Digiwonder?

How can it be August? The summer is flying and I’m about to finish my first two Masters courses at Johns Hopkins. One of my professors, Nicco Mele, has asked us all to blog about something we learned or didn’t understand.

What I don’t understand is what I think nobody fully understands. What will tomorrow look like? That’s what I really want to know.

Last January, I traveled in Patagonia where I visited Torres del Paine, a national park in Chile. On one hike, we trekked up and down the edges of wind swept mountains for about 3 hours. Then, the last hour of the hike was straight up. We scrambled over boulders and rocks, trying to reach the towering peaks above. What looked like it would take 10 minutes, took more than 60. And several times, I thought I was at the top, but then realized there was still more to go. Finally, when we did get to the top, the view was different than any of us could have predicted. For starters, we didn’t reach the towers. They were still a football field or so away. And actually, it was impossible to reach them as we were separated by an aqua mountain lake nestled in a deep valley.

For me, there’s an analogy between that hike and all that I’ve learned this summer. I’ve been climbing up a steep mountain of information, wondering when I will be “on top,” and able to see out in front of me to tomorrow. I desperately want to be able to predict where we are going and to be in front of the trends. But for now, I just keep climbing, looking back down the mountain now and then to see how far I’ve come, but plodding steadily upward. But the tricky thing about this mountain is as I climb, it keeps growing. The online world is evolving so rapidly, I wonder if I’ll ever hit any kind of peak. If and when I do, I won’t be surprised at all if the view I see is completely different than what I expected to find.

Regarding all that I’ve learned, I think perhaps the greatest knowledge I’ve gained is perspective. I feel I have a much better handle on the context in which Internet trends are evolving and growing. The Web and all that’s happening on it sits within a fascinating nexus of technological advances, society’s response to industrialization, and human psychology. It’s a strange mix of being all at once new each day and just a different form of something old.

Another thing I’ve learned? Blogging’s kind of fun. But it stinks when nobody gives you comments.

Thoughts on Naked Conversations Part II:

In the second half Robert Scoble and Shel Israel’s book, their discussion on blogging in crisis struck a chord with me.

I used to work in PR and would sometimes wonder what I’d do if a crisis hit my organization. My savvy would be tested. Would I pass?

Facing a PR crisis in the age of blogging seems all at once to be just as scary, but also empowering. If a company or organization has no connection with the blogosphere when trouble knocks, look out. But if the group has been patiently tending their blog garden, they should have a better shot at sailing through the storm unscathed– that is if they didn’t do something really wrong.

In a nutshell, the best defense when you hit a crisis is not only a smart response in the storm, but also your preparation before hand. Scoble and Israel offer many tips in their book for making it through a crisis. Here’s my summary of the ones I think are important:

• Start your own blog. Do it right (see Scobles principles for good blogging). Post often, link, converse. In this way you’ll become known in the blogosphere and you’ll get to know bloggers. This will also prepare you to act fast. Blog word-of-mouth travels at lightning speed.

• Make a practice of listening and answering rather than taking lots of time to craft a perfect statement. I think this is good advice both before, during, and after a crisis.

• Keep it open and transparent. Don’t hide negative comments. Respond to them and let your responses be seen. Be honest if you don’t know all the answers. Take your time in figuring out the right way forward– just keep communicating all the while.

• Scoble and Israel also suggest possibly creating a special crisis blog. An organization or company keeps this waiting in the wings for when a crisis hits. I think this would be most successful, if you are already on the blogosphere.

For crisis communicators, blogs should provide some peace of mind that there is a way to communicate directly with the public (at least the web literate public) without being at the mercy of reporters who filter your message to the world.

At the same time, I can see how crisis communicators might get nervous in the face of what seems like a big disorganized cacophony of blog voices who don’t follow one set of journalistic standards. What if a popular “in” blogger has taken to dislike your organization or company?

Hopefully the skilled communicator will patiently keep the dialogue going and enough other bloggers would join the conversation to direct things toward truth.

Has it struck anyone else as ironic that WordPress’ spell checker doesn’t know the words blog, blogger, blogosphere, etc.?

Just wondering…

I don’t think blogging’s a fad. The informal, straight talk conversations blogs foster is something people are craving today. We don’t trust our politicians, we don’t trust CEOs, but we trust our friends. So when that politician or CEO talk to us like a friend, we are more likely to listen. I don’t think we’ll get tired of this kind of direct interaction.

I’ve just read a few chapters of “Blog”, a book by conservative talk show host and blogger, Hugh Hewitt. I don’t fall on the same side of the political fence as Hewitt, but he’s got a lot of good points about what blogging really means for society. I get why he’s so excited about it.

Yet, there’s something about the way he writes. It reminds me of Harold Hill in the Music Man when he shows up in River City. I picture him enthusiastically standing in town square, with a crowd gathering around him…

Are you a CEO and are your ratings are low?
Then blog, my brother, blog.
A lonely housewife with a boring life?
Then blog, my sister, blog.
Whether you’re a plumber or a teacher, a manager or a preacher,
Just find a PC and take it from me,
Let your fingers do the talkin’, get that Google Juice- a rockin’,
You’ll convince, make them laugh, while you argue your own half,
Then watch them change their minds, it works every time,
Soon you’ll see, this is the way of the century,
Just blog, my brother, blog!

But back to the good points he makes:

• The blogosphere is about trust. If bloggers don’t trust you, bad news. Blogging is about transparency and it allows for anyone to call you out on what you say. This is good for society.

• Web-based publishing technology is revolutionizing what we call “media.” A person only needs to know a few basic computer skills and have something to write (or link to) to get rolling in the blogosphere.

• Bloggers aren’t saints. The technology may be amazing and revolutionary, but Hewitt rightly is a realist when it comes to the fact that there are haters, thieves, and bigots who blog.

I also found Hewitt’s discussion about “blog swarms” interesting. Today PR folks can specialize in “crisis communications.” No doubt, a new specialty will be blogosphere relations management.