Social Signal in nonprofit blogging story
.27.2 | No Comments »
February 27th, 2006 by Alex
Today’s Oakland Tribune features a story about nonprofit blogging. I’m quoted, but what’s really exciting is that this is (I think) the first print reference to Social Signal
About this site
.25.2 | No Comments »
February 25th, 2006 by Alex
As you're poking around the Social Signal web site, you might notice the cluster of red words in the right-hand sidebar. This cluster is called a "tag cloud". It represents all the tags that we use on this site: the keywords that we've assigned to different pages or blog posts to indicate what each story is about.
Our tag cloud is a visual representation of the range of content on the site. The tags that appear in the biggest letters are the tags that we write about a lot (like "SocialSignal" or "SocialBookmarking"). The smaller tags (like "blogher" and "workshops") link to topics that we've only written about once or twice.
You can click on any tag to see all the stories we've written about that topic -- so the tag cloud is a handy way to navigate the site, as well as a quick picture of what we're thinking about.
We decided to use a tag cloud as one of the main ways to navigate our site because tags are so central to the kind of work we do. For many of the projects we work on -- especially web projects that build online communities by linking multiple web sites -- tags are central to how information is organized, circulated, and discovered.
We think tagging is one of the most exciting ways for people to work together online. We hope that our tag cloud will be a fun way for you to explore how tagging works as a way to organize and link information thematically. And we hope you'll use our tag cloud to learn more about tags and about tag-enabled services like social bookmarking and del.icio.us.
About this site
.25.2 | No Comments »
February 25th, 2006 by Alex
As you're poking around the Social Signal web site, you might notice the cluster of red words in the right-hand sidebar. This cluster is called a "tag cloud". It represents all the tags that we use on this site: the keywords that we've assigned to different pages or blog posts to indicate what each story is about.
Our tag cloud is a visual representation of the range of content on the site. The tags that appear in the biggest letters are the tags that we write about a lot (like "SocialSignal" or "SocialBookmarking"). The smaller tags (like "blogher" and "workshops") link to topics that we've only written about once or twice.
You can click on any tag to see all the stories we've written about that topic -- so the tag cloud is a handy way to navigate the site, as well as a quick picture of what we're thinking about.
We decided to use a tag cloud as one of the main ways to navigate our site because tags are so central to the kind of work we do. For many of the projects we work on -- especially web projects that build online communities by linking multiple web sites -- tags are central to how information is organized, circulated, and discovered.
We think tagging is one of the most exciting ways for people to work together online. We hope that our tag cloud will be a fun way for you to explore how tagging works as a way to organize and link information thematically. And we hope you'll use our tag cloud to learn more about tags and about tag-enabled services like social bookmarking and del.icio.us.
Online Community session at NetSquared North
.10.2 | No Comments »
February 10th, 2006 by Alex
Our first session at NetSquared North today covers online community engagement. We’ve started by sharing stories about online community projects we’re working on now, including:
Your Kamloops (Arjun Singh)
- site, blog, and mailing list
- largely one-way
- tools: typepad (blogging software), topica (email list tool)M/li>
- some multimedia (ourmedia.org)
Citzen Shift (Catrina)
- deals with broad range of issues
- new issue every three weeks
- each new issue involves engaging a new community and getting contributions from its members, including feedback on our forums
Online Community session at NetSquared North
.10.2 | No Comments »
February 10th, 2006 by Alex
Our first session at NetSquared North today covers online community engagement. The ever-fabulous Nancy White is facilitating.
We've started by sharing stories about online community projects we're working on now, including:
Your Kamloops (Arjun Singh)
- site, blog, and mailing list
- largely one-way
- tools: typepad (blogging software), topica (email list tool)M/li>
- some multimedia (ourmedia.org)
- deals with broad range of issues
- new issue every three weeks
- each new issue involves engaging a new community and getting contributions from its members, including feedback on our forums forums have actually been the most static part of the site
- for most topics, there's already some other big online site/community out there
- we're hoping to facilitate more satellites, on and offline
- using a tool called QueryForm
- film project exposing corporate malfeasance
- site and forum
- e-mail campaign and recruiting
- network of networks (forwarding
- included messages from other groups
- e-mail marketing targeted to local community when/where a film screening was taking place
- created online store to market DVD
- setup tool & method for hosting "Corporation" house parties
>> "heartbeat" model: using offline events to intensify/focus engagement in an online community
Online Community session at NetSquared North
.10.2 | No Comments »
February 10th, 2006 by Alex
Our first session at NetSquared North today covers online community engagement. The ever-fabulous Nancy White is facilitating.
We've started by sharing stories about online community projects we're working on now, including:
Your Kamloops (Arjun Singh)
- site, blog, and mailing list
- largely one-way
- tools: typepad (blogging software), topica (email list tool)M/li>
- some multimedia (ourmedia.org)
- deals with broad range of issues
- new issue every three weeks
- each new issue involves engaging a new community and getting contributions from its members, including feedback on our forums forums have actually been the most static part of the site
- for most topics, there's already some other big online site/community out there
- we're hoping to facilitate more satellites, on and offline
- using a tool called QueryForm
- film project exposing corporate malfeasance
- site and forum
- e-mail campaign and recruiting
- network of networks (forwarding
- included messages from other groups
- e-mail marketing targeted to local community when/where a film screening was taking place
- created online store to market DVD
- setup tool & method for hosting "Corporation" house parties
>> "heartbeat" model: using offline events to intensify/focus engagement in an online community
Live blogging today from NetSquared North
.10.2 | No Comments »
February 10th, 2006 by Alex
We're live blogging today from NetSquared North, a gathering of folks interested in non-profit technology issues who are in town for the Northern Voice blogging conference. Check out the NetSquared North wiki here.
Our opening session decided on four topical discussions for the day:
10:10-11:20: Online community-building: blogging and beyond
1:00-2:05: Top 5 non-profit technology needs and the best practices for addressing them: non-profit capacity-building
Live blogging today from NetSquared North
.10.2 | No Comments »
February 10th, 2006 by Alex
We're live blogging today from NetSquared North, a gathering of folks interested in non-profit technology issues who are in town for the Northern Voice blogging conference. Check out the NetSquared North wiki here.
Our opening session decided on four topical discussions for the day:
10:10-11:20: Online community-building: blogging and beyond
1:00-2:05: Top 5 non-profit technology needs and the best practices for addressing them: non-profit capacity-building
Resurrect your rhetoric: six (re)uses for a speech
.6.2 | No Comments »
February 6th, 2006 by Alex
The lectern has been disassembled, the coffee cups are cleared and the crowd has moved on to their afternoon agenda. The major speech you worked on for weeks is over, and you can’t help but think: is that it?
For all the work we do preparing for them, speeches go by with unnerving speed. This issue, I try to suggest a few ways you can get the most from your next big speech — well beyond the actual delivery itself.
When you check out these ideas, don’t overlook the single best way of getting more mileage from a speech: delivering it again. Not the whole thing, word for word; but if you’ve written a speech that eloquently conveys your organization’s strategic message, key passages ought to find their way into address after address. (Provided, of course, that they’re to different audiences.)
Here are half a dozen ways a speech can keep on speaking for your organization long after the mike’s been switched off.
:: 1 :: Build relationships
Take the speaking text, reduce the size of the typeface to something reasonable like 12 points, and suddenly you have a document that you can send — printed or electronically — to selected prospects, clients and stakeholders.
Want to make it even more effective? Include a brief personal note from the speaker explaining why she thinks the recipient would be interested in seeing it, and inviting comment.
You’ve just helped maintain some of your organization’s key relationships — but you’re only getting warmed up.
:: 2 :: Lead thinking
Somewhere out there is a publication whose audience would be interested in what your speaker had to say. It could be a trade magazine, a portal web site or a major daily newspaper.
Find out if they accept outside submissions, and if so, whether they’d be interested. Once you get the green light, do a light rewrite to make the speech print-friendly, trim unnecessary niceties (”It’s a thrill to be back here in [TOWN]”) and speaking cues like “(pause)” or “(acknowledge hosts)”… and fire it off.
Now your speaker is a thought leader, and the day is still young. Next?
:: 3 :: Start conversations
If your organization has a blog, web site or newsletter, use the speech to spur a dialogue with the public. You can post the full text somewhere else and link to it; here, post the really provocative, insightful passages, and ask readers for their comments.
Whether you adopt a wide-open, take-all-comers policy or just select a few of the best responses and print them, state your policy clearly and be sure to thank people for their contributions. Your speaker can reply to some of the key points, and keep the conversation going.
Great: now you’ve engaged your audience, and maybe even picked up some useful ideas from them. Don’t stop now; you’re on a roll.
:: 4 :: Make news
If you wanted news coverage of the speech, you’ve already dispatched a media advisory out a few days beforehand, called through your list of assignment editors and reporters, and sent around a news release and a pointer to a “Check against delivery” copy of the text as soon as the speech began.
Um, right?
Okay, let’s say you didn’t. Maybe this speech wasn’t the stuff of breaking news. Or someone dropped the ball and the release is still sitting in their outbox. This speech can still do you some good with the media.
Write up a cover note highlighting the speech’s key message, and send the text to your media hotlist. Even if it just goes into their files, you’ve reminded them that you exist and have something worthwhile to say. That could well pay off down the road when a reporter is looking for someone to comment on a related story.
Now that you’ve massaged the media, are you going to quit? Not a chance.
:: 5 :: Make noise
See, you thought ahead, and arranged to have the speech recorded — maybe even videotaped. Now’s the time to get those files digitized and onto your web site.
But take pity on your audience, and give them the greatest hits. Offer the whole speech if you want, but give them the option of listening to just the best one- or two-minute clips. Be sure to offer the written text as well, both for the hearing-impaired and for people who prefer to read. If the speech included a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, add that, too.
(Incidentally, if your organization happens to produce a podcast, or if you know a podcaster who might find these clips useful for theirs, that’s one more way to get the word out. And if you said “Wha’a?” when you read the word “podcast”, drop by Tod Maffin’s web site and look for the headline “What is a podcast?”)
So, you master of multimedia — got a little more energy left? Because that speech has one more trick left to show you.
:: 6 :: Talk among yourselves
Communicators often forget one of their most important audiences: the organization itself. Staff, members, activists, volunteers — keeping them informed and engaged is critical.
Depending on the speech and its content, you may not want to distribute the whole thing; even internal audiences have a finite attention span. But there’s a good chance they’ll want to know about the key messages. Internal newsletters, intranets and bulletin boards are all potential vehicles.
And if any of them will be speaking publicly on the issues the speech deals with, you’ll want to distill the text down to talking points. Now, where you started the day with only one messenger and one audience, you may have several… or several dozen.
:: One last thought ::
Consider the days, sometimes weeks you spend hashing out a speech. Now consider that most substantive speeches last about 20 minutes.
In raw time, that’s a pretty big loss. Any of these six steps can help you recoup that time — and start earning a dramatically better return on your investment.
A good speech draws on your key messages and strategic goals, making it an important communications asset. With only a little extra effort, you can put that asset to work for you again and again — magnifying its impact and reaching far beyond its first audience.
Resurrect your rhetoric: six (re)uses for a speech
.6.2 | No Comments »
February 6th, 2006 by Alex
The lectern has been disassembled, the coffee cups are cleared and the crowd has moved on to their afternoon agenda. The major speech you worked on for weeks is over, and you can’t help but think: is that it?
For all the work we do preparing for them, speeches go by with unnerving speed. This issue, I try to suggest a few ways you can get the most from your next big speech — well beyond the actual delivery itself.
When you check out these ideas, don’t overlook the single best way of getting more mileage from a speech: delivering it again. Not the whole thing, word for word; but if you’ve written a speech that eloquently conveys your organization’s strategic message, key passages ought to find their way into address after address. (Provided, of course, that they’re to different audiences.)
Here are half a dozen ways a speech can keep on speaking for your organization long after the mike’s been switched off.
:: 1 :: Build relationships
Take the speaking text, reduce the size of the typeface to something reasonable like 12 points, and suddenly you have a document that you can send — printed or electronically — to selected prospects, clients and stakeholders.
Want to make it even more effective? Include a brief personal note from the speaker explaining why she thinks the recipient would be interested in seeing it, and inviting comment.
You’ve just helped maintain some of your organization’s key relationships — but you’re only getting warmed up.
:: 2 :: Lead thinking
Somewhere out there is a publication whose audience would be interested in what your speaker had to say. It could be a trade magazine, a portal web site or a major daily newspaper.
Find out if they accept outside submissions, and if so, whether they’d be interested. Once you get the green light, do a light rewrite to make the speech print-friendly, trim unnecessary niceties (”It’s a thrill to be back here in [TOWN]”) and speaking cues like “(pause)” or “(acknowledge hosts)”… and fire it off.
Now your speaker is a thought leader, and the day is still young. Next?
:: 3 :: Start conversations
If your organization has a blog, web site or newsletter, use the speech to spur a dialogue with the public. You can post the full text somewhere else and link to it; here, post the really provocative, insightful passages, and ask readers for their comments.
Whether you adopt a wide-open, take-all-comers policy or just select a few of the best responses and print them, state your policy clearly and be sure to thank people for their contributions. Your speaker can reply to some of the key points, and keep the conversation going.
Great: now you’ve engaged your audience, and maybe even picked up some useful ideas from them. Don’t stop now; you’re on a roll.
:: 4 :: Make news
If you wanted news coverage of the speech, you’ve already dispatched a media advisory out a few days beforehand, called through your list of assignment editors and reporters, and sent around a news release and a pointer to a “Check against delivery” copy of the text as soon as the speech began.
Um, right?
Okay, let’s say you didn’t. Maybe this speech wasn’t the stuff of breaking news. Or someone dropped the ball and the release is still sitting in their outbox. This speech can still do you some good with the media.
Write up a cover note highlighting the speech’s key message, and send the text to your media hotlist. Even if it just goes into their files, you’ve reminded them that you exist and have something worthwhile to say. That could well pay off down the road when a reporter is looking for someone to comment on a related story.
Now that you’ve massaged the media, are you going to quit? Not a chance.
:: 5 :: Make noise
See, you thought ahead, and arranged to have the speech recorded — maybe even videotaped. Now’s the time to get those files digitized and onto your web site.
But take pity on your audience, and give them the greatest hits. Offer the whole speech if you want, but give them the option of listening to just the best one- or two-minute clips. Be sure to offer the written text as well, both for the hearing-impaired and for people who prefer to read. If the speech included a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, add that, too.
(Incidentally, if your organization happens to produce a podcast, or if you know a podcaster who might find these clips useful for theirs, that’s one more way to get the word out. And if you said “Wha’a?” when you read the word “podcast”, drop by Tod Maffin’s web site and look for the headline “What is a podcast?”)
So, you master of multimedia — got a little more energy left? Because that speech has one more trick left to show you.
:: 6 :: Talk among yourselves
Communicators often forget one of their most important audiences: the organization itself. Staff, members, activists, volunteers — keeping them informed and engaged is critical.
Depending on the speech and its content, you may not want to distribute the whole thing; even internal audiences have a finite attention span. But there’s a good chance they’ll want to know about the key messages. Internal newsletters, intranets and bulletin boards are all potential vehicles.
And if any of them will be speaking publicly on the issues the speech deals with, you’ll want to distill the text down to talking points. Now, where you started the day with only one messenger and one audience, you may have several… or several dozen.
:: One last thought ::
Consider the days, sometimes weeks you spend hashing out a speech. Now consider that most substantive speeches last about 20 minutes.
In raw time, that’s a pretty big loss. Any of these six steps can help you recoup that time — and start earning a dramatically better return on your investment.
A good speech draws on your key messages and strategic goals, making it an important communications asset. With only a little extra effort, you can put that asset to work for you again and again — magnifying its impact and reaching far beyond its first audience.
The art of the opening joke
.6.2 | No Comments »
February 6th, 2006 by Alex
So two speechwriters walk into a bar…
There’s a good reason that the established wisdom around public speaking tells you to begin with a joke. The right joke can get you off to a roaring start:
- It signals to the audience that they can at least count on being entertained.
- It establishes common ground between you and the audience. Shared laughter can be a powerful bond.
- It humanizes you, and tells the audience that you have both wit and a sense of
fun. - It relaxes the audience and gives them an implied permission to respond to
what you’re saying. And it relaxes you; getting a big laugh at the outset is tremendously reassuring. - It can signal the theme of your speech in a memorable way (one that people are
likely to repeat outside the auditorium or banquet hall).
But beware. The wrong joke can tell an audience something much different about you, and set you up for a fall.
:: A CASE IN POINT
A Vancouver professional society recently sponsored a breakfast presentation. Every audience member had risen early and paid good money to hear what they had every reason to expect would be some valuable information.
The speaker was introduced, went to the podium and said, “Actually, I haven’t always been in this industry. I was in the submarine business until it went under.”
(The speech, need I add, had nothing to do with submarines.)
Pity the speech hadn’t been at night; at least there would have been crickets chirping to break the ensuing painful silence.
It’s not as though the right opening joke would have saved an otherwise mediocre presentation. But the wrong one made an already-nervous speaker even more anxious — and if there’s one emotion audiences can’t help but share with you, it’s anxiety.
What’s more, it signaled to the audience that their expectations of a professional, useful presentation were about to be dashed. (As it turned out, that’s just what happened.)
:: BUT SERIOUSLY…
Because jokes aren’t meant seriously, they can slip into a final draft without the vetting you ought to give them. Don’t let them.
I’ve seen the news coverage of major speeches focus exclusively on a single joke that, taken out of context, reflected badly on the speaker. That’s especially dangerous when you’re writing for a controversial public figure or organization under a lot of scrutiny.
Ask yourself: could this joke come back to haunt me… or hurt my client?
Here are a few tips that have worked well for me over the years. Of course, humour is more of an art than a science, so there are exceptions to most of these rules… but they can help ensure you open with a bang instead of a bomb.
:: FIVE KINDS OF JOKE THAT DON’T WORK
- Sarcasm.
- Offensive jokes.
- Jokes unrelated to the event, the audience, the theme or the speaker.
- Jokes that require long, complex set-ups.
And, as much as it pains me to admit it,
- Puns.
:: FIVE KINDS OF JOKE THAT DO
- Modest jokes. A successful chuckle is better than a failed belly laugh, especially at the beginning. Don’t feel like you have to bring the house down. Last week, Nelson Mandela started his Live 8 speech with just a hint of levity: “As you know, I recently formally announced my retirement from public life and should really not be here.”
- Short jokes. A long, meandering joke - especially at the beginning - only serves to confuse listeners, who will start wondering what your speech is actually about.
- Topical jokes. Find a joke that relates to something that will already be on the minds of audience members. It can be about the venue, a recent news item or a timely piece of pop culture; as I write this, a joke about high gas prices would probably go over well.
- Gentle, good-humoured jokes. Self-deprecating jokes work well at the outset; they express a certain level of trust in your listeners. Save the devastating, hilarious attacks on your opponent or competitor for later in the speech, once you’ve banked some goodwill with your audience.
Bill Clinton remains a master of poking fun at himself. Receiving an award a few months ago, he said, “One of the things that I had to deal with, when I left office was what I was going to do. I was too young to quit, too inept to play golf, too out of shape to play saxophone and too much of a Calvinist to lay down.” - Jokes that relate to your main theme. Even seizing on a key word or notion from the joke can give you the transition you need to use your joke as a springboard into the rest of the speech.
Can I quote you on that?
.6.2 | No Comments »
February 6th, 2006 by Alex
“All he did was string together a lot of old, well-known quotations.”
– H.L. Mencken, on William Shakespeare
What is this fascination we have with quotations? Mining everything from the latest sitcom catch phrase to centuries-old literature, we love to repeat the words of other people.
Speechwriters are no different – in fact, we may be the biggest quoters out there. Maybe it’s the fact that someone else has already done the heavy lifting, or the hope that our work might someday in turn be quoted. Whatever the reason, look at a speechwriter’s bookshelf and chances are you’ll find at least one book of quotations.
“Let no-one else’s work evade your eyes:
Plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize!”
– Tom Lehrer
Why quote? There are plenty of good reasons to open up the quotation marks. For example, when…
- someone has expressed an idea more clearly, evocatively and memorably than anything you’ve been able to write for the past hour
- you’re quoting someone whose opinion your audience respects, and who agrees with your argument
- you’re giving a concrete example of someone who holds a particular point of view
- you’re quoting someone who strikes a strong emotional chord — good or bad — with your audience
- you’re setting out common ground with your audience, via a quotation or a source they know well.
“Quotation, n. The act of repeating erroneously the words of another.”
– Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary
Why not quote? As handy as quotations are, they exact a toll on your speech.
For one thing, you aren’t giving your audience what they want. They came to hear what you have to say, in your own words. A quotation here and there is fine, but the time you spend quoting other people is time your audience won’t have to communicate with you.
You also sacrifice some of your speech’s power. Whether you’re speaking from bullet points or a prepared text (or, heaven help us all, off the top of your head), your delivery is bound to be fresher, more spontaneous and more engaging when the text is yours. It’s the difference between speaking and reciting.
Still, keeping those caveats in mind, a judicious quotation can make a real difference in a speech. But instead of just reaching for a copy of Bartlett’s and using the first passage that seems appropriate, take a few extra moments to make your next quotation truly effective.
“I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have,
beautifully expressed with much authority
by someone recognized wiser than oneself. “
– Marlene Dietrich
Seven steps to powerful quotations:
1. Take the quote less travelled. Some quotations have worn painfully thin with overuse, and have earned full membership in the Quotable Cliché Hall of Shame. Pass up the tired standbys and look for something your audience may not have heard a thousand times before. (And unless the definition of a particular word is a key part of your speech, please don’t quote the dictionary.)
2. Find a parallel. You don’t have to limit yourself to quotations dealing with the exact topic of your speech — and often you shouldn’t. There’s usually a more fundamental idea underlying your specific subject; a good, pithy quotation addressing that idea from another subject area can be a springboard to a striking metaphor or analogy.
3. Take issue. Don’t just quote people you agree with completely. Instead, use a quotation as a fulcrum. “So and so said such and such. I think he was only half right.”
4. Excerpt the unexpected. When we think of the sources for quotations, we think of political leaders, great works of literature… and not much else. But your audience is constantly bombarded with messages, and there are sources that may well resonate with them more strongly than some long-dead statesman. Look to books, films, pop songs, TV shows, even commercials. (One high point of a speech I wrote a few years ago was a quotation from the movie “Mars Attacks!”) And try sources from cultures other than your own or your audience’s.
5. Don’t let your quotation off the hook. More often than not, a speaker will cite a quotation and then leave it hanging there. Instead, keep those words working for you. Echo their structure, tease out deeper meanings, explore the quotation’s personal meaning to you. You’ll not only amplify the power of the quotation you’ve chosen, but take a certain kind of ownership over it.
6. Small is beautiful. The longer the quotation, the more time you’ll spend reading someone else’s words instead of engaging with your audience. A short, pithy quotation packs a lot more power.
7. Trust but verify. Google searches and online sources can turn up a torrent of quotations, many of them wonderful. But a lot of the quotations you’ll find online are misremembered, misheard, mistyped or just plain mistaken. (An entire book has been written on the topic: They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attributions by Paul F. Boller Jr. and John George.) Unless the online source is the originator of the passage you’re quoting, check it against a more authoritative reference.
“I always have a quotation for everything – it saves original thinking.”
– Dorothy Sayers
Your turn: What are your favourite places to go hunting for the perfect quotation? Who’s the most quotable person you know? And do you have a nominee for the Quotable Cliché Hall of Shame? Let the rest of us know at speechlist@robcottingham.ca.
This story originally appeared in SpeechList, a monthly e-mail newsletter. To subscribe, visit http://www.speechlist.com.