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Syllabus

JOUR 7330: Social Media Theory and Practice

 **Sorry for the imperfect formatting here. Don’t have time to fix it right now. Email me for a copy if needed**

Spring 2014

Wednesday 5:30pm-8:30pm

Meeman 206/Online http://ummeet.adobeconnect.com/j7330/

Professor: Dr. Carrie Brown

Office:  Meeman 314

Office Hours:  Thursday 3- 5 (first-come, first-served, just stop by) and by appointment – please set up a time for appointments in advance by email or text. Can also “meet” virtually via Google+, GChat, AOL Instant Messenger, Skype etc.

Phone:  202-251-5719 (call or text)

Email: cbrown14@memphis.edu  or carrielisabrown@gmail.com

Twitter: @brizzyc

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

 

This course will combine theory and practice to help you develop your understanding of the many changes rocking the media landscape and build the skills you will need to join the fray.

Social media is altering how journalists, advertisers and public relations professionals do their jobs and how we communicate.  You will read research, theory, and commentary by some of the most formative thinkers in our field examining the impact of social and new media, and then you will apply these core concepts to your real-world use of digital tools. We will be actively using tools like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and many others to produce and curate content and interact with other professionals in our field.

It’s important to note that particular sites like Twitter or Foursquare may come and go in this fast-changing environment in which it seems every month brings with it a new must-have app, toy, or social network. Ultimately, this course hopes to help you apply the core values of journalistic and media professional practice to new media forms in productive, creative, and intelligent ways. Flexibility and the ability to experiment and think critically will perhaps be among the most vital abilities of the new era.

PREREQUISITE: None

TEXTBOOKS/MATERIALS REQUIRED: 

Shirky, Clay. Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations (2008).

A variety of additional articles will be assigned and will be available online, distributed to you via email or available using the UM drive. The UM drive is accessible from MyMemphis under the eCampus Resources tab (on the top left).

Please note: It is EXTREMELY valuable to have a smartphone of some kind for this class.

 

CLASSROOM FORMAT: Lecture/discussion/lab

This class will be a combined on-campus and online course. On campus students will physically meet in Meeman; online students will join us using the Adobe Connect software.  I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE anybody who CAN be physically present to do so.

Course Requirements/POLICIES:

1. Be sure you have read all required material and are prepared to discuss it. You will be asked to reflect on these readings and what you found interesting or relevant each week online (more details below) as well as in class.

2.  Assignments: You will receive a wide variety of assignments throughout the semester that will allow you to practice using social media.  There will be a lot of assignments.  If you have no interest in actually USING social media and would prefer to just hear a professor drone on in a lecture and then take a multiple choice test, I would highly suggest that you drop this course.  It is an elective; nobody is forcing you. Reading about social media strategy in a book is one thing; actually doing it in a way that can garner you an engaged audience is quite another. In addition to this syllabus, I will announce assignment details in class, and also send you an email AND post on the class blog a reminder you of what you need to do for each week. One of the goals in this class is to help you build a portfolio of professional digital work, and this is how we will do it.

3. Borrowing a concept used at NYU, everyone will creating individual blogs that will function as “travelogues,” if you will – a kind of travel journal or field reporting — from the social networking sites and digital media ventures we will explore. You are required to post to this blog at least once each week. Your weekly post is due at 5pm each Wednesday before class. You should post your thoughts and observations, including insights from the readings you found particularly relevant or interesting, and describe experiences you have had or what you have learned from using the social networking site(s) that we have discussed/completing the assignment for the week. What did you do well or what could you have done differently in your social media use this week? In many cases, I will give you specific questions to answer to guide you in doing all of this. You should include links to all of your relevant social media activity for the week (you can use Storify to collect a variety of things such as tweets, Instagram posts, etc. and then embed or post a link to that Storify on your blog. I will discuss how to do this). Eventually this will also be a place for you to report on what you are learning from tracking your metrics; we will discuss that in class. You should send a link to this post to me each week when it is due via email – this is a pain, but it makes it easier for me to keep track of multiple students without me having to dig around trying to find it. Each weekly blog post will count as one assignment grade; it is also the way in which you will essentially “turn in” the rest of your assignments. For example, perhaps your assignment for the week is to create a YouTube video. Your weekly travelogue blog post should have a link to that video as well as reflections on what you learned in creating it, plus your insights on the readings for that week.

**One assignment to get started on right away: PHOTO A DAY. We will discuss how and why we will do this in class, but every day you will be taking one photo and sharing it via social media. It can be a photo of anything you want. You could choose an overall unifying theme, or you could just take a different photo at random every day. You could use it as a kind of visual diary. It is up to you. The purpose of this assignment is to enhance your visual sensibilities and to get you in the habit of creating a regular stream of content, which is one of the core challenges of a successful social media professional.

3. Project There will be no final exam or formal term paper in this class, but you will have a project due at the end of the semester in which you can put into practice the skills you have learned. We will discuss the final project as the semester goes on.

6. YOU WILL NEED TO GET IN THE HABIT OF CHECKING YOUR EMAIL, FACEBOOK, AND TWITTER AT LEAST ONCE A DAY. I use them frequently to communicate with the class, and you will use them to communicate with each other. Sometimes I may adjust the syllabus and/or assignments, because social media is always changing and shifting. I will update you both verbally and in writing when I do so, but you need to be sure you are paying attention and keeping up.

7. LATE WORK POLICY. I’m a generally laid-back person, but this is a deadline business, whether we like it or not. Social media is also all about immediacy.  Deadlines are 11:59 pm on the day the assignment is due unless otherwise specified. Work received up to 24 hours past deadline will receive a one letter grade deduction. Work received more than 24 hours late will NOT BE ACCEPTED unless you have made specific prior arrangements with me. I am open to making these arrangements, but you have to do so BEFORE the deadline.

8. Attendance and participation. You are graduate students, so I’m assuming this is something you learned long ago. But please don’t miss more than one class. Your presence helps contribute to our class discussion and make it more productive for us all. If you have a repeated problem with attendance, your final grade in the course will be penalized. Participation is not only verbal in-class but also in the form of comments or sharing links on Facebook and in other online forums.

9. Doctoral students taking the class at the 8000 level must additionally complete a 15-20 page research paper in which they synthesize research on a specific topic related to social media. Talk to me before beginning this paper.

 

Grading: 

Assignments (many and varied, some big, some small): 70 percent

Project: 20 percent

Attendance and articipation: 10 percent

 

Tentative Timetable

Week 1: January 22 Introduction to the Course

  • Explanation of course objectives, expectations, syllabus
  • WordPress basics

Assignment:

  1. Create your WordPress journal blog, and send me a link to it on email. Create an about me page that has a brief personal bio and photo of yourself. Include things like your career goals, your hobbies, work experience, etc.
  2. In your first post, answer the following questions: What social networks do you use most often? How or why do you use them? What do you find interesting or important about social media (e.g. why are you taking this class?)
  3. Choose a topic of focus for this class, or what journalists might call a “beat.” It is VERY IMPORTANT to choose wisely, so put some serious thought into this. Choose a subject you are interested in and passionate about, personally or professionally. This could be anything from bowling to city/county school consolidation to local bakeries to the Memphis hip hop scene to the aviation industry to a particular company, industry or cause you are interested in promoting and/or understanding. Consider your post-graduation goals, but be sure you genuinely care about the subject. It will be critical for you to narrow your topic as much as possible. Anybody can “use Twitter” or “use Facebook” – it is technologically very easy to do. The trick is to use it productively when you have a specific professional goal. One of your goals will be to develop your ability to create interesting and informative content around a particular subject. But a bigger goal will be your ability to cultivate a community around this topic, to listen to what others have to say and engage your audience.
  4. Write up a short description of this topic of focus or beat on your journal blog. Be as clear and specific as possible.
  5. Do the readings for next week and post reflections on your journal blog. You should do this every week.
  6. Start photo of the day project

Week 2 January 29: Overview of How Social Media Has Affected Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations, and How We Communicate

  • Everyone is a media outlet
  • Publish, then filter
  • Two-way communication with audiences/customers
  • Changes to business models and best practices
  • Social media and social change: The Arab Spring

Read: Shirky “Here Comes Everybody” Chapters 1-2

Beyond Gingras: Tech Innovation Alone Will Not Democratize Media http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/09/beyond-gingras-tech-innovation-alone-will-not-democratize-media254

Point and Counterpoint: The Internet is Making Us Dumber http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704025304575284981644790098.html or is it Making us Smarter? http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704025304575284973472694334

The Natives Aren’t Restless Enough by Derek Willis http://thescoop.org/archives/2013/10/01/the-natives-arent-restless-enough/

How Social Media is Sparking Organizational Transformation http://www.briansolis.com/2013/01/how-social-media-is-prompting-organizational-transformation/

Zeynep, Tufekci. “The #freemona Perfect Storm: Dissent and the Networked Public Sphere” http://technosociology.org/?p=566

 

Assignment:

  1. If you are not already on Twitter, or if you want to set up a separate professional account for the purposes of this class, you need to set up an account with a bio and a photo and send me your “handle” or Twitter name. If you are new to Twitter or haven’t used it much, start getting into the habit of both posting and browsing your stream a little at least once a day. Write down any questions you have about how to use Twitter as we will be talking about it more next week. If you are already an experienced Twitter user, think about some ways to expand and improve your presence and community there in relation to your topic of focus. Even if I’m already following you, send me a reminder to add you to the class list I’ll be building.
  2. Develop a list of at LEAST three other blogs or Web sites that meaningfully address your topic of interest.  For professionals, a blog is often a “hub” for other social media activity occurring around the web. Summarize and evaluate some of the key features of each blog or site using bullet points on your journal blog. Answer all of the following questions: What kind of problem do these websites/blogs help solve for their audience and/or what needs do they fulfill? What do they do well? What could they improve? Can you identify any gaps in their content or features that a competitor could fill, and how is what you could offer different or better? Look at their social media presence and the comments or interaction they get: Are they cultivating an active community around their site?
  3. Do readings for next week and reflect on them on your journal blog.
  4. Start making a habit of following blogs and Twitter accounts related to social media and digital technology, such as Mashable, TechCrunch, ReadWrite, Nieman Lab, or others. Share interesting links with our class. Use a bookmarking service like Delicious or Evernote to save and tag links you think might be useful to you in the future.

Week 3 February 5: Microblogging (Twitter)

  • Using Twitter for reporting/finding information/monitoring a topic or issue
  • Using Twitter for promotion
  • Twitter and conversation – Getting to know people
  • Twitter and covering events and breaking news
  • Storify

Steve Buttry: Suggestions, but not standards, for live Tweeting http://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/suggestions-but-not-standards-for-live-tweeting/

Storyful’s Validation Process http://blog.storyful.com/2012/04/24/inside-storyful-storyfuls-verification-process/#.UDWbUd1mQmw by Malachy Brown

If a tweet worked once, send it again — and other lessons from The New York Times’ social media desk http://www.niemanlab.org/2014/01/if-a-tweet-worked-once-send-it-again-and-other-lessons-from-the-new-york-times-social-media-desk/

Only the literary elite can afford not to tweet http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Only-the-literary-elite-can-afford-not-to-tweet-4926874.php

New Twitter Analytics, 10 Quick Metrics You Can Use Today http://socialfresh.com/how-to-use-twitter-analytics/

Find a recent article about Twitter (past 1-2 years) in an academic journal that seems relevant or interesting to you. (You can use Google Scholar or the Communication and Mass Media Database on the library website among other techniques to find this article).  Briefly summarize the key finding of this study on your journal blog post as part of your reading reflections.

 

The following link is a resource you should skim over and bookmark for reference:

“Twitter Guide Book” by Mashable

http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/

Also, one way to find some journalists to follow: http://www.presspass.me/

Assignment:

  1. Special assignment TBA
  2. Create some lists on Twitter related to your beat and other interests. Find some new people to follow related to your topic of focus and other interests. Start interacting with others in your area of focus. Describe what you did in your journal blog.
  3. Read and reflect on readings for next week in your journal blog.

Week 4 February 12: Blogging

  • WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger
  • Why journalists and public relations practitioners and other professionals blog
  • RSS feeds
  • What makes blogging social?
  • Blogging vs. Journalism  (please make it stop)

Read:

Shirky “Here comes Everybody” Chapters 3-5

Rosen, Jay. The Twisted Psychology of Bloggers vs. Journalists http://pressthink.org/2011/03/the-psychology-of-bloggers-vs-journalists-my-talk-at-south-by-southwest/

Assignment:

  1. Set up new WordPress blog for your topic of focus/beat. This is SEPARATE from your journal blog. I know, two blogs, crazy! Choose a name for it carefully, and a theme.
  2. Create “about me” and “about this blog” pages.
  3. Set up blogroll on your blog with at least five sites.
  4. Sign up for at least one email newsletter and/or an RSS feed reader. There are many possible feed readers out there – do some research to see which one you think best suits you. For example, here are some possibilities, including Feedly: http://gizmodo.com/10-google-reader-alternatives-that-will-ease-your-rss-p-5990540
  5. Set up Google Alerts for your blog topic
  6. If you are already a blogging whiz, or have a blog set up already, are there any new features or widgets you could add? If your blog is pre-existing, be sure you do at least one new thing to spruce it up.
  7. Make a list of at least five ideas for blog content . Ideas don’t have to be refined but should be specific.

Week 5 February 19: Crowdsourcing, Wikis, Power of Networks

  • Using social media can help you develop sources of information, get feedback, find answers to questions, and nurture contacts (and even…make friends)
  • Feedback via social media can help you understand what your audience/customers want and how to serve them

Read:  Shirky Chapters 6 and 7

10 Rules for Increasing Community Engagement http://mashable.com/2009/12/16/community-engagement/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20Mashable%20(Mashable)&utm_content=Google%20Reader by Leah Betancourt (Mashable)

Tips for participating in Twitter chats http://www.profkrg.com/?p=777

Hermida, A, Lewis, S. C. and Zamith, R. (2012). Sourcing the Arab Spring: A case study of Andy Carvin’s Sources During the Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions. Presented at the International Association of Online Journalism Conference in Austin, TX. Related slides: http://www.reportr.net/2012/04/23/slides-from-isoj-talk-on-andy-carvin-sourcing-of-the-arab-spring/

Assignment:

  • Twitter chat assignment
  • Show your blog (essentially a prototype at this point) and explain your topic of focus to at least one potential member of your blog’s community/audience. Ask them for early feedback on your idea. What kinds of content or features would they be looking for in a blog like yours? What kinds of things do they NEED or WANT to know? Do they have any problems or needs within your topic area you could solve for them? For example, perhaps a potential reader of your niche food blog has a specific allergy and could use some information on how to avoid that ingredient, or similar. Write up what you learned from this person. Ideally, talk to more than one person about this.
  • Create at least one post on your topic/beat blog. Post can be about anything you would like. Maybe it’s a roundup of relevant links with a summary, maybe you went to a relevant event and you want to write about it.

Week 6: Social Photography

  • Some introductory basics on photography
  • Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and other photo sharing tools and communities

 

Read:

 

Mindy McAdams: “Learn how to shoot decent photos.” http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2009/rgmp-7-learn-how-to-shoot-decent-photos/

 

Shirky Chapters 8 & 9

 

Former student Kathleen Fox summarizes Chapter 6 of Mark Briggs’ Journalism Next book http://foxkd100.posterous.com/mark-briggs-journalism-next-chapter-6

 

How journalists and newsrooms can use Pinterest by Steve Buttry http://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/how-journalists-and-newsrooms-can-use-pinterest/

Assignment:

  1. You will need to produce 5-10 GOOD photographs related to your blog topic (You will want to take many more and select from those). Your goal is not just to take nice pictures, although that helps. It is to drive engagement on social media.
  2. You will need to share these photos on at least one of social sites we talked about in class or another one of your choice, e.g. Instagram, Flickr, Pinterest, etc. using proper tags/hashtags. Keep track of and describe the kind of feedback or engagement you got with these photos.
  3. Put at least one of the photos on your blog with a caption. If you would like, build a slideshow.
  4. In reflecting on the blog on your experiences this week, consider: What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the sites you’ve used for your topic area? How can you use photos going forward as semester continues to enhance your blog or website?  How do you think professionals in your future desired career – journalism, public relations, advertising, or any other –  could utilize these sites productively?
  5. In your journal blog, discuss what are you learning from the photo-a-day process so far?

Week 7: Social Video

  • Some basic tips on shooting and editing videos.
  • When to use video
  • Examination of YouTube, Vimeo, UStream, and other social video sharing services.

Reading:

Shirky Chapter 10 and 11 and Epilogue

Mindy McAdams “How to gather, shoot, and write for video” http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2009/how-to-gather-shoot-write-for-video/ and “How to edit your video with iMovie or Windows Movie Maker” http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2009/rgmp-13-edit-your-video-with-imovie-or-windows-movie-maker/

Find a new (past one year) article about online video/You Tube in an academic journal OR reputable trade publication and include a summary of it in your journal blog.

 

Assignment:

  1. Create a video, upload it to YouTube and share it via social media. Your video should in some way reflect your topic of focus.
  2. Embed the video on your blog in a post.
  3. Personal reflection on your experiences creating and sharing the video should include thoughts on: How can you continue to use video to enhance your blog?  How do you think professionals in your future desired career – journalism, public relations, advertising, or any other could best utilize these sites?
  4. Read for next week and reflect in journal blog.

SPRING BREAK NO CLASS MARCH 12

Week 8 March 19: Location, Location, Location

  • Intro to Foursquare, Yelp, etc. and their journalistic and persuasive communications applications
  • Mobile:  The future?

 

Read:

7 Ways Journalists Can Use Foursquare http://mashable.com/2010/05/14/journalists-foursquare/ by Shane Snow

Resource to bookmark: http://www.journaliststoolbox.org/archive/mobile-journalism/ Mobile Journalism from SPJ Journalism Toolbox

Look over the following articles and choose one of interest to you to summarize as part of your journal blog reflections. Take a look especially at some of the lesser-known or specialty location-based social networks, like Hunear, Scvngr, GetGlue, etc. and consider how a media professional might use them. http://mashable.com/category/location-based-social-networks/

Assignment:

  1. Experiment with using at least one of the location-based checkin services for one week. It may be difficult, but in doing this, remember to try to find ways to, again, be relevant to your topic of focus. Leave some tips for others. Reflect on class blog on the experience; what do you see as the best opportunities for journalists and public relations practitioners in this space?
  2. Write a review for Yelp and browse some other reviews.
  3. Read for next week and reflect in the journal blog.

Week 9 March 26: Building Audience and Understanding Metrics

  • Learn the basics of SEO
  • Understanding your metrics and how to improve them

 

Read:

5 social media metrics that your business should be tracking http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2013/10/29/5-social-media-metrics-business-tracking/#!suE2N

HOW PROMOTION AFFECTS PAGEVIEWS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES WEBSITE https://source.opennews.org/en-US/articles/promotion-pageviews/

Bookmark this as a resource and look through it; use as you find helpful. Analytics Education – Resources & Academic Programs: http://online-behavior.com/analytics/education

A scientific guide to writing great headlines on Twitter, Facebook and your Blog http://blog.bufferapp.com/a-scientific-guide-to-writing-great-headlines-on-twitter-facebook-and-your-blog

“Al Jazeera English Online: Understanding Web metrics and news production when a quantified audience is not a commodified audience.” Study from George Washington University, published in Digital Journalism. By Nikki Usher. [Remind me to put this on the UM Drive – you can also access through database Comm & Mass Media Complete] http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21670811.2013.801690#.UtmjWxDnbIV

10 Questions To Ask About Your Twitter Reach & The Free Twitter Tools To Answer Them http://marketingthink.com/10-key-questions-about-your-tweet-reach-and-the-free-twitter-tools-that-answer-them/

Assignments:

  1. Create a list of specific goals you have for your social media presence, tailored to your needs and what you have learned so far about what works and doesn’t work with your topic area.
  2. Decide what metrics you will be collecting about your blog/social media presence that will measure progress toward those views, using the readings for guidance. Make a specific list or spreadsheet. Begin collecting this info on a regular basis. It will be part of your final project.
  3. Create some kind of challenge for yourself and describe it on your journal blog. Maybe you will try to post a photo on Instagram every day. Maybe you will try a “30 days of blogging” challenge, or similar. It’s up to you, but the first step in boosting your metrics is learning to create a regular stream of content.
  4. Read next week’s readings and reflect on journal blog.

Week 10 April 2

Part A: The Two Way Street: Conversation and Engagement

  • Building credibility and trust  through online engagement
  • Customer/audience acquisition and customer service
  • Creating better online communities

Marchionni, D. M. (2013), Journalism-as-a-Conversation: A Concept Explication. Communication Theory, 23: 131–147. doi: 10.1111/comt.12007

Selected chapters from: Napoli, P. (2011) Audience evolution: New technologies and the transformation of media audiences. New York: Columbia University Press

boyd, danah, Golder, Scott, and Lotan, Gilad. (2010).  Tweet Tweet Retweet: Conversational Aspects of Retweeting on Twitter. Proceedings of HICSS-43.Kauai, HI January 5-8. http://www.danah.org/papers/TweetTweetRetweet.pdf

Why Comments Suck (And Some Ideas on Unsucking Them), Xark http://xark.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/05/why-comments-suck-ideas-on-unsucking-them.html

Joy Mayer and Reuben Stern. A resource for newsrooms: Measuring the success of audience engagement efforts http://www.rjionline.org/news/resource-newsrooms-measuring-success-audience-engagement-efforts-0

Part B: Professional social networking (LinkedIn)

  • Uses of LinkedIn and best practices
  • Building a personal, professional brand online using social media

Assignment:

  1. Establishing a LinkedIn profile if you don’t have one. Enhancing your profile if you do have one; join groups and interact with others. Please describe what you did to enhance your profile in the journal blog.
  2. Also discuss in journal blog: What are you doing to establish your personal brand online? What could you be doing better? What do you plan to do in the future? What strategies will you employ to do so?
  3. Read for next week and reflect on the readings in the journal blog.
  4. Describe your “engagement strategy” for your social media presence on your topic of choice. Be as specific as you can, using the information in the readings to inform you as well as your previous experiences and metrics. What have you learned so far about what might be most effective?
  5. Solicit specific content or comment of some kind from your audience relevant to your topic. You might try a couple of different techniques and see which one is most effective. You thought about how to do this earlier this semester; you may have made some revisions. Now it is time to give it a try.

Week 11 April 9:  

Part A: Social Media Demographics And Uses and Gratifications

  • Who is using social media? Are there any differences in how different groups use social media?
  • Bridging and bonding social capital and social media
  • How or why are people using social media, and how should that shape your strategy in using it effectively?

Reading:

Part B: Facebook,  The Social Juggernaut

  • Has it jumped the shark? Or is it still too big to ignore?
  • Journalism, public relations and advertising best practices and strategies.

 

Read:

Facebook, private traits and attributes: Predictions from digital records of human behavior http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/internet/private-traits-attributes-predictable-digital-records-behavior#sthash.rV7y2eGs.dpuf

Recommended: Read David Kirkpatrick’s The Facebook Effect; watch The Social Network movie

Assignment:

  1. 1.      In your journal blog, reflect on how you will use your knowledge of social media demographics and your understanding of uses and gratifications/motivations for social media use in your social media strategy for your topic. Who is your target audience? How do they use social media?
  2. 2.      In your journal blog, describe what your Facebook strategy and goals might be. Be as specific as possible. If you would like, you can set up a Facebook group or page for your topic area.
  3. 3.      Conduct another interview with a current or potential audience member for your blog. Learn more about how they use social media, and how you could best meet their needs. Show them your topic blog and other social media use and ask them for feedback.
  4. 4.      Do readings for next week and reflect on them in the journal blog.

Week 12 April 16: Data and Mapping

  • Learning to create a map using Google Maps
  • How and why journalists and public relations practitioners might use data and maps to engage audiences
  • Interactive, customizable data: Searchable online databases
  • Visualizing data for better storytelling
  • Guest speaker: Grant Smith, Commercial Appeal data reporter (think about any questions you might have in advance)

Reading:

Data-Driven Journalism Trends for 2014 http://digitalamy.com/2013/12/30/data-driven-journalism-trends-for-2014/

Additional reading TBA (remind me if I forget, ha)

Assignment:

  1. Map assignment TBA
  2. On your journal blog, describe to me how you might utilize interactive databases and/or data visualizations to enhance your topic blog. What could you offer to your readers?
  3. Read for next week and reflect on the journal blog.
  4. We will start discussing the final project in more detail.

Week 13 April 23: Web Curation and Linking; Privacy and Social Media

  • What is curation, and why does it matter?
  • How has gatekeeping and agenda setting changed in the 21st century?
  • Why is linking so important on the Web? What is the “link economy”
  • The privacy debate: Just how concerned should we be? How do we evaluate the relative advantages of privacy vs. openness?
  • How are social media shaping our society in terms of what we share and what we keep private?
  • How should journalists and public relations practitioners respond to/anticipate/handle public concerns about privacy?

 

Reading: 

Brian Solis, The Curation Economy and The 3C’s of Information Commerce http://www.briansolis.com/2011/04/the-curation-economy-and-the-three-3c%E2%80%99s-of-information-commerce/

Ethan Zuckerman,” Interview with Andy Carvin on curating Twitter to watch Tunisia, Egypt” http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2011/02/04/interview-with-andy-carvin-on-curating-twitter-to-watch-tunisia-egypt/

Curation, and Journalists As Curators by Mindy McAdams http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/curation-and-journalists-as-curators/

Watch –  Rosen, Jay “The Ethic of the Link” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIMB9Kx18hw

The Link Economy vs. the Content Economy by Jeff Jarvis http://www.buzzmachine.com/2008/06/18/the-link-economy-v-the-content-economy/ Related video: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2008/jun/24/jarvis.future2

Thoughts on Pew’s latest report: Notable findings on race and privacy http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2013/05/22/pew-race-privacy.html?utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer&utm_content=bufferc951f

Oversharing on Oversharing by Jeff Jarvis http://www.buzzmachine.com/2010/06/21/oversharing-on-oversharing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+buzzmachine+(BuzzMachine)

Assignment:

  • Write a post on your topic blog in which you round up links of interest to your audience and offer a short summary of them.
  • Work on final project, final details TBA
  • Do readings for next week and reflect on journal blog

Week 14 April 30: Class wrap up, discussing projects

10 Questions for Journalists by Matt Thompson http://www.rjionline.org/projects/thompson/stories/journalism-overload/index.php

The Tigger Talk: On Life, the Process, and Everything http://www.thebradking.com/2011/04/07/the-tigger-talk-on-life-the-process-and-everything/

  • Final project deadlines and requirements will be discussed. No final exam.
  • Wrap up post on your journal blog describing your biggest takeaways from the course.

 

 

ASSESSMENT

PROFESSIONAL VALUES AND COMPETENCIES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND MASS COMMUNICATION:

  • Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy fairness and diversity.
  • Think critically, creatively and independently.
  • Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve.
  • Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy, fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness.
  • Apply tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work.

HOW PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS WILL BE MET:

  • Students will learn about the many ways the use and presentation of images and information are shifting in the new media landscape, and how these changes affect journalism, public relations, advertising, and society as a whole.
  • Students will develop the ability to use numerous tools and technologies that have become vital to journalism, public relations and advertising
  • Students will hone their written and visual communication skills through content production in multiple media.  
  • Students will learn how to apply their existing knowledge of best practices and core values of journalism, public relations, and advertising to new contexts.  
  • Students will learn about the ethical implications of social network use, such as the concerns surrounding privacy.

HOW ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING WILL BE MET:

  • Students will read and critically reflect, both orally and in writing, on a number of contemporary texts that explore how social networking is changing the use and presentation of images and information.
  • Students will complete numerous assignments that will require them to master the basics of how to use social networking tools and to improve their written and visual skills to create content for these sites.
  • Students will interact with other journalism students, professors, and professionals all over the United States and even the world to enhance their understanding of the collaborative power of social media.
  • Students will complete a final project that allows them to apply and advance the skills they learned in the course.

DEPARTMENT-WIDE POLICIES

 

EMAIL:

You must have your UM email account activated. If you are using another provider such as Google, you are required to have your UM email forwarded to that account. Go to the http://iam.memphis.edu website to implement forwarding of UM email. You are required to check your email daily. You are responsible for complying with any email sent to you by your professor or the University.

CELLPHONES:

You must turn them off during class. **This policy does not apply for social media class *only*, although you should turn it on vibrate in order to not disturb others. We may be using your phone in many ways during class!

 

ATTENDANCE:

Class attendance is mandatory in the Department of Journalism. You may be assigned a failing grade for the semester for nonattendance, or habitual late arrival. No late work will be accepted without prior arrangements, which are acceptable to your professor. Students may not be permitted to make up any missing work unless it is for an absence due to illness or other catastrophic emergency such as a death in the family that can be documented (e.g. with a doctor’s note or a copy of the newspaper obituary). This is a professional program for journalists who are expected to understand and comply with deadlines. If you have some problem making it to class on time make arrangements to fix the problem or consider taking another class. You should consider this class your “job” in the educational process and be on time just as you would elsewhere.

 

CHEATING:

In addition to university-wide policies stated in the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, the Department of Journalism considers making up quotes from sources, turning in substantially the same assignment for credit in two different courses, or a student receiving any assistance from others for work assigned to be done on his/her own, as acts of cheating punishable to the degree determined appropriate by the course instructor and department chair. That may include grade reductions or seeking dismissal of the student from the university.

“Your written work may be submitted to Turnitin.com, or a similar electronic detection method, for an evaluation of the originality of your ideas and proper use and attribution of sources. As part of this process, you may be required to submit electronic as well as hard copies of your written work, or be given other instructions to follow. By taking this course, you agree that all assignments may undergo this review process and that the assignment may be included as a source document in Turnitin.com’s restricted access database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in such documents. Any assignment not submitted according to the procedures given by the instructor may be penalized or may not be accepted at all.” (Office of Legal Counsel, October 17, 2005)

ONLINE SETEs:

You are urged to complete the SETEs evaluation of this Once your instructor has posted your grade, you can immediately see that grade, provided you completed a teacher evaluation for that class. How to access your evaluation forms: Log in using your UUID and email password; click on the gray “Student” tab; complete an evaluation for each course listed and hit the “Submit” button at the bottom of the form. It will only take a few minutes of your time. We take the evaluations very seriously and use them to improve courses and instructional quality. Your feedback is essential and will be appreciated.

 

EXIT EXAM FOR ALL JOURNALISM MAJORS:

All Journalism majors are required to take the Journalism Exit Exam their last semester before graduation. Please contact the Journalism office staff anytime during the semester to sign up. You may take the test anytime there are open lab hours during the semester. You will not be certified to graduate until you have completed the test.

 

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