Could be a long week

It's just over a week now 'til I go on holiday, but the pace of work shows no sign of slackening off. Two magazines are still on the boil, with a corporate presentation and a web site review now in the mix as well. One slightly longer-term project is all but finished, but one that's been bubbling on a low heat for much of 2009 is now beginning to sizzle. Whereas I really didn't want to get involved in it this side of my holiday, it now looks as though it's going to demand at least a couple of days input from me before I head for the US. Added to that are a couple of update meetings and a new business meeting, plus a whole bunch of stuff to cover for university.

I have to say, it's all good.....and I'd only be moaning if I wasn't busy!

Dog days

Florence and the Machine are currently belting out 'The Dog days are over' as my working soundtrack - but here's it's a battle against August's dog days, trying to get a number of projects finished, while most of the rest of the working world seems to be at the beach!

July has probably been my most profitable month this year (though that's not saying much!!) but a number of projects are carrying over into August. Now the fun and games revolves around catching people either before they've headed for the airport or just as they come back - and in neither case are too many prioritising taking calls from journos or signing off copy! Still 'tis all good fun.

The one annoyance - and no time of year is any better or worse than another - is those people who promise to call...and don't; or promise to be at the end of a line...and aren't. Life's hard when you're a low priority!

And the Tweet goes on

I'm a little behind the times, but found Anu's comments 'Twitter may die...so what?' very interesting. Shame they didn't spark more debate.

Twitter while you work

Interesting: I've both been asked to write about Twitter recently and to advise an organisation on the benefits (or otherwise) of using it as part of their communication strategy. The business thinking of using it is still getting to grips with its intranet which has become a rather vast and rather unmanaged repository for lost documents (Sharepoint gone wrong!), and I'm minded to tell them to concentrate on getting that particular platform in order first before latching on to this year's 'must have communication accessory'.

Some organisations are clearly making the most of Twitter - Virgin Media's experience appears good - a great collaborative tool internally, and a way top build advocacy externally, but I still wonder if it has legs as a business application in the long-run. A year ago we were all talking about how Facebook would revolutionise the world and only a year or two before that blogging was the only place to be. In the end these are tools, not solutions in themselves. We need to engage with ever wider, ever more layered audiences, so a social media strategy is a must. But pick a few things and do them well: and be prepared to back the new runner each year - be flexible enough to change horses.

Normality strikes

Working at 10pm on a Sunday night - normality in my business world is striking back! Perhaps I'm a green shoot?

How Twitter will change the way we live

Worth looking at Steven Johnson's piece on the Twitter phenomenon from this week's Time - thanks to Scott Neilson for sharing it......on Facebook.

All power to a tool that's opening up and extending the conversation - but let's make sure we listen as well as tweet.

Email bounceback

I seem to have a sporadic problem with emails sent to me from this site - a couple of people have reported bounceback in the last couple of days, and I've just done a test to myself which appears to have disappeared into the ether!

So, if you have an all-consuming desire to send me an email, please send it direct to mark.shanahan@leapfrogcomms.com

Who's using social media best for resourcing?

I'm on the hunt for examples of organisations who are using social media really well as a core part of their resourcing strategy - not just the ones who post on job boards or have a corporate blog, but those who have built a resourcing strategy that's actively delivered - at least in part - through a web 2.0 platform.

Loads of organisations are dipping their toes...and some appear to be drowning. Indeed, one wonders if the HR community should be tweeting, blogging and all the rest about their business at all?

I'm after some case studies - so if you have any ideas, please shout.

Two ears, two thumbs, eight other fingers

Over the past year, the more events - especially presentations - I've been to, the more I've noticed the bloggers and tweeters in my midst. And how rapidly they're propelling themselves from the back of the room towards the front.

Now initially, I thought blogging conference presentations was a great idea - a fantastic way to spread the speakers' words to a far wider audience. Twitter seemed a very good option too: capturing that nugget of great thought and sending it into the twittersphere. But now I'm not so sure.

Thinking about it, how is it possible to really listen and learn while trying to keep up a running commentary? Isn't there a danger that you simply reflect at the most superficial level rather than really locking onto the nuances of what any speaker has to say. It struck me most recently when I had a blogger and three different Twitterers feeding back on the same presentation. All had a lot to say, but little of their opinion actually converged. I didn't get much sense of the speaker - just what these people had to say...and that was less than useful.

Equally, last week I was in on an event where lots of people were blogging away. When it came to questions at the end, none of these people had anything to ask. Had they really been listening properly? What's the point of a live event if there's no live interaction?

I guess I'd rather people listened, digested and then fed back.

One small step

I've been formally offered a place at Brunel to study for a PhD, beginning in October. The letter arrived this morning, and I've been grinning ever since. At this stage though, the PhD work remains an elusive dream, just out of reach, as there's no funding attached to this offer. That comes separately....I hope. I've applied for an Isambard Research Scholarship which is a competitive process so there's no guarantee that my application will actually attract funding.

So, while my feet are firmly in the clouds this morning, I need to wait 'til mid August to find out whether I've secured sufficient wonga to take up the place this year.

Whatever happens, the funding won't be enough to enable me to give up this corporate comms lark yet. If all goes to plan, I'll be working three days a week and studying two long days and probably two evenings a week. In fact it won't be too much different from now - some weeks I'll be working six days plus, and others will be dominated by research. I'm really up for the challenge, and I think it'll help both sides of my career.

Anyway, one project interview already done today and three more people to tap into. I'd better crack on.