According to this Writinghood article, the perfect length is between 500-800 words; other people say shorter is better; but surely there’s more to it than that?

For personal/fun blogging I say do whatever you like, but for something more structured and professional , here are a few things you might want to think about: (feel free to add your tips/thoughts in the comments below).

Image courtesy of Mullica

In the next few days I have an interview for an SEO Copywriter position – which has prompted a very unexpected reaction from my friends and colleagues.

My background: broadcast journalism – 10 years of writing news scripts and documentaries. More recently I have “gone digital”, completed an MA in Online Journalism and worked with clients on social media strategy, content and data visualizations. 

It is not a huge leap for me to consider roles which require some technical understanding of the internet, search and content.

So, WHY has there been such a dismissive reaction to this particular role?

Three letters – SEO.

The ones who know what SEO stands for (Search Engine Optimization, for those who do not) are what I call the “good” people of the internet. They are journalists and hyper-local bloggers, trainers working with not-for-profit organizations and university lecturers.

They do worthwhile work. They are good people.

To them, anyone who actively goes after search engine ranking via SEO is, as one put it, ”creating all that crap online”.

You Give SEO a Bad Name

Yes, there are some very unscrupulous activities online – web marketing is a big business and naturally companies will be tempted to take the fast-easy route. Various black-hat techniques, link baiting, hidden text, cloaking an, of course, spamming, are a blight.

However, as Google improves its crawling techniques, and its spiders evolve more “human” sentiment, so the cracks will show in traditional “black hat” techniques. It was interesting to see that content was a particular focus of Google’s latest update (nicknamed Panda) and sites that were using article spinning, anchor text and paid links saw their rankings hit.

Google process of judging a website’s content as a reader would, has the potential to drive content quality UP, instead of down.

It’s just a shame that this does not necessarily mean the end of link-farms and poorly-written, keyword stuffed articles. Google is not the only search engine, and some companies get enough business from the less-fickle Yahoo and MSN to not worry about quality content.

Reader or Crawler?

I find the worst web content has been written for a crawler – to generate a high page ranking.

However, with the increase in popularity of social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), and bookmarking tools (e.g. Delicious, Instapaper) the reader now plays a much more active role in the process.

They are now much more than just a number, boosting impression rates. They now have the potential to share, recommend, link to and blog about content they like, whether that is to their friends, or to a niche, specialist circle.

An interesting piece of copy with the relevant material highlighted, tagged and organized will keep the crawlers, and your readers, happy.

See also: Buying Social Media Followers > quality V quantity

———

A definite echo of THIS post by Paul Bradshaw back in 2010, I wonder – who is teaching data journalism in 2012?

I will be at the AOP Data Journalism Forum next week talking about my experiences of teaching the subject at BCU, and I would like to get an idea of how widespread the subject is in UK universities.

If you teach journalism in the UK, please take part in this very quick survey (2 simple yes/no questions)

It’s an interesting question and one even more relevant today as friendships now exist online as well as in the real world

I recently got into a (mini)debate about this subject over on LinkedIn, where a fellow user posted an article, offering a service of buying Twitter followers.

(See discussion on LinkedIn comments  – note: exists within a group – membership required)

To summarise  - the poster was offering to get followers for your brand / product via click-sites like Twiends, You Like Hits, Add Me Fast. These are a simple, fast way of getting a lot of followers.

However, I wonder – what is the VALUE of those followers?

You may find a small handful who are interested in what you have to offer but the vast majority won’t be. You are doing the equivalent of the junk-mailout, hoping enough will stick to make it worth your while.

With a mailout, you are hoping the recipient doesn’t throw your letter in the bin and acts upon it.

With a mass-follower approach, you are hoping they follow you back, and act.

But act on what?

Are they going to follow you back – because you followed them? Some may. Others will look at your tweets at ask “what’s in this for me?”. If your Twitter stream is full of sales messages, or even worse, nothing at all, it is unlikely that they will let you into their circle. (and even if they do follow you back – an unfollow is likely if you bombard them with sales pitches)

Are they going to buy your product after a simple Twitter follow? Are they going to be so impressed that you’re found them, that they’ll immediately switch to your brand?

You are not generating any form of loyalty by engaging in mass following.

Social Media is “social”

My advice to any client is to treat social media in the same way you treat making friends/contacts. You do not walk into a dinner party, hand out a load of flyers with your phone number, and walk out again. In reality you have conversations, engage and entertain.

With social media you need to literally “make friends” with your followers. You need to nurture those friendships, avoid upsetting them and keep the conversation going.

Ironically, one of the Twitter follower websites mentioned by our friend in the original article, seems to actively promote this “quality over quantity” approach. (See infographic left – click for original)

There is some excellent advice here – which all point to the social element of social media

It’s a shame that clients are falling for this “mass clicking” approach, when – in the long run – it won’t benefit them at all.

If you are interested in hiring me – you can find me on Twitter (@carolinebeavon) or email carolinebeavon at gmail.com

Thanks

PROJECTS

Infographic > Local Authority Olympics

I was recently asked to create an infographic of information about the Olympic Torch relay, for a local authority.

This was an unusual project for me as it involved text instead of numbers. Instead of creating charts and diagrams, the project involved illustrating blocks of text and using colour and glyphs to support the issues.

Whilst this infographic was concerning the Olympic Torch Relay, the client was not an official partner of the event. Hence, there are a host of restrictions on use of logo, branding, symbols and colours.

You can read the official guidelines here – and I was genuinely surprised at the extend to which these restrictions extend. For example – the Olympic rings, even if used in silhouette, are restricted, as are the Olympic colours used together in a design.

Working with the client, and based on a website they had already drawn up for the coverage, we opted for simple red, white and blue theme and avoided ALL Olympic shapes or suggestions.

Multiple data graphics  > Communicate Magazine

Communicate Magazine is a monthly B2B (business to business) magazine within the Stakeholder Relations field. As their in-house Data Visualization Specialist I work with research data and create 3/4/5 quarter page graphics to support articles in the magazine.

You can view past work for Communicate here

The task at hand here is not wrangling a huge dataset. In fact, it is often a small set of numbers and the challenge comes in making a few results look appealing and interesting.

The focus here is definitely on design, that works at a small quarter-page scale.

Over recent issues I have used the official brand colours (shades of red) but I was delighted when the client asked for a change – using blues and greens instead.

Infographics > Mystery Client

I have also had the privilege of being contacted by a well known international tech brand (my lips are sealed) who asked me to create a few simple infographics for use in a ideas pitch to a 3rd party.

My contact was based on the West Coast of America, so the time difference has led to a few phone calls at 11pm at night – no problem for me!

Fingers crossed it comes off as it would be a fascinating project to work on.

Infographic > Kerrang! Radio

As a very quick favour to my old friends at Kerrang! Radio, I was recently glad to help out with a map visualization of listener postcodes.

I initially gave some advice to the in-house designer/web dude on tools that would be able to create intensity circles on a map (using Fusion Tables etc) but in the end I stepped in and assisted by using Tableau.

Social Media Strategy > Wolves Civic

I have worked with Wolves Civic (a set of 3 music venues in Wolverhampton) for some time  - formerly looking after their social media content, and now as a consultant.

They are a very innovative team and are keen to embrace the new developments in social media.

I have been working with the Marketing Team on a shake-up of how they deal with their Facebook and Twitter accounts – it’s something pretty innovative and I will be watching with interest.

EVENTS

Thanks to my former tutor, now work colleague Paul Bradshaw, I have been receiving some very interesting offers to get involved with media conferences, workshops and forums.

AOP Data Journalism Forum - 16 May 2012

I will be featuring on an expert panel at the AOP Data Journalism Forum. I am awaiting more information so will update you when I know more!

The Specialist Media Show - 24th May 2012

I will he holding a workshop on Data Journalism for Publishers at the Specialist Media Show on 24th May 2012

Data is the new buzz word. As public bodies bow under increasing pressure to be transparent and open, so companies are coming under the same pressures. The new breed of savvy consumer is not content with the story that YOU give them. They want the background, they want to interrogate, play, sort, visualize and they want to share across their social networks. It is up to publishers to be more open with their research, and present it in an accessible, interesting and honest way. From simple downloads, to high-end interactive pieces, there are a host of opportunities for publishers to get involved in this data revolution.

(extended blog post on this workshop here)

However- there are a few things you can do to prepare yourself

(feel free to comment with more below  - I will also add to this as ideas come to me!)

Background Research

Find out as much about the event as you can.

Where is it? – how are you going to get there? Public transport? Where can you park?
When is it? – what time does it start? What time do you need to be there?
Where will you be – do you have an allocated desk? Will space be tight (should you get there early to secure a good seat?)
Who is running the event – are you on the event mailing lists?
who is going – try to get a list of speakers / delegates beforehand. This is useful to make contacts and arrange interviews ahead of time!

Make sure you have all the information with you and easy to find. I often make a crib sheet for myself of the address, directions, contact names / numbers etc.

See more on content and research in Live Blogging, below

Power

With the increase in laptop and smartphone use at events, the demand on power outlets is great. Always take a power lead for your device and a LONG extension lead (this means you can share one plug amongst many devices – great for charging phones, laptops etc at the same time).

Internet Connection

Vital if you are going to live blog, tweet or in any way cover the event online.
In the days before the event, check with the venue/event organisers if there will be free wifi available and that you will be able to use it. Don’t rely on 3G (especially in old buildings where often traditional mobile coverage tends to drop off).

If there is no wifi available invest in a 3G dongle (although often these struggle in old buildings / internal rooms).

If you are worried, try to visit the venue ahead of the event to check internet coverage. This gives you time to solve any issues.

There are several ways you can cover an event – a straight forward article written after the event for online or print, social media updates (eg Twitter, or Google+), web streaming, audio capturing and live blogging

As with any form of reporting, preparation is key. However, with live blogging especially, ANYTHING you can do to make your job a bit easier once the event gets underway, the better.

Live Blogging

If you are using a live blogging tool such as CoverItLive  - save as MUCH content in the tool library as you can:

• photographs of speakers
• build a quick contact sheet for each of them, with Twitter links, websites etc which you can paste in when they begin talking
• links to statements, policies, etc.
• running orders
• presentations – easy to embed and link to with tools like SlideShare.

A few other ideas:

If you are there with other reporters, get them to take pictures from different parts of the event and tweet them with a #hashtag. You can then add these into the live blog stream …

Location Location Location

Get out there!!!  You might think that you need peace and quiet to record a podcast, but remember  - the joy of a podcast is that you can get to the centre of a situation or story. Sometimes silence just sounds strange.

It not only sounds more interesting, it gives the podcast a sense of authenticity and makes you sound like you know what you’re talking about.

Music / Jingles / Sound effects

Have fun with these. They will make your listener smile, and can be useful to break up different segments of the podcast, a change in subject or mood, or simply to illustrate a point. Just be careful where you get music from due to licensing laws. It’s a grey area but it’s best to be safe.  I haven’t used these guys, but looks promising (Magnatune)

Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit

Stop going on … Think about where people will be listening to your podcasts. It could be on the way to work, in the car, on the bus … how many people have an hour-long commute? Some do, but not everyone.

Listening to a speech based podcast for an hour may be a commitment too far for some people. Think about “chunking” … breaking it up into smaller pieces.

In addition, trying to do an hour long podcast regularly will be difficult. Spread out your content or you’ll lose interest over time.

Signposting

People like to know what to expect. You could start your podcast with an introduction and an audio menu of what’s coming up. Then people can decide whether it’s for them, and what to listen out for. Similarly, you could post a written version of this running order, with times, so people can scroll forward.

Interviews

You’ve landed a great interview for your podcast – a real find. However, resist the temptation to put the whole interview unedited into your podcast. It will slow the whole thing down. How about playing some clips from it, then putting the whole interview (the “raw”) as a separate podcast? Refer to this in your podcast, and you’ve got them coming back for more!

You could also split the interview over a series of podcasts – imagine saying “more from Dave next week”.

Mix it Up

Have a think who’s listening to the podcast, and what do they want? Think about bringing in different features, or sections to the show. It keeps interest up as you change subject, tone and pace.

I have been a Visiting Tutor at Birmingham City University on and off for more than a year, but today I experienced that mythical “sense of satisfaction” that teachers talk about.

I held a short data visualization workshop for some 2nd year Online Journalism students today  - who were incredibly hungry for the information. For the past few weeks they had been gathering spreadsheets and reports and were now desperate for interesting ways to show this. Some were also concerned that they didn’t have any data as such, just lots of information

• data is not just numbers - it is information, lists, reports, structures, things you’ve found out  - anything that could be displayed visually
• expand the data – add new information – i.e. bring value to a list of companies by adding company type, location, size etc.
• shrink the data – a list of spending at every university could be rehashed into a smaller dataset of spending in the West Midlands – compare across region.
• compare the data - download the same dataset for previous years, so you can compare over time.
• confused.com? – untangle a complex situation with an organisational chart – help the reader understand who does what.
• processes – have you found out how something gets done? Then, why not create a flow chart showing the process – ie the flow of money, responsibility, communication
•  missing information? – start a partial organisational chart – flag up where data is unavailable due to corporate privacy protection – ask why
• tell the backstory - create a timeline showing key events. Helps the reader understand the context of the story
• compare lists side by side  – a list of UK universities by League table position, next to a list of UK universities by satisfaction rating  - draw lines between the same establishment in each list, and you show any general patterns, are satisfying universities generally the best performing?
• Word Clouds – not to be used for academic/journalistic analysis but definitely interesting as a bit of illustration/front cover.

Age of Brit Award Winners (2005-2012)

Since 2005 12 awards have gone to pop stars at this age including Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash and Ellie Goulding. Similarly, Mumford and Sons, Florence and the Machine and JLS all tapped in at this age when they picked up their awards.

Could it be down to our education system, 3 years at uni, where they perhaps form a band, and 3 years focusing on it when they leave? Is it the power of the Brit School (London’s very own pop factory – which has produced Brit Award winners Adele, Amy Winehouse, Jessie J, Ed Sheeran and more) putting its alumni on a sure fire Brit success route within 2/3 years of them leaving? (see Brit School chart below)

Or could it simply be a co-incidence?

Other Charts

It is also interesting to see the spread of ages, over the last few years. It’s no great surprise to see the 20′s (olive green) is the dominant age group, but it is interesting to see the gradual shift to younger artists (although 2012 bucks this trend slightly).

Age of Brit Award Winners over time

This chart also shows an increase in age coverage as a whole, as the bulk of the chart takes a triangular shape, with younger and older artists being represented. (the average age of the charts, however, remains the same.

How about by category? Well, again – no great surprises – although it is interesting to see the change in categories over the years (a removal of genre specific awards, for example)

Issues with the Data

As I worked out their age from the year they were born, as opposed to the exact date, their exact age at the time of the award is a guess. Hence there is a very real chance that the actual date is a bit wonky. However, I had problems finding the YEARS of some peoples birth, finding their exact birthday would be a bigger job for another time.

What I would like to do now is explore more interested elements – perhaps carry out a an age study of the album charts (using the data from my MA Project) and see if there is a similar pattern.

The Brit School

Known Brit School alumni marked in orange

• I lose interest
• something more important comes along
• I realized it’s just not “working”

The latter happened as I was working on a piece for the latest Information is Beautiful challenge – which involved chomping through a large and very interesting data set regarding Hollywood movies.

These challenges encourage you to use a data set provided by the website to create either a visualization, napkin drawing ( sketch) or an interactive piece.

After several hours of looking through the data, looking for interesting angles, and hunting for more data I could add to the set (via Google Refine) I settled on looking at the connections between the actors involved in the top films.

Ask anyone who’s watched a film with me and they’ll tell you that I have a VERY annoying habit of opening Wikipedia to find out where I’ve seen a particular actor before. It’s annoying in everyday life, but for this – it was a dream.

I was also intrigued by the success of the films starring Seth Rogen / Jonah Hill et al, and the idea of teams working together – and how prevalent this was across other areas of Hollywood.

(see below for more details and why I eventually shelved it)

What it Means

Yes, it’s a bit of a headache isn’t it? The original dataset with featured the films coming out of the major studios, over a certain time period.

I added actor information to the cataset from Freebase (within Google Refine) and worked out which ones had appeared in the most films over the time period. I then cross referenced the films and created the above chart.

I had originally intended to give each film a different colour but this became unworkable – so I limited the colours to the films featuring 3 or more actors on the chart. The rest I coloured in grey.

Why It Didnt Work

For one, it was too damn complicated – no chart should take 3 paragraphs to explain. Kinda defeats the point, right?

Secondly, the choice of resulting entries was nonsense.

• Original Data (limited to major studios)
• Actors added to each film (according to Wikipedia, via Freebase)
• Top 26 hardest working actors selected (based on original list, so ignoring independent or smaller budget films)

So why am I publishing it here?

Because I spent all day on it, I like the IDEA and design and I wanted to share my experiences of when to walk away.

I’d love to hear your experiences of when you’ve had to walk away – and why.