University Makes Twitter a Required Class for Journalism Students
What do you think? Should 202 take a whole lab and dedicate it to Twitter?
And btw, if you want to follow your J-School on Twitter, it's @uw_sjmc
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Twitter 101
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10 comments:
i think twitter is worth mentioning in a class such as J202, however, I don't think it is important enough so spend hours on just learning how to tweet. I think if journalists are trained well to write quality, concise leads then they should be able to handle tweeting.
It's interesting how they want to promote more "in-depth" tweeting when a tweet itself can only be 140 characters. Not that Twitter hasn't become an important medium, and really quickly. I suppose the curriculum would be similar to headline writing, but a whole class just on that seems kind of ridiculous.
I definitely think learning to use Web sites like Twitter are becoming very important for aspiring journalists. However, I think instead of just focusing on Twitter, the course could be expanded into more of a "social media" course that encompasses many different Web sites like Facebook, Linkedin, etc. I think focusing just on Twitter is inefficient and puts limits on an exponentially growing medium that needs to be understood.
Twitter has become a valuable tool in communications. As we saw when a tweet revealed Obama had called Kanye a Jackass and with numerous tweets outing the "gMail-fail", Twitter gets the word out at a faster rate than ever before. Journalism students should learn how to use Twitter and how it optimize its abilities because it proves to be an essential tool in keeping up with news-worthy topics, opinions and social trends. This week Google announced an agreement with Twitter that allows "real time updates" to show in Google's search results. This collaboration increases Twitter's importance and transparency in the news and media, making it even more vital that journalism students know and understand it.
I think that adding twitter the the j-school education would be valuable, as twitter has become such an important medium. I think that creating a message in only 140 characters that is in depth and relays an important message does take a certain skill set.
I think that the J School should teach students about the importance of ALL social media outlets. Yes, Twitter is a powerful tool for individuals to understand up-to-date topics and breaking trends. However, J schoolers should understand all of the implications of posting information online.
One facet of Twitter than educators should teach to students is how to harness the search power of Twitter to find current events/topics/discussions. Everyone in J202 should know how to use a hash-tag and how to stay on top of media/current topics.
With sites such as Linked In, Facebook, Twitter, and even blogs, the J school should explain how our reputations as reporters or strategic communication workers may be impacted (for good or for bad) by social media sites. If we use multiple social media sites, should we use the same message for each outlet or should we write messages based off of the audience who will read them (professionals from Linked In vs. college friends from Facebook). Also, is it ethical for us to control how other users view our identities (deleting photos that make us look fat/show us drinking) or do we have an obligation to refrain from editing out portions of our online identities?\
The j-school should dedicate a lab to twitter. It's unique to other social networks so I do think it should be a twitter specific lab. It's a powerful medium that is still very unexplored, unlike facebook. Twitter is key when it comes to Public Relations and it is the fastest way to tell people need-know-info. I suggest everyone to join twitter if you haven't already and start to use the network in a way that benefits you the most. Follow your favorite music artist's, authors, writers, athletes, and most importantly follow your friends-you'll be more informed than every before.
i think it is a good idea to discuss twitter or any sort of social media in a journalism class. but to spend AN ENTIRE course on just twitter alone? i want to know how many credits these people are getting out of this class and what their homework is. how can you talk about tweeting for an entire semester?
I don't think that an entire lab period should be dedicated to twitter. Although I understand the benefits to the media, I really dislike the entire concept when used to update individuals on people's everyday lives. It doesn't really give anything to individuals to know when someone is "going to the bathroom" or something along those lines. After working at NBC this past summer and talking with anchors, I understand how they enjoy such a social medium to gain inspiration for stories and sources. However, like I said earlier, when used by the average individual for simplistic means, I get a bad taste in my mouth. I don't plan on jumping on the bandwagon any time soon.
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