"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.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Energetic advice on twitter, life for #clarkclass


Heide Brandes @HeideWrite kept the class laughing and learning with her boundless energy, frank advice and many "unquoteable" quotes in twitter for journalists #clarkclass today. She was talking about far more than just twitter, but also about freelance writing, belly dancing, the sex life of possums, and other topics. She left us a list of 12 tips for twitter, which sounded more like life advice (one of them--"be nice").
For the record, this UCO grad worked for newspapers in Madill, Duncan and Moore, before working in public relations for the Salvation Army. Then a year and a half ago she quit to follow a dream and freelance full time. That's a huge risk, and she's been more than successful. Why? She is a very good writer, she has boundless energy and a great attitude.
After she left,  we debriefed with each student chiming in. Here's a summary, compiled by #clarkclass student @JenniferHasel:
  • She is hilarious, loved her and how she embraces herself and doesn’t care what other people think
  • Inspiring, lots of fun, and lots of energy
  • Failure is important--learn from it
  • Her quirkiness helps her in her work
  • “You will regret the things you didn't do, not the things you did do”
  • She has passion and energy 
  • Twitter is a microscopic view of life 
  • Twitter belongs to the people--it is defined by the users
  • You can get three stories from every subject
  • Everything she does she relates to her work, even vacations or visiting people and places.
  • Twitter is your portfolio- use it to market yourself
  • She doesn't have to sell herself--work finds her
  • Help other people--it’s not just about yourself
  • Use the last four words of the what the person said with a question mark at the end to generate more discussion
  • She has a passionate personality and positive attitude 
  • Everyone has a story and it’s an important story to tell, but it's your job to make their story heard and interesting
  • She uses Twitter to network and promote links to her work
  • Be comfortable in your own skin--don’t be shy about asking
  • She's been successful yet kept her code of ethics 
  • Follow people you admire or want to connect with
  • She's genuine and stands up for herself 
  • Attitude is everything--if you expect life to suck, it will, if you expect it to be great, it will
  • She makes everything a story
  • She opened up a new idea for me to consider, brought me a new perspective on journalism
  • The way she talks reflects the way she writes-she doesn't follow a script
  • She knows how to tell a story
  • Be part of your community-if you’re not being yourself in your community then you're really not part of your community all
  • People can tell if you're not being genuine-you're better at being you than anyone else
  • “Be positive- nobody wants to hear a Debbie downer or an Eyore”
  • Use Twitter to have other people market you
  • She markets herself solely through social media, using Twitter to post links to clips that are parked on her website
  • “Be nice-don't be the guy that hides behind the Internet”
  • Listen-it's our job to listen
  • Be flexible to let the story become what it is, not what you want it to be
  • If you try to force it, it’s not going to be a great story 
  • Be visible, be heard, be obvious
  • “Make somebody’s day”
  • “Be likeable”
  • “Make a difference”
  • Tell them why you're on Twitter through your bio 
  • Twitter can make you a better writer--it helps you be concise
  • Don't compromise yourself--it’s more important to be able to sleep at night 
  • Have your career but don't give up your passion
Comparison with @MikeSherman
  • They both have the same philosophy on attitude 
  • They both told us to be genuine and be yourself
  • They both use Twitter as a tool for life
  • They both said to be a human being before being a journalist
  • Both believe you should have a footprint on twitter and use it to post about your work
  • They both said to own up to mistakes, apologize, learn and move on

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