The Power of Social Media

Colleen Veeley

cv230707@ohio.edu

Social media has evolved from its beginnings of strictly friendship networking sites to a professional tool used in many forms of journalism like public relations and news writing. Facebook now has over 500 million active users while Twitter is becoming a powerful tool for breaking news with 200 million accounts. The power of social media in today's journalistic society is a powerful force that cannot be ignored. While many journalists don't want anything to do with social media, many more are using the sites to aid their writing, get information out faster and beat the competition. With this rush to be the best and the first comes ethical dilemmas in the social media realm. It is a realm that has not been touched in previous generations and therefore needs an entirely new set of ethical codes to keep information in the right hands and separate a journalists professional use of an account from private use.

The power behind social media

Journalists have adopted social media as a main part the business. Many higher at least one but in many cases several professionals to track and update networking sites to keep information under wraps or clear up rumors. Twitter and Facebook, the more powerful social media sites, get information to users within minutes or even seconds after it occurs. For example, I was about to go to sleep around 11 p.m. the night the news broke about Osama bin Laden's death. I got on Twitter before I went to sleep and instantly knew of the news. The information was spreading so fast that no one even needed to rely on the president's speech to know what had happened or even to find out details. Twitter did the job long before. The ability to reach millions with just one click of a button is a powerful weapon in the world of journalism. It is cheap and in most cases, free. Social media sites help news rooms and public relation firms track the use of users, see what is "trending" or other hot topics, and give the readers what they want. It also opens up the doors to two-way communication. No longer is news a one-sided reporting. Social media allows for participation by all who want in on the conversation.

Becoming a responsible social media user

As journalists, the public wants to know what we know when we know it. Several reporters say they hold two seperate accounts on Twitter or Facebook and are very clear on their purpose for using each. Journalists want to share their comments and opinions just like everyone else, but have a higher responsibility than most to maintain a professional character on the Internet. Reporters need to follow a set of ethics codes that determine what information can be given out and what should be kept personal. For example, information needs to be given at the beginning of a meeting to let professionals know what they can feel free to put on Twitter or if cell phones should be shut off during the meeting. Also, blogs can be used to add information to a story but should be correctly cited and especially fact-checked for false information. Reporters should wait until a story is completed to leak information that has not been double checked out to the public. Twitter and Facebook should only be used when the information is assured and can be backed up by a full-length article with reputable sources.

The Internet has caused many dilemmas for journalists, but in the end, the two have and need to meet forces to create a stronger news team with endless dimensions. The public wants to be involved in breaking stories and reporting just like journalists do, and social media allows reporters to learn what is important to the public as well as information about a story. Social media is changing the field of journalism forever, and in my opinion, with a strong set of ethical codes, is changing the field for the better.