As I drive south tomorrow to my alma mater in Charleston, Ill., I’ll no doubt enjoy memories of my years spent there as a journalism major.

But 2008 isn’t 1980 (the year I graduated), and I expect to have some frank discussions with former journalism instructors and colleagues (and perhaps, some current students) about the current state of the profession. I haven’t walked into a newsroom in about a decade, but I suspect that many are subdued, because of the decline in print advertising and economic forces that are behind continuing staff reductions in many newspapers across the country. Some long-time professionals have had enough—as evidenced by this July 14 article regarding a resignation at the Chicago Tribune.

The workforce and business environment continue to change, not always for the better. Although my B.A. degree from Eastern Illinois University may not be as high as it once was, it remains indispensable to me. I’ve been committed for many years to the concept of being a “life-long learner.” That led me to earn accreditation through the International Association of Business Communicators, and to hone skills in newer communication methods and technologies, including blogging and podcasting.

My professional and personal life today doesn’t look anything like I would have imagined it turning out when I graduated from EIU. Challenges, disappointments, minor successes and major “growth opportunities” continue to be part of my work and life.

Tomorrow, however, will not be a day to dwell on what life isn’t…it will be a day to enjoy life as it is.

The weeks have gone by without a new post, even though every day I conceive of two or more potential ideas for posts. Creativity has not meshed with opportunity and energy. Same excuse that a lot of nonwriting writers could use.

I’m very busy, however, currently involved in separate program planning and activities through my church youth group and the International Association of Business Communicators’ social responsibility initiative. This Friday, I will drive down to Charleston, Ill. to participate in a charity golf outing organized by the Journalism Department of my alma mater, Eastern Illinois University. I’m looking forward to seeing some former colleagues–even though I’m embarrassed that the slim, dark-haired journalism major they remember has morphed into a Lou Grant look-alike.

Thanks for stopping by.

During a much-needed and unplanned sabbatical from podcasting and blogging, I thought about my plans for this site. CommaKazi Speek began as an extension of my desire to delve into the world of social media. First, I blogged. Then I created podcasts.

Both ventures provided me with practical experience and a better perspective of this portion of the social media space. They helped me to connect with other bloggers and podcasters. They let me stretch my professional skill set while having fun.

Like a lot of people, I have plans for my life–both professionally and personally. Those plans change at times, due to circumstances or opportunities. I wondered whether my blog and podcast could help me launch into a different phase of my career. They didn’t. They remain a hobby without reward, other than personal satisfaction.

That only goes so far, when I have to balance other commitments and responsibilities. So I’m planning to shut down my CommaKazi Speek podcast site as soon as I ready this blog to handle podcasts. Why pay Libsyn to store my old shows, when I can’t be sure when I will have new content ready to post? I’ll be downloading PodPress and then using it to distribute any podcasts that I choose to create in the future.

At the same time, I’ll be changing the focus of this blog…sort of. In June 2005 I launched the predecessor of this blog on Blogger.com. My purpose for launching the site was to prepare me to blog as a volunteer at the 2005 IABC International Conference. I believed that blogging at the IABC conference would:

• help me to focus during the conference
• broaden my networking efforts
• force me to dive into this blogging thing

My final reason given at the time was that Warren Bickford, 2005 IABC Chair, had asked for volunteers, and “it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Those initial posts on the IABC Cafe opened the door for me to continue posting there for a couple of years, while I moved this blog to its current home.

Because I started blogging at an international conference for communicators on its blog, the focus of my blog posts up to now primarily has been on communications issues. About what else was I going to write?

As time passed, although I was careful to keep a self-imposed wall between my work as a corporate communicator and my opinions expressed on the two blogs (mine and the IABC Cafe), that wall negatively impacted my ability to write meaningful posts regarding communication trends and experiences. The bottom-line point for this post is that I plan to move away from communication issues…sort of.

I’ll write more about this tomorrow.

While waiting for a flight to Chicago after the 2007 International Conference of the IABC, I spent some time recording a conversation with Ned Lundquist, ABC. Follow this link to the podcast, and enjoy a 9-minute conversation that touched upon the IABC conference, observations about New Orleans, Ned’s Job-of-the-Week email newsletter and website, and the current job market for communicators.

One correction to my recorded introduction: Ned now is with Alion Science and Technology.

I’m a member of the International Association of Business Communicators, and a new member of its advocacy initiative, led by IABC member Mike Zimet.

We could debate a long time about the meaning of “advocacy” and how IABC could address it as an organization. I’m dividing the subject into three distinct parts, two of which have been discussed in Mike’s most recent post and all of the subsequent comments. I personally feel compelled to support the third part of advocacy, along with other interested IABC members. The three parts are:

1) Advocacy focused on our profession. Who has ever attended a communications-related conference or seminar without hearing someone say that communicators need a “seat at the table” where the decisions are made? This part of advocacy would help to raise the awareness of the role of effective, strategic communications within an organization or other operating entity.

2) Advocacy focused on our association. Mike Klein summarizes this by highlighting the need “to find more and more effective ways of promoting what our members bring to our clients and communities’ respective tables.” We must raise awareness of IABC, both from a leadership spokesperson perspective and as professionals within the organizations that employ our services. In the same recent post on the IABC Advocacy Commons, Kristen Sukalac makes an important distinction between an association and/or its members “speaking out” and “taking a position.”

3) Advocacy focused on social responsibility. I spent a lot of time at the recent IABC International Conference in New Orleans passing out information about the IABC Advocacy Initiative and talking with IABC members. I received the most enthusiastic responses when I talked about using our communication skills and experience to “make a difference” globally and locally, as we would support charitable organizations and causes, and allow them to “Be Heard.”

The vision that I discussed with Mike Zimet includes working with local IABC chapters throughout the world, helping them to identify local causes or organizations that need the kind of help that chapter members could provide on a pro-bono basis. This could:

• Enhance the professional image and personal self-esteem of individual chapter members who volunteer for pro-bono work in the local community. Want proof? Ask anyone who swung a hammer or carried lumber at the Habitat for Humanity project in New Orleans. Better yet, ask to see the video of the project that was shown at a general session during the IABC conference. Imagine how we will feel when we give back to the community using our greatest skill: The ability to communicate.
• Boost the image of local chapters by offering something tangible to promote in addition to the monthly networking luncheon.
• Enhance the image of IABC as an association, as it benefits from the many acts of service done by IABC members and chapters.

A beautiful part of this is that it can develop organically, without the need for micro-management by the IABC Executive Board, staff, or the heads of the Advocacy Initiative. These efforts would benefit from some way(s) to share ideas, resources, information and success stories. At little or no expense, that would be easy using various forms of social media, including wikis, blogs, instant messaging, vidcasting, and digital image storage–most of which is available right now from free-to-join social networking sites including The Communicators’ Network and MyRagan.

It is exciting to see the progress being made in different pieces of the advocacy initiative. I will be working on the social responsibility piece., and would love to hear from anyone interested in helping to make it happen. Contact me through this blog or by sending an email to tomATcommakazispeekDOTcom. (Substitute the @ symbol for AT and a period for DOT in this email address.) [UPDATE July 9, 2007] I’m deleting this invitation to contact me about the social responsibility portion of the IABC Advocacy Initiative because I don’t want to appear to be working apart from the IABC Advocacy team, led by Mike Zimet. A social responsibility subcommittee has been working under the IABC Advocacy Initiative group for several months. For now, your interest in participating is enough; we will hear more from the SR subcommittee about how to help in coming weeks.

I’m in New Orleans for the annual international conference of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). I’m going to be busy attending the conference and conference-related events, as well as meeting up with colleagues as much as possible.

I expect to have a lot of content for blog posts, but may have to keep them short until I return home.

I have recorded two very short podcasts that I’m calling “Quick ‘n Dirty New Orleans.” These will be unedited podcasts recorded during my stay here in the Big Easy. My work computer doesn’t have any audio editing software installed, and you have to be an administrator to do so–which I am not.

But what’s wrong with spontaneity and a rough edge?

If you are in New Orleans, leave me a message here, or at the IABC Message Center. I’d like to meet as many of my readers as possible. Maybe we’ll record a podcast together?

UPDATE: I’ve posted some newer podcasts, including one regarding a fundraiser for the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center. If you read this on Saturday, June 23, head over to the CAC for a fun adult event.

Today is the one-month anniversary of the official launch of MyRagan, Ragan Communications‘  social networking site for communicators.  In contrast, Melcrum Publishing’s The Communicators’ Network, has been “live” for less than one week. Is it too soon to compare the two? Yesano (yes and no).

MyRagan (MyR) and The Communicators’ Network (TCN) share some common functionality that can be compared and contrasted. In addition, both offer (or plan to offer) features that are distinct from the other. Finally, the tone of the site designs and writing are dramatically different, and well worth discussing.

Both MyR and TCN have to be considered works in progress–each site has its share of items that will require tweaking or repair. TCN co-owner Robin Crumby has provided some glimpses into new features that will be added to TCN in coming weeks and months. MyR, perhaps because it is more of an “out-of-the-box” solution, has announced less to add in terms of features. Both sites need some tweaking, in my opinion, in terms of the user-experience.

Here is a quick listing of features that both MyR and TCN offer:

1. Site Home Page
2. Member Profile Page
3. Forum for general discussion threads
4. Groups for discussion specific to topic or interest
5. Blogs
6. Message notifications
7. Ability to invite others to join the site or a group within the site
8. Calendar for member’s events

With a couple of exceptions, most of the above features are available through the navigation bar at the top of each site’s pages.  The calendar feature (events) is more useful on TCN because it allows a member to see all public events posted, not just the member’s own events. Also, MyR’s calendar is accessible only through the member’s profile.

Each of the two sites promises functionality that the other does not offer. MyR has an audio/video chat button on the main navigation and within the member profile; but it did not work when I tried it. Sometime within the next few weeks, TCN plans to open a “Knowledge Center” where members can catalog and link to their favorite content (e.g., case studies, white papers, and articles), saving fellow communicators search time. When TCN also implements a rating system, its members will be able to rate the usefulness and quality of that site’s content catalog.  

One feature that MyR offers that I really like is the ability to set up RSS feeds and to link to the member’s external blogs through the profile. TCN allows a member to set up RSS feeds on the member’s home page, but it does not offer the easy way to link to the member’s external blog; its blog is strictly for content posted on TCN.

The final comparison points that I plan to cover in this blog post are site design and writing tone.  I asked myself if I would be comfortable having these sites visible on my work computer when a coworker or boss would stop by. The answer is a strong “yes” with TCN, and a strong “maybe” with MyR.

TCN reflects the appearance and tone of its “parent,” Melcrum Publishing. It is clean, clearly professional and expects more “proper” (my word) behavior by its members. For example, one of TCN’s rules for its forums is presented this way: “We are all adults here so we should be able to debate issues without resorting to bad language or insults. Depending on the context/nature, posts containing offending copy may just get edited.”

MyR reflects the design and writing tone of Ragan Communications–which is more in-your-face. The home page includes videos that poke fun at communication issues and situations. Headlines and captions such as, “We unstick heads from asses” and “Ragan writer/comic Kevin Allen shows us the King of Cocky, Mr. Sensitive, Suck-Up Sam and Larry Lazy Bones,” share space with amazing free content, including eight pages of tips related to intranets, written by ”intranet gurus.”

MyR has attracted thousands of communicators, while TCN is just getting started, and has several hundred. The larger community can be both a blessing and a curse, in my experience. MyRagan has a lot to offer, but it also feels congested, with too much coming at me all of the time.

Certainly the conversations within MyR’s forums and groups are constant and full of energy. David Murray is doing a terrific job as forum moderator/editor, and demonstrates the value of having someone leading conversations when necessary, or moderating discussions that become TOO lively.

However, I have noticed how my personal desire is waning to wade through the ever-growing list of topics. Search helps, but the search results for more common words or phrases can still be daunting. TCN has less conversations happening, but nearly all of the forum posts offer valuable input.

Do I plan to pick one of the two sites over the other? Yesano.

TCN and MyR are distinct enough to make it worthwhile for me to continue to participate in each community. Because I have to budget my time and energy, I’ll spend more time in whichever of the two communities provides me with the greatest amount of “value.”   

Melcrum Publishing has launched its entry into the social networking sphere. The Communicators’ Network now joins Ragan Communication’s MyRagan as the two social networking sites for communicators that offer free access to colleagues across the globe to networking, discussion forums, blogging, resources and more.

While the two sites will invite comparisons, I’m going to wait a bit to see how The Communicators’ Network is received in terms of member signups and participation. I’ve participated in MyRagan for some time now, and separately have offered some suggestions to the people behind Melcrum’s product. I’ll have little trouble comparing and contrasting the two sites. Yes, there are some contrasts; these are not mirror images of each other from a cookie-cutter approach to site design.

Some great discussion already has surfaced within the communications blogosphere regarding how the emergence of these social networking sites may impact professional associations such as the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

Now that the game is on, that picture should become clearer. 

Ahh, it’s just like the holidays around the social networking world these days. Excitement about the “next new thing” (Ragan Communications’ MyRagan.com), anticipation about the “next, next new thing” (Melcrum’s Communicators’ Network), and a spat that leaves everyone hurt, disappointed and wondering where the love went.

I’ve read posts from the two people at the center of this spat, and really don’t care to spend much more time on the matter–unless one of them starts bitch-slapping the other; then, get me a front-row seat! In keeping with the holiday theme of this post, I’ll suggest that they meet under the mistletoe, kiss, and make up.

In the meantime, the more important lesson to be learned from this spat and the launch of these potentially ground-breaking sites (at least for the communications profession) is being missed. That lesson is: Use emotional energy wisely; it is not unlimited, and often is not renewable. I was reminded of that recently when I heard a radio discussion involving “Christmas cards in May.”

Who bothers with Christmas cards this many months after the holiday? Surprisingly, some people do, and the reason why might be useful for the people who run MyRagan and The Communicators’ Network. Actually, a radio show host and her recent guest were talking about the bother of unopened Christmas cards still sitting on countertops in their homes. The radio show host made a very astute observation about why she hadn’t dealt with those unopened cards in her home.

She said, “I realized that I didn’t want to open those cards because I wasn’t ready to spend the emotional energy” that would be drained when the radio show host would read those cards, think about those people, and have to deal with issues and memories that those cards would uncover. It was a necessary part of her coping mechanism to limit the expenditure of emotional energy.

That is happening to everyone who is engaged in MyRagan and other social networking sites. The excitement about the possibilities and benefits of opening the “card” leads to a rush of unexpected issues and memories that cry for attention. One personal recollection: I remember having to stand up in my second grade classroom at St. Timothy Elementary School in Chicago, because I had just been introduced as one of the “new students.” I remember nervously looking around at the faces of these strangers, trying to find someone who was smiling in a friendly way. It took time, but I made friends and eventually felt comfortable in that “community.”

I’ve learned in the years following my experience in second grade that it is easy to make acquaintences, but friends are much fewer–and much more precious. Fast-forward to a few weeks ago when I joined MyRagan. I immediately had four or five members of the Ragan staff send me requests to be their “friend.” That was followed by several additional requests from other MyRagan members to be friends as well. I struggled over each request for “MyRagan friendship”…was it a good fit? Would I have the energy to engage each of these individuals in meaningful dialogue and friendly discourse?

Then I joined a couple of groups and checked out the forums. My emotional energy meter dropped as quickly as the ball in Times Square on New Year’s Eve (another holiday reference). Long lists of emails in the Message Center, asking for help, support, guidance. I soon became numb, seeing strings of identical message titles, including nine items identically titled, “Re: Advice on convincing execs to manage internal comms,” three items identically titled,”Re: Anyone notice communications is misspell…” and a seemingly never-ending string of items identically titled, “Re: Heard you Killed Em!” (from the Uncle Fester and His Peeps Group).

This is what is happening in some social networking sites: People are overwhelming the message boards with emails and gathering as many “friends” as possible, while bypassing the step of determining whether what they have to offer, or say, or ask, is germane and of interest to the person(s) who receive their invites, emails, or comments. Then you add spats like I’ve mentioned earlier, and people really question whether time spent reading and thinking and worrying about these things is worth it, emotionally.

Draining the emotional energy of members unnecessarily may lead to members deciding to avoid the networking site all together, or to limit contacts with it–just like the person who is facing those unopened Christmas cards. I mean, if the bitch-slapping doesn’t happen, don’t you just want to say, “Bah, humbug”?
tom+keefe MyRagan Melcrum social+networking emotional+energy

As a professional communicator and a member of the International Association of Business Communicators, I’m growing increasingly frustrated by a lack of communication from IABC leadership on two subjects.

The first subject is the IABC’s own international conference, set to open in just about a month (June 24-27, 2007 in New Orleans, LA, USA). I’d think that the association would have been promoting the conference for some time now, but with just weeks to go before the event starts, we’ve heard barely a word.

The last mention of the conference on IABC’s official blog, the IABC Cafe, was one I wrote related to a planned crisis communications preconference workshop. That post was on April 18. It was followed by two weeks of silence from the rest of the Cafe bloggers, until 2006-07 Chair Glenda Holmes, ABC, wrote a brief post on May 4 on an unrelated topic. No one has posted on the Cafe since then about…well, about anything.

No update either on In Session, the “official blog of the IABC International Conference.”   IABC staffer Chris Grossgart told us in a May 4 post to expect weekly podcasts, insider information and more from two well-known podcasters and a team of bloggers. Chris did state that the blogging wouldn’t begin until the start of the conference. My question is: Why wait? Don’t we want to generate interest in the conference in the weeks leading up to the opening sessions?

The second subject that has remained undiscussed online by IABC is the emergence of  opportunities and challenges created by social networking sites and ad hoc event planning. Professional organizations including the IABC historically have provided their members with a package of services and benefits that have added value to memberships. Join and receive networking opportunities with other members, proprietary research and opinion relevent to the member’s profession, and the opportunity to attend events developed and managed by the member organization.

As proven by MyRagan, the social networking site for communicators that recently was launched by Ragan Communications, Inc., people are willing to look elsewhere for the products and services that used to be tied to professional associations. When you toss in the fact that these social networking sites don’t charge for membership and basic services, you beg the question that has remained unaddressed by IABC and other associations: What is the business case for professional associations in this new world?

I can think of some answers, but like I said, it’s time for IABC and other associations to join the conversation.