Passionate and positive UCO alum's twitter stories

@MikeSherman and #clarkclass

@Okieprof

"I could listen to him tell stories all day," one student said after @MikeSherman, sports editor of The Oklahoman, spoke yesterday to the Twitter in Media class.
His enthusiasm and positive attitude about Oklahoma are infectious. He's not a Pollyanna, knowing our state has many problems, but still sees the bright sides of our people and much more. Given the state of negativity we get every day, his outlook is needed more than ever, and the students picked up on that more than ever.
Mike is also a proud graduate of UCO, and a compelling storyteller, about sports and much more. His tales of sportswriters, and sporting events, especially the Thunder, were especially timely.
He's supposed to talk about twitter in journalism, and he did, but almost every comment had broader meaning. 
Some of the quotes  I jotted down:

• "Hopeful people do hopeful things," about building an arena when there was no team here.
• "The intended use of something is often not the most valuable."
• "Twitter is a better listener than a broadcaster."
• "It tells you what others are thinking."
• "If you shout out the window, don't expect people not to listen."
• "It's a tip sheet, not the story."
• "Twitter is a distribution system. We' all have to be  paperboys--or papergirls--now."
• "Twitter is like an Interstate, or perhaps the Autobahn."
• This phone is my Rolodex."
• "It's a printing press, and broadcast station."
• "The Internet is an echo chamber. I worry about the algorithms that just feed what you like. We need to be challenged by different views. You get that in a newspaper." 

@MikeSherman tallking about journalism, sports and twitter

   After he left, the class debriefs, and here are some student comments, recorded by @AshleyNapier21:

@MikeSherman Debrief

• Mike is super passionate about everything, especially about OKC & Oklahoma. Everyone who lives in Ok needs to be more like that
• He keeps his stories interesting
• Passionate about Twitter. Headlines can make a difference with the story.
• In large newspapers, content writers don’t create their own headlines
• Handled the “Mr. Unreliable” headline in a graceful way
• We are more powerful as a community
• You can become someone’s best friend by mentioning them on Twitter
• His high school mascot knowledge is impressive
• His love for Oklahoma is awesome!
• He uses Twitter to find out what consumers want. How can we use that in our work?
• It isn’t all about one genius, it’s about collective geniuses getting together and working things out
• We are all connected, uses #whatstheheadline to connect everyone and engage them
• Follow people who you don’t agree with, it will challenge your point-of-view
• Twitter is our Rolodex
• Twitter is a distribution system as well as a listening device
• All of his stories have a personal aspect and that is important for everyone to remember
• Be real, be human through technology
• Having people help the newspaper write headlines is smart. It’s better to use the city as a whole rather than just one office
• Uses TweetDeck to listen. He tries to understand the community
• Great storyteller!
• Knowing that 2016 graduates are going into the best job market in decades is encouraging
• It is encouraging to see people stepping outside their comfort zone