eCommunications for global organisations

Tomorrow is a big day for us, and we hope for Brussels. We have been working on setting-up TEDxBrussels (http://www.tedxbrussels.eu) for the past few months and it has been an exciting and challenging experience.

We have long been fans of TED (http://www.ted.com) and avid watchers of the videos the organisation shares with the world, so when the opportunity came up to help with the organisation and launch of TEDxBrussels, we jumped in working alongside OLPC (http://www.olpceu.org/) and a number of others to make this idea a reality.  It has been a challenging  ride and tomorrow we will see if it is up to the vision that the team had in mind.

We very much hope this event marks the beginning of culture shift in Brussels, bringing together passionate individuals who believe in the power of ideas to change their surroundings.  One of the first initiatives to come out of this thinking is a project called ‘Imagine The City’, developed by TEDxBrussels, The Bulletin and AddictLab.  The idea is to get the community of TEDxsters to share ideas on how to transform their city on a platform called www.brusselslab.com.  Addict Lab will selecting ideas emerging from this platform on a regular basis and The Bulletin will feature some of the most intriguing ones.  Later we will look at how to turn some of them into a reality.

If you want to get involved in this community and start thinking about the next TEDxBrussels, then join the ning (tedxbxl.ning.com/).

See you tomorrow or online.

After months of hard work, editing and designing, we have just gone live with our latest eBook, “Your Online Journey Starts Now - A Survival Guide for Corporate Marketers”. Writing an eBook takes time and perseverance and I hope that the outcome is worth it. I am sure a great deal can still be improved, and I look forward to your feedback in order to update it.

It is written for the corporate marketers who want to take advantage of the current crisis to shift their communication to a web based model.

Read it, share it and enjoy!

Looking forward to your feedback.

Clay Shirky gives a TED (www.ted.com) 16 minute presentation on how social media changes the dynamics of power and communications because it creates the possibility of masses communicating with masses.  A compelling account of what communicators and politicians everywhere need to understand.

Clay wrote a book called ‘Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations‘ which looks interesting.  His site/blog also contains some more background on his thinking and approach.  He is a consultant to international organisations like Nokia and the BBC and a professor at NYU.

Just came across this post by JustinSMV about the impact social media is likely to have going forward (a bit like a fresh version of the machine is us).  A good way to get your mind to focus on the strategic importance of these new tools when preparing yourself for 2010.  As the FT and the Economist recently declared the recession in Europe (ok at least for France and Germany) is (almost) over, it is time to start thinking about the future and how to plan for 2010 - but without going back to the bad old ways…

This should give you some inspiration.

After the event organised by IABC last week on Web2Eu, an exciting conversation started:  people shared ideas and content on the ning platform that was set-up by Hugh Barton Smith while several emails, tweets and other discussions took off.

Seeing as people clearly seem to want to continue the discussions that had started, we thought of a simple way to do it: let’s meet again!  In order to make this simple and cheerful we went round the corner from the ZN office to a place Le Break de l’Abbaye (they have a facebook group so you can even check pictures) and asked if we could use the room they had upstairs for people to get together to discuss how the internet was changing communication in Europe.  He said ok - as long as you pay for your drinks!

So there goes.  For those who want to continue the conversation or join it, pencil this date into your agenda:

Thursday 18th June at 16.30.  The address is rue saint Georges 2A (coin rue de l’Abbaye); 1050 Bruxelles (maps and satellite information will be provided shortly).

The format will be simple:

People can first introduce themselves and tell us what they are interested in.

3 or 4 speakers will make a five to ten minute speech (no powerpoint slides allowed) and share some thought provoking experiences with the others.  The rest will be an open discussion, followed by networking.  Nice and easy.

No charge to come, as long as you register (to make sure we know who is coming).  Casual, friendly, basically a social network but offline.

We will focus on how you as an association or communication professional can get your head round key concepts and tools, how you can address objections, what works and what doesn’t.

Helen Dunnett will be back by popular demand, followed by my colleague Steffen (aka blogger steffen78) and myself.

Any suggestions for the format and topics are welcome.  If you want to come or bring a friend register on the hyperthinker ning or on the IABC ning - feel free to invite guests, just keep us posted on the numbers.

See you there.

Phil

Today I will be speaking at an event organized by IABC (www.iabc.be) on the subject of the impact the internet is having on the political world. In this post I will share a few links that the participants might want to visit:

The hyperthinker ning community: (http://hyperthinker.ning.com/) - it’s free to join and is a great place to get an experience of a small network. Ning has the added advantage of enable you to sign-up to several communities with the same login and password and consult them all from one place if you want to.

If you are a member of IABC, Hugh Barton Smith has just started a another ning community (http://be-iabc.ning.com/), which I strongly suggest you join, as it will be a good place to continue the discussions started at the forum.

You might also want to set-your own personal dashboard by going to netvibes.  In order to select interesting blogs you might want to check some selections we have made on a range of topics:

Environmental topics: http://www.netvibes.com/environmentdashboard

Food related issues: http://www.netvibes.com/fooddashboard

Energy related issues: http://www.netvibes.com/energydashboard

I also wanted to list some of the blogs of the participants:

Helen has made a great start at a very interesting blog that has the advantage of coming from the perspective of someone who worked in a Brussels association and is sharing her ‘learning experience’ with people who are eager to learn. She also is very active on twitter so if you want to follow her trial and tribulations sign-up with her:
http://hdunnett.wordpress.com/

Check out the blog/site she helped set-up at ECPA (www.ecpa.be): www.persticideinformation.eu

Mathew blog’s at blogactiv (which he helped to create): http://mathew.blogactiv.eu/

Neville is an established authority on all things new media and has a great podcast that can be checked here.
http://www.nevillehobson.com/

I also recommend checking out Steffen’s blog (http://steffen78.wordpress.com) (who works at ZN with me) which gives you some penetrating thoughts on political communication and the internet.

Looking forward to continuing our conversation.

We had a coaching session last week on developing the right attitude to work together as a team. Earlier in the morning, I come accross this nice video called Smile and Move, I wanted to share this because it is something that might brighten you day. Also nice web production, using the same style as the ‘girl effect’ but with a different angle. It shows how a simple production can deliver a powerful message.

Those were the last words of Seth Godin from a presentation he just made at TED on the power of Tribes.

A great thought provoking presentation from a famous blogger who wrote a free ebook called The Ideavirus which propelled him to hyperfame.

Several things tribes need:

- To challenge the status quo
- To Create a culture (a language that means something to the people in the tribe)
- Curiosity - to learn about what the others know in the tribe
- To connect
- An to commit to the tribe.

Sounds like a good plan. Working on to build the hyperthinker tribe (we have language, a blog, a community). Now we need to get a thousand people to join to get the ball rolling.

On May 28th, I will be speaking at an event organised by IABC (the international association of business communicators). Helen Dunnett, client and leading Brussels blogger will be joining us alongside a panel of experts.

Check out the info below (from the IABC site) and register here

A broad panel of social networking practitioners discuss how to weave your issues into the fabric of web 2.0 and gain influence through wider engagement.

* From Facebook via Linked In to Twitter, more and more people
are interacting professionally and politically online.
* Major news vehicles are adding their voices to the blogosphere.
* Companies and institutions are increasingly YouTubing.
* Even Queen Elizabeth II is now using email.

And for the moment all you’ve got is a web site.
Your presence on the net is a billboard in a side street.
This seminar is designed to explore how your messages can leap off that wall and mingle with the crowds where they congregate.

Panelists include:

* Charles Crouch, eBusiness Lecturer at Boston University,
* Helen Dunnett, a pioneer of Web 2 for the ECPA trade association,
* Philip Weiss, internet entrepreneur and HyperThinker from ZN,
* Mathew Lowry, the driving force behind the launch of Blogactiv,
* And over the web, the UK’s influential blogger and podcaster Neville Hobson.

Date: 2009-05-28

Event time: 14:30 - 17:30

Venue:
Boston University in Brussels
Boulevard du Triomphe 174

1160 Brussels
Join us for an intense afternoon of presentations and discussions on how to navigate today’s information stream.
Places are limited by the venue so get your registration in now!
Only €60 (€90 for non-members).

Register for this event

I just finished reading ‘Leadership In the Era of Economic Uncertainty’ by Ram Charan and I found it a very practical guide for senior executives during the downturn we are currently facing.  It provides useful advice and gives a down to earth approach and shows how being prepared, facing reality and communicating clearly with your team and suppliers your current situation and approach.   Ram Charan also does a very good job at showing what priorities need to change in this context and how it affects every key parts (and roles) of the business.  I feel that he doesn’t overplay the downturn and the ‘worst thing since the 1930s’ panic angle that journalists seem to be relishing and but he also avoids the cliché this is a great opportunity for everyone.  He is realistic when he says that most companies will face negative growth and need to prepare for keeping focus on cash and coming through what could be a prolonged situation (one to three years in his estimates).

His advice his summarized in the amazon editorial review page:

• Protect cash flow vigilantly, even daily, and use cash more efficiently
• Use ground intelligence to survive the storm and position your business to thrive in the aftermath
• Develop a better understanding of your customers
• Reevaluate your pricing strategy and capital expenditures.
• Use cost cutting strategically

All of these are explained in a clear and concise way and give concerned executives a framework in which to approach the recession and plan ahead.

Perhaps insufficient attention is paid to the opportunities that this environment creates for corporations, such as making much needed changes to the communication approach and rethinking certain aspects of the corporate structure that have been shielded from changes by the ‘good times’.  In my mind, this period is a time to challenge, rethink and review what didn’t work as well as it should.  However Ram Charan identifies the key fundamentals and I am sure senior executives will find a very useful read.