walk on: exploring the digital experience

Paul Gillin's Sharing Secrets

I received an advance copy of Paul Gillin's new book Secrets of Social Media Marketing in October. I've finally gotten the chance to dive into this work and have been very pleased with the well written and very instructive material.

I'm in the process of developing and launching a social media program at Aurora Health Care and this is providing interesting insights that we'll be using to complement the overall digital plan we're building. The book is written with little jargon and provides clear background, definitions and strategies that can be used to guide decisions for an organization. 

From my perspective, this book is an excellent read for beginners or those looking to bring social media concepts into the organization. For those who have been playing in this space for a while, it's a good refresher and some of the content will be considered review. 

This is a book that I'll be sharing with staff members who are interested in getting into the social media game and need the foundational concepts that are outlined in Paul's book. Secrets of Social Media Marketing will find a place on my bookshelf as a a reference manual for future use.

For those looking to dive into the social media space, pair this book with Groundswell and you've got the information you need to build the foundations of a successful social media program within your organization.

Technorati Tags: Jamey Shiels, Paul Gillin, Social Media, Digital Marketing, Book Review, Digital Strategy

Shift in Education: Classroom to Social Networking

David Armano was live twittering the ID Strategy Conference yesterday and sent out an interesting quote that has been rolling around in my head for a few days. I think the quote can be attributed to John Seeley Brown 

"We're moving from authority based teaching to peer based learning. This is THE shift in education. Classroom > social networking " 

I have children in grade school so education is a big deal for me and my family. I also work in the digital environment and see how we have unprecedented access to information that can provide tremendous value as a learning tool. The opportunity to learn new things by having access to the knowledge of others is growing every day.

The education system can reinvent itself around a model of shared knowledge and learning from one another within the classroom as well as through connections made through social networks. The challenge will be for today's leaders to realize and seize the opportunity.

David provides his thought as well over at Logic and Emotion.

What do you think? Can we change the way education works to harness the power of social networks and reinvent the classroom?

Technorati Tags: Jamey Shiels,David Armano,Education,Social Networks,Learning

All the Goings On

It's been a whirlwind end to 2007 and beginning to 2008. I've changed jobs and added another gig to my plate. I've joined the team at Beneath the Brand as a contributing blogger. I got to know the landscape in December and plan to get rolling for 2008. It has taken me away from the writings here at Walk On but I plan to strike a balance in 2008.

Beneath the Brand is part of the Talent Zoo roster of blogs, which includes Beyond Madison Avenue. The goal of the site is to create conversations about activities in the marketing world. I'm looking forward to be part of the conversation in a new and exciting way.

Walk On will continue to exist but focus more on the digital experience as I explore it and grow in my career. I'm looking forward to my ongoing education and experience. I'll also be providing my thoughts on books that I am reading. I recently received a copy of Seth Godin's Meatball Sundae as well as awaiting a copy of Joseph Jaffe's book: Join the Conversation.

The future is bright.

Technorati Tags: Beneath the Brand,Jamey Shiels,Marketing

Experimentation and Innovation

Risk is a constant conversation piece when marketers discuss experimentation, innovation and "stepping out of the box". Mike Moran has a nice article over at Adage.com that speaks to the point. Seth Godin and a multitude of other marketing gurus espouse the same point. To innovate we need to experiment. The digital space creates an active testing environment that can generate instant and valuable feedback.

I'm challenging myself to be a risk taker. To find ways to experiment to drive innovation. I can continue to bring the status quo or I can focus on improving the product that I produce by taking risks and pushing.

As a marketer this ultimately differentiates us a implementation partner or as a thought leader. What we learn from taking risks (from the failures and successes) shapes our perspective and our ability to be more creative and innovative.

Sensing the theme here? Take RISKS, EXPERIMENT and BE INNOVATIVE.

Masters of Design

I've been considering expanding my education to include a Masters Degree. As a business person I have naturally been inclined to pursue and MBA. I work in the digital marketing department of a full service agency so I'm exposed to many business instances where the principles and strategy provided by and MBA could easily be applied.

My challenge of late has been considering the value of design in the development of products, marketing campaigns and specifically digital marketing applications. Design is critical to success. User personas are about creating a "person" to use as a guide for design. Products need to be designed to meet the needs of users. Communication campaigns need creative design to carry the message and create conversations.

That being said, I'm considering and Masters in Design course. Not be become a designer but to learn the true process, development and implementation that breeds good design. David Armano and Idris Mootee have posted interesting comments on the Masters concept. One pursued design, the other business. The recent Fast Company article was also interesting in considering the role of design. To truly embrace and champion design as a key element and to make myself well rounded in bringing the two together, doesn't it make sense to pursue a master in design to compliment my marketing degree and business experience.

I'd be curious to hear input from someone who has both as well as the ability/inability for a business person to cross over to the creative side.

Stay at Home Mom

I was working on some paperwork and I came across a question that made me pause. It asked my wife's employment information. Technically, she doesn't have an employer. She doesn't have a job where she goes to the office, work, etc. She does have a job though, a very important one at that. She's a stay at home mom.

In our marriage, we've committed to raising our children and the core challenge fell to my wife to stay at home, manage the household, the children, the dogs and me. Stay at home mom has got to be one of the toughest, least recognized jobs out there. My wife serves as a manager, financial specialist, chef, cleaning staff and educator among other things. The role she plays in managing our household is incredible.

Guy Kawasaki provided a nice link to salary.com that has an online tool that calculates the salary of a stay at home by considering all the different roles she plays. Now, this is a PR tool for salary.com and serves to promote their site but does provide a nice conversation piece when we consider the role of stay at home parents in todays society.

I'm fortunate to have a wonderful wife that chooses to work in this role. She's simply amazing.

Presentation Skills

I've consumed some very interesting recommendations on presentation skills in the last couple of days. Seth Godin has reposted on how to properly use powerpoint. It's excellent information if you're planning on presenting, pitching or speaking in the near future. Seth challenges us to prepare and match visuals with speaking points rather than using powerpoint slides as our cue cards. Engage the audience with stimulating visuals that accent your speaking points.

David and Terry of InsidePR are presenting recommendations on their podcast for preparing for presentations and the skills to work during your presentation. It's important for us to know our audience and engage them in the conversation and information we're presenting.

Think about the effort and preparation you put into your next speaking engagement or sales pitch and utilize the resources out there from proven speakers.