Friday Fast Five

By Benét J. Wilson, chair, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force & social media/newsletters editor, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

Editor’s note: before we get into this week’s Fast Five, I have two housekeeping items.  One, today is the deadline to vote on panels for next year’s South By Southwest Interactive conference, and I’m asking for your support on two.  Leveraging Diversity For Your Business Portfolio, submitted by Dori Maynard of the Maynard Institute and  The Race Card Project  panel on digital storytelling, submitted by NPR’s Michele Norris.  Second, please register for the Digital Journalism Task Force’s free webinar, “Social Media As A Reporting Tool,” with Niketa Patel of CNNMoney.com  Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. EDT. For more details, click here.

1. Apple iBooks store – Mobile Reporting Field Guide. This FREE eBook is your personal teacher on everything you need to know about using your iPhone as a reporting tool, including videos.
2. Mashable – App Tells Freelancers How Much to Charge. When I fell into freelancing, I had NO idea what to charge. I got great advice from the NABJ Arts &Entertainment Task Force, but this app is a pretty good substitute.
3. SPJ Networked blog – GlowTrend joins growing list of social networking sites. The blog reviews GlowTrend, which appears to be the love child of Facebook, iTunes, Google+ Hangouts and Craigslist.
4. SimplyZesty – 40 Tips To Help Journalists Turn Facebook Into The Ultimate News Portal.  There are some great tips in here for those of us still trying to fit journalism into our Facebook accounts.  I’ve started using polls with great success on my company’s Facebook page.
5. Appadvice – Call Recording Apps.  I use Google Voice, but there are others out there, as outlined on this blog,

Friday Fast Five + Five

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

As usual, I have an overloaded bookmark folder with stuff I want to pass along.  So until I find the time to whittle down the pile, you’ll be getting five plus five until further notice.  For newer readers, I do this column every Friday of interesting tools, technology, websites and tips that can help you do your job as a journalist better.  Enjoy!

1. 10000 Words — Five ways to visualize your personal data. I found the Tweet stats website to be particularly insightful, since I oversee five different accounts.
2. Adam Westbrook — 10 free and totally legal programs every multimedia journalist should have. I’m one of those people who likes to try all the latest programs. Some I use suggested here include GIMP, Audacity and Instapaper.
3. Networked — Streamlining your social media posting: How to update more than one site at a time. Between my work and personal life, I’m juggling several social media sites, so you need to control that. The suggestions here are good, but I’m a BIG fan of TweetDeck, which lets me manage my Twitter accounts and my various Facebook pages.
4. Journalists’ Toolkit — 7 Do’s and Don’ts for Video on Point-and-Shoot Cameras.  For those who are still using these types of cameras for shooting video, these are some good tips.
5. Mashable — 46 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed.  I love it when Mashable does this list, because I always manage to find something I haven’t used before.  This time I discovered the following: HOW TO: Avoid and Prevent Facebook Spam; 7 Superb Short Films Shot With Cellphones; and HOW TO: Launch Any Product Using Social Media.
6. MakeUseOf — 5 Cool Ways To Make Use Of National Geographic Maps.  Here’s an alternative to the usual map suspects.
7. Teaching Online Journalism — Ideas for using Encyclo in journalism classes. While this post is targeted to teachers, aren’t we all trying to keep up with the latest tools in journalism? Encyclo can help.
8. Innovative Interactivity II — Hosting options for multimedia websites.  Thinking about finally getting that new website off the ground?  This post tells you the best places to host said website.
9. Vadim Lavrusik — New to Twitter? Here Are 12 Tips From the Community. As I watch more and more friends jumping onto Twitter, this is a handy guide from the guy who is now running Facebook’s project to attract more journalists.
10. PC World — 12 Must-Have Android Apps for Road Warriors.  I’m an iPhone user, but plenty of my peeps out there (hi @brandonvivo!) are addicted to their Android phones, so I’m showing them the love.

Friday Fast Five + Five

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

Before I get started with this week’s five plus five, I want to address a few housekeeping items.  First, voting is now open for this year’s National Association of Black Journalists board of directors.  Avoid the crowds at this year’s convention Aug. 3-7 and vote online now, here.

Second, the NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force will be holding an online forum for the NABJ candidates for VP-Print — Denise Clay and Errin Haines — on Wednesday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. EDT.  The webinar is free, but you must register, here.  Now, onto Fast Five!

1. 10000 Words – 5 Creative uses of DocumentCloud
2. Networked – Streamlining your social media posting: How to update more than one site at a time
3. Journalists’ Toolkit – 7 Do’s and Don’ts for Video on Point-and-Shoot Cameras
4. Mashable – Facebook Profile Migrations: A Cautionary Tale
5. MakeUseOf – 5 Cool Ways To Make Use Of National Geographic Maps
6. SmartBlog on Social Media – 6 tools to measure your personal branding efforts
7. Teaching Online Journalism – Teaching about storytelling
8. Web Design Ledger – 10 Blogs to Help You Become a Photography Expert
9. David Lee King – 5 Tips for Editing Videos
10. Mastering Multimedia – Producing Audio Slideshows with Final Cut Pro

How To Take Your Content To The Next Level

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

I was chatting online with a friend, discussing the drive for content.  We both agreed that content had been the big focus, but it’s just not enough anymore. Yes. I know. We’re already overworked and underpaid and just trying to keep up.  So I thought I’d go through my bookmark folders and offer 10 tips, tricks and tools that will help you take your content to the next level.

1. Online Tools for Journalists: Chris Snider of the Des Moines Register has a great Slideshare presentation that’s a good starting point to see what’s out there and how you can use it.
   
2. Video blogging: with all the myriad inexpensive HD video cameras out there, there’s no reason why you can’t include some video to enhance — or further explain — your story.  Check out this article from Mashable: The Complete Guide to Video Blogging. If you need more, check out Amani Channel’s Web Video Chefs.
3. The Online Teleprompter.  As you explore video blogging, this is a great tool to help you prepare and read your script like a pro.
4. Hub Spot Blog.  Speaking of video, this website offers Five Video Projects You Can Do in 25 Minutes or Less. Not all of them are applicable to journalism, but three of them do.
5. 10000 Words.   My favorite multimedia website tells you how to make interactive timelines — and gives some great examples.
6. Many Eyes.  Need to add data visualization to a story, but can’t do your own coding? This web-based application lets you input your data and come up with great visualizations.
7. Teaching Online Journalism.  Need more on how to do data visualization? Check out this post for more resources.
8. Networked.  Still confused about how to create slideshows? This post tells you how to get started.
9. Flip The Media.  You need all the right tools to do this stuff, and here you can find where to get them — all for under $1000.
10. Society of Professional Journalists.  If you’re still stuck, i advise you to read Part I and Part II of The SPJ Digital
    Media Handbook.

When I was a little girl, my mother always pushed me to try different things.  “Just one taste,” she said.  “Try it once. You might actually like it,” she said.  “Just give it one more chance,” she said.  I’m still following her good advice.  I hope you do too.

Friday Fast Five

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

Editor’s note: the replay of today’s  NABJ Reinvention Committee and Digital Journalism Task Force  BlogTalkRadio “In the Thick of My Career: Searching for the ‘New Me,’” is now posted, here.  Click here for the replay of our first show in this series — “The Young & the Restless: Keeping Hope & Journalism Alive,” which aired on April 15.  Our third and final show in the series will be “Laid Off, Bought Out & Scared: Managing My Life and Finances.”  This session with Past NABJ President Sidmel Estes of BreakThrough Inc., targets journalists who may have recently lost their jobs or fear they may lose them. We’ll discuss what you can do now to prepare for the worst, how you adjust to life without the office and offer Budgeting 101 tips.

1. 10000 Words — Visual Thesaurus for Writers
2. Networked — Tools that help you get more from Twitter
3. Teaching Online Journalism — 10 useful resources about data visualization
4. Engage: The Blog — How to Create Unforgettable Content: 4 Tips Inspired by Nicki Minaj
5. Brand Me A Journalist — Participating in journalism chats to establish your personal brand

Friday Fast Five

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

Editor’s note: the replay of today’s  NABJ Reinvention Committee and Digital Journalism Task Force  BlogTalkRadio “In the Thick of My Career: Searching for the ‘New Me,’” is now posted, here.  Click here for the replay of our first show in this series — “The Young & the Restless: Keeping Hope & Journalism Alive,” which aired on April 15.  Our third and final show in the series will be “Laid Off, Bought Out & Scared: Managing My Life and Finances.”  This session with Past NABJ President Sidmel Estes of BreakThrough Inc., targets journalists who may have recently lost their jobs or fear they may lose them. We’ll discuss what you can do now to prepare for the worst, how you adjust to life without the office and offer Budgeting 101 tips.

1. 10000 Words – Tools of the day: Markup.io and Connect a Sketch
2. Networked – Investigative Reporting 2.0
3. Journalists’ Toolkit – Soundslides: Getting started, tips and help
4. MakeUseOf – 5 Tips To Perform A Smarter & Faster Google Map Search
5. SmartBlog on Social Media – Using videos to amp up your blog

Networked Blog: Digital Media Skills Every Young Journalist Needs

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

I have almost two dozen journalism-related blogs on my Google Reader.  One of my regular reads is the Networked blog, written by the  Society of Professional Journalists Digital Media Committee (DMC).  A description of the blog reads: to help news professionals wanting to learn more — in a hurry — about technology.

Writer Jennifer Peebles, deputy editor at Texas Watchdog, wrote a Networked post March 9 (yes, I’m a bit behind) entitled “Digital media skills every young journalist needs.”  She offered a list of core skills, along with nine skills every undergraduate of every journalism school in America should be able to do:

1. Write a basic breaking news story in the inverted pyramid.

2. Be able to record the audio of an interview with someone, do a simple edit on the audio recording of that interview and upload it to the Web for an audience to hear.

3. Be able to take a decent photograph, even if it’s with their cellphone camera.

4. Be able to make at least a short video story that doesn’t turn out looking like the Blair Witch Project.

5. Be able to perform basic functions in a spreadsheet and have at least a general understanding of how journalists use data to find stories.

6. Have an understanding of HTML and CSS and understand how they’re used to make Web pages.

7. Be able to decide which platform best suits a given story.

8. Understand the basic concepts of libel and defamation and understand that these aren’t old-fashioned concepts that only apply to us geezers who worked for newspapers.

9. Understand the basic concepts of the First Amendment, freedom of the press and the people’s right to know, which everything we do is built on.

Looking at her list, I’m wondering if it should pertain just to young journalists.  I’m the proverbial old dog learning new tricks, and I feel that all nine of her suggestions should be in my repertoire.  And I’m proud to say I can do eight of the nine suggestions (I’m only missing HTML/CSS, but it’s on the list of things to do).

So I ask you — is this list complete? What would you add? How many of the items on Peebles’ list can you do?

Friday Fast Five

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

1. 10000 Words — Photo tagging: Journalism’s next social experiment
2. Networked — Google Charts Part 2 of 2: Motion Charts
3. Journalists’ Tool Kit — New resource: Page Design Basics
4. Mashable — 10 Online Resources for Free, Legal Music
5. Blogging Tips — Four More Twitter Account Cleaners

Friday Fast Five

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

1. 10000 words – Four major sins of news design
2. Networked – Crowdsourcing: What it means, how it works
3. Journalists’ Toolkit – Convert WMA files with Switch
4. Read Write Web – Learn to Program with Hackety Hack
5. Mashable – 9 Ways to Get More Out of Quora

Friday Fast Five

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

Editor’s note: join Digital Journalism Task Force Treasurer Melanie Eversley of USA Today for a free webinar: “Some Multimedia With That Story?”  This 90-minute webinar will take place Friday, March 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST.  Three panelists will discuss mapping out a story from conception, reaching out to other parts of the newsroom and brainstorming ways that social media, video, reader interaction and other tools can help bring new and eye-opening dimensions to your work.  Click here to register.

1. 10000 Words – 6 innovative uses of Tumblr by newsrooms
2. Networked – Harness the resources of the Web
3. Vimeo – Welcome to Vimeo Video School
4. Poynter – 6 ways journalists can use Quora as tool to report, share ideas
5. GigaOm – QR Codes 101: Make Links to Your Website from Anywhere (note: Knowlegewebb members can watch a webinar and access notes to a Lunchtime Boot Camp held yesterday on QR Codes here)