engaging the conversation, presented to the fort bend chamber

Engaging the Conversation

Who’s Lach?

Lach MullenRegional Public Information and Crisis

Communication System Administrator, Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lach

LinkedIn: http://LinkedIn.com/in/lachlan

Before we begin

• This presentation covers some technical subject matter.• This presentation is available online (hi, mom!)• I will be available for questions afterwards and later

down the road.

Media is shifting

Source: graphicdesignr.net/papercuts

Media is shifting

Source: graphicdesignr.net/papercuts

Media is shifting

Source: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1133/decline-print-newspapers-increased-online-news

5

4

34

9

5

25

2006 2008

PrintBothWeb

43% 39%

Media is shifting

Source: http://blog.comscore.com/2009/07/print_newspapers_decline.html

The overall readership of print newspapers is down 11 percent in the past year, from 86 million in April 2008 to 76 million in April 2009…

Clearly, the decline in the number of print readers… is far greater than the increase in the number of online newspaper readers

New News Channels

• Online traditional publications• Mobile traditional publications• News Aggregators• Social News Aggregators• Drudge Report• TMZ• Daily Show• Word of Mouth / Social Media

The Conversation

“Word of mouth” is the oldest and most powerful form of communication.

“Word of mouth” is the oldest and most powerful form of communication.

•We trust what our friends tell us•We trust what our friend’s friends tell us•We trust anything enough people tell us

Social Media

• Social Media is a digital conversation, led by “Us”• Information flows along relational lines• The “wisdom of the crowds” determines news

What’s so great about Social Media?What’s so great about Social Media?

“Social Media is Word-of-mouth or Community Based Marketing that leverages Technology as a Platformfor Conversations.” – Erica O’Grady

Social Media is Fast

Social Media is Direct

Who uses Twitter

Source: http://www.quantcast.com/twitter.com#summary

Young

Educated

6,000,000+ Users!

Who uses Facebook

Source: http://www.istrategylabs.com/2009-facebook-demographics-and-statistics-report-276-growth-in-35-54-year-old-users/

Social Media is Community Driven

• You might be using a social media site if your content is– tagged– rated– commented on– prioritized– created by users– shared

The Social Media Ethos

• Social media is transparent real no spin zone

• Social media is direct many opt-in services

• Social media is honest dishonesty violates trust

The currency of communication today is trust.

Social media is an amplifier.

Things to get used to

• Your content is probably already published.• You can’t remove images or text already posted.• Categories are not pre-defined.• You will be welcomed.• No name, no personality, no service.

Don’t Use Social Media

• If you don’t want to spend some time with it.• If you can’t be or don’t want to be transparent.• If you have a bad reputation and you deserve it.• If you think it’s not going to last, and aren’t in for

the long haul.

Start using Social Media

• Just Do It sign up today, it takes moments

• Lurk “moar” two ears, one mouth

• Observe and learn self impose a gag order

• Your “Tribe” is waiting also, read “Tribes”

Social Media Guidelines

• Only use what you can utilize don’t overdo it

• Set limits save your sanity (and your job)

• Spend time to build trust social media ethos

• Promote via your non-social networks• Stay engaged a dead blog is a bad sign

• Use Helpful Tools the “tools” slide is a good start

• Don’t Feed the Trolls some people…

Types of Social Media Sites

• Social Networks Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn

• Multimedia Flickr, YouTube, Picassa, Qik

• Bookmarking Delicious, Magnolia

• News Digg, Reddit, Slashdot

• Reviews Yelp, CitySearch, Angies List

• Blogs Wordpress, Typepad, Blogger

• Microblogs Twitter, Friendfeed

• Wikis Wikipedia

Types of Social Media Sites

Lets take a closer look at a few of the big ones…

Lets take a closer look at a few of the big ones…

What is Twitter?

• Short messages

• To-the-point

• Informal

• “Twitter lives between blog posts and emails”

• Some say “useless,” I say “opportunity!”

How does Twitter Work?

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

How to use Twitter

• Tweet short recaps of News Releases

• Tweet quirky things: show your personality

• Tweet data

• Converse with people

• Virtual police scanner

• “Hashtag” yourself

• Get a “Verified Account”

Twitter Slang

• Twitterer – Someone who uses Twitter, formal• Tweep – Someone who uses Twitter, informal• Tweet – A short message posted to Twitter• @ – A mention of a Twitterer in a Tweet• DM – A private, Direct Message to a Twitterer• RT – A Re-Tweet, similar to an email forward• #HashTags – Tweet Categories

What’s all this tinyurl business?

• People like to use Twitter to share links

• Messages are limited to 140 characters

• Long web addresses exceed the limit

• URL Shorteners make the long address short so you can tweet it:is.gd, tr.im, bit.ly, tinyurl

Twitter Tools

• TweetDeck (PC / Mac)

• Tweetie (iPhone)

• Über Twitter (Blackberry)

• Twidroid (Android)

• Tiny Twitter / SMS (Others)

• Spy :: Twitter (Web)

How to follow on Twitter

• twitter.com/signup

How to follow on Twitter

• Visit: twitter.com/fbcoem

• Click “Follow”

Help your tribe interact with you

• Send us an @reply to tell us you’re here– “Hey @fbcoem, just saying hello!”– http://twitter.com/home?status=Hi+@fbcoem,

+just+saying+hello!

• When something interesting is posted, RT it• @reply to us if you have questions or news

– @fbcoem What does “heat index” mean?– @fbcoem Ransom road is flooded and blocked!

• When posting things about Fort Bend, use #fbctx

What is Facebook?

• Facebook started as an yearbook of sorts for the Phillips Exeter Academy incoming freshmen

• Mark Zuckerberg, Harvard student, made an online version called thefacebook.com

• Popularity grew to include all students, all schools and ultimately anyone with an email address.

What is Facebook?

• Facebook allows you to update your “Profile” with text, your status (like mini-Twitter), photos, videos and miscelanious applications.

How to use Facebook

• Add friends, post on walls, chat online

• Post photos and videos

• Use Facebook’s Events Application

• Get a “vanity url” for your page

• Set limits on who will be friends

• Set limits on time you will spend

How to “Friend” on Facebook

• http://www.facebook.com

• http://www.facebook.com/fbcoem

How to “Friend” on Facebook

• Facebook will walk you through the process of importing your address book, and will suggest friends for you.

How to use Facebook

• Set up a page for your organization

• Choose a “vanity URL” for your page

• Invite Friends to become Fans

• Publish News

• Interact with Friends

• Automate it!

What is YouTube?

• YouTube is a video sharing service owned by Google• YouTube is the third most visited site on the internet.• In 2007 YouTube used the same amount of bandwidth

as the entire Internet in 2000.• Audience of over 258,000,000 users.• A place to comment on and favorite other’s videos• A “Channel” page giving you an opportunity for further

marketing.

How to use YouTube

• Load and share videos

• Share video commentary

• Tell your side of the story

• Share breaking news!

• Favorite relevant videos

• Comment

How to Join Us on YouTube

• http://www.youtube.com/create_account

How to Join Us on YouTube

• http://www.youtube.com/fbcoem

In Review

• Traditional media is reaching less and less

• Social media can help you

• Take it slow

• Invest the time

• Build trust

• Learn from others

Questions and Comments

Tools

• All Social Media:– NutShellMail email summaries of everything

– Google News find yourself in the news

– Google Blog Search find yourself on the blogs

– Firefox better browser, tuned for social media

– Delicious keep track of all your posts

Tools

• Twitter– Spy :: Twitter Twitter scanner

– Search.Twitter.com Twitter’s own search tool

– Tweet Deck for PC / Mac

– Twidroid for Android devices

– Twitteriffic for Mac / iPhone

– Camera-phone with Text Messaging plan

Social Media the OEM Uses

• Twitter Alerts, advisories, news

• Facebook Posting of all web content, meet people

• SlideShare Share slideshows (like this one)

• YouTube Preparedness videos, incident updates

• IntenseDebate Commenting on all our web pages

• Share This Visitors can share our content

Twitter user sentence diagram

Lach: Me too! RT @kylemathis I’m tired of PowerPoint crashing! #getamac

Say whaaaaaaat?Say whaaaaaaat?

Twitter user sentence diagram

Lach: Me too! RT @kylemathis I’m tired of PowerPoint crashing! #getamac

Twitterer

Twitter user sentence diagram

Lach: Me too! RT @kylemathis I’m tired of PowerPoint crashing! #getamac

@lach’s Tweet

Twitter user sentence diagram

Lach: Me too! RT @kylemathis I’m tired of PowerPoint crashing! #getamac

Tells us it’s a re-tweet

Twitter user sentence diagram

Lach: Me too! RT @kylemathis I’m tired of PowerPoint crashing! #getamac

Original Author

Twitter user sentence diagram

Lach: Me too! RT @kylemathis I’m tired of PowerPoint crashing! #getamac

Original Tweet

Twitter user sentence diagram

Lach: Me too! RT @kylemathis I’m tired of PowerPoint crashing! #getamac

Hashtag (Category)