Thursday: FREE Advanced Social Media for Journalists Workshop

Columbia Journalism school prof Sree Sreenivasan is leading a workshop this Thursday, from 6:00-7:30 p.m., at Emerson College. From the workshop description:
Already comfortable on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn? Already figured out Google Buzz? Then it's time to take it your social-media skills to the next level.

This, special, advanced social-media class is designed to specifically help social-media pros make the most of social-media tools. You will be expected to know all the basics and be ready to dive into a session filled with practical, actionable tips and case studies.
  • How to deepen your connection with your audience(s) via social media
  • New tools you must absolutely know and use
  • How to build your personal brand
  • How to find, on deadline, specific types of people you need for work
  • The best ways to increase your followers, fans, and connections
  • How to get the "right" followers, fans, and connections
  • Metrics: why you need to understand them and how you can do just that
  • Sustainable social media -- how to keep from drowning in information and make time to participate efficiently
The workshop is free, but registration is required. Details and registration links are on Facebook.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 @ 2:10 PM
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Get Video News Training - Cheap

If you want to expand your multimedia skills, consider signing up for the Aug. 12 evening workshop Creating a News Package at Somerville Community Access Television (SCAT). You don't have to be a Somerville resident — or even a Massachusetts resident — to take the class. It's reasonably priced at $45 ($25 for SCAT members). It’s taught by Bill Barrell, a TV news veteran (he was a news editor at Boston's WHDH Channel 7). The workshop will cover writing and production.

Other relevant classes coming up at SCAT:
  • Basic Editing using Final Cut Express. Starts Aug. 4. Meets for four sessions, from 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.; $40 members ($20 for SCAT members)

  • Basic Portable Equipment. Meets Saturday, Aug. 8, starting at 10:00 a.m.; cost is $40 ($20 for SCAT members)

  • Introduction to Photoshop. Starts Sept. 9. Meets for three sessions, starting at 7:00 p.m.; cost is $100 ($50 for SCAT members)
If Somerville isn’t convenient for you, try contacting your local cable access station to see what training it might offer.
July 22, 2009, 5:02 p.m.: Here’s an article on getting access to video equipment through your local cable access station. It also talks a little bit about getting training through your local station. It’s aimed at filmmakers, is relevant to others, too.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 @ 9:01 PM
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Upcoming Conferences on Digital Media

Two conferences on new media are coming up soon:

Nov. 28-Dec. 1, Boston
Effective Strategies for Media Companies: Navigating the New World
This program offered by Harvard Business School will focus largely on business strategy. The course is designed for "mid-level and senior media executives at the business-unit or corporate level," according to the HBS web site, and it's priced accordingly; the cost is $5,750, but that covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and meals. You must apply to be admitted to the program; admission is based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility.

Dec. 10-11, New York
Web Video Summit
The conference has two tracks:

The summit takes place at New York's Roosevelt Hotel (where August's ASBPE National Editorial Conference was held). If you register by Nov. 21, prices are $595 for a one-day pass or $995 for both days; after Nov. 21, they go up to $695 and $1,095 respectively. An exhibit-hall pass is free through Nov. 21 and $50 after that.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Friday, September 28, 2007 @ 12:32 AM
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Learn About Web Skills for Freelance Writers

The Cambridge Center for Adult Education is offering a class called "The Changing Landscape of Freelance Writing" that sounds perfect for freelancers who want to get started learning the web skills that everyone seems to be telling us we need. From the class description:

Freelancers need to know not only time-tested basics - successful query letters, editor etiquette, and getting attention from target publications - but also: blogging, pod casting, branding, supplementing income through other kinds of writing, and more. Together, we will work on the basics, and chart our way through the new waters of the modern freelance world.

The Wednesday-night course starts Sept. 26 and goes for eight weeks. The Cambridge Center is located in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass.

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Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, September 15, 2007 @ 8:43 PM
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Upcoming MediaBistro Courses and Videos

MediaBistro has some great educational offerings coming up, both here in Boston and online. The site also offers short educational videos that you can pay for and watch online. Some are one-offs and some that are part of series on a particular topic.

Here are two online classes of interest--but both start today, so you'll have to sign up ASAP:

Boot Camp for Magazine Editors
Designed for assigning editors.
4 weeks, $350. Starts Sept. 11, 2007

Intermediate Copy Editing
6 weeks, $425. Starts Sept. 11, 2007

And these also start this week:

Writing and Editing for the Web
4 weeks, $350. Starts Sept. 12, 2007

Advanced Copy Editing
4 weeks, $350. Starts Sept. 13, 2007.
Cheryl Della Pietra

Intro to Copy Editing
6 weeks, $425. Starts Sept. 13, 2007.

Other online classes:

Grammar, Punctuation, and Meaning
4 weeks, $350. Starts Sept. 17, 2007.

Online News Writing
4 weeks, $350. Starts Sept. 17, 2007.

Create and Launch a Website
8 weeks, $599. Starts Sept. 18, 2007.

Writing Scripts for Online Video
4 weeks, $350. Starts Sept. 25, 2007.

Feature Writing
Researching, writing and selling narrative-driven features
4 weeks, $350. Starts Oct. 2, 2007

Classes taking place in Boston include:

Writing and Editing for the Web Essentials
3 hours, $65. Starts Oct. 9, 2007.

Breaking into Financial Writing
3 hours, $65. Starts Oct. 9, 2007.

Copy Editing Essentials
3 hours, $65. Starts Oct. 30, 2007.

And some videos you can pay for and watch online:

Blogs Every Media Professional Should Know
Course description from Media Bistro:
Find what you need on the Web without drowning in too much info
2.5 hours, $29

From MediaBistro course synposis:
For those struggling to keep pace with the blogosphere, tech expert Sree Sreenivasan gives a thorough introduction to the key players of the online world, delving into the present and future of the web as a media outlet.

It covers all the blog basics but focuses on the best blogs for and by media professionals. Topics include:
1) blogs that are changing America and the world,
2) how to read blogs without drowning in too much information,
3) how to create a blog and raise your Google rankings,
4) why journalists should and should not be blogging, and
5) what to expect next: photoblogging, videoblogging, tagging, podcasting, wikis, RSS, and XML.
His presentation is a fun, informative, fast-paced survey of the blog world.

Get Noticed on Wikipedia
Course description from Media Bistro:
Increase and influence your web presence on the world's largest encyclopedia

How Online Video Is Changing the Internet, Part 1: Overview
Course description from Media Bistro:
Understand how online video works, where and how it's being used on the web, what makes it effective, and what the future most likely holds
21 mins., $15

How Online Video Is Changing the Internet, Part 2: Making Your Mark -- and a Healthy Profit
Course description from Media Bistro:
How amateurs, corporations, and mainstream media are making money with online video, plus tips for creating compelling content
15 mins., $15

Web 101: Understanding Blogs, Wikis, Social Networking, and Mobile Internet
Course description from Media Bistro:
Make sense of the internet today and get ready for the future
15 mins., $15

Writing for the Web: Guidelines for Writing Online
Course description from Media Bistro:
A 15-minute crash course on understanding your online audience and writing copy that's searchable and user-oriented
15 mins., $15

Writing for the Web: Is Writing for the Web Different from Print?
Course description from Media Bistro:
A crash course for editors and writers making the switch from print to online
15 mins., $15

Writing for the Web: Understanding How Readers Use the Web
Course description from Media Bistro:
A crash course for editors and writers to master site usability and drive traffic
15 mins., $15

See a full list of MediaBistro's upcoming Boston and online classes and training videos.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 @ 12:29 PM
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$300 off Boston-area Web Seminar for Publishers

A company called Mequoda Group is offering a two-day seminar on web strategies for magazine, newsletter, and book publishers, Mequoda Summit Boston. It will take place Sept. 26-27 at The Conference Center at Waltham Woods (Waltham, Mass.). If you register by Aug. 30, you get an early bird rate of $1197. Still not cheap, but potentially worthwhile.

I am not familiar with the Mequoda Group or their seminars, but they seem to have plenty of testimonials. And they say they offer a full money-back guarantee, as long as you notify them that you want a refund by lunch time of the first day.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 @ 12:39 PM
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Public Records Workshop This Weekend at Globe

The New England chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is holding a seminar on investigative reporting techniques. Sean Murphy of the Boston Globe will lead a two-hour workshop on Saturday, May 19, from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

The workshop takes place at The Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd. Admission is free, but RSVPs are required. To reserve your spot, email SPJ New England chapter president Emily Sweeney at emily dot sweeney at yahoo dot com.

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Posted by Martha Spizziri on Monday, May 14, 2007 @ 12:58 PM
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