If you’re on Twitter and are a journalist, PR professional, blogger, you name it, you’ve most likely heard of or even participated in #journchat. Created a year ago by @PRsarahevans, #journchat is a weekly chat session consisting of 10 questions (sometimes submitted, sometimes not) related to journalism, and more-or-less, all-things communications. #Journchat creates a discussion forum where PR practitioners and the like can share thoughts, ideas and best practices, pose questions, provide answers and make valuable connections with fellow industry professionals, all from the comfort of their home, office, phone, laptop… you get the picture.
But the most intriguing part about #journchat is that it really generates incredible discussion. People tune in and participate like I’ve never seen before. It’s part of their weekly routine. Monday night = #journchat. Twitter has created this environment where all kinds of people, of all ages, from all different places around the world come together and well, chat. In no way am I suggesting that Twitter is like one of those old-fashioned chat rooms we all participated in when we first got dial-up (don’t worry, it’s not). Rather, Twitter is a space where people can actually create relationships. Yes, relationships. Online.
And #journchat helps PR people and journalists do exactly that. It allows them to generate dialogue while also creating relationships that can be continued and enhanced offline. Personally, I’ve met hundreds of talented professionals through Twitter and established ongoing relationships with them. They help me when I have a question or a concern and vice versa. Say for example I’m working on a project and I have an AP style question that I really just don’t know the answer to. I know exactly who to message because she will, without a doubt, know the answer. Or even more, if I’m working on a story covering a specific topic, I probably know someone who is more of an expert at that than myself. And if they aren’t an expert, they’ll know someone who is. It’s pretty great to have immediate access to such wonderful resources.
In case you missed this week’s #journchat, you can find the transcript here. Hope to see you next Monday online!
- L
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