• Home
  • About
    • About
    • Policies
  • Submissions
    • Op-eds
    • News / Announcements
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

eJewish Philanthropy

Your Jewish Philanthropy Resource

  • News Bits
  • Jewish Education
  • Readers Forum
  • Research
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Inside Israel / People Support the Things They Help Build

People Support the Things They Help Build

January 21, 2010 By eJP

by Alex Margolin

The AP made news recently by hiring a social networks editor to look for news leads on social media channels. Apparently, the AP has recognized that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, among other sites, cannot be ignored when it comes to gathering news. There is simply too much vital information moving through these networks.

The AP follows The New York Times, which hired its own social media editor in May. But finding news amid “the conversation” on social media is just the start. CNN and the Huffington Post have taken the concept even further, allowing readers to post their own content directly to the news sites. That’s right – readers can post original videos to CNN’s IReporter section, mostly without filters.

So as newspapers direct more of their resources to the Internet, other mainstream outlets are likely to make room for greater reader engagement. The reason is simple: people support the things they help build. When a reader sees his own article or video on a site, he has a stake in the site’s success. When he is able to share his perspective with others, he has a reason to encourage people to visit.

This sort of engagement has another important element. Thanks to Web 2.0 technologies, people can gather around a common purpose in ways that weren’t possible in an earlier era. HonestReporting saw this first hand with our successful Facebook group on behalf of Golan residents.

As the group grew in size, it became a center of community activity around the Golan. People contributed photos and videos of the Golan, held a series of discussions related to the region, and posted their own views and experiences. Even if Facebook had not changed its policies toward Golan residents, the group would have remained a vibrant meeting place for people with an interest in the Golan.

The people who helped build the group and turn it into a community had more than a passing interest in the issue. They have a personal claim to the group’s success.

Thanks to social media, people can express themselves like never before. And their voices are being heard, not just by the millions of social media users but, increasingly, but the mainstream media as well.

Alex Margolin is the social media editor for HonestReporting and oversees their Facebook efforts.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Inside Israel, Using Technology Wisely Tagged With: social media

Click here to Email This Post Email This Post to friends or colleagues!

Primary Sidebar

Join The Conversation

What's the best way to follow important issues affecting the Jewish philanthropic world? Our Daily Update keeps you on top of the latest news, trends and opinions shaping the landscape, providing an invaluable source for inspiration and learning.
Sign Up Now
For Email Marketing you can trust.

Continue The Conversation

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Recent Comments

  • Bruce Powell on An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Sara Rigler on Announcement: Catherine Reed named CEO of American Friends of Magen David Adom
  • Donna Burkat on The Blessings in 2020’s Losses
  • swindmueller on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times
  • Alan Henkin on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times

Most Read Recent Posts

  • Jewish Agency Accuses Evangelical Contractors of “Numerous Violations” but Denies They Evangelized New Immigrants
  • Breaking: Birthright Israel & Onward Israel Seek to Join Forces to Strengthen Jewish Diaspora Ties with Israel
  • An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Why One Zoom Class Has Generated a Following
  • The Blessings in 2020’s Losses

Categories

The Way Back Machine

Footer

What We Do

eJewish Philanthropy highlights news, resources and thought pieces on issues facing our Jewish philanthropic world in order to create dialogue and advance the conversation. Learn more.

Top 40 Philanthropy Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2020

Copyright © 2021 · eJewish Philanthropy · All Rights Reserved