I’m designing a New Media course module which will sit inside an under-graduate degree, at the final year stage, so typically analysis, dissemination, examination, reflection, future visions etc would be considered.

I envisage a heavy emphasis surrounding the future of content distribution, both in terms of the shifting cultures we will operate in and also the converging technology coupled with wider accessibility.

A friend of mine Sean McKay suggests the following pointers:

• theory: rss, rethinking content, relationships, story, and human interaction
• practical: tools for audio, vid, text, & images + mashing it all together
• ethics: issues of identity, integrity, character, and intellectual property/copyright... questions like, who are you, really?

Whilst this is a good basic list as a start point for discussion, how would YOU embellish it, what would YOU add to the list, or how would YOU expand it, what challenges are YOU facing right now, what is missing in your knowledge, what techniques or skills shortages are not in your current tool box?

If you had to consider “outcomes” what outcomes would you want, how would you personally find yourself better equipped to monetise your new media activities?

Need you on this.

Technorati Tags: content course degree design distribution education ethics future graduate media module new outcomes rss theory course design new media future ethics degree graduate rss theory module outcomes education content distribution

What is the key approach to effectively market our products in Web2.0?

As I was sitting passively in a company meeting today, (yes not often), I was very impressed to hear various company staff voices bubbling with enthusiasm and knowledge for change. I was very impressed that these voices had an outlet, and a channel for open dialogue, and the approach needs commending for allowing this to take place, in an environment where this type of dialogue had not been common place.

Large corporations the world over are struggling with traditional forms of advertising, it is no surprise to find the branding and marketing conversation rampant in the online world, where large organisations are having to employ, consult, embrace, the currency of trust, which is of course transparency and Mr Penn stated some time ago.

Marketing is now a dialogue, a conversation, the product has to be engaged with from the point of view of the prospect, and there is now a NEED, an absolute requirement to have interaction with the prospects.

Web 2.0 is here to stay, and those who embrace it will win, those who ignore it will fall, without a shadow of doubt.

So what’s needed?

A few things…

1. SELL TO YOUR STAFF - senior management need to engage with their staff transparently, and lead the transparent and open dialogue, effectively leading by example and encouraging participation, (fuelling the conversation). Old school management cascades are typically one way, very old school, the conversation stops, immediately!

2. ENCOURAGE STAFF TO SELL FOR YOU– here this is where you actively support and promote the soldiers to champion and engage in representing the company in the online space, they sell for you, and you need to provide them with full authorisation to publish their views about the company, to open conversation in THEIR channels.

3. COMMUNITY TOOLS – you need tools in place which promote the above to take place, including, blogs, podcasts, videocasts, wikis, social networks, and not only, and methods for sharing how it works, a person, a motivator, don't force it, let them want it.

4. COMMUNITY DEVELOPER - you need someone full-time working in and around the community (the staff), who not only brings people together with all of this technology, but more importantly documents, showcases, makes aware of all the wonderful activities going on and spreading that externally within the important spaces where the prospects are. You need this person popping in board meetings, nipping into workshops, R&D, filming activity and pumping it out on a channel to the internal and external community.

It’s no secret I have been community developing with my online businesses for some time and have always relished the environment of connecting people and extending the conversation. The point is as my friend Doug Haslam says, how to move mountains, how to mobilise a community to act and engage with the product.

What do you think, what have I missed, what needs adding to here?

Technorati Tags: buzz conversation coomunity developer dialogue discuss interaction market media meeting new people placement product prospects social transparency web2.0 community developer branding web2.0 marketing

So today I had a business lunch in the centre of London with a friend of mine, Mike. We are both what you might call “eager beavers” when it comes to using new technology and might even go so far as to call ourselves new-media operators and thinkers.

Certainly today we were operating and discussing new-media technologies, for example we created an audio interview which will become available on the internet through an RSS feed along with being streamed somewhere at some point. We then went on to discuss online social networking tools one of which being the current big-gun Facebook.

Mike was asking if I had seen the footage concerning data-mining and the connection of some of the venture capital funds for the company, and I hadn’t. He then forwarded me the link to the YouTube video below.

So, personally I must say if this is true, so what?

Every time I place something about me on a site, a blog, a forum, I’m accepting that it could be used in some way for other data purposes, and more than likely it is, is that something I should care about, is that just the way the modern world works?

As a disclaimer, I’ve not personally researched the story behind the video, nor will I, as I’m not bothered, isn't it the point that I'm sharing I'm an atheist, or I'm straight, or I am male, or I like music, with everyone?

I’ll continue to use Facebook.

What’s your take on it?

Technorati Tags: data facebook fbi federal human media mining new new-media privacy social data mining facebook human fbi federal social media new new-media privacy