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New Media Academic Summit 2008

Later this morning, I will travel to Chicago for the New Media Academic Summit 2008, co-hosted by Edelman and PR Week.

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.

Highlights of the Summit will include:
  • Brands: Engaging Customers Through Social Networks
  • NGOs: Advancing Issues and Galvanizing Support Using New Media
  • Global Perspective: How New Media is Changing Communications Outside of the U.S.
  • Corporate Reputation: How Companies are Using New Media to Protect Reputation: The Role of Wikipedia; Employees as Spokespeople; Search Engine Optimization
  • Traditional Media Companies & the Media Industry: How are Traditional Media Companies Changing their Business Model to Adapt to Social Media
  • Health Industry: How Regulated Industries are Using New Media to Connect and Educate Consumers and Create Communities
  • Elections 2008: Best and Worst Uses of New Media during the U.S. Presidential Race
  • Monitoring and Measuring Conversations: Defining Convergence between Traditional and Social Media, Best Practices in Measurement
  • Teaching Social Media: Best Practices
  • New Media in 2012: What jobs will the class of 2012 have?

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.

Photo Credit: Navy Pier and Chicago from the Ferris wheel, originally uploaded to Flickr by nouQraz
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Listen Through a Window, Not a Mirror

[Cross-posted from my blog Listening Matters.]
What’s a great way to listen to another person? As Michael Wade notes in his article from a recent US News & World Report:

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:

  1. Listen for a theme.
  2. Recognize that the speaker might not know the real message.
  3. Subdue your ego.
  4. Act as if you are listening.
  5. Use an old investigator’s trick.

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.

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Word of Mouth Manual II :: Free Download

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

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Corporate PR Leaders Sought for Interviews

This fall, I’ll be teaching a Corporate PR course at Georgia Southern University. As the end of the summer nears, I’ll be looking for Corporate PR leaders to interview (via Skype, most likely) on a variety of topics for 10-15 minutes each . . . I want the students to hear from practitioners who are working in Corporate PR or Corporate Communication departments. (We offer a separate course in PR Firms.)

Potential topics will be:

  • new media
  • employee communication
  • government relations
  • community relations
  • investor relations
  • global corporate communication
  • issues management
  • crisis communication.

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

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We’re All Journalists

At a Poynter Institute seminar kickoff today, about a dozen faculty members from Statesboro to San Luis Obispo and from Miami Beach to Toronto gathered to discuss “Teaching Diversity Across the Curriculum.” In Poynter’s words, “If tomorrow’s journalists are to report and write about a dynamic, increasingly diverse society, they’ll need guidance in the classroom. Whatever the course, there’s a place for teaching diversity — issues of race, ethnicity and gender — across the journalism curriculum.”

What do journalists stand for? Here are many of the ideas we brainstormed, in no particular order:

  • Truth, justice & the American way
  • Accuracy
  • Ethics
  • Fairness
  • Completeness, over the long haul
  • Honesty
  • Self-awareness
  • Integrity
  • Mensch (a Yiddish term)
  • Currency (being current)
  • Relevance
  • Accountability
  • Power (as journalists, we have it and must use it wisely)
  • Power of storytelling
  • Understanding (by the journalist, of the people and their issues)
  • Balance
  • Principles
  • Love of storytelling
  • Love of writing
  • Love of reading
  • Transparency
  • Empathy

Do you know an excellent story when you read one? What makes a story excellent? Here are some of our thoughts. Again, these are in no particular order:

  • Transports you
  • Universality
  • Passion
  • Rich characters that you care about (even if you don’t like them)
  • It’s about people
  • Tension à resolution
  • Something new
  • Gripping, through use of quotations and anecdotes
  • Great words
  • Anticipation
  • Balance
  • Visuals through wordcrafting
  • Opens new vistas for us
  • Structure
  • Seamless scene setting
  • Sense of time and place
  • Compelling
  • Imaginative / creative
  • Permanence
  • Discipline

Seminar leader Lillian Dunlap shared a formula with us, which I’ve graphically represented below.

Stay tuned for more as this weeklong seminar progresses.

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If Only I’d Known . . .

Back in the dark ages (two years ago), Todd Defren of SHIFT Communications wrote a pair of blog postings about the state of public relations education for undergrads. He wrote about The Trouble with Undergrad PR Programs and Fixing Undergrad PR Programs. Since I teach public relations at Georgia Southern University, this topic piqued my interest. I wondered if his thoughts and research from two years ago still held true today.

If you are a recent PR graduate (or current intern), I’d be quite interested to learn a few things:

  • What’s something you learned in your PR education that you’re applying on a regular basis at work now?
  • What’s something that you wish you had learned more about?
  • And, what’s something that you didn’t really learn anything about in your classes that you’re expected to do on a (fairly) regular basis in your new career in PR?

Comments from recent grads and those who hire recent grads are quite welcome!

Photo titled “graduates” originally uploaded to Flickr by SuzanneK

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News Release Pet Peeves

driven crazyOn Twitter this evening, I noticed that Jeremy Pepper (host of Pop! PR Jots) had started a discussion about things that drive him crazy in news releases. The discussion started like this: “Press release pet peeves: For Immediate Release. Really!? Is that why you sent it out over the wire at that time? Or did you want a delay?”

I started wondering what some other news release pet peeves are.

As for me, mispelt misspelled words make me want to pull my hair out. If I find a misspelled word, it always makes me concerned that will be other, less obvious, mistakes, too.

So (here’s where the audience participation part comes in), what are YOUR pet peeves in press releases?

 

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Drats! I Forgot to Include the Attachment . . . Again

Remember (image provided by World of Stock)Ever forget to include an attachment when you sent an e-mail? I bet we all have. It can be frustrating at best and can help you lose a client at the worst.

Here’s my #1 tip that may help you avoid forgetting in the future:

Before you write anything in the message, attach the file.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used this little tip. Easy, no?

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Facebook: wld u do this IRL?

What passes for normal on Facebook might never happen in real life. Would you literally write on a friend’s wall? Do you really want to be friends with someone you didn’t like when you were in class together? Do you poke people with your index finger often? Idiots of Ants (idiot savants?) created this great little video clip. Gotta love the British humour.

Thanks go to Donna Pappacosta‘s Twitter feed for pointing this clip out.

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How Not to Lose Your USB Drive

Ever lose your USB drive? I think we’ve all left it someplace at one time or another. It’s an awful feeling to think you’ve lost everything. Here are some tips that may help.

First, and most importantly, ONLY use your USB drive for transport. Never use it as the only place you’ve saved a file. Ever. (Got that?)

Second, e-mail critical files to yourself before you leave the library, lab, or wherever you’re using your USB drive. That way, if the drive gets misplaced, you’ll still have a copy of the really important stuff. 

Third, attach your USB drive to your keys. It’s unlikely that you’d leave your keys behind.

Fourth, write your name on the outside of your USB drive with a Sharpie. Or, if it’s a dark USB drive, write your name on a tiny piece of paper and tape it to the drive. 

Fifth, create a simple TXT file that you put in the root of your USB drive. Save the file with the name “Thank you for finding my USB drive” so that if an honest person finds the drive, it will be easy to get it returned to you. Put the following information in the file:

Owner Information:
Your Name
Address (optional)
Phone Number(s)
E-mail Address

And finally, if you decide that your USB drive is dirty and needs washing in the pocket of your jeans (like I did last week), it may still be usable. Take the cap off and hang or place it upside down to dry. Let it dry for a day or two before trying to use it again.