Okay, it's not really groundbreaking news. But I'm excited. We acquired a new wireless lavalier microphone system. Our venerable old Lectrosonics CR187 kits were not making the grade. And when I showed them to a former employee last week who now does audio for dozens of TV shows in LA, he made me realize just how old they were.They're on frequency ranges that have long since been filled with all manner of new devices and technologies. No wonder I keep getting interference. Which is why I go to great lengths to avoid using them.
So I started to research. It's one of my favorite non-billable activities. But in this case, I think it will pay dividends. For some reason, our wired lav mics don't output much volume, so they have to be run though a mixer to get enough gain. Frustrating.
I settled on a lovely, well-reviewed Sony UWP-V1 system that was surprisingly affordable. When it arrived, I was blown away. So compact. So designed and so well-made. And the sound quality is amazing. It mounts quickly and easily to any of our cameras. No heavy, kludgey mounting solutions. And it puts out TONS of gain, cleanly and without any interference or noise. Goodbye, Lectrosonic wireless lavs! Goodbye, field mixer! Goodbye, wired lavs! Sony UWP-V1 has replaced you. And made my life so much better.
Wow! I just finished a training in the newest methods of mobile marketing. First, can I say that I continue to floored by the capabilities that we have at our finger tips. Secondly, this kind of learning and helping put into practice is what makes my job so exciting.
There are about 7 billion people in the world and there are 4.6 billion cell phone subscriptions as of April 2010 and expected to reach 5 billion by the end of this year. That's a lot of people, and a lot of people with phones. 25% of the people using Facebook (as of April 2010) are doing so from their mobile phones. An extraordinary number of people do use social media and internet browsing on their mobile phones. According to Kim Dushinski, a thought leader in mobile marketing, says that 75% of us sleep with our phones next to us at night. I'm not sure if that is cool or pathetic. Needless to say, mobile phones are the tool people are using to communicate and acccess information. I like this idea because unlike web advertising- mobile marketing is opt in only- meaning they have to want to participate and receive communications from you. This requires that mobile communication has to be relevant and really, really helpful to folks or they opt out. This movement will really push communications staff to be relevant, relational and real.
Here are the top to-do's for companies both for-profit and non-profit in the mobile marketing world:
1. Be sure you send text emails (not pdf or flash) so that people can read them on their phones
2. Start your mobile presence by creating a mobile version of your website for those who are out and about to access your most important information. Wordpress has a free plugin. A mobile website builder suggested is Mofusepremium.com.
3. Use social media sites text options to be able for folks to get text updates of your status if they want them.
4. To start a mobile text campaign and grow a SMS (text) message "mailing list," you need to create a campaign with a "magnetic offer" or contest to encourage people to opt in to your list, lease a text number, hire a consultant who is the negociator with the phone companies and runs the campaign for you.
That should get you started. I have another demo tomorrow. So call me if you want to start planning how to reach your audience via mobile. Fun stuff.
It's an amazing time to be alive. I'm awestruck by the advancements in technology, medicine, education, communications. What a treasure trove of tools at our disposal for the work in front of us. The more I learn the more I get excited about possibilities... until my brain goes numb.
New Tools for the work
I met recently with a gentleman from one of our local newpapers here in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the digital media consultant on staff. What? A printed newpaper selling digital media that competes with the mothership business of selling printed column inches? It's a new day when newspapers figure out that they are in the news and communications business not the printing business.
I'm attending a month-long seminar on some advanced uses of social media for businesses. There are 18 courses in the month of May. That is a lot of time. It's online, and if I miss a live webinar they are all recorded and archived for my future learning. When I do catch them live, I see the powerpoint with a live presenter. In addition to the presenter there are live chats on LinkedIn, Twitter feeds, Facebook conversations, phone call questions, texts. This is an incredibly diverse way to get theoretical and practial information form many different sources giving the content a richness and texture you could not get in a lecture hall.
I have a nonprofit connection that trains teachers in schools with their curriculum. They are looking to develop an ap for Ipad/iphone for their audience to enrich the educational/resource experience.What would that do to equip those teachers in the field?
I have a client who is creating audio and video podcasts to support the learning of their audience delivered on the web. I have a friend who uses online radio shows to promote his book.
I could go on with examples of new tools for our work as we aim to the mission or goals in a brand new era. What new tools are exciting to you and what blows your mind? What else should we be doing if we have the capability to do it? I want to hear what you think.
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A couple weeks ago, I was up in Alexandria MN, speaking to at a executive leadership conference about viral marketing. These leaders had gathered from all over the country to study, learn and connect. They are all leaders of camps, retreat and conference centers that make up the Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Association. And for the most part, these friends work with childrens' camps (under-age minors) and employ lots of young adults (ages 18-25).
As we talked together about the nature of social media, it became evident that there was fear about the liabilities and risks associated with it. These fine leaders naturally worry about camper and employee health. As we unpacked the characteristics of social media tools and activity, it became clear that there are some big, hairy problems when it comes to social media use by and for camps that work with children and young adults. The problems centered around appropriate relationships, legal risk, brand management.
Some examples of risks shared by the leaders included:
publishing photos, video and information of minor children
a child "friending" or following a counselor on his or her personal profile
inappropriate language or behavior by young adults related to the organization's brand
inappropriate comments or materials shared on website, blog, Facebook etc.
lack of clarity about who should be managing or giving voice to the profiles
what social media policies are enforced
It was a fabulous conversation. In the end, the group thought that althought they are important matters to deal with, they will move to embrace social media for their organization. These leaders understood that conversation and connection are already happening on behalf of their camp online- they will finally join in and deal with the risks.
This issue crosses over to organizations that serve vulnerable clients including those with mental illness, the elderly, the ill, developmentally delayed. What other issues does this raise as they develop policies?
New Hi Def film series called EarthBound. This series is a collaboration of several organizations that have banded together to create a powerful resource. The partners is this series are: Augsburg College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, LENS (Lutheran Lifelong Learning Network), The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Select Multimedia Resources and Seraphim Communications. It will be available Thursday Oct. 1, 2009 through Select Multimedia Resources (selectlearning.org) and Seraphim (store.seracomm.com).
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Many of our clients have been affected negatively by the economic downturn. We know that in times like these... you need all the help you can get. We do that.
Need help communicating the story of your organization? Struggling with tight budgets? We are ready to help. We are discounting our services this summer to make it possible to create tools that can help advance your mission, even in hard times.
Discount of 15% on projects begun before September 15, 2009.
Video Production
Communications Consulting
Media Integration
Mission Identity Projects
Fund Development Support
Contact Kristin Wiersma today
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I just finished a genuinely fascinating video project. It's for a child abuse evaluation center; they perform the forensic interviews and medical examinations on children who have been sexually or physically abused, or have witnessed domestic violence. It was been a challenging project for two reasons: 1) it's about abused children; and 2) you can't actually show abused children, for obvious reasons. Okay, so now what?
Staff Blogs
It's an amazing time to be alive. I'm awestruck by the advancements in technology, medicine, education, communications. What a treasure trove of tools at our disposal for the work in front of us. The more I learn the more I get excited about possibilities... until my brain goes numb.