Part of being a journalist is searching for information. You dig through records, hunt for unknown facts about a person, even ask people you know about a subject. When I found out that my Digital Journalism II class would be live tweeting Diederich College of Communication Alumni Awards Brunch on Saturday, I started looking for more tidbits about the honorees. Since the class will be using Twitter to report on the event, I figured it would be convenient to gather the awardees Twitter handles (or usernames, for those of you that are new to the Twitter world). Expecting a search with lots of names, I hunkered down, only to find that a lot of the information I was looking for would not be found.
Only two Diederich College honorees, Steve Bertrand, the Communicator of the Year Award winner, and Jason DeRusha, the Young Alumnus of the Year Award winner, have Twitter accounts. In this digital age, I was a little surprised. In communications, we have seen a sudden rise in social media with platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Using these sites provides people with exposure and access to a whole new market of viewers or potential buyers. So my question to you is why not?
Some might say that they don't have time for it. You don't have to tweet every five minutes. If you have time to send a text message, you have time to tweet. Others say it's a privacy thing. Then protect your tweets. Others are intimidated or scared of the monster known as Twitter. Ask your intern with the hipster glasses for help. Especially in a field like communications, where it evolves daily, it is crucial to be connected to the next generation. With this generation, it is through retweets and hashtags, not reply or handwritten letters.
Some might say that they don't have time for it. You don't have to tweet every five minutes. If you have time to send a text message, you have time to tweet. Others say it's a privacy thing. Then protect your tweets. Others are intimidated or scared of the monster known as Twitter. Ask your intern with the hipster glasses for help. Especially in a field like communications, where it evolves daily, it is crucial to be connected to the next generation. With this generation, it is through retweets and hashtags, not reply or handwritten letters.