Using social media tools to drive innovation and change in large organizations

October 1, 2009 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

In Canada, you don’t get much bigger than the Royal Bank of Canada. And RBC’s Michel Savoie and Tim Yull closed out the ALI Social Media for Government conference with a presentation on how to use social media to foster innovation and drive change in a large organization.

I’ve used CoverItLive to capture the highlights of the Twitter stream from the conference participants who tagged their posts #ALI. You can review these highights below.

Michel Savoie and Tim Yull at the ALI Social Media for Government conference

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade: Social Media Case study

September 30, 2009 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

Chantal Wolfe and Jennifer Savage spoke at the ALI Social Media for Government conference about how Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is using social media to increase organizational knowledge and collaboration across a geographically dispersed organization.

I’ve captured the highlights of their presentation from the Twitter stream that used the hashtag #ALI. You can view the discussion on the CoverItLive box below.

DFAIT presentation at the ALI Social Media for Government conference

Entering Twitterville

September 13, 2009 • Joseph Thornley • ShelIsrael, ThirdTuesday, Twitterville

twittervillecover-090811 It’s Sunday morning and I’m heading to Montreal to meet Shel Israel for the first of the Third Tuesday Twitterville Canadian book launch events. In the next week, we’ll be holding Third Tuesdays in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver.

Where to find Third Tuesday

You can get information on the Third Tuesday Shel Israel Twitterville event closest to you by following one of these links:

It takes a community

There are many people who should be thanked for making this week possible: Michelle Sullivan, Adele McAlear, Doug Lacombe, Andrew McIntyre, Monica Hamburg, Tanya Davis, Kirsty MacRae, Sarah Laister, LeeEllen Carroll and Mike Edgell. (If I’ve miss anyone, I apologize. Please let me know and I’ll add your name to the list.)

I also want to thank our sponsors. Their contributions are making it possible for us to bring Shel to Third Tuesdays across the country. Given the size of our country and the cost of transportation, this would not be possible without their support. So, I hope that you will join me in thanking our sponsors, CNW Group, MolsonCoors Canada, Rogers Communications, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and Radian6.

Thank you all for your support. You make good things happen for our community.

Things I'd like to discuss on the For Immediate Release podcast

September 9, 2009 • Joseph Thornley • FIR, ForImmediateRelease, NevilleHobson, ShelHoltz

Shel Holtz has asked me to co-host the For Immediate Release podcast with him tomorrow. Regular co-host Neville Hobson is busy attending Twestival in the U.K. and Shel needs a foil for the day. And that’s me.

Shel has asked me to suggest some topics for discussion on the episode. Here are a few ideas I’ve developed. What do you think of them?

One area I’d like to highlight in the discussion is Canada’s experience of being close neighbours with the United States and the opportunities and challenges that social media present for us to see ourselves while being part of the larger global community. One aspect of this is what I call the “Content Creation Gap.”

What do I mean by a content creation gap? Well simply put, the Forrester Social Technographics data shows that U.S. Internet users are more likely to engage in active social media content creation – authoring, critiquing and collecting – than are Canadians.

To understand the potential significance of this, consider that search engine algorithms already reward the most popular links. A U.S. population ten times Canada’s population is more likley to click on U.S.-relevant pages, driving them higher on future search results for the same term.than links relevant to other countries. Add to this that we are less likely than Americans to produce as much content on a per capital basis and it seems to me, there is potential for it to become harder for us to see ourselves reflected in the increasing flow of social media content.

Another aspect of living close to the U.S. and being so similar to Americans is the profound impact it has on the composition of our business community. As Chair of the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms, I see that Canadian public relations firms are most directly affected by the consolidation of accounts into global relationships, most often anchored in the United States. This is a different approach to a topic I’ve heard addressed at both this year’s PRSA Counselors Academy conference and the IABC World Conference – how the (mostly-U.S.-based) PR industry can ensure that its strategies and programs are sensitive to the unique cultures and contexts of every country in which they are rolled out.

Another topic I’d like to discuss would be the importance of public relations practitioners grounding their approach to social media in sociology and anthropology as well as technology. Yes, the technology is important. But more important than the shiny new objects is what people want to do with them and how they interact and form communities of interest. This continues to be public relations strong suit, if we keep our focus on it.

What do you think of these topics? Are there related topics that I should add?

Are there other things you’d like me to discuss?

'Twas the night before the Big Pitch

September 3, 2009 • Joseph Thornley • Pitching

Christmas in September

All the plans have been hatched. The presentations prepared. The rehearsals held.

Now all we have to do is get through one more sleep to see if we’ve been very, very good or …

One of the realities of a consultant’s life is the new business pitch.

We have a really big one coming up tomorrow morning – at 8AM.

I know that many agency folk don’t like being asked for creative as part of the pitch process. I take a different approach. As long as the potential client restricts the pitch to a short list of agencies they have pre-screened, I’m keen for my team to give it our very best. How else can the potential client get a sense of our creativity and how we think? How else can they get a good sense of whether we’ll be a match for them?

As I see it, the creative pitch ensures that clients know what they are getting. In Thornley Fallis’ case, a team with a definite perspective on best practices and the standards that are established by the transparency that social media has thrust upon every organization. We’re prepared to work hard, but we won’t compromise our principles. And we get a chance to convey this when we present to potential clients.

This approach means that Thornley Fallis isn’t the right agency for every client. But for those who want advisors who will tell truth regardless of whether it’s comfortable or convenient, we fit right in.

So, tomorrow’s a big pitch day. And we really want a chance to work with this client. We’ve done everything we possibly could to prepare. So, I’m happy.

This is the way I like to feel the night before a high stakes competition. Whether we win or lose, we’ve done everything we could to prepare.

Participate in #JournchatLIVETO

August 13, 2009 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

#Journchat is a Twitter discussion held on Monday evenings intended to give PR people, bloggers and journalists a time to discuss issues of common concern.

A few weeks back, Jodi Echakowitz suggested a couple ways that #Journchat could be made better. Sarah Evans, the organizer of #Journchat, has taken up Jodi’s suggestion of live meetups across the U.S. and Canada during next week’s #Journchat discussion to give participants an opportunity to connect in person.

Jodi is organizing the #JournchatLIVETO meetup on the evening of August 17. And I’m happy that Thornley Fallis is able to help out by hosting the live gathering of participants in our Toronto office boardroom.

What: JournchatLIVETO
When: Monday, August 17, 6:30PM to 10PM
Where: Thornley Fallis, 21 St. Clair Ave East, Suite 800, Toronto
Organized by: Jodi Echakowitz

If you want to attend in person, you’ll need to register to attend #JournchatLiveTO.

But even if you don’t want to attend in person, you can still participate in the discussion on Twitter between 7:30PM and 10PM Monday. To do so, simply set up a Twitter search for the hashtag #journchat and then include #journchat in your own tweets

I’m looking forward to meeting the other people who choose to participate in person at the #journchatLIVETO event. It should be a good discussion.

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Interested in more info on #Journchat?

Shel Israel to launch Twitterville in cross-Canada tour of Third Tuesdays

August 11, 2009 • Joseph Thornley • ShelIsrael, ThirdTuesday, Twitterville

Shel Israel is coming to Canada in September to launch his new book, Twitterville. And he’ll be doing it at Third Tuesday social media meetups in five cities across Canada: Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

twittervillecover-090811 Three years ago, Shel co-authored Naked Conversations with Robert Scoble. Naked Conversations was a must-read book in 2006. It captured the zeitgeist of the blogosphere.

Now Shel Israel is back with Twitterville, his look at Twitter and how it is being used by people and organizations to connect, play, share, create community, organize…. You name it and we’re finding a way to do it on Twitter.

Shel was the very first speaker at the inaugural Third Tuesday in 2006. So, launching Twitterville at Third Tuesday is like Shel coming home. I’m really excited that we’re able to bring him to Canada to do this.

Hold these dates

We’ll be opening registration for each of the Third Tuesday events with Shel in the next few days. In the meantime, mark the date of the Third Tuesday Twitterville launch in the city nearest you:

September 13 Montreal
September 14 Ottawa
September 15 Toronto
September 16 Calgary
September 17 Vancouver

What’s it about?

I had a chance to read an early draft of Twitterville. It’s a great read. Packed with interesting stories of real people using Twitter today. It drove home to me that we are still in early days of understanding the implications of social media and applying the new technologies to achieve the things we want to do. And it sparked my imagination, giving me ideas about how I can use Twitter and other social media in my own business and life.

I plan to post more about the content of Twitterville. In the meantime, you too can get a preview of the book. Shel has posted the book’s Introduction on his blog, Global Neighbourhoods.

Thank you to our sponsors

We’re able to bring Shel to cities across Canada thanks to the support of our Third Tuesday sponsors:

CNW Group, our founding sponsor;

Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, who are providing accommodation for Shel;

Molson Canada, whose use of social media Shel has profiled in Twitterville;

Rogers Communications, whose network provides us with both landline and mobile Internet access; and

Radian6, who provide us with the tools we need to monitor and measure social media.

Thanks to each of these sponsors, Shel’s Canadian book launch will be just the first of several exciting initiatives we’re planning for the coming year.

Stay tuned

We’ll be opening the actual event registration soon. And we’ll have more news about how you can get a copy of Twitterville signed by Shel Israel. So, subscribe to the ProPR RSS feed or check back here for more information.

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UPDATE: Shel has blogged about his coming visit to Canada and his memories of when he came here in 2006 to launch Third Tuesday.