Communicators Anonymous

Blog Darkness

Unfortunately my blog has taken a hit. My life is in tumult and apparently I am not the Wonder Woman I thought I was = juggle all and stretch time. This past weekend, I left to go on a scrapbooking retreat. While I certainly used the time to get creative and catch-up on scrapping my daughter's life or archiving my own life lessons, I used the time to sink deep inside and reflect. For once I am silent.

I would consider myself more spiritual than religious. Over the weekend, I reflected on the book When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd. Many of the lessons learned in this book are for the care and feeding of personal issues. However, I found myself pondering social media while reading the chapter, Incubating Darkness.

For example, Kidd quotes Jesuit priest and writer, Anthony de Mello, "Some people will never learn anything because they grasp too soon. Wisdom, after all, is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling.... To know exactly where you're headed may be the best way to go astray. Not all who loiter are lost."

So many are rushing into social media/Web 2.0 and thinking this sphere conquered. Always looking for the next shiny object, the simple act of pausing and reflecting what this sphere and evolution of this industry will bring does not occur. Instead of using blogs as an echo chamber, what if we used this sacred space to live our questions. Simply listen to the questions and let them spawn new questions. I observe companies and several individuals use social media as a platform despite the preaching of the need for participation and engaging conversations.

What is the transforming value of a question? What questions remain of the social media sphere? Are we jumping ahead too quickly into Web 3.0?

Keys to Success

"You need to work "on" your business, while working "in" your business." -Michael E. Gerber, E-Myth.

"...while working on yourself." -Michael Port, Beyond Booked Solid.

Recently, I received a pre-release copy of Michael Port's book, Beyond Booked Solid. Brilliant timing for this read. CA is two years old and has been stuck in a rut since the beginning of this year. Port outlines the best methods to reconfigure (NOT destroy) your business while employing lean production principles and cultivating curiosity and ambition. Though the book is aimed at an entrepreneurial service professional audience, the concepts are easily transferable to the sole PR practitioner and to the inner workings of virtual teams.

Port (a reader of this blog) was gracious with his time and chatted with me about his newest book, Beyond Booked Solid.

What advice would you give to an independent public relations practitioner about his/her business in this economy?

Redesign the business model. There are so many tools now available on the Internet allowing business clients to cut through the clutter to the end user without a pr person. Why is a pr person necessary? Question the business models and environment. Always be on the lookout for change. Deliver ROI on other ways of delivering service outside of traditional means.

What social media tools have you employed while applying lean production principles outlined in your book?

There is quite a lot of waste in social media. The key is finding balance. The essence of social media is being available and transparent. These concepts are not new, but have been forgotten. Being available is what made me successful from the beginning. For a short time I lost that personal connection behind gatekeepers. Employing social media, I have recaptured the elements of connection. Recently, I conducted a Facebook experiment. It is remarkable no one has abused my transparency.

As I read this book, I found many subtle similarities of Port's methodologies to my yoga/12 Step studies. While preparing for my talk with Port, I noticed in his bio he holds a Black Belt in Aikido. When I asked if his martial art study influenced his writing, Port shared that writing a book is a piece of cake compared to the discipline and long term commitment required in Aikido. This grounding of character is evident in the life lessons and stories Port shares in his book.

I encourage you to pick up a copy of Michael Port's Book, Beyond Booked Solid, and be inspired. It was a pleasure to chat with such a grounded and open-minded professional.

Snap, Crackle, Pop!

Electricity was in the air at SXSWi! In the words of CC Chapman, "SXSW is a true media conference."

Thankfully, I was able to attend one day of the five-day conference. (Thank you, Connie Reece.) Trust me; I made the most of my limited time. In the morning, we toured the trade show floor. There were not too many WOWS, but we had plenty of opportunities to play Guitar Hero.

The WOWS happened in the sessions/panels, Bloghaus and evening events! SXSW is a powerful conference and all attendees are powerful players.

• Podcasts of all sessions/panels will be made available on the SXSWi site. I am still playing catch-up. The material will be great fodder for future blog posts.
• The best session (and best applicable to my day job) was on Tuesday with friend, Kami Huyse, and pals at Dell: The Future of Corporate Blogs is About Communication, Not Tools
• The Zuckerberg interview made international rumblings…this happened the night I was in Austin!
• Del.icio.us SXSW hashtag list has great recaps from different perspectives.
• Live blogging archive available at SXSW Twemes.com
• The Fray Café was a storyteller’s dream!

Monday evening, I attended an event with Federated Media, Dell, along with Bulldog Solutions, The Conversation Group, and Social Media Club Austin, for an evening of “Conversation Starters” at the Iron Cactus. I hung out with Kami Huyse and had a blast finally meeting the people I converse with daily in the virtual world, such as CC Chapman, “Pistachio” Laura Fitton (my soul sis), THE Chris Brogan, and Erin Kotecki Vest. I finally reconnected with fellow Dallas blogger, Jake McKee aka The Community Guy.

It rocked to see so many of my peers and those I greatly respect in the industry. Great minds do not think alike. That is OK. My peeps keep me humble and grounded. Thank you!

ANNOUNCEMENT: It’s official! Next month we will be rekindling the Dallas Fort Worth Social Media Club! Stay tuned for more details on time/location. We are thinking 24 April...

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Proud to be an American

A huge privilege and responsibility...

I distinctly remember my first election experience. In second grade, all the students were given an elephant and donkey and the opportunity to cast a ballot. At the time, I was a student in DoD (US military) school system in Germany. I was thrilled to be able to do something the adults did and spent so much time discussing. When I asked my father if I should vote elephant or donkey, my father responded, "The elephant gives Daddy a job."

I have always had a natural affection toward politics. My mother tells me that instead of having tea with my dolls, I had tea and crumpets with President Reagan and the First Lady. Many years later, I had the great opportunity to be chief communications adviser for a Texas House of Representatives Campaign. I envisioned myself a future Karl Rove. Of course, a communications career in the political sector is not a secure job. With a young daughter, insurance and a stable income are a necessity. I have not given up on my dream or naive notions of West Wing potential.

Tonight my four year old daughter is tagging along with me to a precinct meeting and caucus vote. Hopefully, I pass along my passion for politics and American spirit. I am proud to be an American.

Photo courtesy Flikr/Cave Canem.

Moral Obligations

Tradition 3: The only requirement for membership is a moral obligation to uphold the principles of the communications industry.

Legalities are not necessary if we as an industry are founded on the fundamental principles of right conduct. If you consider yourself part of the public relations industry, you are bound to the duty of upholding the principles of the communications industry. It doesn't matter if you have APR after your name or a college degree.

"There are several ways to look at autonomy as it relates to responsibility and accountability. Philosopher and ethicist Mitchell Haney suggests that the moral community is composed of two kinds of actors: responsible actors and accountable actor. Responsibility is viewed within this model as having a higher level of autonomy by nature in that it implies the actor is able to "self-oversee, self-regulate, and self-motivate responsive adjustments to maintain adherence with appropriate moral standards of action."

Responsible actors need not depend on external or mediated motivational pressure for responsive adjustment. They are expected to be motivated to correct harms and reduce future risk of harms without external or mediated pressure to do so...Freedom means lacking barriers to our action that are in any way external to our will, though it also requires that we use a law to guide our decisions, a law that can come to us only by an act of our own will." --Ethics in Public Relations: Responsible Advocacy by Kathy R. Fitzpatrick and Carolyn Bronstein.

Autonomy, anyone?