trouble at the hen house

Social media, public relations and writing.

[matt-terry-blog]

This is pretty cool: the chart shows the large number of Facebook ties between people in former European colonies and people in the countries that used to dominate them. 

[matt-terry-blog]

My interview with Bonny Ibhawoh, an associate professor who teaches and researches African, global and human rights history at McMaster, on Uganda and the Kony 2012 campaign. 

Clip shot by JD Howell. 

[matt-terry-blog]

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

I like it. It's simple, concise, and accurately encompasses what we do. 

[matt-terry-blog]

Infographic: Social media and college admissions

Interesting stats here. Not overly surprising - social media has really become the domain of PR/marketing types rather than college recruiters. Still, you'd think that by now the usage would be higher. 

Also, although the chances of a recruiter discovering your incriminating photos are, apparently, low, I'd still advise against posting them...

Created By Coggno.com

[matt-terry-blog]

A number of difficult questions raised here. I think the students could have (and probably should have) avoided a number of issues by simply being more imaginative and inventing a fictitious school, rather than using Western. Still, I'm curious to see both how the series will go over with students (at Western especially) and how the university will handle any potential copyright infringements. 

[ihearthamilton]

Margaret Atwood Hamilton Central Library 55 York Boulevard It’s not every day you get to be in the presence of a literary icon. As an English major graduate and having a lifelong love of literature in general, I was beyond thrilled to get the opportunity to attend Margaret Atwood’s...

[matt-terry-blog]

I really like Margaret Atwood's work, and am sorry I missed this. At least the ladies from ihearthamilton were able to enjoy!

[matt-terry-blog]

I tend to agree with this post, which argues that retweets by reporters are not, in fact, endorsements of the content retweeted. I see the concern on the part of The Oregonian, but it's important to allow reporters to continue to use Twitter to its fullest extent. 

[matt-terry-blog]

This is a really great idea for a number of reasons: harnessing relatively common technology, using things already found in a commercial (sounds), giving customers free, extra content (recipes). It also shows that Pillsbury has a strategy behind its social efforts, which is not common enough.

Pillsbury has incorporated Shazam into its new TV campaign aimed at tech-savvy moms. The commercials can be identified by the popular smartphone app to bring exclusive content to the viewer, such as recipes and product information. The TV ads include the call to action that instructs viewers to...

[matt-terry-blog]

Wasn't sure about this at first, but the more I see it, the more I think it's pretty cool. 

Check out DJ Steve Porter.  (He also gets points for using a normal name rather than a "cool" DJ name.)

[matt-terry-blog]

The McMaster Marauders football team is set to take on the Acadia Axemen for the Uteck Bowl tonight in Moncton, New Brunswick.

The game is one of two national semifinals being played Friday night. The winners of each will meet in Vancouver to play for the Vanier Cup.

Go Mac go! 

[matt-terry-blog]

“I’m no longer just responsible for myself now when I go out—I’m also responsible for the frats because they can get in trouble for my actions. That definitely makes me think twice about where I choose to go on the weekends.”

Uh, it seems to me that's the whole point of the app. 

School uses app to keep freshmen out of parties – - Macleans OnCampus

[matt-terry-blog]

BlackBerry bust? Five questions for Nick Bontis

Below is a Q and A I did today with McMaster University's Nick Bontis. Of interest, I'm sure, to a good number of communicators out there scrambling without their BlackBerrys. Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM, maker of BlackBerry smartphones and the Playbook tablet computer, has faced a number of challenges lately. Cutthroat competition from rival companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Google, less-than-stellar reviews for new products and now technological malfunctions affecting millions of users around the world have resulted in sliding stock prices and speculation as to the future of the company. Nick Bontis, associate professor in the DeGroote School of Business, says that RIM shouldn't be counted out just yet, but that the company will have to execute at least three strategic tactics in order to rebuild its reputation. Bontis answers five questions about RIM below. Other than the obvious tech issues currently facing the company, what is going on at RIM? What is the cause of their recent problems? When an organization realizes accelerated growth as RIM has over the last decade, it often loses its "nimbleness". RIM's innovative capability was stronger when the firm was smaller. Now it sells BlackBerrys in almost every country around the world. It's difficult to be locally attentive to market demands when you are a global behemoth. Read the full story

[matt-terry-blog]

This research points to a somewhat obvious conclusions, but it may help university administrators help students who need it most - although, as the article points out, there could be ethical and privacy concerns around checking out students' Facebook profiles (though these ones were public). 

What this research should also underscore is that potential employers have easy access to information about you, before you even get an interview. You may not have a drinking problem, but if your profile suggests you do you could be ruining your chances are future employment. 

[matt-terry-blog]

I haven't read the handbook yet, but what does it mean when even the United States Marines have guidelines for using social media? The Marines have to worry about issues that almost no one else in the world has to. This shows that social tools can be used effectively even when there are many possible pitfalls.

[matt-terry-blog]

Not completely unique, but interesting nonetheless. There was a time not so long ago when sports fans would only hear about their favourite players retiring through the mainstream media. Today, they can hear about it directly from the player, in this case before he has even held a formal news conference. 

This example nicely illustrates the divide between traditional and new media, and what I think their future roles will be: new media allows the public to connect directly with their favourites athletes (or politicians, movie stars, corporate CEOs, etc.), diminishing traditional media's long-held ability to "break" the news. Traditional media can, however, adapt to the changing landscape by offering opinion, commentary and expert analysis - in this case, analyzing Modano's career, sharing insider anecdotes and giving the public and unbiased look as his playing statistics. 

I would certainly not be going out on a limb to predict much more of this in the sports world, thanks in large part to people like Shaq, who made it cool for athletes to communicate directly with fans via social media. 

[matt-terry-blog]

NHL institutes new social media policy

The National Hockey League issued a social media policy Wednesday night for its players and club personnel. The policy, the NHL Social Media Policy for League and Club Personnel, governs both players and hockey operations staff and is designed to promote the value of social media as a tool for communication with fans. It also highlights issues surrounding social media, as well as limits the use of social media by players and hockey operations staff on game days.

Read the full story on NHL.com. 

[matt-terry-blog]

Compared with my blue-collar father, I don’t do ‘real’ work

It was late last year when I truly realized the difference between the kind of work I do and the work my father does. Dad was late for a family dinner, and when he finally arrived, he looked somewhat shaken. After making small talk with relatives, he sat down beside me and quietly, so as not to alarm anyone else, explained how he had narrowly avoided serious injury at the factory that day. He had come close to being struck by a falling steel beam. It wasn't the first time he had escaped injury at work, but this near-miss had obviously gotten to him in a way the others had not. Read the full article.