This past weekend I spoke at the FairChance 2010 workshop for prospective municipal candidates in Ottawa.

Sandra Blaikie, formerly of A Channel News, is the instigator behind the initiative. Essentially, it’s a committee of engaged Ottawa business owners, philanthropists, and academics looking to provide educational opportunities to people considering running for council, but need more information.

My bias in the upcoming municipal election in Ottawa is towards change, collaboration, and conversation. As I wrote in my first Spacing Ottawa City Vote 2010 column, I think our civic leaders have kept us in a status quo rut that self perpetuates each time an ineffective incumbent is elected.

I promised at the session to answer any technical political questions the group had–and I’d like to expand that offer to my blog readers as well. Also on the panel were mayoral campaign manager David Small, former Liberal MP (and city councilor) Marlene Catteral, and Walter Robinson (my partner in radio each Wednesday AM on Live 88.5 FM); I’ll be asking for their input on some of the questions and seeking out other strategists and tacticians in Canadian politics to weigh in with their thoughts.

I’m looking for questions about:

• political communications
• campaign strategy as it relates to media
• media skills
• other “process” questions related to communications

Please send over your queries via the comment section below or by emailing me, ian [at] mediastyle.ca, and over the next few months I’ll take some time here and at Spacing Ottawa to answer your questions.

MediaStyle is on the road in Toronto next week to present a media skills training workshop at MaRS.

It will be a hybrid class, teaching participants how to use both traditional earned media tactics and how to use new media to tell stories that matter to people.

I’m presenting this session with Jaime Woo, a creative consultant in Toronto specializing in social media. I can’t think of any one better to help guide people through the amazing ways you can use video, blend text with audio, and present it in intuitive and meaningful ways online. Jaime is fresh off leading a core conversation at SXSWi and is fluent in all video gaming systems–expect an energetic talk.

Our half-day (evening 6pm-10pm) Media Skill Training teaches:

• Major media terminology so you can speak the media’s language
• Tactics for incorporating earned-media into daily business routines
• Interview skills including techniques and templates for creating your media message
• Prep skills for media interviews in TV, print, radio, online, or social media
• Online communications and how to work with your collaborators online and through social media
• Content creation for sites like Facebook, Twitter, Odeo, and YouTube to supplement your strategy and messaging

Tickets can be purchased here.

This session is great for organizations with small communications offices where only one or two people need to be trained up. Already cost effective at $99.00 – MediaStyle.ca readers can take $10 off with discount code “MediaStyle”.

Not the class for you? Let me know in the comments if there is a low-cost group training experience you would like MediaStyle to offer.

I often ask about adoption of certain technologies in my workshops. It’s nice to know which tools are being used; I can often tailor my advice to make the session more relevant.

Of all the online tools I ask about, the uptake is always largest for Google Alerts. People love their Google Alerts. In fact, I think they may love them a little too much.

Here are the three big Google Alert myths I encounter:

1. It’s “real time” search
2. So good it can replace media monitoring software
3. Never misses anything

Don’t get me wrong. I use Alerts. They are useful. Helpful even.  But it’s important to note the system is unrefined, often missing data and is only one part of a comprehensive listening program you should be undertaking. If Google Alerts are your primary online listening tool; you are missing information.

This is reality of Google Alerts:

1. Real time search was only just included in Google main page results; on average “alerts” for breaking news items show up 10 – 45 minutes earlier on Twitter or monitoring packages/systems
2. Media monitoring systems require people to run them; which is why managers often try to find “automated” solutions. Monitoring packages (CNW, MediaMiser, Bowden’s) bring in data and content from non-public, non-Internet sources; paid at a premium – Google Alerts simply can’t match that.
3. Google Alerts misses countless items; the better your search query the better the results. The more generic the inquiry; the more generic the results. A better solution is to use the RSS function on Alerts and include it as part of your RSS reader. Also remember that “Alerts” can be set for: Web, Video, News, Blogs and Groups

What are the other Google Alert myths? Have any great tips on leveraging the Alert system for best use? Please take a moment and comment below.

Photo credit

Bank St. Better than Ever? Photo by Richard Akerman

Design by committee has reared its ugly head in the nations capital this week.

The business improvement area has thrown up dull blue banners featuring a nearly illegible red font and emblazoned with the unintentionally ironic slogan “Bank St. Better than Ever.” Friend and fellow Change Camper Richard Akerman posted this set to Flickr.

The list of complaints about the banners – and there are a lot of issues with these signs – all boil down to a total lack of viability as a promotional method. The banners can’t be read from the street or even from windows overlooking the street.

From the font, colour, and motif the overall design strikes me as an attempt at placating the largest number of people on the approvals list; with the ultimate consequence that the signs are useless.

And in other news, Bank St. will also soon be home to another bright yellow blight on the neighbourhood – in the form of another Cash Stop. I understand the industry leader in cash-lending is a bright yellow behemoth, but these new upstarts should resist the urge to copy their bigger competition. Instead of making people feel like they are standing inside a No-Name package, why not break the money-lender mold and make an environment that is pleasant for your customers and the neighbourhood? (Or do they just not care about either?)

The recent additions to Bank St. are only marginally better than the old 1970’s era signage spotted by Spacing.ca before the months of road closures. It’s clear the Bank Street Business Improvement Area could use a little help from their friends.

Full disclosure: I’m an active member and the business liaison for le/the Village, an ad-hoc queer group adding our flags, symbols, art to Bank St. between James and Somerset St West.

I’ve boiled it down to five terms, three key action steps and three strategies you can you to find people to follow on Twitter. As I said on the radio, Twitter is only one little part of what is known as “social media.” If you can update your Facebook status, you can use Twitter.

I’d love to hear your questions, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you. If you are already a Twitter user, I really want to hear from you. What have I missed? Where did you go right/wrong? Tell your Twitter story to the Live 88.5 listeners.

Twitter Primer: 5 key terms

Here are the five Twitter terms you should know:

1. Tweet: the 140 character message
2. Tweeter: you, once you tweet (see above)
3. Twitter Application: a tool (online or off) to manage your tweets and “friends” in some manner
4. RT: re-tweet; the act of “re-tweeting” is almost like forwarding an email
5. @ reply: like in email, again the “@” tells your tweet where to go (i.e.: typing @iancapstick in your tweet will direct that tweet to me)

For a full glossaries of Twitter terminology:

• Huge list of Twitter terms, hint just add “tw” in front of common terms
• Mashable explains 66 Twitter terms
• Business Week’s take on Twitter words

Three Key Action Items

1) Visit Twitter.com; sign up choosing a user name carefully. I use my real name (@iancapstick) others prefer using a handle, or nickname. Using a real photo of yourself and filling in the profile (including linking to your website, or another online profile like LinkedIn will help people get to know you.)

2) Find an application to help manage your tweets

Think of Twitter applications like your kitchen drawer at home.

Some perform only one function – like a gadget that only peels tomatoes – (Twitterfeed is a good example of this, it takes RSS feeds and turns them into tweets.) Other tools are more like a versatile; like a chefs knife. What you are looking for in an Twitter management application is the ability to sort the people you follow into groups; ease in posting links/pictures/video and a stable and reliable platform. I’ve experimented with five applications recently; in order of my preference.

1. TweetDeck; runs on Adobe Air (all platforms)
2. Hootsuite; web-based (all platforms)
3. Tweetie; stand alone; Mac & iPhone
4. Seesmic; runs on Adobe Air (all platforms)
5. CoTweet; web based (all platforms)

3) Use it. The more you invest in Twitter the more you get out of it. Conversations are important. In fact, conversations are the backbone.

Three strategies for finding folks to follow

Overview: When following people this is the one time where using the Twitter.com website may be the most efficient method to use the service (just remember to sort the people using a Twitter application you found in step 2); also don’t start following people until you have put out a few good tweets – show people some links you like; a news article of interest – bottom line: rarely will people follow a blank page.

1) Find friends (Yes, I mean your real friends) look at who they are following. Your friends, family or coworkers have chosen to include these people in their network on Twitter; you probably know some of them; and if you don’t review a page or two of their tweets and decide if you want to follow them.

Find friends using Facebook. It’s pretty clear these days who is using Twitter to update their Facebook profiles; start with those folks. Ask them who else they like to follow.

If you use Gmail, AOL or Yahoo mail you can ask Twitter to search you contacts to see if any of them are using Twitter.

2) Find like-minded people: using search.twitter.com; start typing in key words and see who comes up; before long after reviewing people profiles and tweets – you will create your own informal (or more formal) criteria for who/how you follow

• The more specific your key words the better your results will be.
• Use the Advanced search to narrow your searches even more; or by location.
• We Follow also offers a location based tagging, here is the “Ottawa” tag.

3) Find Communities or companies and connect with them via Twitter, chances are your union or an NGO you care about is using the system; again take a look at who they are following to find new people to hear from

• Mashable reviews the top 15 Twitter directories
• Several directories of Canadian political tweeters exist for political minded people: PoliTwitter.ca; Tweetcommons.com

Journalists Who Blog is a series where journalists who report daily in Canada’s mainstream media talk about how the participatory web is changing their craft.  Each of these writers have mastered the art of capturing what happened today and reporting online and for an audience tomorrow. I asked blogging journalists three questions about their craft and the evolution of reporting as the industry of news changes.

David Akin is a well-known Canadian political reporter who has been blogging since 2002; he also maintains an extensive vinyl collection (he is digitizing it, of course) and has used many mediums to tell stories. He is one of the few people – perhaps the first (comment if you know others) – to have an iPhone for work use on Parliament Hill.

Q: When and why did you start blogging?

I’ve been blogging since 2002. As for questions about why, let me refer you to “It’s not the blog, it’s the Net.”

“I write; I publish. And that used to be the end of it. Now, I write, I publish and a community of people who have special knowledge or who are deeply interested in the topic amplify, correct, modify, or extend the reportage. For a beat reporter, this is fabulous, because I now have more knowledge about my beat.”

I wrote that in 2005 in a q-and-a with NYU’s Jay Rosen and, after reading it over again in late 2009, my answers still stand.

“…it’s still early day” says Akin

Q: Are you are in touch with more readers and consumers of news because of social media; how does blogging or participating in social media change your reporting or refine your writing?

Do read the essay cited above for more detail but the bottom line is that your blogs, since 2002, and social media have made reporting interactive and it used to be simply a one-way street. Social media has, just as blogs did, increase the velocity of the news cycle but once you get up to speed, that’s not such a big deal. Writing for TV and then returning to writing for print made me a better print writer. I’m not so sure that any social network application has made me a better writer or changed my writing but it’s still early days so we’ll see.

“Print and radio are for lone wolves”, Akin

Q: As the business of gathering news changes and the people who report daily are adapting and learning new tools/skills to thrive – will distinctions remain between online, print, television and broadcast mediums?

Yes. Absolutely. There are very few reporters who can excel in television and excel in print. I believe there are similar skill sets are tapped for radio and print but TV is a completely different beast. TV/video/film takes time, a significantly different approach, and, usually, a team. Print and radio are for lone wolves and good print and radio work can be turned around with a lot fewer people. (And it’s a lot cheaper). Print and radio folks are going to be asked to shoot video but it’s going to look like video shot by, well, print and radio folks. And that may be fine. But to get really excellent work, you need journalists who are specializing in and understand their medium.

This is part three of and ongoing series. Previously featured: Susan Delacourt of the Toronto Star and Bill Doskoch of CTV Toronto.

Yesterday, Susan Delacourt filed her responses. The second to report back is long time online journalist and blogger Bill Doskoch.

Interview with Bill Doskoch

Q: When and why did you start blogging?

I personally started blogging on Aug. 12, 2004 (http://billdoskoch.blogware.com). I finally got off my ass and took the plunge after attending an Aug. 3 conference entitled Exploring the Power of Public and Participatory Journalism (one of the best such events I’ve ever been to.)

When I worked at globeandmail.com as a web producer, I suggested to the editorial staff in late 2002/early 2003 that they might wish to consider experimenting with this form. Don’t ask me to explain the gap between my suggestions and my actions. It’s embarrassing.

Q: Are you are in touch with more readers and consumers of news because of social media; how does blogging or participating in social media change your reporting or refine your writing?

Hard to say. I’m more in touch with developments in my field because I follow some very knowledgeable people on Twitter (I’m @billdinTO). Their contributions make it a super charged wire service for me with respects to developments in online news.

My day job is working on the www.ctvtoronto.ca website. I’d say I’ve had some good convos via Twitter with a few public officials who are on Twitter, but less so on issues that matter with ordinary citizens.

I really need to work on that part of my social media activity. I wish Twitter were more of a tool for keeping in touch with ordinary citizens and not elites. But I also suspect only a small portion of the ctvtoronto.ca audience is actually on Twitter.

And I wish I got more thoughtful feedback from people in general. I get very little direct feedback on articles, and on political stories, those commenting are often just giving partisan spin rather than engaging in a real dialogue about the issue at hand.

An honest dialogue on important issues would be a dream come true, and it would be good for journalist and audience alike.

Q: As the business of gathering news changes and the people who report daily are adapting and learning new tools/skills to thrive – will distinctions remain between online, print, television and broadcast mediums?

Yes and no, because while not everyone will be brilliant at everything, they will need a broader skill set that what they’ve had.

I’ve worked beside radio/TV newsrooms and I’ve worked for newspapers, and the broadcast/print mindsets are quite different in some ways.

In TV, you need on-air presentation skills and the ability to be a visual and verbal storyteller that simply doesn’t exist in print. TV news often works best when it’s about the now, not yesterday or tomorrow. The formatting is more constrained. On the other hand, print is more information-dense, less visually dependent and is much more capable of dealing with context, complexity and abstraction.

Online throws yet another wrinkle into the mix, journalistically, technically and culturally.

If I were recruiting journalists for online, I would look for people who had good journalistic minds, can write text stories but can also capture and use visual and multimedia elements. It would also help if they were comfortable in front of the camera and be verbal (ie. Could they do a hit from the field?).

Being able to think and act both interactively and socially in the online medium would also be key skills, as well as basic computer and technical web skills.

Now the disquieting and ironic question — If those were the requirements, would I be qualified?

As the media landscape changes, some reporters are eagerly jumping into new mediums like blogs, Twitter and even Facebook to increase their reach.

Reporters are opening virtual doors on their process; showing their viewers how the news is made and why certain things end up on the front page.

In this series I wanted to focus on people who report daily – in what some call the “main stream media” – each of these writers have mastered the art of capturing what happened today for an audience tomorrow. And each has refined reporting parts of the story live online, with updates as-it-happens today.

I asked blogging journalists three questions about their craft and the evolution of reporting as the industry of news changes.

The first to report back is Susan Delacourt of the Toronto Star’s Ottawa bureau.

Delacourt returned to blogging after a one year hiatus at Massey College as a journalism fellow  – her Toronto Star hosted blog is one of the most re-tweeted in Ottawa political circles.

This is part one of an ongoing series.

Interview with Susan Delacourt

Q: When and why did you start blogging?

The Star had a “political notebook” blog going back several years (2005,maybe?), when I was still bureau chief. But like many of those group efforts, it suffered from lack of interest — on the part of contributors and readers.

Early in 2008, as we were thinking about election coverage, there was talk of having our election blog be done out of Toronto, since the assumption was that none of us would have time here. Since I’d stepped down as bureau chief, and had a bit more time on

my hands, I volunteered to do it, whenever an election came along.

Then we thought, what the heck, why wait for an election? I started blogging around the time of the 2008 budget (February, I believe.) I took a break while I did a Canadian Journalism Fellowship at U of T from Sept/08 to May/09. I missed it while I was away! Our national editor, Tim Harper, was kind of surprised that I wanted the blog back when I returned to work. But I’ve grown very attached to the medium and it’s now a primary part of my job. I also continue to blog on weekends and days off too, which may mean that I’m insane.

Q: Are you are in touch with more readers and consumers of news because of social media; how does blogging or participating in social media change your reporting or refine your writing?

This is a huge question. Writing online, especially blogging, can be liberating. No deadlines. No space concerns. You can write one line or you can write a thesis. You don’t have to worry about putting all that annoying background in the story; you can just have a click-through link to the story so far. I love that.

You do have to put more of yourself in your reporting; that’s hard for folks like me, trained to write with some distance.  At U of T, I took a fiction-writing course. We all had to write a short story to be read by the class; what all the students observed about mine is that it revealed nothing about the narrator. Old habits are hard to break.

I also think that Twitter is going to be a very important tool for us; it’s like a journalist’s own, personal wire service. And it gives us instant feedback on our stories, blogs. I’ve gone from Twitter skeptic to a huge Twitter fan in the past few months.

I am very fond of the interactive nature of these new tools, though I know I’m probably too old-fashioned in my refusal to banter back and forth in the comments sections under our stories online. If anyone’s interested, it’s because I learned somewhere there in journalism along the way that readers have the right to the last word.

I do warn people who are new to blogging that they’re going to have to develop a thicker skin with regard to comments. Some of the things that people have written to me are vicious, nasty, personal and libellous. I was initially quite wounded by each one; now I don’t care so much (unless they go after family, in which case I get a bit medieval.) But I’m not sure it’s a good thing for a journalist to develop a thick skin. I think we do our jobs better when we’re sensitive to criticism, but these vicious cranks have made me a little harder-hearted.

Q: As the business of gathering news changes and the people who report daily are adapting and learning new tools/skills to thrive – will distinctions remain between online, print, television and broadcast mediums?

Well, to some extent, there will be distinctions still in how the news is delivered, but anyone aspiring to be a working journalist will no longer be able to survive in one medium, ie — “I’m a print person.”  My friend Susan Harada, a journalism professor at Carleton, has been saying for a couple of years now that young, would-be journos are going to have to be schooled in all the skills.

And at The Star, we’ve moved quite boldly into erasing the distinctions.

Our last union contract, negotiated in 2008, eliminated separate categories for editorial employees — you are no longer hired or classified as photographer, editor, reporter, etc.

We’re all “journalists.”

Now, this is creating interesting little challenges in our day-to-day work on the Hill. A couple of weeks ago, armed with my little video camera, I tried to get into a photo op with the Prime Minister and I was told it was “photographers only.” But the Star doesn’t make that distinction anymore and I doubt that politicians are going to be able to continue that practice much longer. (Frankly, they should give it up – when they say “cameras only,” what they’re really saying is that they don’t want any questions, since the politicos usually say something at photo ops. And make no mistake, photographers are soon going to be told to write up or broadcast stories too, if they aren’t already, in this converging media universe.)