Six technologies for educators to watch

February 26, 2009

The Horizon Report, 2009 Edition
The New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative
PDF, 32 pages.

Young people in Japan equipped with mobiles often see no reason to own personal computers because their mobile phones do almost all of that stuff anyway.

The authors of this report predict that by the year 2020 most people across the world will be using a mobile device as their primary means for connecting to the internet. It is clear that mobiles are already well on the way to becoming a universal tool for communication of all kinds.

This new edition of the Horizon Report discusses six categories of technologies to watch:

In the first adoption horizon (within the next year) we find mobiles and cloud computing.
In the mid-term horizon (two to three years), geo-everything and the personal web.
The far-term horizon (four to five years): semantic-aware applications and smart objects.

If cloud computing is a relatively new term, think of it this way: Cloud-based applications do not run on a single computer; instead, they are spread over a distributed cluster, using storage space and computing resources from many available machines as needed. Applications like Flickr, Google, YouTube, and many others use the cloud as their platform, in the way that programs on a desktop computer use that single computer as a platform.

Today’s learners use tools for tagging, aggregating, updating, and keeping track of content. They create and navigate a web that is increasingly tailored to their own needs and interests: this is the personal web. A personal web supports one’s social, professional, learning, and other activities via personalized windows to the networked world.

Tagging is one way to organize these scattered pieces of information, but another approach is to aggregate them—use web feeds to pull them together in a single place where updates appear automatically and others can add commentary. Tools like Friend Feed pull all the material a person has published into an “activity stream.” Students can use these tools to gather their work together in a kind of online portfolio; whenever they add a tweet, blog post, or photo to any online service, it will appear in their timelines.

Resources
Delicious: Mobile
http://delicious.com/tag/hz09+mobile
Delicious: Cloud computing
http://delicious.com/tag/hz09+cloudcomputing
Delicious: The Personal Web
http://delicious.com/tag/hz09+personalweb

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Links for 26 Feb.

February 26, 2009

Some useful links I’ve found and Tweeted since 6 February

RT @widfm: Watching “How I use Twitter”: http://tinyurl.com/b4xeyu Thx @scobleizer

RT @juztins: The social media frontier is mobile:  http://is.gd/kn3Q

RT @SocialMedia411: How to Reach Baby Boomers with Social Media (ReadWriteWeb): http://bit.ly/zBvpX

Mobile Devices Seen as Key to 21st-Century K-12 Learning http://tinyurl.com/7j8752

Peachpit Press offers free 10-chapter Web 2.0 Marketing eBook on social media, SEO, SEM, Facebook …  http://tinyurl.com/6lytdd

RT @Bud_T: #AERA preliminary program is out on aera.net Also check the AERA tweetup wiki for talks by twits http://tinyurl.com/d5jztx

RT @CReporter: RT @briansolis: list of Twitter Tools for Community & Communications Pros:   http://poprl.com/9sU

RT @dexin 40 PR-Related People To Follow On  Twitter http://bit.ly/oiWV 9:46 PM Feb 7th from TweetDeck

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Rubel’s ‘Five Digital Trends’ worth a careful read

February 23, 2009

Journalists and consumers are tuning out marketing and using Google as a big open book.

Steve Rubel of Edelman Digital observes that marketers have largely focused on reaching stakeholders through ‘push’ media — paid and earned media. But now that Google dominates, it’s equally important for communicators focus on ‘digital discoverability.’  Organizations and communicators must create content that people will “pull” through search engines and social networks.

In his white paper “Five Digital Trends to Watch for In 2009,” Rubel says the greatest reward will go to those who create dynamic content at a regular frequency that is discussed, remixed, and linked to by other high-quality sources online.

Organizations should build relationships with their publics by creating what Rubel calls ‘digital embassies’ and ‘digital ambassadors.’ As people spend time inside social networks, organizations must go where the people are to build relationships. But before jumping into social media, understand where your stakeholders spend time and what they do there.

Today all media is social, and all social is media, Rubel says. It used to be that journalists were on one side, bloggers on the other. No more.  Yet many, particularly in PR, still treat ordinary citizens, traditional journalism, and branded content as distinct islands of media. It’s best to see them as a contiguous archipelago connected by a bridge called Google.

With the increasing popularity of sites that aggregate content, there’s tremendous value in serving as a digital curator of quality content, just as there’s a role for museum curators who separate “art” from “junk.”

Google is much more than a search engine, Rubel says:  It’s also media. Every day people make business and life decisions based on what they find on Google. This includes consumers and journalists as well.  As a result, communicators should prioritize media targets based on their ability to influence Google search results, rather than just reach.

Many corporate blogs focus too much on their products and services. According to Forrester Research, only 16% of online consumers who read corporate blogs say they trust them. Rubel says a better approach is to use blogs as a way to build communities that connect customers and corporate all-stars around shared passions.

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Metamorphosis: Journalists describe an evolving industry

February 19, 2009

The poet Ovid wrote his 15-book Metamorphoses to describe the creation and history of the world. Three panelists addressing a group of campus communicators today at UW-Madison took one hour to paint a picture of a news business undergoing a metamorphosis nearly every day. News organizations scramble to keep up with technological changes while trying to navigate a tempest-tossed economy. They try to balance quality journalism with the desire to open up to submissions from citizen journalists.

UW Madison communicator Brian Mattmiller moderated as each panelist made brief introductory remarks then took questions from the audience of about 40 communicators from departments and schools around the UW Madison campus.

Sharif Durhams, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is part of a team reporting breaking news for the newspaper’s Newswatch service.  He said his news organization is putting more emphasis on new media, including mobile communication. Holding up his SmartPhone, he said “We want to go where our readers are. We want to be part of their day and part of their conversations.” He pointed us to the publication’s page of Twitter streams and to Newswatch, which aggregates headlines from internal sources and from the Asssociated Press.

Tim Kelley, who has held positions at Madison newspapers and at UW-Madison Communications, now directs online development for Capital Newspapers. He’s working on a number of new Web initiatives involving The Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times and other news sources, incuding WKOW Channel 27 TV. Here’s their multimedia page. Hey! here’s a video from last summer’s national slam poetry competition!

J.R. Ross edits WisPolitics.com, a news source for people hopelessly addicted to state politics. His site offers a subscription-based news service and a public portal to a wide range of political information.  Ross said that because his organization serves a niche audience it is somewhat immune to editorial pressures facing general news outlets. “Our audience may be an inch wide,” he said, “but it’s a mile deep.”

Although Wispolitics may not be an ideal outlet for news produced at UW-Madison, Ross said, its sister publication, Wis Business.com may well be. In particular, story ideas about new tech startups and other spinoff companies from UW madison research.

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Facebook, TOS, and other good things

February 18, 2009

facebook me missing manual

Book Review

Facebook me! A guide to having fun with your friends and promoting your projects on Facebook.
By Dave Awl.
Peachpit Press, 2009. 205 pages.

Facebook: The Missing Manual.
By E.A. Vander Veer.
Pogue Press/O’Reilly, 2008. 268 pages.

Again, Facebook makes a policy change that sends shivers down the spine of its millions of members and sets blogger tongues (and fingers) a-wagging. Facebook’s recent change in its Terms of Service has inflamed discussions about exactly who owns the content we all post there, and under what conditions.

See Razzed, the Consumerist, Nathan Gilliatt, RiverScrap, and even the NY Times.

Both books reviewed here offer good general introduction to using Facebook, and each devotes 20 pages to issues of privacy and security.

The Missing Manual emphasizes thinking clearly about how much private information to share and how to control access to your account. Think about it: Although you post personal information online in various places, FB brings together in one convenient location intimate details including your views on politics and religion, your relationships, and your smiling mug shot.

Facebook Me! discusses opting out of appearing in social ads, opting out of Beacon advertising, how to control what gets announced on your news feed and Wall, how to keep applications you don’t use from accessing your information, phishing attempts, and watching out for links bearing Trojans.

But there’s much more to these books than discussions of privacy and security.

Both books cover, with different levels of emphasis, setting up a profile, finding friends, how to use the Wall, news feeds, communication options, applications & add-ons, joining and setting up groups, buying and selling via ads, going mobile, shopping & marketplace, and job hunting.

Facebook Me! offers more information about sharing photos & videos, using FB’s calendar, setting up Pages, and setting up Events. The Missing Manual is stronger on business uses of FB, including hiring, collaborating on projects, and file sharing.

Facebook Me! offers a 5-page essay on the Politics of Friending and a 3-page essay on The Fine Art of Not Being Obnoxious. Author Dave Awl goes deep into FB  Applications and discusses authorizing apps, blocking them, managing them, book marking them, how to find them. He’s particularly enthusiastic about using photos and videos to promote your interests. For example, a theater company with a show about to open might post shots of rehearsals in progress. Or if you make handcrafted jewelry or furniture, post some samples of your work.

I really like the book’s attractive page layout with color screen shots and illustrations.

O’Reilly’s series of  Missing Manual books serve as guides to Access, digital photography, Dreamweaver, Excel, flash, Garageband, iMovie, iPhone, Mac OS X, Photoshop Elements, and Quicken, to name a few.

Facebook: The Missing Manual *reads* like a manual: procedures are spelled out in detail. Compared to Awl’s breezy, chatty style, the writing here is somwehat dry.

Author Vander Veer devotes a chapter to using FB to collaborate on projects, including using messaging and subscription tools to keep team members in the loop and projects on track.  She discusses setting up FB Events to organize get-togethers for co-workers and clients.  This book is particularly strong in covering Facebook Marketplace, where you can “buy or sell just about anything,” and in discussing how to use FB to find employees and to find employment.

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Recent tweets

February 6, 2009

What have been your best and worst experiences adding or editing entries on Wikipedia?

UCSD provides alums with Digg-type communication space http://tinyurl.com/bfndoe

Colleges and universities outpace corporate adoption of new communications tools and technologies http://tinyurl.com/9vm2uq

RT @Poynter: Webinar or “#Twebinar”: Twitter for Journalists: New Channels, New Cycles for News: Feb. 11, 2 p.m. http://is.gd/i7UD

Posted a research summary RE: higher education (graduation rates, Federal policy) http://tinyurl.com/cfdn5w

Posted a new podcast episode RE: education research http://tinyurl.com/cfpzbj

some colleges and universities using twitter http://bit.ly/a0uT

directory of book publishers and others in the book trade who are using Twitter http://bit.ly/2Q1VKr

RT @PaulDunay: Find ‘Em On Twitter: 15 Twitter Directories Compared http://ff.im/-QlrN

I look foward to attending the #AERA annual meeting in San Diego in April and tweeting the conference

Pew Internet Project releases new report, ‘Generations Online 2009′ (PDF, 9 pp). Thx to chris brogan http://tinyurl.com/c99kuk

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By design or by stealth

February 3, 2009

socialcorp

Book Review
SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate
Joel Postman. New Riders: Voices that Matter.
2009. 195 pages.

The company website is no longer the center of the communications universe.

Now that everybody and their grandmother can set up a blog, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account, corporate web sites no longer seem quite so engaging.

All the while, social networking continues to make its way into organizations, either by design or by stealth.

Joel Postman argues persuasively that the new “basic business skills” now requires a basic understanding of social media and the ability to use social networks correctly, alongside presentation skills and the ability to create and understand an Excel spreadsheet.

Postman is the principal of Socialized and previously was EVP of emerging media at Eastwick Communications. His book SocialCorp provides several starting places for organizations that want to create social media initiatives specifically for each audience and to engage them on their terms, in a way that is relevant to them. A progressive, forward-thinking company adopts social media “in a way that accomplishes strategic business and communications objectives without compromising the company’s primary obligations as a corporation,” he says.

For example, Dell, Zappos, IBM, and Procter & Gamble are among companies using social media to reshape their relationships with their audiences. Dell’s IdeaStorm functions as a full-blown customer engagement program and a catalyst for change in the company’s products and services.

Postman emphasizes that each social medium (microblog, video podcast, social network group, etc.) represents just another tool in the corporate communications toolbox.  But what makes these tools so powerful is the way they interact. Many of them connect with each other to exponentially increase their usefulness. For example: Don’t use Twitter in isolation, he says. Link to and from your Twitter account to connect it with other communications initiatives like a company blog or social media newsroom.

Organizations should monitor conversations using social media. They can listen to potentially millions of people and learn, day-by-day, how their brand is performing, where the company is strong, and where there’s work to do. The organization can join in the conversation and influence the brand for the better. Postman’s search on Facebook groups for Bang and Olufsen revealed more than 50 groups devoted to the company and its products. More than 500 Facebook groups discuss Apple products, and most of these groups are not approved by the company. But if the results are positive, Postman asks, why not let consumers do your marketing?

How you measure the success of using social media depends on what you want your audience(s) to do. In her guest chapter, online measurement guru Katie Delahaye Paine emphasizes the importance of focused measurement: Do you want your audiences to request more information? Get more engaged with your brand? Make a contribution? Vote? Buy something? Then that’s what you should be measuring.

Social media strategy isn’t that complex, Postman says, but it does require a synthesis of traditional thinking, creativity, understanding of new tools and etiquette, and the willingness to take some chances.

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SNCR: Higher ed ramping up social media use

February 3, 2009

The Society for New Communications Research reports that colleges and universities are adopting social media at record rates. SNCR Senior Fellow Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes and Eric Mattson’s sudy of social media adoption by the higher education sector compares adoption of social media between 2007 and 2008 by admissions offices of all four-year accredited institutions in the United States.
Key Findings include:
• 13% of the Fortune 500 and 39% of the Inc. 500 currently have a public blog, while 41% of college admissions departments have blogs.
• A significant number of admissions officers use search engines (23%) and social networks (17%) to research prospective students.
• Use of YouTube has also increased substantially. Video is now being used to deliver virtual tours of campuses, virtual visits to the dorms, and sample lectures from the faculty.
• Nearly 90% of admissions departments feel that social media is “somewhat to very important” to their future strategy.
“Social media have undeniably changed the landscape of college admissions,” says Barnes. “The value of these social media tools for college admissions offices cannot be underestimated. As more and more young people spend increased amounts of time communicating online, an institutional presence will become mandatory.”

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Social Media Breakfast Madison kicks off

January 28, 2009

social media breakfast madison

This morning’s first meeting of Social Media Breakfast Madison attracted 35 people who communicate for business and for the UW-Madison campus. Timur Yarnall, CEO of Broadcast Interactive Media, discussed YouNews and his vision of scaling up user-generated news content.  When higher ed folks and business people share ideas, we both benefit. Thanks to Sarah Martinson for pulling this together, and thanks to Sevie Kenyon for the audio.

Listen to the presentation and Q&A

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Recent Tweets

January 27, 2009
Reading Joel Postman’s book, SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate http://tinyurl.com/6z57cb

RT @socialmediaclub: 10 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2009 http://tinyurl.com/cna87s |

RT @Poynter: E-Media Tidbits: Pew on Social Media: It’s Bigger Than You Think: On Jan 14., the Pew Internet a.. http://tinyurl.com/c4fqxv

The Social Media Club’s list of local chapters http://tinyurl.com/22argq

Take @philrj‘s [Syracuse U] thesis Twitter use survey: http://bit.ly/SrkQ Help a grad student & help us all learn more about Twitter!

RT @samartinson live in Madison? come to the first Social Media Breakfast,  8-10 am, Wed. 28 Jan. at Starbucks on State St.

RT @openmadison 12 CIOs who twitter http://bit.ly/456ImL

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