Finding stories in the drive-thru line at McDonald's

Social Media strategy consultant Jay Baer tells the story of an employee who exceeds expectations in today's post: Social Media Excellence and a Side of Fries

He tells the story of Mary Moss, who works at a McDonald's restaurant in Chandler, Arizona. At her drive-thru window, Mary stands out as someone who makes sincere connections. She remembers her customers and cares about their lives. As she tells it:

“I think a lot of people just expect quick service, and it surprises them when they get a certain amount of personal attention. Sometimes all it takes is a smile and a quick compliment to turn their day around.”

Mary's unique style with the headset has attracted a following.

One fan started an official Facebook page: I love Mary @ McDonalds

And she caught the attention of her local paper, The Arizona Republic:
McDonald's drive-thru worker gains online fan base

McDonald's is not local. But the way Mary Moss brings heart to her McDonald's job is certainly a good local business story.

A big lesson here is that you can find stories anywhere. Reading blogs, checking Facebook or while stopping by for a burger and fries.

Journalists can build a brand like a rock star

Sure they can!

In the top story on BusinessWeek's Management page this afternoon, Dan Schawbel writes about how anyone with an Internet connection and some ambition can develop their own marketing platform.

Schawbel points to the results of a study conducted on July 20 by Wetpaint and the Altimeter Group which shows that the most engaged brands on social media saw their revenue grow by 18%.

His examples are celebrity brands: Kathy Ireland, MC Hammer, Gary Vaynerchuk. All of them quickly saw impact on their brands after using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and video blogs.

Journalists can do the same thing. Of course, revenue is counted not by sales but by loyalty, readers, viewers, story tips and, perhaps, longevity in the business.

• New York Times' Brian Stelter has 11,750 followers on Twitter.
• All Things Digital's Kara Swisher has 116,000 followers and drives a lot of traffic to her All Things Digital blog, which is part of The Wall Street Journal Digital Network.
• Michael Banovsky, who covers the auto industry in Toronto, has nearly 4,000 followers.
• And Miami Herald tech reporter Bridget Carey has 1,800 followers.

All are respectable business journalists, but none are household names. They would not expect to attract followers in the numbers that Oprah or Ellen or Ashton would.

But they are just four of hundreds of business journalists using social media to develop their brands and to reach an audience they may not have had before.

Whether you are a freelancer or get a regular paycheck, you are your brand. And you can always take lessons from the stars. It's Hammer time.

Mediabistro hosts intro to social media

Mediabistro.com is holding an online introduction to social media course, to help you expand your reach through networking sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube.
The course, being held on Wednesday evenings for four weeks July 29 - August 26, will help journalists learn the ins and outs of social media, and the tie ins that using social media can have to advance career opportunities.
Topics of the online course include web 2.0, blogs, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds, viral video, and social media news releases.
View all the details here.

TheStreet wants you!

TheStreet has several open positions for business journalists and editors just calling your name. Some of the staff they're looking for:

• A senior editor of personal finance with four years' previous experience to manage a team of writers and editors, edit content, create story ideas, and orchestrate freelancers.
  

• An options reporter to cover the options market for both skilled and novice investors as well as write a subscription newsletter.

• A MainStreet.com staff writer who can create content on personal finance with flair and star in videos for the organization's new site.
  

• A community editor to increase traffic to the site, pitch new content packages to partners, and help evolve TheStreet's use of social media including blogs, communities and syndication.

To apply, email your resume, salary requirements and other requested material to resumes@thestreet.com with the job title or department you're applying to in the subject line and body of the email.

Resumes can also be mailed to:

TheStreet.com
14 Wall Street, 15th floor
New York, NY 10005

Or faxed to: 212.321.5015

For more information on the positions, click here.

To learn more about TheStreet, visit their LinkedIn page here.

Guild asks AP to cut social media rules

Editor & Publisher reports that the News Media Guild has formally asked the AP to remove controversial social media rules it instituted last month.

The Guild, which represents about 1,500 Associated Press employees, is asking the AP to remove the rules because of concerns employees have voiced since the rules were announced to employees, June 18.
The rules include a requirement that employees delete comments of friends that could violate the AP's Ethics Policy. This stipulation is the cause of much concern and anger from AP employees who feel the measure to be instrusive.
View the full story here.

Track the money trail from MJ's death

TheStreet.com follows the money trail for media from yesterday's unexpected news that reigning King of Pop, Michael Jackson died at the age of 50 in a video report released today.
While many news sources such as the Wall Street Journal reported that an overflow of online activity for sites like Twitter and other online news sources, the increase in traffic does not necessarily mean that those Web sites saw a jump in dollars from yesterday's increase in activity.

TheStreet.com's Alix Steel & Bill McCandless take a look at what impact Michael Jackson's sudden death had on media sites and if it actually increased advertising revenue dollars.

"Follow the Money" here.

10 ways J-Schools teach social media

Mashable writer, Vadim Lavruski outlines 10 ways that journalism programs across the country are preparing students to use social media as a tool in their writing and reporting.

Released today, the post outlines processes that schools such as Columbia University School of Journalism, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and New York University to gage the curicculum adjustments.

Lavruski finds that professors are encouraging students to use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to build a source list, do background research and promote content.

View the article here.

Are you utilizing social media to work the biz beat? Tell us about your experiences in our comments section.

10 Commandments of social media

Fast Company social media blogger and co-author of The Social Media Bible, Lon Safko, outlined his 10 Commandments for success with social media for companies, products and individuals in his most recent post, today.

Social media sites like Twitter, have been thrust in to the spotlight recently with articles in numerous publications (like last week's Time Magazine article, "How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live").

And thanks to Safko's post, you can find ways to contribute in this social media-centric world.

View the post here.

Are you a part of the Twittersphere? Do you have a blog? Comment and let us know how you're engaging with social media.

NYT names first new media editor

The New York Times has named its first Social Media Editor.
Jennifer Preston, a journalist, author and adjunct professor at Columbia University, has been appointed to the job, according to reports from the technology news blog ReadWriteRead.
From the story:

Social media at newspapers doesn't have to be about promotion or damage control, it's also a real resource. "One thing I want to encourage more is writers responding to comments and using comments as a resource," Ingram says. "That's commenting 2.0, I think...One of the biggest things we need to do is identify and encourage members of the community who are thoughtful, intelligent, and produce comments of value -- encouraging them to contribute more, elevating what they do and suppressing some of the noise."

100 most creative people in business

Fast Company released its collection of 100 Most Creative People in Business Monday. The profile pages have:

• A paragraph about the person's life and work
• Links to their Web sites
• Stories about them from Google News
• Excerpts from their Wikipedia pages, blogs, or other online accounts like Linkedin and Twitter
• Videos of the individuals and their work from Vimeo and Youtube
• Their company's stock ticker or their standing on Google Trends
• A photo gallery of their products, programs and other work
• A collection of their notable quotes

Fast Company's collection shows an informed understanding of the Web. It takes full advantage of its online format, creating a collage of the individuals' Internet manifestations to give people a bigger picture of what each innovator is like.
It also avoids the typical, cliché business profile format, offering readers something they haven't already seen. The collection is a great example of business reporting in a Web 2.0 world.
View the collection here.

BusinessWeek gets Linked In

BusinessWeek is getting their Web site all linked in. MediaPost.com is reporting that the publisher is one of the first to get the LinkedIn invite, which will allow BusinessWeek developers to utilize functionality from the popular business social-network site for use on businessweek.com. According to the article,

"In one feature, LinkedIn will create links in the text of BusinessWeek editorial content for the proper names of businesses and people. By mousing over the links, the reader can determine how they are connected to the individual or entity in question, including how many of their own contacts are connected."

Will the synergy result in making businessweek.com a place where business is done rather than just talked about? Will you as a reader be connected through your network to business news makers of the day? And if so, what will that mean for journalists? We'll be watching...and in the meantime,we'll be beefing up our LinkedIn profiles.
Read Mediapost.com's full report here.