My ideas for themed budget meetings this week:

Monday: Accuracy and copy editing. Show the ACES video. Talk about good self-editing practices like read out loud to yourself,
Tuesday: Functionality. Show Web site problems from years past. Throw slideshow together.
Wednesday: Immediacy: What we put up right away and what we hold to 12:01 --OR-- Opinion topics of the past week and who is reading them/how we're doing on comments.
Thursday: Analytics. Who is reading us?
Friday: Packaging: How are we keeping readers on our site with related content offerings to click on? Photos, multimedia, related articles, embedded links, related links, packaging, places to find more information, off-site embedded links too.

Things that wowed me at the APME 2009 conference:

• Our students. They all rose to the occassion and showed how hard they've worked to get this far. I have to say, they were one of the most professional, talented and innovative staffs I've ever had the pleasure to work with. And when I say work, I don't mean very hard. They did all the stuff.
  
• The sessions on social media was quite inspiring. While some folks grumbled that some of the material in the various presentations was more tech than journalism, I appreciated the tech. I want to experiment with this stuff; it's just in the infancy of what it could be (once we find a way to better facilitate noise and just get what we're after, you'll see social media grow like crazy.)
• The City Museum in St. Louis (site of the conference). Forget Disneyland, that is the happiest place on Earth. Can't wait to take the kids there. 

So, here's where I want to take the Missourian's social media efforts in the immediate future:

• Begin getting the basketball guys used to tweeting on the sports account. Andrew has done a great job with it. Now it's time to replicate and grow during basketball season. Also, we need to get their blog in the blog teaser on the home page.
  
• More bookmarking efforts by everyone in the newsroom. We need a tag cloud of source material (i.e. links) to our articles, previous articles, databases  and encyclopedia pages for reporting and editing.
  
• Get the CoMissourian account blasting. We're seeing some flicker of light that it's not only me doing all the tweeting anymore. I still do the most, but it's catching on. I want to impose a rule that anything we'd call a newsburst should be tweeted and Facebooked. I also think we could stand to interact with readers more often -- I need to start scheduling people as on duty to answer tweets and hold twitter chats.
  
• I need to put in place a more structured system for rolling this out to the newsroom each semester. A goal sheet, like -- week 1: TA's; week 2: ACES ...
  
• I need to find some fresh research on social media audiences. I want to know what kind of content is going to play better with Facebook users vs. Twitter users vs. blog users, vs whatever the next big social network is.
  

Last but not least, I need to go to bed. Up too late, but had to get these ideas down. I'd love any feedback you can offer. :)

I had the good fortune of returning to Wyoming a couple of weeks ago to make a presentation at the SocialWyo conference, held at LCCC in Cheyenne. Overall, I had a great time networking with folks back in the Cowboy State, both new friends and familiar faces.

I geared my presentation to be practical tips for networking a business online. Here's my PowerPoint:

Jake Sherlock, University of Missouri at Columbia   
I picked up some good tips along the way as well, including yet another person who recommended Yahoo Pipes for keeping information flowing in an organized manner. I've really got to get Pipes checked out.

I also had a little bit of time to see some friends and family in Laramie. Not having my own car there limited my transportation options, but I still managed to catch up with the family. I also spent a day on the UW campus, where I was pressed into a guest lecture on social media for one of my former professor's advertising class. That was a lot of fun, even if I only got about 20 minutes.

Jake Sherlock, University of Missouri at Columbia  

The Dow Jones editing test will be administered from 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, in Lee Hills 110. It’s a one-hour test. Please make sure you're on time.

We'll have a review session for the test at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12 at the Missourian.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Dow test
Q: I’ve heard this internship is a pretty big deal. Is it?
A. Yes. If selected for the internship, you’re considered one of the best collegiate editors in the nation. You’ll get to take part in an intense 8-day training at one of seven sites across the nation with some of the best editing faculty in the nation. It’s a big deal for your resume.

Q: Does this internship pay?
A: Yes. You’re guaranteed a minimum base salary, plus Dow will pay for your travel to your training site and to your internship.

Q: Where could I end up interning?
A: Last year, 79 newspapers partnered with Dow, including the New York Times. Dow papers can be found all across the nation and range in size from major metro papers to smaller community newspapers the size of the Missourian or Columbia Tribune.

Q: Do I have to be a senior or grad student to take it?
A: No. Anyone can take the test.

Q: Where can I find more information?
A: Go to www.newspaperfund.org for more information and to register for the test. Old tests are available as study guides here.

Another good place to study current events is here for 2008 and here for 2009.

Looking to study the AP Stylebook online? Get it here.