Social Media as an Internal Tool -- The Need For Strategy & Policy

Prompted by discussion from the Feb. 24 visit to Marist by a talented IBM communication team (read http://bit.ly/hubbVS), I located this video of IBM's Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications Jon Iwata speaking about the value of using social media as an internal (employee) communication tool.

In the video, Iwata dispels concerns and misunderstandings about social media and employees from a senior leadership perspective by making the following points.

“As with any use of Web 2.0, you have to get comfortable with control. You can’t control what employees are going to be talking about, or publishing, or stating. Are they going to criticize management sometimes? Of course, but they’re doing it anyway. Are they going to contribute ideas and expect them to be acted upon? Yes, to some degree. So, we [IBM] have seen great benefit of using social media inside the business for all of these reasons, and we can use them [social media tools] strategically.”

Elaborating on the issue of corporate control over social media, Iwata added:

“The first thing that we’ve learned about the issue of control when it comes to social media in your own workforce, is that almost every nightmare scenario you can come up with is probably already covered by existing policy and practice. And the top ones are things like:

-- disclosure of confidential or proprietary information.
-- criticism of management.
-- inappropriate language or attacks on individuals.

“Not only do you know what to do with the case of social media, but it’s easier to identify what’s going on.

“The biggest thing I’d say is to make it very clear in your guidelines, to the employee, you have to make it clear when you are speaking as an employee of the company, or as a citizen, in expressing a personal opinion or point of view. And, as long as that is really made clear, employees, we’ve found, can be trusted.”

Here's the interview with Iwata:



I also found the following video of Jeremiah Owyang, a Web strategist, responding to corporate concerns about the risks of social media and employee communication. According to Owyang:

“In order to respond, companies need to … understand that this is unavoidable, you can’t stop this groundswell of information… The best way to deal with this is to have a plan…. Only about 20% of this is about technology. The other 80% is about strategy, process, roles, having all the things internally lined up.”

Here is video of Owyang:

Follow Production of 25th Annual Marist Silver Needle Fashion Show

Production of the 2011 Marist College Silver Needle Fashion Show is well under way. Celebrating the show's 25th anniversary, Marist will hold two shows in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on May 5. A special show honoring iconic fashion designer Betsey Johnson will also be held in New York City on May 11.

Go to the Marist College Fashion Program's website at http://www.marist.edu/commarts/fashion/ to read more, watch video highlights from last year's show, and order tickets for the 2011 shows.

Meanwhile, follow the making of the 25th annual show. Get updates, watch video interviews with designers, and more on:

• Twitter: @fashionatmarist
• Blogger: fashionatmarist.blogspot.com
• Facebook: Fashion @ Marist

For additional information, contact Caitlin Louie, Marist College, at caitlin.louie1@marist.edu.

Photo by Michael Polito
Photography L.L.C.

Marist PR Student Named President of New Student Entrepreneurship Network: First Meeting Wednesday, Feb. 23, 12 p.m.

Sabrina Clark

Senior communication major Sabrina Clark (PR and Spanish) has been named president of the new Marist College Student Entrepreneur Network (MSEN). The MSEN will hold its first meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., in Donnelly Hall 236. The meeting is open to all interested Marist students.

The MSEN will help students learn how to develop and implement plans for business, communication, technology, and resource management in start-up companies. The MSEN is also expected to generate internship opportunities for Marist students. Marist Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer William Thirsk, Director of of Strategic Initiatives Anthony DiMarco, and several faculty and staff members are providing guidance to the MSEN, but the network is led and managed by students. Marist Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer William Thirsk, Director of of Strategic Initiatives Anthony DiMarco, and several faculty and staff members are providing guidance to the MSEN, but the network is led and managed by students.

Sabrina is also the outgoing president of Marist's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, which is currently working with the MSEN, to launch an incorporated, student-run public relations firm. Once the firm is established, it will be able to work with clients to develop public relations and marketing plans; design strategies for social media, Website development, and other online communication efforts, etc.

According to Mr. DiMarco, "Many of the problems start-ups grapple with include marketing and public relations. We hope that the start-ups will use Marist's student-run public relations firm to support their communication needs."

According to Ms. Clark, the MSEN is an organization whose mission is to cultivate a mutually positive, learning and working relationship between Marist students and entrepreneurs within the Hudson Valley. Its goal is to invite entrepreneurs of start-ups in the area to Marist to host skull sessions, or brainstorming meetings, with students. In these meetings, the CEO(s) and students will collaborate on various aspects of the company. The MSEN is intended for ALL MAJORS. In turn, these start-ups will seek to fill numerous internship positions with Marist students.

John Galanti

The MSEN's first event on Feb. 23 will include a brief informational session to discuss the logistics and benefits of MSEN. Then, John Galanti, a local entrepreneur and venture capitalist, will speak to students about his experiences as an entrepreneur and provide tips and tricks about the professional world.

John Galanti was founder and CEO of Hudson Valley DataNet until it was acquired by Light Tower Fibernetworks. After the acquisition, John founded the Orange County Angel Network, one of the most successful of its kind in the Hudson Valley. He had recently invested in numerous start-up companies in the area, including one company who will be sponsoring MSEN's next event.

For more information concerning MSEN and its events, contact Sabrina Clark at sabrina.clark1@marist.edu or Anthony DiMarco at anthony.dimarco@marist.edu.

Application Deadline: Fall Marist in Manhattan Program - March 11

Marist in Manhattan is an exciting, new residential program that allows students to spend a semester in New York City to take advantage of the opportunity to do a full-time internship with a major media company, plus take online courses. Click here for details.

Students can learn more about this unique opportunity at upcoming information sessions:

• WEDNESDAY, Feb. 23, 11 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Lowell Thomas 211
• TUESDAY, March 2, 11 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Donnelly Hall 254

The deadline for applying to the Marist in Manhattan Program is Friday, March 11.

Contact Prof. Gerry McNulty, director of Marist's Communication Internship Program, Lowell Thomas 211A; phone (845) 575-3655 or FAX (845) 575-3696; gerald.mcnulty@marist.edu.

Not "Watson" ... But Close: IBM Communication Team Visits Marist

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY -- In the wake of Watson's success (IBM's new Jeopardy champion and deep question answering computer), Marist College will host an IBM "dream team" of communication experts who will meet with students and faculty on Thursday, Feb. 24, to answer questions about communications, public relations, marketing, social media, and technology. The team's visit, hosted by Marist's School of Communication and the Arts, will include information interviews about IBM communication internships; a workshop covering new technologies, social media, and careers in communication; a luncheon with invited students and faculty members; and presentations to public relations classes.

Chris Andrews

The IBM communication team includes Mr. Chris Andrews, Marist alumnus ('92) and manager of communications for IBM research; Mr. Jim Keller, Marist adjunct communication faculty member and director of communications for IBM.com; Mr. John Rooney, Marist alumnus ('95) and program manager for IBM innovation and collaboration; Ms. Jenny Sussin, Marist alumna ('09) and associate marketing manager for IBM's software group; and Ms. Adrienne Sabilia, Marist alumna ('10) and communications professional for IBM's IT analyst relations.

John Rooney

Dr. Mark A. Van Dyke, an associate professor of communication at Marist, encouraged students, faculty, staff and administrators from around the Marist campus, regardless of academic discipline, to attend the workshop, which will be held in the Lowell Thomas Center from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. According to Van Dyke, "Workshop attendees are in for a real treat. Many people outside of the communication profession might not realize the talent represented by this IBM team. These are leaders and future leaders of an organization ranked among the top 15 Fortune 500 companies in the world ... and they're at the cutting edge of where the communication profession is heading."

Jenny Sussin

Van Dyke, discussing the composition of the IBM team, observed, "John Rooney wrote the book on social computing at IBM and helped the company create its social computing guidelines. Jim Keller has held many high-level positions at IBM and currently is an IBM communication director. He devotes many hours of his time to mentoring Marist interns at IBM and teaching courses in our communication program. Chris Andrews is a master at managing crisis communication and has a knack for demonstrating how to apply textbook knowledge to the real world."

Adrienne Sabilia

Van Dyke added, "Jenny Sussin and Adrienne Sabilia, as recent graduates, are well-known around Marist. Both were outstanding students at Marist and they have demonstrated their capabilities by making a smooth transition to the career field and quickly establishing a professional reputation at IBM."

During the workshop session, the IBM team is expected to address:

• growing pressure on businesses to become "social," effects on business relationships with external media, etc. 
• expectations that newer employees (and interns) will intuitively understand how to use social media and be social media experts 
• leveraging different communication media for business value, what IBM currently does, what IBM looks to do in the future  
• IBM's DeepQA computer Watson.

The communication internship information session, to be held in Lowell Thomas 207 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., is open to all communication majors who have completed 60 credits. According to Mr. Gerry McNulty, the internship program director for the School of Communication and the Arts, "IBM will give strong consideration to students with a high GPA and previous internship or work experience in public relations, advertising, or related fields. They are also looking for candidates with strong interpersonal and organizational skills, knowledge about social media platforms, and other emerging areas of the communication field."

Communication majors may "drop in" for an information interview; however, students interested in attending are asked to send a resume via e-mail to mark.vandyke@marist.edu and gerald.mcnulty@marist.edu no later than Wednesday noon, Feb. 23.

If you cannot attend, the School of Communication and the Arts will provide a live feed from Twitter. Follow the flow of the workshop on Twitter @MaristSCA (http://twitter.com/MaristSCA, trend topic #IBMMaristSCA). If you don't have a Twitter account, follow a blog feed from the workshop at http://bit.ly/fBUyFl (see http://twitpic.com/42cn3m).

Contact Dr. Van Dyke at mark.vandyke@marist.edu or (845) 575-3000, ext. 2679, for additional information about the IBM communication team visit.

Paid and Unpaid PR Internships: PRSA Professional Standards Advisory PS-17 (Feb 2011)

The Public Relations Society of America’s Educators Academy Forum is currently engaged in an interesting discussion of the public relations industry’s use of internships for academic credit versus internships for pay. The discussion was prompted by a Feb. 10, 2011, post on PRSA’s blog, PRSAY, entitled, “Paid or Unpaid, Time to Evaluate PR’s Use of Interns,” by Dr. Francis McDonald, a public relations professional and assistant professor at Hampton University’s School of Journalism and Communications.

Dr. McDonald’s PRSAY post pointed out that the current economy, unemployment rate, and stiff competition for jobs has prompted many young college communication students and graduates to settle for unpaid internships while seeking paid positions. This situation led the PRSA to issue “Professional Standards Advisory PS-17” earlier this month.

The advisory leads off with some background on the issue, including:

"Employers value work experience when hiring. Job candidates who wish to be competitive willingly accept unpaid positions to gain work experience. This raises questions for both the employer and vulnerable job seekers. The question for employers is, 'Does the position being offered meet the legal standard set by federal law for an unpaid internship?' For the student, the question is, 'Can the internship be a significant career builder as opposed to just a mindless activity that provides little or no immediate academic or work experience?' For both parties, there are ethical questions to consider."


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