Last month, more than 100 academics from around the globe descended upon New York City at Edelman’s fourth annual New Media Academic Summit, hosted by New York University and Syracuse University. In case you weren’t able to make it, the panels and insights are posted on the website and definitely worth checking out.

Between the panels featuring industry leaders, I participated on a panel of new professionals. Our discussion focused on what the industry is like for new professionals and how much our education prepared us for this field. Here are some of the highlights:

New methods of research

More than just new spaces for brands to execute campaigns, the new digital landscape also offers more opportunities for research and analysis of trends, conversations and opportunities. This requires more than an Excel spreadsheet. Being able to compile this data and translating this into actionable business objectives requires a refreshed research education.

Walk the walk, talk the talk

Playing on Facebook and posting on Twitter doesn’t make you a social media expert. It’s important to understand how brands are walking the walk and talking the talk online. New professionals can get this experience by not only witnessing how brands engage their stakeholders online, but by participating in this process. Some of the ways this can be done include blogging on a topic you’re passionate about, interacting with brands on Twitter and immersing yourself in online communities.

Curiosity and creativity

More than ever, the new generation of public relations professionals need to be curious about the landscape and needs to bring a strong creative background when counseling a client. As new tools and platforms rise to popularity fairly often, a sense curiosity about this landscape will drive innovation. In terms of creativity, this skill can be taught – and learned – with time and effort. You might have heard that even though PR entries were up around 30 percent at Cannes Lions, there were few PR winners, and to top it off, an ad agency won the top PR prize. I’m not here to compare the levels of creativity between advertising and public relations, but it’s important for new professionals to develop a creative sense.

The old skills are important, too

My fellow panelists also spoke to the importance of the “old skills”: a strong, journalistic writing background; business acumen to apply public relations efforts with measurable effects on the business; and a deep academic background in social sciences, marketing and finance.

Originally posted on 6 A.M.

This week I spoke at Edelman’s fourth New Media Academic Summit, jointly hosted by New York University and Syracuse University, attended by more than 100 professors from 10 countries. My bold assertion is that there is a Third Way for companies to communicate, beyond paid and earned media, by embracing Public Engagement.

Today, there is a dispersion of authority, away from the mainstream media and classic sources of influence toward open platforms and new voices driven by passion and personal experience. Smart companies are changing their games, moving from strict message control to a more open discussion with stakeholders. Mike Slaby, who just joined our firm as chairman of Edelman Digital, said, “We are moving from speaking at audiences to participating with them by drawing them into organizations with authentic communications”.

The Third Way asserts that companies need to complement their usual paid and earned media strategies by embracing new, social and owned media. The Third Way envisages:

• Utilizing the evolved mainstream media, with its numerous opportunities for participation, such as video, commentary from mid-level employees and shared experiences of customers.
• Reaching out to new media with the convening credibility of expert voices. Recognize that Politico or Tech Crunch may be the best starting point for media outreach.
• Utilizing social networks as essential spaces for company embassies. Be an aggregator for discussion. Connect members to related stories. Provide multiple entry points for relating to personal experiences.
• Helping every company become a media company (thanks again, Andrew Heyward, for this quote) via an owned channel. This offers a faithful representation of the present situation while providing context that enables viewers to understand the full story.

The change from impression-based interactions to long-term relationships with clients’ stakeholders requires nothing short of a major reevaluation of our role as PR counsel. We need to provide strategic advice, not simply communications tactics. Our profession must now embrace research to distinguish among idea starters, amplifiers and viewers. We should create the central idea and enable the full exploitation across four screens (TV, PC, Slate and smart phone). Since online platforms and spaces are at the root of the current evolution of media, digital strategy can no longer be seen as a specialty area; it must become a core competence for all PR people.

The new principles adopted by Edelman practitioners in order to maintain our clients’ license to operate, are termed the rules of Public Engagement. These include:

• Open advocacy (why you are here)
• Listening with new intelligence
• Participating real time in conversations
• Create and co-create content
• Socialize media relations
• Build partnerships for the common good
• Embrace and navigate complexity

We should aim for measurable outcomes beyond media impressions and advertising equivalencies, including Building Trust, Changing Behaviors, Deeper Communities and Delivering Commercial Benefit. At the same time we must draw a clear line between journalism and public relations, as we rely on a discerning media sector as a cornerstone of our work.

We will proceed along two dimensions—to encompass a broader set of media options, from Mainstream to New to Social to Owned; and engage stakeholders in deeper, long-term social relationships, as all communications become public. In this way, PR can assume its proper role as the organizing principle for strategy and communications. Herein ends the lecture: please click through my slide show and as always, I welcome your views.

What started in Vancouver in 2008 has now extended to all three Canadian Edelman offices. This past weekend (June 3 – 5, 2010) Edelman Toronto embarked on its inaugural year in hosting its own Little Give. The entire office was strategically divided into 10 teams to ensure cross-practice and cross-level interaction and everyone was encouraged to leave their titles at the door. Each participant donated 48 hours of their time and brought their brain power together to help 10 local charities and non-profit organizations who are making a real difference in the lives of children and youth, with their biggest challenges.

This being our first year experiencing Little Give, the resulting success of the initiative was far beyond anyone’s expectations. With 4,000 volunteer hours empowered by an initial donation of $25,000, the final total was an estimated $75,000 in cash, donated services and time in only a matter of 2 days.

The ten teams were matched up to the following charitable organizations:

• Team 1 – sketch
• Team 2 – Eva’s Initiatives
• Team 3 – TurnAround Couriers
• Team 4 – Second Harvest
• Team 5 – Youth Employment Services YES
• Team 6 – Julliette’s Place
• Team 7 – KUPE Arts Society
• Team 8 – kids.now
• Team 9 – Redwood Shelter
• Team 10 – Project Canoe

The competition was not all pretty. Many of us felt like we were doing the charity task on the Apprentice. There were marks of frustration and road blocks that were experienced by every team when working towards their challenge. Luckily, there were no Omarosas. But the beauty is in overcoming that challenge with our team members and in the end, we all got more in return than anyone ever expected. Camaraderie, teamwork, and new friendships were created throughout this weekend. It was a true testament of how much a group of motivated individuals can accomplish in a short amount of time.

Digital managed to percolate itself into several solutions. One group presented its plan using Prezi. A couple others tried to raise some money with ChipIn. In the spirit of competition, there was one team that stood above the rest and they brought some serious digital chops to the table. The winning team, “Team Purposeterous Awesomesauce” created a Flash Jam, NOTEXNOTE and raised $8,500 (offline and online) for the KUPE Arts Society!! Congratulations to Robyn Adelson, Sara Rezaee, Stephanie Marton, Rachel Segal, Cynthia Innes, Yomi Ogunpolu, Rosalind O’Connell, and Rachel Hlinko.

You can never give too little. Cheers to a great success and to the next year of giving!

Click here to see our photos, videos and blogposts throughout the competition on our Facebook fanpage and our website.

Christine Lu Edelman Digital, Toronto Follow on twitter @lu_christine

Jason Dojc Edelman Digital, Toronto Follow on twitter @jdojc

“As a founding sponsor of mesh, Edelman was a supporter quite literally within five minutes of being introduced to the idea.” – Stuart MacDonald

For the past five years, Edelman Toronto has successfully partnered in launching and sustaining the mesh brand, Canada’s leading web 2.0 conference. In addition to handling the conference’s traditional and digital media outreach, accreditation, and interview scheduling, for the past two years we have also been live-tweeting and maintaining social media communications throughout the conference.

mesh is a highly anticipated event at Edelman Toronto, and we are so proud to be involved!

Check out these highlights from #mesh10’s keynote speakers:

Media Keynote: Chris Thorpe

Chris Thorpe, Developer Advocate for the Open Platform at The Guardian, took the stage for the first keynote of the day. Thorpe described the “mutualization” of news as the guiding principle of the Guardian’s work in extending their open API to build businesses with the people who use their content.

Society Keynote: Joseph Menn

Next up was Joseph Menn, author of “Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords Who are Bringing Down the Internet”, who entertained mesh attendees with his incredible stories of espionage and internet security. Even though some attendees thought Menn’s talk had “idea density too rich with awesomeness to extract nuggets”, here are our top three favourite Menn quotes:

I don’t think I’ve met a top computer security guy yet that hasn’t done something bad as a teenager

…it’s not like the mob’s saying ‘We gotta open an online division

[On his own personal security] In the unlikely event I get wacked, it’ll at least raise awareness

Business Keynote – Scott Thompson

Day Two began with a discussion of the future of money with the President of PayPal, Scott Thompson. Formerly a CTO at Visa, Thompson sees the value in having tech businesses actually be run by people who have hands-on experience in technology. Thompson also stresses the importance of consumer and business partner feedback, saying “if you can measure something, you can improve it.” This seems to have paid off – PayPal serving 84 million consumers internationally in 190 countries!

Marketing/Communications Keynote – Arvind Rajan

{Disclosure: LinkedIn is an Edelman Canada client}

Up next was Arvind Rajan from LinkedIn to talk about making lasting connections in the professional online space. Rajan gave mesh attendees a crash course in LinkedIn job hunting, saying that a filled-out profile, listing interests, and regular updating are the best ways to attract recruiters. Rajan also piqued the crowd’s interest when he said, “It’s fair to say that we’re looking at ways for users to leverage their LinkedIn network further online.” Looks like there’s much more to come from LinkedIn, especially with the opening of a Canadian office!

Melissa Retty Edelman Digital, Toronto Follow on twitter @MelissaRetty

Laura Muirhead Edelman Digital, Toronto Follow on twitter @Lauraroni

A few weeks ago I attended SOBCon in Chicago to participate in a discussion about strategies and tactics for integrating online and offline social marketing. Between the thoughtful breakout discussions, the refreshing panels, and the evening entertainment (social media people love karaoke) I asked attendees “How are you creating value in social media”. We decided to showcase a few responses in a video created by our Edelman Creative production company.

Thanks to everyone that participated including Liz Strauss, David Murray, Lewis Howes, Jason Keath, Julie Roads, Simon Salt, Amber Naslund, Loren Feldman, Lucretia Pruitt, Chris Brogan, Miss Destructo and many more.

Watch the video and tell us…

Image credit: Steve Hall

This Friday through Sunday David Armano, Rick Murray and I will be attending SOBCon2010 in Chicago. SOBCon is a think tank of some of the most brilliant minds in the digital world. Chris Brogan, Liz Strauss, Amber Naslund, Loren Feldman, Geoff Livingston, Scott Porad and many more will be discussing new strategies and tactics for integrating online and offline social marketing. Our very own Rick Murray will also be presenting on messages, campaigns, and communities.

Just like our coverage of SXSW, we’ll be shooting video, doing interviews, and writing about the biggest takeaways from the conference. If you have a specific topic you’d like us to cover or if you’d like us to interview a certain attendee, just let us know in the comments.

Keep an eye on the conference by following @EdelmanDigital, @RickMurray, and @Armano or follow the hashtag #SOBCon.

Last week, I attended and presented at the FutureMidwest conference. Over the course of two days, a wide array of entrepreneurs, thought leaders and creative thinkers converged on Royal Oak. We took over the Royal Oak Music Theater and discussed the past, present and future of not only Detroit, but its fellow Midwestern sister cities. My session was entitled, ‘Growing Community, One Blog at a Time’. I shared the path I took in creating a community of 20 something city dwellers, Gals’ Guide.

Being from the metro-Detroit area, I was ecstatic to see such a conference taking place. There is a unique spirit that Detroiters possess – it’s a combination of grit, innovation and heart. The last few years have been a challenge for my hometown, but I can see changes happening all the time. For instance, the way in which General Motors (client) and Ford Motor Company embraced social media as key elements to their corporate turnaround strategies has inspired a sea of new digital practitioners.

I had a chance to interview some conference attendees and get their perspective on the Midwest, technology and shiny objects.

Adrian Pittman – Co-Founder, FutureMidwest

Adrian gives us an inside look into how the conference was formed, along with the themes he is seeing in the metro Detroit technology space.

Chris Barger – Director, Global Social Media, General Motors

Chris walks us through General Motors’ social media evolution. Learn about the ‘Immerse and Disperse system at GM’.

Ken Burbary – Head of Digital Strategy and Social Media, Ernst & Young

Ken reminds us of the importance of segmentation and analytics. He also highlights the ‘shiny objects syndrome’ that is prevalent today.

Jay Adelson – Entrepreneur and former CEO of Digg

Jay, a native of metro Detroit, believes that the entrepreneurs of the future live in and around the Midwest. We tried to get a hint of what his next project is, but no dice.

Image credit: beckyjohns7

Today marks the one-month digiversary of the re-design of EdelmanDigital.com. I’m beyond amazed at how far the site has come in our first month. We’ve just published our 30th contributor and our 72nd post and we have big plans to grow even more in the next few months.

We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of our community. I think Rick Murray, President of Digital, said it best in his post when we launched, “It Takes A Village”. He couldn’t have been more right. It does take a village to run this site and I am thankful for all the digital “villagers” that have been there along the way. Thank you for being a part of this vision and for all of your continuing support.

As we are still in the early phases of this site, we are open to ideas and criticism. What would you like to see from EdelmanDigital.com in the future?

Hey y’all! I am currently an assistant account executive at Edelman Digital, and I joined the team in November after working as an intern with Edelman’s research arm for six months. Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the PR News PR Measurement Conference in Washington, D.C. It was my first conference, and boy, what a way to begin! I learned a lot about the PR industry and how measurement is currently being integrated across different disciplines. It was surprising to me that there were so many professionals in attendance who admitted to not measuring their programs. There were even snickers when one panelist suggested that one or two people should be devoted full-time to measurement. What was even more surprising to me, though, was the enthusiasm to learn and understand how to measure PR and social media as these are still elusive and tricky concepts. The PR industry is evolving and moving in a great direction, and I hope in the near future almost everyone will be able to proudly raise their hand when asked if they spent time in the last week measuring (as I was able to do).

PR Measurement from Top-Down to Bottom Line

Right off the bat, the question of whether ROI should be the metric used to prove value in PR arose. It was explained that to calculate ROI, you must understand what your return is in the first place. Even more importantly, before you try to justify PR to the C-suite (business officers with “chief” in their title, e.g. Chief Marketing Officer), you must fully understand overarching business objectives.

While it may seem like a simple fix, using the language of business can be the easiest way to make your case. In PR, we think in outcomes, output and outtakes, but traditional business folks think in terms of returns, investments and stock values.

From Mainstream Media to Social Media

There were two great pieces of advice offered for measuring any media:

• Find the most popular topics
• Only measure what matters

While these two tips may seem unrelated, I promise you they are not. There are plenty of monitoring and data tools that will allow you to quickly find which topics are the most relevant or most popular surrounding a given brand or campaign. Beyond understanding business goals and objectives, you must understand what matters to stakeholders and be able to measure it.

One consistent piece of advice that was given about measuring media – whether mainstream or social – was to focus on messages. If you find 1,000 blog posts about your brand, but only one incorporates your key messages, do the other 999 matter as much?

The Metric to Use to Prove PR Works

There was a burst of applause when it was declared that ad value equivalency (AVE) is dead. AVE measures the value of PR by assigning a dollar value of equivalent ad space to any article placement. Now that we don’t have AVE to prove the value of PR, what can we use? Weighted media cost (WMC) was suggested to take its place. WMC takes into account the total space an article has on a given page or within a given space, the size of the publication’s audience and the credibility of the source. This measurement should never be presented with a dollar sign, but should instead be used over time as a sort of index to measure media over time or against competitors.

I must admit, I was skeptical of this new metric. It doesn’t seem to be too much better than AVE, though it does address some of the original concerns.

I would love to discuss the conference further or any questions you may have, so please feel free to leave me a question or two.

My wife and I volunteer for FlourishConf, UIC’s annual conference on open source software and innovation. The fourth annual session wrapped up earlier this month.

Among the highlights for me were Robert Landley’s opener “The Prototype and the Fan Club”, Ross Boucher’s discussion of 280 North the Cappuccino developer environment, and Randi Harper’s lightning-rod “Women in Open Source” talk. (I also was amazed by Ryan Schultz’s overview of Studio Wikitecture, the community aspects of which I’ll discuss in a later post.)

Sometimes (not too often, but enough to notice) I observe folks in the PR-and-marketing-two-dot-oh space throwing around the term “open source” a bit carelessly, I suspect because they! think! it! just! makes! them! sound! sooo! hip! In any event, it’s a good bet that many in that same group have never really engaged with that community.

Truth is PR (and, specifically, PR practitioners who have a focus on community engagement) can learn plenty from the “Free, Libre, and Open-Source Software” (FLOSS) community.

Some aspects that come immediately to mind:

Believe it or not, there are some online communities — yes, even in the software and tech space — that don’t care as much about the latest Web 2.0 doodad as you do.

I keep wondering how many in our industry have ever been on IRC or could articulate its continued value. Participation in IRC and LISTSERVs (hardly things that trade orgs will sell a webconference about) is essential in terms of evangelism, technical contribution, and obtaining support in the FLOSS community.

The presence of an online argument doesn’t mean that PR has failed.

In fact, arguments among the FLOSS community (short of flamewars) contribute to better shared understanding and, ultimately, better software. To gain value from those discussions, it’s important to have a fairly thick skin. On the other hand, the very strong service-oriented mentality of many PR folks makes it more likely that any disagreement, no matter how polite, might be deemed a failure of PR. The point is that maintaining intellectual honesty about argument as a vehicle for improvement is vital. And while one cannot control a conversation, a good communicator should be able to ethically make a case and influence an outcome.

Starting small is not only okay, but encouraged.

When asked by programmers how they can best start getting involved in a FLOSS project, FLOSS veterans consistently say that proving yourself by submitting smaller contributions in the very beginning is absolutely the best way to go. Many companies considering any communications exercise, within the social media space or elsewhere, too often believe in the “go big or go home” axiom. We’re well past the era of giving a company brownie points just for showing up or making a splash. A sustainable and mutually beneficial community presence is earned bit by bit over time, not bought.

Call it the Zuckerberg Corollary:

“Communities already exist. Instead, think about how you can help that community do what it wants to do.” Many FLOSS projects start when someone tries to scratch his or her own technical itch. If others have the same itch (or, at the very least, find someone’s itch interesting) they may choose to contribute in a variety of ways, from delivering software patches to volunteering to quality-test. The lesson: Done right, companies have the opportunity to be heroes to communities they most want to influence. Caution, however: If you’re going to go in thinking you’re going to make the conversation about you, you better be prepared to give the community an opportunity to contribute to — and meaningfully see their contributions within — your product or service.

More thoughts coming as I continue to explore open source.