4 posts tagged “social media”

Last week I spoke at the Freelancers' Forum Breakfast Seminar of Boston Women Communicators (BWC). The title of my presentation was: What the Heck Is Social Media and Why Should I Care? The audience was comprised of independent practitioners, agency experts and in-house communicators, primarily of non-profit organizations - all hungry for information on how to use social media for their business. 

One piece of advice I left for the freelancers was to publish a blog instead of trying to get a comprehensive website off the ground. It's easier and cheaper and takes less time. Of course, once the trial phase is over (and there should always be a trial phase!), a blog needs to be maintained and cared for just like a website. However, many BWC freelancers are gifted writers which makes a blog a perfect tool. In my list of links, however, I forgot to include Todd Defren's Beware of the Blabosphere post which includes The 7 Simple Rules of Freelance Blogging. I'd add a point: Blog about your expertise - not your clients.

In case you are a woman, work in communications and live in and around Boston, and this is the first time you read about Boston Women Communicators, read on. BWC was founded in 1994 by Jane Breschard Wilson to provide a forum for women to develop relationships that would help them in business and beyond. It's the "beyond" that strikes me with this organization which I just joined. It's a professional support network for women that embraces young and experienced communicators and brings together corporate communicators, agency folks and sole practitioners as well as entrepreneurs and internal communicators. In addition, it supports women in need with their events. It doesn't have a website (yet) but if you google the name or the founder, you'll find the address for inquiries.  

I've taken a bit of a break over the long weekend from my social media RSS feeds and Google Alerts. Oh my - when I wanted to catch up I was inundated with of posts, discussions and conversations about "social media" and what's right and wrong about it. 

At the Communications 2.0 workshop which I held for the lively Connecticut chapter of IABC last week, the audience was less concerned about which terms I used to describe the new tools and technologies. As one participant put it: "Social media really means a paradigm shift for us communicators." He hit the nail on the head! Marianne Richmond also put this very eloquently in her post on "something different is happening."

The workshop participants were all ready to explore and participate in the opportunities social media provides for communicators. Some were a bit sceptic and there were lots of questions, of course. Some already had experience   implementing certain social media tools and shared their stories freely with the rest.

What struck me was that there was no one among the attendees who refused to see the shift that is taking place. That is definitely a change from a year ago or maybe even six months ago. Social media will become mainstream - not tomorrow, but the day after.

David Meerman Scott asks whether MSM journalists are one-way communicators and wonders about blogging policies at mainstream media outlets. Stevel Rubel tells us that CNET has a policy that requires blogging journalists to respond to comments. Rachel Gross who comments likes the idea that journalists have to defend their arguments or facts to their audience.

Journalists were used to being wooed.  By companies and PR people. In the old days ,"Letters to the Editor" were about the only means of consumer-generated feedback to an article in the paper or a magazine. Unless you were a famous print or broadcast journalist, you didn't need to respond to your readers/viewers. At least not directly. No need to explain why you wrote what you wrote. Now this has changed - especially for blogging journalists.

Blogging journalists are encouraged to engage in a conversation with their readers - and yes, even the PR folks. They might now have to explain and defend their work (as Rachel says). That must hurt. Actively commenting on other people's blogs, as John Cass suggested, must feel strange to many journalists who are not used to reaching out to Jane and John Doe.

If MSM policies include the requirement for blogging journalists to actively engage with the blogosphere, will be we get to the point where journalist comments for comment's sake? That is scary!

The Boston chapter of the Social Media Club met last night at the offices of Network World. It's obvious that the Social Media Club fills a void: CGM and citizen media evangelists & enthusiasts get together with marketing/SEO and PR experts who are clearly intrigued about the changing face of media. It's exciting and invigorating.

Todd Defren, Principal of SHIFT Communications did a terrific job of explaining the benefits of the social media release (disclosure: Todd is an old business friend of mine and I also worked at SHIFT and therefore witnessed the creation of the SMR). He's cautious and careful not to place too much emphasis on it. It's just one small piece of the social media puzzle.

When I saw David Meerman Scott in the audience I first thought that there would be a lively discussion of his view "the press release is for buyers - not for the media" which he discussed many times on his fantastic blog. But I totally underestimated the crowd. Todd nodded and may nodded with him. Journalists and editors base their decision on what to write a story about on (almost) everything but a press release. Will the social media release change that? Maybe.

Ian Lamont, the online project editor for Computerworld.com who was also present, said he liked the new format but I don't think he's ever gotten a social media release. As pretty much the only media representative in the room, Ian was also questioned by John Cass, a Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research, on whether he or any of his colleagues leave comments on other blogs. Of course, Computer World Bloggers invite comments on their blogs but do they actively go to other blogs and engage in a conversation with bloggers and citizen journalists?  Ian didn't quite answer the question. I hope John will do a post about it. I'd love to read what other "old media" establishment have to say.

Thanks to Todd from Topaz Partners as well as Howard from the Social Media Club who made this happen!