Using Social Media to Communicate

Slide 1: Communications Division Using social media to communicate – opportunities and challenges Jesper Laugesen Communications Department Jesper Laugesen Dias 1

Slide 2: Communications Division Jesper Laugesen Communications Officer at the University of Copenhagen • Primarily working with • Web content (supporting local webmasters) • Blogs • Online marketing • Wikis • Experiments with social software • … and more Jesper Laugesen Dias 2

Slide 3: Communications Division Agenda Social media – web 2.0 • What? • Who? • Why? • Where? When? Jesper Laugesen Dias 3

Slide 4: Communications Division What is social media? Social media is • Blogs • Wikis • Social Networks • Podcasts • RSS • Mash-ups Jesper Laugesen Dias 4

Slide 5: Communications Division But more than that… Social media is • user-driven • user-generated and/or • user-centric (at least, that’s what the user likes to think!) Jesper Laugesen Dias 5

Slide 6: Communications Division Changing the focus • content  communication • delivery  dialogue • producing  participating • Mass media  Participatory/niche media (one-to-many) (many-to-many / few-to-few) Jesper Laugesen Dias 6

Slide 7: Communications Division Jesper Laugesen Dias 7

Slide 8: Communications Division Jesper Laugesen Dias 8 Source: http://flickr.com/photos/jsuler/209356213

Slide 9: Communications Division Jesper Laugesen Source: Dias 9 http://flickr.com/photos/terinea/1104709726/

Slide 10: Communications Division Jesper Laugesen Dias 10

Slide 11: Communications Division But: Back to the most important person… Jesper Laugesen Dias 11

Slide 12: Communications Division It’s all about me  My friends  My family  My interests  My studies  My dog  My love interest(s) …all about me – and  My relations  My sharing  My following Jesper Laugesen Dias 12

Slide 13: Communications Division So, what does it mean for YOU? They talk about you. They share links about you. And whatever they say, it’s perpertual • In blogs – everyone can write • RSS / syndication – everyone can read about it • Del.ici.ous - sharing favourite web pages • Wikis - Power of the crowd • Online Friends - MySpace, Beebo, FaceBook, LinkedIn etc… Jesper Laugesen Dias 13

Slide 14: Communications Division Blogs I have no idea what it is they are saying… …but they are saying something! Jesper Laugesen Dias 14

Slide 15: Communications Division Wikipedia Not only a source of (questionable?) academic references… You are there too! Jesper Laugesen Dias 15

Slide 16: Communications Division Facebook Here, as well… Jesper Laugesen Dias 16

Slide 17: Communications Division Should you join the conversation? Jesper Laugesen Dias 17

Slide 18: Communications Division It matters: Social media are tools that • foster exchange of ideas • enables and encourages conversations • allows communities to form It’s about people • Tools that let people share and be found • Conversations of the Marketplace • Voices of the People They matter because: • The Trust factor • Impacts to Google Results • Rapid Word of Mouth • Different than Broadcast Marketing Jesper Laugesen Dias 18

Slide 19: Communications Division Cornerstones of ’corporate’ participation • Authenticity matters, not transparency • Tell the truth • Decide on a policy of employee participation (confidentiality, privacy, freedom of speech, rights and obligations) • Don’t expect them to come to you – go to them • Participate! • Try it out… No one knows what’s coming Jesper Laugesen Dias 19

Slide 20: Communications Division 10-15 years ago… • World Wide What? • Mobile phones were bulky, rare and expensive • A Sony walkman was state of the art • CD’s were pretty cool • WIFI was science fiction • My Space was a physical location • Contact across the Atlantic was either by snailmail or painstakingly expensive phone Jesper Laugesen Dias 20

Slide 21: Communications Division 1½ years ago… • Facebook didn’t exist • Second Life was all the rage • The first videoblogs appeared • Blogs were rather new – and something the cool kids did Jesper Laugesen Dias 21

Slide 22: Communications Division Today • Social networks rules the web • DataPortability is ’the thing’ of the moment: Connecting, controlling, sharing, remixing • ’Lifestream’-services (jaiku, plaxo, etc.) compete for control of the datastreams beyond the social networks • Identities are a commodity • More than ever, access is ubiquitous and data perpertual Jesper Laugesen Dias 22

Slide 23: Communications Division Tomorrow? Jesper Laugesen Dias 23

Slide 24: Communications Division Impact / use of Social Media • Recruiting • Students • Staff • Research • Dissemination of knowledge • Dialogue with researchers worldwide • Executive Leadership & Visibility • Showing the ‘human side’ of rector and/or other leaders • Branding Jesper Laugesen Dias 24

Slide 25: Communications Division Lessons learned • People will talk and write about you. Adress the the good as well as the bad • Communities are the goal – conversations is the means • If noone else does it, start the conversation yourself • Social media isn’t a magical solution to all your problems • Speak the truth - the Internet remembers everything. For a very, very long time. • Encourage dialogue • Identify, acknowledge and empower your ambassadors Jesper Laugesen Dias 25

Slide 26: Communications Division Lessons learned • Tomorrow brings new technology – plan for flexibility • Have the courage to let go – you can’t control it even if you try • Social media should be a component of your overall web strategy • Embrace your first-movers • Test, try, fail and learn what works in your organisation • Expect the best, prepare for the worst • Ensure your policy for participation is clear – and known Jesper Laugesen Dias 26

Slide 27: Communications Division University of Copenhagen • Encourages and facilitates blogging (Management, faculty and student body alike – at blogs.ku.dk or on independent platforms) • Management supports trials in new media, be it Second Life, YouTube channels, blogging networks or Facebook groups • Publishes pod- and vodcasts • Monitors the Danish blogosphere on a daily basis (we still need to put a decent ’response programme’ in effect, though) • Converses with the public through blogs, wiki’s and videos Jesper Laugesen Dias 27

Slide 28: Communications Division Examples • Copenhagen UniVirtual (virtuel.ku.dk/en) • (questions via YouTube, webcasting) • Blogs • Syndicating content @ blogs.ku.dk • Rector and pro-rector (danish) • Medical Museion • Danish Arrhythmia Research Centre • Agri Environmental Policies • Facebook • Applications, groups, networks • Podcasts • Faculty of humanities • Instant Messaging/chat • Realtime guidance/councelling of students Jesper Laugesen Dias 28

Slide 29: Communications Division What can you do? Encourage blogging • Host your own • Or use paid or free services (blogger.com, wordpress.com, edublogs.org) Prepare for students, staff and faculty participation in social networks and blogs • Codes of conduct (may – to some extent – be covered in employees contracts and/or existing policies) Encourage your organisation to experiment • Beware of the gatekeepers and firewallers (but deal with their warnings seriously) Jesper Laugesen Dias 29

Slide 30: Communications Division What can you do? Prioritize: • Podcasts, blogs, wikis are relatively ’mature’ technologies (Don’t shy away from these – but remember nothing looks more abandoned than a chronology that hasn’t been updated in months) • New social networks pops up every day (don’t bet all your money on one horse – it may be out of the race tomorrow) Jesper Laugesen Dias 30

Slide 31: Communications Division What can you do? Monitor the Internet • Google is a good place to start • You also need to monitor • The social networks • The blogosphere • Wikipedia If hit by a blog- or facebookstorm • Be proactive • Show you care about what ’they’ are saying: • Reply - on blogs - on facebook - in own and other media Jesper Laugesen Dias 31

Slide 32: Communications Division Q&A Contact: Find me online at Jesper Laugesen laugesen.org University of Copenhagen linkedin.com/in/laugesen laugesen.jaiku.com Nørregade 10 www.myspace.com/ laugesen DK – 1017 København K www.last.fm/user/jlaugesen/ Flickr.com/jlaugesen Mail: jesper@adm.ku.dk facebook.com Phone: +45 35 32 42 74 blogs.ku.dk Københavns Universitet, Kommunikationsafdelingen Jesper Laugesen Dias 32