Social Media Masters Degree | Social Chatter & Other Observations

Assignment Snapshot: Use social media to source a news article or piece of social media news content that engages you. Why does it engage you? How has the story been told? Consider the written journalism and any multi-media content. Do you recognize story telling techniques as discussed in our lecture?

When in doubt…just turn to sex.

Much of my research and reading for my job is serious. It’s not the “if it bleeds it leads” mentality but sometimes it can be. It’s also politics and corruption and national disaster and train wrecks and police-shootings -and that was just this week. I follow many news organizations on my social platforms from the pinnacle New York Times to what some consider low-brow Buzzfeed, Upworthy and Vice. I do it to be on top of vast amounts of information for work but I also do it for fun. So that brings us to this week’s assignment:

13 reasons every woman should masturbate regularly

In my down time, I tend to gravitate to the lighter side of the info-spectrum. I like edge. I like different. I like things that teach me something I didn’t know-and let’s be real, I like sex! Who doesn’t? So when I was trolling Twitter I came across this little Huff Po nugget and stopped and stayed awhile.

Why Did It Engage Me

This is pretty simple. It’s a straightforward title on a (sadly) taboo topic with a black and white photo that could have come right out of my mother’s 1963 yearbook (minus the book titled: “Masturbate”). Clearly I was not alone based on the 139 favorites and the 109 retweets after only being on Twitter for an hour.

I also read… a lot.

It’s part of my job so when I am not on the clock, I like spoon-fed nuggets. In other words, don’t make me work for it. When I see this social post, I know at first glance, I am going to have a nice, tightly packaged list of 13 reasons I need a little more “me time.”

How It’s Told

Lists are easy. Lists are familiar. We make them to organize and order chaos. They find their way into everything from classrooms to newscasts. (Have you ever seen a morning show that gives you “the five things you need to know before you go out the door?”). In my Social Media & News class we read Jeff Hodson’s 12 Tips For Producing Strong News Stories. The story here captures several of the tips Jeff recommends: It’s interesting and has some color and good quotes (“…a little menage a moi”…C’mon!). It’s clearly structured and organized and in the end it ACTUALLY has expert information. You probably know masturbation feels good but did you know it’s because of dopamine and oxytocin? Did you know masturbation is an actual sleep aid? What about the fact that it’s good for your health?

Is this really news…journalism?

There is no real inverted pyramid here. Huffington Post isn’t fighting for justice (although an argument could be made for feminism!). This isn’t going to clinch a peabody, lead a newscast or change laws. In today’s world though, much of what I call “social news” is about an experience. It makes us feel. It makes us laugh. It makes us smarter. It makes us want to share. A constant conversation in my newsroom is the ever-changing face and the ever-moving lines that define news, journalism and what we do every day. That’s a conversation to keep on having. The one for this week though, is about how to engage. Huffington Post did the ol’ “when in doubt, sex sells.” It did. I clicked…and I now have 13 reasons to engage more often.

I remember the day back in 2005 quite vividly. I was working for the NBC affiliate in Phoenix as an Executive Producer. I walked in as I normally do every day and went straight to my desk. When I arrived, I saw it covered in AP wire copy. Yes! Clearly something important was upon us if my desk sit covered in printed wire copy.
I soon started to read about how I masterminded a plot to kidnap David Letterman’s son and nanny. I was under arrest and in big trouble. Right there in black and white: “Kelly Frank planned to hold the boy and his nanny for a $5 million ransom”.

My colleagues were highly amused but if you Google Kelly Frank today–that is what you will find. That…and apparently I am one hell of a professional team mascot! So much so—I teach other mascots how to shake, shimmy and do their silly string thing without getting canned.

Now clearly I am not a criminal or a professional mascot (although the latter would be pretty cool!) All kidding aside though, being aware of who you “are” out in the digital landscape is crucial. It doesn’t take much for an employer, prospective employer, friend, boyfriend, wife or colleague to find out what you left in your online wake. Luckily I am very tuned in to this. I knew what I would find when I googled myself because I do it often. I also set Google alerts to my name. I work in a high-profile field where your reputation isn’t just about you–it’s about the network you represent. I take that very seriously.

Now that I am married, I use Kelly Frank Green and I am happy to say…no celebrity stalking or mascot twerking to speak of. Googling Kelly Frank Green yielded exactly what I thought: my social media library. Here’s a brief slide show:

Aside from my social media footprint, there is the expected search services and directories to find “Kelly Frank Green”. I also looked through the search results that came up under News, Shopping, Video and Images. Video revealed my vine account and a “day in the life” video shoot at CNN. It was for an event for my alma mater:

The Images search results were a mix of pictures I took, posted or pinned along with some that have nothing to do with me:

Googling my email address produced similar results. The findings only extended about three-quarters of the page whereas my name went into a second page of results. This surprised me a little in that I use this Gmail account for many things. Clearly it is very public if I have it on this blog and it is associated with all my social media.

I also looked at the News, Images, Shopping and Videos for these findings as well. No news on News is good news! There was nothing under Shopping or Videos. The Images results were similar to those under my name. Interestingly enough, classmate Angela Cook came up “below the fold as you can see below. We are friends on Google+ and that seems to bump up her ranking! (Oh Google…you do like yourself!)

Googling yourself is a good practice to keep every month or so. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, reputation management is something we should all take seriously. So stalk yourself now and then. Check profiles from the “public” point of view. Check in on what various groups see or what lists you are on. It’s important…you never know when you will find you are a twerking, silly string-slinging mascot or worse…a celebrity-stalking convicted felon.

kellyfrankmugshot — Kelly Allen Frank ~ Convicted Felon

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The experience above is chronicled for my Web Research Methods class for the University of Florida Masters Degree program specializing in Social Media. As always…this exercise is purely academic.

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