Posting Wikileaks info on social media could ruin job prospects

Career services at Columbia University sent an email out this week warning students to refrain from posting links or comments to any of the recent Wikileak documents on Facebook or Twitter because it could ruin their job prospects in the future. Although leaked, the documents are still considered classified and any online comment or posts about the documents could damage the chances of jobs for those wanting to work in the state/federal sector.

Interesting. If I don't link to the documents, but a CNN article, am I ruining my chances of one day working for the state department after law school? Can I give an opinion about the organization? Is this post going to ruin me?

WikiLeaks, part II

Doug wrote an earlier post about Wikileaks, so I'm here for some recent updates that happened in the last several days, and some important implications the leak of these documents on journalism today. The Columbia Journalism Review has a great rundown of some news outlets' coverage of the documents.

Here's the break down of what has happened since the release of more than 250,000 confidential U.S. State Department documents last week:

• It's been has been hit with denial-of-service notices, and kicked off the servers in the U.S. and France
• On Friday, U.S.-based Paypal cut off Wikileak's account, a major source of income
• Amazon has cut Wikileaks off its server service, it has now hired a Switzerland-based company to host its site
• As a result of this censorship, WL has been using its Twitter account to request followers to start "mirror sites"
• WL's founder Julian Assange is now wanted by the Swedish government on allegations of sex crimes, including rape

Some shocking facts about social media

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think everyone is tired of reading yet another post about Facebook and Twitter so I'll keep this brief. This video has some shocking facts about the revolution of the internet and its implications on our way of life. To be honest, I was a little scared after seeing it. Let me know what you think!

Twitter Use for Journalists

By: Luther Xue

As social media continues to evolve and become a larger part of our lives, it has become increasingly important for journalists to learn how to use these different mediums in order to make themselves a better reporter. One of these sites that is becoming an integral part of a journalists' repertoire is Twitter. So how exactly can a journalist use Twitter to their advantage?

One of the biggest advantages of Twitter is that it is a huge crowd-sourcing tool. Ask your followers any question you want and then sit back as the answers come flowing in. For example Jason DeRusha (@derushaj), a TV reporter in Minnesota, uses his Twitter account to ask about what kind of stories his viewers want to see covered. He used it to great effect for a Christmas story when he asked his viewers if they knew anyone that had allergies towards Christmas trees. One of his viewers replied that her allergies were so bad, she had to wear a full body suit in order to put her tree up. This kind of stuff wouldn't have happened if DeRusha did not have a tool like Twitter.

Twitter & Sports Journalism

By Eric Pickhartz

Microblogging through Twitter has begun to dominate a certain genre of journalism, one that is using Twitter unlike any other genre. Sports journalists have been able to establish identities, connect with audiences, and surpass their less-connected counterparts in exposure, popularity, and attention.

Nonprofit journalism is the industry's solution

As the end of the golden age of print journalism draws near, the success of not-for-profit online publications that have recently proliferated offers some relief to the industry. Perhaps this is the direction journalism is heading in: one where the organization is funded largely or entirely by donations and private and public funding, all of which are independent of advertisement. This model of would make the media privately owned, and no longer slave to Wall Street. Nonprofits have long played an important role in media, with several influential publications like NPR, Union Leader, and older time Associated Press are already proving the possible success of this model. A common concern regarding the privatization of media is the question of, who will now control the news agenda?

Being Effective In The "Micro-Age"

First, I will explain what I mean by "Micro Age"? I am talking about the proliferation of bite-size nuggets of information that lead to massive amounts of information. I believe that in the future this trend will be accelerated with the increased usage of personal RSS readers, news feeds, streams and other platforms where concise pieces of information are present.