This is a presentation I gave at the 2010 Midwest Newspaper Summit. The topic was "Fostering Community with Social Media," explaining how newspapers can operationalize social media tools to build community platforms, as well as engage their audience where they live.

1. FOSTERING COMMUNITY with social media (photo via lucasdevries / flickr.com)

3. A quick history lesson AKA: WTF just happened to our industry?? photo via kevindooley flickr.com

4. In the 1920s, daily newspapers had a market penetration of 123%. (photo via holia / flickr.com) - Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper

5. A guy named Craig came along.

6. Platforms changed. (photo via faceme / flickr.com)

7. Reading habits changed. (photo via inju / flickr.com)

8. The last 210 years of information (+10 years) 220 years of marketers trying to connect businesses with publics. Source: http://www.baekdal.com/articles/Management/market-of-information/

10. 62% of online teens get news about current events and politics online. (photo via peterkaminsky / flickr.com) - Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2010

13. SO ⋅ CIAL ME ⋅ D ⋅ IA DEFINITION: people having conversations online

14. it’s an EVOLUTION of how we communicate (photo via misserion / flickr.com)

15. who uses SOCIAL MEDIA? and why should you care?

16. 3 out of 4 Americans use social technology. - FORRESTER, THE GROWTH OF SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION, 2008

17. 93% of social media users believe a company should have a presence in social media. - CONE, BUSINESS IN SOCIAL MEDIA, SEPTEMBER 2008 photo via victoriapeckham flickr.com

18. Social networking is the 4 TH most popular form of online activity, ahead of personal email. - NIELSEN, GLOBAL FACES AND NETWORKED PLACES, 2009

19. 46% of baby boomers actively maintain a social networking profile - DELOITTE, SEPTEMBER 2009 photo via jamescridland / flickr.com

20. Source: BrianSolis.com

21. Share the link love. Develop commenting guidelines. Mine for sources and stories. Allow content re-use & mash up. Be active on social networks. Develop niche content. Stay ahead of the shifts. Ways newspapers can foster community & leverage social media:

22. Share the link love

23. Don’t be afraid to link out ARTICLE SOURCE Linking out can amplify your article’s potential reach. Linked sources typically inform their own networks. Expecting to “trap” readers on your site is an outdated mode of thinking.

24. Develop commenting guidelines

27. http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_766adc82-f58a-11de-b4cc-001cc4c03286.html

28. If commenting gets out of hand, here are some ideas to consider: Try the “cooling off” period. Develop a site-wide commenting policy and enforce it. Encourage editors and writers to participate. Stop allowing anonymity – require real names & headshots. Allow community moderation and flagging. Put the first three comments from new users in a “hopper.” Link off to comments instead of showing under the story. As a last resort, wipe the system and reboot.

29. Mine for sources and stories

30. Majority of journalists now depend on social media for story research 89% use blogs. 65% use social networking sites. 52% use micro-blogging sites. 61% use Wikipedia. 84% said social media sources were less reliable than traditional media. CISION, January 2010 - http://us.cision.com/journalist_survey_2009

31. Allow content re-use & mash-up

32. (photo via kathera / flickr.com) What will they do with your content?

33. BetterOmaha.com: OWH done better? Omaha World Herald’s content, re-packaged by a few people who wanted a better news site.

34. IowaFlood.com: Social media fire hose Aggregation of content from mainstream media news sources (AP, DM Register) and citizen journalists via RSS, blogs, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter. Built by one dude overnight. Register participated. AP wasn’t happy.

35. One of the most powerful tools known to mankind:

36. Be active on social networks

37. “ MICROBLOGGING” (Blogging in 140 characters or less.) Twitter is accessed via web, IM, mobile devices and third-party apps. What is it?

38. 24/7/365 cocktail party “ Ambient intimacy” -Leisa Reichelt “ Follow” (subscribe to) interesting people What’s the appeal?

39. WHO CARES IF I’M EATING A SANDWICH?! (photo via randysonofrobert / flickr.com)

40. Largest age population: 35-49 year olds (42%) - Nielsen Online, March 2009 Most popular among working adults - Nielsen Online, March 2009 Who is using it?

41. Daniel Finney, police beat reporter:

44. (photo via joo0ey / flickr.com)

46. Twitter has broken the news cycle down to seconds @usairwaysgirl

47. Sioux City Journal taps the real-time fire hose An aggregation of weather-related tweets, emails and mobile photos from Sioux City residents.

48. 400 million+ users and growing. Fourth-largest country (if it had land mass). 5 billion minutes spent on Facebook each day. Women over 55 are the fastest-growing demo. (Has your mom friend requested you yet?) www.myparentsjoinedfacebook.com Facebook stats:

49. Create a branded Facebook Page…

50. … then extend Facebook functionality to your site

51. Facebook Connect Allows seamless connectivity between user activity on your web content and Facebook.

52. More reasons to build a Facebook Page “ Get more fans with SMS” feature Try it! Text “fan lavarow” to 32665 (FBOOK) INSIGHTS

53. Develop niche content

58. Stay ahead of the shifts

59. Technology will continue to evolve until every web page, everywhere, is social. Whether you’re ready or not.

60. Pay attention to location-based social networks

61. (photo via moriza / flickr.com)

62. Contextual offers/coupons based on your current location (GPS) and number of previous visits.

63. Watch the eReader / tablet space Readers will consume news and media this way.

67. [email_address] @nathantwright 515.554.0502 www.lavarow.com Thank you.