CorporatePR

Seminar on Innovation & Branding

I have been asked to teach a seminar on innovation and branding at ISCOM the first week of June.  This is for students pursuing a fifth year (BAC +5) - kind of like a master's degree in the US.  As part of the seminar, teams of students will give an oral presentation.  I am going to ask them to present an analysis of emerging mobile strategies across a couple of countries, with a focus on B2C.

If you have recommended sources or ideas, please drop them into the comments.  Thanks!

My Workshop at the New Communications Forum

Yes, this is a bit self-promotional, but I thought I would extend to my readers an invitation to my pre-conference workshop at the New Communications Forum, to be held Tuesday, April 22, in Sonoma, California.  Here's the description:

Tuesday, April 22nd - 8:30am - 12:00pm
Pre-con 1 - Shortcuts to Social Media with Elizabeth Albrycht

While blogs and podcasts are valuable communications tools, there can be challenges to organizations that wish to adopt them for internal and/or external communications. Perhaps your corporate culture isn’t ready to embrace the informal nature of blogs or you simply don’t have the time and/or resources to devote to a blog or podcast. This doesn’t mean, however, that you cannot take advantage of social media. There are a variety of new tools available for communications professionals that provide many of the benefits of participatory communications without the demanding commitments of blogging and podcasting.

This workshop will explain a variety of tools and techniques you can use to take short cuts to the world of social media that will help build the network of relationships your organization will need to be successful in the future. These include microblogging, RSS and emerging “comment platforms” for news, photos, videos and more. Used internally or externally, these tools can help organizations to test the social media waters with fewer risks and time/resource commitments.

You will learn:

- The various ways RSS can be used to facilitate news and information distribution internally and externally

- How emerging Web 2.0 “comment platforms” can be harnessed to advantage in sharing news, photos, video and other media forms with internal and external audiences

- What new collaborative tools can help you test the social media waters, beginning with your communications team

I am, of course, willing to adjust/personalize the topics of discussion within the framework to reflect audience needs/requirements.  Therefore, if you are planning on joining me, please let me know asap and what specific questions you would like me to address.  I also have discounts available on request to the workshop as well as the conference as a whole.  Just leave a comment or contact me via email at ealbrycht at gmail dot com.

EuroBlog 2008 Spring Symposium Call for Papers

Here it is.  I am planning on attending; still thinking about submitting a paper.

SNCR Symposium & Awards Gala

If you are going to be in Boston the first week of December (or feel like giving Bean town a visit), please think of going to the Second Annual Symposium for the SNCR, to be held Dec. 5-6.  You can find all the relevant information here.

Unfortunately, I won't be there, as I have to teach classes in Paris on the 5th.  I am planning on going to the New Communications Forum in 2008, however, and hope to catch up with many friends then!

Global PR Blog Week 3.0 In the Works

I was happy to read this morning that Constantin Basturea has decided to organize version 3 of Global PR Blog Week.  I participated in the first two, and believe that each made an important contribution to understanding the rapidly evolving world of PR.  Constantin is looking for ideas about what version 3.0 should look like.  Please drop by and let him know what you think.

PRSA Teleseminar Next Week

I'm back in the saddle, with my first teleseminar in awhile, this for PRSA's professional development.  I will be reprising my Using RSS in Corporate Communications presentation, and if you need some basic tips and ideas about RSS, please sign up!  You can find all the relevant information here.

Delivering the New PR in 2007

After a successful tour of the UK in 2006, the team behind Delivering the New PR is gearing up for 2007.  The first event will be held in Newcastle on March 27.  I won't be there for this one, as I am not yet travelling after the birth of my baby (I'll be at future ones).  But the rest of the team will be there: Philip, Neville, Tom, Stuart and so forth.  Nicky and crew will be doing their usual bang-up job setting everything up.  If you missed any of the events last year, never fear!  We'll be in your neck of the woods again, with a bunch of new content.  Or just hop a train to Newcastle and kick off your spring with style. Sign up here.

Update on the Social Media Front

You might be wondering, "Where in the world is Elizabeth?"  Yes, I admit I haven't been blogging much lately.  I had a huge project with a very tight deadline for the last three weeks in October, so blogging really took the back seat.  In addition, I am working on several papers for my master's degree, so I have spent more time reading philosophy then blogs.  But I am thinking about digital identity a lot!

So what has been happening lately?  First, the SNCR held its first annual Research Symposium in Boston last Thursday/Friday.  Congrats to Jen McClure for organizing another great event.  I was unfortunately not able to attend (my travel schedule has been severely curtailed by my doctor for the next few months as I am awaiting an exciting new addition to my family!), but it sounds like our 2007 research schedule is shaping up to be ambitious and relevant, with a particular focus on measuring online influence.  Sally Falkow has taken over for me as Research Committee Chair, given my time is going to be limited during the first half of the year.  (Thank you so much Sally!).

The 2006 SNCR Awards Winners were announced at the event (press release) - congratulations to all!  You can read their case studies here.  The first issue of the Journal of New Communications Research was also published.  You can download or purchase a copy here.  I have an article in it which lays out my network model for communications that I have been talking to audiences about for a year.

In other activities, back in September, I wrote an article on RSS in Corporate Communications for PRSA.  You can read it here.  I have another article appearing on comment platforms, like Digg.com, Flickr, YouTube, etc. in the print version of PRSA's Tactics, but I am not sure if it is published yet, as they don't list their table of contents (that I can find, anyways).  Please let me know if you see it!

The next Delivering the New PR conference takes place in London on November 10.  I will not be able to be there (as explained above), but I wish my fellow presenters, Stuart Bruce, Neville Hobson, Tom Murphy, Chris Rushton and Philip Young all the best! [Speaking of Philip, the EuroBlog 2007 Survey started yesterday. If you are a PR person in Europe, please spend 10 minutes answering the questions, as it will provide us with valuable insight into how things have changed over the past year.]

That is it for now!  I am forgetting to mention a variety of things, I am sure, but I'll be back...

SNCR Symposium & Awards Gala in 3 Weeks

Why go to Boston on November 1-2?  To attend the SNCR Symposium and Gala, of course!  Good food, good company, interesting discussion topics - it has it all.   Our gala and awards ceremony will take place the evening of Nov. 1, then Paul Gillen will kick things off the next morning, with his keynote presentation: “The New Influencers: How Social Media is Revolutionizing Media and Markets.”

You'll also hear from Soc. for New Communications Research members on best practices for corporate blogging policies, the emergence of blogging in university admissions and recruiting, the state of the art in social media and the legal implications of podcasting.  (See complete event description here.)

The total cost for both the gala and the symposium is $325 if you register online here.  The SNCR is a non-profit organization, and we'd certainly appreciate your support!  Thank you to our event sponsors Backbone Media and BusinessWire.

Using RSS In Corporate Communications

I am presenting a teleseminar for PRSA on Thursday (Sept. 21) at 3 p.m. ET on "Using RSS in Corporate Communications".  In preparation for that, I wrote a brief article for PR Tactics Online. You might remember I gave a similarly titled presentation last fall, which was quite popular.  I have updated it and added some new information, but it is still targeted at the beginner/early intermediate user of RSS.  If this describes you, I hope you can join us.  Just click here to register.