Facebook on Wednesday launched a special page for journalists using the social media platform, called 'Journalists on Facebook.'
The page, already "liked" by thousands of international journalists, aims to serve as an ongoing resource for the growing number of reporters using Facebook to find sources, interact with readers, and advance stories.
"The Page will provide journalists with best practices for integrating the latest Facebook products with their work and connecting with the Facebook audience of more than 500 million people," a note by the page stated.
Facebook believes it can be used as a reporting tool, "to source stories, report while on the ground and as a powerful storytelling advice."
Facebook is also starting a Journalism Meetup program, the note added.
"We’ll be hosting events around the globe to have hands-on workshops on how to use Facebook as a reporting tool, and engage in an open dialogue with the journalism community," the note, written by Justin Osofsky, Director of Media Partnerships, said.
Facebook wants to show journalists that the social network can be used as a tool to fill their professional needs.
It is now widely established that journalists prefer to use Twitter as a professional tool as Facebook remains more a mix between personal and professional networks.
To correct that trend, the Journalist Facebook page encourages journalists to create "pages," not only profiles.
A page is different from a profile. You can still navigate facebook as a page and do pretty much the same activities but people who “like” can follow your feed without you accepting their friend request and giving them access to personal information.
Could Facebook challenge Twitter in this field? It is doubtful. Twitter remains an incredible tool to get information and share it while Facebook proposes to report stories and to get comments and feedbacks. For instance, Twitter allows you to order the account you follow into lists so you can have all the information about one subject on the same feed while Facebook imposes on you the feed of every journalists you will follow, no matter the subject they are working on or they are specialised in.
Also, Twitter invented a new internet culture with the Hashtag. Posting on a hashtag allows you to be seen by everyone following this hashtag while Facebook remains a personal following tool.
If it's not sure that Facebook can really challenge Twitter on the journalism field, it could however lead to the invention of new practices and information consumption trends, and it can become a complementary tool for other journalism practices.
You will be able to follow journalists and reporters you like and get their stories and updates in a more personal way. It will be easier to connect and engage with them and to give them feedback about their posts.
Nick Kristof tried to report the Egypt revolution via his Facebook page. This experience of facebook journalism is examined in a Niemanlab.org article
What comes from this experience is that Facebook makes journalism more personal. Asking questions to people about what he should focus on, reporting a story more written etc. However, except from this personal touch and direct access to his fans, Facebook does not seem to add anything to Twitter.
Where it can be useful though is when the internet access is restricted or limited access. Twitter requires an instant internet access to be efficient while Facebook could allow the journalist to wait a few hours then post a story or half a story on Facebook.
Source Article:
www.iloubnan.info
The page, already "liked" by thousands of international journalists, aims to serve as an ongoing resource for the growing number of reporters using Facebook to find sources, interact with readers, and advance stories.
"The Page will provide journalists with best practices for integrating the latest Facebook products with their work and connecting with the Facebook audience of more than 500 million people," a note by the page stated.
Facebook believes it can be used as a reporting tool, "to source stories, report while on the ground and as a powerful storytelling advice."
Facebook is also starting a Journalism Meetup program, the note added.
"We’ll be hosting events around the globe to have hands-on workshops on how to use Facebook as a reporting tool, and engage in an open dialogue with the journalism community," the note, written by Justin Osofsky, Director of Media Partnerships, said.
Facebook wants to show journalists that the social network can be used as a tool to fill their professional needs.
It is now widely established that journalists prefer to use Twitter as a professional tool as Facebook remains more a mix between personal and professional networks.
To correct that trend, the Journalist Facebook page encourages journalists to create "pages," not only profiles.
A page is different from a profile. You can still navigate facebook as a page and do pretty much the same activities but people who “like” can follow your feed without you accepting their friend request and giving them access to personal information.
Could Facebook challenge Twitter in this field? It is doubtful. Twitter remains an incredible tool to get information and share it while Facebook proposes to report stories and to get comments and feedbacks. For instance, Twitter allows you to order the account you follow into lists so you can have all the information about one subject on the same feed while Facebook imposes on you the feed of every journalists you will follow, no matter the subject they are working on or they are specialised in.
Also, Twitter invented a new internet culture with the Hashtag. Posting on a hashtag allows you to be seen by everyone following this hashtag while Facebook remains a personal following tool.
If it's not sure that Facebook can really challenge Twitter on the journalism field, it could however lead to the invention of new practices and information consumption trends, and it can become a complementary tool for other journalism practices.
You will be able to follow journalists and reporters you like and get their stories and updates in a more personal way. It will be easier to connect and engage with them and to give them feedback about their posts.
Nick Kristof tried to report the Egypt revolution via his Facebook page. This experience of facebook journalism is examined in a Niemanlab.org article
What comes from this experience is that Facebook makes journalism more personal. Asking questions to people about what he should focus on, reporting a story more written etc. However, except from this personal touch and direct access to his fans, Facebook does not seem to add anything to Twitter.
Where it can be useful though is when the internet access is restricted or limited access. Twitter requires an instant internet access to be efficient while Facebook could allow the journalist to wait a few hours then post a story or half a story on Facebook.
Source Article:
www.iloubnan.info