One thing I cherish at AAJA conventions is making connections, between skills learned in one workshop to those in another, tightening strands of ideas I’ve been ruminating awhile and then talking them over with friends old and new.

In Friday’s “Google For Journalists,” Sean Carlson showed how  multiple data points can be drawn together in all kinds of maps and graphics to share complex information in a way that are easy on the eyes but make a lasting impression.

That got me thinking about a business story I’ve been thinking about regarding a burger chain, and how I could add new dimensions to it by taking advantage of those tools in a different way.

I went back and forth between “Social Media I: Status Updates, Tweets and Geo-What?” and “Facing the Future: A Look at ELP’s Media Demonstration Projects,” trying to get something out of two workshops at the same time.

Owen Lei, a reporter at KING-TV, shared many examples of how he had used Facebook to reach out and make connections with folks in the Seattle area for story ideas and sources. He also gave an overview of how he had set privacy settings and created groups and lists, separating his online personal and professional lives and making his work more efficient.

The ELP Media Demo Projects are exciting in making connections with the ethnic press in Chicago, Arab American youth in Dearborn, Mich., and in the Chinatown community in New York. The “Our Chinatown” project and the “Living Textbook” project in Dearborn are making these connections through emerging technology platforms to advance awareness in the greater community.

We heard directly from experts at Facebook and Linked In during “Social Media II: Becoming a Social Media Maven,” with examples of how a series of posts can become a story in itself and how to find experts with very specific parameters to match exactly who you need for a story.

In “Is Hyperlocal the Future or Just Hype?,” interesting points emerged on models of connecting journalism with advertising - a question few journalists have the luxury of just leaving to someone else to consider anyone.

My night wound down on a sweet note, not just because of the pastries from a Dearborn shop we nibbled on but because I lucked into a quiet conversation one-on-one with Katherine Lewis.

I was only able to catch a bit of her sharing her success stories as a freelancer in “What’s Next for Journalists Affter the Newsroom?” panel because I was in another workshop.

We talked for awhile about what I had learned that day in workshops and how I and a lot of “ronin” journalists are trying to piece together new phases in our careers while trying to make a living to support our families.

It’s clear to me that whatever happens, I always want to be a journalist in some way, getting out the untold stories.

We talked about freelancing as a way to make that happen. She emphasized what she had shared in the panel, about evaluating opportunities by how they might add to one’s journalistic pay, prestige or passion.

Katherine generously offered to keep in touch and lend a hand. I promised to be judicious in what I ask in brainstorming ideas or getting feedback on story pitches.

So many people helped me get started as a freelancer, she said, “I want to pay it forward.”

— Maya Blackmun, Portland Chapter