There’s one question that smart, successful people ask themselves from time to time regardless of the industry they work in: “What’s next?” It’s a question that keeps professionals and individuals from becoming complacent to a fault. 

In our industry — the industry of social news — it’s the question that some of the most forward-thinking individuals ask themselves (perhaps subconsciously) to stay out front. It’s the reason why certain people — think Craig Kanalley, Anthony De Rosa, Neal Mann, Liz Heron, Jonah Peretti, Vadim Lavrusik — are called upon time and time again to offer their insights and to share their ideas.

When I started using social platforms in the beginning of 2011 to move news, the strategy was simple: Break news fast and provide rolling coverage on big news events. Virtually nobody was doing that with Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr two years ago (Google Plus didn’t make waves until mid-2011). Today, many journalists and news organizations are doing it.

In 2012, the strategy was “Access.” The goal of the strategy was this: If I had access to it, my followers should have access to it. Court documents, emergency scanner traffic audio, photos and other material would be distributed on various platforms — Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Scribd, SoundCloud and Storify, to name a few — in order to provide a bigger picture on the stories of the year.

The strategies of the past two year have paid off — from landing two jobs after being unemployed, to becoming one of the most-followed real-time/breaking news journalists on Twitter. Now I find myself asking, what’s next?

I’m going to spend 2013 refining some of the practices that have gotten me this far as it pertains to broadcasting news events on social platforms. I’ll be following these five guidelines to refine my practice and help me figure out what’s next on social media:

- Less opinion and punditry: On social media platforms, users want to broadcast their opinion, but I’ve found there’s slightly less (read: virtually no) interest in reading opinion from other people.

When I started tweeting news from my personal account back in early 2011, my direction was clear-cut — no opinion, no punditry. As my audience has grown over time, I’ve loosened up a bit, letting my thoughts on a matter slip up every now and then.  Rarely do people find my opinions, when published on a social platform, to be all that intriguing, clever or funny — usually I come off as a jerk, and sometimes they can get me into trouble.

What people want are facts and nuggets of information, not necessarily to hear someone else’s opinion (unless it validates their own). So I’m going to roll back the opinion and punditry and stick with what I feel I do best — getting information out quickly from a variety of sources.

- Aggressively source everything: Sourcing is a big problem on social media platforms. Often, content will be lifted from one platform and retransmitted on another without any source or credit to the person who created the content or the platform where it was discovered.

As it relates to journalism, social platforms should be no different from other broadcast mediums (newspaper, television, radio and most news websites). Credit should always be given where credit is due — when rebroadcasting content, it’s the least a journalist or aggregate can do to the person who wrote an article, snapped a photo, created an infographic, produced a video or discovered something great.

It’s bad practice to steal. It’s better to aggressively and properly source content back to the original creator or finder than it is to elevate one’s self as a social media rock star by ripping off people and platforms.

- More guides: “If you get it, share it.” In 2011, I wrote guides on how to find breaking news content on Twitter and on YouTube. People seemed to respond positively to them, so I decided to set aside time in 2013 to write more comprehensive guides, updating the ones from two years ago and creating new ones for new platforms and practices.

The guides will contain minimal punditry on social media, focusing instead on how to successfully mine for content, broadcast out and aggregate ideas. I hope to solicit ideas and practices some of the sharpest minds in social journalism to help bring together these guides.

- More elevation: I’m a big believer in leveraging a healthy following to elevate good projects, smart people and excellent ideas. I would not have gone from unemployed to working for the world’s largest news organization had it not been for a good network of people who saw what I was doing, liked it and elevated it to their own audience.

Going forward, elevating good people and good ideas is going to be a priority in how I practice on social platforms. Sometimes, it will be as simple as a “Follow Friday” to an individual or a brand who is doing something awesome, or it could be writing more blog entries on applications that are particularly useful to individual journalists. Or it could be something else.

- Experiment: This is likely the most important point out of the five. A person or organization figures out what’s next by collaborating, moving fast, breaking a few things, bending some rules and occasionally getting into trouble.

This year, I’m going to collaborate with some amazing people (both colleagues and competitors), try out some new practices and somewhere along the way I hope to find the next big thing (or next best way of doing things).  It’s going to be risky without being reckless, and I expect to succeed about as much as I expect to fail.

Here’s to 2013.

Like many satisfied Apple customers over the past few years, I’ve fallen in love with my iPhone and iPad. I use these two devices every day to research and publish, both at home, at work and in those rare moments when I find myself in the field (I have a desk job, so it’s pretty rare, but it’s been known to happen).

My research, aggregation and reporting is made better with the assistance of five applications. These apps have four things in common: They all provide a service, they’re easy to use, they’re powerful and, as far as presentation is concerned, they’re beautiful. They are five applications I believe every serious journalist and news enthusiast should download right now. Here they are:

Pocket (Formerly Read it Later) [Free: iPhone & iPad]

When it comes to software that saves articles and photos for offline viewing on mobile devices, Instapaper reigns king. But I think that’s going to change: Formerly “Read it Later,” Pocket is an app that is beautifully designed. Saving content is easy — just click a Javascript button whenever you want to save an article, or use the “Save” feature found in over 300 third-party apps — but where Pocket really shines is in the reading experience. Simply put, it’s gorgeous. Open the app, and you’ll find all your saved content nestled in an elegant quilt (or in list form, if you prefer). Reading articles in the Pocket app is a true joy — Pocket doesn’t bombard you with advertisements, scroll bars or buttons. It presents pictures and text in an article around white space that compliments the reading experience. Pocket makes reading long-form journalism an enjoyable experience, and it’s a great way to archive articles you want to reference later.

LiveStation [Free: iPhone & iPad]

CNN, MSNBC and FOX News aren’t the only choices for television news. LiveStation powers live video feeds for some of the world’s most-notable television news brands, including Al Jazeera English, France 24, Russia Today and Press TV in the United States and BBC News, CNN International and Sky News in the United Kingdom. Most of LiveStation’s video feeds are free (and can also be viewed on desktop Internet browsers, if you don’t own an iOS device). Recently, LiveStation introduced premium “globetrotter” channels for customers in the United States — $5 a month gets you access to Sky News International, BBC World News, Euronews and a higher-quality version of Al Jazeera English. There’s a handful of live video feeds in other languages — some free, some premium — including Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera Mubasher, HispanTV and the newly-launched Sky News Arabia.

LinkTV News [Free: iPad]

As someone who works for the world’s largest news organization, it’s imperative I stay on top of news happening throughout the world. LinkTV’s brand-new iPad app is simply a gem. News content presented inside the app is fresh — stories are aggregated from LinkTV’s many content partners, which include video and photos from Al Jazeera, Euronews, Deutsche Welle, the Associated Press, Reuters and others.  From the home screen, swipe left and you’ll find a map plotted with various stories from around the world (stories are viewable from the past 24 hours, the past week and the past month). LinkTV also offers on-demand streams of their various documentaries. Simply put, if you want to feel connected to every corner of the globe, you have to download the LinkTV app.

TuneIn Pro [$1: iPhone & iPad]

Watching a video stream can demand quite a bit of attention. While I love LiveStation and LinkTV, I often find myself turning to TuneIn (no pun intended) when I need to multi-task. TuneIn started out as RadioTime, a catalogue of thousands of online radio station streams. The TuneIn app still makes use of RadioTime’s massive online radio catalogue, which includes every genre you could possibly think of — including talk radio and news. Simulcasts of CNN US, Al Jazeera English and Sky News International are offered as audio streams, as are special online-only streams from CBS News Radio, NPR and PRI. TuneIn also offers global radio stations, including BBC World Service and Deutsche Welle. Two other features that make TuneIn a must-have: The ability to record any live stream you’re listening to on the fly, and a massive podcast directory which allows you to stream (as opposed to download) virtually any podcast you can think of. TuneIn’s app also allows a user to listen to an audio stream currently not in the catalogue by manually adding the URL (some streams, such as those operated by Clear Channe, Cumulus and most CBS Radio music stations, are blocked from TuneIn). There is also a free version of TuneIn’s app, though the free version doesn’t allow for stream recording.

TweetBot [$3: iPhone & iPad]

I used to use the Twitter client for iPhone and iPad and thought it was the greatest thing under the sun until a friend introduced me to TweetBot.  As far as Twitter clients go, TweetBot is an absolute beast. TweetBot can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be: Want to tweet and re-tweet? TweetBot can do that (old and new style retweets, even). Want to upload a photo? TweetBot can do that too. TweetBot also offers the ability to view and manage lists, save articles to apps for offline reading (like Pocket) and manage multiple accounts. TweetBot is power packaged with stellar presentation. It’s the Twitter client Twitter should have built. (Note: One downside to TweetBot is that you have to pay for the iPhone app and the iPad app separately, so expect to drop $6 for both.)

Have a suggestion for a must-have iOS app? Send me an email or leave a comment below.

When news breaks, Twitter becomes the de facto platform for gathering information and content in real time.  Twitter transforms into an ambient wire full of information, usually complimented with photos, audio and video. As more people join the platform, more content moves through the pipes, and this can be both exciting and overwhelming to anyone who is looking for a place to start.

I’ve wanted to write a guide on how to build awesome Twitter lists for a while but, up until recently, I didn’t have any good examples of lists that worked. Then came Hurricane Sandy, a weather phenomenon that would strike at the heart of the global media capital with a kind of force that hadn’t been experienced in nearly 100 years by some accounts. While the hurricane was still in its early stages, days away from threatening the coast of the U.S., I carefully crafted a Twitter list that proved to be a hit. My colleagues at Reuters subscribed to it for the latest information, as did journalists at other news organizations. It was even featured by the Huffington Post and the Guardian as a resource for their readers to follow (in the end, almost 300 people subscribed to it, which is pretty good for a Twitter list).

Putting together a Twitter list that works is a lot like putting together a meal from a recipe, with Twitter users being the ingredients and the content they push being the taste. Some ingredients work, others don’t. Here’s a list of accounts (ingredients) worth considering when putting together your list (meal):

1. Tap into local news organizations:

• If you happen to know the names of the television stations, newspapers and news radio stations in a particular area where a news event is happening, great! Look up their Twitter account and add them to the list.
• If you don’t, here’s a trick: Google “[city name] ABC station” or “[city name] newspaper.” Generally, I’ll search Google five times: Four times to look for the affiliates of the big four TV stations (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) in a city, and a fifth time to look for a local paper. Some major cities, like New York, San Francisco and Minneapolis, also have all news radio stations, so it’s worth looking for those too.
• Many large cities have dedicated news channels on cable that also move news on social platforms. Examples include New York 1, News12 New Jersey, Verizon Fios 1 and YNN Austin.
• Most local news websites have links to their social media accounts — often on their front page, sometimes buried on their “Contact Us” page.
• Consider adding the branded accounts of alternative newspapers and local blogs. Also consider whether or not these alternative papers and local blogs have a “voice” that may interfere with objective news coverage of an event.

2. Tap into journalists/reporters covering the event/beat:

• For breaking news events, local television and newspaper reporters often offer the best rolling coverage of a breaking news event.  Often local journalists will tap into their local sources to get information way ahead of anyone else. As they are usually the first journalists with boots on the ground at an event, they will often have some of the earliest photos, videos and eyewitness accounts.
• The “News Team,” “Bios” or “About Us” pages of most local news websites will often include the Twitter accounts of journalists who are active on social media accounts. Branded accounts for most local news organizations will also re-tweet their reporters, so keep an eye out for that too.
• For national/international events, consider broadening out to include network reporters or international correspondents, depending on the event.

3. Include law enforcement, government officials, community leaders:

• Over the past several years, law enforcement agencies throughout the world (notably in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom) have come to embrace Twitter as a platform for moving urgent information to reach the masses. Look for city, county and state agencies on Twitter, as well as their spokespeople (often called public information officers or “PIO”).
• Government officials are often known to make remarks or offer guidance following a large news event (like a crime that has a communal impact or a severe weather event). Depending on the event, you may want to consider adding the Twitter accounts of local mayors, city councilmembers, congressmen and governors. (Example: During Hurricane Sandy, the Twitter accounts of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie offered valuable information on gas rationing, mass transit, where to find shelter, what numbers to call in both emergencies and non-emergencies, and so on).
• Some FBI field offices are on social media platforms and may offer information on developing news events (one example would be the FBI field office for Washington, which moves news releases).

4. Seek out local, county, state and federal agencies and charities:

• Many local, county, state and federal agencies are also embracing social platforms to push out near-real-time information. The National Weather Service has several “experimental” Twitter accounts, broken down by region, that move urgent weather information and forecasts for a particular area (one example would be @NWSBayArea, the Twitter account for the San Francisco Bay Area in California). The US Geological Survey has a Twitter account, @USGS, that tweets major earthquakes when they happen.
• Charities can also offer good information following a news event (and often beforehand, if the event is planned or expected). For example, the American Red Cross will often tweet information during times of crisis and disaster relief; local branches of the American Red Cross are also excellent resources for on-the-ground content and information gathering. Local charities, non-profits and churches should also be considered.

5. Embrace eyewitnesses and “citizen journalists,” but be cautious:

• Some of the first bits of information come from eyewitnesses at the scene of a news event tweeting from their laptops and smartphones. Often, these eyewitnesses will move compelling content, including some of the earliest photos and videos from an event (or, in some cases, the only photos or video).  Occasionally, eyewitnesses will move into the role of a citizen journalist by not just bearing witness to an event and reacting on social, but providing rolling coverage of an event as it takes place.
• Choosing citizen journalists for news lists can be tricky. Often, citizen journalists lack the kind of news judgment needed to objectively report on a news event, but that doesn’t mean citizen journalists are inherently biased or inaccurate. I tend to use eyewitnesses and citizen journalists sparingly in my own Twitter lists, but I have discovered some who produce truly compelling content and are objective in the broadcasting of their information. Be picky when adding eyewitnesses and citizen journalists to lists, but make a mental note of one or two individuals if they’re producing good content (and always remember to credit them if you use their information or content in your product).

Last, be sure to do regular maintenance on your Twitter lists:

• Use the above five steps as a base for forming your lists.
• Add and remove accounts as the situation warrants. For example, during Hurricane Sandy, I added several journalists who were suggested to me, including Eric Holthaus who reports on weather for the Wall Street Journal. I also removed people from the list who were grossly tweeting nonsense, opinion or were going off-topic.
• Promote your list: One way I do this is to include both the shortlink for TweetDeck and other clients (“@username/list-name-here”) as well as a direct link to the list on Twitter.com. An example:

[List] Severe weather list updated for California storm – @thematthewkeys/us-severe-weather or bit.ly/TkL399

— Matthew Keys (@TheMatthewKeys) November 28, 2012

If you have any suggestions, tips or tricks on building Twitter lists, feel free to email me or comment below.