semester has ended

Our class is over, but for many of the students in fall 2007 Social Media class the journey in understanding social media has just begun!

In this class, we spent most of the semester creating student-selected social media projects then worked to make those projects a success. From marketing via Facebook to making good ole fashioned business cards & hitting the pavement, each student worked to increase viewership of his or her project.

Another major project involved students coming up with a proposal for an organization to integrate social media. The best of the best were covered on the blog so if you're ever looking for inspiration then check them out.

We provided extensive live coverage of the social media conference UGA Connect. Live blogging, twitter'ing, flickr'ing, podcasts & interviews. We did the same for the college's PRSSA chapter event, Professional Connection. Was there anything the students didn't do in sharing the on-site experience with the out-of-town observers?

And then there was the 48 hours of Twitter assignment that everyone loved! What fun!

Thanks to everyone who followed & interacted with this class - especially the professionals who did a "digital drop-in" for our "social media spotlite" series.

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For more information about UGA's Grady College, please visit http://www.grady.uga.edu .

To contact Dr. Kaye Sweetser, please visit her blog or faculty page.

Ben Leathers....How He is Putting His New Skills to Work!

Taking Dr. Scott Shamp's new media class is highly recommended by student Ben Leathers. In my interview with Ben, he shares his views on the average college student's knowledge of social media methods and where he sees social media headed in the future.

Ben is not only enrolled in the coolest class ever, but he is also one of the founders of the organization Tumornators, which creates fundraising efforts to raise money for NF and Schwannomatosis research. He also tells us the social media methods they used recently for their "Rock 4 Research" campaign.

Click here to listen to this exclusive interview.

Social Media and Politics

Social media and politics must be one of my favorite combinations ever, but I'm not sure it's being used to its full potential at this point. It could be a great tool to open up discussion (two-way communication, hello!), but as my friend Shannon - a former blogger and politics aficionada like myself - points out, in most cases it's only being used as a recruitment tool.

Click here to listen to our discussion of politicians joining the social media realm through the YouTube debates, Second Life, blogs and more.

Since we are all podcasting now...

I was catching up on my Google reader and I ran across this post. We might all be pros at podcasting but it is never too late to learn new things.

Here is Donna Papacosta's post about podcasts.

podcast: org integration proposal

For the social media organizational integration proposal, student Katherine Strate suggested that her hometown newspaper integrate podcasting. Her background research from the Rome, Ga. case study and examples of the type of content the podcast should include were among the things that made this podcast proposal stand out.

The proposal she turned in follows.
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Client: The Citizen Tribune, Morristown, Tenn.

Purpose: To increase readership and community involvement by implementing the use of podcasts on their Web site.

Overall Proposal:

Why The Citizen Tribune has a need for podcasts:

The Citizen Tribune, a local afternoon paper is undergoing major personnel and readership changes. As of late, The Citizen Tribune has been lacking in community coverage that affects the younger crowd moving to the area. Local stories concerning the older Morristown population are not appealing to the new demographic in town. In addition, The Citizen Tribune is an afternoon newspaper, so their coverage is slightly delayed.

I believe the implementation of podcasts on their Web site would be a useful and effective tool to gain newer, younger readership. The older population of Morristown is dying, and reading an actual piece of paper for the news is dying, too. More and more people are referring to the Internet for daily, local and world news. Putting podcasts or v-casts on the Web site, if advertised correctly could increase readership on the Internet, and it could increase younger readership.

Case Study- The Rome News-Tribune, Rome, Ga.:

The daily newspaper in Rome, Ga. has increased its readership tremendously because of its use of podcasts. Its staff of writers and editors at the paper realized the need for deeper, more personal coverage of the community. They became aware that Rome citizens were more interested in community news, and they read the paper to receive it. Other mediums, like television, were used for world news coverage.

After making a game plan, the paper decided to disperse the podcast coverage; from football games, to school plays to town hall meetings, someone was there recording. According to the editor, the most successful podcast they posted concerned a play at one of the local elementary schools. They advertised the posting of the podcast before the show, and they received hundreds of hits. Once people realized they were podcasting, they started to call the paper making suggestions for possible locations. A firefighter, the father of a girl in the school play, invited the editor to ride in a fire truck with he and his squad.

That kind of community involvement, participation and energy is what The Rome News-Tribune wanted, and podcasting took them there.

Opportunities in Morristown for podcasts:

So many community events happen in Morristown that no one knows about. School board meetings, festivals, church gatherings, PTA meetings, business openings, Chamber of Commerce breakfasts and other functions are important for the life of the town.

Since Morristown is an average-sized town, community is extremely important. High school rivalries and craft fairs are two of the most important topics about which the community cares. If the podcasts covered most events at the high schools, hundreds of people would go to the Web site to listen and watch what went on.

What is also important is out-of-state readership. Grandparents, friends and other family members will go to the Web site to watch or listen to their relative or friend in Morristown. People are increasingly going to the Internet for their first search for information. This is a medium that should not be missed.

The main audience:

As mentioned before, the old are dying out and the young are moving in. Podcasts would mainly target younger families and teenagers who are interested in the community events. If they know to come to the Web site to listen or see that coverage, they are more than likely going to look elsewhere at the other articles.

While covering local government is important, covering local education should be a top priority with the podcasts. Students at school or working parents in front of a computer know how to navigate a Web site and look for information. Consistently updated podcast coverage would result in a consistent podcast “listenership.”

Main Steps:

1. Set a certain agenda for definite podcasts- either weekly, monthly or by another time. The agenda should be based on the audience- the younger the better.
2. Cover each event fully and loudly. Let people know you are there.
3. Make business cards or fliers with the Web site and general information about how to find the podcast.
4. Consistently cover the basic agenda to gain regular followers. Once new opportunities arise, increase coverage in other areas.
5. Make a section on the Web site about the podcasts to inform readers they are available.

Benchmarks of success:

The first and easiest benchmark would be increased readership on The Citizen Tribune Web site. If the podcasts are properly advertised and talked about, I believe readership could go up at least 10%.

A second benchmark would be receiving suggestions and community involvement about the kinds of podcasts they do. A newspaper tries to cater to what its audience wants, and I believe it would be a huge compliment to their efforts to receive coverage suggestions.

In addition, if the option is available, readers could post their own pictures or videos (with approval) about each event. Using tools like flickr and YouTube would be immensely valuable.

The program Google analytics could be used to track most of the traffic that goes to each part of the Web site.

Possible Obstacles:

Since The Citizen Tribune’s Web site has not been a main source for news, a possible obstacle could be getting people to go to the Web site to hear the podcasts.

People also may not know what podcasts are. New media terms are foreign to most of the population, especially Morristown’s, and citizens may not be able to see the advantages of using podcasts.

Another obstacle could be the experience of the staff at The Citizen Tribune. If the person assigned to do the podcasts has not been properly trained or is not covering the right events, the plan could fail. Appropriate training and appreciation of the tool are necessary to implement it effectively.

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Note: this proposal was created for as a part of a student project in class (ADPR 5990) & is no way an indication of what the organization is planning on doing regarding social media. Students selected clients & social media tools on their own based on their personal interests.

best of ... org integration proposals

One of the major projects in this class was to come up with a social media solution to integrate into an organization's communication plan. Each student got to pick the client & the tool.

I just graded these over the holiday weekend & was really struck about how innovative some of these proposals were.

I'm going to post the best Twitter (National Geographic by Erin Gentry), YouTube (State of Georgia by Lizzie Azzolino), podcast (small town local newspaper by Katherine Strate), LinkedIn (UGA Career Center by Nina Eyrich) & Flickr (FoodTV by Ashley Beebe) proposals here on the blog. Even if I don't agree with all the details in the proposals, these stuck out as being the most creative.

There were more great proposals but I don't want to flood the blog!

A Battle to the Death!

My last podcast was about the dangers of overusing your thumbs. This one is about the perks of too much text messaging!

How many text messages do you get a month? I only get about 30 and you may get a couple hundred, but the people in this competition send and receive thousands.

In April, 2007, LG hosted the first ever National Texting Championship. Yes, this is for real! The winner got $25,000!

Listen to what I had to say about the competition.

Here's a video too!

Student journalism and student bloggers

My friend Mandi is a staff writer for the Red&Black and I asked her to talk about how social media has affected her job and future profession. Listen to her response here.

Environmental Issues and blogging.

I spoke to my friend Mo, an avid environmentalist, about the current environmental issues and how social media, specifically blogging is affecting it. Listen to her views here.

The Price We Pay to Stay Connected

Could this small device be the cause of your next doctor's visit or even surgery?

We don't really think about white-collar workers suffering from workplace related injuries or illnesses. I didn't at least until I was watching MSNBC the other day and an interesting segment came on about how Blackberry users are being put out of commission by overusing the tiny device. For more, listen here.

Beware the curse of the Blackberry Thumb!

What Does the Internet Have to Do With Watching So Many Re-Runs?

Upset that your favorite TV show isn't airing new episodes? Want to know why?

Listen to what I have to say regarding the Writers Strike, and how the writers are harnessing the power of social media to garner support from people like you and me!

Be sure to check out some of the links I mention:

Why We Strike

Deadline Hollywood Daily

Speechless

Social media in business?

I talked to a friend who's a business student about his education through the business school and whether the business school is integrating social media into their curriculum. We also discussed a few more social media topics, including his feelings on politicians entering into the realm of social media.

You can listen to our discussion here. Be forewarned - there's some sweet island music in this podcast that might get stuck in your head. Oh and tons of social media content too. But the island music is pretty cool.

Tracking music with the Hype Machine

Update: The link, "Here" now goes to My podcast instead of our Channel

I found this really cool site that tracks songs and blogs that are posted in music blogoshpere. You can listen all about it in my podcast Here.

Check out the Hype Machine in person

Using You Tube to break into the music industry

Update: The "Listen to it here" link now go to my podcsat and not our podcast channel

This is my podcast about Esmee Denters, You Tube star who was signed by a major label.

You can Listen to it here

If you want to check it our yourself here some links

Esmee singing "Cry me a River"
Oprah's after the show interview with Esmee
Esmee on the the Jenters! show

Be A Safe Twitterer

Sharing every detail of what we are doing to strangers can be fun, but make sure you are not making yourself vulnerable. Listen to some advice I got about Twitter safety.

Here are the blogs I refer to:

Teaching PR Blog

Disruptive Conversations