Archive for the 'Communications' Category

I used to type by pecking two-fingered at the keyboard — it was very laborious and painful, hunching over the letters with my head nodding up and down as I checked between the screen and keyboard every few seconds. Finally, I taught myself to touch type using a book from Pitman’s Secretarial College, which was a long tiresome process in itself over the course of three months. It paid off, however, as I slowly increased my typing speed over time from 20 words per minute to around 70 — 80. Touch typing helped me write my novel is easily, enabled me to do my job as a lawyer more efficiently and these days, means I can churn out e-mails, documents and blog posts very quickly. However, the downside is that spending hours on end at the computer during office hours and then in my own time in the evenings typing away means that my hands and elbows get tired and cramped. My shoulders and neck are often stiff and achey. Also, being stuck in a sitting position for long periods means that my legs and back are also badly affected.

I am guessing that this is a common experience for many people. All the discomfort that comes from having to sit and type in order to communicate on the computer takes the joy out of surfing the net and connecting with friends, doesn’t it? Well, for those of you who are fed up with typing, salvation is at hand!

I have just installed the latest speech to text software from Dragon Naturally Speaking and I am dictating this blog post while wandering around my study, occasionally standing by the window to watch the world go by. I hardly have to touch the keyboard as the program types out everything that I dictate and if I want to make an amendment, I can give it voice commands to do so for me. The version that I am using is the “Preferred” version 10 which comes with a wireless headset. It is very intuitive to use and has a huge vocabulary — it has recognised place names like Dulwich and Norwood, proper names like Joan Baez and John Steinbeck and unusual words like chorizo. I can give it voice commands to move around web pages and also control the keyboard. One of the other functions I like about it is that if I am away from my study, I can dictate into a digital recorder and then later, can next be recorded to my computer and Dragon will transcribe the audio file into text.

When you first install the program, you have to spend about 10 — 15 minutes training it to get used to your voice. Initially, it felt a bit strange “talking to” the computer and I was a bit shy! However, after a few minutes I got quite into it and now it seems the most natural thing in the world — in particular, because I use the wireless headset and tend to do my dictating while looking out of the window, it does not feel as if I am “talking to” the computer. The great thing is that I can speak at more or less a conversational pace and it is accurate upwards of 95% of the time, provided I enunciate clearly. In fact, it is much quicker for me now — one week in — to dictate than to touch type because the program is so much more accurate than my typing e.g. it doesn’t transpose letters or hit two keys at the same time!

I think to make the best use of this program, it is a good idea to have an outline in your mind of the structure and flow of your article, blog post or e-mail so that you do not have to spend much time afterwards editing and/or moving text around. Normally, I would have to do some minimal editing and rewriting just to tidy up anything that I have typed anyway, so having to do that at the end of a dictated text isn’t such a big problem — it only becomes a pain if you have to do substantial rewriting on your dictated text.

Being able to dictate text easily and accurately has really made blogging and e-mailing so much more fluid and less physically tiring. I am also more inclined to flesh out my e-mails to my friends because it doesn’t involve tiresome typing. As for blogging, it is helping me stay prolific and engaged.

So, if you are tempted to try Dragon Naturally Speaking, please do come back and let me know how you get on. (I have no association with the program or company and get no benefit from this review.)

Like many people, I have been keeping track of the financial news regularly throughout the day. I tried to catch the TV news all the radio bulletins if I am at home. Otherwise, I check out the newspaper websites online. The press reports talk about a “rollercoaster ride” and indeed, there are developments every hour with share prices plummeting and then recovering, up and down, throughout the day.

Back in the days of print, newspapers would have found it difficult to compete with the broadcast media in terms of delivering up-to-the-minute dispatches. However, moving online has enabled publications like the Guardian and the Times etc to bring updated news easily and quickly to their readers in almost the same way as broadcast news bulletins. In particular, I am following the Guardian’s live blog of the financial crisis .

At times the Guardian’s live blog updates every 15 minutes or so. Where it does not have any hard news, it brings commentary from web and blog sources so it is quite a good site to keep an eye on for a very few on the credit crunch developments.

Social media tools such as blogging are excellent for fast, up-to-the-minute updates. You do not need to be a major news organisation to use blogging and other such tools to keep your readers informed at regular intervals — this is especially handy for businesses and other organisations at those times when it may be critical to keep your customers, clients and other stakeholders updated. For example, it can be reassuring for your customers not just to be told that “it’s business as usual” on your main website but to be refferred to your blog for regular updates about a developing situation that affects your enterprise.

It goes without saying that if you promise regular updates on your blog, then you must follow through and deliver those regular updates — ideally, you should set out minimum timescales e.g. at least once a day, or every hour or at least three times a day etc. And when you are going to wind down those regular updates, it makes sense to say that on your blog as well.

Of course, you may not be able to reveal confidential or sensitive business information about that developing situation affecting your enterprise on a minute by minute basis. However, if there is information that can be sensibly released, then it is worth considering doing so as part of your regular updates. Also, it may be sufficiently reassuring for people to know that the situation is being attended to and that more information will be provided at such and such a time in the future. It’s like when you are stuck on a train that isn’t moving, it’s helpful when the driver comes on and tells you that it’s due to signal failure and even though he may not know when it will be resolved, he will keep you updated from time to time — you still have to wait the same amount of time whether he says so or not but somehow, it feels reassuring and less stressful and frustrating.

Photo: of “The writing on the wall” thanks to Overseas Development Institute from flickr.com (CCL)

by Angie Macdonald

My associate here at ZenGuide.co.uk who specialises in web writing and communication, Angie Macdonald, offers some tips on improving your written communications, especially when emailing and using other online spaces.

Angie writes:

Have you heard the one about the two psychoanalysts who bump into each other on the street. One says to the other, “Good morning. How are you?” And the other one thinks, “I wonder what he meant by that?”

We’ve all had that experience. We read an email from someone and it makes us sit back because this person seems rude, abrupt, aggressive, sarcastic or brusque. You read a phrase or a sentence and you think, “I wonder what they meant by that?” because you feel that they are getting it at you or making a dig at you. Your perception of this person changes and you may start to dislike them.

When it comes to writing business emails, it’s worth taking your time if you don’t want to have that effect on your recipient.

Check what you’ve written and rewrite parts if you need to, before clicking on send. In fact, it’s not only emails. Any written interaction, whether it’s commenting on a blog, instant messaging on Skype, or writing on friends’ Facebook walls can benefit from taking your time to make sure you use the right words and right tone to say what you mean.

Ask yourself: How are your words going to be perceived by your recipient?

The person reading your email isn’t going to be able to see you smiling and they won’t be able to hear your lighthearted or ironic tone or sense your attitude. All they’ve got to go on are your written words. Delivered and read in silence. What if they take it the wrong way?

How many people read an email, feel offended or confused, and pick up the phone to the author? “Hi John, I’ve just read your email and I wondered if in line 2 where you say such and such, if you really meant to insult me?” Not many, I’m guessing.

So you may never know that your email sent off in haste has offended, upset or angered someone. But you may find that your friendship or business relationship with them may cool in the future for no apparent reason.

Or you may find that the person comes back at you all guns blazing because they have been offended, upset or angered when you didn’t mean to have that effect on them at all. Trying to untangle that and reconcile in those circumstances can be exhausting for all concerned.

And what about spelling and punctuation in emails? Some people think that because email is an informal communication medium it’s okay to conduct business in broken English, without the need for spelling, punctuation. Some people use the same language they use for sms text messaging. On a mobile phone it makes sense to abbreviate but in an email? It can be perceived as laziness or sloppiness, especially in a business context - and that can be damaging to your reputation over the long term.

It’s easier to communicate effectively if you know and understand a little about the person you’re communicating with. You can then tailor your words to their personality – treat a matter seriously if you know it’s important to them, wish them a good holiday if you know they’re going away. Or ask them to do something in such a way they feel it’s their decision to do it.

Here are are a few points you can bear in mind next time you have to draft an email.

# Take your time
# Read your communication from the recipient’s point of view
# Be sure what it is you want to communicate and what response you’d like from the other person
# Be consistent in your approach and style
# If you use capitals people will think you’re shouting at them.

Whatever you do, don’t let your emails reflect badly on you. A little time spent planning what you want to say can save a lot of misunderstanding later.

Photo: thanks to ronsho from flickr.com (CCL)

What if we were to hook up with old friends in real life the way we do on Facebook? What if we related to our friends in the real world as if we were on Facebook?

This video gives us a taste of what may lie ahead for our friendships…

Last week the IABC’s* EuroComm Conference 2008 took place in Barcelona, where I chaired the plenary panel discussion on social media. I was joined by co-panellists Giles Colborne of cxpartners, a web usability expert, and Marc Wright of simply-communicate.com, an internal communications specialist. We had a really good session, which was primarily the result of great comments and challenges from the 80 or so business communicators taking part in the session. I just want to focus here on one issue that emerged from the discussions, which I think reflects the main concern of businesses around social media: control.

When we asked the delegates what was preventing their businesses engaging in the social media, the main reason appeared to be an anxiety about losing control. If you have a blog or social network space, people can come and leave negative comments. If you allow your employees to use social media for internal communications, they could spread seeds of discontent internally. Social media tools also make it easier for staff to leak your internal discussions externally. If you offer spaces for user-generated content, you can lose control of the content and message.

But we also discussed how control is an illusion in the brave new world of social media. There could be people out there already expressing negative views about your business or brand on other social media spaces even if you don’t have a business presence on the blogosphere. Your staff are already able to sign up to Facebook or set up their own blogs at home, even if you block them at work. Leaks occur with email as easily as via any other internet or intranet tool. Someone could be filming you or any of your executives with their mobile phone camera even now, capturing your pratfall or offguard comment to be served up on YouTube for the world to see. Employers are doing internet searches of potential recruits as an add-on to the traditional ways of doing background checks - will they find that photo of you taken by a friend at your cousin’s wedding with someone’s knickers on your head?

For businesses who are worried about controlling the message about their product or services, the least you can do is monitor what the online is saying about you even if you decide never to engage in social media. And if you do engage with a blog or other social media tool, that can actually help enhance your reputation especially if you engage in an authentic way. The community you build around your blog will come to trust, respect and like you and loyalty can count for a great deal in times of crisis.

For individuals, the question is: will we always have to be “on” not just when we engage online but wherever we are because we never know when someone may capture us unawares on digital media? This is a much more challenging issue. It is impossible to be perfectly behaved all the time - that’s just a fact of being human. And perhaps we have to trust that people know that - and that in the long term, people seeing someone’s mistake displayed on YouTube will recognise that it’s just a very human momentary lapse, especially if there are other images of that person online that counter lapse. Perhaps in this early period of the mobile phone video, there’s a lot of press and publicity about this issue because it’s novel but that in the long term, there won’t be such a hoo-ha because there’ll be so many unremarkable human failings available to view online. Or perhaps we will all have to hire public relations consultants to help us with reputation management in the future, whether we are Britney Spears or just an ordinary non-celebrity…

We did not reach any solid conclusions during the discussion, only that this is one debate that is going to contine.

What are your thoughts?

Photo: of car wreck thanks to OpenSkyMedia from flickr.com (CCL)

*International Association of Business Commuicators

by Angie Macdonald

Social media is changing the way we do things and one of the issues involved is that of control. Control is slipping from corporates when it comes to promoting their products and from conference speakers and college lecturers, who are no longer regarded as the expert with the final say on the matter.

One example of this phenomenon is “back channelling”. In the social media context, this refers to people at conferences, or students, blogging and/or Twittering while listening to a speaker. It can also involve instant messaging or chatrooms and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Channels. This is the “back channel”, where the audience engage in a different conversation, separate from the speaker directly in front of them.

At some conferences, a screen is erected behind the speaker, on which the audience can post comments directly from their computers. The speaker, facing the audience, cannot see the comments appearing on the screen behind him or her. From what I’ve heard anecdotally, the comments which tend to appear are generally negative comments on the speaker’s clothes, or how bored people are, rather than comments that further the debate. It is the equivalent of heckling, only here it is virtual and silent.

I’m sure there are some highly skilled people who are able to multi-task and keep with the programme. But most people are unable to give two things the same amount of attention at the same time. If you are trying to listen, analyse, remember, write and follow the conversation all at the same time, something’s got to give. You just have to think about the dangers of driving while talking on a mobile phone to realise that multi-tasking has its limits.

In an article published in the New York Times, David E. Meyer, a cognitive scientist and director of the Brain, Cognition and Action Laboratory at the University of Michigan is quoted as saying, “Multitasking is going to slow you down, increasing the chances of mistakes.” In the same article, René Marois, a neuroscientist and director of the Human Information Processing Laboratory at Vanderbilt University, when describing the ‘cognitive powerhouse’ that is the human brain, says “…a core limitation is an inability to concentrate on two things at once.”

What usually happens, is that by the time the blogger or Twitterer has finished writing or texting a particular thought, the speaker has moved on, the information that has been imparted in the interim is hazy, and the thread of the argument has been lost. This creates a knowledge gap which can result in misunderstanding, which in turn can lead to miscommunication.

Now, it’s fine if one individual has misunderstood. But what happens when that individual has published their misunderstood information online and millions of people around the world read it and get the wrong end of the stick? What are the repercussions? Where is the value in that communication?

Don’t get me wrong, I can see that there are advantages to back-channelling. It can be an inclusive behaviour too and means that those unable to attend a conference in person can follow what’s happening by reading updated blogs or receiving Tweets on their mobile phones.

It can also be a way to open up and encourage discussion and debate around a topic. So rather than information being delivered from one so-called expert in a top-down fashion, everybody who knows something or who has an opinion can join in and conference goers have an opportunity to learn from their peers. In that way, learning can become a more democratic process - a knowledge exchange offering instant feedback and reflection.

The danger is that in the process you may have to listen to people who think they are right, when they may be wrong, or people who love the sight of their words in print and subject everyone to their opinions whenever they can. As in the real world, sometimes conversations are inane, occasionally they are a waste of time.

We live in an age where children are being medicated for Attention Deficit Disorder and adults put their lack of success in life down to the fact that they were never diagnosed with ADD in school, and yet, here we are as adults, actively engaging in attention deficit behaviour. Not only that, but rather than being in the moment and giving it all our attention, we are taking a step back to observe and comment on what is occurring, analysing it as it is happening, rather than experiencing it.

There is no doubt that technology is changing social behaviour, communication and relationships. In spite of the advantages, I still think that in today’s attention-seeking world, perhaps the highest form of regard we can offer anyone, is to give them our full-blown attention.

Photo: thanks to jean djinni on flickr.com (CCL)

This post also appears on the EuroComm Blog today, where I am one of the blogging team.

Here’s a clever but simple viral marketing flyer from Selfridges I received by email a moment ago from blogging massage therapist Melanie Crowe. Click on the links to download your web voucher to enjoy the discount and/ or forward the flyer on to friends.

By placing the voucher online on its own webpage as well being forwardable by email, Selfridges have also enabled bloggers like me to publicise their offer online on our blogs.

Enjoy - and if you do buy something using your voucher, why not come back and let me know what you got?

We would like you to have a special pre-Christmas gift. Just show this voucher at the till, before you pay, every time you make a purchase from Friday 30th to Sunday 2nd December 2007 and you will receive 20% off* your Christmas shopping, including our festive Christmas Hampers, with 10% off* our unequalled range of fragrance and beauty. So get your Christmas list ready. To qualify for your discount: 1. Simply click on the link below and fill in your details. 2. Print off the voucher. 3. Show the voucher at the till point before you pay to receive your discount.
	For store locations and opening times visit www.selfridges.com or call 0800 123 400.
	Enjoy your Christmas shopping!

Did you know that you can stream your blog feed so that it shows up on your Facebook profile automatically?

This is a great way to share your blog posts on Facebook without any extra effort.

In your Facebook page:

1. Go to the Applications section on the left margin
2. In the list of Applications, click on Notes
3. You will be taken to the Notes page. On the right margin of the Notes page, you will see the option to Import an external Blog - click on that.
4. On the Import a Blog page, insert the URL of your blog.

• If you have a domain name that points to an underlying blog eg “www.mysite.com” that points to “www.mysite.wordpress.com”, you should insert the URL for the underlying blog ie “www.mysite.wordpress.com”

• This only works if you have a “real” blog ie one that has an RSS feed

• If you are not sure what your blog URL is (eg if your blog is part of a larger business website), open another browser window, go to your blog page and copy the address in the URL address bar at the top of the screen.

5. Click Import

It should now import posts from your blog.

For an example, visit my Facebook profile and you should see my imported notes in my mini-feed.

The speed of communications is ever increasing, especially now that online messages can be zipping round the world virally via digital word of mouth in the time it takes you to type an email message or blog post.

Now that anyone can be pundit or citizen journalist who has a mobile phone, camera, laptop or just an opinion and access to the internet, anyone out there can share their views or stories about you in moments. Equally, anyone can express an opinion or a view or tell a story without deliberating over it or checking the factual basis for it - and indeed, online social media encourages that rapid action and reaction because of the ease of uploading content easily, cheaply and quickly.

For those whose every move makes news - like high profile politicans, world leaders, celebrities and the like - this trend is becoming a huge challenge. How do you control misinformation or misinterpretation of your actions and words in this rapid response world?

Taking legal action or sending out cease and desist letters can make you the “heavy” in the drama, causing more damage than good. Legal processes can also take time - and through that very process could keep the issue in the news more than you would like.

Hilllary Clinton’s campaign has come up with a clever way to deal with misinformation about her and her campaign for the US presidency, reports The New York Times. She has “introduced a Web site dedicated exclusively to the instantaneous rebuttal of charges or news reports it deems offensive or wrong”, called Fact Hub.

On the Fact Hub, Clinton’s team painstakingly sets the record straight wherever she has been misinterpreted or where others have got their facts wrong about her statements and actions. For example, it corrects Barack Obama with an statement headed Obama Misrepresents Hillary’s Views On Social Security and there is a rebuttal of a claim that Clinton and her team did not leave a tip at a diner where they had a meal (which is the subject of the New York Times article I just mentioned).

It looks like the website uses a blogging platform and includes an RSS feed so you can subscribe to it to receive the latest updates - another example of innovative ways to use blogging technology and blogging without calling it a blog.

For those of us of less grand profiles, it is still useful to keep an eye on what is being said about you online and to consider carefully how you would respond to any erroneous claims being made about you or your business. I am curious to know what processes you are using to monitor what is being said about you on the online grapevine at the moment and what plans you have in place to deal with any erroneous claims about you or your business. Please add a comment or email me using the Contact form above.

Photo: thanks to sskennel from flickr.com (CCL)

This post also appears on the EuroComm Blog today, where I am one of the blogging team

The article I was researching and writing earlier this year about blogging in Malaysia has now been published in Communication World, the journal of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). It is featured in a special Asia-Pacific supplement under the title “Blogging Thrives in Malaysia.” The article examines the tension between political bloggers and the authorities as well as highlighting the success of non-political personal and business blogs in the country.

It has come together with the help of various journalists and bloggers who generously shared their views and experiences - thanks, guys! Much of the information they have given with me will also be useful for the book that I am working on about New Trends in International Public Relations.

Please feel free download the pdf of the article Blogging Thrives in Malaysia. By all means forward it to anyone who may be interested, with a link back to this post.

You can also download the article plus other articles I’ve written about social media from the box below.

This post appeared on my writing blog Fusion View yesterday