Terry Fallis – co-host of the Inside PR Podcast and partner at Thornley Fallis just finished his invigorating presentation, Look Who’s Talking, Too: Podcasting As A Medium For The Message And How To Know If It’s Right For You. Beyond the fact that he’s sitting to my left (and probably looking over my shoulder), I can, with all confidence, let you know that if you need a communications expert to break down what Podcasting is and how powerful of a new communications tool it can be, reach out to him. However, if you need a quick fix, you can always Ask A Ninja.
Prior to Fallis, the always eloquent Michael O’Connor Clarke (who Blogs over at Uninstalled and just took up shop at Thornley Fallis – yeah, it does feel a little like a Thornley Fallis love-in here, but that’s what happens when you take a leadership role in the social media space in Canada and walk the talk) presented a tongue fu look at the space, Social Media – Buzzword or Future Wave? Maybe it’s his British accent, maybe it’s how he can connect Shakira to public relations professionals and social media or maybe it’s because he was Blogging before most people knew what a Blog is, but Clarke makes a pragmatic case for conversational marketing.
Leona Hobbs (who has moved from Yahoo! over to Tucows and is a Blogger at flackadelic) is now presenting, Creating Community: Harnessing The Social Network To Further Your Message. Hobbs illustrates how communities are built through some very insightful examples of how companies like Starbucks to Yahoo! responded – both in a community-centric way and in a traditional way (where the message is still trying to be controlled) for best results.
We’re almost halfway through day two at the New Media For Communications conference and everything is as clear as day. Conversations are happening and companies are still trying to interrupt, instead of joining the community. The main reason, as far as I can see, is that companies do not yet value or get the importance of this tectonic change in their business communications.
Believe in social media or not… conferences like New Media For Communications continue to be corporate wake-up calls.
Don’t hit the snooze button.