Let's Just Hope Sree is Right

     Sree Sreenvasan, guru of all things social media, had some semi-encouraging words for journalists at the 9th JournCamp, a great day of learning, jointly presented by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism. 

     Semi-encouraging is about all we can hope for today.    

     Some people call JournCamp a boot camp, but since Midtown Manhattan is somewhat less mosquito-ridden than Parris Island, I will refrain from so doing.

     Sree was the closer after a day of great advice about practicing journalism in the digital/financially strapped/amateur-riddled modern age.

     "When everybody's a writer, the trained pro stands taller.  When everybody's a photographer, the trained pro stands taller." Those words do provide comfort, although we know they are true. It's so good to hear them in an era when we are rarely reminded.

    There are so many charlatans out there. People pretending to know what they're doing. People posting screeds or just plain fiction in the guise of reporting. 

    It is disheartening when people actually believe some of the drivel that's out there, but we just have to persevere. A pep talk from Sree helped.

     Sree quoted Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton, "the scarcest resource of the 21st Century is human attention."  True that.

     There's too much going on, too many photos posted, too MUCH. We pros need to know we stand out from the crowd. All of this is a good reason to band together and join a professional organization. SPJ being the biggest and best.  We need each other.

     Sree is an excellent mentor because he cautions against jumping into the deep end of the social media pool.

     "Show excellent judgement on Twitter," he says. "Tweet as if it's the last tweet you'll ever send."

     Think of Leonard Nimoy's final tweet:  "life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP."

     Aspire to that. 

     Sree also pointed out "it's not who follows you, it's who follows who follows you." He advises people to get influential followers by following influential people.

           Tweet off your last tweet, make sure you reply to yourself," Sree advised.

     "A big project deserves more than one tweet," he said, "build a sequence." 

     He also noted people should update their Twitter bio to reflect their "best Twitter you." And, have your email address in your bio "for the same reason Bob Woodward is in the DC phone book."

     More advice included find the most memorable Twitter handle you can get and don't put your company name in it unless forced by your boss. "It's like having a tat of your current boyfriend's name."

     And remember, "people have been fired over a single tweet." 

    "Social medea can get me in trouble today. Tweets will be in the Library of Congress," Sree said.

     And your profile photo should be current. "If you're using an old pix, I wonder what else you're vain about."

     Also remember, Sree said, the people who try to keep you from checking social media at work are the same petty managers who used to stop people from making personal phone calls.

     "Don't engage," was a pertinent piece of advice. We all know people who allow themselves to be sucked into the abyss of silly arguments, nutso conspiracy theories, irrelevant trivia and all the common detritus of Facebook.

     To quote a high school friend, "when did all the people we know turn into right wing wingnuts?"

     Ignore them. Life is too short.

     Correct blatant lies, of course, then get out quick.

     Sree's closing remarks were that LinkedIn is the least understood and appreciated of the social media, but it is reliable and useful.