On Monday, I reported a story for the Courier-Post that involved the Phillie Phanatic visiting a long-time season ticket holder in Haddon Township, NJ.

Click here to read the story at CourierPostOnline.com.

I’m a lifelong fan of the Philadelphia Phillies, and this was my first time meeting its famous mascot, the Phillie Phanatic.

As you can see by the behind-the-scene photos above (photos by Faye Murman), the tall, green creature has a lot of energy. He made everyone laugh, and tried to distract me by tossing my reporter’s notebook aside and hugging me.

It was a fun experience, and a nice way to end my Monday workday (which was also my birthday).

Today I had the opportunity to visit my alma mater, Rowan University, to speak with journalism students about hyperlocal Web sites.

My colleague, Gannett NJ Digital Development Director Ted Mann, and I were invited by Online Journalism Professor Mark Berkey-Gerard to address students about hyperlocal Web sites, how they’re made and used by news organizations and private citizens, and we also told students about our work with InJersey.

Click here to see my colleague’s slideshow presentation which we used at the beginning of our session today.

Since I’m a recent graduate, and know many of the students personally, I spoke about what journalism students should be doing to get their names out there and find employment. (I’ll add some more posts soon that includes more of my advice for college journalism students.)

I’m looking forward to the possibility of working with Rowan’s journalism department more in the future and hope we can find ways to partner their department with our print and online publications.

Yesterday, I traveled to the Asbury Park Press to speak with other Gannett New Jersey employees about online social media and how journalists and bloggers can use it effectively. Among those in attendance were staff members from the Asbury Park Press, Courier News, Courier-Post, Home News Tribune, Daily Record and The Daily Journal.

One of the scheduled speakers, Jodi Gersh, was unable to attend, but among the other speakers, and their topics, were: Ted Mann (Online Social Media), Aleesha Williams Boyd (Twitter), and Diana Fasanella (other social platforms, like Digg).

My presentation focused on Facebook. I spoke to those in attendance about how to use Facebook Fan Pages and Events to promote their sites, seek sources and story ideas through Facebook groups, and the Do’s and Don’ts of journalists on Facebook.

I’m happy to say that the presentation was well-received, and I’ve already heard that several staff members are eager to incorporate Facebook and Twitter into their work.

I also think that the workshop generated several great questions and discussions among the panel and attendees.

Below is the conference’s livestream video, via Gannett NJ’s livestream account:

I’m really looking forward to attending BarCampPhilly this Saturday at UArts. I’ve never been to a BarCamp event before, and it sounds like a cool day of networking with fun people, attending unique sessions and Twittering like crazy.

BarCampPhilly.Org has posted recently on who some of the attendees are at the event.

Click here to read today’s post with more info about me.

If you’re interested in the event, check out @BarCampPhilly on Twitter. They’ve also created a Twitter list of attendees to follow.

Click here to view the schedule for the event.

The event will feature several speakers and panelists, including Jeff Jarvis, author of “What Would Google Do?“.

Hyperlocal bloggers, editors, publishers and others will be among those in attendance. Gannett New Jersey and The New York Times will be among the media attendees.