This is a list of members of the Texas School Public Relations Association who are on Twitter. If you are a School PR/Education Foundation Pro who would like to be added, email me at terrymorawski@gmail.com with the following: Name, Title, School District/Organization Name, Twitter name.
Boykin, Alicia - Web Specialist, Mansfield ISD, @adboykin Brown, Tommy - Public Information Officer, Alvarado ISD, @tommylbrown Cantu, Jerry - Multimedia Specialist, Mansfield ISD, @davidjcantu *Domitrovich, Brad - Director of Comm/PR, Bandera ISD, @braddomitrovich Escovedo, Richie - Comm Spec/Webmaster, Mansfield ISD, @vedo LaGrone, Charlotte - Dir of Comm Relations/Ed Found, Weatherford ISD, @clagrone Morawski, Terry - Director of Communications, Mansfield ISD, @morate Nielsen, Dave - Assistant Webmaster, Hurst-Euless Bedford ISD, @davidnielsen
This week, we will take a look at Twitter. Honestly, Twitter is a wide open opportunity for our organization. Because the tool is so simple, building strategy around Twitter is much like discussing a strategy for how to use the telephone. Our Twitter recommendation will very likely evolve as those of you who are just trying out the service become more comfortable. Mon/Tues: (If you already have an account, skip to #2.)
1.Go to twitter.com and register for an account. I'd get a personal account, just to play around if you are new to the service. Find 10 to 20 people to follow. There are some suggestions below. You can use the basic Twitter interface or get an app.(Desktop:Twhirl,Tweetdeck,Tweetie(Mac only); iPhone: Tweetie, Twitterfon; Blackberry:Twitterberry) The experience is much easier and more fun via apps, although the basic Twitter interface at twitter.com adds features everyday.
2. Find examples of professional organizations, corporations or other organizations using Twitter. You can follow them or just make note in the comments. Note anything you like or dislike about their Twitter presence. (If you don't feel you are a good judge of this yet, that's okay.)
Quick word of warning: Once you get a little comfortable on the service, it's easy to feel like posting any thought that pops into your head is appropriate. Twitter is public and can be easily searched. So, just basically be smart. I always follow the general rule that if I hesitate in posting something, I probably should not post it at all. That said, have fun!
Wed:
Thurs/Fri:
A few lists of people you might want to pay attention to:
Are you trying to monitor news, but just can't keep up? Have you realized how much information is available online but felt overwhelmed trying to keep track of it all? RSS is the secret weapon you need to become a news super hero.
RSS news feeds let you view news from many websites in one place. The potential is amazing! Anyone can monitor news from parents' blogs, other school districts, updates to specific Twitter and Wikipedia pages, and nearly any other website, all in less time than it would take to visit a handful of sites and check if they have anything new. And, it's so easy that you can get started in just 3 steps:
Step 1) Sign up for a Google Reader account. - You need an "RSS reader" (sometimes called an Aggregator) where you can choose news feeds you want to subscribe to and read their contents. Google Reader is great: it's free, it's easy, it's web-based (so you can log in from any computer), and you can use an existing Google account if you want.
Step 2) Get the web address of an RSS file. - Go to almost any site that posts news items and look for a small orange square with white radio waves in the middle. That icon is the universal symbol for RSS. Right-click on that icon, copy the link or web address. That is the web address of an "RSS file" -- a special file setup by the website that contains all the information your RSS reader needs to know about new items being posted on the site. Sometimes, instead of the icon, there might be words like "RSS" or "Subscribe to this site".
Step 3) Paste the web address into Google Reader. - Go back to your RSS reader and look for a button or link to add a subscription or feed. Paste the link you copied into the space provided.
Done! You've subscribed to an RSS feed. Keep finding and adding feeds from sites with information that's valuable to you. Remember, you don't have to read everything -- a big part of reading RSS feeds is skimming and just reading the items that are actually relevant to you (and then impressing everyone around you with your vast, cutting edge knowledge)!
For the first week of the TSPRA OCC, we will tackle one of the greatest current online networking tools - LinkedIn. The base of LinkedIn is like an online contact manager. It's also a great place to share work experience/expertise, and to make connections with others with similar interests. TSPRA, as an organization, currently has no representation on LinkedIn. Our executive director, Judy Farmer, is a member and several other TSPRA members are using the site, but there is no formal way to connect as TSPRA members.
Assignments:
TUESDAY - Sign up for LinkedInhere. At the least, enter your current job information. Then search for and connect with three other TSPRA folks.(Hint: Judy Farmer and I are members. If you can't find a third, email me.) Then, please click on the comment link below and share your thoughts.(Remember, this is a public blog when commenting.) That's all for today, but feel free to click around within the service if you like.
WEDNESDAY - Today we will look at groups. Please join the newly created TSPRA group on LinkedIn. (I will have to approve you before you can get in there and play around, but I'll do it quick.) Feel free to invite your contacts. Also, if you'd like, add a topic of discussion in the group. Share your thoughts of the potential for this TSPRA group and how it can be used. Also, if you have any experience with other LinkedIn groups, what worked best for them or didn't work so well? Thanks again. Tomorrow we'll talk about real implementation of LinkedIn.
THURSDAY/FRIDAY - Today and tomorrow, we will discuss the real application of LinkedIn for TSPRA. Please answer the following questions in the comments. (I'll use your feedback to develop our official recommendation for LinkedIn.) 1. Who should manage the TSPRA LinkedIn group? 2. How much time do you feel will be required? 3. Where/how should TSPRA advertise its presence on LinkedIn, if at all? 4. Do you see LinkedIn more as a tool for communicating with members or for recruiting new members/promoting the organization? Both? Neither? 5. What role and/or regular interaction should the TSPRA Executive Director and Board have with the service, if any?
Lastly, thank you very much for your participation this week. We'll tackle blogs next week and go from there. - Terry
Welcome to the home of the TSPRA Online Communications Committee(OCC). This blog will host the work of the committee for the next six weeks(or longer, if needed). Each week, we will explore a new tool for our organization as we work toward a recommendation for the organization. The work of the committee officially begins Tuesday, April 14(2009), but feel free to jump ahead to the first assignment. Please direct any questions to Terry Morawski(terrymorawski@gmail.com), the Chair of this committee.
A recent article by UX Matters gave a very relevant example of web communication as part of the entire user experience: While working with a company call center receiving about 300,000 calls/year, the article’s author found that about 55% of callers were asking one of three questions: • Where can I purchase product X • I have a broken product X; where can I get it repaired? • I have product X; how can I get a new copy of the product X manual? Of course, all of this information was available on the company website. As a temporary solution, a message was added to the on-hold music to remind callers about the information on the website. The result? The callers became more irate – it turns out that many callers had tried looking on the website and hadn’t found the information. In the end, the design of the website was adjusted to feature the information that visitors were most likely to need, resulting in 25% fewer calls to the call center. The story emphasizes two great lessons: First, online information must be easy to find or it might as well not be there. It’s not enough just to post information online. Second, we should be very aware of all communications with stakeholders, whether they come through our department or not. What are you doing to make online information easy to find, and where are you finding guidance on what information stakeholders are actually looking for on your district's website? (Posted by Guest Blogger - Dave Nielsen, Asst.Webmaster, HEB ISD)
This is the official blog of the North Texas regional group of the Texas School Public Relations Association. Are you a school PR/Education Foundation Pro or interested in school PR as a career? Visit the TSPRA Web site.
All posting of comments on this blog are at the discretion of the editor, terrymorawski@gmail.com . We welcome all comments and look forward to what you have to say. Guest bloggers are welcome. If you'd like in on that action, let me know.
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