The final submission deadline for the 2008 Excellence in New Communications Awards. is coming up soon! Submit your entries now – the final deadline is Monday, September 8th.

Each year the Society for New Communications Research presents the prestigious SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards. These awards honor corporations, governmental and nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, media outlets, and individuals who are innovating the use of social media, ICT, mobile media, online communities and virtual worlds and collaborative technologies in the areas of business, media, and professional communications, including advertising, marketing, public relations and corporate communications, as well as entertainment, education, politics, and social initiatives.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY TODAY!

Full details about the divisions and categories follow. If you have any additional questions, please contact us at +1 650-331-0083 or info@sncr.org.

Awards are granted in six divisions:

* Corporate
* Government
* Media
* Nonprofit/NGO
* Academic
* Technology Innovation (for New Communications and Social Media Technology Vendors)

We have seven (7) categories this year.

1. Online Reputation Management

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is monitoring conversations and content online related to its brand, product or service. The case study should also explain what the organization is doing to either encourage or counter this information online.

An example: An organization that found consumer criticism of its service online, and what it did to discover, strategize and respond to that criticism. An explanation of the outcome of the response would also aid the nomination.

2. Behind the Firewall

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is using new communication and/or social media tools internally to enhance employee communications

An example: An organization that uses a blog internally to communicate with employees, or has built an internal online community for its employees.

3. Blogger Relations

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is proactively engaging and building relationships with bloggers as part of an initiative, campaign, or ongoing program.

An example: An organization that successfully worked with its industry bloggers around a milestone or an announcement.

4. External Communications & Communities

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is communicating with and/or participating in external online communities. This includes both online communities built and managed by the organization as well as other communities and social networks.

An example: An organization that has official spokespeople participating in an industry forum or message board. The external community could also be associated with a social network, like Facebook or MySpace.

5. New Media Creation

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is creating and using social media and new communications tools and technologies, with an emphasis on audio, video and imagery.

An example: An organization that created a podcast series or a video blog. An explanation of why a particular medium was chosen and how it aided with a communication or marketing strategy would be helpful.

6. Collaboration & Co-creation

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is using new media tools to either help groups and teams communicate and collaborate in new ways, or is using new media as the means for enabling outside sources to provide input and ideas in a collaborative way.

An example: An organization that’s using a wiki to communicate and exchange ideas. Another example nomination could be an organization that’s enabling consumer to submit their ideas and inputs on products and services.

7. Mobile Media

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is using mobile media in its communication or marketing projects.

An example: An organization creating mobile applications or using SMS as part of a campaign or initiative.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY TODAY!

ENTRY FEES

FREE for SNCR members. (This is a great time to join SNCR if you’re not already a member. Join SNCR now to enter for FREE and to save $100. on your attendance at the 3rd Annual SNCR Symposium & Awards Gala. For more information about membership levels, rates and benefits, visit http://sncr.org/get-involved.

Non-member award entry fees: $70.USD per entry

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY TODAY!

And join us at the 3rd Annual Society for New Communications Research Symposium & Awards Gala
Friday, November 14th, Hotel Marlowe, Cambridge, Mass.

Join us for a full day of presentations by the SNCR Fellows on their latest research projects and to celebrate the winners of the 2008 SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards!

The Society for New Communications Research is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation — 30% of all contributions to all SNCR programs are tax deductible. Visit http://sncr.org/get-involved/ to join the SNCR or to make a fully tax deductible donation.

Neville recently wrote about his Summit experiences in What academics think about social media.

I had a chance to pull Neville away during one of the breaks, and he shared his views of what is happening in Europe, regarding digital practice and higher education’s involvement. He noted that two themes seem persistent: measurement and pitching. Everyone wants to get to a position where there is accepted best practice that delivers results.

Thanks, Neville, for taking time to do the interview.

Find more videos like this on PROpenMic

Starbucks recently launched (March ’08?) their site – my Starbucks Idea. This BusinessWeek article explains more. 

So, it was great to hear what she had to offer academia re: what’s new in emerging digital media. You can, by the way, see her entire presentation panel by visiting the Edelman site for their joint summit with PRWeek.

In the video below, Alex shares what Starbucks is looking for in new hires. Also, she relates the difference between today’s practice and the digital landscape at the beginning of her career, a little over a decade ago.

Many thanks to Alex for agreeing to the interview. She was very nice and quite helplful. You can see all seven videos I made from the conference, with eleven different interviews, by checking out the Summit ’08 collection at PROpenMic.

Find more videos like this on PROpenMic

The five faculty members come from diverse universities, both large and medium sized. Sorry, I didn’t get any from small schools. My bad.

Enrollments range from 11,000+ (Howard & SDSU) to 22,000+ at Northeastern, while the enrollment is 31,000+ at UNT and 32,000+ at UGA. Two are private (Howard & Northeastern). Three are public (UNT, SDSU & UGA).

With regard to their programs, UGA’s is a college unto itself while four are in departments within the college of Liberal Arts/Arts & Sciences.

I mention these bits of information to perhaps highlight how broadly the interest in emerging digital media is for their respective curricula. It also, IMO, reflects how many universities are now seeking to broaden their academic programs to include emerging digital media.

I really like what all five had to say about the conference and, more importantly, how they hoped to use what they learned in the classroom. All of them were truly very nice and I thank them for taking the time to chat with us. This experience actually makes me wish I was attending more conferences like this. But, of course, I wish there were more conferences like this. Sad reality is, this is the only solely higher ed focused conference of its kind.

The faculty members are:

• Dr. Karen Russell, University of Georgia – Teaching PR blog
• Dr. Rochelle Ford, Howard University – Vitae
• Dr. Jennifer Tiernan – South Dakota State University – Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
• Dr. Walter Carl – Northeastern University – Word-of-Mouth Communication Study blog
• Dr. Jacqueline Lambiase – University of North Texas – Bio

I chose to put all five together so we may get an idea of their motivations for attending such a conference. The video runs 4:50.

Questions? I note that only two are actively blogging – Carl & Russell. (Unless I’ve just missed something.) I know about Karen and Walter, as I follow their blogs. So, should the others consider blogging? Are they active online? What are your thoughts on this?

I did find a bit of a trail (I believe) for Ford, but not sure. If she’s into art in Georgetown, and using MeetUp, then it may be her. A book chapter authored by Lambiase is referenced in a few blog posts, but no sign of her online and active. Searches for Tiernan proved fruitless, too. So, are they active, but doing so anonymously? Who knows, but it would be interesting to learn what they may be doing re: online activity. Are these faculty members into the whole experiential learning idea? We’ll see.

Also, I don’t know if all five schools have their students actively involved in online experiential class activities. Are their students blogging, using wikis, social networks, etc.

I’m wondering if they are actively monitoring the Web, too? Let’s see if they find this post and will expand upon what they are doing with their classes in the comments below. Honestly, I’m not trying to pick on any of them by talking about what they are/aren’t doing online. I’d like to learn what their ideas are about faculty blogging. Let’s just call it a test of the personal brand search (or ego search) we tell our students to have running in order to see what people are saying about them online. Hey, ya’ gotta manage your personal brand, too.

Still to come, interviews with Neville Hobson (FIR and Blog), Mary Metcalf (Edelman Digital/Auburn Alum), Gary Goldhammer (Senior Vice President, Edelman), and Alexandra Wheeler (Director, Digital Strategy, Starbucks – MyStarbucksIdea.com). I’ll get them up ASAP. You’ll probably see the rest of them this week.

Finally, if you’re wondering about the intro/outro music … hey, I’m just having some fun trying out different ideas for PROpenMic. Please, humor me.

Rick Murray shares why Edelman Public Relations has taken a leadership role in helping academia better prepare students for the future of public relations.

This conference is an excellent model for others to follow. We need all the help we can get, folks. I appreciate Edelman’s leadership in this area. The Summit, along with their Bootcamps, shows that Edelman is clearly in the lead. I wish more of these types of opportunities were taking place now. We don’t want to have to catch up, do we?

Video from the Edelman/PRWeek New Media Academic Summit held on June 26-27, 2008.

Keith shares, what I believe to be, a great overview of why PR agencies should seek to work with academia and why experimenting with emerging digital media is so important for both students and educators.

This video is from June 26-27, 2008, in Chicago.

After all, students out there pitching and working on a campaign … hey, ya’ gotta pitch in and support them.

The Edelman Digital Bootcamp is taking place at UGA on Saturday, March 1, 2008. Details are available here, at their Web page. Lindsey shared that, as of this recording, several non-UGA student slots are still available. Also, several more faculty slots are open. The registration fee is very reasonable and the benefits are, in my opinion, quite worth the trip.

Our own alum, Erin Caldwell, is the lead for this conference – a joint effort between Edelman and UGA’s Grady College. Erin is a Senior Account Executive in the Edelman Washington, D. C. office. We’re quite proud of her.

To get you up to date on the event, here are a couple of good links for you:

• Edelman Digital Bootcamp (EDB) — Agenda & Other Resources
• Blog for the Edelman Digital Bootcamp
• Kaye Sweetser, UGA – so this is mass communication?
• Karen Russell, UGA – Teaching PR
• Twitter / EDB_erin
• Flickr: Photos from edelmandigitalbootcamp

Lindsey was a joy to interview. She’s active in many blogs, just check out her Blogger profile to see them all.

Photo: From a previous project (not the EDB project), Lindsey is pictured above, second from the right. That undergraduate research team included (l-r) Kristen Smith, Amy Chandler, Laura Jakstadt, Rachel Turner, Lindsey Loughman and Heather Wrye. (Source: Grady News)

The interview is below. It is 18.9 mb and runs 19:45.   We’ve upgraded to the latest Podpress software, so … click the Play button below (and a player will appear) or Play in Popup, or download it. Whatever makes ya’ happy.

Blog Orlando is an un-conference created by Josh Hallett and friends in Orlando, Florida. Their efforts have proven fruitful as about 88 people are making the trip to Rollins College for a weekend of learning and sharing.

For some background on the event, check out Josh’s post – Yep It’s Free – There’s No Catch – about how it all came about.

Also visit the conference main site – BlogOrlando.com – and their blog at BlogOrlando : September 22-24, 2006 : Orlando, Florida.

Congratulations and best wishes to Josh and all of the attendees. Wish I could be there.

Many thanks to Dimitri Glazkov for letting me know about it. Dimitri participated in the recent HigherEdBlogCon conference. Thanks, Dimitri. Looking forward to meeting you there.

Dates: August 25-26, 2006 (coincides with BarCampEarth)
Locations and times: Friday night party / dinner / drinks mixer, August 25th, 8 to 11 PM – Jim ‘N Nick’s Barbecue, 1908 11th Ave S, Birmingham, AL

According to the event’s wiki, here are some ideas about how you can get involved:

…BarCamp offers people the chance to get together and learn and share ideas…

• Join the BarCampBirmingham Google Group
• Participate in BarCampBirminghamPlanning
• Blog about BarCampBirmingham
• Join the BarCampBirmingham Flickr Group
• Tell your friends
• Propose sessions

Looking forward to this. I’d like to meet and chat with some folks from Alabama about all that we’re doing and – most importantly – learn from them. Wish I could take my two classes to this one.