09.16.09
ByTiming is everything.
In July, I completed an essay I had been invited to write for the Nieman Reports, chronicling my experiments in social media journalism between when I left my old newspaper last year and when I arrived here at the University of Missouri.
Yesterday, NR’s fall issue: Let’s Talk: Journalism and Social Media, was posted online.
My essay links to my last blog, which has been mostly on autopilot for a month; my photojournalism portfolio, which I have taken offline; and my Twitter feed, which exploded accidental spam to my 50,000 followers when an experiment with bots for ReTweets went bad. Really bad.
I blame this primarily on my new job, and living up to the diligence of our incredible faculty, but also on my inability to define exactly who I am, a problem that was addressed and apparently resolved in the essay.
Can I blog as a journalist when I have no time to report, or as a journalism professor after wearing that hat for only a month?
At the end of the day, my social media identity is muddled because my face-to-face identity is in transition, again.
Life is good, but I feel truly awkward about my situation because my blogs don’t presently live up to the hype.
Wish me luck.
3 Comments
September 16th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
We’ll stay tuned Jim. If we waited for impeccable knowledge from our teachers there wouldn’t be much learning going on. Bring back the photojournalism portfolio!
September 16th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
You are perhaps being too hard on yourself. I wonder if it’s possible for any of us to adequately wear this sudden glut of hats — we only have one head. That sounds trite, but it’s bothering me a lot lately.
I’m 36, but I began working for newspapers when I was 14. I feel like a dinosaur. I’m a tech geek, love it all, but don’t know how to create an effective, manageable workflow from it all.
As I began my comment here, I hesitated over the “website” box. I settled on my portfolio site, but it’s in dire need of a redesign which I’m procrastinating because it’s difficult. I’ve taught myself html and flash out of necessity. It doesn’t mean I’m good at it.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve taken a more proactive approach to my career as a freelancer, and already, I’m overwhelmed. I have Twitter, LinkedIn, a Visual CV, Facebook, the aforementioned “professional” site, and a languishing photoblog. I make QuickTime slideshows, Flip Mino iMovies, and audio recordings. I sleep with my BlackBerry. I wake up to nearly 1,000 articles in my RSS reader. I’m trying to be an active participant in SPJ, NPPA, Wired Journalist, and a half-dozen other networking communities.
And oh yeah, I write. I’m supposed to be writing this very moment. I have a major story. It’s a good one. And even as I transcribe my notes, I wonder if I should tweet a nifty quote as a teaser, post a few images to my blog, or pitch a broader, four-part multimedia series.
Your Nieman essay inspired me to try harder, but at the end of the day, I worry: Is this making me a better writer? Is it earning money? Should I care if it earns money? Am I imparting anything of value? What can I give to the world? How can I be better? How can I slow down? Am I doing enough?
It’s an exciting time, but it’s also very, very stressful, and I admire you for your efforts. I hope sifting through your experiences will help as I struggle to redefine who I am as a journalist.
Thank you for all you do, even when you think it’s not enough.
September 16th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Thanks for your support. I think I have spread myself a little too thinly these days, which is part of a common cycle for me. A more limited portfolio will come back, but less prominently, to leave room for some more rcent endeavors.