Right - let's get cracking

I've just been tweaking the site in readiness for our perky and incredibly enthusiastic student team. We're in the process confirming who exactly they are...

In the meantime, I've drafted some editorial guidelines, which are also a kind of to-do list. It would be great if this was on a wiki, but it's not. So if you have any suggestions please add your comments instead. (Although obviously we don't have to take any notice. Only joking!)

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Dear Team,

In advance

- Before you arrive, familiarise yourself with the union's recent news through the NUJ website. You also need to look at the conference agenda (not the most entertaining read in the world, but it's essential) so you can identify what are likely to be the biggest issues. And it would also be very helpful to do some extra research of your own, which might be a posting about good local bars, some background to one of the conference's biggest discussion points or a few of this season's fash tips for the Saturday night event! (Joke. Probably...)

You also need to familiarise yourself with the blogger system (if you aren't already) so you know how to log in, post images and so on - as well as forwarding your mini-profile and a picture to Jemima for the 'about us' column. And then we'll get you to write an introductory post! Hurrah!

Please arrive on Thursday with three rough ideas for postings.

Check copy

- Check your copy before posting. And always ask a co-writer to double check it for content, tone and typos before it goes live.

Speed = essence

- Be quick! If you're writing about a motion that has just been voted on, don't wait until tomorrow to make it live.

Sharing is good

- There is no point writing for no-one, at least not for this project. So each of us needs to undertake a personal promotion campaign - email the site's address to everyone you know. I kid you not! Proper grown-up bloggers go to other relevant blogs, add their comments and then link back to their own sites - and that's a great way to build an audience. I'm not sure we've got time to do that really, but if you can give it a try, great!

Journalism is a con-ver-sa-tion, not a lecture, etc.

- Now you're signed up, log in and introduce yourself! Think of the blog as a conversation, as if you're talking one-to-one with a journalist friend that is kind of interested in joining the union but doesn't know anything about ADM. If you find something interesting or amusing, they probably will too. Did you hear a great joke in the lobby? See a celebrity journalist lurking in the bar? Were you really impressed by one of the speakers? Don't keep it to yourself - blog it!

Style

What we want to achieve is a mix of accurate, factual news reporting and an informal, personal tone that includes your own experiences. (Your own insights and observations at ADM - especially as first timers - are particularly valuable.) I imagine a few different types of postings - some might be straight news stories covering majorish events, some very short entries linking to conference coverage elsewhere (if it's picked up by a national, for example) and other, shorter, light pieces of observation. No ranty, wildly controversial opinion pieces please unless it is really strictly relevant.

And of course, if you are even slightly worried that something might be contentious or legally problematic - DON'T PUBLISH IT! Ask either Jemima or Chris first. It's all common sense...

Our mission

- Remember - if you feel you're losing the plot and aren't quite sure about what you're writing, refer back to our mission statement on the home page. The objective is to provide interesting, informative coverage about the conference. So is that shot of the general secretary falling off his bar stool really essential? (Jesting, Jeremy...)

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Our mission statement

The aim of this blog project is:
>>> To produce lively, interesting and informative coverage of the union's annual conference to inspire recruitment among students and the new media sector.
>>> To demonstrate how great the web is by publishing live text, audio and video content throughout the conference.
>>> To encourage debate by inviting readers to comment on our coverage, and openness by publishing our editorial guidelines.

This is not an official NUJ website, nor the NUJ training website. It is a blog run by student members of the NUJ, reporting from the NUJ's Annual Delegate Meeting, its yearly conference.

Students are briefed before the project and content will be checked regularly, but in the spirit of blogging content will not be moderated before publication. The NUJ cannot be held responsible for anything posted here.

Posts carry the writer's name and any queries should be addressed to the individual author. Any errors or inaccuracies will be corrected as quickly as possible.

If you feel something needs to be addressed urgently please call either Chris Wheal on 07831 268261 or Jemima Kiss on 07971 988630.

What's this all about then?

In brief, this is a project to help promote the union to the people on which it largely depends for its future - that is students, and those working in new media.

As an ADM virgin (ahem) last year, I was fascinated and quite inspired by all the goings-on at the conference. It's a great opportunity to meet other members; in my experience those that make it to ADM are the most work addicted and committed, but I could be wrong!

Seeing the processes of ADM reinforces how powerful the union is as a body - you can see and feel the opinions and hard work of all the members feeding into this bigger system of getting things done. Like lobbying Parliament to get them to take action to stop journalists being targeted in Colombia, or whatever - things that actually affect people's lives.

I came away feeling re-invigorated about the union and with new ideas and energy for our Brighton branch, so this year we planned to send four members - double the previous year. While I was there I did manage to blog on our branch site live from the conference floor, thanks to the centre's wireless network.

And then it occurred to me that a conference blog would be a great way of encouraging more members to come to ADM, covering the atmosphere and social side of ADM as well as the harder news stuff - and possibly even inspire more people to join the union. Maybe.

Blogging is the obvious way to cover the conference:
- it's virtually instant
- it's free
- it's easy to publish, with no particular technical knowledge required (just confidence!)
- it's easy to read and use
- it's a simple way of presenting a large number of postings for browsing
- it allows text, audio and video to be posted
- it can easily combine straight news reports with short entries and a more personal, chatty kind of coverage

... and so on.

Lastly, I'd also really like to encourage as many members as possible to read and join in with this project - especially members that might be a bit sceptical about blogging and the 'whole new media thing'.

I think this project will show how effective this publishing tool is, and how the union can use it to great effect. There's also a whole new generation out there doing just this kind of thing and the union needs to understand and embrace this new, new journalism (apologies Wolfe...). But that's a whole other debate!