Communities of Practice: Conversations To Collaboration
February 17, 2009
Lots in this fine presentation, but well worth flicking through and pondering.
Communities of Practice came up when I began an MA in Person Centred Education. I believe they have profound implications for lifelong learning.
The Science & Art of (Ethical?) Persuasion
February 3, 2009
We are all enjoying reading “YES! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion” by leading academics Goldstein and Cialdini with Martin making it pacy and very readable. Even Bea (8) snaffled it to swot up, priding herself on the ability to convince her parents of just about anything.
What I’m liking about the book, other than the credibility of its empirically based contents, is its ethics.
Reviews say “earnest and honest… Jedi-like… perfectly pitched for smart business people…charmingly practical.”
I’ll be quoting from it often.
“Constructive tools that help build authentic [there's that word again] relationships with others, highlight the genuine strengths of one’s message, initiative or product, and ultimately create outcomes that are in the best interests of all parties.
“When these tools are instead used unethically as weapons, however - for example, by dishonestly or artificially importing the principles of social influence into situations in which they don’t naturally exist - the short-term gains will almost invariably be followed by long-term losses… the long-term reputational consequences are dire when such dishonesty is eventually discovered.”
In a post-Cluetrain world where the blogosphere and online consumer ’sharing’ can bring down the biggest or the smallest bullshit artistes, the time has never been more ripe for telling it straight - and well.
The Science of Persuasion is a great read to help you do so. I am not surprised it made it into Britain’s most prestigious award for science writing from the Royal Society.
Let’s hope Bea wields her new-found knowledge with kindness and wisdom! Let’s hope we all do… with carrots not sticks.
COMPETITION FOR NODESTONE READERS
Examples please people… let’s start adding up the real-life situations of positive persuasion, and the costs of unethical propaganda… A copy of Naked Conversations by Scoble and Israel or Yes! for the best entries (with links to case studies ideally) in the comments section.
Marketing With Heart
January 17, 2009
| 31 January, 2009 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 2:00 pm |
Sarah James of Art of Becoming is running another Marketing with Heart workshop on January 31st at the Cornerstone Community Centre in Hove.
I was lucky to attend the first one and I really recommend this workshop and follow-up session with Sarah.
It ain’t your standard marketing workshop. Sarah uses a variety of techniques to get deeply into what you want to communicate about what you do and then leads exercises that help explore what is stopping you getting the word out. We all want to be communicating honestly and authentically about who we are and what we do, and this workshop explores that in a surprising, supportive and fun way. And the followup one-on-one is great for cementing that new direction or going deeper.
Sarah says:
In the Workshop:
We will explore a different way of looking at marketing that offers a bigger picture of where your business is, and where you would like it to be. We’ll use a systemic perspective and open up the idea of business communication as a flow of energy through your organisation. Approaching your business at a deeper level helps you check that your marketing messages are coming from the heart and are targeting the right people in the right way. This is a creative session with a small group in a friendly, supportive environment.
In the One-to-One:
Bring all your ideas from the workshop and use my professional experience to help you tailor your perfect marketing strategy. Channel your creative energy through your practical business plans.
I loved it, and I’m not one for marketing workshops. There was depth and authenticity in this approach that worked for me. You’ll see some of the results of my insight here on Nodestone in the next few months.
More info from Marketing with Heart
A toolkit for communicating
January 11, 2009
If you haven’t checked it out yet, have a good look at Message in-a-Box “A toolkit for communicating your cause”.
It’s relevant to anyone that needs to communicate in life and work.
When Nodestone was commissioned by the Tactical Tech Collective earlier in the year to help bring it together, I faced a somewhat overwhelming task as you might imagine when you see it.
What is it? A rather large online resource for learning how to communicate better, to put it simply.
More specifically, it’s an international educational platform for people in NGOs and campaigning organisations that demonstrates how to use low-tech and high-tech tools and tactics to work on some of the hardest issues of our times.
We show you how to think strategically (about goals, resources and time) and then know which tools and tactics (eg. images / print / audio / video / internet / mobiles and media) to choose to get your message across.
Here’s how Tactical Tech describe it:
“…a set of strategic guides to using communications tools for social change, together with a suite of open source tools to get you making your own media. The toolkit is designed for small and medium-sized NGOs, advocates, and citizen journalists to help them create and distribute content for their advocacy efforts while exploring the constantly evolving world of campaigning and communications.”
The feedback has been excellent around the world. A much needed resource.
Here’s an example of how it works:
This section helps you find out how others have used images effectively and creatively. It helps you learn how to find, create, edit, share great images, with an emphasis on photographs, comics, maps and simple animated images.
You will also find the power of images throughout Message in-a-Box, eg. in websites, blogs, guerilla marketing, video and animation.
Images add impact to stories, blog posts, websites, posters,brochures, email campaigns - whatever campaigning channels and tools you are using.
What do you need?
Essential: ideas, creativity, imagination, a strategy.
Extra: people to help, internet access, mobile phone and/or a camera (digital or other), source books/comics/cartoons collected from anywhere or commissioned.
Sokwanele - interactive violence map
Having worked in communications as a consultant, writer, activism and educator for (gosh!) over 20 years, it was a dream to be able to put these threads of life to good use. To make something practical and tangible.
Message-in-a-Box is about the power of PR being brought to the people who have historically had least access to it. Things were all explained in the simplest possible terms with examples and free software downloads. From human rights abuses to clean water - NGOs on little or no budget obviously need education and support. It’s an egalitarian Aussie’s delight.
In London, Botswana or Mumbai, Message-in-a-Box is now available for free, 24/7. A print version with DVD software is also being distributed. It’s actually a good resource for anyone a clear (hopefully) perspective on getting your message across.
Along the way we got to massage the words and ideas of some great folk like Becky Faith, Dr Dan McQuillan and Heleana Quartey. Hopefully to first incarnation is already being put to some good use.
Once thing I’m hoping Tactical Tech do soon is to improve collaboration and “stickiness” on the site. Feedback, registration etc… Also the use of images and stills, sound and video clips to make the resource more visual and interactive - to practice what we preach!
Over the years we have increasingly worked on projects that pass positive screens for social / eco accountability. Put another way… that feel good. Like:
- widgets for TrickleStar and the BBC
- social carbon measurement for Global Action Plan
- edu-marketing for the Guerrand Hermes Foundation for Peace
- teaching blogging to communities and companies
- setting up The Big Love Gift Guide
- running a massive campaign for TV Turn Off Week.
Client links and feedback here…
But as long as you aren’t arms dealers, we can usually find or create some positive values in just about any project. Get in touch if you want to know how Nodestone can help you feel good about your work.
Monitor your media coverage & conversations - low cost
October 3, 2008
Back in my dark old days as a corporate PR consultant, we had a room full of poor sods somewhere in the bowels of the machine, cutting out column cms from dead-trees-pages. Why? So we could justify our exorbitant fees and monitor our clients reputations. It was also so we could respond to a debate or manage an “issue”.
In some ways, nothing’s really changed. That is still going on, but many people would say the real action is now happening online. And the best thing is, I don’t have to feel sorry for the Google search spiders having to crawl through the myriad pages to retrieve what I want. It’s what they love best!
Here’s a helpful piece from E-Consultancy about how to monitor opinions, articles, conversations relevant to you and your organisation - without paying a brass razoo (in most cases).
Before you get cracking (because you know it’s time) - here’s a quick Nodestone guide to getting sorted.
1. Know what your goals are
- Do you just want to know what being said about you online, or are you planning to enter the conversation (and if you are not sure, best you be reading up on the power of web 2.0, blogging and the social web. See our presentation here for a start.
- How far do you want to go and what resources do you have to manage your responses?
2. What key words are most relevant to you
- Various spellings and shortened versions of your company, major projects/products and names of key people
- Competitors
- Major stakeholders (eg. legislators, major customers/shareholders, funding partners).
- The sector that you are in
- Other key words, eg topics you would scan for when reading a newspaper
3. How are you planning to circulate and act on what you find?
- If there is a live debate on a blog or in a forum about your key topics, what will you do? Who will be ready and able to respond to misinformation or genuine criticism?
- If there is a chance to offer a positive follow-up story to an influential blogger or mainstream journalist, who and how will (you) act?
- If there is a positive story about your project/organisation - what will you do? Who will you share it with?
- If there is an interesting story written, how can you use it in your own communications?
- Will you carefully subscribe to certain blogs or newsfeeds and read them?
Welcome to the great conversation of “us”. In some ways it’s never been easier. If you do nothing more than have a play with Google Alerts - you will learn a lot.
If you want to discuss a proper strategy about media monitoring and reputation management, give me a tinkle. We’ld love to help you improve your communications. It might be as simple as a short chat and a sign post to send you off in the right direction.
I Met The Walrus
September 18, 2008
Watch it. Think. Act. It is as simple and as difficult as that. There is no other way.
Lovely piece of animation too ;-)
Everyone’s Blogging
July 21, 2008
These slides from the training session for the Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce last week. Let me know if you want us to come to your event or run a bespoke event or Masterclass.
More details on our Social Media for Good course soon (looks like next date will be Oct 3 in Brighton).
Covers a bit of an introduction to social media and blogging, plus some questions to get you thinking about your own context, opportunities and challenges.
Some good thinking in the room and animated conversations. Quite a few organisations ready to get blogging and exploring integrated social media in more depth.
A few of you made pledges are you walked out the door about your goals and intentions, so let me know how you get on!
Thanks to all for your warm feedback and to those who helped make it a positive event, especially Lorraine Bell (BCP), Tania “Radiance” Fullerton (Brighton Steiner School) and Fay McDonald.
Email Marketing Masterclass
July 17, 2008
| 21 August, 2008 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 8:30 pm |
One of our special Nodestone colleagues Mr Jim Callender is running a session soon that can’t be missed. Well, except by us as we will be swanning around in France having a well earned break!
For those of you who will be around, do get along. Email is one of the most tried and true, low cost and high response online marketing / social media tools to use. Do it well, and it might even go viral.
Jim will be co-presenting with the now-famous pure360 - total email marketing solution people. Great resources available on their site.
Thursday 21st August, 18:30 - 20:30
Payment by donation to The Werks.
Full details and register here.
On writing (& social media)
June 26, 2008
When I read this, I also include social media (eg. blogging / photo sharing / social networking).
Commentators like Clay Shirky and Charles Leadbeater tend to be a bit snobbish when it comes to acknowledging the inherent human need to be heard, to share, to tell our stories.
Lawrence Sanger told me he was worried about non-experts getting together to construct their own knowledge. But he would say that.
I say - do it! Experts be damned. Speak your truth, and find others that share it.
[[ Just be careful about checking the facts that really matter. Which is not what we are talking about here anyway. The subjective realm is far vaster than many wish to acknowledge.]]
Writing is egalitarian; it cuts across geographic, class, gender, and racial lines… vice presidents of insurance agencies…factory workers…lawyers, doctors, gay rights activists, housewives, librarians, teachers, priests, politicians…
We all have a dream of telling our stories – of realising what we think, feel and see before we die. Writing is a path to meet ourselves and become intimate.”
Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones
Orwell on sincerity
June 24, 2008
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity
When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.
…
Added 9 July
This post has sparked some intriguing debate. Makes me want to suggest people read Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. And of course Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones and Manjushvara’s Wolf at the Door.
Any other recommendations?
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