Finding Your Voice Online

Northern New Jersey Social Media Bootcamp (DarimOnline)

לכל איש יש שם• Each man has a name, given him by God and given him by his father and

mother• Each man has a name, given him by his stature and his way of smiling, and

given him by his clothes • Each man has a name, given him by the mountains and given him by his

walls • Each man has a name, given him by the planets (stars) and given him by

his neighbors• Each man has a name, given him by his sins and given him by his longing • Each man has a name, given him by his enemies, and given him by his love • Each man has a name, given him by his feast days and given him by his

craft • Each man has a name, given him by the seasons of the year and given him

by his blindness • Each man has a name, given him by the sea, and given him by his death.

• -Zelda (b. 1914)

What’s Your Name? (And Why Should I Remember It?)

• Names: a listening exercise

• Yes-and: the art of building

Jewish takeaway• Kol yisrael areyvim zeh lazeh (all Jews are responsible

for each other)• Lo somchim al hanes (don’t depend on miracles)• Al tifrosh min hatzibur (don’t separate yourself from the

community)

Intake Appointment

• Psychologists use intake appointments to:– Learn about who you are, how you think– Determine goals for your program– Identify concerns or challenges– Establish open channel of communication

Exercise: Intake Appointment

• What do you know about blogs?

• What is your favorite Twitter feed / most often-read blog? What brings you back?

• What is “your lens” on life?

• What kind of commitment are you ready to make to social media?

Intake Results: Group Share

• Results (added post-conference from both sessions):– Daily reads: Tablet, NY Times, JTA, IBN News, kosherNY,

Jewish Week, JPost, MAC blogs, Gizmodo, Beth Kanter, newsletters from specific organizations/denominational streams

– Why seek out daily reads?: to stay connected, because it’s interesting, different voices, in real time, accessible, trustworthy

– Fears of starting social media involvement: privacy, keeping up the quality and frequency of posts, institutional vs. personal voices, finding readers, being too present in cyberspace, time commitment, “if it ain’t broke…”

Reading and Writing Blog Posts

Read blogs to find out how to write blogs; then write blogs that are interesting to read, considering:

- Writer’s P.O.V. – authentic, creative, passionate- Length - (400 words/one screen for blogs, 140 chars for

Tweets)- Visually interesting (graphics/photos/video)- Intertextual (hyperlink to other sites)- Authenticity – does the author know her stuff?- Themes- Characters- …all through your project’s/passion’s lens

Exercise: Reading Other People’s Work

• Is it well-written?

• Does it grab your attention?

• What points (or words, or characters) are most interesting to you?

• How can you relate this text to your life, work, passion, project?

Deconstructing the Text

• Is it well-written?

• How’s the length?

• Does it grab your attention?

• What points are most interesting to you?

• How can you relate this text to your life, work, passion, project?

Added Value = Required Value

• Valuable content responds to and serves your clients or constituents

• What makes your content compelling and valuable?

• Does it serve both your organizational goals and the overall online discourse?

• Is it part of a “trending topic”?

• Is it personal and authentic?

Status Updates:Questions to Consider

• Why do you update your Facebook or Twitter status?

• Are your updates personal or professional?

• Do you struggle to be creative, or does your voice flow naturally?

• Do people comment on your status updates / retweet your Tweets?

Find Inspiration Online

• Develop “ambient awareness” of conversations happening in Twitter, Facebook status updates, blogs

• Participate in existing conversations• Favorite columnists – comment online, write

posts inspired by (and linking to) them• Google Alerts - your passions as keywords• Ask your audience – what do they want?

Questions?

• Esther.Kustanowitz@gmail.com

• Twitter.com/estherk

• MyUrbanKvetch.com

• JDatersAnonymous.com

• EstherK.com

• Blog.beliefnet.com/idolchatter

• …and others…