Social Media as a Research Tool

Margot Williams

NPR News Investigations

May 2012

Social Media

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Google+ MySpace? bloggers Discussion boards, Forums, etc Dating sites? Classmates?

Back to Basics

Go to trusted sources Do the research Ask the right questions Find the local angle Get there first Grab the documents Fact check

You are looking for ….?

Contacts/Locations Friends & relations Co-workers & classmates Experts Eyewitnesses Name behind the handle Reality check Terrorists

Minnesota to Somalia: Shirwa Ahmed America’s first known suicide bomber

Mohamoud Hassan

Ignored Puzzle Pieces of Knowledgehttp://revolution.ansar1.info/?s=anwar

http://www.islamicaweb.com/"I would throw myself in the ranks of the enemy until I would be certain that I could not come out alive. And here I am

dying on my bed. So may the eyes of the cowards never see sleep!" - Khalid bin al-Waleed

Accurint

DOB, misspelled name, address Mr. & Mrs. Khan

Effective Google Searching Quote marks replace the + search tool Advanced search http://www.google.com/advanced_search

Example: “Bradley Manning” site:facebook.com

Translated search: it’s hard to find! Advanced News Search

http://www.google.com/news/advanced_news_search

X Personalized results Google Dashboard https://www.google.com/dashboard/

Google Gives Search a Refresh 3/15 WSJ

Social Media Search Engines

Topsy (Twitter, Google+) http://topsy.com/

SocialMention (many, 1 month only) http://socialmention.com/

yoName http://www.yoname.com/

Pipl http://www.pipl.com/

IceRocket http://www.icerocket.com

Snitch.name http://snitch.name

Toddington International list http://www.toddington.com/resources/

DomainTools (whois) http://www.domaintools.com

WIRED.com 6 June 2010

Kevin Paulsen

Break down Wired story: Accurint

Break down Wired story: People search

Break down Wired Story: Phone search

Break down Wired story: Facebook

She said she became worried about her nephew recently after he disappeared from contact.

Then Manning finally called Van Alstyne collect on Saturday. He told her that he was okay, but that he couldn’t discuss what was going on, Van Alstyne said.

He then gave her his Facebook password and asked her to post a message on his behalf.

The message reads: “Some of you may have heard that I have been arrested for disclosure of classified information to unauthorized persons. See CollateralMurder.com.”

Facebook search

Breakdown Wired story: if you could get to Bradley’s Facebook page in time

Frontline did

Bradley Manning's Facebook Page

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/wikileaks/manning-facebook-page/

“Rare visit to see my boyfriend Tyler at his dormitory”

“is going to Brandeis this long weekend”

Beyond Facebook: is this the same man on OKCupid?

WIRED.com 10 June 2010

Adrian Lamo

Lamo, Mitnick, Paulsen

Boingboing.net 19 June 2010“bradass87”

Found 30 relatives, friends, colleagues

LinkedIn for Journalists session Next LinkedIn for Journalists training is Thursday, May 24th, 2012, at 9am PST/noon EST Sign up at the LinkedIn for Journalists group on the site Krista Canfield The session takes about 35 minutes and I'll stay on the line afterward to answer any additional questions you might have.

All you need for the call is to be logged into your own LinkedIn account and to follow along with me.

If you'd like to attend the Thursday, May 24th, 2012, at 9am PST/ noon EST, please comment below in the discussion thread and I can send you the details for the call after you comment. I do have international dial in numbers so don't worry if you're outside of the US. (Just let me know if you are in a country other than the one that's currently set as the location on your LinkedIn Profile.)

*If you DON'T want to be notified every time someone signs up for this training session make sure you UNCHECK the box that says, "Send me an email for each new comment" BEFORE you comment*

Feel free to spread the word to other members of the press/your editorial staff. The more the merrier. If they want to join us for this session or a future session, share the LinkedIn for Journalists Group link with them: http://is.gd/U6v6SN ...and they'll be accepted into the group so long as they are indeed professional journalists.

The tutorial and a free one year upgrade to LinkedIn Pro is available to all professional journalists and it's an offer we extend across the board to all members of the media. The only way you can test drive the LinkedIn Pro account is to join either this tutorial or a future session. We want to make sure you understand all the tools that become accessible to you before upgrading your account and letting you fly solo.

In the meantime, check out some of the tips and tricks for journalists here: http://press.linkedin.com/understanding-linkedin/

LinkedIn Premium advanced search

Find people who formerly worked at Google

Or former ballerinas (where are they now?)

Or a person in Norway who is a former CIA operations officer(and send a message to him)

LinkedIn for Journalists offer

Back to Basics

Go to trusted sources Do the research Ask the right questions Find the local angle Get there first Grab the documents Fact check

Web Research Updates

Toddington International http://www.toddington.com/resources/

Gary Price InfoDocket http://infodocket.com/ FullTextReports http://fulltextreports.com/

PI Buzz (Tamara Thompson) http://pibuzz.com/