Edelman have just published a white paper summary of the 2009 “Engaging the New Influencers” Third Annual New Media Academic Summit. At the Third Annual New Media Academic Summit Edelman got together “100 professors of communications, journalism, business and PR from across North America and Europe to discuss how companies, organizations and media effectively engage their stakeholders through social media, with sessions led by over 50 practitioners who guide digital strategies within leading organisations”.

I think it is fantastic how we have resources like this available to us no matter where we are in the world, whether we can actually be in the room on the day or not. The opportunity is always there to access these types of resources, learn from experts and be exposed to topics that are being discussed and ideas that emerge at online media events and conferences worldwide.

It is great that I can write a post like this on what I liked and learned at the Edelman New Media Academic Summit and learn a load along the way through watching these videos and transporting myself there. That is one of the things I love about online media, disappearing walls and boundaries, direct access to learn from leaders, in this instance both online media academics and practitioners. The information is in front of you, you just need to apply yourself to taking it in, asking questions and coming up with new iterations and ideas of your own. I think everyone is and will continue to be a student of online media, change will continue, and we will learn what works and what doesn’t. Business models will work and creations will fly that have not even been considered or dreamed up yet.

Update: Great article on Fast Company talks more about this theme of self education through open content, “Today, “open content” is the biggest front of innovation in higher education. The movement that started at MIT has spread to more than 200 institutions in 32 countries that have posted courses online at the OpenCourseWare Consortium. But, as Wiley points out, there’s still a big gap between viewing such resources as a homework aid and building a recognized, accredited degree out of a bunch of podcasts and YouTube videos.” Read: ” Web-Savvy Edupunks are Transforming American Highler Education”

I have summarized some learnings of the videos I thought would be of interest to Estate of Fluxers, those of us that (try to?!) stay up to date with this rapidly, constantly changing field that is online media.

If I was to pull out one thing from each video that really made an impact:

• Jim Vanderhei on Change:  There has been more change in last three years than in 30 years before, and will be even more change in the next three years. And later in the same presentation, Dan Gillmor on Online Media Business Models: ” It is the best time ever to be “creating your own job!” Young people can take risks and figure out what is going to work and it is so exciting. These are the people that will invent what we are going to have.“
• You need to take time analyse and understand how the online behaviours trigger offline actions and outcomes, which is described in the white paper from Edelman as “the real opportunity of social media”. I think this is lost sometimes and is important, potentially transformative.
  
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VIDEO 1. The State of Media: Today and Tomorrow

Intro
Web3.0: the rise of the Smartphones? We all have to develop “new reflexes” with the state of media as it is today. Example given of Bill Gates releasing mosquitos on a crowd at a press conference saying “Why should mosquitoes just be on poor people?” The PR person was out of the room, but within 5 min  a NZ news outlets calls who have seen a tweet about it. The speaker finds this anecdote particularly outrageous as the news has reached NZ which I found quite funny. We have our finger on the pulse here downunder people, watch out! Another new reflex? Are you recording a video or prepared to go viral..? This may be your YouTube moment!!!

Three points from each speaker
Dan Gillmor, Director of Knight Centre for Digital Media Entrepreneurship and Kauffman Professor of Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University.
1. Rather than complaining and panicking about demise of traditional media’s business model, which is a fact, he is interested in celebrating the fact there is a huge amount of experimentation, hundreds of thousands of experiments, going on right now.
2. This is leading to a froth of ideas and entreprenurship that will also lead to a lot of failures. But a lot of successes, and things that work, also.
3. We are going to have plenty of good journalism in the future. Problem is not so much a supply, although we do need better journalism and info, but we have a lazy population in demand. We need people that will take responsibility for knowing what they know and that it is right. Active not passive consumers.

Jim VanderHei, Executive Editor and Co-founder of Politico
1. Sick of sitting on panels where people are mourning for the past and the way journalism was. We will end up with better journalism, more journalism. Media companies need to keep experimenting and enjoy that things are changing, evolving. More change in last three years than in 30 years before, and will be even more change in the next three years.
2. This puts a lot of stress on media companies to experiment and test things and also stress for universities. It is hard to keep up with training students on new technologies and online media, changing the curriculum fast enough is a challenge.
3. Think that all but the top four newspapers will go under, economics are terrible. The success models will emerge and it will be a new and enlightening future.

Nick Wrenn, CNN
1. Feel like the untrendy uncle at a wedding sometimes at CNN. Need to be relevant in a Twitter age and remodel gradually evolution not revolution.
2. An interesting benchmark is change in way they view their competitors. e.g. BBC, NY Times, Al Jahzeera and then much bigger new media space, aggregators and Bloggers. As an established news org how do you treat these? Need to see them as something that can complement your output, if you are threatened then you are doomed. E.g. Use Twitter to engage an audience during programming. Also use it as a news gathering, tip off tool. Mumbai terrorist attacks for example, 5 tweets a second from people at the height of the action. Social networking is a vital tool for those people and those interested in it to stay informed. Appealing for blood supplies and providing solace.
As journalists need to research, verify, explain important facts and what happens next. Ensuring that speed does not come before accuracy.
3. Have CNN Youtube Channel to flag up some big things they are doing internationally.

Mobile view has had a very steady rise over the 2 years, is a watch this space zone.

David Kirkpatrick, Senior Editor, Fortune
Not sure that agree with Dan and Jim that it is a great time to get into journalism. Great distribution technologies, but the business model is just not there. Number of kids that want to be journalists is astonishingly high, how are they going to make money?
For his 3 points is going to try and give some company centric contrarian views.
1. Google – Disintermediated traditional media, but may disintermediate itself. If they keep doing a better job at search, there will be less reason for people to buy ads. Microsoft has introduced Bing for this reason.
2. Facebook – Astonishingly important part of the media landscape.  Time spent on Facebook up 700% year on year. 3/10 people on the internet in the world are on Facebook. is a media platform
a)  Consumer content created there is media and being consumed
b)  Distribution platform, sending info to other people.
3. Twitter – Twitter usage is a reading usage not writing, finding media and going to it through Twitter, just as it is happening on Facebook, it is a distribution platform.

Dan Gillmor responds: It is the best time ever to be “creating your own job!” Young people can take risks and figure out what is going to work and it is so exciting. These are the people that will invent what we are going to have.  I really love this outlook and paradigm to look at the current media situation.

VIDEO 2. Advancing reputation: Every organization is a media company

• You don’t have to be everywhere and on all social networks, do what makes sense for your company.
• You need to have, and be prepared to show, your company’s personality, be prepared to do the hard work involved in building and sustaining active relationships in social networks.
• Can not treat social networks like a broadcast channel, companies and brands need to be equal members of the network, acting as they do and speaking their language. You can’t just blast about your products for example, you need a persona.  Broadcasting will not advance reputation, but will harm it and it is not how these channels are used most effectively.  “People miss the opportunity with social media when they treat it like a broadcast channel” – Mike Slaby
• Through Social Media you “tell your story”.
• Need to have people operating this function in your company that “get it”. What are Facebook statuses used for? What is etiquette of Tweeting? Can get it wrong.
• Have to be willing to give things a go and give staff a chance to explore these channels and how they can work for building business and brand. Get staff on board that are  passionate experts to add anew dimension to your brand persona.
• May need to give up control to give people a sense of ownership. An example here is giving voters a digital brand and logo kit, they shared ownership and responsibility for the campaigns success and made a profound difference to the outcome.
• Using social networks  can extend the reach of your communications campaigns, offering fresh platforms where new audiences are. They can create new dimension to customer service for example where you can be contacted and respond directly.
• You also need to take time analyse and understand how the online behaviours trigger offline actions and outcomes, which is described in the white paper from Edelman as “the real opportunity of social media”.
• You don’t also have to be participating (publishing) in social networks, but value can be gained through listening. What is the tonality? Positive, negative or neutral? Good to actively monitor people talking about your company e.g. on Blogs, twitter and if there is some way you can help, add value then you can reach out. Through this type of program you can turn someone unhappy into an advocate. I wonder if Edelman is listening and will respond to this blog post.. Hello? Anyone out there?
• When you do participate, publish or respond in social networks be genuine, sincere and transparent.
• Every brand has a personality and set of core values. Give yours a face, a voice and a name.
• Small efforts, reaching out, consistency, will have impact.

I will report on the Measuring the impact of Social Media presentation in a later post. And of course the most important part..

What Next?

Tags | Brand, Communications Strategy, Events, Online Media, Public Relations, Social Media, Web