Several months ago, I decided to create a Twitter account for the station. Being a total newbie at the whole Twitter thing, I asked the 17 or so followers we had what I could do to make it better, and Jeff Moriarty (@jmoriarty) kindly obliged.
Fast forward to two weeks ago. I'm in the middle of a weekly journalism discussion when Jeff sends me a direct message (a private message sent only to me):
Pssst... question for ya: Have you heard about our No Pants Day ride on the Light Rail?
Intrigued, I responded. Jeff gave me more details, and I brought it up with the station when I got back from my vacation.
The Saturday of the event, I decided that I was going to cover it myself, but not by attending; instead, I watched for tweets marked #nopantsaz. I even participated in the conversation to get quotes, photos and facts.
The result of all this? Light Rail Riders 'Forget' Pants, complete with a slideshow and a byline.
Pretty cool, huh?Labels: journalism, twitter