Social Networking Classes July 28-29, Aug. 24-25; $20 Each
Classes on social networking will be offered July 28 and 29 and Aug. 24 and 25. Each class is one hour. Sign up for one or as many as fits your schedule.
The fee is $20 per class for NPC members and $30 per class for non-members. The classes are in the 13th floor Bloomberg Center for Electronic Journalism next to the library.
July 28 and Aug. 24:
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. - Web 2.0 Tools
11 a.m. to Noon - Google Search Tips
1:30 to 2:30 p.m. - Twitter
3 to 4 p.m. - Reporting from Facebook
July 29 and Aug. 25:
9:30 to 10:30 am - Basics of Blogging
11 to Noon - Build Your Own Newsstand (using RSS)
Register at http://bit.ly/6f1yyA or by contacting Beth Shankle at [email protected] or 202-662-7509. Participants are welcome to bring their own laptops for any of the sessions, but computers will also be provided.
The "Google Search Techniques" class will help users refine search results from millions of hits to a handful of targeted sites. Google's specialized search services, including News, Scholar, and Books, and scenarios where those services can be more useful than a traditional search are also examined.
In "Web 2.0 Tools" we'll discuss what these resources are and how they can be used in your everyday work to help you manage everything from the news you read to the way you contact people. Resources covered include Delicious, Flickr, Wikis, Chrome, Meebo, Firefox Plugins, iCal, YouTube, Skype, and Digg.
"Twittering Away" is a class for those who are interested in twittering during big events or for any other purpose. We will discuss what Twitter is and how it can be used by journalists. Participants can set up their own accounts, connect their accounts with their cell phones and Facebook pages, and (if they have administrative access) add a twitter badge to their website or blog. Twitter is a micro-blogging service where users can post brief updates and respond to the updates of others. Ways journalists can use Twitter include communicating with each other and their audiences, researching stories, contacting sources, and driving traffic to their websites.
"Reporting from Facebook" will examine what online social networks are and the differences among several of the most popular sites, including Facebook and LinkedIn. The class includes an in-depth look at Facebook -- navigating the site, using it to research stories, using it to identify and contact sources and using it to connect with your audience.
In "Basics of Blogging," participants will set up a blog using Blogger and learn how to format their posts, add videos and pictures, easily include ads, and monitor the blog statistics using FeedBurner. The class is limited to 15 people.
In "Build Your Own Newsstand," we will discuss how you can create your personalized news list by using RSS feeds. We will start by talking about what RSS is, where you can find RSS feeds, and how you can subscribe to them. By the end of the class all participants will have a Google Reader account and will have subscribed to a newspaper columnist, a blog, a Twitter feed and a Flickr feed. The class is limited to 15 people.
The classes are underwritten by a $50,000 grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.
-- Beth Shankle, [email protected]