Every Monday we'll post a roundup of interesting communications news and articles from the past week. What have you been reading, listening to, and watching? Add a comment or suggest a link for next week.
Are you a searcher or a sorter? Does everything stay in your inbox, or do messages go to folders as soon as possible? I believe e-mail management to be an impressive talent. If you have a good method, leave it in the comments. In the meantime:
From Kathy Jensen in University Relations: The U's social networking link page has launched! University units on all campuses are invited to submit their official social networking site links. Over 30 units responded to our initial invitation and we'd like to add more.
To be considered for inclusion on the link page, your social networking site:
- should be your unit's official page (not a page run by a student), and
- should conform to the social networking guidelines
A set of layered Photoshop files are now available from the Images Library (login required). These files can be customized for use as your profile image on many social networking sites.
Please send your link submissions to University Relations and consider adding a link to the Social Networking page on your Web sites.
You know how every conference we attend these days has its own hashtag? So we can all tweet about what we're learning and how awesome the event is? Well, there is a dark side to the conference tweet: tweckling. Fair communicators, you can probably figure out what that means.
As event planners and programmers, what can we do to discourage tweckling? Should we? Check out this article from the Chronicle and post your thoughts on this. Oh, the humanity!
"Conference Humiliation: They're Tweeting Behind Your Back"
http://chronicle.com/article/Conference-Humiliation-/49185/
As event planners and programmers, what can we do to discourage tweckling? Should we? Check out this article from the Chronicle and post your thoughts on this. Oh, the humanity!
"Conference Humiliation: They're Tweeting Behind Your Back"
http://chronicle.com/article/Conference-Humiliation-/49185/
Every Monday we'll post a roundup of interesting communications news
and articles from the past week. What have you been reading, listening
to, and watching? Add a comment or suggest a link for next week.
Do you need to make a video for your job, but have limited resources to do so? As a former TV producer, I thought I'd share some simple ideas and Web sites to help you get your work done on the cheap!
Do you need to make a video for your job, but have limited resources to do so? As a former TV producer, I thought I'd share some simple ideas and Web sites to help you get your work done on the cheap!
There are three things you need to to make a video. First, you need a camera. Secondly, you need some type of editing software, and finally, you'll need a place to host your video. Here are some links to get you started down the path to making great video!
Camera:
The Flip Camera-Video Production Tips
Advice on how to use your Flip to shoot video
Editing Software:
PC Video Editing Software Reviews
Top 5 Free Video Editing Software Programs
Video Editing Tips and Techniques
Video Distribution:
Other Resources:
In 2008, UMCF did a program on Using Video at the U of M. Watch the presentation here.
Colin McFadden from CLA Video Services has offered his advice to UMCF members at past programs and the 2008 Conference. CLA Video Services rents out equipment to departments. Contact Colin at mcfa0086@umn.edu if you have any questions.
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the Digital Technology Center are sponsoring a free program of events on Thursday, November 12, for World Usability Day. The purpose of the program is to promote awareness of the benefits of usability engineering and user-centered design.World Usability Day was started in 2005 by the Usability Professionals Association and involves 36 hours of usability-related activities around the world in 30 countries.
See the schedule of events on campus. Of particular interest to communicators may be:
- 10:00-10:45 a.m. - "Designing for the Mobile Web"
- 11:00-11:45 a.m. - "Usability and Enterprise Applications: The Case of UM Survey"
This post by Seth Godin on "The why imperative" got me thinking about the power of that little word why.The university environment is a fascinating mix of innovation and entrenchment, of cutting-edge ideas and slow-moving systems. University researchers grew a beating heart in a lab, yet a unit's Web site redesign can get stuck in committee for years.
Each unit and department has its own view of "the way we do things." That is important, and I am not advocating change for change's sake. We are lucky to work within a trusted and established brand, and decisions on communications strategy need to be well thought out and supported by research.
I am, however, advocating for us to make sure we have a good answer to why we do the things we do. (And "because that's how we've always done it" is not a good enough answer.)
I'm also proposing we embrace that other favorite question of children: So what?
What would happen if your department's communications decisions had to go through a stubborn three-year-old?
"We need a brochure for our program."
"Why?"
"Because our program is new."
"So what?"
"So we want people to know we exist."
"Why?"
"Because we think the information we have will help them."
"Why?"
"Because it's information we haven't seen anywhere else."
"So what?"
"So we need to get the information to our audience so they can use it."
Now our hypothetical three-year-old has gotten to the real goal. Programs often request an end product without thinking through the problem they want to solve. Our three-year-old has helped us find the objective, so we can work with the program to determine whether a brochure is the best way to achieve this goal.
Now, let's discuss nap time...
In September, we presented a program that introduced analytics and measurement. Next month, the Program and Change Management Collaborative is running a program that goes more in-depth on the subject. The PCMC is a professional group for project managers here on campus.
Reporting and Metrics
Thursday, December 10, 2009
3-4:30pm
101 Walter
Understand how reporting and metrics can help support and further your project. Come learn how to identify the concepts needed to measure a project, design a strategy to collect that data, refine a measurement instrument to collect data, select analysis techniques, think through how to present that data visually, and then how to incorporate visual presentations into written communication about a project.
Peter Radcliffe is the executive director of planning andanalysis for the University of Minnesota system and is responsible for gathering, analyzing, and disseminating information to support evidence-based decision-making, ensure data integrity, demonstrate accountability, and enhance the University's analytic capacity. He has oversight for the office of Institutional Research, Service and Continuous Improvement, Measurement Services, and Space Management. His work assists senior University leaders in making management and policy decisions.
Peter has served on a number of institutional committees, task forces, and project teams. He is active in organizations of data analysts and institutional researchers, and helped found the University of Minnesota Analysts Group. He recently chaired the steering committee for the Association for Institutional Research in the Upper Midwest (AIRUM).
