Sometimes it takes a sitdown with some of the more creative minds in social media and journalism to get your brain into overdrive.
That’s how I viewed the first meeting of the “Webslingers,” a group of about 15 Phoenix-area journalists, social media gurus and Web geeks (some would classify under all three) formed by Arizona Republic social media editor Chad Graham. Most of us in the group got together Friday night for the first of hopefully many informal discussions of ideas and strategies relating to our work.
Caught me looking at my phone. (Courtesy of Kevin Spidel)
This was the sort of thing I envisioned getting involved in when I first came out to Arizona. It’s all too easy to fall into a daily routine of going to work, doing your job and coming home to rest; it can put a real damper on thinking “outside the box.” Which is what journalism needs.
Having these meet-ups helps for a lot of reasons: It’s outside the office setting. It involves people from a variety of professions (one Webslinger works for a construction company). It’s informal. It gives you a chance to hear perspective from the outside looking in on your work. And, of course, it involves appetizers and beer, although the latter of which I couldn’t enjoy; I had work afterward.
My favorite part about the meet-up Friday: Nothing concrete came out of it. As I eluded to earlier, the point is to stimulate creative, critical thinking. The point is to walk out with inspiration; your brain in a rush to experiment, start or finish projects or discuss ideas even further. The point is to break out of the daily mold a little bit with something new. These meet-ups will most likely take place once a month, which is certainly good enough given everyone’s busy schedules… here’s hoping they continue to get better.
Speaker series
Starting today, I have another opportunity to get the creative juices flowing.
Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is hosting a speaker series this semester, at 7 p.m. every Monday, featuring some of the most prominent minds in journalism. It starts with Brian Storm, founder and executive producer of MediaStorm, and will feature journalists from NPR, CNN, The New York Times, The Seattle Times and more throughout the next few months.
I plan on going to all of them. So should you, if you live in the Phoenix area!
If not, a word of advice to fellow young journalists: Check out the nearest journalism school (that is, if you aren’t currently attending one) and see if any events are coming up that are open to the public. Even if it doesn’t necessarily involve your exact line of work, it’s great to network with as many people as possible in media and communications.
And if there are no events? Start them. Start a meet-up. Invite speakers. Make connections. Take initative.
Posted by Brian Manzullo at January 31, 2011
Journalism, Social Media