Joe Ruiz

I don’t normally have my Windows Media Center turned on in the mornings, but a funny tweet from my friend Brett prompted me to turn on SportsCenter. A few minutes later, I hear the breaking news alert, so I come back to my computer and see the news that Manny Ramirez has been suspended by MLB for 50 games for a positive test of a performance-enhancing substance.

I react to the news, but my obvious first thought is to tweet it out. I dig around for the link from the LA Times — who broke the story and were credited by SportsCenter — and I find the tweet from the @latimes account (not to get off track, but link to your own story, @latimes, not the home page). I retweet @latimes (adding the shortened URL I’d just created to the story) and watch the coverage.

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Here’s something embarrassing about me: I snore. Loud. I’ve known this because I’ve been told so, but it doesn’t happen all the time, or so I’ve been told by people who would have no reason to lie.

Why am I sharing this? Well, it’s 6:39 a.m., according to the coffeemaker that I’ve been sitting next to for the last 45 minutes.

Why am I sitting here? Well, I usually wake up during the night, but at various times this early morning, I’ve been stirred by grunts and my name being said. I’m staying at the home of my friend Mike’s brother, Matt, because we’re going to the Texas Rangers game on Opening Day.

The last time I woke up, I decided to check my phone for e-mail, and something made me look at Facebook, too. Well, I see my buddy Brett’s status message complaining about my snoring. Also added to the 10 comments was the host’s complaints about my snoring, too.
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I’ve put this off for too long and now I’m being pushed to create a social media/networking policy for our newsroom. Some quick background on how I got to this point and why it’s been assigned to me. I’ve got about 15 people in my newsroom using Twitter (and more using Facebook). Well, we’ve started integrating Twitter into our news lives and I had a page created that lists our Twitter accounts (it was opt-in for all involved).

A friend trying to have some fun began speaking about an on-air competitor and was joined in by that competitor’s co-worker. Well, the boss found out and wanted the person either removed from the page (and not associated with our news brand) or to cut it out. Friend asked to be removed and it’s all good now, but now we need a social media/networking policy in place.

I wanted to ask for people’s experiences with crafting or working within a good policy and help in writing our own. Some of my major concerns are Facebook friending potential news sources and tweeting or posting opinions of news sources. I’ve seen potentially bad examples of both before and don’t want it to become an issue with us.

I’ve spoken with a few people and the examples are pretty far apart. One major newspaper doesn’t have a policy and will deal with issues as they arise while some shops have pretty strict policies that may stifle good usage of social media and social networking in newsgathering or personal-professional uses.

Yes! We pulled it off Saturday by completing the first San Antonio media tweetup. Seventeen brave souls showed up at the Olmos Bharmacy (thanks to them for the space) on Feb. 21, to put faces to avatars, share war stories and talk social media.

It was really laidback, but I was asked a few questions at one point and we had a very brief discussion about adapting to social media and keeping up (more of a tech how-to rather than philosophical). Rather than bore you with much more, I leave you to a few of the photos (if you were there and took some more, please let me know so I can include them in the slideshow) and a promise of another tweetup before or very early into the summer.

Many thanks and well-wishes go out to: @bkearney, @evaruth, @ghawi, @paulvx, @mysaweathervane, @doublepunching, @norafrost, @sandrasantos, @jeorgez, @jenniferdodd, @rosenda, @jerrygonzalez, @elozano, @espiblog, @ursulapari and Kris Rodriguez for showing up.

UPDATE: Patricio Espinoza (@espiblog) produced a video from the tweet-up. Enjoy.

I mentioned to a friend last week if she’d like to have breakfast on Wednesday (her day off) once I finish a panel. She agreed, but I got a call today from her asking the particulars (7:30 a.m., on the 18th) and she gently asked if she actually had to listen to me speak. She knows my interests and still listens, but I reminded her I just wanted breakfast after. What does this all mean to you? Nothing in particular, but it gives me a chance to mention that I’ve been invited to speak at the Social Media Breakfast of San Antonio.

In planning for this, I had drinks with two of the panelists (Elaine Wolff of the San Antonio Current and Donna Tuttle of the San Antonio Business Journal — the very talented and web-savvy Laura Lorek of the San Antonio Express-News is the fourth panelist). It was great to get people from different media outlets together and start relating how we’re using Web 2.0 tools to reach our respective audiences. The diversity of our audiences means we’ll use different ideas and I think this will be a great panel. I’m really looking forward to getting ideas from people well-versed and comfortable with social and new media.

The next day will also be interesting. I’m speaking at Texas State University (how can I turn down Old Main?) about being Latino and working in the media for the school’s Dia de la communicacion event as part of the Center for Latino Media’s Latino Media Conference. Honestly, it’s a subject that I enjoy speaking of, especially since I can honestly say there’s been very little downside I’ve witnessed. Granted, it may be that I’ve worked in Texas all my life (and even moreso in San Antonio), but there have been some advantages to being Hispanic and working in the media. Omar Gallaga of the Austin American-Statesman and Lydia Saldaña with Texas Parks & Wildlife will be on the panel. I love reading Omar’s blog and I know I’d be honored to yield the floor to a guy with his knowledge and work.

A couple of days later, it’s the first (as far as I know) San Antonio Media Tweetup. So far, there are about 15 people who’ve told me they’re likely coming (12:30 p.m., 2/21, Olmos Bharmacy). If you’re in town, come on by, media or not… just beware that you’re probably going to hear some war stories. No RSVP is necessary, but I’d like a decent head-count.

Deservedly so, Twitter received major kudos for its relaying of information and pictures from the ditching of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in New York City’s Hudson River earlier this week, but with praise come pans, and the one that stuck out to me was the criticism of Twitter’s self-praise by Matt Marrone of the New York Daily News.

For the most part, the Internet buzzed for hours and hours as Twitterers patted themselves on the back. Self-congratulatory - and often self-indulgent - posts, complete with links to blog entries about the slow death of the mainstream media and plenty of re-linking to that same photo - viewed almost 40,000 times on TwitPic.com within the first four hours. And later, finally - tweets about being tweeted out.

I think the Twitterverse can withstand some self-indulgent praise, especially considering those who still don’t understand its best qualities. I’m known in my newsroom for saying two things.

1. Everybody will have their moment (or news story) when they notice the tools of newsgathering are changing, and they’ll decide it’s time to learn what works for them.
2. Some tools work well for some people, some don’t. You have to be willing to try them all out to find out, though.

People will be intrigued by social media/social networking at different times, and I know I read many retweets from people hearing positive thoughts about Twitter during a breaking news story. Is it all perfect? Hell, is it even completely correct? Nope. That’s when being able to separate the wheat from the chaff pays off. Journalists still have to be able to find out what’s correct and what’s hearsay, but spreading what’s correct and necessary via Twitter should be celebrated when it works. How many in the media (and for this argument, we’ll ask mainstream) figured Twitter (or at the very least, social media) might just be useful and decide to learn?

Charles Cooper of CNET.com asks:

Before some of you jump ugly on me, let me hasten to mention that I’ve long found Twitter to be extremely useful. But how long before we can move past this “wonder of Twitter” moment? An earthquake in China, the Mumbai massacre, war in Gaza–Twitter’s proved itself as a tool to report and comment on breaking news. If you haven’t been paying attention, Twitter might seem wondrous. For the rest of us, it’s old hat by now.

That’s just it, Charles. There are still many people out there who haven’t been paying attention. The “wonder of Twitter” posts will subside eventually, but since there are still people who don’t understand the new tools, the wonder posts will still follow. I don’t begrudge Twitter for celebrating itself occasionally, but only when it’s deserved.

Newspapers used Barack Obama’s election and the Nov. 5 front pages to give themselves a pat-on-the-back, a quick money grab and remind America one of the reasons they were still important, even if for a day. Twitter can get some love, too.

Just wanted to take a quick timeout (and considering my hiatus, a long time getting back) to mention I returned Sunday from San Juan, Puerto Rico, where I was part of the planning committee for the upcoming 2009 National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention (also in San Juan). I’m one of three track leaders for the online sessions. My cohorts are Robert Hernandez of SeattleTimes.com and Hiram Enriquez, the programming director of Yahoo! Hispanic Americas.

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