Engaging the Conversation

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%

New News Channels

• Online traditional publications– NYTimes.com– WallstreetJournal.com– SeattlePI.com

• Mobile traditional publications– USA Today iPhone app

New News Channels

• News Aggregators– Google News

• Social News Aggregators– Digg.com

New News Sources

• Drudge Report

• TMZ

• Daily Show

• Word of Mouth / Social Media

The Conversation

• Word of mouth communication 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

• Information flows along relational lines

• The “wisdom of the crowds” determines news

Social Media is Fast

Social Media is Direct

Social Media is Noisy

Social Media Takes Work

Guidelines for Social Media

• Only use what you can utilize

• Spend time to build trust– Be authentic– Be honest

• Promote via your non-social networks

• Stay engaged

Types of Sites

• Social Networks– Meeting, finding, connecting

• Multimedia– Sharing, learning

• Bookmarking– Link sharing, “the cloud”

• News– News sharing, opinion sharing

Types of Sites

• Reviews– Sharing reviews of companies, services

• Blogs– Opinion sharing, news sources

• Microblogs– Sharing short updates

• Wikis– Collaboration

How does Twitter Work?

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

How to use Twitter

• Post short recaps of News Releases

• Post quirky things: show your personality

• Post data

• Chat with people

• Virtual police scanner

• “Hashtag” yourself

• Get a “Verified Account”

Twitter Tools

• TweetDeck (PC / Mac)

• Tweetie (iPhone)

• Über Twitter (Blackberry)

• Twitta (Android)

• Tiny Twitter / SMS (Others)

How to use Facebook

• Set up a page for your organization– http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php– Address, Hours, Website

• Import RSS feed as notes– Edit Page >Notes – Admin Options> Edit >

Import a blog

• Advertise your Page • NEW! Get a “vanity url” for your page• Monitor results

How to use YouTube

• Load “backgrounder” videos• Load informal commentary on News

Releases• Load relevant breaking news as

appropriate• Capture video of interviews and post

unedited• Favorite other relevant videos• Comment, comment, comment!

Source: http://www.ovrdrv.com/social-media-map/

How do I choose the right one?

• Works for me– Does it meet my operational objectives?

• Widespread use– Will the community already be using it?

• Open standards– Is it easy to access?

• Integration– Can it be tied into my existing systems?

Recommendations

• IntenseDebate– Add comments to your existing website– Easy to moderate via email– Easy to add to your website– Keeps community on your website

Recommendations

• ShareThis– Let users share your content however they

want– Works with existing content– Promotes your message– Crowdsourcing

Recommendations

• Twitter– Free opt-in SMS and Mobile updates– As easy to use as texting– Clean, simple, fast– Can be tied into PIER– Lots of buzz!

Recommendations

• YouTube– Share your videos– Favorite recommended videos– Embed on your site– Free hosting– Special Gov accounts

Recommendations

• Facebook– Widely used– Click-happy users– Can be tied into PIER– Wide demographic– Large userbase

Recommendations

• Flickr Pro– Costs $20 a year– Can upload from your phone– Allows comments– Can be linked to from site– Wide userbase

Recommendations

• Wordpress– Set up a blog in 15 minutes– Lets you control message informally– Gives you a personal touch

Recommendations

• PIER System– Manages communication with community– Inquiries are very social– Allows integration with other services– Widely used regionally

What we did

• Added comments to documents– User participation on interesting documents

• Added ShareThis link to documents– Allows visitors to bookmark site

• Twitter– All alerts go straight to twitter– Jeff updates from phone

• SlideShare

What we did

• Video on Vimeo– Did not have YouTube gov account at time– Lets us embed video on homepage for free

• Facebook Page– Information page on Facebook– Updates post automatically

• Blog– Jeff updates blog for emergency managers– Blog and site traffic tightly correlated

Crisis Use

• Important tools– YouTube– Twitter– Del.icio.us– Flickr

• Develop a policy and job aids for SM

Crisis Use

• Have a “Web Specialist” in your JIC/IC

• Set a tag– FBHazMat, GalvRain, HtownBrown– “Hey internet, tag your posts with #GalvRain,

we’re doing the same!”

• Use TwitterSpy to “listen in”

• Tweet frequent updates

Crisis Use

• Images and videos go a long way, USE THEM– Pictures of the IC, show your activity– Shoot yourself (evenings work well)

• Don’t obsess over prose

• ReTweet when at a loss

• Band together, we can help each other!

• Get your kids to help

Crisis Use

• Use Firefox– Windows for topics, tabs for pages– Get approval and installation before crisis

• Keep a log using Del.icio.us– Bookmark everything you find– Search for your tags

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

• JUST DO IT! (Now would be good…)

Questions and Comments

Lach MullenRegional Public Information System Administrator

lachlan.mullen@co.fort-bend.tx.ushttp://www.twitter.com/lach