Presentation for the Hub Events on strategic approaches to talking and listening on the Live Web. London 14.10.10

1. Strategic approaches to listening and talking on the Live Web paulcaplan theInternationale Whose party is it anyway?

2. PowerPoint is evil

3. Outline of the day 10.00 - 11.00: The Live Web – the biggest party you’ve ever been invited to. 11.00 - 11.15: Coffee 11.15 - 12.15: Managing the ‘out of control’. How do you build a strategy out of things you can’t control? 12.15 - 13.15: - Lunch

4. Outline of the day 13.15 – 13.30: Building a strategy around listening 13.30 – 14.30: (Practical) Listening and sharing: using Google Reader 14.30 – 15.00: From Listening to talking 15.00 – 16.00: Embedding that strategy

5. The Live Web The times they are a changin’

6. The Web as a library

7. The Web as the new TV

8. The Web as a Party

9. Many corners, many conversations

11. The breakup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3qltEtl7H8

12. Internet is now part of the mix http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11012356

13. Internet is now part of our day http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11012356

14. ‘Community’, trust and authority “Thanks to the internet, I feel part of a virtual community” (Source: Milward Brown) 50% 46% 38% 36% 18-24s 25-49s 49-65s 65+

15. ‘Community’, trust and authority (Source: Milward Brown)

16. More statistics: http://www.delicious.com/theinternationale/statistics

17. content relationships

18. PASSION P is for People A is for Active S is for Supply S is for Smart I is for Irreverent O is for Ownership N is for Niches

19. Coffee and conversation

20. Managing the out-of-control Building a strategy around listening

22. Who’d have thought they’d get it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkrEbKQX3pg

23. Who’d have thought... http://blogs.dfid.gov.uk/ http://twitter.com/dfid_ukhttp://www.facebook.com/ukdfid http://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/http://blogs.dfid.gov.uk/

24. http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/mummy-bloggers-head-to-bangladesh.htm

25. Who’d have thought... local http://www.digitalfife.com/

26. Conversation break What keywords characterise Strategy 1.0 and Strategy 2.0? If you were writing a strategy a few years ago, what words/headings would you have used, and what would you use now?

27. Strategy 1.0/2.0 Strategy 1.0 Control Long-term Fixed Strategy 2.0 Management Responsive Flexible

28. Lunch ... and more conversation

29. Building a Live Web strategy Start as you would at any Party

30. Who’d have thought they’d get it http://blogs.msdn.com/nadyne/default.aspx

31. Ushahidi

32. The Consortium of Pub-Going, Loose and Forward Women http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7880377.stm

33. Who’d have thought... local http://birminghamnewsroom.com

34. Listen and then talk... Insight What are they saying about me? What are they saying about my issues? Engagement How can I add value? How can I start/maintain/develop a relationship?

35. Questions to ask Why am I listening? What am I listening for? How am I listening? What do I expect to hear? What will I do with what I hear?

36. General principles You are a guest at the Party You can’t listen to everything You’re after quality not quantity

38. the Conversation Attractor Person Idea Space Conversation

39. the Conversation Attractor Needn’t be most ‘popular’ Focus on language Focus on conversation Focus on people

40. Let’s get practical Managing your listening

41. Just try it... http://addictomatic.com/ You’re finding what Jo Public is finding...

42. Live Web search engines What are you searching for? Brand name Campaign name Person’s name Department’s name Issue What are they ‘writing’ about? Your words might not be their’s

43. Managing that listening A conversation in-box

44. A word about RSS feeds Single sites Single users Searches Can always delete them

45. Setting alerts/subscriptions Go to Google Alerts and click ‘New Alert’ Type in keyword Use Advanced Google search Select: ‘comprehensive’ ‘Feed’ ‘as it happens’ Chapeaux: www.aimclearblog.com/2009/03/16/how-to-build-a-reputation-monitoring-dashboard/

46. Adding to the dashboard Click RSS logo/Feed If necessary refresh page in browser Subscribe using‘using Google’. Check ‘Always use Google to subscribe to feeds’ and click ‘Subscribe Now’ Either: ‘Add to Google Reader’

47. Google Reader http://www.google.co.uk/reader/ Sort in Folders

48. Adding other searches http://search.twitter.com BoardReader http://news.google.com http://www.youtube.com

49. More search engines: http://www.delicious.com/theinternationale/conversationaudit

50. Google reader as a dashboard Bring listening and collaboration together Home page Build into workflow Collaborate

51. Sharing and collaborating Building your listening into your strategy

52. Sharing what you hear Email Favourite Share Share with note

53. Adding value to what you hear Pass upstairs Pass downstairs Annotate Archive Tag/Folders ...build into planning ... answer, respond, connect

54. Who’d have thought they’d get it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur-asUsQkR4

55. Who’d have thought... http://data.gov.uk/

56. Who’d have thought... local http://www.harringayonline.com/

57. Listening as basis for strategy Moving on from what you hear

58. From listening to talking V is for Voice I is for i with a small I S is for Simple I is for Improvise O is for Open Source N is for Narrative

59. Embedding listening and talking The Live Web is everyone’s job

60. Conversation break What needs to be put in place to enable listening and conversation relationships? Areas to think about: Job titles and responsibilities Autonomy Radical Trust Live Web policies Institutional culture

61. More stories: http://www.delicious.com/theinternationale/content2bdifferent http://twitter.com/internationale

62. contact me: http://www.slideshare.net/theinternationale Paul Caplan praxis@theinternationale.com Twitter.com/internationale 07801 151 052

63. Some thoughts appendices

64. A-Z of Live Web A is for active audience. As Dan Gillmor points out, your audience is smarter than you. But they are also active. They do not passively consume, they actively converse. B is for blogosphere. Blogging and other read/write conversations are not a new medium, they are a new space where new sorts of relationships and cultural practices are being forged. C is for conversation. This new space is not about one-way ‘munication’, it’s not even about structured co-munication, it’s about conversation - an alive, real, open chat. D is for delivery. The key thing about playing in this space is making sure you deliver. You can’t blag or spin, they’ll find you out. If you promise something, deliver it. If you can’t, explain why. E is for engage. Meet with. Talk with. Work with. Engaging is about making your conversations, fun, relevant and real. F is for FUD culture. The guys behind Naked Conversations use the business terms ‘fud’ to refer to the fear, uncertainty and doubt, that stops development. You want to engage with this new space, conquer it and tell your boss to conquer it or be left behind.

65. A-Z of Live Web G is for good enough. Don’t worry about creating perfection. Blogs are never finished, they are in process. Go for the ‘good enough’, it’s more human. H is for hypermedia. The Live Web is multimedia. It’s built on and through Live Media and linking. Start thinking in terms of pictures, sounds and words, linked and mashed-up. I is for is with a small i. It’s not YOU it’s you. The small you. The you that’s one many many. The you that is an individual but not arrogant. J is for just in time. The Live Web is about responding to the now, relating to the moment, adding to the ongoing conversation rather than waiting for the ‘right moment’. K is for keywords. The key words or tags in your post allow your story to link to others, be searched, catalogued and related to other stories. Keywords are the bits that join up the blogosphere. L is for linking. Your blog needs others if it is to be written by an ‘i’. Your links show you are in the conversation. M is for mobile. Reading the Live Web is a mobile experience. Writing it is rapidly becoming so. N is for network effect. The Internet is a network, as you increase the number of points in the network, you increase the number of connections exponentially. Content is the points and content relationships are the powerful connections.

66. A-Z of Live Web O is for open source. Open source software is developed by collections of individuals who make their work available for others to improve and develop. Open source software is often seen as better written, better supported and more stable than traditional proprietary software. The Live Web makes possible open source content. P is for personal. The Live Web is big but it is also very small. It is my thoughts, my pictures, my bookmarks…but my personal content to share and use as the basis for content relationships. Q is for q&a. The conversations that drive content relationships are often begun with a question which begs answers, which lead to more questions which lead and so on. The important point is that this chain is never finished. R is for read/write. It is no longer an option to simply read. The Live Web does not just allow or even encourage response, it demands it. Just as the state saves all our data within its web of surveillance so ‘our’ Web is being built by our reading practices, our uploading and tagging and our sharing. S is for social. The blogosphere is a social space. It is where meetings happen - not in the old idea of a ‘chat room’ but in the more potent sense of a content relationship. This social space is not a replica of the real space it is a technologically enhanced content space where smart tagging, hypermedia linking and read/write mash-ups create producer/consumers with different social and cultural expectations and demands.

67. A-Z of Live Web T is for transparent technology. Yes, the Live Web has been made possible by html, asp, php, ajax, http and countless other geeky acronyms but technology is becoming increasingly transparent, just as the mobile phone it is now a part of people’s communications and relationships. It is now easy to play an active part in the Live Web without having to understand the engine that drives it. U is for understand. The conversations across the Live Web demand understanding and empathy. Unlike the days of the Static Web, it is no longer possible to send out messages and expect audiences or demographic samples to absorb them. It is not even just about targeting, it’s about engaging with people, talking to them and understanding them as producer/consumers, as people as fellow players in the new space. V is for voice. The Live Web is human. Databases can’t play here. Neither can spinmeisters or salesmen or marketers. All these shadows without voices are discovered and laughed out of the conversation. If you want to talk to me, use your own voice.

68. A-Z of Live Web W is for wiki effect. Wikis are open source content spaces where anyone can add and edit information, cranking up the quality using the wisdom of crowds. Wikis or the next generation of collaborative content spaces are the next generation of Live Web tools where content value is created through the interplay of many. X is for xml. Extensible Mark-up Language is the standard which enables Live Web content to be tagged and flow around the new systems and spaces. You don’t need to know how. You just need to exploit it to the max. Y is for you. The Live Web space is waiting to be exploited and played in. It’s not the CEO’s decision. It’s not up to the IT team to do it. It’s up to you. The Live Web is waiting for you not your organisation. Z is for zen. Zen is about the present moment. It is about the simple and basic. It’s about the small. It’s about not trusting people who tell you they have a monopoly on the truth. So is the Live Web.

69. Civil service code Principles for participation online The Civil Service Code applies to your participation online as a civil servant or when discussing government business. You should participate in the same way as you would with other media or public forums such as speaking at conferences. How the Civil Service Code applies to online participation Disclose your position as a representative of your department or agency unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as a potential threat to personal security. Never give out personal details like home address and phone numbers. Always remember that participation online results in your comments being permanently available and open to being republished in other media. Stay within the legal framework and be aware that libel, defamation, copyright and data protection laws apply. This means that you should not disclose information, make commitments or engage in activities on behalf of Government unless you are authorised to do so. This authority may already be delegated or may be explicitly granted depending on your organisation. Also be aware that this may attract media interest in you as an individual, so proceed with care whether you are participating in an official or a personal capacity. If you have any doubts, take advice from your line manager.

70. Civil service code Be credible Be accurate, fair, thorough and transparent. Be consistent Encourage constructive criticism and deliberation. Be cordial, honest and professional at all times. Be responsive When you gain insight, share it where appropriate. Be integrated Wherever possible, align online participation with other offline communications. Be a civil servant Remember that you are an ambassador for your organisation. Wherever possible, disclose your position as a representative of your department or agency. http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/participation-online.aspx

71. Ten books to read Chris Locke et al :: The Cluetrain Manifesto Chris Locke :: Gonzo Marketing Shel Israel and Robert Scoble :: Naked Conversations Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams :: Wikinomics Clay Shirky :: Here Comes Everybody Clay Shirky :: Cognitive Surplus Charles Leadbetter :: We Think Jeff Jarvis :: What Would Google Do? David Weinberger :: Everything is Miscellaneous Jeff Howe :: Crowdsourcing

72. PASSION P is for 'people': The writers, readers and reader/writers out there are not demographics or market niches, they are not passive grateful; receivers of your messages. They are people, ordinary human beings who expect to be treated as such. They have ups and downs, interests, passions and commitments that become conversations and relationships. As with all 'people' you earn their trust and friendship. you have no right to it. A is for 'active': These people don't sit back and wait for media and store to come to them. They create their own. They are creative with their phones. They create on Social Networks and YouTube. They are creative with language, finding new ways to tell stories and run their relationships. And they are active with you. They have active expectations. They expect to be able to ask questions, contribute and join in and they expect that activity to be welcomed and enabled. S is for 'supply': These people are not short of stories and information. There is an overabundance of material for people to read and read/write. Some of its official, some not. Some from established storytellers like the BBC, the EncyclopediaBrittanica and you, some not. Your information and stories are one among many. They are fighting for attention and more importantly they are competing to become conversations and starting points for relationships. Your information and stories maybe great but they do not have a God-given right to be at the front. S is for 'smart': These people are clever. They can get information, check it, link it and network it. They can use the power of networks and the wisdom of crowds to connect and build on ideas and information faster than you can direct form the top. You know a lot about your subject, issue or business but you don't know everything. Your customers, clients and stakeholders know stuff too and they're sharing it.

73. PASSION I is for 'irreverent': The culture of the Live Web has no respect. People do not tug their forelocks and thank you. The great and the good do not carry weight because of their history or brand. Lawyers cannot enforce due deference. You can earn respect and your place but it is not your right. O is for 'ownership': It is not just the stories that make up the Live Web that are subject to new ideas of copyright. It is the very spaces themselves. Stories are enabled to spin around the Live Web because of 'creative commons' licenses but the spaces they live in are Commons to. You have not 'let us' publish them. They are 'ours'. You can join us but you cannot own them, our stories or us. N is for 'niches': The people are not niches in the old marketing sense, they are the 'new niches'. They are evolving their own niches of interest. Some are small, some huge. People can be members of many at the same time. They can be long-lasting or short-lived. They cannot be targeted but the people that make them can be talked with. They cannot be tracked but the conversation attractors can be found and engaged with.

74. VISION V is for Voice: Read: People talk on the Live Web because they want to. They’re choosing to be there. Listen to what they say but also the way they say it. Listen to the conversations as well as the polemics. Listen to their voices, then you can talk with them. Write: You’re a human being, talk like one. The Live Web doesn’t welcome spin doctors, PR-meisters or lawyers. It’s a place for conversations between people. People chat. Sometimes in long sentences with lots of subordinate clauses that carry the reader along with enthusiasm. Sometimes not. The Live Web is your chance to meet people and talk and listen like you’re bothered. Talk to me. I’m not a demographic or a market niche or a target. I’m a person. I is for i with a small i: Read: Listen quietly and modestly. People are talking about your issues. Except they’re not ‘your’ issues, they’re theirs. Some people on the Live Web talk without listening. But most are engaged in conversations between small i’s. Be one. Write: You are not the centre of the universe. No-one trusts anyone who has all the answers: if you meet the Buddha on the road kill him. Your voice is one among many. Your perspective is just one way of seeing things. Your ideas are interesting but they’re not the final word. Earn your right to talk in these spaces by listening and then join in on the community’s terms. Be willing to be less arrogant. You have something to add but it’s not the whole story. S is for Simple: Read: It’s a party. The biggest party you’ve ever been invited to. Relax. Enjoy. People are just people, treat them like that. Listen politely and attentively to what they’re really saying. It’s simple. They’re talking about the lives and worlds. Write: Don’t try and be clever. You don’t have to be. You can be yourself and tell it like it really is. You don’t have to fill every gap or silence. Leave some white space. Look for what you can leave out as well as what you can put in. Keep it clear and direct but be warned, you’re not ‘delivering messages’ you’re engaging in conversation. You’re just making sure the person you’re talking with can understand you and you can understand

75. VISION I is for Improvise: Read: Enjoy the conversation, the way people bounce ideas off each other, the way they connect. They’re jammin’. They’re not selling or telling, they’re chatting, creating something together, letting it emerge without planning.Write: Don’t over-plan. Let the conversation develop. You ‘call’ someone ‘responds’; they ‘call’ you respond. Together you make a conversation and build a relationship. Sometimes you lead; sometimes you follow. Sometimes you‘re quiet. You know your area. Be confident in that and let that be your foundation while you talk. This is not a solo, it’s a group where everyone bounces off everyone else and together build a unique conversation. O is for Open Source: Read: Everyone’s got something to contribute. This is crowdeffect. Listen to others and work with them and the conversation. The more voices, the more brains, the more ideals, the better the quality. Write: You have something real to contribute. You have But you can’t do it on your own. Get others involved. Work with their knowledge and enthusiasm. Outsource your communication. Start something off and let others improve it or let them start it. If you work with others you can achieve far more and so can they. Don’t keep the source code close to your chest, get it out there where it can develop, grow and improve. N is for Narrative: Read: Sit back and relax. People are telling stories. They’re stories about their lives, their passions and your issues. They’re personal and real and so they care about them. If you want to know what people really think, listen, they’re tell. Write: Tell your stories. Ground your abstract issues in real beginnings, middles and ends, characters and plots, pace and tension. Make them your stories, personal and real. Make them real and relevant. Find memorable details that paint pictures and let your listener see and your viewer hear the people, the ideas and the passion. Enjoy your story, it’ll sound better.