1. Organizing for Conversation:
What Research Needs to Tells Us
Walter J. Carl, Ph.D.
Northeastern University
Boston, MA
Connect: PR & Social Media Conference
20 October 2007 – Athens, Georgia
© 2007. Walter J. Carl, Ph.D.

2. Allyn Marie Carl

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Organizing for Conversation: A Phase Model
• Oblivious
• Monitoring
• Listening & Responding
• Joining In

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Oblivious Phase

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Source: Fortune Magazine

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Monitoring Phase

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10 Things Companies Should Monitor…
1. Company name 6. Industry 'hang outs‘
2. Company URL 7. Employee activity/blogs
3. Public facing figures 8. Conversations
4. Product names 9. Brand image
5. Product URLs 10. Competitors
- From Cameron Olthuis‘ blog Pronet Advertising. See also Jeremiah Owyang‘s blog
Web Strategy and Joseph Jaffe’s blog Jaffe Juice.

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Listening &
Responding Phase

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Listening Ladder
Endorsement
Acknowledgement
Recognition
Source: Julia Wood, Everyday Encounters

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Joining In Phase

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Dell Hell?
Hat tip to John Cass

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Big Picture
• Make principles of web 2.0 and social media a
company-wide strategy
• Establish cross-function task force
• Train in listening and conversation skills

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Presenter Information
Walter J. Carl, Ph.D.
Department of Communication Studies
101 Lake Hall
Northeastern University
Boston, MA 02115 USA
w.carl@neu.edu
http://www.waltercarl.neu.edu
http://www.wom-study.blogspot.com
http://www.chatthreads.com

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Corporate Blogging Success Study
http://www.scoutblogging.com/success_study/
• Five key factors:
– Culture
– Transparency
– Time
– Dialogue
– Entertaining writing style and personalization