate while news happens

If you are a regular Freeman user, you might have noticed that we've been venturing in new, um, ventures this year.

We're finally getting the hang of livestreaming important events, such as the Mayor's Message; a city council meeting, the state comptroller's press conference and the state of the County address, and assorted highlights after the fact.

We've encountered some successes as we learn and we're expanding upon this, with live tweets and user comments. We're also working out some kinks, like figuring out how to get my awful face out of the thumbnail in the livestreams.

Ugh!

We've found that the most successful way to do this it to livestream an event, while a reporter files live tweets from the field while, at the same time, users can comment and ask questions, such as "why is the camera on the floor?" (That was a real question from the state of the County address).

Those who miss the live events have a chance to revisit the videos later and post their comments and questions then.

We're also starting what we hope will be a regular feature in our pages site: Livestreaming with the Mayor.

On Wednesday at 11 a.m., we'll sit down with city of Kingston Mayor James Sottile in a live interview that will be broadcast to the public. What's neat, aside from the live part of it, is that you'll get to ask the questions.

Seriously, try it. Send us your questions, in a comment in this post, or in a tweet or in a Facebook message and we'll ask the mayor, who said is eager to answer your queries. Better yet, come by DailyFreeman.com on Wednesday at 11 a.m. and ask your question live. We're giving more weight to people who use their real names, but if you feel uncomfortable asking your question identifying yourself, that's fine too.

Also, we've been regularly posting your photos and insights into happenings in the Hudson Valley, be it snow storms, gas episodes, award shows and whatever you want and need to know. As users have become producers of content, our 'competitors' are not the traditional media. IT'S YOU!

That's why we're trying to provide you with a better and much, much more engaging Freeman. And that's why we've partnered with SeeClickFix and have a growing roster of area bloggers to provide you with what you want and need.

Yes, we have ways to go. And we know this tenfold. But we can't do this alone, so I'm asking you to share your thoughts with us and tell us what can we do to improve upon this. And believe me, we know that we're not giving you all you want and need. That's our challenge. We're trying to do our best with what we have, and we will focus resources into what's needed.

I can only give you this: The best part is yet to come.