Todd Defren sent a tweet a few days ago, pointing his followers to a great slide deck by Marta Z. Kagan. I’ll be sharing this presentation in my Public Speaking class on Thursday, and with my many public relations classes in the fall. This presentation is clear, fresh and fun!
People are talking. Actually, they are blogging about their experiences at the New Media Academic Summit 2008, co-sponsored by Edelman and PR Week.
The Flickr photostream for items tagged with Summit08 is an interesting conglomeration of photos from several of us who attended Edelman’s New Media Academic Summit. Below are a few of my favorite ones.
Here’s a photo of me with Neville Hobson (blogger and co-host of For Immediate Release), taken by Edelman’s Rick Murray.
Charlene Li, author of Groundswell, posed with me for this one. (I’m the queen of arm’s length self-portraits.)
At the Avenue Hotel, there was a zebra chair in every room. Not knowing this, I brought my zebra shirt with me. I couldn’t resist another arm’s length self-portrait.
And finally, Clarke Caywood, one of the participants at the conference, carried the Beijing Olympic Torch in China in June. He graciously allowed many of us to pose with it.
Edelman and PR Week hosted the New Media Academic Summit 08 last month in Chicago. It was a fantastic opportunity for public relations educators from around North America to learn how new media is being applied and measured in companies around the globe. Below are some of my favorite soundbites from the Summit. For an almost-complete transcript of the dozen or so sessions, visit Edelman’s site where the sessions were live-blogged. Edelman has also posted video of all of the sessions.
Richard Edelman, President & CEO, Edelman
Weeklies (weekly newspapers) are in terminal decline.
Obama has surround sound; he is everywhere.
Google never forgets.
Conversational crack [view complete presentation]
Julia Hood, Publishing Director, PR Week
Pitching is broken art in public relations. [view complete presentation]
Alexandra Wheeler, Director of Digital Strategy, Starbucks
It’s not just launch and abandon; it’s also care and feeding.
Anyone with a keyboard has a voice. [view complete presentation]
Jim Kirk, Associate Managing Editor of Financial News, Chicago Tribune
The newspaper industry was in a recession before the recession. [view complete presentation]
Troy Mastin, Media Analyst, William Blair & Co.
You rule out a large portion of your potential audience if you force them to pay for content.
Most people will probably participate in a maximum of three social networks, one personal, one professional and one for their passion. [view complete presentation]
Neville Hobson, Blogger & Co-Host of For Immediate Release podcast
There is an educational need for the older audience in public relations because of the way we now share messages and information; the older generation helps the younger generation learn how the corporations work and communicate, and the younger generation helps with the new way their generation shares ideas and news. [view complete presentation]
Wolfgang Luenenbuerger, Director Europe, Edelman
The Internet is not yet 5000 days old and yet it’s this complex. [view complete presentation]
Marshall Manson, Director of Digital Strategy, Edelman
[There’s] a tension between language and geography in Europe. [view complete presentation]
Mindy Finn, Director of Finn Enterprises
Buzz is nice, but don’t do something for buzz only. [view complete presentation]
Mike Krempansky, Senior Vice President, Online Advocacy, Edelman
It’s happening whether you drive it or not. [view complete presentation]
Mark Monseau, Director of Corporate Communications, Johnson & Johnson
You don’t create communities; communities create themselves. [view complete presentation]
David Rubin, Brand Building Director, Unilever
We sell bottles of shampoo not entertainment.
No one really wants to visit a deodorant website.
The newer the new media gets, the more important it is to get back to communication fundamentals. [view complete presentation]
Marcel LeBrun, CEO, Radian6
The social medium is the message. [view complete presentation]
Charlene Li, co-author of Groundswell
Listening, talking, energizing, supporting and embracing [view complete presentation]
Rick Murray, President, Edelman
Look to others for innovation; look to yourself for innovation in process.
(Regarding current college students) Social media is part of their work and part of their world. [view complete presentation]
Can joining a social network get you a job?
Perhaps, if you’re like Allie Osmar, Edelman‘s newest Social Media Analyst. Watch the short video below to see Robert French, PROpenMic founder, interview Allie at Edelman’s New Media Academic Summit last week.
Find more videos like this on PROpenMic
What is PROpenMic?
PROpenMic? A metaphor. Step up and speak your mind. Our goal is to be the social network for PR students, faculty and practitioners worldwide. Already, we have members from over 45+ countries and 130+ universities worldwide. Meetup and share. From future internship & job searches to discussions about class projects and activities … PROpenMic is your network for connections and learning. Ultimately, the network is about you helping others. Our focus is to help students & faculty explore answers to their questions with a perspective from around the world. Enjoy!
So, what are you waiting for? If you’re a public relations student, faculty member or practitioner, join PROpenMic. You’ll be glad you did.
As Edelman’s President and CEO Richard Edelman says,
This year’s program has 11 in-depth sessions addressing how new media affects corporate reputation; the traditional media industry; the regulated health industry; how NGOs engage their stakeholders: and the US Presidential Election, among other topics. Each session features a panel of noted experts and a moderator … who will facilitate an open discussion between you and the speakers. Recognizing your own expertise on the issues presented, we intend to make the program to be as interactive as possible, so please feel free to ask questions, and make comments.
Though I am definitely looking forward to learning from the guest speakers at the sessions, I’m looking forward even more to the face-to-face networking that we’ll have with practitioners and educators. There’s even an informal meetup planned with one of my favorite bloggers and podcasters, Neville Hobson of For Immediate Release fame. It will be interesting meeting him in person, after the numerous hours I’ve spent listening to him and Shel Holtz during my 100-mile-a-day commutes.
As the Summit proceeds, expect to see my thoughts and observations at Twitter. If we’ll be live blogging the Summit, I’ll update this posting to point to the live blog site.
PS: Thank you, Edelman & PR Week, for hosting this Summit at no cost to the educators.
Look through a window, not a mirror. Don’t assume that the person means what you would have meant under similar circumstances.
Interesting approach, isn’t it? Let’s think about how “listening through a window” might work in practice.
As an educator of students in the Millennial Generation, it’s critical that I listen to my students through a window. For years, if I was planning on meeting someone somewhere, I might say, “We’re going to hook up later.” Now if I was to use the same expression in one of my classes at Georgia Southern University, I’d probably be met with snickers (and not the candy bar) from my students. Why? The term “hook up” has changed over the years. This doesn’t mean that I need to use their language, but I do need to be aware how my choice of words may be interpreted.
Wade contends that there are six ways to be a great listener. Rounding out his list are:
In future postings to Listening Matters, I’ll apply many of Wade’s other tips.
So, how can your life change if you listen through a window instead of a mirror? Please share your thoughts by commenting here at Listening Matters.
Photo Credit: Thanks go to asmundur, who posted this gorgeous photo titled “In the Foyer” to Flickr.
This morning on Twitter, I received a tweet from Todd Defren (of Social Media News Release fame) with a link to a free e-book: Word of Mouth Manual II, by Dave Balter, founder and CEO of BzzAgent.
Imagine you’re back on the school bus, on the way to your high school. Towards the back of the bus, the “cool kids” are eagerly poring over a hidden object. You overhear one of them saying, “It’s really expensive, but I figured out how to get a free one.”
Sharing the e-book this way is word of mouth marketing at its finest. So . . . if you’re interested in the topic of word of mouth marketing, download and read this free e-book. Share your thoughts here.
Photo Credit: Spot Mirror, uploaded to Flickr by daveham
Though I didn’t always agree with Tim Russert, I will miss him on Meet the Press and the Today Show. Here’s a touching tribute to Russert by Tom Brokaw. Note the haunting strains of “Thunder Road” by The Boss.
Potential topics will be:
If you’re interested in potentially being a guest speaker, please drop me a line; let me know who you are and where you work. And it would be great if we could connect on LinkedIn. I plan to get a schedule put together in August.
Thanks!
Photo Credit: Vintage Telephone Earrings, originally uploaded by yourtricolor to Flickr
