Month: February 2019

Algorithms make it unknown whether or not your content will be seen

I hate numbers. Other than the fact that I like to think that I’m somewhat decent at writing, that is why I’m a journalism major. I use social media to push my content to readers, content that takes a lot of work and time out of my day. The fact that a bunch of numbers control how many people see my content, or if people see it at all, rubs me the wrong way.

To be frank, if it weren’t for one of today’s readings, I would not be able to define an algorithm for you. Most math terminology is way beyond me and algorithms fall under the I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about category. I always knew that algorithms controlled how content on social media is sequenced, but I never realized the extent of it.

I’m not knocking algorithms completely, because they do have a positive impact in some cases. People have specific content that they want to read and for the most part, algorithms group that content together. Content that one would find interesting goes to the top of the timeline, while content that has nothing to do with what one couldn’t care less about gets shoved to the bottom of the feed.

Social media networks are able to gather the data necessary to determine an algorithm based on one’s actions on social media. Websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram analyze which posts people spend the most time on, what generates the most clicks, and which posts people share.

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Twitter algorithms play a major role in deciding if one’s content is seen/Photo via Buffer

In this sense, algorithms are a positive. Nobody wants to read or click on stuff that they are not interested in. However, algorithms have a tendency to bury well-written content, while other stuff is pushed to the top for absolutely no reason.

When I first started writing at Jets Wire, we had this one post that garnered about 70,000 views in its first day on the web. It was not one of our well-written columns that required plenty of thought in recent. It was not a slideshow detailing which players the Jets should target in free agency or the NFL Draft. Instead, it was a post of a video of former Jets center Nick Mangold sliding down a waterslide while on vacation with his kids.

That’s right, a video of an offensive lineman sliding down a waterslide at Disney stole the show, while other actual journalism didn’t get any attention. Why? Because somewhere along the line, some algorithm decided that the Mangold post was a more appealing one. From a journalistic standpoint, the story was crap. It took about five minutes to write and a video was embedded. That doesn’t matter to the algorithm, though.

Last night, I wrote a 900-word article outlining what the Jets should pitch running back Le’Veon Bell. Will people see it or read it? Who knows. I’m praying that the algorithm works in my favor. Whether I like it or not, a bunch of variables and numbers will determine whether or not my work gets any attention.

Who knows if you’ll wind up even seeing this post.

Twitter has become the springboard for journalists to build their brand

In today’s world, branding is everything. Businesses who have a reputable name brand and are well-respected and do better than those who do not brand themselves properly. The same applies to journalists and those looking to make it in media.

Twitter is arguably the most valuable tool in journalism today. Not only has it become the main platform for journalists to share their content, but it has become the best and most effective way for journalists to build their own brand and ascend to new heights.

Let’s face it, nobody is going to read your work if they don’t know who you are. Sure, sometimes a no-name writer publishes a great story that blows up on social media, but how often does that happen? There are plenty of “small-time” journalists who put out excellent content, but never get the proper attention or recognition for their work because they do not have their own brand.

Building your own brand is not an easy task, but it is one that can pay dividends down the road. It all starts with building a mass following of loyal readers who will not only share your content, but generate conversation stemming from the content and support you. If a random person scrolling through their Twitter sees an article published by a journalist with a decent following and a little bit of conversation, they might consider reading the article or at the very least, giving the story a click.

Want to build a brand on Twitter? Gathering a loyal following is the first step in doing so/ Photo via Forbes

Once a following is established, a sort of popularity tends to follow. Whether it be for the right or wrong reasons, journalists who establish their own brand are often the most-talked-about people in the industry. Take a look at someone like Tomi Lahren, who is essentially a household name at this point. She went from being a small-time journalist/news host to one who is known nationally simply because she branded herself in a way that was appealing (or infuriating) to a specific offense. Lahren is nowhere near universally liked, but her brand has made her one of the most popular in her field.

Want to see the true impact that self-branding through Twitter has? Look no further than sports websites such as The Athletic that value social media presence and an individual’s brand in their hiring process. It has been said that one’s Twitter following plays a major role in the company’s decision to bring in a beat writer to cover a team. Why? Because Twitter followers equate to clicks, which leads to increased revenue. Those journalists who have their own brand get the job everyone covets, while others are left out in the cold.

I can even apply the concept of using Twitter to create a brand to myself. By no means do I have my own “brand,” but I have used the platform to gain connections within the college football recruiting industry. For example, when a high school recruit picks up an offer from Boston College, the school I cover at 247 Sports, often times I am tagged in the Tweet. This leads to interview opportunities with recruits. Other widely-known analysts also tag me in Tweets related to Boston College recruiting because I have established myself as a player on that scene. It’s not much, but a certain group of people (die-hard Boston College football fans mostly) know who I am because of the content that I have published and shared on social media. Since I started at 247 Sports, my Twitter following has nearly tripled and my content is generating more buzz than ever.

It might not last forever, but right now, Twitter is the place for aspiring journalists to build a sustainable brand that can lead to opportunities within the industry. Again, building a brand takes a lot of work and catering to a specific audience, but it can be the difference between a small-time journalist and a household name.

The Big East Tournament Spectacle

Crowdsourcing on social media can be an impactful tool to find a diverse set of opinions and answers on a specific topic. However, when your reach is small and you do not have a somewhat large following on social media, it becomes difficult to accomplish the task.

While crowdsourcing on my Twitter account, I quickly realized that I did not have a large enough following to garner any answers regarding my topic of those who were interested. I did not have a following of Big East basketball fans and admittedly, I did a poor job of hitting the key points of crowdsourcing.

I did not push my questions as often as I should’ve on social media, as I opted to take a different route. I posted my question of “Are you planning on attending the Big East Tournament” on the VIP section of Pirate Crew, a Rivals sponsored Seton Hall fan message board. My post was quickly deleted, as the site moderators informed me that I was essentially not allowed to advertise my work on the site.

With this, I took matters into my own hands and discussed the topic with Adam Baliatico, who has been a Seton Hall fan since a kid and attends the Big East Tournament annually.

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Although I failed to get any answers on social media, I did find out a little more about the Big East Tournament/ Photo via ESPN

“The only way to describe the tournament is by calling it a spectacle, Baliatico said. “It’s the only place you can find fans of all Big East schools in the same place at the same time, gathered for the same purpose — to root on their team.”

The tournament being played at Madison Square Garden also adds to the allure of everything according to Baliatico.

“There’s nothing like basketball in the mecca of the sport,” Baliatico said. “Not many college kids get the chance to place in the World’s Most Famous Arena. Every player in the Big East gets to do so on a yearly basis. It’s a special opportunity and a special tournament.”

While I essentially failed to succeed in crowdsourcing, I was able to get an idea of what attending the Big East Tournament is like. Next time I try to crowdsource, I definitely plan on taking a much different approach with my activity on social media.

Blogs Are Trending Towards Being The Future of Journalism and Public Relations

As large-scale social media corporations such as Facebook run into a constant wall of problems, smaller blog websites are slowly becoming the wave of the future in journalism and public relations.

Traditionally, websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are used to build a brand. They are the most used and most viewed social media websites out there and naturally, using them is the easiest way to build a brand. Journalists use all four websites to push their content and opinions, just like people in the public relations industry use the four websites to push marketing campaigns and advertising.

The tide is beginning to turn, though, as those in both the journalism and PR industries are beginning to take notice of bloggers who may not have as big of a brand as those on bigger social media websites. As stated in Blogs as Excellent Public Relations Tools, a growing number of journalists and news editors are reading blog posts on a daily basis to find new, unique story ideas.

Coming from someone who does not work on a blog, but a smaller website, I have seen this take place first-hand. As a writer for JetsWire, a part of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group, unique column and slideshow ideas that we have used on our website have trickled down to the bigger websites, such as Bleacher Report. Likewise, there are Jets blogs and other websites that cover the team that we look at to find new story ideas of our own. It’s an effective tool to come up with “new” story ideas, especially when content is running dry.

Blogs are a new and arguably improved way for journalists and those in the Public Relations field to have their voices heard/Photo via Bizztor

None of this is possible without a little self-branding, though. The same way people try to push content on social media, bloggers must build their brand to the point where they are a reliable and recognizable name. As I mentioned before, some of the work published on Jets Wire has been attributed on Jets Wire. At times, I have been specifically name-dropped in those attributions. Those instances of acknowledgment are essentially free publicity for the Jets Wire brand and my own personal brand, as I am gaining credibility by being featured on a “bigger” site.

Bloggers have the freedom to publish individualized content and truly have their own voice — something that is not possible at times in the journalism and public relations field. Unless you’re writing a column of some sort, oftentimes journalists are required to cater to a target audience specified by their employer. For PR employees, there’s no chance to have an individual’s voice heard in a press release.

Blogs are providing a new and fresh platform for writers to get noticed. It might take a while, but it wouldn’t be much of a shock to see blogs and bloggers take over the industry before long.