Trafcom News

Talk to your baby

This post is outside the realm of my usual topics, but not really. First, some background: Last week while out walking I noticed several moms pushing strollers while staring down at their iPhones or BlackBerrys, madly texting. Their babies were wide awake, but the moms were engaged with someone else. As a parent and as a human, this worries me.

When my daughters were babies I talked to them all the time, especially when I was the only adult in the house, and well before they were verbal themselves. “Let’s have some oatmeal ... OK, it’s time to put on these blue socks … Which foot first? Left? Right? ... Honey, we’re going for a walk. Where’s your pink snowsuit and your mitts?” This is not Pulitzer material, but it’s communication that helped my children to learn to speak, to listen, to learn, and to feel cherished and loved.

This week in the New York Times, health columnist Jane Brody tackled this very topic. Her article begins:

I recently stopped to congratulate a young mother pushing her toddler in a stroller. The woman had been talking to her barely verbal daughter all the way up the block, pointing out things they had passed, asking questions like “What color are those flowers?” and talking about what they would do when they got to the park.

This is a rare occurrence in my Brooklyn neighborhood, I told her. All too often, the mothers and nannies I see are tuned in to their cell phones, BlackBerrys and iPods, not their young children.

Brody goes on to quote Randi Jacoby, a speech and language specialist in New York, who says: “Parents have stopped having good communications with their young children, causing them to lose out on the eye contact, facial expression and overall feedback that is essential for early communication development.”

If you’re a parent, please think about this. You’ll have plenty of time to play with your iPhone when the kids go off to college!

You can read Jane Brody's piece here.


P.S. Actually, two of my most-read blog posts are about communicating with children:  Talking to teens and How teens communicate.

Podcasters meet the most interesting people

As a multimedia producer, I have the privilege of interviewing fascinating guests for my own show and clients’ projects. Recently I’ve been working on a series of podcasts for Triumvirate Marketing Group and their credit-union clients. In the latest episode, I met with Dr. Debra Pepler, a world-renowned expert on bullying, and the co-chair of PREVNet, an organization dedicated to “creating a world without bullying.”

Like every other person in North America, I’ve seen a lot on this topic in the media, but I’ve never thought about bullying as a relationship issue, as Dr. Pepler describes it. If you have children, or if you work with young people, please listen to this 16-minute podcast, and be sure to watch for the next two episodes in the series. Just click here to listen to the podcast and read the extensive show notes.

UPDATE: Links revised.

Using new media to make the most of your event

I’m looking forward to be presenting this Webinar again: How to use new media tools to make the most of your event. This online seminar is designed to answer many of your questions about conference podcasting, event promotion/marketing and so on. It’s designed for people who organize not only big conferences, but all-employee meetings, sales meetings and customer events too.

In this 45-minute Webinar on Thursday, October 29, 2009, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, we'll talk about:

• How to attract more attendees
• How to maximize the value of presentations, speeches and interviews at your meeting
• How to create audio and video content at your event so as to market your next event
• Using social networks to build a community around your event
• Gaining maximum communications value with minimal hassle

If you’re interested in this free Webinar, please send an email to Donna AT Trafcom DOT com and we will forward the registration instructions. All you need is a computer, an Internet connection and a comfy chair.

UPDATE: Please note date change.

In this 45-minute Webinar on Thursday, October 29, 2009, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, we'll talk about:

• How to attract more attendees
• How to maximize the value of presentations, speeches and interviews at your meeting
• How to create audio and video content at your event so as to market your next event
• Using social networks to build a community around your event
• Gaining maximum communications value with minimal hassle

If you’re interested in this free Webinar, please send an email to Donna AT Trafcom DOT com and we will forward the registration instructions. All you need is a computer, an Internet connection and a comfy chair.

UPDATE: Please note date change.

Help! Our IT department won’t support podcasting

Over the past few years, I’ve heard this lament many times: “We really want to produce podcasts for our organization, but our IT department says they won’t help us, or they throw roadblocks on our path. What should we do?”

In a former life, I was a systems analyst, so I’m familiar with the workings behind the sometimes-mysterious doors of IT.

There may be good reasons for not supporting your organization’s multimedia efforts, but I haven’t heard a valid one yet. As my friend Shel Holtz has noted (and I’m paraphrasing): “Has anyone ever said that we don’t have enough paper to print the company newsletter?” Of course not.

Let’s suppose that your IT Department won’t offer technical support for podcasting. Well, that’s OK, because your IT people probably aren’t podcasting experts in the first place. You can hire help or learn to do it yourself.

What  should you do if the IT gurus tell you that there isn’t one single megabyte of storage space or bandwidth available to you? Here are some suggestions:

• Host your audio or video files externally.
• Build a microsite on WordPress (hosted outside the company if necessary) for all your multimedia content. Link to this microsite from your organization’s main site.

Have you run into roadblocks from the IT people? Please share your experiences in the comments section.

Conference podcasting: Why and how?

I'm working on a new Web presence and blog on the topic of conference podcasting, but need to get this particular post online right now, because people have asked for it. (Have I ever mentioned how much I love answering questions about this? Well, I do!)

Over the last four years, I’ve produced conference podcasts for associations and corporations for both internal and external purposes. If you’re curious about whether podcasting your conference can be an effective way to communicate with your audience, please read on for some tips and insights.

What is a podcast anyway?
A podcast is a multimedia file that can be shared with others. A podcast can be audio or video.

How is a podcast different from any old downloadable audio?
The ability to subscribe is what makes a podcast special. After you create your podcast, you can publish it on your blog and/or Web site. You can also make it available on iTunes, YouTube and other locations, and your listeners can subscribe to your podcast for free.

How does a podcast subscription work?
You can subscribe to a podcast in a few different ways:

• By email, if this is offered by the podcast producer. You simply enter your email address on the page, and the publisher notifies you whenever a new show is available.
• Via RSS (Really Simple Syndication) using a feed reader such as Bloglines or Google Reader. Every time a new podcast is published, you automatically receive it.
• Using the iTunes application (which works on Macs and PCs), you automatically receive new shows. You can also synchronize your iPod or other compatible MP3 player to load the new shows.

NOTE: You can certainly produce audio and video content from your conference that is NOT a podcast. As long as you know where you’re going to publish and position this content on your Web site, it doesn’t have to be a podcast.

How will I benefit from podcasting my conference?
Have you ever produced tapes or CDs of your conference proceedings? Do you remember what a headache it was to create and distribute them? With podcasts, you can easily make your content available on the Internet, saving time and money. Beyond saving, you’ll also be creating meaningful information products that can generate buzz before your event and add value afterward.

Here are the main benefits of podcasting your conference:

• By offering audio or video content from your most current conference, you can attract people to your next one.
• You will educate prospects about your company, your products and your expertise.
• You can reach a broad audience at a low cost.
• You can make selected content available to your clients, prospects and employees who are not able to attend your conference but who still want your message.
• By creating a Web site or blog to accompany your podcasts, you create a presence that is searchable by Google keywords, therefore expanding your reach on the Web.

Examples of conference podcasts
Pre-conference podcasts can increase interest and may stimulate registration numbers. By adding audio or video content to your Web site and linking to it in your emails and other marketing materials, you can entice potential attendees to check out what your conference has to offer. You can also take advantage of the power of social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) to link to your multimedia content and boost your pre-conference buzz even further.

Podcasts produced during the conference itself can capture some of the sessions and grab opinions from attendees too. You may decide to not offer all of your sessions as podcasts. In this case, you can produce “script and clip” podcasts, where you edit your original files down into bite-sized pieces, and add professional narration to tie it together. Think mini-documentary.

A roving reporter on your conference floor can capture all sorts of valuable multimedia content from speakers and attendees.

Of course all this wonderful content can be used to promote your next conference and to educate your employees who are unable to be at the conference.

Tips for successful conference podcasts

• Start planning well in advance. You don’t want to rush this.
• Decide on your goals: increase registration, create a lasting legacy of your event, build multimedia content for your intranet or Internet? Then define success for each goal.
• Get a team together. Who’s going to conduct the interviews? Record? Edit? Publish?
• Assemble your gear. At the very least, you’ll need portable digital recorders, microphones and computers loaded with editing software.
• Draw up a schedule of who’s doing what, when. Keep track of what’s been accomplished. Revise your schedule as needed.
• Go with the flow. If the opening night reception is generating lots of cool discussion, try to grab some interviews right then and there, even if it’s not on your schedule.
• Record as much in advance as possible. Script and record your introductory sections and closing sections in advance to save time.

Is this a do-it-yourself project?
You can certainly create your own podcasts if you have the skill and the equipment. Compare it to desktop publishing: Not everyone with a copy of InDesign can craft a beautiful newsletter. Ditto: Not everyone who owns Adobe Audition or Final Cut Pro can create a nice podcast with solid content.

Will podcasting my conference be expensive?
In a word, no. Add up all the dollars you’ve spent on organizing your event, printing up literature, marketing and advertising, and so on. The cost of podcasting your conference is the equivalent of a small fraction of your overall cost.

 For more on this topic, please visit PodcastYourConference.com.