Training session

Yesterday I held my first training session and I think it went well. We mostly talked about and demonstrated Twitter, Google Maps/Earth, and simple tips for effective video.

The class comprises journalists and program directors from Internews's Asia offices. As always with these sorts of things, people come in with various levels of knowledge and skills, and so while some might find portions tedious because they are already familiar, for others it's all new and, perhaps, a little confusing.

But these are fun people who do serious work. Some of them risk their lives to spread journalism in journalism-unfriendly countries. Here, though, cheekiness reigns. The 50 or so people were divided into 9 teams, and each had to come up with a team captain, a team name and a team color.

Do this activity at GE or IBM and you might get colors like "blue," "red," and "yellow." Not here. "Burnt orange," called out one group. "Azure!" shouted another. "Rust!" And the best? "Transparent." Oooh, nice journalism pun!

After we finished the in-class training, the nine teams hit the streets to record some short stories. Some were sent to the nearby red light district, others headed to a local bar, while still others paid a visit to the wild Komodo dragons at a nearby park.

After collecting our stories, it was time for some cold beers and hot food. At the next session, we'll upload the videos, embed the videos on a Google map and place the map on our blogs. And then we'll go on a dinner cruise.