The Central Ohio #Society of# Professional #Journalists Presents #Social #Media Journalist, #Jeff #Cutler

 
Pictured: Jeff Cutler, Linda Hall, and Tim Zaun 

On Saturday May 1, 2010, the Central Ohio Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) presented Social Media Journalist, Jeff Cutler. The event was held at The Columbus Dispatch in Columbus, Ohio. 

Cutler taught two sessions for SPJ members and guests, entitled, Follow the Noise, and Connect & Communicate. Cutler sports 21 years of Journalism experience. His vast works include The Boston Globe, Mobile Mag and National Public Radio (NPR). Following is the "Best of" each of Cutler's workshops:

Session I: Follow the Noise: Using Technology to Research, Refine, and Report any Story.

Cutler emphasized 

• There's a real need in the news business to know what people are talking about.
• As a newspaper reporter, avoid industry jargon when writing titles. Think like your reader. What terms are they using to find stories online?
• Use more than one news site to discover derivative stories.
• Set yourself as a brand.

Use 

• Google Alerts- Keeps track of all mentions of your name, company. etc. online.
• Google Advance Search
• Google Docs- Allows transfer of bigger documents than email.

Cutler highlighted these sites:

• Addict-0-Matic-Instantly creates a custom page with latest buzz on any topic.T
• Alltop- Aggregates blog sites.
• Mahalo-Ask any question any time.
• Mashable-Third most-read blog in the world.
• 60 Sites.com-Cutler's 60 sites for journalists (presents "60 Sites in 60 Minutes" workshops).
• YouTube-Still an under appreciated tool for business promotion.

Session II: Connect & Communicate: How Social Media Tools can Help You Research Content Consumers, Sources, and Colleagues.

Regarding social media, Cutler says, "Use the tools you're most comfortable with."

Twitter

• Best times of day to tweet: 9 am, 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, 3:30 pm.
• Tweetworks-Take Twitter to a new level with groups and discussions.
• #Journchat-An ongoing conversation between journalists, bloggers and PR folks.
• Buzzom.com-One of the best Twitter account management tools.
• Socialoomph.com-Boost your social media productivity/Allows you to schedule tweets.
• What the Hashtag?! User-editable encyclopedia for hashtags found on Twitter.
• Twitscoop-Stay on top of Twitter.

To stay abreast of technology, Cutler listens to Buzz Out Loud podcasts.

Cutler Recommends:

• BlueHost.com-Website hosting.
• GoDaddy.com-Domain registery.

Linda Hall, membership coordinator for the Society of Professional Journalists in Indianapolis introduced Cutler. Hall says the three best reasons to join SPJ are:

1. Advocacy for protection of the First Amendment rights.
2. SPJ's great programming.
3. To enjoy the camaraderie of people in your profession.

To learn more about the Society of Professional Journalists, contact Linda Hall at lhall@spj.org.

Comments

[Tim Zaun]

Hi Jeff

Thanks for responding. You gave two great workshops in Columbus on Saturday. Anyone who has the opportunity to learn from your expertise should do so.

[JeffCutler]

Tim,

Great recap. There are so many great resources for journalists - and anyone - online, that the first step is to just spend a little time online poking around and seeing what makes the most sense for you.

Essentially, figure out what people are saying and then use that knowledge to create better stories.

Hope to be doing this for many outlets for years to come. Glad I could add value.

Best,

Jeff