My New York State School Boards Presentation

My social Network on Flickr, Facebook, Twitter...
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I presented this weekend at the annual New York State School Boards conference, held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Manhattan. It was a great, receptive group, although (and this happens often) a few faces were quizzical and downright skeptical. Nevertheless, there were many questions from the standing-room-only audience and I truly appreciate the interested many people have in Web 2.0 and social media.
School leaders are always a tough sell, but I’ve noticed a dramatic difference in the way everyone has become a bit more willing to suspend their disbelief about PR tools like Facebook and Twitter.
If you’d like to take a look, my presentation, Communicating in a Web 2.0 World, is available on my Slideshare page.

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5 Reasons to Love Social Media

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Shane Haggerty, a school communications professional from Ohio, recently posted the following list on his blog, Social Avenue. I felt the need to post it here because I feel exactly the same way as he does about social media.  Thanks, Shane!

  1. New Connections: More than anything else, social media has opened up a whole new pool of connections, many of whom have become friends. While most of these connections remain on the professional level, the use of tools like Twitter and Facebook and Linkedin have been an excellent way of doing business and getting to know new people. At first, it seemed strange opening up on these tools, but choosing to “follow” like-minded professionals has been great for learning new things that I probably never would have had the chance to know before.
  2. Old Connections: Thanks especially to Facebook, Linkedin or other social networking sites (the now-irrelevant MySpace), social media has changed the way we keep in touch and has allowed us to re-connect to old friends. Some may think that’s a bad thing to re-connect with that person who may have driven you crazy in junior high, but for the most part, social media creates a sort-of “at-a-distance” re-kindling of old friendships. This is excellent if you are nosey and want to see what a disaster that person has become who used to torment you in gym class.
  3. Lightning Speed: The ability to blast messages and communicate with masses of people is made much, much faster with social media. While email is still popular, full inboxes, Spam and an abundance of e-newsletters have created an opening for social media to take advantage of, which is to send short, quick messages and then make it viral with sharing tools that allow you to pass-it-on with the click of a button.
  4. Leveling the Playing Field: Never before has a medium allowed small businesses, entrepreneurs, everyday, common people, non-profits and more market to the masses like social media has. This is one of my favorite things about it. Before, large advertising budgets of the corporate giants could quickly swallow the messages of the rest of us and celebrities controlled our attention anytime they wanted. Now, the mom-and-pop store can easily create a viral sensation on tools like YouTube and any one of us can be a “celebrity” with our own blog or large followings on Twitter and Facebook.
  5. Down Fall the Sacred Cows: Finally, I simply love it because it makes the establishment and those who love control and order nervous. Social media, because it is new and viral and real and transparent gives control to anyone, anywhere, anytime. I love anything that shakes things up and takes down existing “sacred cows.” Social media has caused people to change, and change is always a good thing.
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Amazing Facebook Facts

markzuckerbergEven though my college-age kids just can’t stomach the fact that I’m on Facebook, I think I’ll be there forever. Or at least for the foreseeable future. So there.

Why? It seriously is the most intuitive digital application I’ve ever been on. There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t find myself marveling over the fact that Mark Zuckerberg, then a Harvard college student from my neck of the woods, came up with this thing.

Brian Solis, who maintains one of my favorite blogs, PR 2.0, recently put together a list, Everything You Never Knew About Facebook, that just vindicates me in my Facebook Fascination. It’s a list of 20 factoids that are rather mind-blowing, especially when you consider that the popular application didn’t exist until it was incorporated in 2004.

Here’s a sample from the Solis list:

Facebook has more than 250 million users

120 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day

People 35 years old and older comprise the fastest growing demographic

More than 5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day worldwide

30 million users update their statuses at least once each day

1 billion (!) photos and 10 million videos are uploaded to the social network each month

2.5 million events are created each month

45 million active user groups exist on Facebook

About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States

Every month, more than 70% of users engage with applications developed for the Facebook platform

More than 350,000 active applications are currently available on the Facebook Platform

15,000, and counting, websites, devices and applications have implemented Facebook Connect since its launch in December 2008

30 million users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices

There’s a reason my kids love Facebook. Ditto for their Mom.

Presenting at NSPRA 2009

SAN FRANCISCO - JUNE 9: San Francisco Municip...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Here I am in beautiful San Francisco, where humidity has been banished forever, or so it seems, and cable cars are passing by my hotel window.

Oh yes, and this is a business trip — the annual National School Public Relations Association Conference. I will be presenting tomorrow morning on a topic near and dear to my heart — “Using Web 2.0 and Social Media to Reach Your Audience.” I’m hoping to persuade school PR people to jump on the Web 2.0 train before it’s too late!

Here’s a link to the presentation, which is now available on SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/evelynmccormack.

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Nings as Social Networks

Image representing Ning as depicted in CrunchBaseImage via CrunchBase

I know that I’ve written about Nings for educators before, but I was recently asked by the National School PR Association to write a description of how Nings can be useful for anyone as a tool for social networking. The key thing to remember about using Ning as a social network platform (for adults) is that it’s NOT Facebook or MySpace. Although I have a fairly active Facebook page for professional and personal use, adults I speak to often cringe at the mere thought of creating a Facebook account.

So Nings are friendly, but generally free of rock music downloads, college drinking photos and references to “Jackass” and “The Real World.”

Here’s my description of how Nings can be used by thoughtful adults, along with links to several to which I can claim membership:

Using a Ning to Build a Network

Nings have become an increasingly popular way to network with other people and groups who share similar interests with you and your school district. Ning currently hosts more than 500,000 networks on the web, and that number is growing.

Ning provides free, easy-to-navigate online software that allows you to create a social networking website available to a larger group of members. Once created, it can be used as a platform for sharing best practices, links, photos, videos and other information. Generally, the success of a Ning depends entirely on its members and how they use it.

Here are a few examples of how you can use a Ning:

Nings can be used for small niche networks (teachers within a department, for example) or in a larger way (national or state public relations professionals).You can set the privacy level, restricting membership by invitation only or keeping it open to anyone who wants to join. Free Ning tools include discussion forums, chats, video sharing, photo sharing, link sharing, and more. You can also set the frequency with which you’ll receive updates from your Ning groups.

The Ning Premium service, at $19.95 a month, allows you to point your Ning to a domain name and to add or delete advertising, among other details. But the free service fits most groups well. You can also choose the domain name option for $4.95 a month.

Here in the Hudson Valley region of New York, we have created a group Ning for school public relations professionals, where we can share best practices and put our collective brain trust together on such topics as the local press, school budget challenges, and upcoming meetings. We have also created several subgroups within the Ning, including one on using technology.

Here are links to the Hudson Valley PR Ning and other sample Nings on the web:

Classroom 2.0 (A professional development Ning for teachers with 18,000 members)

http://www.classroom20.com/

PR Open Mic (A Ning for PR students, faculty members and practitioners with 4,100 members.

http://www.propenmic.org/

The Hurricane Information Center (a Ning for individuals interested in hurricane updates, with 700 members)

http://gustav08.ning.com/

The HudSPRA Network (A newly created Ning created for school PR professionals in the NY Hudson Valley region.)

http://hudspra.ning.com/ (We might be creating a new domain name for this site, so if this link doesn’t work, try http://www.hudspra.org.)

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David Jakes, EdTech Guy

I just love this guy, and because I’m preparing my own workshops for educators in Dutchess County, NY, and for school PR folks at the National School PR Association conference, I’ve been trolling the Web for great Web 2.0 presentations. Jakes never fails to amaze me — he has dozens of great presentations posted on his website and I’d like to share one with you. Enjoy. I might post Jakes’ presentations here now and then — hope he doesn’t mind!

 

TCEA Best Practice
View more presentations from djakes. (tags: bestpractice djakes)

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Immaculate Reception — Vatican Goes Video

VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - JANUARY 08: Pope Bene...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

OK, so maybe I shouldn’t be sacriligious about this.

But you have to admit, it’s pretty Web 2.0-cool when the Vatican launches its own YouTube channel, and that’s exactly what happened on Friday. Pope Benedict XVI joined President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II in launching his own channel, the latest effort by the folks in Rome to reach out to the digital generation. (It probably won’t work on my college-age kids, however.)

At a Vatican news conference, an executive of Google Inc., parent company of YouTube, joined with the Catholic clergy to announce that the Vatican had posted its first 12 videos on the pope’s new YouTube channel. The Church hopes to publish three new videos each day.

“This is in particular directed towards the young, but not exclusively,” said Father Federico Lombardi, director of the press office of the Holy See. “This is a step toward better communication. The pope encouraged us to adopt new ways of communication in order to reach out to the people who are interested in the pope’s message.”

Initially, the new YouTube channel will post videos in four languages — Italian, English, German and Spanish — and more languages will be added later.

Way to go, Ben!

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Public Engagement – The Obama Way

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Those of us in the public information business, particularly the non-profit public information business, should rip a page out of the Barack Obama public engagement manual. The lessons are many.

A case in point – the new whitehouse.gov website, a clean, well-organized, interactive place that makes the previous White House website look like your grandmother’s kitchen cabinets. Old, outdated and hard to open.

The new site invites you in. After all, you are the owner. With videos of Obama’s Inauguration address and the whistlestop tour, a White House 101 Fun and Facts page, a frequently updated blog, and the Briefing Room, a way to keep tabs on the President, whitehouse.gov has been overhauled for the 21st century.

Prominently displayed on the home page is a link to the Office of Public Liaison & Intergovernmental Affairs (OPL-IGA), “the front door to the White House through which everyone can participate and inform the work of the President.” When you reach the Public Liaison page, you’re invited to email your thoughts and ideas to the White House. When was the last time 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue asked you for anything? Other than taxes?

It’s a new day indeed. Check out whitehouse.gov.

BlogSpine

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Are You a Tech-Savvy Superintendent?

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eSchool News has just announced its Call for Nominations to its 2009 Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards.

Here’s the announcement fresh from the eSchool News presses:

Does your superintendent “get it” when it comes to technology? Does he or she demonstrate exemplary vision for the use of technology to improve all facets of education—and show outstanding leadership in working to make this vision a reality?

If so, then help us recognize these accomplishments by nominating your district’s chief executive for eSchool News’ ninth annual Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards.

Nominees, who must be general superintendents of a K-12 school system, will be judged according to the criteria below. Ten national finalists will be chosen by the editors of eSchool News in consultation with last year’s winners. The 2009 winners will be honored in a ceremony held at the same time as the American Association of School Administrators annual conference in San Francisco and in the February 2009 issue of eSchool News.

Here are the criteria used by the judges:

Ten “Hallmarks of Excellence” for the eSchool News Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards

1. Must be a general superintendent.

2. Models the effective use of technology in the day-to-day execution of the superintendency.

3. Ensures that technology resources are equitably distributed among students and staff.

4. Insists that adequate professional development is a component of every technology initiative.

5. Demonstrates exceptional vision in leading the development and implementation of a districtwide technology plan.

6. Exhibits a thorough understanding of the role of technology in education and can articulate that understanding to all school district stakeholders.

7. Provides exceptional leadership in supporting the integration of technology into the curriculum.

8. Demonstrates exceptional vision in employing technology to streamline school district business operations.

9. Demonstrates curiosity and open-mindedness in considering emerging technologies and weighing non-traditional solutions to traditional problems.

10. Thinks creatively and strategically about the long-term challenges and opportunities of technology in the school district and in education at large.

Hurry and get those nominations in, because the deadline is Sunday, Nov. 30. Apply at this link.

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Follow Along as the World Votes

twitter vote report

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OK, if this isn’t a teachable moment, I don’t know what is.

Another giant in the social media world, Twitter, will be making Election Day instantaneously more interesting for anyone who wants to follow along as-it-happens or wants to keep a wary eye on the day’s voting operations.

Calling all teachers! What a great lesson for high school students on Tuesday.  Log on and watch the action.

Specifically, Twitter has created  Twitter Vote Report to assemble reactions and reports from Twitter users, whether they’re standing on a long line to vote, watching TV reports, or experiencing something unusual at the polls. You can use the Twitter “hashtag” #votereport for tracking tweets and to participate.

You can also do any one of the following, according to Twitter:

If you currently use Twitter, send a message after you vote that begins with #votereport (this is critically important for ensuring that your message gets to the right place.) Then write some or all of the following:

#[zip code] to indicate where you’re voting; ex., “#12345″

#machine for machine problems; ex., “#machine broken, using prov. ballot”

#reg for registration troubles; ex., “#reg I wasn’t on the rolls”

#wait:minutes for long lines; ex., “#wait:120 and I’m coming back later”

#good or #bad to give a quick sense of your overall experience

#EP+your state if you have a serious problem and need help from the Election Protection coalition; ex., #EPOH

If you want to use your cell phone, you can also text messages to 66937 and begin your message with #votereport.

I hope we can all report in that things were #good.

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