June Update: Social media clinic, classes and more

Are you a bit bewildered about social media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and all the rest? You are not alone. If you want to learn a lot more about any of these new media, you can sign up for one of our classes – scroll down for a complete list of this month’s offerings.

But if you are looking for something less structured, come to our monthly social media clinics and get a hand from Twin Cities Daily Planet associate editor Jay Gabler. Our social media clinics are meant to help you successfully navigate your way through the online forest of information, and to reach the communities you want to reach for your nonprofit, small business, or personal interests. Our social media clinics are held on the fourth Thursday of every month from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Daily Planet office (2600 E. Franklin, Minneapolis; enter from the back of the Wells Fargo bank).

We ask participants to pre-register so as to guarantee that space will be available and to pay the participation fee of $10. Participation is free for all Daily Planet advertisers (click here for more information about how to advertise with the Daily Planet), and scholarships are available upon request. Bring your laptop—wi-fi is available. If you want to participate but don’t have a laptop, inquire with us; we may be able to provide you with a computer for the session. Click here to register: https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/262/mtglistproc.asp?formid=TCM-Event&caleventid=21987

Scroll down for our staff reports, a complete list of upcoming classes and Newsroom Cafes, and more.

Staff reports: 

Arts Editor Jay Gabler reports:

The Daily Planet just celebrated its seventh birthday—were you there? Back in 2006, e-mail was the best way to reach people online, so we focused a lot of effort on our daily headlines e-mail newsletter. We still publish that newsletter six times a week, and it looks better than ever—but we’re also focusing more and more on connecting with local communities via social media. That’s how an increasing number of people get their news, and the dynamic nature of social media allows us not just to promote our articles but to convene conversations. We hope you’ll join those conversations, no matter what your favorite online hangout is. Our arts coverage is on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr—and we send a weekly Arts Orbit Radar e-mail newsletter. We’ve recently made some changes to that newsletter; take a look and let us know what you think!

Editor Mary Turck reports:

Our first cohort of Media Skills Fellows finished up their ten-week training in May, with skills to take back to their community organizations. They also shared lots of good stories with us, including Paige Elliott’s story of one of the few women boxing referees, Juanita Espinosa’s story of Mitch Walking Elk, and Tommy Johnson’s story about Buddy Poppy day. We also published dozens of Community Voices stories — people writing about their favorite candidate or their favorite cookbook, about mosaics and bicycling and children and much, much more. We’d love to publish your stories, too, whether they are written or video or photos. If you’d like to learn more, drop in on one of our Newsroom Cafés and meet Jay or me.

Community Engagement Editor Lolla Mohammed Nur reports:

May has been all about outreach and continuing to publish stories in the Our Stories and Community Voices sections. We are also continuing to work on expanding our outreach and community relationships by representing the Twin Cities Media Alliance/Daily Planet at community events such as the Brooklyn Park African Civic Engagement conversations, and the University of Minnesota’s research series on diaspora communities (including the Somali and Estonian communities of Minnesota). On a more personal note, I attended a training in Washington, DC as a New America Media Women Immigrants Fellow, which will lead to some upcoming stories on how immigration reform affects communities in the Twin Cities.

 

Community Asset Mapping / Neighborhood Engagement Specialist Maggie Pearson reports: This month, we saw the second successful community asset focused photo-walk. Harry Kent, our asset-mapping intern, organized a group of Hamline Midway residents to walk around the neighborhood, taking photos of businesses, parks, gardens, churches, and other community asset. Many of those photos are posted on a slideshow here. Now we’re focusing on the businesses and assets in Powderhorn – keep an eye out for the date of our next photo-walk!

 

Program manager for Training and Engagement Bruce Johansen reports: 

The secret is out. Our classes rock and they’re an amazing value. We’re extremely fortunate to have a growing list of exceptionally smart, dedicated, enthusiastic, personable, and approachable instructors teaching for us, both at our office and at libraries throughout the metro area. Avye Alexandres, a Jerome Foundation/Northern Lights grant recipient, taught her first class in May. Digital Photography for the Amateur: What Makes a Great Photo and How to Hone Your Craft was a hit with all who took it. In fact, they’re already signing up for part two, being offered this month. Check out all of our upcoming June classes, including one on how to Become a LinkedIn Power User. And don’t forget about our ever popular and immensely helpful monthly social media clinics, where Jay Gabler will answer any and all questions you bring with you.

Volunteer to mentor Daily Planet citizen journalists!

We are looking for experienced professional journalists who want to share their skills by mentoring our citizen journalists. Interested?  We will meet with you to introduce the Daily Planet, including our assignment procedure, pre- and post-story engagement process, and expectations for stories. Then we’ll try to match you with a citizen journalist who would like help in improving reporting and writing skills. You’ll meet with the citizen journalist to get acquainted and then agree on how you can best help — probably by conferring about the story at the time of assignment (including pre-story engagement plans), reviewing/editing the first draft of the story, and discussing possibilities for post-story engagement and follow-up.  To volunteer, or for more information, contact Daily Planet editor Mary Turck, editor@tcdailyplanet.net.

Newsroom Cafes:

If you are interested in reporting for the Daily Planet, or want help with a story-in-progress, stop in at a Newsroom Café.