My Digital Journalism II class listens intently as Mira Lowe presents cool social media tools and offers advice about writing headlines.
It's unclear who knows more about the other: my wife, Mira, or my students. Each student in my Digital Journalism I (JOUR 1100) and Digital Journalism II (JOUR 1550) classes this semester follows her on Twitter (@miralowe) and she does likewise. All I know is there were smiles aplenty when "Mrs. Lowe" appeared in both classes yesterday.
In JOUR 1100, Mrs. Lowe focused on how journalism students can best present themselves to recruiters. "I'm going to talk a little and then you're going to work a little," she said. "That's the deal – I talk, you work." (That's how it goes at home, too, but I shall not digress.) She first urged everyone to have a LinkedIn account – and to check it every day – before introducing the class to vizualize.me, a compelling new way to showcase one's life experiences.
Next, Mrs. Lowe offered advice concerning print versus electronic clippings when applying for internships. "You're kind of in that middle of old-school and new-school (recruiters), and until the old-school retires, you're going to have to do both," she said. "Start out with digital and have paper ready." Then, she started showing off with cuttings.me, an amazing new digital-clipping tool for journalists, bloggers and writers. "Make sure those links work. It's very important," she said before borrowing my admonition: "Don't let someone else's mistake become your mistake."
She spent the rest of her time with JOUR 1100 focusing on the importance of grammar, spelling and punctuation and, more to the students' delight, offering a great deal of helpful tips for crafting successful cover letters.
Later, in JOUR 1550, Mrs. Lowe again presented vizualize.me and cuttings.me and warned against frustrating recruiters with broken links: "Make sure you have a copy of everything you've done. You want to take control of your work and get access to it." Then, more cool social media tools – Paper.li, The Tweeted Times and Klout – before ending her presentation with nine rules for writing online headlines that will top most search-engine lists.
Finally, as Mrs. Lowe was leaving to catch a cab to the Amtrak station, the inevitable praise from her newest fans, at my expense, of course: "She's much better than you." "She's definitely your better half." "When she said her name, I got really excited. I had to contain myself." "It was wonderful meeting your wife – best part of the semester."
Borrowing a favorite phrase my wife and I say often at home: "Just like I planned it."
In JOUR 1100, Mrs. Lowe focused on how journalism students can best present themselves to recruiters. "I'm going to talk a little and then you're going to work a little," she said. "That's the deal – I talk, you work." (That's how it goes at home, too, but I shall not digress.) She first urged everyone to have a LinkedIn account – and to check it every day – before introducing the class to vizualize.me, a compelling new way to showcase one's life experiences.
Next, Mrs. Lowe offered advice concerning print versus electronic clippings when applying for internships. "You're kind of in that middle of old-school and new-school (recruiters), and until the old-school retires, you're going to have to do both," she said. "Start out with digital and have paper ready." Then, she started showing off with cuttings.me, an amazing new digital-clipping tool for journalists, bloggers and writers. "Make sure those links work. It's very important," she said before borrowing my admonition: "Don't let someone else's mistake become your mistake."
She spent the rest of her time with JOUR 1100 focusing on the importance of grammar, spelling and punctuation and, more to the students' delight, offering a great deal of helpful tips for crafting successful cover letters.
Later, in JOUR 1550, Mrs. Lowe again presented vizualize.me and cuttings.me and warned against frustrating recruiters with broken links: "Make sure you have a copy of everything you've done. You want to take control of your work and get access to it." Then, more cool social media tools – Paper.li, The Tweeted Times and Klout – before ending her presentation with nine rules for writing online headlines that will top most search-engine lists.
Finally, as Mrs. Lowe was leaving to catch a cab to the Amtrak station, the inevitable praise from her newest fans, at my expense, of course: "She's much better than you." "She's definitely your better half." "When she said her name, I got really excited. I had to contain myself." "It was wonderful meeting your wife – best part of the semester."
Borrowing a favorite phrase my wife and I say often at home: "Just like I planned it."
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