Tool of the week for journalists - Trendsmap, for tracking conversations in your area
This free tool is particularly useful for local and beat reporters
– 1 min read
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Tool of the week:
What is it?
A tool that maps Twitter trends in real-time.
How is it of use to journalists?
Reporters can follow trends based on a subject or location.
The map option (as shown in the below Trendsmap of Brighton) allows you to see what people are talking about in a particular area in real-time, making it a handy tool for local reporters. <img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40894" height="386" src="?cmd=ShowAsset&assetID=43883&nosurround=true&fakeExtension=.jpg" title="TrandsMap Brighton" width="540">
The list view of keywords and hashtags (shown below) is also a good way of finding sources in an area and connecting with those people.
There are limitations, however. Mapping relies on tweets being geolocated and as the majority of people choose not to share their location, it greatly reduces the number of tweets picked up by the tool.
Trendsmap also has custom trends pages, such as this one for Formula One . Journalists writing about specific subjects such as sport may find these pages useful.
As well as acting as a tool to hunt for stories and trends, journalists can also use it to help them when sharing their stories via social media. For example, adding a relevant hashtag to a tweet can increase its reach as more people find it and share it.
Written by
Sarah Marshall is VP Audience Strategy at Condé Nast. She leads distribution and channel strategy globally. She is also the former technology editor for Journalism.co.uk (prior to it becoming JournalismUK)
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