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

Enthusiastic UCO alum and journalism ambassador

@okieprof

Some people win you over with their immediate smile, enthusiasm for life and work.
Mike Sherman, UCO journalism alum and sports editor of "The Oklahoman" is one of those. He's a regular speaker for the Twitter for Media class, and I still get carried away listening to him. There are repeated stories and comments of course, but there is always new "stuff" as well. In fact, he's a constant stream of storytelling, illustrating every thing he says.
It's so refreshing and exciting to find a journalist with confidence in the future these days. He's a great ambassador for journalism.  So much so that I forget to stand up and take a photo while he's talking to the class. Ah well, he'll be back.
And something else all our speakers have said, and the students notice, is the emphasis on reading. They all spout off names of people you need to follow or read.
And my students came up with a hashtag for Mike, #MikeontheMic!
(Again, all of this should have been posted much earlier. The fault all belongs to @okieprof. Sorry.)
So here are some of his comments, and the class debriefings, recorded with the help of @cassjack12:

• twitter is a way to learn, it's an antenna
• Twitter is antenna to find conversation, not an open window to scream out of "
• "Twitter is one giant sports bar." 
• “Creeping is what the cool kids call it, I call it research”
• the way you act on twitter, You are.
• it's a better listening device than it is a broadcasting device
• look up Andy Carvin, Seth Godin, Jay Spear
• “have a brand before you start trying to build it”
• know what you want to provide
• “your brand isn’t what you say it is, its what your customers say about it “
• this generation lives out loud – everything is on the web
• twitter makes the world small
• you can follow prospective customers 
• don’t let you Twitter be too self-centered 
• don’t be too busy building your brand to see your neighbor
• what would we do if we were all in the same room 
• how would we talk 
• how would we interact 
• twitter is like Sam’s samples--tweets are samples, you pay with attention 
• “people don’t have to follow you to know what you’re saying”
• homepages of websites are dead as we knew them
  have to find ways to get on people's screens 
• twitter allows you to see what readers care about 
• my growth game is strong 
• "there is no done"--there is no deadline in journalism today 
• advice: 
• learn how to interview  
• “you cant write what you don’t report”  
• when writer’s block happens 
• show don’t tell 
• make people see 
• read “Making Words Dance” a book about Red Smith

 Student debriefing comments about what stood out:

• writers block is just about having not all the information 
• I'm not the same two years ago...always changing and growing
•  things you put on social media is public, you put it out there so expect people to see it 
• use twitter to follow along with conferences you can’t go to have empathy to get the real story 
• twitter is a great way to learn because you get to go to places you are not
• your brand is what other say about it, not what you say about it 
• ask compelling questions-what do people want to know, and tell that story
• journalists are servants
• be a human first
• never done, constantly transitioning
• read a lot, even beyond your field

An entusiastic storyteller of twitter and life in #clarkclass

 @okieprof

If you're not excited about journalism, or life, you should talk with Mike Sherman, The Oklahoman's sports editor.
A 1986 grad of UCO, Mike is always a repeat visitor to #clarkclass because of his upbeat outlook, his humor, and his enthusiasm. 
He's a storyteller. Rather than just talk or give dull lectures, he is a constant stream of stories about people and events. 
He gets engaged with the students, looks them up digitally, wants to know about them, asks them questions. He knows a lot, about sports and much more.
Here are some comments from the students as we "debriefed" after he left yesterday, recorded by @SydOKC:
·      “The fact that Twitter was a big search engine. You can do advance searches. Also, the pros and cons to twitter are similar to life.”
·      “I don’t love getting on Twitter, but I realize I must get into it within the workforce. “
·      “If you can know it you should know it because with the age we are in there’s no excuse for ignorance.”
·      “Twitter isn’t a positive or a negative. Networking is how you really make your connections.”
·      “There are no non-public facing jobs. If you have any social media, anyone can find anything out about you. You’re not two people, you’re one person.”
·      “I liked how honest he was with Mr. Unreliable (headline). Very truthful and wasn’t trying to sugar coat things. He honestly cared about his viewers.”
·      “I like that he said, we don’t go after things, things come to us.”
·      “He wants to hire someone that has something to teach him. There’s no business without Twitter.”
·      “Twitter is not the end; it’s a means to the end. It should be there as a tool. It’s a bridge; it’s not the actual relationship. It shouldn’t be your only source, but to help connect with others.”
·      “Twitter is more of a listening device rather than broadcasting tool.”
·      “It’s important to get connections through Twitter.”
·      “If you can know it, you should know it because the resources are available.”
·      “I related to was the fact that he doesn’t love Twitter, but he loves the connectivity of Twitter.”
·      “When you’re on Twitter you think of this person as a specific person on Twitter. It should relate your real life. Use the tool to be open and honest.”
·      “Being able to look things up on advance search from Twitter whenever you’re not actually there is very convenient.”
·      “Twitter is the biggest connector.”
·      “He talked about the viral effect with ISIS. They had 200 followers and being able to reach so many people.”
·      “I like that he’s a story-teller. He gets all the information in there. He used Twitter to tell story.”
·      “I liked how he talked about the three of his employees were hired off and found new ones by blogging about it and tweeting about it. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to find a job on Twitter. I could use Twitter to find a job in the future.”
·      “Do your homework.”
@okieprof tweets:

• "Mobile is our satellite truck."
• "Rapid change--our business is like changing tires on a moving car."
• The bible and twitter: "'All that is hidden shall be revealed,' (Luke)--sounds like twitter."