Prezi, the tool that some claim will knock PowerPoint into touch, is a very simple tool to use… easy to learn, and, as we’re always looking for, allows us to do some different things in the classroom – particularly in this case, thinking in a non-linear fashion (although if you add ‘pathways’ they are still pretty linear), and allowing multiple authors to edit the presentation. Find the lack of design options a bit limiting, but if you use the basic white option, and use good images…
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Thoughts on using Prezi as a teaching tool // Paul Hill
Filed Under Academic Research, Learning Tagged With Presentations, Prezi
Prezi – “10 ways to say it”
Academy: 10 ways to say it with prezi on Prezi
A great wee Prezi, which demonstrates by doing, the best of what it is capable of – and I now know how to zoom in onto something – I will be using frames more creatively now!! If you’ve never seen the introductory video, watch that first.
Filed Under Tools Tagged With Presentation, Prezi, Tips, Tools
The Digital Revolution and the Internet #medialit
The presentation that I’ve just given at MediaLit. See ‘The notes‘, and the exercise “fears and possibilities“.
Filed Under Christianity, Digital Literacy, Digital Living, Social Media Tagged With CODEC, Digital Revolution, MediaLit, Prezi, Social Media
The Digital Revolution and the Future #medialit (notes)
The Past
- Gutenberg Press: The Past
- Medieval Helpdesk video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ 2.30 minutes)
- Telephone /Moral panics
- What do we define as “new” media – all media has been “new” at some point.
- Digital is much wider than the web, but today we’re essentially talking about that (internet – the railway tracks/infrastructure; the world wide web – the content that runs at different speeds along it!)
- Brief History of the Internet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbMHY8I_kQ8 1.52)
- Diagram of internet history timeline (see how the rate of change has accelerated, interesting categorisation; web proposed 1989/live in 1991)
- Now – in the age of social media (the age I find exciting, having been online since 1997, and not being a tech-head programmer!)
- We are living in an “era that marks a rupture with values based on deference to rational design, orderly markets and vertical institutions. We are embracing the exhilarating uncertainty of delightful randomness, creative destruction and horizontal networks. In a word, we are celebrating our deepest social impulses.” [Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom, px]
- EXERCISE: Stand up if you have ever had/actively use(accounts)s
- Blog
- YouTube
- Rather than getting over-technical, let’s use the analogy of ice-cream to think about social media…
- Social Media in Plain English (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE 3.44) [The Prosumer]
The Present
- Overview of tools – please don’t get overwhelmed by this – [#iblc10 – build up CONFIDENCE in tools in general – as too fast changing for software deps to keep up with ALL] what I hope that you will get from this is that there are SO MANY tools, that it’s impossible for anyone to be a social media expert (I don’t know how to use all of these – but I’ll experiment) – so you can choose the tools that are right for you…
- Explain what each of the following are briefly:
- Presentation Tools (Slideshare/Prezi)
- Social Networking (so many options, Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, Orkut – recognise whole world doesn’t use the same – e.g. China QQ)
- LinkedIn – a business connection based on ‘rational choices’ whereas other sites are maybe only linked via non-rational social desires…
- 4 Elements of a Successful Facebook Strategy
- [Think about Ikea’s tagging strategy, Superbadger]
- Bookmarking (Digg/Delicious)
- Photo-Sharing (Flickr/Tagging)
- Video (YouTube/Vimeo/Tangle)
- Leveraging YouTube (note: Google indexes videos, audio, etc. – and as there’s LESS video video can come higher up in the search)
- Quick & dirty videos can get great responses… people like “the real”
- Importance of leaving the comments section open…
- Microblogging (Twitter/Plurk/Friendfeed more of an aggregator?)
- A visual guide to Twitter
- [NOW news, relationship building, sharing links, fun, e.g. #charitytuesday #followfriday]
- Make yourself INTERESTING to readers – justify their investment of TIME and give them a reason to ‘follow’/’continue following’
- Insights
- Sneak Peaks/Discounts
- Fun/Humour (balance serious/casual)
- Support
- What’s new?
- Most efficiently used when a clear human voice behind it (e.g. respond every day 10-11), and think carefully about the TONE that you use for this, keep it light-hearted, unless dealing with a serious complaint (and try to avoid shutting down comments/complaints or the conversation will go on without you – e.g. Dell/Amazon/Habitat, etc.)
- Put someone who cares & sees the value in it behind it – it’s a GENUINE medium, and any falseness will soon become clear. Respond quickly (if only responds 9-5, think about putting in bio!)
- Need to engage in regular monitor & reciprocation. 1 person, 1 connection, 1 conversation at a time – charities in particular should treat every tweeter as though they were a major donor!
- I’m a historian by trade – for many years the voices of the elite were heard, and then in the 1960s we had the growth of ‘history from below’, of ‘the people’ – that’s what we can see & hear through social media today… allow your workers or your beneficiaries to speak (RT them)
- Blogging (Tumblr, Blogger, WordPress)
- More in depth material, personal reflections, etc.
- Syzygy – site set up in 3 hours, now maintained by Tim
- Central source into which all your other social media feed – so why second session focuses on blogging..
- Pre-existing materials to start from:
- Print materials (my first website essentially translated my undergrad diss to web)
- Video/Photo/Audio
- Staff enthusiasm?
- Easily accessible vox pops, etc.
- Audio (Audacity, Audioboo, Podcast) [On the spot reactions]
- Geolocation (Foursquare, Gowalla)
- Augmented Reality (QR codes, voucher cloud, facial recognition)
- Minority Report (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBaiKsYUdvg 30 seconds)
- Howard Stark (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_u34kV9go0 2 minutes)
- Tools
- Justgiving
- Google Analytics
- Campaign Monitor
- Get Satisfaction (crowd-source support)
- Cloud Computing Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dGb-MMeQ50 2 mins)
- Talk of “the wisdom of the clouds” – need to also recognise can be “the ignorance of the crowds” – we may want to challenge others – and become the THOUGHT LEADERS…
- Building a Digital Strategy (need an overview)
- How the digital environment is important to those who use it (stats)
- Peer-to-Peer use is becoming more common (examples)
- Socks for Happy People (social enterprise)
- Pixel Project (activist campaign)
- Advice
- Be consistent
- Be authentic & genuine (let the human voice speak through)
- Etc…
- Back to ‘accommodation theory’ – speak to YOUR audience (are you speaking to Christians or non-Christians?!)
- Tagging (Folksonomy)
- Twitter (what can you do with it)
- [add some more practical advice/slides]
- Smartphones (HTC, Android, iPhone)
- Importance of the apps
- What is the web capable of? ENGAGE
- What can be measured? (ROI)
- Socialnomics Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypmfs3z8esI, 4 mins 15)
- Neuro web-design, small action, not large action – what ACTION do you want people to take (God.TV – prominent donate button)
- So, if it’s so great, why are there so many fears about it?
- Media Quote (Observer) [Like MoI in WW2, press anti-anything that threatens it, in that case the MoI]
- EXERCISE: Large sheet of paper/banqueting roll, 15-20 mins to scribble down fears & possibilities. Half room on each (rather than both trying to deal with both!)
- What are the FEARS about social media?
- What are the POSSIBILITIES of social media?
- [Think what other areas of life we tend to get over-protective in, and are we doing similar here. What about educating people to trust their own judgements/critique things?]
The People
- So WHO is using social media – what do they want, or is a better question, what do they need, but don’t even know that they need? What is the situation that we are dealing with NOT what would we like it to be (although that could be a valid question, once you understand how things already are!)
- Henry Ford: “Faster Horses”
- UK: 76% penetration
- Morgan Stanley: Mobile use is the largest growing field (students, around 50% have them)
- Technology Stewards (is that what you’ll become for your church?) finding the right tool for the job.
- Prensky (Digital natives, etc. now digital residents/visitors – less age specific)
- Virtual Revolution Clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkxdn7LsQH0) 1 minute
- Internet savvy
- Attached to their mobile phone
- Used to ‘free’/viral/interactive
- Resents ‘marketing’
- Jenkins, 2008, p16: “Media convergence impacts the way we consume media. A teenager… may juggle 4 or 5 windows, scan the web, listen to and download MP3 files, chat with friends, word-process a paper, and respond to email, shifting rapidly among tasks.”
- Childwise Report
- 1.8 hours per day on the internet
- The split (boys/girls – more social?)
- 2.8 hours per day on TV
- Large percentage watching that on the internet
- 75% of them still read books for pleasure.
- Summary of data – number on mobile phones..
- What makes generation unique (funnily enough, Google search – 2/3 top entries were about understanding your audience in order to evangelise!) – can’t remember where it’s from right now…
- Recent surveys – Twitter (for conf paper last week)
- Students – prefer Facebook or think it’s vacuous
- Staff – not much different
- So what does that say about the digital native debate?
- Can see a real concern here that students are doing more surface learning, they’re going to Wikipedia first – and whatever they’re doing, do we think everyone else is doing too?
- I love Twitter… started really using it January 2009 (like Facebook, I’d set up an account then sat & wondered what I was supposed to do with it.. the only thing that works is experimentation, and listening to those who have already done it – one of the difficulties, but also the joys – no strict rules for social media, although there is CROWD etiquette!)
- Set up account @drbexl – was quite careful about what I put on it at first, now don’t think about it so much, quite often use it as a notebook for me.
- Klout Score: ‘socialiser’ (what works)
- Klout Score: ‘activist’ (for digitalfprint)
- Twitter really works with THIRD PARTY apps (e.g. smartphones, can use on the move, Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, Tweetphoto, etc)
- Find Twitter a great outlet for the fact that have always described self as ‘too honest’… difficult to be much else, but that doesn’t mean “TMI”.
- Difficult for those who are used to institutional values – where things are constructed, formal, vertical, hierarchic, static & rigid = whereas the SOCIAL emphasises – spontaneous. Informal, horizontal, heterarchic, dynamic & shifting. (Throwing Sheep, p2).
- Overheard: Theological questions about identity – pseudonyms – something uniquely Christian – about one ID (embodiment) – Same person in every context (don’t do/say things online that couldn’t otherwise… is a common perception – but EASY to see that can’t be seen as the same elsewhere… ) allows me to be HONEST! “Become safe by being known not by being unknown.”
- From http://www.internetevangelismday.com/:
- Broadcast Ministry
- Social Ministry
- P24 Netcasters (effective online evangelism always 1-2-1)
- From http://www.internetevangelismday.com/:
- Set up account @drbexl – was quite careful about what I put on it at first, now don’t think about it so much, quite often use it as a notebook for me.
- See example from my Church –obviously some enthusiasm from someone, last message is April 2009 (better not to have one) – not really been promoted/integrated, etc. Obviously not ONE person in charge of it – so no one looks after it? Social media doesn’t just happen, it may be “free” but a time investment is required..
- 20s/30s group however, has been created by those in the group & is very active!
- As a big church – is possible that people are in many other groups, but would be good to cross-link…
- So what can we do that is different?
- Classic example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHASQg8fR0s (4 mins, or can go from 2 mins in) – conviction as to what was the right thing to do, despite disapproval from those who wanted to do it “the way we’ve always done it”.
- Aung Sang Suu Kyi (http://www.64forsuu.org/, 64forsuu)
- What PURPOSE do you want to achieve with social media?
- What relationships do you want to build?
- What actions do you want people to take?
- What buzz do you want to create around your product?
- Do you want to humanise your company/charity?
- Bring your brand up to date?
- Do you want to LISTEN to what people want?
- Do you want to raise awareness?
- Do you want client leads/create sales?
- Do you want to provide thought leadership?
- EXERCISE: Spend 5 minutes thinking what you could do differently - I think this is a conversation we could continue over the break, so just first ideas… may be a bit overwhelming, but please just keep digesting – one tool at a time!
The Future
- To look at the future, let’s go back to 2006 – when Time magazine described the web as “a revolution”… (we can debate that term, was it a true revolution, or are we doing many of the things we were already doing, but differently, faster, on a wider scale, more transient/more permanent?) – another one to chew on (and feel free to comment on my blog!)
- So, what do we predict for the future – already seen geolocation and augmented reality are coming, but we didn’t see [these] coming, so how can we predict what is next.
- Marcus’s book on digital literacy, available in PDF form
- NOTE: Last year we all thought Google Wave was the next big thing/big wet flannel that was!!
- http://joindiaspora.com/ (received lots of funding, although is little more than ideas – all the fuss re: privacy – will own own data)
- Some idea also of what is en route
- Both more open & more privacy concerns…
- Those who are older – getting more involved and finding different uses for it [e.g. students use social media, but now tutors looking for ways to use it]
- Maybe iPhone (other brands are available) will come with a longer battery life!
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfH8Lrq2QdM&feature=related (5 mins)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9JBSEBu2q8 (5.5 minutes)
- Douglas Adams: The best way to predict the future is to be part of it.
- And I would say – play, play, play… (see @johnsw book)
Filed Under Christianity, Digital Literacy, Digital Living Tagged With CODEC, MediaLit, Prezi, Social Media
Social Media for PR/Comms 2010 (#cmn10)
MY ROUGH NOTES TO ACCOMPANY THIS PRESENTATION, FIRST I’VE TRIED IN PREZI (Just thinking, if this is Flash based, won’t play on anyone’s iPhone…)! I should be giving this talk shortly to the ‘PR/Comms’ strand at #cmn10 (Church & Media Network Conference), before zooming off to join the New Media strand! It should be about 20 mins + Q&A, but I haven’t had time to test, and to be honest, I want to do it a bit off the hoof… I know the subject well enough, I just needed SOME structure… I may also draw some of this information in!
What PURPOSE do you want to achieve with social media?
- What relationships do you want to build?
- What actions do you want people to take?
- What buzz do you want to create around your product?
- Do you want to humanise your company/charity?
- Bring your brand up to date?
- Do you want to LISTEN to what people want?
- Do you want to raise awareness?
- Do you want client leads/create sales?
- Do you want to provide thought leadership?
These decisions are key before you can REALLY define your social media strategy… which will include allocating RESOURCE…
- Strategy for organisation overall
- Strategy for media, including social media, overall
- Strategy for each tool within social media!
- Remember that turnover can be fast for each style of media
- Ensure that you have a plan for how you are going to engage DAILY and WHO IS RESPONSIBLE.
What is the purpose of a social media strategy?
- Without a clear plan, you can end up diving into everything and scattering yourselves too thin, which is not helpful! Or end up not engaging at all..
- A clear plan = avoids wasted time, effort, backlash from those who think you are ‘playing’ rather than working. Avoid social media fatigue (Twitter/3 months!), or missing opportunities (all the opps I’ve had via Twitter).
- However, DO leave space for experimentation in the strategy.
- Ensure that someone has OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY for it (otherwise no one does!)
What do you already have that you can build upon?
- Print materials (my first website essentially translated my undergrad diss to web)
- Video/Photo/Audio
- Staff enthusiasm?
- Easily accessible vox pops, etc.
Initial specialism – history/propaganda
- Social media is but the latest form of ‘propaganda’, and uses similar techniques: http://www.propagandacritic.com/
- Word games: Name-calling; Glittering generalities ;Euphemisms
- False connections: Transfer; Testimonial
- Special Appeals: Plain Folks ; Bandwagon ; Fear
So many tools as possibilities (Prezi)
Hopefully you can start to be thinking of some uses for the tools for yourselves… If you’re going to use it well, best to focus on ONE TOOL at a time, get one going, before moving onto the next (although I quite often ‘take’ my name @drbexl on any new site I come across and leave it).
- Presentations
- Social Networking (Facebook strategy) [Think about Ikea’s tagging strategy, Superbadger]
- Bookmarking
- Photo-Sharing [Give images CC (release for wider use), allow community to tag & comment on images]
- Video-Sharing (Leveraging YouTube – the big software for all – on the ground type of videos, software such as ‘vimeo’ = more professional)
- Microblogging (Twitter info) [NOW news, relationship building, sharing links, fun, e.g. #charitytuesday #followfriday]
- Blogging [More detailed news, personal stories, etc. – e.g. built Syzygy site in around 3 hours, handed over to friend with a few instructions, and he’s developed clear categories, maintaining simple blog entries]
- Audio [On the spot reactions]
- Smartphones
- Geolocation [Sharing tips – usually consumer, but what about ‘good deed for the day’, identify ‘poor spots’, ‘spot the poster’, etc.
- Augmented Reality
- Tools
The tools WILL keep changing, so keep your overall strategy in mind, and REMAIN HUMAN. Think – what are you OFFERING? Remember we are NOT talking ‘real/virtual’ worlds here, we are talking offline/online worlds… [Note, not talked about Second Life… total immersion is expected to come, but not yet… ]
What is your brand?
- Are you hip & happening, or will that scare off your stable base of supporters?
- Look to ensure consistency in your brand – can social media fit with pre-existing, or does it need to be developed differently?
- Social media can help to ‘humanise’ an organisation – but think carefully about how much need to balance this with ‘professional’. (examples of e.g. Twitter used as a customer service tool, or to crowd-source ideas).
- Who is your target audience? (SEO audience)
- MySpace = music (and diminishing)
- Bebo = 16 year olds (and diminishing)
- Facebook – the Daddy of them all! Another in the pipeline is : http://joindiaspora.com/ (received lots of funding, although is little more than ideas – all the fuss re: privacy – will own own data)
- If work in South America – they use Orkut far more…
- E..g The younger generation (Jake)
- Internet savvy (some ‘digital natives, term contested, now talk residents/visitor = less age specific)
- Attached to their mobile phone
- Used to ‘free’/viral/interactive
- Resents ‘marketing’
- Jenkins, 2008, p16: “Media convergence impacts the way we consume media. A teenager… may juggle 4 or 5 windows, scan the web, listen to and download MP3 files, chat with friends, word-process a paper, and respond to email, shifting rapidly among tasks.”
- What would say is different for older generation?
- The average social media user spends around 22 hours a week online (around 6 of them at work)
- Develop ‘personas’ for your typical audience (as you may have done for your website) to think what would appeal!
- Develop a list of KEYWORDS to appeal (phrases count as keywords) – some you won’t be able to compete on (e.g.
- Couple of brands want to show you
- Socks for Happy People (following for last couple of years as in development, met Tom at coaching course as they went through the highs and lows of developing a social enterprise product = very strong on BRAND and leverage – everything is related either to socks, happiness, or the causes they are helping!)
- Pixel Project (noticed recently on Twitter – very strong identity, with an aim to bring to attention the global issues regarding women affected by violence – making it acceptable to TALK about and therefore help STAMP it out)
- To grow ‘brand trust’ – it’s great to HUMANISE who is behind it – that’s one of the things social media is all about. I have a bit of a problem with e.g. Christian organisations that simply ‘broadcast’ prayer requests – we want somewhere we can engage, interact, contribute (where appropriate!) – can your brand do that?
Your website…
- All your social media is anticipated to feed back into your website, so ensure that that is up-to-date (don’t let it stop you engaging with social media – e.g. my DFP blog needs a lot of work, planned for summer!), related to…
- A blog
- Conventional wisdom is that it takes 6 months to get your site up high on Google (believe me, I changed hosts in January and lost half my followers in losing long-term links, especially links from images!)
- Blogs ensure that your content is relevant, up-to-date and provides lots of ‘Google Juice’. Lots of free platforms (use WordPress – WordPress info – can start off on their hosted platform, then move to self-hosted under your own domain name)
- Have a strategy for how often you’ll write – generally believed steady even if further apart is better than overly-erratic (although I am fairly erratic).
- Great advice from Tony Treacy on my blog: http://digital-fingerprint.co.uk/2009/07/tony-treacy/ (that kind of event like going to, already know it all, but didn’t know I knew it!)
- E.g. Every Tuesday #ThinkTuesday – something close to your cause. Every Friday – #Fun Friday – something humorous, etc.
- Ensure that you are clear what the blog is FOCUSING on! Use categories and tags to classify information (into taxonomies)… [Categories = the BIG trees, Tags = the DETAIL leaves]
- Look to GAIN information from your readers (citizen journalism, activism/campaigning, crowdsourcing) – as we saw with Jake, people are using technology to get things from each other, not from organisations – you need to encourage this AND be part of the conversation – prodding it as necessary… PULL not PUSH.
- My favourite tool – of the moment – as fits with what I believe social media is all about:
- Human
- Genuine
- Transparent
- Experimental – few rules, just etiquette
- Convergent!
- You can
- Participate
- Engage (engage image)
- Relate
- Make yourself INTERESTING to readers – justify their investment of TIME and give them a reason to ‘follow’/’continue following’
- Insights
- Sneak Peaks
- Discounts
- Fun/Humour (balance serious/casual)
- Support
- What’s new?
- Most efficiently used when a clear human voice behind it (e.g. respond every day 10-11), and think carefully about the TONE that you use for this, keep it light-hearted, unless dealing with a serious complaint (and try to avoid shutting down comments/complaints or the conversation will go on without you – e.g. Dell/Amazon/Habitat, etc.)
- Put someone who cares & sees the value in it behind it – it’s a GENUINE medium, and any falseness will soon become clear. Respond quickly (if only responds 9-5, think about putting in bio!)
- Need to engage in regular monitor & reciprocation. 1 person, 1 connection, 1 conversation at a time – charities in particular should treat every tweeter as though they were a major donor!
- I’m a historian by trade – for many years the voices of the elite were heard, and then in the 1960s we had the growth of ‘history from below’, of ‘the people’ – that’s what we can see & hear through social media today… allow your workers or your beneficiaries to speak (RT them)
How do you measure what you’re getting out of it?
- In management speak – known as ‘Return on Investment’, measured by ‘Key Performance Indicators’, possibilities include DIAGRAM
- No of Twitter followers
- Number reading blog (page counter still seen as significant by some in the old school, although Google Analytics (http://www.google.com/analytics/) can give you access to more detailed statistics which are more helpful. Even the most basic stats although more detailed possible.
- Number of blog hits
- Number purchasing/donating, etc. (can measure with ‘funnels’ on Google Analytics – no I don’t know how to… yet!)
- NEVER expect 100% engagement!
- Use graphs, charts, etc. to show a ‘visual impact report’
- Think about what you are offering people – what ACTION can you get them to take – neuro-scientists indicate that it’s better to get a small commitment (e.g. a comment on your blog) before there’s any interest in taking anything further – and tough sales pitches are largely ignored (in information overwhelm)
How do you bring it all together?
- Check out ‘social media aggregators’ on Google – Friendfeed is one in which everyone can subscribe to what YOU are doing, whereas many allow you to see what others are doing. Sites such as Tumblr and Posterous also allow you to feed everything into one place… Something I need to develop…
What do you do with your strategy?
- Use it!
- Revisit & update it regularly
- Build momentum – but then need to be prepared to continue to invest & possibly expand = not a one off thing!
- Risk Management – not really my field, but needs to be considered – what could go wrong – and particularly – who is on hand to deal with a PR crisis?!
2 words to remember: RELATIONSHIP and CONSISTENCY – should underlie everything you do with social media.
Filed Under Christianity, Social Media, Tools Tagged With #cmn10, Communications, PR, Prezi, Social Media, Strategy, Tools
Technology and the Lifelong Learning Sector
Prezi, another piece of software that I need to find time to get my head round. I’ve known about it for the past year, and I understand it’s easy to use.. but that you do need to put a couple of hours aside to learn it – and several of my ‘Design for Digital Media‘ students have used Prezi to present their ‘web briefs’ for a project. Meantime, enjoy this presentation which gives an idea of the importance to technology in lifelong learning (via @vahva).
Filed Under Learning Tagged With Lifelong Learning, Prezi, technology
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