#bbcsms – a social media summit

It’s probably the mark of a good conference that thought provoking conversation (and a fair bit of debate!) continues to bubble away long after everyone has gone home. That’s the beauty of social media and that’s what you’ll find if you search Twitter for #bbcsms – the BBC College of Journalism Social Media Summit on how mainstream media is dealing with the challenges posed by social media.

But before you dive into the conversation, check out the conference reports from the CoJo website and you can watch each session on YouTube. It’s an excellent resource.

All of the sessions were informative, but for the sake of brevity here are a couple of highlights.

Social media in the newsroom: carrots and sticks or sandwich?

What elements are needed to make cultural change happen in a newsroom? was the big question for the panel on the opening session.

Peter Horrocks, Director of BBC Global News, pointed out that in many newsrooms a lot of journalists “live in the moment” and might not be so interested in new concepts and the future of journalism. He added that those colleagues who use and embrace social media have to be aware that it can seem a little weird to other colleagues. The BBC he says uses carrots and sticks: “There has to be persuasion and requirement”.

Horrocks also emphasised the importance of a clear vision. BBC News is promoted as “becoming more global” and hence has to reflect the way a globalised world connects and communicates.

Meg Pickard, the Guardian’s Head of Digital Engagement, then gave us their “Holy Trinity” way of looking at things social which was summed up quite neatly on the CoJo blog as:

– “Products: supporting new technologies, either created in-house (such as the Guardian’s comments software) or working with third parties.
– People and skills: helping people to understand the challenges of new technologies with education and training so we can “trust our staff to act as the intelligent people they are”. Pickard likes to think of a “sandwich” strategy, with the need for support from above – from senior leadership – and, from below, with grassroots activity and enthusiasts.
– Editorial proposition: how does social media help to tell better stories, by furthering our journalism – from informing, to ‘changing the world’?”

Not forgetting the business of media, Raju Narisetti, Managing Editor of the Washington Post, explained that the numbers of eyeballs that social media can drive is important in their newsroom. Journalists need to be aware of metrics and you have to set goals. He challenged the view that numbers are not everything, rather: “Numbers are everything in our business… the more readers we can get to our content the better it is for our journalism and for our business”.

Audience expectations

Al Jazeera’s Esra Dogramaci gave a presentation explaining how the international broadcaster used social media in Egypt during the popular uprising and how they are gathering content from citizens in countries where it’s hard for reporters to operate.

Dogramaci says that if “you have a capability you also have a responsibility” and Al Jazeera tries to give a “voice to the voiceless” – to amplify voices. However, their practice of distributing Flip-style cameras to citizen journalists was questioned, particularly if it encouraged people to take personal risks by filming and sending video to Al Jazeera.

This was a point that made me at first think about Germany’s Bild tabloid newspaper and their video Leser-Reporter, or reader reporter section. A couple of years ago Bild offered cheap Flip-style camcorders through a partner retailer. They weren’t given away but they were very affordable. Bild showcases video clips sent in by readers on their website. Perhaps if you’re talking about your audience taking personal risks in filming, take a look a this Bild video. Kids don’t do this at home!

Sure, it’s a completely different context to a large, violent demonstration or a conflict zone. But bear this in mind too. Bild often pays its readers 100 euro for video clips they send in. Whether or not media outlets should offer payment to people for providing user generated content was an interesting question raised.

We also heard during the summit that Al Jazeera is planning to produce tutorials for citizen journalists. In light of that, I wonder whether the BBC CoJo would consider making its citizen journalist guides available for non-UK users?

Personally, I think it’s important not to forget it’s a two way street. Mainstream media organisations can also learn a lot from citizen journalists.

So, what’s next?

For journalism educators and academics, a Facebook page and a Google document have been set up for research questions and suggestions. Both of these will be interesting to monitor.

Having attended a number of social media or journalism conferences in recent years, the discussions at #bbcsms very much reflected how social media has come of age. Yes, there was a bit of covering what some would say is old territory in social media, but there was also some very constructive outcomes.

For example, the discussion around best practices for verifying user generated content or using social media sources in the newsroom were hugely valuable. Likewise, hearing from start-up companies attempting to bring innovation to social media and journalism.

Again on a personal note, I would have like to have explored social media and storytelling or innovative ways of telling stories with social media further.

Unlike a lot of leading media conferences, the #bbcsms was free to attend. This is a good thing. It gives the chance for journalists, freelance journalists, j-students, academics and anyone interested in social media to rub shoulders. It reflects social media and I hope this continues to be an annual summit.

Author: Guy Degen