Eisenhower's Farewell Address

Happy new year, Forum members! Since it's University Winter Closure, and technically we aren't here, I thought it would be fun to share a little holiday trifle.

OK, maybe President Eisenhower's farewell address is not a trifle. But this piece from the New Yorker, with a lede starring former U Relations staffer Grant Moos, is an interesting brief on the back and forth of one of the most famous presidential speeches of the 20th century.

Those of us who write speeches or columns for others will surely relate to this story of the back and forth between Eisenhower, former U president Malcolm Moos, and the rest of the team who put this speech together. But 29 drafts?! Mercy.

Alison Davis-Blake, dean of Carlson, on communication

An interesting interview in the Financial Times today with Alison Davis-Blake, the first female dean of the Carlson School of Management at the U.

Davis-Blake says some things in response to the question, "How do you deal with pressure?" that I think applies in all communication--particularly if you're feeling under pressure these days.

Davis-Blake says:

"First, I set priorities. Second, I check my assumptions and thinking with others. I find that when you're under pressure you have a tendency to become isolated and think that you have to act now--an approach that can easily lead to errors. Third, I don't ever, ever make an important decision, or especially send an email, when I'm tired, or angry, or emotional. To do so is asking to make a mistake."

Does that ring true?

See the full interview at Financial Times.

Funny Friday courtesy 2011 conference keynote speaker John Moe

Last week we announced our 2011 conference keynote speaker: John Moe, host of Marketplace Tech Report. He's a wonderful journalist and the writer of Conservatize Me: How I Tried to Become a Righty with the Help of Richard Nixon, Sean Hannity, Toby Keith, and Beef Jerky.

Coming from San Francisco, I'm more familiar with his work with McSweeney's. For my fellow editors, I'll leave you this Friday with Moe's Pop-Song Correspondences, Notes on "Sweet Child O' Mine," as Delivered to Axl Rose by His Editor.

See more here: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/popsong/

JOHN MOE'S POP-SONG
CORRESPONDENCES,
VOLUME XIII.
BY JOHN MOE

- - - -
Notes on
"Sweet Child O' Mine,"
as Delivered to Axl Rose
by His Editor.

- - - -

Hi, Axl,

Just got your manuscript and demo for the song "Sweet Child O' (sic) Mine." I think we need to talk. As your editor, I am responsible for making your songs as cogent as possible, for helping them reach the high editorial standards your public has come to expect. With this one, I am certainly earning my keep. After several attempts to reach you by phone, I am sending along my notes. Please make appropriate fixes as soon as possible, at which point I can send them to copyediting and proofreading in time for your upcoming studio session.

She's got a smile that, it seems to me--Why equivocate? You weaken your point by framing this as a mere personal observation instead of a fact.

Reminds me of childhood memories--Redundant. You either have a memory or you're reminded of something. You're not reminded of a memory. Heavy-metal fans won't stand for such writing, my friend.

Where everything was as fresh as a bright blue sky--I asked around the office and no one is sure a blue sky is "fresh." You could have a blue sky at the end of a long, sweaty day and there would be nothing fresh about it. And she reminds you of a time when things were fresh? Fond reminiscences of freshness are no foundation for love. Fix.

Now and then when I see her face it takes me away to that special place--Again, you're weakening your own argument. Why does the sight of her face transport you only periodically? And is it just her smile or her entire face that does this to you? Because you've already said both. Consistency, Axl!

And if I stared too long, I'd probably break down and cry--Why would you do that? Because you miss the freshness you described earlier? I think the whole "fresh" thing is really tripping you up. Also, crying? Wimpy.

OK, on to the second verse.

She's got eyes of the bluest skies--See, this is just getting worse. Now her eyes are made of sky? Nice imagery, but you just got done saying her smile reminded you of memories of sky. Is this verse actually supposed to be a second draft of the first verse? Am I just confused on formatting? Help!

As if they thought of rain--Axl, eyes can't think of rain. And even if they could, which they can't, why would bluest skies think of rain? Perhaps less imagery of thinking eyes made of sky and more direct exploration of your feelings?

I hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain--Well, hell. I guess in your special Axl World anything is possible. Eyes can be made of sky, ponder the weather, and exhibit pain in amounts that can be weighed.

Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place where as a child I'd hide--Delete. Fix. Do something. You'd hide in a place that reminded you of hair? Never show me such phrases again.

And pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by--Whew. OK, listen to me now: Thunder can't quietly do anything. It's thunder. And, more importantly, do you really want to come across as a wuss who's constantly on the verge of weeping and skittering into hair caves to escape from rain? Is this a song about love or climatic anxiety? You need to work these things out.

Finally, Axl, I think we might have had a misunderstanding regarding my previous notes. When I wrote in colored pencil "Where do we go now?" I wasn't offering that as a lyric. I was simply observing that, in narrative terms, the song needed to progress in some way. You love the girl, she's helping you work through some issues, whatever. So where do we go now? But instead of providing a satisfactory conclusion, you simply took my note and repeated it over and over again before ultimately just stating the title of the song. This is unacceptable. Don't ask us, the listeners, where we go. That's up to you as the writer! Tell us where we go now!

Again, let's try to fix these things soon and get "Sweet Child of Mine" ("My Sweet Child"?) into your fans' hands as quickly as possible. Because, frankly, if it should ever hit the street in its current form, the song would be a colossal failure.

Talk soon!

Your Editor 

U of M Publications

Have you ever wanted a list of U of M publications all in one place? This list is (kind of) getting there. The list is a developing resource of publications ranging from administrative, to college, institutes, and others. Primarily, it was developed as an internal resource. It's a work-in-progress, both in content and organization, but it's handy for cruising through U news.

The suggestion for the tool came from an Internal Communications monthly story meeting, one of the Internal Communications Network's (ICN) interest groups.

Feel free to provide feedback.

Email testing: Which call to action is best?

Email analytics are a beautiful thing. They tell us how many people opened or viewed a message, as well as how many people clicked on different links within the email. This helps inform us, as content creators, on what stories get the most the most attention, guiding future content creation.

For an upcoming email newsletter I'm considering doing some A/B testing--trying out two different versions of the email newsletter, one with a strong giving message "Donate now!" and one with a more passive giving message. I'm hoping that email analytics can advise me on which version is the most effective with my audience.

Here is an example of a similar email "call to action" test.

Has anyone else tried email testing? I'd love to hear what others have found effective.

Humorous 404 Pages

Check out this collection of funny 404 not found pages:

http://mashable.com/2010/09/04/404-error-pages/#345420-Itchy-Robot

Dating stories

This post will likely be nowhere near as exciting as the title suggests, although in doing a bit of research, I did come across some interesting dating stories that lead me to believe my own dating life may not be as disastrous as it could be. For example, I have yet to compare firearms on a first date. Still, I have stories. I invite readers to any of the monthly Campus Club Thursday happy hours to (potentially) hear them.

Point being, it turns out using "dating stories" as your search term when looking for information on the philosophy and guidelines of including a date when publishing a story online does not get one the information most relevant to the topic. It did however, provide about a ten minute, very entertaining detour. The Internet is full of detours.

I may be in the minority here, but whenever I see a story online without an accompanying date, I'll usually immediately backtrack and look for one with a chronological anchor--there's almost always a second source, and usually many more. Of course, the relevancy of a date varies with the content--whether it's topical, for example (news stories and releases always include a date), or in the case of academics, whether it's inclusive of the latest research.
 
Lately, I've noticed that, more and more, dates are being left out of stories published online. The thinking behind not including a date, presumably, is that you want to get as much life out of a story as you can before people think it's obsolete--therefore, if people aren't sure when it was published, they can't be sure when it becomes obsolete. And we all know that what you don't know won't hurt you.
 
But in this case, it's hurting the content producer when I don't read what they'd like me to see. The plan to give it more life backfires and gives it less. Again, I could be in the minority here, so do let me know your thoughts.
 
Write timeless classics
The simple way around all of this is, of course, to write something that is absolutely timeless. The poem "Ozymandias" comes to mind.

The temporal truth is that certain stories require a date, and certain stories may not, but to me, as in dating, there's no sense hiding your age. If you're looking to extend the life of a story, use other means, like referencing the story in later stories, repositioning it in another publication, or ideally, by making it really interesting so that people want to read it again and again--not by leaving it floundering in the land of unsureity*, which isn't even a word so far as I know, which makes it even less sure of itself, so now I'm really not reading it.
 
Maybe dropping the date is just a part of web culture. Blogs, for the most part, want to be the first and the fastest, and people want what's new, right now. Online, you navigate quickly through a near infinite variety of content, and as such, maybe it's the very nature of the online world that's led to the dismissal of dates--we have so many options, after all--maybe we just don't care from whence or when it came. It's here, now, and available, so what the hell. There's plenty of blogs in the sea.
 
I'll tell you what though...I still like a good date. Just like I prefer a book where I can get the copyright right up front, before we (the book and I) get too involved. After all, I'm going to be taking that book to bed sooner or later, and I want to know whether or not it's obsolete. With any luck, it'll be timeless.
 
*The land that time forgot was taken as a metaphor, and so I created my own--the land of unsureity--soon to be a major motion picture.

Forum First Thursday Mixer 12/02/2010

According to weather.com, the "fitness comfort" quotient for December 2, 2010 is at level 2 or "uncomfortable." Sunset, they also report, is set to occur at 4:32 pm.


So, why not beat the dark and join other Forum members for riveting repartee in a comfortable, well-lit establishment such as the U of M's own Campus Club?



The event is the Communicators Forum First Thursday Mixer and starts at 4:30 p.m. this Thursday. We are sure to bring the "fitness comfort" level up to at least 3!



See you there!

U's "Driven to Discover" campaign cited in WSJ

Congratulations to the U's marketing department! The latest round of Driven to Discover was highlighted in a Wall Street Journal article on college advertising campaigns, where Minnesota was called "the national champion of self-promotion."

What did WSJ find so impressive?

"The ad that graded the highest overall was Minnesota's. The ad features
Massoud Amin, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, who
talks about the importance of creating a better power grid. Our
panelists liked the ad because it was about academics. They also thought
it conveyed messages about research and diversity without beating the
viewer over the head with them."

Consider the Lobster: U style guides

In case you missed it, yesterday's spirited debate about the U's style guide (or, rather, the recent suspension and current lack thereof) was about the best thing I've seen come through the esteemed Forum listserv. For others, it was probably boring and totally irrelevant.

We heard such gems and various arguments as

"Why maintain a separate manual if publishers produce industry-standard ones like Chicago or AP?" And,

"I would think that if we all use the same PMS for our maroons and golds, we should certainly be united in whether or not we serial comma and at what point we switch to numbers instead of text." Or,

"To abandon a standard is, to me, tantamount to saying we can spell words any way we want."
---------------
It's a debate that's been had by the finest minds of the millennium, and really, since the beginning of language.

No one captures that debate in totality better than David Foster Wallace, in his 2001 essay for Harper's Magazine, "Democracy, English, and the Wars over Usage." This later appeared in his book of essays, Consider the lobster--hence the title of this post. It's 50+ pages of mind-blowing philosophy on language, and it's totally interesting and readable. The genius who wrote Infinite Jest could probably tell tales of melting butter in a way that would leave your mouth watering and mind numb, but this essay is apropos to the listserv tug-o-war.

Wallace begins, "Did you know that probing the seamy underbelly of U.S. lexicography reveals ideological strife and controversy and intrigue and nastiness and fervor on a nearly hanging-chad scale? For instance, did you know that some modern dictionaries are notoriously liberal and others notoriously conservative, and that certain conservative dictionaries were actually conceived and designed as corrective responses to the "corruption" and "permissiveness" of certain liberal dictionaries?"

Wallace goes on to divide the groups, as is our American way, into two competitive factions: the Prescriptivists vs. the Descriptivists. He defines Descriptivists using the colloquial term, SNOOT (and not derogatorily, for in the end he is more a SNOOT than not), defined by Wallace as "somebody who knows what dysphemism means and doesn't mind letting you know it."

Officially, the definitions are thus:
1. Descriptive grammar: the systematic study and description of a language. Descriptive grammar refers to the structure of a language as it is actually used by speakers and writers.
2. Prescriptive grammar: a set of rules and examples dealing with the syntax and word structures of a language, usually intended as an aid to the learning of that language. Prescriptive grammar refers to the structure of a language as certain people think it should be used.

From About.com: Both kinds of grammar are concerned with rules--but in different ways. Specialists in descriptive grammar (linguists) study the rules or patterns that underlie our use of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. On the other hand, prescriptive grammarians (such as most editors and teachers) lay out rules about what they believe to be the "correct" or "incorrect" use of language.

Officially, there is no longer any particular writing style that is required use for University communications. These are the only requirements specific to the U. Colleges and units are free to choose a style (AP/Chicago) that is appropriate for their project.

So, where do you fall on the battleground, amidst the blood of words and the screams of lobsters?

Reminder: Video program today

Don't forget to escape your desk this afternoon and come to this month's program in 101 Walter Library, 3 p.m. 

Who wrote this?

A well-intentioned department wants its own newsletter/email/(insert random project here), but there's no one in-house to create it. What is a communicator to do? In the days of tiny budgets and shrinking staff, a solution to meeting your organization's needs is not easy to come by.

Some organizations and nonprofits have turned to using a content provider to fill in the gaps. In some cases the content provider just supplies generic text on a predetermined topic. In other cases, they provide copy and design services for client newsletters and webpages.

The choice to use these companies can help ease the load on existing staff, while still meeting the organization's communication needs. However, this set up also creates a host of other issues.

Who will manage the relationship with the company? Who will ensure your brand and style is represented appropriately? Will the generic content be compelling or suitable to your specific audience?

I wanted to see what Forum members think about this. Does anyone have an experience to share? Any tips on working with a content provider?

Member profile: Rebecca Noran

Name: Rebecca Noran

Job title: Assistant Director and Communications Manager
University of Minnesota Extension Center for Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (EFANS)

Which means: I have ideas and I make them happen. Somehow, this involves attending many meetings and chairing many committees. But more importantly it involves the work of many talented people. My role is part administrator for our center, reporting to the associate dean and managing different center initiatives and operations, and part communications manager, with oversight for our web presence, internal communications, telling our story, and other communications efforts... and supervising a great team.

I have been at the University since: Jan. 2, 2001

Areas of expertise: design, proofreading, Minnesota Extension's response to emerald ash borer, First Avenue & 7th St. Entry nightclub, Twin Cities public bathrooms, Shellac concerts, famous people from my hometown of Montclair, NJ, lines from the movies Heathers, The Muppet Movie, and The Big Lebowski

Why are you a Forum member?
Because we need an outlet like this. I have served on the promotion and awards committees, designed materials for the conference, and attended many events over the years -- it is great to have this positive space for University communicators to learn from and connect with each other. I look forward to the conference every year, to see all you smart, talented communicators!

Family members: husband: Jon Dehning (also works at the U, from Decorah, Iowa), parents: Jim and Susan (NJ), siblings: Jason (NJ), Rachel and husband Zak and their sons Ben and Henry (Virginia) -- the rest of them, they are all over the country!

Hobbies:  Boggle, doodling, walking, traveling/exploring, talking to strangers, finding colors that go with maroon and gold

Current favorites: Recent discovery of DVR, making up step aerobics moves at the uptown YWCA, my share at Spring Hill Community Farm, fancy olive oil, is the MFA still the new MBA?

I am passionate about: A good sandwich

People are always surprised to learn that I: was born on Halloween

Why my job matters to my unit and to the University:

Extension is a critical part of the University's land-grant mission -- our job is to make a difference by connecting community needs and University resources to address critical issues in Minnesota. We are a trustworthy source of information for citizens, delivering research-based education that is practical and useful... and hopefully enjoyable!

In my center's content areas, our job is to help people make informed decisions involving topics that impact Minnesota's environment and economy -- such as water quality, food safety, renewable energy, climate and weather, feeding a growing population, invasive species, yard and garden, housing technology, nature-engaged families, woodlands management, pesticide safety, and many more important societal issues.

My administrative role is to further this important work by developing and managing administrative efforts that support effective and efficient programming -- such as bridging collaboration between our Extension educators and tenured/tenure-track faculty in CFANS, aiding our interdisciplinary programming efforts, streamlining our processes, so that our educators and researchers can focus on their programming.

Extension is an externally focused unit, and communications plays a key role in our success. As the communications manager for EFANS, I bring professional communications expertise and experience, providing consultations on communications strategy and practices to our employees. My job is to raise the bar on our communications, and to help our employees find the best method to reach their audience and achieve their goals, pushing them to think differently when appropriate -- to innovate not just in extreme ways but everyday ways. I help my colleagues in Extension to do this by overseeing aspects of projects like a large-scale redesign of our web presence (bringing our 50+ websites into one website), creating professional quality templates for staff to use with a consistent University identity, partnering with programs on educational materials and decision-making tools across media and delivery methods.

Our employees are located throughout the state, so our internal communications work is key, and includes a quarterly webinar where we feature different successes of our program teams from which others can learn. Telling the story of Extension's impact is important for our continued funding at the federal, state and local levels; as communicators we package our stories in a memorable way, following leads to generate the content and images that will resonate with our stakeholders and convey the impact of our work.

As a well-rounded communicator I know things like what makes type more or less legible, how to spec jobs for printers, how to find the right online tool for just about anything, what are the trends in usability, what makes good B-roll, where you should put your commas if you follow Chicago or AP style.

But the greatest value I bring to my unit and the U is not written into my job description. It is a role most communicators and design thinkers do well: Catalyst. To ask questions and try new approaches. To embrace change. To think about the people who will use what I create and to learn from them. To foster community. To set the bar high for professional quality communications. To make things happen, and to take an iterative approach to getting things done -- so that they really get done. To have a sense of humor and bring energy to the conversation. To explore the ideas that may seem weird but may be just the answer. To not be afraid to try. This is what helps push our work forward as a university.

Watching my fingers dance across the keyboard

I'm editing my department's newsletter today, and going through the spell-check. I'm constantly surprised at how often I mis-type certain words.

This is not the same as mis-spelling certain words. Like many people, I have to remind myself of the "i before e except after c" rule when I spell words like "receive." In another case this week, I was writing a story and, for the life of me, I could not remember how to spell "drought." Was it "draught?" Nope, that's British. It couldn't be "drout," that just looked wrong. I had to look it up and then slap my forehead afterward, trying to get my brain back on track.

Mis-typed words are another case. I can't tell you how often I review an email and find a "teh" for "the." Or how about those sneaky snafus that the spell check doesn't get, like typing "form" for "from?" Personally, I am consistently amazed that, after two years of working at a university, I type "univeristy" almost every time. Grrr.

Well, what about you? Which words trip you up when you type? 

Zombie art, hip-hop, health care reform, oh my!

I'm going to use today's post for a little crossover promotion of the U-wide publication I edit, Brief. Almost a year ago now, I began a column in Brief called Preview/Review (appearing every 2 weeks), which, as you might surmise from the title, offers a review (usually just 1, maybe 2) and many previews (up to 10) of events happening on the Twin Cities campuses over the coming two weeks or so.

My thought in starting the column was to highlight the incredible variety (see title of post) of events happening every day at UMTC. I also wanted to engage readers, and so the column offers an open invitation to faculty and staff to contribute; so far, I've had a few takers, but I'd love to get more.

I've also established a few (flexible) guidelines to get the most out of the column, foremost of which is to have fun with the writing.

Other guidelines:

Events must be on the TC campus

Events should not have previously appeared in Brief.

Events should help to make the U more accessible to, and encourage connections among, faculty and staff.

Reviews of events that offer a link to more information from the event, such as a live recording or materials from the presentation, will be favored over those without more information.

Free events will be favored over pay events.

Events should have interesting and snappy descriptions, and be a little offbeat (according to the editor's admittedly subjective idea of offbeat). For example, the "27th annual..." anything will likely not be included.

Events should be sponsored by or directly involve faculty/staff and appeal to faculty/staff.

If you have a TC event you want to rave about, let me know.

Ode to a Typeface

This is fantastic and fun. You'll never look at Neutraface the same: Neutra Face : An Ode On A Typeface (A Bearded Poker Face Parody).

Food and drinks anyone?

It's the first Thursday of the month, which means its time for another Communicators Forum happy hour! Join us today in the Campus Club (the only bar on campus) at 4:30pm. Complimentary appetizers will be provided. 

HumorIs

Note: I generally hate anything about prescriptive humor, especially in the workplace...but what the hell.

Somebody once said to me, long ago, that the shortest distance between person A and person B is humor. It was the sort of math I could relate to, and I've never forgotten the sentiment. When it comes to communication, I use humor when I can.

Last weekend I went to the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, DC. If there are two people in our time who've truly mastered humor in communication, it's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Their humor makes them tolerable to people of both (all/most) political persuasions, although I'm sure a majority of viewers lean liberal. The point is, humor is a bridge, and sometimes it's the quickest way to get you where you want to go.

I did a little research to see if I could find anything credible on humor in communication, and found someone with a Dr. suffix. That's good enough for me.

The good Dr. had a few basic rules for humor in the workplace, and I've pulled out one section in particular that may be applicable for many of us:

Basic Rules for Using Humor in Talks and Meetings
1) Be sure the humor is relevant to the point you need to make.

We've all seen people in meetings tell jokes or anecdotes that have no bearing on the issue at hand. We're left trying to figure out the point of the joke, which assures we'll miss any important information provided during that time. Irrelevant humor is distracting, and may even be annoying.

2) Remember the sandwich approach.

Make your point, then illustrate it with humor, and then remake the point again. The final reminder of the point is not always necessary, but helps assure that your audience doesn't go away remembering only the joke.

He also had a few facts from scientific studies (though I didn't go so far as to verify methodology):

• Research examining the dynamics of humor in task-oriented meetings suggests that it can play the pivotal role in moving the group toward a consensual solution to a problem.
  

• While the early joking emphasized the differences between people at the meeting (and was sometimes disparaging), this mid-meeting humor drew people together and led to smoother interactions as differences were discussed.
  

I wonder if the new congress will find a way to work together? Not too many people are laughing these days. The country faces serious issues. People are out of work. The U has a tough road, too--we all do. Someone make me laugh, please.

Links:
Humor in communication
Humor in the Workplace

Today is the Day to Communicate

As the official "Blogger-at-Large" of the Communicators Forum Board, I will now share with you my very first blog... ever. This may not seem like a big deal to many, but it is to me. So, to quote the great philosopher and muse Glenn Frey "the heat is on." I feel I must enter here, however, a disclaimer: Any grammatical or punctuative errors may be the result of the writer's inexperience and lack of recent necessity to compose anything other than emails, text messages in T-9 format and statuses on Facebook. There... administrative work out of the way, now, on to the blog.

Today, I am sure you are aware, is Election Day. The glut of negative ads in the media and calls from various campaigns remind us of how thankful we all will be when Wednesday, November 3, 2010 finally arrives. Now, I do realize that this blog is for the Communicators Forum. I also realize I do not need to explain why I chose this topic other than timeliness, but I feel that voting is an extremely important form of communication. Hence, the topic AND timeliness seem to be ideal for this blog, eh?

I decided, subsequently, to look up some definitions. So, I went back to the basics... literally. I opened my Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary Unabridged Second Edition Deluxe Color, Copyright © 1979. (It was a high school graduation gift from a family friend whose name I forgot many years ago.) I did look up these same words on line, but I must admit that it seemed too sterile for my first blog. It feels good to have this behemoth-sized book in my lap, too, like an old friend. Sigh.

Sorry. I digress. On to the definitions.

So, there nestled on the page somewhere between "vomiting" and "vouchsafement" lies "vote." Among the many forms, definitions, origins, I highlight here:

vote - to express or signify the mind, will, or preference in a matter by voice, ballot, etc; to vote conscientiously

and

vote - Latin votum, a wish originally a vow.

This then led me to

vow (found between "voudoo" and "vulnerary" on page 2051) which means to declare emphatically, earnestly or solemnly

and

voice - to nominate; to adjuge by vote; to vote or give one's opinion

and, finally a non-"v" word

communicate - to impart to another or others; to make known.

I realize that this isn't an English lesson, or maybe it is, but all of this takes me to what really needs to be said.

Today is the day when all who have a voice should communicate his or her wishes, preferences by voting. Not many countries give their citizens the same rights that we are afforded. By voting we are sharing our desires and wishes, though not necessarily in unison, as one large voice.

Regardless, whether you learned about the election process in ninth grade political science class or from Schoolhouse Rock, your voice matters.

Now, if you haven't already today, go vote.

 

The future of books

More colleges seem to be encouraging or even requiring students to use electronic books. The U of M's iPad pilot project is the largest in the nation. Considering the cost of textbooks, and assuming that electronic versions are much less expensive, I imagine this would be a welcomed change for students. Will the paper book be missed?



What about your own reading? Are you buying fewer paper books or borrowing less from the library?

 

 

 

 

 

Poll: Do you read e-books?

I'll think about it tomorrow

As interim editor of a publication this fall, I've been raking in content from contributors I don't know and haven't worked with before. I am amazed, amazed I tell you, with how many of them have not submitted their articles to me until I have sent numerous emails, threatening voice mails, and sicced other authority figures on them. In two cases, the scofflaws needed to write 200 words--that's it--just 200 words each--and they didn't do it until I threatened to send the magazine to press without their words of wisdom. And before you ask, no, not one miscreant was a faculty member.

I may be a bit more on edge about this than normal, in part because I am working in unfamiliar surroundings with contributors I don't know, but also because I just read a fascinating article on procrastination by James Surowiecki at the New Yorker. Please read it now--don't put it off!

Who should be our keynote speaker?

Planning is under way for 21st annual Communicators Forum conference! Last year, we thoroughly enjoyed our keynote speaker, Dennis Cass. We found Dennis because of you, our wonderful members! So, who do you want to see at this year's conference? Post a comment with your recommendations.

Does your website wear its underwear on the outside?

In a recent article by Meghan Casey from Brain Traffic, 4 Web projects content management can solve, she outlines common Web disasters and helpful solutions. But one problem in particular...um, stuck out: the issue of underpants on the outside.

What does this mean? Casey defines it as:

1. When a website is organized the way the company is organized, but not the way users might navigate the content.

2. When it's evident that departments/leadership are fighting for prime space on the homepage, without considering users' needs or what will drive results.

Whether your "underwear" takes the form of a lengthy letter from the department head that no one will read or a crowded homepage no one can navigate--most likely, we've all encountered these paralyzing issues at some point.

Casey suggests content strategy as a way to combat this. How have you overcome this problem?

Creative Slump

Sitting at the allergists last week, I picked up an old copy of Newsweek, from July 19, 2010. I read an article called "The Creativity Crisis" by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. This is perfect for a blog posting, I thought, since last month when I was asked to write something, I froze like a deer in the headlights and missed my planned deadline. It seems that occasionally feeling creatively challenged is nothing unique, as this article outlined.

Back in 1958 a psychologist named E. Paul Torrance started testing Minneapolis kids for creativity. The study followed these children over the years and found that those who had more creative responses on his tests later became inventors, authors, doctors, diplomats and needless to say - hardly ever missed a blog deadline. Creative kids tend to be three times more likely to creative adults. But after fifty years of test score results it seems that although IQs have risen, creativity has declined.

Although exactly why this is happening is not yet clear, there are a few ideas explored in the article. Television and video game time may have contributed as well as standardized education, which emphasizes rote memorization.

It seems the solution may be more about the way we teach instead of what we teach. Art programs are not necessarily the answer. We need to approach problems with both side of our brains engaged. The left side of the brain starts out by sorting through familiar solutions and the right side kicks in looking further, sorting through less relevant memories and knowledge that might add meaning. If an idea comes forward from the right side of the brain, the left side takes over again to check it for validity and make it work - or dismiss it. This process happens all the time for all of us. Creative people are just better at it.

How can we jump start this process? The most helpful suggestions included some obvious and not so obvious actions. What follows is the three I liked.

Exercise is helpful because it improves cognition. I break down what they said to just doing what is comfortable for you but that gets your heart pumping. If you are a couch potato - go for a walk, not a run. Getting over tired doesn't help. But if you are a runner - go for it!

Taking a break seems like a stall tactic when I am stuck on a problem but setting things aside for a while can really help. The article suggests you work on something else for a while and come back later.

The suggestion I found really interesting was exploring another culture. Apparently "cross-cultural experiences force people to adapt and be more flexible."  Before we all go try to convince our bosses we need a road trip to  Asia, read the rest. Experiments would indicate that if you can't travel, you can still improve creativity by just studying another culture. In lab experiments people were more creative after viewing a short slide show about China.

I wonder if eating ethnic food will help. I'm willing to find out.

What jump-starts your creativity?

University Branding/Marketing Campaigns Face Criticism Everywhere

Inside HigherEd has an interesting article about recent marketing campaigns by American University, Purdue, Drake and others. 

Brand New Dilemma looks at the pitfalls and motivations behind branding campaigns--how they are perceived by students and alumni, the general public, and marketing pundits. One audience I would have liked to hear from are faculty.

Here at Minnesota we've just launched the new "Because" campaign, which is Driven to Discover v.3 or 4. Like the campaigns discussed in the Inside HigherEd piece, some people love it, some hate it. In light of these responses to marketing campaigns around the country, what do you think of "Because"?

Internal audience segmentation

In case you don't keep up with the ecommunications blog, they've just posted the next meeting for the group with the strange acronym: MEUG. The Mass Email User Group meeting is Wednesday, October 27 from 3-4 p.m. in Morrill 238A.

The main topic will be internal audience segmentation, and Forum member Matt Sumera, associate director for Internal Communications, will present on
Internal Communications' work in selecting and refining audiences on
the Twin Cities campus and systemwide. They'll also look at the data
available to see how your college or unit can leverage these
ideas to select from your own students, staff, or faculty.

Some remote attendance options are available with an RSVP, and you can find out more on that at the ecomm blog.

Member profile: Heather Smith

Job title: Executive Office Administrative Assist

Which means: I am the admin for LCRU (cardiovascular research clinic) and do admin duties for all the coordinators and manager, schedule, do design duties, maintain the website that I created and so much more. I have many "hats".

What do you like most about your job? When I get to do design work.

I have been at the University since: February of this year (2010)

Areas of expertise: Design and photography. However, I don't own an SLR, but I feel that I can still take a great picture.

Why my job matters to my unit and to the University: I'm the main face to the clinic that does research to help cure hearts and I help out the group with all their needs.

Communicators are important to the University's mission because:
We can speak for the U in a visual way.

Why did you join the Forum and how are you involved? To gain more design experience, network to get into a design related job of some kind and meet more people. I joined three of the committees through the forum.

Family members: I have 12 legs to attend to (2 cats and a dog). The cats weigh more than my dog.

Hobbies: My top hobbies are dancing latin/swing/ballroom, traveling, photography, hiking/walking outside in nature. Dancing is the main hobby as of late. I'm thinking about training for a competition for next year. I love going on day excursions in the fall time with my dog. You'll almost always see me with my camera because I love taking photos of nature and architecture. Traveling is my other passion. I want to see the world!

Current favorites:
Favorite restaurants? Boca Chica and Hell's Kitchen to name a couple.
Food? I've become a fan of the jucy lucy. Cheese, malts/shakes, fruit, state fair deep-fried cheese curds, and popcorn are a few top favorites.
Favorite places for entertainment? I love the Dakota Jazz Club. Otherwise, I love going to the orchestra or seeing a musical. I'll be seeing a ballet (Swan Lake through the Northrop system) and an opera early next year. I can't wait!

What inspires, enthuses or drives you? Traveling and dancing. When I travel or dance I feel so alive. With dancing it's such a great social exercise and it's beautiful, especially watching a room full of people doing the waltz. When I travel I have to pinch myself to believe that I'm somewhere else so beautiful, so filled with history, so unique with just a quick, or not so quick, plane ride.

People are always surprised to learn that I: have a twin brother, and that I dance latin/ballroom/swing.

Thinking about academic freedom

I've been busy at work this month on coordinating our October program on academic freedom, and I'm excited about the discussion. Thanks to Kelly for recently posting our exact policy on academic freedom last month. There's still so much to cover for the program, which got me thinking... we know the what of the policy, but what about the who? So I thought I'd ask you what you thought.

National Day on Writing, Oct. 20!

With all the gridlock in Congress these days, it's hard to believe politicians can agree on anything at all. Apparently, though, they've found common ground in agreeing that writing is a good and necessary activity. In September, Congress unanimously-approved a U S. Senate resolution establishing Oct. 20 as "National Day on Writing."

In case you didn't know it, the U of M has a Center for Writing, which supports the work of all U students, faculty, and staff engaged in the practice, teaching, and study of writing. And on Oct. 20, the Center is hosting a variety of writing events, including some quirky ones, like "Stalled Writing," an event that will take place in the Nicholson Hall bathrooms, where you can be "inspired by the porcelain muse," and perhaps move beyond "for a good time" to "Once upon a time."

If the bathroom isn't your style, they'll have "InTentsive Writing," which will take place in...you guessed it--a tent. Those looking to get outside any physical boundaries might have luck with "Artful Writing: Writing With, Through and About Art with the Weisman Art Museum," which will practice building perception skills and respond to works of art verbally and through a variety of writing activities. For more course offerings and more information, see the Center for Writing, National Day on Writing.

Eternal doodle of the focused mind

They say it's lazy, inattentive, and immature. And despite our best efforts to explain the contrary, some people find the evidence in the seemingly innocent vine motifs on our notebooks. The truth is--we are paying attention. Really. Doodling: it's just what we do.

As a creative in a non-creative industry, I struggle to find a balance between my mode of listening and learning and others' perception of it. Quite simply, drawing helps me think. But in mixed company, I avoid the guilty doodle. Instead I assume the role of the consummate student--arms folded and eyes peeled. But don't be fooled, I'm most likely trying to remember the name of that guy, you know, the one who was in that movie...

Email: No Pony Express

Every year on my birthday, my mom sends me a handwritten card. It usually has a bunch of heart stickers stuck all over the envelope, inside and out. There is also often a crisp $5 bill inside, but that's beside the point. I'm sure the post office guy thinks I'm a big wuss, but I don't care. I love these letters from my mom. Plus, my dad worked at the US Post Office for over 30 years, so if the guy has a beef with me, I'll find out where he lives, too. Two can play the game of "I know where you live."

Anyway, what I want to talk about is email, both about how it crushes your soul and clutters your work life. Of course, it also has the potential to do much good, but only if you use it right.

Prof Arthur Hill at the Carlson School of Management has more than 30 years of research, teaching, and consulting in operations management and (quite efficiently) can talk about managing time and work effectively. He says he once spoke with a dean who admitted to having more than 6,000 unopened emails.

For most of us, the barrage of emails is not quite that extreme, but the problem of too much to do contributes to stress, worry, and guilt, says Hill.

Hill says it's important to remember a few simple rules, and some of them, I admit, seem downright foreign. For example, "Never check email in the morning," is one of his most important rules. He says instead that we should start the day with goals and bigger projects--email should not be on a "to-do" list.

Other email advice from Hill:

• Abide by the two-minute rule--if it takes less than two minutes, do it now.

• Write short emails with very concise and meaningful subject lines and do not cc unless absolutely necessary--very often, the cc is not necessary and is a waste of many people's time.

• Reduce the number of emails you write to reduce the number you receive. Do not write a "thank you" email every time you receive a correspondence.

•  Never have more than one screen of emails open at a time.

•   Open an email once, and process it right away.
  

Finally, says Hill, remember that interruptions occur about every 2.5 minutes, and it usually takes about 10 minutes to recover from each interruption. The main source of the interruption? You.

There's also a somewhat academic analysis of email online... Email's Dark Side

A few things it notes:

You check more often than you think: Participants in a study by Renaud et al. (2006) claimed to check their email, on average, once an hour. However when the researchers spied on them, it turned out they checked their email every five minutes.

Email eats a quarter (23%) of the working day

It takes 64 seconds to recover from an email

Email kills sarcasm (and emotional communication)

People feel less co-operative

Email negotiations often feel difficult, especially with people we don't know well.

There's little argument that personal, handwritten letters mean more than an email...some visceral component a computer just hasn't captured yet still tugs at our "aww, mom" heartstrings. But if you use it sparingly and supplement it with face-to-face and the occasional phone call (texting doesn't count), you'll have a more meaningful--and productive--work life. And your mom doesn't want an email anyway.

Saying No: A Case Against Social Media

Sometimes the newest and greatest isn't always the best. It seems the world is looking to social media as the solution to marketing on a budget and as the vehicle to connect with Gen Y. As is often the case, one size does not fit all.

Are you in a situation where your client wants to jump on the social media band wagon, but you know it isn't a good fit for them? How do you say no to the enthusiasm your clients might have to social media marketing? You might have a great case against social media marketing (not audience appropriate, might open up privacy issues, etc.), but here are some interesting articles in case you need additional material for your arsenal!

The Many Challenges of the Social Media Industry

Listen & Learn (Simplified Social Media Process)

The Biggest Problem with Social Media Marketing

There's More to Marketing than Social Media

The Problem with Social Media Marketing

The Problem in Social Media Marketing (is word of mouth actually good for your org?)

Is Social Media the Same as Marketing?


Is Social Media an Impediment to Problem Solving?

Member profile: Peggy Rinard

Job title: Communications Director, College of Biological
Sciences

Which
means: I'm responsible for communications planning, messages from the dean, media
relations, print and electronic communications, and communications support for
development and student services. And I couldn't do it without Stephanie Xenos, my
multi-talented and very patient assistant director.

I have been
at the University since: 1991

Areas of
expertise: planning, science writing and editing

Why my job
matters to my unit and to the University: to help the public understand the
value of biological research for addressing global problems like climate
change, loss of biodiversity, replacing petroleum with clean, renewable
energy, and finding cures for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

Can you tell us about a recent project or activity in which you (and colleagues)
have creatively solved a communication challenge on a tight budget?: We
converted our print magazine, BIO, to a web-based newsletter and created an
annual publication for donors to supplement it. The conversion was based on
research showing that our readers are most interested in research news, so that's
the focus on the e-newsletter. The print pub provides more in depth features
about students and alumni for our donor audience.

Professional
communicators are important to the University's mission because: We explain the
value of the University as a research institution to legislators, voters, and
other constituents and persuade them to invest in the U.

Family members: husband, Gary, daughters Emily (22) and
Elisabeth (20). Emily just graduated from Drake University with a graphic
design degree (and is looking for freelance work.) Elisabeth is a junior at UW
Eau Claire, where she is majoring in environmental geography. She plans to get
a master's degree in urban planning. One dog (Elsa) and three cats (Julius,
Simka and Milo)

Hobbies: Reading and collecting
designer pottery from the '40s-'60s.

Current favorites: I recently
rediscovered Joan Didion and am reading everything she wrote. Other recent
favorites include Tortilla Curtain and The Women by TC Boyle. I'm also
reading an anthology of LA literature. All-time favorite authors are Wallace
Stegner and Raymond Chandler. I guess you can tell I'm from California.

I am passionate about: movies and
music from the 1940s and early '50s, cats, and chocolate. A good evening for me would be watching
"Adam's Rib" with a cat or two or three while eating organic dark chocolate
with cherries.

People are always surprised to
learn that: I was a singing waitress in college and aspired to be an actress.

Accessibility.umn.edu

In case you hadn't heard, a new online accessibility resource has been created by the U's Computer Accommodations Program--a partnership of Disability Services and the Office of Information Technology.

The site has been designed with the goal of sustaining and improving access and services to students, faculty, staff, and visitors--including those with disabilities. It's all about making the U-wide-web available to the widest possible audience -- including users of old, adaptive, alternate, or emerging technologies.

The site content includes the following seven categories, each represented by an icon used to identify category membership:

Documents -- includes information on accessibility barriers, best practices, and how to create accessible Microsoft Word, PDF, and Microsoft Excel documents.

Presentation -- includes information on accessibility barriers, best practices, and how to create accessible PowerPoint, Adobe Presenter, Apple Keynote and S5 online presentations.

Multimedia -- includes information on captioning, accessibility barriers, best practices, and how to create accessible Flash, QuickTime, Camtasia and Podcast media.

Learning Technologies at the U -- includes information on accessibility barriers and best practices for Moodle, Google Apps, MyU Portal, UMConnect Meeting, Clickers, UThink, and Wimba Voice Tools.

Web Content -- includes information on making Web pages and applications accessible. Includes a self-assessment tool.

Laws, Policies and Guidelines -- includes information on university policies, federal and state laws, and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines regarding accessibility.

Adaptive Technologies -- includes information on a variety of technologies available for making information accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Duluth Forum program hit the mark

by Karen Kloser, program associate, Institute for New Media Studies.

After four years working for the Institute for New Media Studies research center in the U's School of Journalism, I have yet to meet someone who understands all the social media tools and is maximizing all the platforms and their potential.
Over the years I have looked to the Forum programs to expose me to the missing pieces.

The Forum's first program of the year, held in Duluth, did just that with guest speaker Marty Weintraub, the frenetic owner of AimClear. Weintraub, along with one of his bright, young staffers and blogger Manny Rivas for Search Engine Watch wowed attendees with their energy and command of social media and especially their work in search engine optimization (SEO).

My interest in attending this program was piqued when I read the words "reputation monitoring" in the promotion copy. Straight up, there was so much to cover in one hour that Weintraub didn't even touch upon this topic. However, I was not disappointed.

He opened the presentation with the apropos analogy comparing their agency's online marketing efforts to an ecosystem: Like nature, all social media is intertwined and interdependent, with Google as mother earth. Although Rivas was careful to remind us that YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world.

Weintraub also delineated online marketing into two types: free (or organic) and paid. It sounds simple enough. But as he dove deeper into their practice and strategy for search engine ranking, driving traffic, creating content, engaging communities, and harvesting high quality inbound links, I knew he was way over my head.

I didn't expect to come away from the program as a social media scholar; however, I did pick up a few tidbits to share:

• Social media dovetails nicely with customer service

• There is stunning micro-demographic diversity in FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube to be mined

• Play with Facebook's amazing advertising reach-- add some off the wall likes and interests, or change your political or religious views, and watch what appears in that right hand column of ads on your page

• Don't rule out B2B marketing, there are tons of Facebook social segments in it

• Try Facebook advertising.

Finally, the best part of Forum programs is the networking. Afterwards, Weintraub and Rivas mingled with us during the reception. Weintraub may be a wiz at what he does, but he was very approachable and came across as just a regular Midwesterner.

Academic Freedom

There's been a lot of talk lately about academic freedom. As communicators at a public university, it should inform everything we do. If you are wondering what exactly our policy on academic freedom is, look no further.

BOARD OF REGENTS POLICY ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY

SECTION I. GUIDING PRINCIPLES.

The Board of Regents (Board) of the University of Minnesota (University) reaffirms the principles of academic freedom
and responsibility. These are rooted in the belief that the mind is
ennobled by the pursuit of understanding and the search for truth, and
the state well served when instruction is available to all at an
institution dedicated to the advancement of learning. These principles
are also refreshed by the recollection that there is commune vinculum omnibus artibus, a common bond through all the arts.

SECTION II. ACADEMIC FREEDOM.

Academic freedom is the freedom
to discuss all relevant matters in the classroom, to explore all
avenues of scholarship, research, and creative expression, and to speak
or write without institutional discipline or restraint on matters of
public concern as well as on matters related to professional duties and
the functioning of the University.

SECTION III. ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY.

Academic responsibility
implies the faithful performance of professional duties and obligations,
the recognition of the demands of the scholarly enterprise, and the
candor to make it clear that when one is speaking on matters of public
interest, one is not speaking for the institution.

Twins Baseball and corporate speak in academia..or, "Word optometry"

Ron Gardenhire, manager of the Minnesota Twins, is not a professor of baseball, but last night after the Twins game he had a teaching moment, at least for one reporter. "He learned him good," you might say.

Gardenhire is an angry man, and has been ejected from a higher-percentage of games (per games coached) than any other baseball manager. When a player asked him something to the effect of how do you see the Twins "moving forward" into the playoffs, Gardenhire replied (paraphrasing, as I can't find the actual press conference footage, "Moving forward? What the hell does that mean, moving forward? Do you want to move forward into the next room and ask me the same question? Because if you do, I'll give you the same answer." He is an angry man.

But "moving forward" is a weasel word, there's no doubt. It says and asks nothing specific, and as far as providing an actual vision for anything, it is a word in dire need of an optometrist.

We're guilty of weasel words at the U, too. I have a friend who used to play a game called "Bu** Sh** Bingo," which is probably explanation enough.

So how do we avoid language like this? How do we talk and communicate like normal people? It might help to first look at causes, and then maybe we can find the corrective lenses.

Self-consciousness is surely a cause, perhaps especially in academia. Trying to sound flashy and smart in a sea of PhD's is a natural inclination, but if it's not a natural you, people will see through it, and whatever you're trying to convey will be lost. Word obesity is often the phrase used to describe the outcomes, like when I tell people that I work in "Universitas Relatus." If you say what you mean, you're much more likely to mean what you say, and those who hear you are more likely to see what you say and believe.

Check out some examples from this great blog, and feel free to add your own or comment at will.

• If you want ice in your drink, do you think about it as "adding value"?

• Do you "request the status of the deliverable" when you're wondering if lunch is ready?

• We don't help set something up, we "coordinate to facilitate it".

Here's some more on talking normal from our British friends.

Lastly, can anyone suggest a faculty member who might be willing to give a tutorial on the subject, perhaps even sharing insights about communications at the U?

Social media and alumni

Last week I saw a great social media presentation by Amy Phenix with Macalester College. Her team is finding creative ways to target their alumni through Facebook ads and posts. Her presentation showed how they are reaping the benefits through increased alumni interactions, awareness-building, and fundraising.

Are you reaching out to alumni online? Post tactics that you have found effective.

 

Average open rates for communications at the U

I received a question from the Forum's chair elect Kelly O'Brien, who recently began a new CLA newsletter for faculty, staff, and student workers (mostly grad students, I believe) as to what are the average open rates (unique opens) for regular email updates/newsletters here at the U. I told her that for Brief, the number varies between 20-25% and has seen 30% on some occasions.

Matt Sumera in University Relations gave me stats on some recent high-profile emails, and those seem to average unique open rates of around 18%.

An interesting analysis on open rates by list size can be found at open rates by size.

For those of you who track your open rates, where do you fare?

U. of Kentucky Encourages Students to Check In via Facebook

Here's an idea about using Facebook's new Places location service on a college campus:

The University of Kentucky has planted giant, wooden pointer thingies --
like the tab that marks the map in the Facebook Places logo -- on its
campus to encourage students to check in at school.

"We're encouraging students to check in, so when they do, it'll show up
in their news feed and maybe their friends still in high school will see
it over and over again," said Kelley Bozeman, Big Blue's marketing
director, adding that the university's marketing efforts are focused on
undergraduate recruitment.

Read more

CASE V Mini-Conference "The Meaning of 'Like': Social Media and the New World Order"

How do blogging, Facebook, and other social media impact advancement?

Discover "The Meaning of 'Like': Social Media and the New World Order" at the CASE V Morning Mini-Conference Thursday, September 16.

Find out how blogging fits in with new social media. Discover how to measure activity and its impact. And, probe a case study on Facebook ads. Presenters:

• Mark Engebretson, Director of Electronic Communications at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health

• Amy Phenix, Director, Communications and Public Relations at Macalester College

• Paul Sorenson, Director of New Media and Brand Strategy at the Minnesota Medical Foundation.

Schedule:

    8-8:30 a.m. Registration and continental breakfast
    8:30-10 a.m. Panel presentation and Q&A

Events are in the Ski U Mah Room at the McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. S., Minneapolis. Registration is only $30 for CASE V members and $35 for others.

Swimming in Lake Superior with the Communicators Forum

Not long ago I was reading a story in the New York Times about some hardy folks up north that do not shy away, evidently, from icicles in their beards. This summer, it seems, according the the U's Minnesota Sea Grant project, Lake Superior is on track for possibly its warmest waters on record. So grab your swimming suit and take advantage, and while you're there, recruit other Forum members who will be attending the Sept. 17 Forum event, "Effective Outreach to Target Audiences." It's an opportunity to learn all about internet marketing success, ice beards not included. More details below:

Effective Outreach to Target Audiences
Friday, September 17, 2010

3 p.m. Program, Weber Music Hall:

Marty Weintraub, founder of aimClear, and Manny Rivas, aimClear SEO account manager, will explain the tools that build internet marketing success: pay per click, search engine optimization, online marketing, using social media, technical audits, reputation monitoring, and driving traffic. What works, what doesn't and why? Marty Weintraub is in demand as a speaker on this subject and we are grateful to UMCF member Cheryl Reitan of UMD for arranging this program.  aimClear is an Internet-focused advertising agency with a national client base and is located in Duluth, Minnesota. It offers clients a full service array of state-of the-art services and best-in-class demographic research capabilities. Their practice centers around online marketing and their client list includes well known US publishers and household brands.

This program is co-sponsored by the UMCF, UMD Labovitz School of Business and Economics, UMD Communicators Counci,l and The American Advertising Federation.

4 p.m. Refreshments and networking with the Ad Fed, UMD communicators, and Labovitz School students

6 p.m. Drinks at Zeitgeist Arts Café

7 p.m. Dinner at Zeitgeist Arts Café

The Suites Hotel at Waterfront Plaza (Canal Park) is holding rooms at $85 (studio king suite, sleeps 2-4), $90 (studio double suite, sleeps 2-4), and $100 (one bedroom king suite, sleeps 2-6) for Friday, September 17. Reserve by phone and mention the UMD Communicators Forum. 325 Lake Ave South, Duluth 55802, 218-727-4663, www.thesuitesduluth.com. Booking deadline is August 17.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

9:45 a.m. Free tour of Glensheen Historic Mansion for UMCF members courtesy of UMD

Register online for the program. Book your accommodation directly with the hotel. We will contact registered members for dinner and Glensheen tour bookings. Carpooling is encouraged.

Do we need FAQs?

In a recent post, E-WRITE's Leslie O'Flahavan considers the statement "If Your Web Content is Good, You Don't Need FAQs." Before listing FAQs on your website, there are some helpful points here to think about.

2010 Maroon & Gold Award Recipients

The entries for the Maroon & Gold Awards this year were
inventive, innovative, and impressive. When the awards committee got done
spreading them out, they were struck with how INCREDIBLE we are as a group of professional communicators. It was an amazing array of examples of how, in the face of
budget cuts, layoffs, and the discouragement those realities have brought to us
all in the past year, we have not only persevered, we have exceeded ourselves.

Congratulations! And the winners are...

CATEGORY: CAMPAIGN SERIES

• GOLD
  Ampersand Campaign - Student Unions & Activities
• MAROON - INSTRUCTIONAL
  Minnesota Medical Foundation Corridor Newsletters - Minnesota Medical Foundation
• MAROON - PROMOTIONAL
  Game Day Party Promotional Materials - McNamara Alumni Center
  

CATEGORY: MULTIMEDIA

• GOLD
  Super Ball Drop on Facebook, Twitter... - Student Unions & Activities
  
• MAROON - WEBSITE
  Office of Admissions Website Redesign - Office of Admissions
• MAROON - VIDEO/DVD
  Big Question: Feast or Famine? - Institute On the Environment

CATEGORY: PRINT

• GOLD
  Momentum Magazine Fall 09 - Institute On the Environment
• MAROON - MULTI SHEET
  Make it Super! 2009 UMCF Conference - System Academic Administration
• MAROON - SINGLE SHEET
  Personalized University Calendar - Printing Services
• MAROON - CARD
  OIT Google Postcard - Office of Information Technology
  
• MAROON - POSTER
  Stravinsky in Paris - School of Music
• MAROON - MAGAZINE
  Medical Bulletin Spring 2009 - Minnesota Medical Foundation
  

CATEGORY: WRITING

• GOLD
  Voracious Vegitation Article - Minnesota Sea Grant
• MAROON - INSTRUCTIONAL
  Late Harvest Resources - CFANS Extension
• MAROON - SHORT FEATURE
  Maxine Hong Kingston Article - National Center on Educational Outcomes
  
• MAROON - LONG FEATURE
  Long-distance Learning - CFANS
• MAROON - PROMOTIONAL
  TCF Bank Stadium Donor Thank you Brochure - University of Minnesota Foundation
• MAROON - SCRIPT
  2009 Casey/Minnesota Awards Speech - School of Journalism & Mass Communication

CATEGORY: GREEN

Should I buy a hybrid car? - CFANS Extension

CATEGORY: MARGO

Renewable Energy Banner - CFANS Extension

CATEGORY: MIKE

Big Question: Feast or Famine? - Institute On the Environment

Getting the juices flowing

We've all experienced creative block--those dreaded moments when a deadline looms, but inspiration is nowhere to be found. 

Dennis Cass has some ideas for us. In an interview in this blog earlier this week, Cass promised to impart "a variety of metacognitive strategies for overcoming creative block" during his keynote speech at the May 13 UMCF Conference. I, for one, can't wait.

In the meantime, here's a roundup of advice from 25 designers, creatives, and thinkers--their best tips on how to get the juices flowing. 

What are some of your tips for overcoming creative block?

See you at the conference!

Interview: Center for Genome Engineering Web site redesign

This is the 19^th in a several-part series of interviews with communicators who have redesigned or updated their Web sites. If you have redesigned your site or have a site to suggest for these interviews, let us know.

In this edition: Liz Fedie on the Center for Genome Engineering Web site

What were your reasons for redesigning the site?
We had recently changed the name of our center and wanted to update our image, so we wanted our website to reflect that with a more modern appearance.

What kind of user research or user testing did you do?
We didn't do any research or testing, but I imagine our design team did, the campus group ByDesign, which I understand has lost its funding.

What factors went in to the organization of the site?
We wanted a modern, clean look, but with something a little different, an edge.

How did you think about the visual design of your site within the context of the University brand?
We found the University brand to be somewhat restrictive to the designs we had in mind, but ByDesign was able to bring it all together wonderfully.

What was the biggest challenge, and how did you get past it?
Probably the biggest challenge was incorporating the design with the University brand. Again, ByDesign was able to handle the issue seamlessly.

How did you manage the project and keep it on track?
ByDesign provided us with an excellent timeline and defined steps to move us forward.

What tips do you have for other units redesigning their Web sites?
I think it's important to have a web designer to keep the project on target and to incorporate important elements that the average person may overlook.

How are you evaluating the redesign's success?
From user's feedback and the general adaptability of the site to our changing needs. So far it has been a great success!

It's spring!

And our thoughts are turning to the Forum conference next Thursday--what a great break from all the hectic madness of spring semester.
And for another little break, here are some links to sites that have NOTHING to do with work:

http://mrs-o.org/
This is for anyone who loves fashion and how Michelle Obama has elevated it to height not seen in the White House since another Mrs. O who was then Mrs. K. (follow that?) A great site that I check in with about once a week or so.

http://www.illdoctrine.com/
A great video blog by Jay Smooth, host of the longest running hiphop radio program in New York, WBAI's Underground Railroad. Even if you don't like hiphop, this guy has a LOT to say and an incredibly self-effacing but sure-tongued way of saying it. Especially funny when you can watch his cat wandering around on the unmade bed behind him.

http://www.sbjf.org/sbjco/schmaltz/yiddish_phrases.htm
Because you never know when a Yiddish phrase might provide the perfect bon mot.

http://www.priorfatgirl.com/
If you've ever struggled with weight loss, but especially if you haven't, read this blog. Great writing.

Conference preview: Dennis Cass

The 2010 Communicators Forum conference, Back to Our Roots, is coming up on May 13. We asked some session presenters about their favorite Twin Cities features.

Dennis Cass is our keynote speaker.

Your claim to fame: Someday I will come to you and tell you that you must drop whatever it is you're doing because I have done something truly astounding. Today is not that day.

Favorite local outdoor activity: Walking the Lakes with my wife or playing at the "green park" with my son.

Favorite local indoor activity: Books, television, and video games are all viable options.

Favorite local hangout: Sea Salt in the summer time, CC Club in the winter.

Favorite local band: Not so much a band as a performance group but PowderKeg Live! makes me smile.

Briefly, what will attendees learn at your session? You will learn a variety of metacognitive strategies for overcoming creative block. But try not to worry about it too much.

Letterpress

Letterpress brings the digits back into the digital

Did you know the University of Minnesota's graphic design program has its own letterpress studio? You'll have a chance to visit it at this year's Communicators Forum conference on May 13. Associate Professor James Boyd Brent will be presenting a hands-on demonstration in the Session I Design Break Out.

Here's an interesting documentary about letterpress printing:

Poll: Web site or website?

I've been slow getting this poll up, so by now I'm sure you've all heard about the AP Stylebook's decision to change Web site to website.

Do you think they made the right decision? Please vote in the poll below!

*"Televisionshow" comment hat tip to @nprmonkeysee.

Interview: U of M-Crookston Web site redesign

This is the 18^th in a several-part series of interviews with communicators who have redesigned or updated their Web sites. If you have redesigned your site or have a site to suggest for these interviews, let us know.

In this edition: Amber Bailey on the University of Minnesota, Crookston Web site

What were your reasons for redesigning the site?
We are in the process of moving all of our sites to UMContent, and our Admissions site was one of the first major sites to be moved into the system. Our old Admissions site was designed in the summer of 2006, so the age of it was also another driving factor.

What kind of user research or user testing did you do?
We looked at our current web statistics to determine what our users looked at the most. We also researched other University Admissions sites to see how they were structuring their sites and to see what new features they were using. We also looked at some research that Cappex did on "What High School Counselors Want from College Admissions". Overall, it was many factors that helped us determine how to redesign/re-structure the site.

How did you think about the visual design of your site within the
context of the University brand?
On all of our new Crookston sites, we are using the University approved header (with some slight modifications for our campus) and footer. The body of the page will differ from site to site, but will always have a larger banner on the homepage of the site and a smaller (modified) banner on all the subpages. Our campus really likes the flexibility of the 960 grid system.

What was the biggest challenge, and how did you get past it?
Our biggest challenge was how to narrow our main navigation down to as few links as possible (even though the list is still a bit long). We worked and reworked the navigation several times - and came up with categories of links.

How did you manage the project and keep it on track?
We kept setting mini-goals. First goal - initial meeting; second goal - research; third goal - site map/structure; fourth goal - design; fifth goal - content creation/refreshment; sixth goal - putting the site together (design/content) in UMContent; seventh goal - training admissions staff to keep the site updated. On each of these goals we set deadlines - it helped keep us on track.

What tips do you have for other units redesigning their Web sites?
I have done many re-designs of websites, and since we are a University and have many different groups/people we need to talk with, it's easy to forget who you said what to and what you decided on. I feel that taking really good notes (with dates attached), keeping a folder with the all the information for a particular site, and writing out "to-do" lists for everyone involved (so they have it in writing) has seemed to make the process of redesign a lot smoother. "Patience" is also a very good thing to have ...things come up during the process that might change things or get them off track... so setting and being able to "reset" those mini-goals is very important.

How are you evaluating the redesign's success?
We continue to look at the website statistics and get verbal and written feedback.

UMCF Member Kris Layon has a book deal

Congratulations to Forum member Kris Layon, who as a result of his leadership of MinneWebCon, has a deal with New Riders (an imprint
of Peachpit) to publish his Designing iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad
Applications with Web Standards in December 2010. He will also
teach design workshops in Minneapolis and Phoenix as part of the Two Apps Per Day workshop
series he is launching in June.