There’s a famous saying that the harder you work, the luckier you get. This saying holds true for Mandy Jenkins, director of social media for TBD.

Coming from a town in rural Ohio, Jenkins has always worked hard. She wanted to be a part of the media world; however, she discovered that her career path would not go the same way as past journalists. She would have to come up with something new.

She discovered Twitter back in 2007, when no one had even heard much of it. Not even Kanye West or Ashton Kutcher. Writing up a creative plan, Jenkins became the first social media coordinator for a newspaper in Ohio. Along with tweeting, Jenkins discovered blogging, Facebook and other social media websites.

When Jenkins arrived in my COMM 361 Online Journalism class, she spoke regarding the evolving state of journalism due to the fast development of the Internet. She gave a few details about her job that I found interesting and would like to share with you:

“90 percent of the work I do is reading and researching,” – Jenkins

Being a social media editor is not all about tweeting and using Facebook. One has to know what other people are talking about in order to keep up.

“I always do my best to respond to those who message me, even if they didn’t have anything nice to say,” – Jenkins

Responding to your followers is a nice way to keep them interested into following you. Even if they say inappropriate things, it is sometimes better to just address it in a nicer way. Just because someone is stooping low, doesn’t mean you have to stoop down to their level.

“I met my employer through Twitter,” – Jenkins

Although this is not the most traditional method of getting a job, it worked for Jenkins. The media world is rapidly changing and even Twitter can land some a decent job these days.

Happy reading.