The document discusses social media and how it can be used by journalists to engage readers and find stories. It defines social media as a way for people to get involved in reporting and telling stories that matter to them. The document provides examples of how social media can contribute to stories, such as monitoring forums for comments, using Twitter to send updates, creating blogs for community contributions, and searching sites for images and videos to share.

1. What is social media and why does it matter?

2. What do we mean when we say social media? It goes beyond traditional methods of finding sources Listen to the community to find out what they want to know Learn what issues matter to readers and what they’re engaged in Adapt what we offer to engage them better

5. What it isn’t A tool or set of tools A passing fad Catering to the lowest common denominator The death of journalism

6. What it is A way to get people involved in reporting and telling stories that matter to them Something reporters can use to make sure they’re finding interesting stories A way to give regular people a voice and still do the watchdog-style reporting we do well

7. Great, so how do I get started? Before you sign up for anything, think about what you’re trying to do Ask questions, not just of your sources, but of your readers Listen to what readers have to say about what we’re doing

8. So how would social media contribute to a story?

9. You could: Monitor blogs and forums for comments about the flooding Use Twitter to send out updates on flood recovery progress and ask questions of your followers Create a blog dedicated to flood recovery and ask community members to contribute Post city documents about the recovery efforts, spending, etc. online for people to see. Search photo and video-sharing sites for images of the damage and recovery and share those with readers

10. Another example You’re a reporter assigned to write about flood recovery. After 18 months, there’s a lull in activity, but you know there are still stories out there to be told.

11. You could do anything mentioned previously, plus: Set up a Facebook group for people affected by the flood and monitor posts there Create a page on your blog for people to upload videos, photos or audio about their experiences Create a map or map wiki to help people track the rebuilding progress and add their comments