"When dawn spreads its paintbrush on the plain, spilling purple... ," Sons of the Pioneers theme for TV show "Wagon Train." Dawn on the mythic Santa Fe Trail, New Mexico, looking toward Raton from Cimarron. -- Clarkphoto. A curmudgeon artist's musings melding metaphors and journalism, for readers in more than 150 countries.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Disruptive technology, twitter & an ex-rock star

@okieprof #clarkclass 
Speaker in the twitter for Journalists class today was friend and multi-talented journalist Dave Rhea, @jdaverhea, now general manager of the Oklahoma Gazette.
Dave Rhea and @okieprof
He spoke about still having to write, even though he's now in management--formerly with the Oklahoma City Journal Record business newspaper. 
"If I didn't write, I wouldn't be a journalist," he said. (He writes for Blade Magazine, about knives.)
A former rock band star and musician with a record contract, he related the changes journalism is going through to the changes in the music industry where making money off records collapsed, talking about the Internet as "disruptive technology." He urged students to always adapt to the new technology, or to better yet, invent the "disruptive technology."
I, and my students, were really impressed with how many people he knows in many different fields , and his wide range of reading. He's always learning. My students are amazed at how many really cool people this old prof knows.
So after he left, here's what the students commented on in our debriefing. Thanks again to student Lacey Rhodes @laceymrhodes for the note-taking. More student comments by searching #clarkclass on @okieprof.
  • Twitter is just a tool in the toolbox.
  • Don’t worry about the outcome, focus on the work to be happy.
  • Do something for a half hour a day that you thoroughly enjoy.
  • Don’t do your writing for the outcome but remember what pays the bills.
  • Disruptive innovators create new ways to do old things.
  • At the end of the day publication credibility is the most important thing.
  • The bat belt of many different skills is to create story-telling abilities.
  • Twitter distributes power.
  • Be here now, live in the moment.
  • Story telling is always going to be there.
  • Be a Renaissance man, have a big skill set.
  • Classic forms of networking aren’t always as important anymore.
  • How he uses his personality type to do his job to the best ability.
  • Pay attention to the creative flow.
  • Journalism isn’t stiff and old school anymore.
  • The more ways you can tell a story the more ways you can sell that story.
  • Be authentic in your work.
  • Use writing to give yourself a creative drive.
  • He says his personal tweets are personal and do not represent the company.
  • When you get calls it’s not usually someone praising you, unless it’s your mom. 
  • Everybody is a critic.

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