A Professional Social Media Presence Doesn't Mean it Can't Be Fun

Sean Neidig
sn033012@ohio.edu

I love Twitter.  I tweet all the time.  For me, Twitter is a fun and easy way to stay up to date on news, what my friends are doing and as a way to share what I'm thinking.  When I tweet, I usually look for a funny way to talk about how I'm feeling or what I'm seeing.  I'm a sports reporter, so the subject of most of my tweets are a game I'm watching or a sports topic, so I suppose I have a little more leeway to make jokes than someone who wants to focus on hard news.  People always talk about building your "brand" as a reporter, and I'm someone who likes to have a little fun so I reflect that online.

Of course, I use Twitter as a way to promote what stories I write or any packages I produce, but I don't agree with the idea that journalists have to have a personal Twitter account and a separate professional one.  I don't swear on Twitter, I don't post inappropriate pictures and I don't use it irresponsibly.  I use Twitter as an extension of my personality and I think that that is a valuable way to use it.  Twitter can be so boring when people only tweet links or game updates, and Twitter can be a very useful tool for growing an audience.

Picture from Media Bistro

For example, J.A. Adande is a reporter for ESPN Los Angeles who covers basketball, but he uses his Twitter for more than just tweeting about a game or for sharing links.  Ben Jones is another example of someone who covers a beat but also puts a lot of his personal opinions about his favorite sports team on his account. These are successful journalists who both have found ways to establish a following in their own fields while not focusing their profiles solely on their beats.  Even Wes Lowery, someone who covers more hard news and not sports integrates his personal life into his Twitter and that in addition to the actual journalism work he's done has helped him establish the huge following he has.

I think this is something that young journalists should definitely know how to do, because it makes reporters more relate-able and helps to build a larger reach.  I think one problem I see with how reporters and certain news organizations is that they seem almost robotic in how they present themselves online and personally that makes me want to find somewhere else to get my information.  There are so many outlets that provide content and news that it's very easy to find the same stuff in multiple locations and I tend to go to sites or follow reporters that have a more entertaining social media presence because that's more appealing to me than someone who only posts links to their stories.

I think too many college journalists are taught that they have to be totally professional online or are told that Twitter can prevent you from getting a job without hearing the other side of that.  While Twitter and other forms of social media can hurt a career, I think it is also important to remember that it can have a very positive impact on a career as well, and that it's possible to still be yourself online.