Transcript -
JOHNA BURKE: Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference and I’m joined by Sree.
Sree, will you please introduce yourself?
SREE SREENIVASAN: Hi, folks, I’m Sree Sreenivasan. I’m a dean of student affairs at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. And I teach in the digital media program there.
BURKE: And I’ve heard Sree speak a couple of times, and I always take away great value from the presentation. You know, I think it’s interesting that you were an early adopter of Google, but for things like Google Buzz and Google Wave, you haven’t quite seen the value of those things yet. So I think you have a really healthy perspective of how you look at things, and can you share some of those tips with the audience now about how they should try to find things and work them into what works for them as opposed to just adopting everything that’s out there?
SREENIVASAN: Sure. This is, I like to say, very–or in a very early time in social media. This is where the Internet was in 1996, where radio was in 1912, where TV was in 1950, which means there’s a lot of new stuff coming all the time and you have to decide, though, whether to jump on things or not.
My own rule is, I’ll only work with something once it fits into my work flow and my life flow. Work flow, life flow. If it doesn’t do both, it’s not for me. That doesn’t mean it’s not for other people.
So for example, Google Buzz and Google Wave are great examples of things that people love and thousands, millions of people maybe around the world use it. In fact, we all one day woke up and were on Google Buzz without knowing it because it’s something every Gmail user was on Google Buzz. But what I’ve—I say is find when–only when it’s time for that technology for you should you use it. So an example is Facebook. I work at a university and Facebook was available very early. I probably joined two years after everybody else did and couldn’t quite figure out how I can use it in my work till even after that. Same thing with Twitter. Once you find something, then you are ready for it, then you use it. Don’t panic, don’t worry that everybody’s using something that’s not important. Use the things that work for you.
The other thought about all of this is that it’s going to keep changing, and what we need to build is an ear that is listening to these new ideas and then looking for where we can–we can come aboard. Right now geolocation’s very big. I think it’s going to get bigger. Social media, I think, is much bigger than we imagined, and especially PR people need to be paying attention.
BURKE: Great, Sree. And where can people find you online and in social media?
SREENIVASAN: Sure. My main web address is sree.net. So if you Google “Sree” I come up first. But Sree Stinks come ups–comes up afterwards, which doesn’t matter because the main thing is that I come up first. But you can also find me on Twitter @sreenet, S-R-E-E-N-E-T, and on Facebook I have a page where I’m posting tech tips, job ideas, which is sree–sreetips. So it’s www.facebook.com/sreetips.
BURKE: Great. Thank you so much.
SREENIVASAN: Thanks.
I Want To Live In The Future Too! QR Codes And The Storytelling Experience
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010Denise Giacin*
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a PRSA-NY book signing at Baruch College/CUNY for Nick Bilton’s new book I Live In The Future & Here’s How It Works. New York Times reporter and Bits blog technology writer, Nick Bilton presented his book and offered his perspective of the changes in the world’s media landscape. Bilton stressed the need and importance for people to adapt to these changes (no more “this is too advanced for me” excuses).
One of the changes Bilton points out is the shift in people paying for experiences, not content. Without giving too much away, he talks about when he actually cancelled his home delivery of the New York Times. This was shocking for me to hear at first. But when I read about why he chose to cancel, I completely understood. Staying true to his beliefs, Bilton’s book provides the reader with a unique experience by having a QR (Quick Read) code – a type of bar code – at the beginning of each chapter.
I downloaded ScanLife (one of many applications available for reading QR codes) onto my Droid X and was able to scan the QR code. The code prompted my phone to open its browser for additional content on nickbilton.com related to the chapter I was reading. There were videos, links, and even a comments section. I was very impressed and certainly felt like these additions enhanced my experience of reading the book.
Another important topic, in I Live In The Future & Here’s How It Works, is the idea of “anchoring communities” and pertains to how we organize all of the information we receive through the web. Who we are friends with on Facebook and who we follow on Twitter, for example, help make up this community as a way to filter what information we pay attention to. I think it is imperative for organizations to realize people are receiving their information quickly and from many different channels.
Bilton’s book is straightforward and honest. He writes, “I’m not going to wake up one day and say, ‘Hey, the Web isn’t for me, I’m going to start buying CDs, print books, and newspapers again.’ I’m among the era of new consumers and contributors, and we’re looking for new forms of content and storytelling.”
If you are struggling to get a grasp on these concepts, I strongly suggest you pick up I Live In The Future & Here’s How It Works. Other topics in Bilton’s book discuss the correlation between video games and the performance of surgeons, how our brains adapt to change, the concept of “1, 2, 10”, and technologies in the not-so-distant future.
If you’ve read Bilton’s book, what are some of the points you found most relevant to the communications industry? How will you be applying his concepts to your next PR or marketing initiative? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.
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*Bio: Prior to joining the BurrellesLuce Client Service team in 2008, Denise worked in the marketing industry for three years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Connecticut, where she gained experience interning in PR and working for student organizations. By engaging readers on the Fresh Ideas blog Denise hopes to further her understanding of client needs. In her spare time, she is passionate about Team in Training (The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s charity sports training program) and baking cupcakes. Her claim to fame: red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. LinkedIn: dgiacin Twitter: @denise10283 Facebook: BurrellesLuce
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