Before Communication Steroids Goes Mobile

If you’ve caught any of our podcasts lately we discussed the prospect of making our website more ‘mobile-friendly.’ With more smartphones being sold this year than standard computers, we’ll have more and more people having the capability to access our website (and others) via the iPhone, Blackberry, Droid and more.

One question to ask: why bother? Seriously, why should you want to put up a completely different-looking site with the same information for the people who access your site on-the-go from a smartphone? Because if your site is smartphone-friendly, you’ll find that people who are mobile will tend to come back to your site more frequently. And they’ll tell others.

To make it easier, we finally tracked down a WordPress plug-in that does exactly what we want. There are a number of websites and services that promise to create a new website for you and put it on a .mobi URL. Nice, but…some of them want you to pay a monthly fee. Others give you a freebie but it’s a limited scope site. Not only that, you have to create the site from scratch, so it’s a separate ‘stand-alone’ site from your main site. That means when you update one you have to update the other. Uh-uh. Who wants that much extra work?

Well, it turns out that getting the .mobi URL was not necessary. You can easily access this site with the new mobile look by just logging on. That’s all there is to it.

Finally the search for an easy-to-install, functional WordPress plug-in was successful. It’s called Carrington Mobile and while the installation instructions are a bit different than a typical plug-in or theme, it’s a very easy 2 or 3 step process. And as far as we can tell, it works great.

AFTER Communication Steroids Went Mobile

One other thing. I thought I’d take photos of the ‘before’ and ‘after’ looks of the site just to compare. After snapping a couple of photos that frankly didn’t look to good I got to thinking: what are those other guys on places like Gizmodo doing to get those cool screen shots of their iPhone?

A quick Google search (and I mean one or two clicks) and I found this short article that informed me there’s already a screenshot utility on the iPhone. Whodathunk?

Are you trying to communicate with your audience? Are you anticipating that many of them are going mobile and you need to make the move? It’s great that the move is that easy for a WordPress blog. If that’s how your blog is set-up, check out the plug-in and see if it works for you.

Check out the before and after shots of the site…and let us know what you think. And feel free to chime in on the subject: are you ‘goin’ mobile’ and accessing the web via a smartphone? Are you hoping to in the near future? Do you think that’s where the world is going?

Unfortunately, a lot of ‘communication by keyboard’ falls woefully short of even basic grammatical standards.

Roger and Tim discuss them in this podcast.

photo credit: Techhie

Sunday morning is special. It is sleeping in. It is the smell of fresh ground coffee. It is robes and slippers. Mostly, it is my wife and I together, with the Sunday paper; worrying about troubling news, discussing the opinions, and laughing over the funnies. My darling and I have passed countless Sunday mornings this way, in playful competition for the fun sections and in somber conversation about the news. I worry, now, that we may be nearing the end of those shared moments; those beautiful mornings.

Newspapers are in trouble. In one six month period last year, circulation fell more than two and a half percent. The largest media groups are almost all hemorrhaging cash. The Rocky Mountain News, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Tucson Citizen all recently closed, or are near to it. And the papers that aren’t closing are trimming back, way back; firing staff, combining sections, and cutting pages. The situation is grim enough that a great many industry analysts are preparing the newspapers obituary. There are a few who cheer the print media’s woes.  Not me.  Even though I am heavily vested in the “new media,”  I think the demise of print would be too bad; and for reasons other than what it will mean to the way my wife and I enjoy a Sunday morning. I worry that it’s bad for the country.

You see, up until recently the newspaper was where folks who cared about current events got their information. They relied on the paper to get the story and get it right; and present it in an even-handed way. Even when folks argued about what the news meant, they agreed, in a fundamental way, on what the news was. The news was a shared set of “facts.” People on opposite sides of the political fence spoke a common language, and could, at least, talk to each other. No longer. Now, folks who are interested in current events and government get their news from the web. And they get it from sites that are partisan. These sites have a point of view and slant their reporting. So, when we debate with one another, we use information provided by the websites that reflect our bias.

The problem is, nobody, and I mean NOBODY, believes the other guy. I don’t trust the sources used by people who disagree with me, and I know they don’t trust mine. And that’s bad. How can we debate if we can’t even agree on what are the “facts.” How can we debate if we think the other guy isn’t telling the truth; or, at least, isn’t basing his arguments on the truth. It’s gotten to the point where both sides have websites devoted, entirely, to pointing out how what the other guy calls “fact” is flat wrong…how his sources are stretching the truth, leaving out important factors, or downright lying. It wasn’t always that way. I’m old enough to know. There was a time when most of us had a common understanding of what was fact; even when we had a very different interpretation of what those facts meant. The daily newspaper, and monthly news magazine, was our source.

If newspapers can’t recover their former glory, we are all going to miss that common language of debate. And I’m going to miss those wonderful, playful, serious, loving Sunday mornings. It’s very hard to bond over a computer screen. But, I suppose my sweetheart and I will have to find a way.

photo credit: n0nick

“Letters to the editor” work.  Let’s be clear about that from the beginning.  Newspapers like publishing them, readers like reviewing them, and they cost nothing but the writer’s time.  “Letters” are one of the publicity vehicles that we in the communications biz call the “free media;” techniques which range from the trendiest strategies involving the social media and the web all the way to tried and true simplicity of placing a letter in your local paper.

“A letter to the editor,” I hear you saying, “Nobody reads them.”  Not necessarily.  Analysis shows that letters to the editor is one of the most read sections in the newspaper.  And letters appeal to a much broader demographic than you might think.  A letter to the editor can reach people.

A letter can allow you to give an opinion unfiltered by a reporter; it can allow you to praise a person or action or to condemn.  A letter can help you raise the level of awareness about your product or an issue you face, it can get you a share of the publics attention, and it can keep your name in the public consciousness.  You might even use it to move a reader to action.  But, to make a letter work, or even get it printed, you have to know what the paper’s editors are looking for.

The best letters are always personal and passionate; written from the heart.  Still, some folks don’t write because they think they don’t know how, or where to begin.  Here’s my advice:

First, identify publications in which you might want to share your opinion.  Your local paper is more likely to publish your letter than is the Washington Post, and a trade journal is more likely to do so than “Business Week.”  Keep track of these publications so you are aware which would be an appropriate vehicle for publication should an issue or opportunity arise.

Keep it short, pointed, and jargon free.  Most media outlets have very definite and unbreakable limits regarding the length of letters.  Obey them.  Don’t use jargon unless you absolutely have to; and, if you do have to, explain it.  Keep your focus limited.  Don’t try to comment on every possible element of the issue.  Stress one or two key thoughts.  You don’t have the space for more.

Have your statement of greatest impact in your first line; or within the first couple of lines.  Identify your issue quickly.  Many readers won’t go past a line or two unless you’ve really grabbed their attention.  Opening with passion and power is your best shot at influencing them.

Don’t flame.  In the world of Internet jargon, a flame is a deliberate ad hominem insult.  Avoid doing that, even if you feel you have the right.  It turns most people off and they stop paying attention to the rest of your reasoning.

Don’t go on endlessly about yourself.  If you have specific knowledge that enhances your opinion, you may want to very succinctly state it; but including your entire resume in a letter to the editor boors people and wastes valuable space.

Use paragraphs.  Sentences should be short and clear.  Run spell-check, proofread, and edit your submission before you hit send.  Use exclamation points VERY sparingly; and never more than one at a time!!!!!!!!!!

Some techniques work well in letters.  One of the best is to “compare and contrast” two ideas, products, or policy directions.

If you are responding to a particular article be prompt.  Don’t wait a week.  The closer you submit your letter to the article or event you’re commenting on, the more timely it will appear, and the more likely it will be published.  Also, if you’re responding to an article, say so up front, and include the date it was published if you can.

Include the contact information required by the publication in question.

Letters to the editor are a great way to generate buzz.  If you, and a few of your friends, write sincere, heartfelt, and individualized letters, the chances are good that opinion will be noticed and will be shared with the readers friends, family and co-workers.  Letters are a terrific part of an overall media strategy.  You can use them to achieve immediate results in specific areas; and you can use them to lay the groundwork for long-term strategies and to “move the needle” on topics you think are important.  And remember this, even if your letter isn’t published, it is influential to the editors of the publication involved.  It can influence them to post another letter like yours on a topic they otherwise would have ignored.  And, at least, it lets them know your issue is on the radar.

photo credit: Monica Arellano-Ongpin

Talking to People You Supervise

Evaluating performance and correcting mistakes, oversights and sluggishness takes a lot of a supervisor’s, and a manager’s, time. It’s an important job; maybe THE important job. Failure to evaluate and correct would allow small problems to grow into big ones; profit killing big ones. But, failure to do it right might be equally devastating; causing morale to plummet, sowing the seeds of anger, and leading to defections of important personnel. Mistakes in handling performance issues can be particularly devastating when middle and upper level management is involved.

This truth was brought home to me in no uncertain terms recently. The circumstances had to do with a non-profit organization where I volunteer my services as a communications consultant. While the organization was “non-profit” the situation has lessons that are transferable to any business enterprise.

The non-profit in question had recently undergone some wholesale changes in its communications and public relations department. The monthly “newsletter” was particularly hard hit; losing its entire production staff. The people who stepped up to do the job were bright, and energetic, and showed considerable promise. But they were raw. The second issue they produced had some problems; an article that should have been included had been “lost” and the calendar was incomplete.

A day after it’s publication a senior manager and member of the executive board sent an e-mail harshly critical of the omissions. That email was cc’d to every member of the executive board and all of the newsletters staff. I can’t imagine a worse way to have handled the situation. The e-mailed response of the communications committee chair (who acts in the same capacity as a business executive “department head”) tells us why:

“First, criticisms of this nature are best addressed, privately, to the department head involved. That would be me.

Second, criticism of those immediately involved in the issue should never, ever, be public. Unless your goal is to destroy morale and alienate the people involved. I would hate for this situation to cost me (important members of my committee).

Third, these kinds of complaints are usually best dispensed with some “sugar.” Personally, I favor the sandwich approach in which the manager first praises, then critiques, then praises again.

Finally, emails are often a difficult medium. Since you can’t give any nonverbal cues, intent and tone are often misinterpreted.

People seldom respond well to what they may perceive to be an attack. Volunteers, especially, need to be handled with care lest they say “screw it, I quit.” I would hate for (members of my committee, who produce the newsletter) to reach that conclusion.

Since, as I said, e-mails are a medium in which it’s difficult to express “tone” let me make mine clear. You can say anything you want, to anyone you want, about me. But when you attack the people I “supervise” I will respond exactly as I have done today. You “address a serious problem with this month’s newsletter.” In the future, I would prefer you address it with me first.”
(items in parenthesis substitute for personal names used in the email)

The Committee Chairman’s e-mail was a little “harsh” in it’s own right. It was, nevertheless, accurate. There are ways to offer constructive criticism. The best ways make clear what is expected while, at the same time, showing support for those who are doing the work. Raw criticism can be hard on morale. It can be particularly devastating when those most directly responsible for the situation are held up before a larger group.

The committee chairman did leave out one important point though. That had to do with following the chain of command. I am convinced that criticisms of the newsletter should have gone to the chairman first. If he or she was unable to explain them or resolve ongoing issues satisfactorily, then the matter should be addressed by the executive committee, up to and including removal of the chair if necessary. That gives the department head opportunity to correct any problems and allows them to handle the people involved according to what I know to be accepted principles of management. Anything else shows a lack of respect.

Communication, whether it be a speech, leading a meeting, or sending an e-mail, has consequences. In this case, the consequences were bad blood…between BOTH executives, and the front-line staff producing the Email.

PS: I was the communications chair.