Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
SM and ME
Like Yolanda, I also stumbled into communications from a position much like Jacquie's (I too have been a Woman of All Trades and still am in many ways). I have always loved words and grammar and the power that exist in both but it never occurred to me that I could get paid to proofread, edit, etc. outside of New York, Toronto or Vancouver (I always assumed it had to be novels or magazines). And I never thought about how much I was already doing those things in my day-to-day life and in my spare time for fun.
I am currently employed in the compliance division of an investing house that's a smaller subsidiary of a bank. I spend my days perfecting existing and new policies and procedures, interpreting regulatory rules, and providing internal communications to our front end sales staff. It sounds a lot duller than it is, I promise.
In my job clear, concise, and exacting communications are vitally important to the people I support. If we fail to provide proper direction or clear instruction, we face lawsuits, fines, and loss of reputation - all of which could be disastrous. Our front end sales staff must understand the importance of clear communications to protect themselves, the firms, and their clients.
Because the financial industry is so heavily regulated, we face very tight controls over what can be said through social media sites so my participation in this class is more for personal development. I must admit that I have never understood the appeal of Twitter, although I use Facebook (on a strictly personal level) and LinkedIn (on a very casual basis) so I'm hoping to come away with a better understanding of why some of these methods (Twitter for sure) are more effective than others, how they can be leveraged to create success, and whether or not these methods actually ARE successful.
I think Vanessa made some interesting points about how much more work communications professionals put in and how difficult it is to really measure success over so many mediums. I also wonder if all these sites and all this work really gets us any further along in the long run or if it just adds to the noise that's already out there.
I am currently employed in the compliance division of an investing house that's a smaller subsidiary of a bank. I spend my days perfecting existing and new policies and procedures, interpreting regulatory rules, and providing internal communications to our front end sales staff. It sounds a lot duller than it is, I promise.
In my job clear, concise, and exacting communications are vitally important to the people I support. If we fail to provide proper direction or clear instruction, we face lawsuits, fines, and loss of reputation - all of which could be disastrous. Our front end sales staff must understand the importance of clear communications to protect themselves, the firms, and their clients.
Because the financial industry is so heavily regulated, we face very tight controls over what can be said through social media sites so my participation in this class is more for personal development. I must admit that I have never understood the appeal of Twitter, although I use Facebook (on a strictly personal level) and LinkedIn (on a very casual basis) so I'm hoping to come away with a better understanding of why some of these methods (Twitter for sure) are more effective than others, how they can be leveraged to create success, and whether or not these methods actually ARE successful.
I think Vanessa made some interesting points about how much more work communications professionals put in and how difficult it is to really measure success over so many mediums. I also wonder if all these sites and all this work really gets us any further along in the long run or if it just adds to the noise that's already out there.
Facebook Page
RE: Week 5 activity
At this time, I do not wish to start a Blog.
Here is a link to the company Facebook page that I manage.
I could not figure out how to post a screen image.
http://www.facebook.com/HeartlandFord#!/HeartlandFord?filter=1
At this time, I do not wish to start a Blog.
Here is a link to the company Facebook page that I manage.
I could not figure out how to post a screen image.
http://www.facebook.com/HeartlandFord#!/HeartlandFord?filter=1
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Week 6: Readings & Activity
Business & Social Media Comms
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Read: Infographic – Business
Impact of Social Media: http://www.pamorama.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/business-impact-of-social-media.jpg
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Read: Social Media and Its Effect on Communication: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.solari.net%2Fdocuments%2Fposition-papers%2FSolari-Social-Media-and-Communication.pdf
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Read: How Social Media is Radically Changing the Newsroom: http://mashable.com/2009/06/08/social-media-newsroom/
Send @JessL a tweet with your thoughts on this article. What do you think of the final idea on accountability?
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Read: Harvard Law School Social
Media Policy: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/terms-of-use/.
Why do you think #UAlberta doesn’t
have such a policy? If you could draft one for the university or your
(real/imagined work) what would you include? Jot your ideas down in a blog
post.
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Activity: Social Media Communication
Effects (moodle)
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My Facebook Page
Here is a screenshot of my imaginary - but maybe one day real company - Facebook page:
This was a really interesting activity and I am excited to work on this Facebook page more, while learning about different items and ways to connect with an audience. Here's the link for the Megan Leah Productions Facebook page.
This was a really interesting activity and I am excited to work on this Facebook page more, while learning about different items and ways to connect with an audience. Here's the link for the Megan Leah Productions Facebook page.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Week 5: Readings and Activity
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Read the Week 5: Facebook for
Business: Mini-Lecture (moodle)
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Read & Watch: Coca Cola uses
Facebook face recognition
technology in the real world
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Complete the Facebook Page
activity (as noted in the mini-lecture)
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Saturday, October 20, 2012
An introduction
I stumbled in to communications about five years ago and I've been working in the area ever since. I had never thought about communications as a career until I started a job involving proofreading, editing, creativity, design (web and print), etc. Since that time I've been able to get a lot of great experience and education in the area, and I'm currently a communications coordinator at the U of A.
My job title is pretty accurate...most of my job involves communication (both internal and external). I'm responsible for writing and producing an alumni magazine twice/year, writing and developing content & stories for our website, developing & creating print ads, identifying & pitching stories to media, etc. You name it, I probably do it.
One of my goals is to develop a communications strategy that incorporates social media; I want to be able to effectively engage different target audiences through as many avenues as possible, which is why I'm taking this course. I feel oh so old when I hearthe whippersnappers my technologically savvy audiences talking about Twitter, blogging, etc. and I don't really get what they're talking about. It's not like I'm living in the dark ages and think that carrier pigeons should be used to transmit information (too many "bird poo falling from the sky" incidents), but I do understand that in order to maximize engagement opportunities, I need to be more aware and active with the social media avenues available to me.
My job title is pretty accurate...most of my job involves communication (both internal and external). I'm responsible for writing and producing an alumni magazine twice/year, writing and developing content & stories for our website, developing & creating print ads, identifying & pitching stories to media, etc. You name it, I probably do it.
One of my goals is to develop a communications strategy that incorporates social media; I want to be able to effectively engage different target audiences through as many avenues as possible, which is why I'm taking this course. I feel oh so old when I hear
Monday, October 15, 2012
Introduction, field of study, communication
Hi, my name is Jacqueline and I work in the agriculture industry. I am the Executive Assistant and Communications Coordinator (aka Jacquie of all Trades), for an umbrella organization that has twelve member groups throughout Alberta. Communication is a very important part of my job, as we deal with many issues and people on a daily basis throughout Western Canada. Our organization is starting to use SM more to network with stakeholders, members, government and the general public about agriculture research, events, newsletters, projects etc. SM is very quick and easy to access, and makes it easy to stay current.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Week 4: Blogging Part 2
Read:
The Ultimate Blogger Writing Guide
In the comments, please leave a response with your response to the article. Do you agree with all eight points?
Read:
Read:
5 Simple Ways to Open Your Blog Post With a Bang
Practise
what you read in Brian Clark’s article and craft an opening to a blog post (on
your own blog). Leave a link to your blog post in the comments.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Hi everyone!
My name is Megan and I have been working in broadcasting for about five years. I have done a wide variety of jobs within radio stations and TV production.
My true passion is in audio production work: conducting interviews, writing scripts and at the end of the day, putting everything together to try and tell a compelling story.
I am very interested in exploring how social media can help me learn about people and organizations that I would want to talk to. There are so many wonderful things going on in the world around us, and I feel that social media is a way to help experience it. I also want to use social media to promote my produced works and to bring the stories I tell to a wider audience. Communication has always been an integral part of my career and I am starting to realize that it is imperative.
My true passion is in audio production work: conducting interviews, writing scripts and at the end of the day, putting everything together to try and tell a compelling story.
I am very interested in exploring how social media can help me learn about people and organizations that I would want to talk to. There are so many wonderful things going on in the world around us, and I feel that social media is a way to help experience it. I also want to use social media to promote my produced works and to bring the stories I tell to a wider audience. Communication has always been an integral part of my career and I am starting to realize that it is imperative.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Comms, SM & my work.
I've been working in comms for 20 years, and seen the tools of the media trade come and go. The news release, should you mail it or fax it? Is three pages too long? Do you need the -30- at the bottom?
Every technological advancement or tech change, at the end of the day, simply means more work for the communicator. Ten years ago, I wrote a news release, sent it and flogged it with follow up phone calls. Now I write the release and then break it into pieces so it fits into SM. Shorten it to almost nothing for twitter, post similiar words, with a revised tone, on FB and search where else to post it. And then send a slightly longer version, more detailed directly to identified media. The flogging calls continue today, though. Is SM is a blessing or a curse? Sure a campaign can gain world wide attention, for what, a day? Then it's off the radar. A measure of comms success used to be measured in column inches, it was rough and inaccurate because it didn't consider content, but now we do the same thing with hits, links, tweets and likes. Have we really accomplished anything? Are we more efficient at reaching and hearing from stakeholders?
Every technological advancement or tech change, at the end of the day, simply means more work for the communicator. Ten years ago, I wrote a news release, sent it and flogged it with follow up phone calls. Now I write the release and then break it into pieces so it fits into SM. Shorten it to almost nothing for twitter, post similiar words, with a revised tone, on FB and search where else to post it. And then send a slightly longer version, more detailed directly to identified media. The flogging calls continue today, though. Is SM is a blessing or a curse? Sure a campaign can gain world wide attention, for what, a day? Then it's off the radar. A measure of comms success used to be measured in column inches, it was rough and inaccurate because it didn't consider content, but now we do the same thing with hits, links, tweets and likes. Have we really accomplished anything? Are we more efficient at reaching and hearing from stakeholders?
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