Posted by: blackvector | March 11, 2009

Social networks more popular than e-mail; FB surpasses MySpace

Well, it has happened, Social Networks have taken the lead over e-mail and FaceBook has surpassed MySpace. It is no surprise that PA professionals have also leaped into FB. At a gov 2.0 event in DC today, one of the most interesting comments was how social media is a way to engage stakeholders. PA has traditionally been reactive, a sort of after the fact event. I would argue PA needs to be more engaged in the SM sphere to act as indirect influencers of the communication environment. Using SM is a way to engage on a level that has never before been realized. Yes, I said PAs influence. Indirect influence is a term I heard at the gov 2.o event today from Dr Mark Drapeau, a research fellow at National Defense University. I think he is spot on in using SM to build your networks and thereby having influence over the people in those networks has an effect. PAs can better communicate their agencies message by leveraging these networks.

The fact that social networks are not necessarily exclusive to the 25 and under crowd will hopefully steer more mainstream PA types into the SM world. People need to stop thinking of PA as simply a mechanism to inform. A good PA program will influence, not simply inform. A really good PA program will influence indirectly with a consistent message to achieve a means. The blog post below is definitely worth a read.

From Brian Solis: “This shift has primarily been driven by Facebook whose greatest growth has come from people aged 35-49 years of age (+24.1 million). From December 2007 through December 2008, Facebook added almost twice as many 50-64 year old visitors (+13.6 million) than it has added under 18 year old visitors (+7.3 million).” Full article here: http://www.briansolis.com/2009/03/social-networks-now-more-popular-than.html

 

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Posted by: blackvector | March 9, 2009

Politicians on Twitter

There are several members of congress on Twitter, it provides transparency in govt. Leveraging this power is something all govt agencies need to do. There are members from both parties on Twitter, some seem to already be running for the 2010 election.

From a Florida Newspaper:

LEGISLATURE IS A-TWITTER
Sen. Dan Gelber said Monday he has decided to “embrace the new online communication tools,” by providing live micro-blogging about the upcoming legislative session via Twitter. “By utilizing one of the most recent tools in new media communication, more Floridians will be able to follow closely the state’s legislative session and the major policy issues discussed in Tallahassee,” Gelber, D-Miami Beach, said on his blog. “We need the public participating in this conversation.” The fact that Gelber regularly blogs says something about his having embraced new media already, or possibly about the fact that he’s in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat that will be open in 2010. To follow Gelber’s tweets, one can go to http://twitter.com/DanGelber.

From my Twitter account

Another legislator on Twitter is Sen Jim DeMint, republican, from South Carolina.  He uses Twitter to carry on conversations with his constituents and  update his followers on what’s going on in the senate.  He also adds bits of pieces of his personal life into his Tweets. An important part of anyone using Twitter is to add the human element to their Tweets. To follow DeMint’s tweets, one can go http://twitter.com/JimDeMint

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Posted by: blackvector | March 6, 2009

Blocking YouTube Not The Answer

I find it ironic agencies all over the federal government are hailing YouTube as a way to get their information out, yet IT policies block even those whose job it is to post items to YouTube from accessing these sites. There are valid security issues that must be addressed, but there are valid reasons for access that must equally be addressed. The “block all sites” approach is not the happy medium. It is not even the middle of the road.

Why should feds have access to these sites?

The post below talks about how Citizens Are Conversations. Agencies must be involved in the SM sphere to get their messages out, but if their employees can’t access the sites, it is problematic. You can’t have citizen engagement for your organization if your PA/PR folks can’t access the tools to do their jobs.

Dr Mark Drapeau has an excellent piece on this at http://www.markdrapeau.com/2009/03/citizens-are-conversations/

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Posted by: blackvector | February 14, 2009

Public Diplomacy

To me, this is true of PA, just change context to domestic audience, although in the deployed environment, this definition directly applies.

From: http://mountainrunner.us/public_diplomacy.html

Defining Public Diplomacy

Public diplomacy is the direct and indirect engagement of global audiences to further America’s national interest. Public diplomacy is about marshaling the resources of the Government to engage through communications and exchanges and other activities foreign publics, including current and future foreign public opinion leaders.

Public diplomacy is based on building trust and credibility to establish relationships with ideas and people over the long term through consistent activities. Public diplomacy is only be effective when acting in support a foreign policy that is, on its own, agreeable by relevant target audiences. Public diplomacy is conducted both directly by Americans and by, with, and through foreign populations.

Public diplomacy does not operate in a vacuum. It must proactively, as well as reactively, engage global audiences in a struggle for minds and wills. It is how we combat misinformation and distortion so that our smart foreign policies can be seen for what they are: beneficial for the affected population(s). Public diplomacy is also about exposing the real world to local audiences to empower them into making informed local decisions. Public diplomacy is about bolstering morale and extending hope in depressed areas in support of a variety of efforts from education to capacity building.

Properly funded and conducted, public diplomacy provides the “feel for the street” and connections to current and future public opinion leaders. The failure to provide this today, as a result of budgetary constraints and other pressures, has allowed, even required, the intelligence community to step in, in other words, American public diplomacy wears combat boots and a cloak. Public diplomacy is about more than countering violent extremism just as America’s national security is dependent on more the use of arms.

In rethinking public diplomacy in the global “now media” information environment, it is time to reconsider the label public diplomacy and consider the term “global engagement.” This is what public diplomacy is about and effective public diplomacy requires a global approach and not a separation between so-called domestic communication offices of public affairs that “informs without influence.”

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Posted by: blackvector | February 11, 2009

Interesting Thought on Copyright

Great thought I found online, copyright is an interesting thing, especially digital copyright. Here’s a different take on things:

“ I look at my photography like this. When I make an image it belongs to me. It belongs to me while I take the photo. It belongs to me while it sits in my camera. It belongs to me while I process it on my Mac. It belongs to me while I let it sit in an archive folder waiting to be uploaded to the Internet. Then I upload it to the Internet and it’s like I’m taking a bird and opening my window and letting it go. Off she goes. Her song to be enjoyed by the entire world — certainly no longer mine.
— Thomas Hawk On Copyright Infringement | Thomas Hawk Digital

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