Last week I decided to set up a midday Tweetup at my favorite restaurant in Raleigh. I did it for two reasons:
- To see what kind of response I could get from the awesome Raleigh Twitterverse
- To see how a socially savvy restaurant would deal with one of its fans grabbing the reins
The response was pretty overwhelming. I set the limit to 50 people, and I’m pretty sure that’s about how many people are going to pour in for lunch on Thursday. I’m not sure of the capacity at The Pit, but I’m guessing we’ll take up about half of the restaurant.
When The Pit found out, all they asked was for me to get them a good number Monday.
That got me thinking about how a newspaper like Raleigh’s News & Observer could leverage social media in its most social form, real life outreach.
Would any attend a get together where you would have direct access to the lots of people at the N&O? What if the Big Wig Editor would take questions and provide answers? What if you could meet and talk to the staff writers who seem faceless now? What if you could make suggestions and the N&O promised to act on the best ones?
If you’re still at no, is there anything that would persuade you to help the N&O do a better job? If not, why not?
The second part of the question is for the N&O. Would the people at the N&O agree to meeting the people they’re writing for?
I’m still at no. I’m looking forward to the get together at The Pit because I’ll get to see current friends, make some new ones, and eat some damn good Q in the process. I have the utmost respect for the reporters and editors of N&O (and any other good news org), but I’m having a hard time thinking of how a one time event would be good for either party.
Now on a semi-related note, there was some good debate this weekend about the Tiger Woods affair (pun might be intended) and the coverage of traditional media v. social media. A lot of folks were giving credit to social media for being faster and more correct than traditional outlets. Others pointed out that there was as much false info on social networks (i.e. rumor mongering) as anywhere… and it was coming out at a more rapid clip. What would get me engaged with a traditional media outlet (like N&O) on social media is if they made a commitment to reporting the right info there, and openly crowd-sourced and then ensured the validity of info to build out the story. And some organizations are already doing that successfully.
Thanks for the article, and for setting the meet-up. Looking forward to seeing more comments.
@johnvlane
The thing about the Twitter information fire hose, from a news consumption perspective, is that all of the “first draft” feel and bad information has always been there, but news outlets had time to sift through it before having to write their first story. Now all curtain has been pulled back to reveal all the crap mainstream journalists have had to wade through.
The Tiger Woods story, was ripe for Twitter because of the affair angle. The same dynamics pushed Baloon Boy a couple months ago.
To me, the interesting part is how much the chatter on Twitter lights a fire under the news outlets to get something out – even if it’s not 100%.
Once that curtain has been pulled back, it’s hard to ever go back to the old – wait a few hours and we’ll give you the whole story in context.
I would love to help traditional media do a better job or at least transition to a new role in media. In the past they were the first source for news. I think now it is more important that they add reporting and investigation to the news. They would be far better served by providing two types or journalism: 60 minutes type articles and hyper local articles. It would be fascinating to hear their thoughts.
I think you’re right Andrew, the news media has to view their role differently – they are no longer the only ones with access to information from far flung places.
As a casual N&O reader, I probably wouldn’t attend something like this. It’s a question of engagement. Those who read the paper every day, who notice bylines and write letters to the editor — they’re your participants.
I think something like this could be successful if readers actually saw the benefits of their feedback … and, of course, if it was a free, public get-together open to all readers with no special interest participation and no confusion over “access” vs. “influence.”
I have my doubts that people who read the paper know any of the bylines.
As far as being open, I agree, completely open to the public, even the jerks who are gonna yell, “You guys are communists!” Because that begs the question, why does that person think that?
I think people recognize bylines, develop preferences and then seek their favorites out. Maybe I’m just being optimistic for all my friends in journalism school.
As for a newspaper tweetup – there’s got to be food and informality. The #pittweetup got so much response for those two reasons (and b/c Phil is pretty darn popular). I think a large-scale meeting would seem too much like a press conference. Perhaps something smaller – like a reporter tweeting out that she’s headed over to such-and-such event and wants 3 people to tag along and offer feedback. DM if you want to join me…
Or “I’m trying out so-and-so’s new restaurant in Raleigh today to write a review. Don’t want to eat alone! Who cares to join me? Food always tastes better with good company.”
What about a “what can I do to better?” session? I think this is what you’re suggesting. A session that a journalist or big-wig editor opens him/herself up to the public and then actually honors the suggestions made (excluding crazy ones, of course).
The thing about social media is that you don’t need an IRL meeting for these conversations to happen. They can happen via social media. That’s why I say…FOOD! Food will get people to meet you IRL, hence the popularity of tomorrow’s #pittweetup.
I agree with all of that, and I also agree that people will judge the newspaper harshly if they don’t see any actual plan of action after a meetup. Honestly, that would be the hardest part, change always is.