Corvus - From RavenWood Creative
A Conversation about Communication in Today's World
Stumbled across this today, seems the Office of Government Commerce in the UK had a new letterform logo designed for it. Melcrum Internal Communication Hub had as much fun with it as the OGC employees did when they viewed the logo from a different angle.
Anyone have some logo or branding horror stories to share? Let me know,
Until next time, Tim
Today, I stumbled upon a great idea from Brian Yerkes, a blogger and designer who is collecting business cards of bloggers. You can add your business card to the mix by visiting Brian’s blog. Great idea Brian! Here’s mine:
And I have to say, I stumbled upon the idea by checking out one of my favorite blogs from designers who blog.
Until next time, TIm
Like most pursuits, blogging takes dedication. It takes time and energy to research a topic a bit and put down in words, images and links your unique perspective on the topic. Well, here on the East Coast we’ve been fortunate to have a string of gorgeous weather days, and today it’s suppose to be in the 80s and sunny here in PA.
Spring Fever is in full swing, so it’s hard to sit inside and blog, or do other computer related work on a day like today - when there are activities outdoors to be enjoyed with the warm sun and low humidity. Have you been struck by Spring Fever? If so, what are your best tips to beating it? Or do you have to beat it, or should you go enjoy life and the weather while it’s pleasant and save the hard-hitting blogging for a rainy day? Let me know what you think, I might respond tomorrow when it’s raining, because I’m going outside to do some gardening.
Until next time, Tim
Check out this great video from myRagan (a communication consutling firm). If only all communication could be so funny. It’s a sad topic, the recent oil tanker spill off Australia where the bow fell off a ship, when it got pounded by some rough surf, but this is hilarious.
If you know of any other great videos that take a look at the lighter side of communication, let me know.
Until next time, Tim
Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I had some computer issues I had to work through. But now I’m rockin’ and rolling again.
Recently, it seems it’s as hot as the planet is predicted to get to say you’re going “green.” I’ve seen Al Gore on abc touting his We advertisement program, and then I’ve seen those same ads ”We were…” all over TV. I’ve seen retail giant Walmart hawking its green products with cool little stats that if all 220 million of its customers would install a CF lightbulb or use less paper what a better planet it would be.
Now, I’m all for going green, reducing the greenhouse gases, and our dependency on oil foreign or domestic. Read Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us and you’ll do everything you can to reduce plastic waste and the use of chemicals and preservatives in your life.
The latest trend I’m seeing is for going green becoming a business issue, see communicators debate the issue – myragan. I’m all for it, I recently received an invitation to a bank opening reception in my community. The invite was mailed, but it was printed on 100% recycled paper and had wildflower seeds embedded in it to plant the entire invite under 1/4 inches of soil rather than just throwing it away. I applaud Harleysville National Bank for doing that, and I know everyone who received the invite thought it was cool.
I also wholehearted support the use of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) paper products, SmartWood, Green Seal, and the EPA’s Green Power Partner program. We need to reduce the number of trees being cut down and increase the use of recycled products. RavenWood Creative has an active recycling program, we recycle more than we throw out, we subsidize wind power for our electric use, for about $7.00 a month, and recycle packing products whenever we are shipping something – just three of the ways we are going green.
So what do you do or your company does to reduce, reuse or recycle? How are you going green, and does it need to be a company initiative or just how you conduct business?
Let me know, until next time, Tim
Recently, I was at a business card exchange and was doing what comes so unnaturally to most folks. I was talking to a young owner of Astera Video Productions, located in the suburbs of Philadelphia and, of course, networking and exchanging business cards. Usually, it’s the status-quo, the friendly banter and pleasantries and both parties go their separate ways. But Tony from Astera was different, he engaged me in a conversation about my business, he examined my card and asked me geniune questions about my business. Where do I find my clients? What services do you offer them? Pretty standard stuff. But then he asked me about the words on my business card. Why did you name your company RavenWood Creative? (see my previous post for an explanation) I then stopped Tony and asked him “well first tell me me where Astera came from?” He laughed and said I do a lot of business from the Yellow Pages and I used to have a name that began with “S” so I looked in a book for an “A” name and formed Astera which is a play on the Latin word astrum meaning star.
As Senator Obama has reminded us lately, we put a lot of thought and, most of the time, meaning behind our words. “We the People … All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others,” or, one of my favorites, ”Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’”
There’s power in our words.
And as Gerry McGovern has pointed out in his work on the power of the web, words are the foundation of the internet, albiet in digital form of 0s and 1s. The combination of 0s and 1s form the stirring stories of our lives, our businesses, our hopes and dreams. When was the last time you looked at the word you use on your site? What do they say about you and your business or interests? Is your navigation or the word you use clear to the viewer or are they some words only people within your company use. With everything online, customers don’t have much time or more importantly patience to decifer “your langauage” to find what they want. Brevity is king on the net, but clarity is the Queen.
What are your thoughts? Write me some words in the Comments. Until next time, Tim
The other day I heard about a neat little blog entitled Obsolete Skills. It covers the skills that all of us seem to be leaving in the dust of technical progress. I encourage you to check it out.
Today, some of the skills being used in communication are changing as rapidly as technology and the Internet flashes forward. Blogs seem to be popping up everywhere. I’ve joined at least a half a dozen site just to “socialize” this blog, a skill in itself. I’ve applied to many of them to be accepted into their site. It’s like joining a country club.
The number one parameter they examine — your topics. Blogs are becoming so omnipresent that blog directories are becoming selective in their acceptance of your blog. Find an unexploited niche (your cat’s diet or nuclear physics) and you can find room on their directories. Of late, I’ve been discussing blogs in more detail, this third in a series will examine topics. My case study has focused on “Company S” where I’ve been priviledged enough to have access to their Intranet and its associated blogs. They are top-notch and the employees are just starting to explore what can be discussed and accomplished with blogs.
Everything from wikileaks and Wired Magazine’s coverage of the whistleblower site is being discussed with a tint of how it affects Company S. Other topics include how to make the best use of cutting edge virtual worlds like Second Life in business or graphic design within the company. There is tongue-in-cheek blog that plays on the name of the company’s founder and covers everything from how the company is marketing itself to the latest news that affects the industries the company is involved in.
What blog topics do you think are the most popular? Which ones are the most popular at your company or on your blog? For me it’s about anything discussing this new corporate world that is using Web 2.0 technology. What are your interests and what do you want to hear more about?
Let me know. Until next time, Tim
This is my second in a series on a company I have unique access to, I’m calling Company S. While its a global company and has a very “corporate” culture its very progressive in its acceptance of technology. They have added a blog component to their very comprehensive Intranet and are experiencing growing pains in getting acceptance and usage from their employees. But that’s what I covered in the first blog entry about Company S.
Let’s discuss some of the topics that are being tackled on their various blogs. In the last entry, I covered that they were experiencing some usage issues by the employees of their managment blog which is presented by the entire management team. After asking some questions of why a lot of employees are reading the blog, yet only a handful are actually leaving comments, the feedback was quick and powerful. They received the most comments back on this entry and the consensus was, discuss topics that affect the employees in their everyday jobs, rather than academic or generic topics pointed to not offend or stir up controversy. These were the majority of the comments. But it was interesting that the questioning-the-value-of-the-blog entry received the most comments in this blog — ever.
The follow-up entry asked more specifically about what topics employees want to hear and what obstacles are in place that hammer the employees from doing their jobs. The feedback has been honest and hopefully helpful for the management to hear. Everything from broken equipment to revising the travel planning system that the sales team uses have been brought up.
Time will tell, and time will also judge the next steps for the blog in the corporate world. But it seems Company S is getting to what truly blogs can do for your company, opening up the communication lines, getting beyond hierarchy and politically correct topics – back to honest and free flowing communication.
The next in the series will cover some of the lighter topics being discussed on Company S’s blogs.
I’m really intersted in hearing what your thoughts are on management blogs. Can they have multiple authors? What topics are most effective for corporate blogs? How is your company using blogs, or what’s preventing them?
Until next time, Tim
Well, over the last week and a half a case study in crisis management took place and there are many lessons to be learned. First, let me say my heart goes out to those affected by the wildfires in California. My wife and I watched the news coverage and discussed what we would do in such circumstances. We couldn’t imagine coming home to a pile of smouldering ruins that was our home. Her immediate thought went to our dogs, knowing I would be fine and at our local volunteer firehouse helping where I was needed. Knowing she would be alone to deal with everything I urged her to put together a “survival pack” – a list is available at www.ready.gov and we discussed where we would meet outside of our town if we needed to evacuate. I urge everyone to at least plan ahead for the unknown, designated a meeting spot, get your important papers in one “safe” spot, and put together a survival pack if you’re worried.
There are some definite communication lessons to be learned from the California wildfires of 2007. First, an unknown member of law enforcement said it best, “if you see fire – get out.” It’s simple, to the point, and easy to follow. It’s these types of messages that get press coverage, for these reasons and because it summed up the situation facing everyone. Unfortunately, some people perished because they thought their possessions were worthy of their lives and they tried to fend off a fire storm with a garden hose. But, for the majority the message to get out and rally a Qualcomm Stadium or other shelters worked, it allowed firefighters and law enforcement to do their jobs. The contrasts between Katrina and California are startling, while I admit the situations between massive flooding and wind damage are quite different than a rolling, wind-driven fire, you can’t help think that the government’s role and rapid response did make a difference. I would love to talk to some of the folks that helped set up Qualcomm, I heard it went from a handful of volunteers and some supplies to feeding, sheltering and entertaining thousands in a matter of hours. Incredible communication efforts and yet another contrast to Katrina, communication links never broke down.
On the flip side of the coin, we have the FEMA “press conference” debacle. It seems the head guy behind that idea, John Philbin, is paying the price by losing his next assignment and FEMA administrator David Paulison (a former firefighter/chief) apologized and threatened more disciplinary action. The latest on the fake press conference, where FEMA staffer posed as reporters and asked “softball” type questions can be read here: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/wireStory?id=3792083 The lesson learned — a post-Katrina FEMA fears screwing up so much that they tried to control the message right down to the last question mark, but a post-Katrina media has FEMA under a microscope and by not allowing themselves to be human FEMA made the idiotic decision to “fake” one on a crisis that actually “went well” in government response, evacuations, minimum loss of human life, and with the media coverage/access. So FEMA and the rest of us add another “don’t do” to our lists and move on.
Let me know what you think, until next time, Tim
I was reminded the other night just how important good, clear communication is to many organizations out there. Sure, your corporation needs what I call the 7Cs to Communication.
1 be correct, 2 be consistent, 3 be clear, 4 be concise, 5 be coherent, 6 be complete, 7 be creative.
Now put yourself in the shoes (or boots) of firefighters. The 7Cs have to be present at all times as it’s a matter of life or death during a fire when all of your surroundings are in chaos. The fire company I belong to has just begun formal training in RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) or sometimes called FAST (Firefighter Assistance and Safety Team) where we are learning how to focus on just the safety and rescue of downed firefighters, that’s it, a single focus amongst a chaotic scene.
One point the instructor made perfectly clear was communication breakdowns can get you in trouble or may be dead. He cited many incidents, Worcester Cold Storage a few years ago, Charleston, SC, (2007), Hackensack, NJ (1988), or Houston, TX (2007), where poor communication got firefighters into trouble and caused many deaths. Over and over again, unclear, incoherent and incomplete communication took place, either because the radio frequencies were jammed, fireground officers were busy, or incorrect information was presented. In one instance, Hackensack, the mayday call was heard by someone listening in on a scanner at home and they had to drive to the scene to let the officer’s know firefighters were in trouble. More information on firefighter close calls can be found at  http://www.firefighterclosecalls.com/
Like I said at the beginning of this piece, your organization usually doesn’t deal with such consequences, but wouldn’t clear, communication help? We’ve all been there when a miscommunication causes worry, angst, or even someone to get reprimanded because they weren’t sure what to do. Technology is a wonderful thing, such as new radio frequencies in the fire servce which are great, but if everyone tries to talk at once on a single frequency it defeats the purpose. The same with corporate communication technologies, if all the effort is put in a podcast, then those who don’t have access to the mp3 files miss out. But targeted communication on multiple levels (frequencies) with cross-referencing (multiple radios) can help. It’s taken years for the fire service to realize this, and just as many for the corporate world. But help is available to cut through the clutter and help with the 7Cs. Just ask …
‘Til next time, Tim
