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.

Bringing Social Media to Sports

There was a recent post on how we haven't really discussed social media in relation to sports. There is a company called XOS Technologies that is using social media to promote professional sports and I thought that this would be a great listen for everyone.

Listen here.

XOS Technologies is one of the leading technology partners for maximizing the value of content and commerce for sports organizations and fans.

Social Media as a Time Capsule

When we talk about social media and public relations we constantly talk about engaging our audience and having a human voice. We are documenting our human voices everyday when we digitize "who we are." We are creating a time capsule. Have you ever thought about social media this way? Listen more about this here.

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 Sports

Last week David Utter cited two websites that have integrated sports with social media.

We have seen plenty of discussions of social media, and its impact on the
mainstream news. Sports hasn't received the same attention as topics like the
various Presidential campaigns. But the performance of sites like Ballhype and Yardbarker may change this.

My question is why haven't more people taken an interest to this section of social media?

On sites like Yardbarker, you can read Greg Oden's, Carmelo Anthony's and Diana Taurasi's blogs. Making the athletes more available will give the fans more insight into the players' lives.

These sites also host forums where a marketplace of ideas can be exchanged from debating sports topics to the hottest rumor. If sports fanatics weren't able to partake in these, how much fun would watching sports be? ESPN's two highest rated TV shows see sports reporters arguing over sports. The viewers aren't even allowed in these conversations so imagine how volatile the conversation gets when someone laughs at Alabama for losing to Louisiana-Monroe?

This topic is one we haven't discussed in class nor has any professional we talked to brought this category up. Maybe it's time we should.

Categorizing Social Media

Susan Getgood's Nov. 19 post about who should "own" social media, and Scott Bauman's response to her post made me wonder why do so-called professionals even waste their time with trying to categorize where social media fits into a "skill set" or "channel expertise."

Getgood argues:

"The functional lines between our marketing disciplines of PR, direct marketing
and advertising are blurring. Social media marketing requires a blending of
marketing and PR/communications skills. BTW, this line is blurring
everywhere but it is more readily and immediately apparent in the social media
world than offline. But it is offline too. Remember that online social networks
are reflections of the interests and affiliations we have "in real life."
Computer networks simply speed up the effect. "

Why does it matter if social media falls under public relations, marketing or advertising? Trying to classify where a coming-of-age shift in communication should be utilized is irresponsible. Social media should be available to anyone who wants to learn this great tool.

Bauman's reaction to Getgood states:

"Social media doesn't belong to anyone with a particular "skill set" or "channel
expertise." Instead, it belongs to people who understand consumers and how
to engage in them in conversations. The conversationalist could be a PR
person, an interactive agency rep or a direct marketing expert."

I agree with Bauman's analysis that social media should not belong to a specific field.
Why try to monopolize social media when it should be diversified among all these fields? Limiting this knowledge will only be a detriment to a company. Since experts are too busy discussing who should "own" social media, it may be time to teach ourselves.

Reference to: Die! Press Release! Die! Die! Die!

Today when Todd Defren from SHIFT Communications was talking about the social media press release he referenced a blog post called Die! Press Release! Die! Die! Die! by Tom Foremski, saying it was written at a tipping point for public relations and helped spark the creation of the social media press release.

The title made me laugh and Mr. Defren's comments about the post inspired me to go find the post, just to see what it said. You can find it here, at the Silicon Valley Watcher site. The post touches on what many people are and were annoyed with about traditional press releases - it seems like a lot of fluff and 'spin' that we as public relations professionals try to avoid. It also offers some of the ideas that were incorporated into the social media press release.

Anyway - it was a funny title with interesting content and I wanted to share. Enjoy!

Cha-Ching! The Rewards of Geocaching

I have stumbled upon an arguable new form of social media that we have not discussed—geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing). Geocaching is basically a scavenger hunt using a global satellite positioning system. It is a sport “where you are the search engine.”

How geocaching works:

You can go to the geocaching Web site to create a free account. The site explains the definition in its FAQ’s page:

“Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a GPS unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the Internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to
find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide
variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something
they should try to leave something for the cache.”

Many caches contain a log book that asks that you record when you found the cache and who you are. You can also create your own caches and record their locations (coordinates) on the Web site. A huge rule in geocaching is that you should NOT move a cache.

When I search my zip code in the Athens area there are 829 records. This “sport” really is pretty in-depth and there is much more to it than I have described. You really need to visit the Web site’s FAQ’s page to get the complete idea.

I am bringing this activity up in the context of social media for the obvious reasons. It is a great way to interact with people by actually getting out there and DOING something. I think it may be a great way to feel connected to your community too. The process of finding a cache takes you to places you may never knew existed in your area. I think this is a great form of social media for those who enjoy the glow of the sun rather than the glow of a monitor.

Facebooking Deemed Hazardous to Your Health

The attorney general's office issued a subpoena yesterday against Facebook demanding all articles outlining the security that the social network promises its users. Complaints were filed that Facebook is misleading in promoting the site as an environment where teenagers and children are safe from sexual predators.

According to a New York Times article, no charges have been files but Facebook is taking the allegations very seriously. In a letter to Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook's chief executive officer, Andrew M. Cuomo, New York's attorney general, said "Facebook has the right to operate any type of Web site it deems fit. It does not have the right to represent that its site is safe and that it promptly responds to complaints when those statements are not accurate."

Cuomo's office is currently investigating the actual safety and reaction time of Facebook when inappropriate material is passed through the site by creating false profiles of teenage girls. Every time the girl is inappropriately contacted by a possible predator, the investigators report the instance to Facebook. In most cases, Facebook failed to respond and the predator was allowed to keep their profile.