What role does Social Media play in your smart life?

I like working at Iowa Public Television.

If you are a regular reader, all 2 of you, then you've seen me write that before.

I get to have great discussions on a daily basis about topics in the news, of interest and good stories.

Today I forwarded this YouTube video with newer numbers on social media and its impact. Thanks to Mike Mickle for sharing, BTW.



What are your thoughts on social media?
Is it good?
Is it the future?
What value do you gain as an intellect taking part in SM?
Why not call someone?

I argue that IPTV has to be involved in social media. We are still moving forward officially at a slow, plotted pace. Others, in their personal accounts, this blog being one of them, are not. I like what Twitter can do for me and my work. I've said before, if I was still running an assignment desk or reporting full time, I would be in heaven. I think public TV has a place to a part of it all.

I like how facebook keeps me in contact with friends. I can peer into their lives and have a starting point of conversation when I see them in person.

Do smart people, who watch public TV or listen to NPR think social media has a place and a future?

Does anyone under 30 without children watch public TV? That topic will wait for another day.

Please, please, share your thoughts.

The Daily Show does it again

The Daily Show is an incredible show.

Comedy Central's lead program brings the network incredible ratings and legitimacy with its nightly program about the news. Its a faux newscast that does a good job of educating the young americans who watch it instead of the real news. 

Its a show that says we as journalists are not doing our job. Each and every night Jon Stewart skewers networks and reporters and anchors for thoughtless things they do and say. 

Stewart also does a great job of pointing out the spin the networks seem to provide.

Take Monday's show for instance. Stewart pointed out, actually showed the Fox Network news team, going after President Obama. Stewart then shows MSNBC and many on the team going after Rush Limbaugh. Then there's CNN and how they only seem to be talking about Twitter. 

I don't remember journalism training being to biased. Its sad that each network can only be broken down to the apparent political leaning. But that's the times we live in now.

There's been several stories about the Daily Show and how they sort out the days news and pull all those clips and flips and flops by candidates and government officials. This New York Times blog story has a good synopsis of the show's routine. 

The Washington Post did a story about Adam Chodikoff last year that shows how much knowledge is in this guys brain and how he remembers dates and who said what and when. Each newsroom needs a guy like this and each network should have 17 of these guys around to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. 

The Daily Show uses comedy to point out inaccuracies, but its something the press tries to do each day, but can't quite pull it off. Usually when a media outlet points out something inaccurate, they get accused of being slanted or biased and then you get lost in the actual story whether it was wrong or right. 

I haven't even begun to talk about the Jim Cramer interview. 

Take a look at Monday, June 8th's Daily Show. You'll see why Stewart continues to be must see TV.

Do ya, you know, Twitter?

Do you Twitter?

Do you Facebook?

Do you care to?

Do you want the madness to stop? 

The Iowa Journal looks at social media tonight in a Friday only showing of this program at 630p on IPTV.

Social Media sounds like a party and that’s kind of what it is. The social networking site Facebook boasts 200 million users world wide. The fastest growing demographic on the site is 35 years and over. 

Now the even quicker, more ADD site is Twitter, a site that allows users to send out short bursts of information. Twitter is growing leaps and bounds---  Nielson Rating Service says the site has grown 13-hundred percent from year to year since Feb of 08.

 We begin with a look at a face to face meeting of users and then we’ll show you how others are getting into business to help others navigate these tools for their business. We head to Lava Row in Des Moines to see how this company teaches social media to businesses.

 We also went to a Des Moines area TweetUp to see what that is about. Several of you are in the piece that went that night, but not everyone will make the cut. So, please don't be mad. I didn't think Abbie Shipton wanted to see her full profile about a month from delivery. 

 Our panel discussion includes Michael Libbie, principal and owner of Insight Advertising, Marketing & Communications a Des Moines based Advertising Agency that specializes in traditional media messages from print to television to Social Media.  Michael also hosts a number of radio shows in the Des Moines market dealing with a issues revolving around advertising and the rural lifestyle. 

Michael blogged about his appearance and put in some very nice words about IPTV and our operation. Thanks to that. Also a great picture off set. He called it magic. TV still is to me as well, Michael. 

 Mike Templeton is the director of social media and web strategy for the Iowa Hospital Association. He uses social media on a daily basis through his job and personal life. The discussion was taped last Thursday.

 The show will only air tonight, May 29^th, 2009 at 630p on IPTV. There is no news analysis. The discussion was posted online last Friday.

 The feature is online already.

 So, if you want to watch the show before it airs, you can do so here on our site.

Paul's Add: There is a tiny, inside joke off the top of the discussion. I said, its a Paul and 2 Mike's again. That was in reference to a great radio show I did in college on KWAR in Waverly with two of my best friends named Mike and Mike. We were on before those ESPN guys came along, for the record.

The show was called Bitter Coffee with a Paul and 2 Mike's. Great radio for our time. We even got the president of Wartburg to stop by on our final show of the year. 

See it online BEFORE on TV

How cool can we be sometimes?

In a show about social media, its only fitting that we launch the discussion of our upcoming show about social media, here on line on the Iowa Public Television website.

Thanks to fellow producer Nancy we've posted the video of the discussion recorded on Thursday afternoon about social media for next Friday's Iowa Journal. Actually, it was Nancy's idea, I just said, that would be fitting, so here you go. Thank Nancy. 

We usually will post our Thursday programs on Friday's online at www.iptv.org/iowajournal around noon. So, you can soon see our economic roundtable about underemployed and unemployed here as well. 

The social media show will also feature Lava Row and the Des Moines area TweetUp. That will be ready for Friday's airing at 630p on IPTV. 

Here's the link to the Iowa Journal's discussion on Social Media with Mike Templeton and Michael Libbie.