iaocblog

Why Aren't Philadelphia's Architects Taking Advantage of the Web? It's a Case Where Less is Definitely Not More.

Amanda Gibney Weko — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:03:00 -0400

Too many architects apply Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s famous axiom Less is More to their public relations efforts – particularly when it comes to the Web. I researched AIA Philadelphia member firms' Web presence, from individual Web sites to social media. Find out what I learned.

Europe Blogs this Week on IAOC

Don Dunnington — Sun, 12 Jun 2005 17:57:29 -0400

This week Guillaume du Gardier, Managing Director of PR Planet hosts "Blogging Europe" on IAOCblog Week. Guillaume has invited bloggers from France, Spain, Ireland, Denmark, Poland, Germany and Sweden. Topics include:

Blogs and journalists: a country-by-country view of how European media are embracing blogs, and who, if anyone is making money blogging
Blogs and politics: how do Europe's political candidates use blogs for their campaigns, and do politicians and government officials treat political bloggers the same as the press
Corporate blogging (external): case studies, who's leading the way, do European companies see blogs as an opportunity or a threat, are any small, nimble companies using blogs or is it only the big multi-national companies
Corporate blogging (internal): do European corporations view internal blogs as a way to make employees more effective or as a waste of time, are internal blogs in multi-national companies being written in English or in the local language
Blogs and brands: Tracking European and global brands in the blogosphere

The Best PR One-Liners from Stephen R. Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"

Don Dunnington — Sun, 12 Jun 2005 14:13:27 -0400

Coveys "7 Habits" is a dense and thought-filled book, full of quotable, almost Emersonian one-liners. Following are my favorite one-liners for PR professionals and online communicators. For anyone seeking help in learing how one becomes transparent in a blog, here is a good strating point.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Websites

Don Dunnington — Sun, 12 Jun 2005 13:44:59 -0400

Darren Guarnaccia of RedDot Solutions suggests in an article at CIOupdate.com that Stephen Covey's principles can make for better websites. Perhaps applying the "7 Habits" to your web can bring more customer satisfaction and greater success to your organization.

Questions and Answers on IBM's 'Socially Translucent Systems' and the Evolution of Corporate Cultures in the Online Environment

Don Dunnington — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 09:41:50 -0400

Philippe Borremans, PR Manager, IBM Belgium & Luxembourg, concludes his discussion about IBM’s recent online activities in a Q&A with IAOC president Don Dunnington

In your post about Online Jamming you mention IBM's experiments in social computing. In following that link, I was interested to find this discussion concerning translucency:

We call systems which provide perceptually-based social cues which afford awareness and accountability 'Socially Translucent Systems.' In such systems we believe it will be easier for users to carry on coherent discussions; to observe and imitate others' actions; to engage in peer pressure; to create, notice, and conform to social conventions. We see social translucence as a fundamental requirement for supporting communication and collaboration.

People who write about blogs and wikis often cite the importance of transparency in online communication, but translucency is a new one to me. Can you elaborate on the difference between translucency and transparency?

Well Don I would say that translucency will enable full transparency in online communities. Let me try to explain in the words of a colleague:

In our work at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, we are designing "socially translucent" systems that support groups working within online communities. We are interested in making people and their behavior more prominent, enabling the creation, exercise, and mutual observation of social behavior.

To do this, we combine support for conversation with visual representations of people and their activities vis à vis the conversation space to provide a community-oriented environment for carrying out work. We are explicitly interested in blending work and social talk, synchronous and asynchronous interactions, and private and public discourse.

So once you have such a system in place (because today it is still in the research phase) you will be able to actually see the transparency of an online conversation/collaboration through visual representations. I hope this helps, I am not a specialist in this area but for those who are interested in the topic I can point them to Social Translucence: An Approach to Designing Systems that Support Social Processes written by Thomas Erickson and Wendy A. Kellogg, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center.

Once your Socially Translucent Systems get out of the lab, we hope you’ll come back and give us a demonstration. You mentioned that in an earlier ValuesJam session, IBM'ers engaged in a dialog concerning corporate values that dated back to Tom Watson, Sr., IBM's founder. IBM may be the only organization whose corporate values could be summed up in one word: THINK. Is "think" still at the core of IBM's values?

Through the Values Jam our employees defined the 3 following values for all IBM'ers:

Dedication to every client's success
Innovation that matters -- for our company and for the world
Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships

"Think" is of course a very strong word which incorporates everything we do, and still fits nicely in all 3 values. I can tell you, I've got a poster next to me at work with just "Think" on it -- kind of a reminder/wake up call when the stress level is rising, and it works.

I think corporate culture has always had a big influence on companies (even if they didn't acknowledge its importance themselves). Was it your long-established corporate values that gave IBM management the courage to suggest that all its employees should blog?

I do not think the two actions are related although they mutually support one another. IBM has always believed in the importance of open exchange and learning. We also believe in contributing to the world in various forms, be it through technology, volunteering or through public dialogue.

Certainly in the online environment, where transparency and employee empowerment reign supreme, I expect clear corporate values and an open corporate culture will prove to be a benefit. One of the unanticipated benefits may be that it makes companies more flexible and able adapt to revolutionary changes (as blogs have been portrayed) and treat them as a natural evolution.

Since 1997 we have recommended our employees to use the ‘Net, at a time where many companies where restricting access so I do not think this is revolutionary at all for IBM. IBM'ers have been working with the web for years now and blogs are just another medium we use to contribute our experiences and knowledge in a responsible way.

You know Don, before we even got together and sat down to discuss if IBM needed guidelines on blogging there was already a "guidelines" wiki page available on the intranet. IBM bloggers had already written down the most important guidelines for their "internal community". Fascinating to see that this is what our third corporate value is all about.

RSS on IBM's intranet

Phil Borremans — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 06:53:52 -0400

Hi everyone,

Just received an update that IBM's CIO's office is testing out RSS for internal communications. At this moment we have 3 feeds up and running on the IBM intranet. Currently the RSS feed generator identifies all the content for a given topic (Example: In the news) and selects only items targeted for all IBM employees.

The intranet is the first source IBM'ers turn to when they are looking for information and contains our profile, our contact details, personalised data according to profession etc... With these 3 RSS feeds we're certainly going in the right direction.

Philippe Borremans, PR Manager, IBM Belgium & Luxembourg. The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.

More to Come on IBM

Don Dunnington — Sun, 22 May 2005 16:36:38 -0400

This week on IAOCblog, we will be continuing our discussion with Philippe Borremans about IBM's online communication.

There's a great podcast discussion about Philippe's post concerning IBM's online jamming. You can hear it on the latest "For Immediate Release: The Hobson and Holtz Report." If you haven't listened to this well done talk show, try it now.

Online "Jamming" at IBM

Phil Borremans — Wed, 18 May 2005 07:41:19 -0400

Some 3 years ago IBM tried a new approach to what is called "social computing" - within IBM we call ...

IBM PR Manager talks about blogging, wikis and collaboration

Don Dunnington — Tue, 17 May 2005 11:08:19 -0400

This week IAOC member Philippe Borremans has agreed to talk about the way IBM is embracing internet technology to foster collaboration within the company. You may remember Philippe from his post about internal Blogs at IBM and the use of RSS in crisis communication. With news breaking May 13 of their 320,000 employee corporate wide blogging initiative, it appears Philippe could have lots of blogging company.

We'll also take a look at how IBM used wikis, instant messaging and something called "jamming" to define their corporate values and set guidelines for IBM bloggers.

Next Week: The Professionalization of Blogs - Implications for Corporate Communications and PR

Don Dunnington — Fri, 06 May 2005 14:40:59 -0400

Whether you’re confounded about how to communicate with them, or you’re dreaming of becoming one of them, you won’t want to miss next week’s focus on professional blogging. Leading the discussion is Steve KIng, a senior advisor at the Institute for the Future (IFTF).

King has been looking into the blogsphere at IFTF and finds that an increasing number of blogs are being authored by professional bloggers. He defines professional bloggers as those who see blogging as their primary business, or as an important marketing channel for their primary businesses. He says blog oriented micro-publishing firms like Gawker and Weblogs Inc. have emerged, and many individual bloggers have quit their day jobs to pursue a living through blogging. These "professional blogs" are attracting relatively large audiences and gaining influence across the blogosphere.

King will give us an overview of professional blogs, their economics, how micro publishers are changing the communication landscape, and what this will mean for corporate communications and public relations.

Cliff Allen Weighs In with a Small Sample of His RSS Feeds

Don Dunnington — Fri, 06 May 2005 06:27:12 -0400

It’s a good thing RSS feeds have no weight, or Cliff Allen might have to be a body builder to carry around his complete collection, which he once told me numbers in the hundreds.

In his latest email to me, he admits, “I still seem to collect RSS feeds faster than I collect bookmarks!”

Both his consulting firm and his CRM software firm are focused on sales and marketing, and that’s also the focus for much of his blog reading. Some of his current favorites:

CRM Mastery is a blog by Jim Berkowitz on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). StartWithALead is the apt URL for a “B2B Lead Generation Blog” by Brian Carroll, which focuses on leads and marketing for “the complex sale.”

The next blog is for a book, which should warm the heart of our Book Blog host, Steve O’Keefe. Read this item from the Thursday, May 5th post and your heart may be warmed, too. The blog title, Never Eat Alone, is the same as the book title. I happened to see the book at a local book store on Sunday and almost picked it up. After seeing the blog, I’ll go back and get it this weekend. If you want a good tutorial on the process and rewards of making honest, personal connections with strangers (and sometimes even the people we work and live with are strangers), this will do it. While it seems to be largely a handbook for face-to-face connections, we are seeing that the same dynamics apply to blog connections.

For his final RSS feeds, Cliff likes a blog that aims high: How to Save the World is Dave Pollard's collection of “environmental philosophy, creative works, business papers and essay.” And if you’ll forgive a bit of self-congratulation, he concludes, “the iaocblog looks great!”

Is Your Blog Providing a Front Porch for Real Communities?

Don Dunnington — Sun, 01 May 2005 17:44:48 -0400

I was in a marketing committee meeting last Thursday at the United Way of Gloucester County in New Jersey, when executive director Jere Hoffner called our attention to this poster.

Weekends Now Open on IACOblog

Don Dunnington — Sun, 01 May 2005 16:29:01 -0400

For those who’ve wanted to share your thoughts but were hesitant to commit to an entire week’s discussion, we’ve got good news. Starting today, weekends are now open to any member of our growing community. If you are one of our 35 trusted posters who have already contributed to this blog, there’s no need to contact us first. Just jump right in any weekend. If you’d like to become a weekend blogger, contact me (ddunnington at ktron dot com) or our PR Diva, Gwendolynn Gawlick (gg at roadgirl dot com).

Next on IAOC Blog week: Sports and Sports Promotion on the Internet

Don Dunnington — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 13:59:45 -0400

IAOC member Dee Rambeau is your host next week (April 18-22) for an exploration of how the Internet is employed in sports marketing and PR, and increasingly in delivering sports content. Dee is Managing Partner of DVCO Technology in Denver, Colorado and comes to sports with experience as both a participant and a marketer. You can see Dee’s personal blog at Adventures in Business Communications.

Topics will include:

The Sports Message
- Is it different than a regular PR message
- Is “fun” easier to deliver
- A look at the sports media…a tougher or easier relationship?

The Sports Venue
- Tying online into live events…websites, instant messaging, text messaging
- Booths, kiosks and on-site promotions that use the Internet
- Driving the dot.com message from the PA and traditional on-site methods

The Sports Fan
- More viral?
- More avid?
- Driving the dot.com message from radio and TV
- Online game viewing and listening from the desktop
- The PDA and the cellphone

Gambling
- Can advertisers and legitimate marketers take advantage of this?

Booze
- While restricted somewhat on-air, are there more sponsorship and advertising opportunities online?

Sports Video and TV on the Internet
- Distribution options via the web…streaming, clip of the day, etc.
- Podcasting now…video-casting next

RSS Basics: Coming up Next on This Week on IAOCblog.com

Don Dunnington — Thu, 24 Mar 2005 16:55:23 -0500

Starting Sunday, March 27, Bob Geller of Fusion PR hosts a week-long, hands-on forum about the practical uses of RSS technology. Topics include...

Lessons from a Moscow MBA Class on Internet Technology and Freedom

Don Dunnington — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 17:34:18 -0500

In 2002 I made two trips to Russia to teach MBAs at Moscow University Touro. You can read about my early January trip, “Christmas trees in the Kremlin,” in Rowan University’s magazine. I returned in November of the same year to teach an e-commerce class, where we got into a discussion of how Internet technology has facilitated the growth and speed of feedback loops.

To illustrated to the class the power of feedback loops, I described how the development of accurate feeding technology (see the sidebar below) depended on the microprocessor, which in turn depended on the ability of feedback loops to provide timely data on what’s happening outside the feeder.

Rudy Maxa on Travel Branding, Hot Destinations and Taking Hotel Luxury Home

Don Dunnington — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 15:46:44 -0500

This is the last of today's conversations with Rudy Maxa. If you have questions or comments for Rudy, you can leave them here, and we'll try to hunt him down in India to get answers.

Maxas Advice for Travel PR Professionals

Don Dunnington — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 13:43:45 -0500

First travel industry PR folks have to know who writes or broadcasts about subjects that relate to their clients. Sounds basic, I know, but youd be amazed at the number of people who reach out to me with totally inappropriate press releases....

More by Maxa on Blogging, plus His Favorite Travel Webs

Don Dunnington — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:31:32 -0500

This is Part 2 of our Q&A with Travel writer/host Rudy Maxa. Do you see travel blogs becoming a major influencer in how and where people travel? Are travel blogs impacting your work as a travel writer?

Q&A with Travel Expert and Journalist Rudy Maxa, Producer of Savvy Traveler on PBS

Don Dunnington — Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:41:12 -0500

Rudy Maxa is on a plane this morning from Orlando to St. Paul and from there heads off to India for a National Geographic Traveler assignment. So we're doing today's discussion with Rudy as a four-part Q&A. In part one, we talk to Rudy about how he got started as a travel writer and onair commentator and his early days as an online travel personality.

Q&A with Joe Taylor, who may be the first to build a 'tree house' for process engineers

Don Dunnington — Wed, 02 Mar 2005 11:21:59 -0500

Joseph Taylor is the founder of two industrial websites: www.PowderandBulk.com and www.WaterandWastewater.com. His is one of the early success stories of using the Internet as a tool to help engineers find industrial equipment suppliers.

Who's Going to Write the Industrial Industry Blog?

Don Dunnington — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 14:40:35 -0500

Paul Scrivens at BusinessLogs.com writes that blogs are the digital path to word of mouth marketing. In The Power of the Industry Blog, Scrivens declares, "Word of mouth spreads quickly. Get your product a blog and get it mentioned in your industry's blog (if there isn't one, why don't you start one?)."

B2B's Emotional Gatekeepers

Don Dunnington — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 17:07:54 -0500

I first came across the primitive-brain-as-gatekeeper idea in You've Got to Be Believed to Be Heard by Bert Decker (1992), a good guide to effective speaking that also offers insight into communication theory.

How Do You Communicate with Engineers?

Don Dunnington — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 10:41:21 -0500

Does emotion play a role in online industrial communication? The question is more ofen addressed in the consumer market, as in Margie Weinsteins report, Getting Emotional about Branding from the National Retail Federations 94th Annual Convention and Expo. Her post covers a presentation by psychiatrist and author Dr. Clotaire Rapaille.

Welcome to IAOCs Industrial Blog Week

Don Dunnington — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 08:20:05 -0500

Industrial Blog Week is originating from South Jersey (Southern New Jersey for those beyond the reach of the Philly cheese steak). If you drove two hours north of here, youd come to Paterson, New Jersey, where Alexander Hamilton founded the Society for Establishing Useful Manufacture.

So Where Did We Get the Old PR Model?

Don Dunnington — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 18:09:47 -0500

As we build a new model of communication for our new age, its useful to consider how we came by the old model.

Discussion of Communication Models Continues

Don Dunnington — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 17:14:03 -0500

Our discussion of new (and old) communication models continues this week. Dan Forbush will lead the discussion tomorrow. If you would like to volunteer to take a day, send an email to our Blog Week coordinator, Gwendolynn Gawlick , at gg@prdiva.com.

PR's Communication Models and the Network

Don Dunnington — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 14:56:43 -0500

Elizabeth's discussion of communication models sent me back to the PR textbook I used in graduate school. Grunig and Hunt identified four PR Communication Models in Managing Public Relations [James E. Grunig and Todd Hunt, Harcourt, Bace Jovanovich (1984), p. 21].

The two earliest forms of PR communication, according to the authors, were one-way publicity (such as a publicist promoting a movie), followed by the less overtly commercial communication of one-way public information (such as may be practiced by a government public affairs officer).

Grunig and Hunt held that public relations functions at a higher level when it practices two-way communication. They saw corporate PR largely functioning at the level of two-way asymmetric communication, and some regulated utilities achieving the ideal of two-way symmetric communication.

Pick Your Week to Tackle an Issue Important to You and Online Communicators

Don Dunnington — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 21:42:56 -0500

IAOC is looking for blog leaders who would like to lead a week-long online forum about an online communications topic that is of special interest to you. Producer Gwendolynn Gawlick of PR Diva is ready to help you and your discussion group develop your special topic.

At the New Communications Forum's Blog University in Napa, CA, Elizabeth Albrycht called for a Blog Week on blog ethics. You can volunteer to participate or lead this discussion, by leaving a comment on her blog.

This free program is made possible by IAOC members. To suggest a topic you would like to lead, please leave a comment here.

New for 2005: 'This Week on IAOCblog' to Host Thought Leaders in Online Communication

Don Dunnington — Sat, 05 Feb 2005 21:03:53 -0500

Join IAOC members for a free and free wheeling forum about the online communications issues that matter to you.

Here is the line-up so far:

Elizabeth Albrycht, Albrycht McClure & Partners
Topic: New Communication Models

Felix Laboy, E-site Marketing
Topic: Online Communications in the Travel Industry

Steve O'Keefe, Patron Saint Productions
Topic: Producing Blog Tours for Book Authors

Donald L. Dunnington, K-Tron International
Topic: Industrial Blogs: Do Blogs Make Sense for Companies that Don't Make Much News?

Suzanne Sparks FitzGerald, Rowan University
Topic: EduBlogs: Students and Professors who Blog

Watch for dates for these special blog weeks, along with new topics.