It's not everyday you get a Tweet from CNN


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It's not everyday you get a Tweet from CNN

Written by Delwin Keasberry Friday, 24 September 2010 16:25

Hey Readers! I have been getting a lot of questions about how the iReport for CNN came to be. For those not yet familiar with the iReport, it is the user generated section of CNN, where people submit articles, photographs, audio and / or video of things happening from their corner of the world. I found out about the iReport back in June 2010, and in July 2010 I 'signed up' - no profile info, just an email address for their activation code. Submitting an iReport has been on my list of to-do's since then, but I just had not gotten around to it.

And then, on the morning of 15th September 2010, I received the following tweet:

_{CNN iReport}_:_{Hi @}_BruneiTweet_{, CNN iReport is looking for stories from every country in the world and we'd like to hear from Brunei.}_{#globalchallenge}_{- 15th September 2010}

My initial reaction was a mixture of happiness and nervousness (among other things!)...I mean, it's not everyday you get a Tweet from CNN (!). I responded:

_BruneiTweet_:_@_cnnireport_{Brilliant! I'm in. 8)}_{- 15th September 2010}

And then they responded:

_{CNN iReport}_:_@_BruneiTweet_{That's great. Here's link to our site, so you can share your images and tell your friends}_{http://ireport.cnn.com/}_{- 15th September 2010}

I had a think about it overnight, and decided to engage all of you to partner with me on it.

On 16th September 2010, you may recall I sent out this tweet in the morning:

_BruneiTweet_:_{Tweeps, I'm doing a mini-projek, and I need your help. If you wanna take part, get your camera phones ready!}_#Brunei_-_{16th September 2010}

My idea was to compile a simple pictorial of what "A Day in the Life of a Bruneian" looked like. After about 9 hours, over 80 pictures were tweeted through from over 20 Bruneian tweeters. The pictures were primarily from Brunei, but Bruneian tweeters from Singapore, Australia and the UK also sent some through!

AND THEN (still the 16th September 2010) I received this tweet:

_{CNN iReport}_:_@_BruneiTweet_{Have you sent in your iReport yet? We're waiting for you!}_{#globalchallenge}_{- 16th September 2010}

To which I responded:

_BruneiTweet_:_@_cnnireport_{I will submit it soon. I'm getting a whole bunch of locals involved in it too. It will be worth the wait. Watch out for it! 8)}_{- 16th September 2010}

The iReports (there are 3 parts) were finally submitted on 18th September 2010.

To top it all off, Mr RA graciously made mention of it as well on www.ranoadidas.com on 18th September 2010.

Some lessons learnt from this experience:

1. Blogging and / or tweeting comes with responsibility.

2. You never know who is checking out your website, or reading through your tweets / blog.

3. Give people more time to plan and prepare for future projeks, and more detail about the purpose behind these projeks.

4. It is okay to tell people to wait, even if it is CNN.

Comments

0 #2 Nadz 2011-05-04 13:08

It has been a while since I las,t dropped by.....

Keep-up the good work!

0 #1 QuaChee 2011-03-23 20:48

cool stuff! congrats, and thnks for d tip!

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About The Editor

Editor: The guy behind @BruneiTweet

Having spent time away from home outside of Brunei Darussalam, Delwin Keasberry has learnt that, to know a country is to know her people. Delwin launched Projek Brunei in June 2010 and the site (currently) welcomes around 60,000 page views each month. ProjekBrunei.com is known as the go-to place to rediscover Brunei Darussalam through the stories, music, photography and art of Bruneian locals and of people who have lived or worked there before. Delwin has worked as a consultant for a publicly-listed Australian company, has a Masters of Business with a keen interest in Marketing, and was invited as a guest panelist at the Borneo Colours B2.0 New Media Conference in Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia in October 2010. Find Delwin on Twitter and join him on his journey: @BruneiTweet

About Projek Brunei

Since Projek Brunei's launch in June 2010, it has grown from strength to strength. The site broke the 1,000,000 hits mark after three months, and currently, Projek Brunei now welcomes around 60,000 page views monthly. To date, readers (top 10, in order of highest percentage) have come from Brunei Darussalam, the United States of America, Australia, England, Malaysia, Canada, Singapore, Norway, Germany and Japan. The site has been featured on CNN iReport Blog, Global Voices Online and Borneo Colours. If you are interested in advertising or have an article you would like featured on Projek Brunei, reach me here.