Friday Fast Five – The Google Edition

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF co-chair, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation Week Group

On Wednesday, Google announced that it was ending its development of the much-hyped, but less understood Google Wave.  I had several of my journalist friends rave about the Wave, but none of them could really explain to me how it works.  There was a great YouTube video (warning! profanity!) that came out using clips from “Pulp Fiction” to explain it, but it was more amusing that informative.

So that leads to today’s Friday Fast Five-plus five.  I’m going over all the tools in the Google arsenal that are useful for journalists.  If I’m missing anything, please drop me a line and let me know.   Enjoy!

1. 10000 Words — 5 Cool and unexpected uses of Google Street View
2. Google Tools for Journalists Australia — Google Trends: Compare what’s hot with what’s not
3. MakeUseOf — 3 Google Tricks When You Don’t Know What to Search For
4. Mashable — 5 Essential Tools for the Mobile Journalist (one tool they highlight is Google Voice)
5. All Things Digital — Another Google Gift to Publishers: Slideshow-Ready Stats!
6. MakeUseOf — 6 Reasons GTalk is The Best Free Instant Messaging Service
7. Web Worker Daily — Creative Ways to Use Google Voice
8. Lifehacker — Top 10 Clever Google Voice Tricks
9. IJNet — Google tools for journalists: Part 1
10. IJNet — Google tools for journalists: Part 2

Getting Into the Entrepreneurial Spirit

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF co-chair, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation Week Group

One of the best things about this year’s National Association of Black Journalists Annual Convention and Career Fair was all the workshops, panels and training on how to be a journalist and an entrepreneur.

Sheila Brooks, founder and CEO of SRB Communications, LLC taught the Entrepreneur LEARNING LAB: “It’s All About Business: Strategies to Leverage Your Talents and Relationships.”  NABJ Media Institute Chairman Doug Mitchell was among those teaching the two-day New U: News Entrepreneurs Working through UNITY seminar.  Valerie Coleman Morris taught the workshop Mind Over Money Matters: Tips from an INTRApreneur.  And there was the Funding Innovative Ideas panel moderated by Mike Green, a former journalist and CEO of Vizitnow3D.

If you didn’t get to attend NABJ 2010, the Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University is holding a FREE online Webinar Aug. 9-13 — How to be an entrepreneur as a business journalist.  The course will be taught by NABJ member and freelance journalist Maya Payne Smart of Writing Coach, along with the Poynter Institute’s “Ask-the Recruiter” blogger Joe Grimm.

Topics during the week-long Webinar include: the nuts and bolts of setting up a journalism-based business; how to maintain your social and mental health; marketing yourself; and branding yourself.  The Webinar will end with Joe Grimm moderating a live chat with five successful journalist entrepreneurs.

Too many times we have complained that our members don’t hear about training opportunities like this, so here’s the information.  Did I mention that this training is free?  I encourage you to click on this link to sign up for this free Webinar.