In part two, Stephanie provides the statistical support to back Ryan’s argument for One Government. She breaks down the demographics of the web to show where people are spending their time online and the most effective ways to leverage these avenues of communication. To provide you with another good resource for current social media statistics, here is a link to a video we showed just after Stephanie’s presentation.

Ryan points out in Part 1 that people in this province and throughout the country are online. It is about time that governments accept this and begin taking steps to reconnect with their people through the web.

From among the sessions I attended, the keynotes that were presented and the intense intellectual debates I indulged in with colleagues after hours at the hotel pub, I was able to make three observations about the conference and the general state of business communications.

Engaging Employees
Now, what came as somewhat of a shock was to hear someone like Brad Whitworth speak to me of internal communications at Cisco Systems with employees in the tens of thousands. Coming from a company like zu with a staff of just under 60, be it large for a web agency, I realized I had to widen my scope of communication in order to realize the vastness of issues, policies and communication channels that multinational corporations must manage on a daily basis.

I took this into consideration and thought, “How do they do it? Better yet, how do they do it well?” Then I walked into a session called “Inside GM: Communicating Through the Crises” by Katie McBride, Executive Director for GM Global Product Operations/Environment and Energy Communications. I was blown away with how GM and Katie’s team of high-level communicators orchestrated their plan for communicating through their bankruptcy in 2009.

What struck me was the fact that she spent almost the entire presentation speaking about the importance of engaging GM employees to ensure their confidence in GM decision-making and its effect on the future. They developed Q&A forums, webcasts, podcasts, and eventually a program to have employees attend GM events and write press releases and blog articles for their peers to view. They gave the company back to the people who would now lead its recovery. They realized the power in having employees love the company and brand they worked to ensure.

Building Culture
One thing we preach here at zu is the quality of great company culture. It became apparent to me that in large corporations, a strong company culture is a huge undertaking that comes with a huge price tag. But there are many cost-effective ways to allow your employees to enjoy coming to work every day. Many sessions at this conference were on intranets and their utility.

Now, think of your company’s intranet as the easiest way to engage employees. How about putting the time and effort into making it an enjoyable user experience so that every morning when employees sign in they don’t feel like they’re plugging into the Matrix. Allow for status updates and a news feed, and work to create a social aspect to the intranet so that employees can see what their CEO or executives are up to as well as network internally with colleagues.

Remembering the Role of Social Media
So much was said about the power of social media. Social media is a great marketing and communication tool—in a supplementary role. You can have the coolest Facebook and Twitter pages, but without a usable interactive website, what’s the point? Before you dive into the social media world it’s important to have a strong foundation in a well built interactive website. You want to make the website a great personification of your brand and company outlook so that when people are pulled to it through your social media accounts it can educate, stimulate and ‘wow’. If there was one thing that I feel the conference lacked, besides Wi-Fi, it was emphasizing the importance of a good website to engage stakeholders. All too often, zu has clients wanting the bells and whistles when in fact we need to convince them of the utility in a well-designed, interactive website.

Overall the conference was great. I met an awesome group of people from all over Canada and the United States. I even met a group from Slovenia, but it shows that the issues we discussed at the conference are global communications issues. I am looking forward to IABC 2011 in San Diego, and with that I put an end to my experience at IABC 2010.

Good night Toronto!

Oh wait…that’s not actually happening….hmmm, well, why not?

That’s the question we posed to Government of Saskatchewan senior policy advisors, communications personnel and website managers at a zu luncheon called One Government (#1gov) last Thursday in Regina.

We called it a zu first date event because we decided to pick up the tab for dinner, give out chocolates and flowers to see if any government employees would come out to see what we had to say. To our delight, they did show up! They said we were a bit harsh in our assessment of governments for a first date but nevertheless right on the money.

The big picture: one government
After providing a quick intro as to who their date was for the luncheon (ie: zu), I introduced our CEO Ryan Lejbak as the first of three speakers.

Ryan hammered home the point that you shouldn’t have to understand government in order to communicate with it. He said that less than 1 per cent of people know how governments are structured but government websites are setup based on the org chart and citizens are expected to navigate through that maze in order to find the information they need.

He further noted that the early versions of online government were called e-government, whereby information was posted to citizens via the web in a brochure-like manner. While he thought e-government was a great start, it’s now an outdated idea.

And it’s no secret that people don’t trust government information like they used to and there is a need for governments to reinvent their image. The vision for doing just that is what zu calls ‘One Government’ (other thinkers call this Government 2.0 or Wiki Government).

Ryan described One Government as an organization that is effective, communicates with its stakeholders through two-way communication, and provides the same user experience from department to department no matter how the communication occurs. So, when you’re talking to the Ministry of Education, Forestry or Health, the message should be delivered the same way.

He recommended three pillars to tackle this challenge and they can be found on Ryan’s blog post about this event.

The stats
After Ryan gave the big picture for governments online, my fellow amazing Account Executive Stephanie Hughes told us the hard-core facts about online communication tools.

She illustrated that with the evolution of the Internet and the communications tools, people now have the ability to connect with governments in a variety of different ways, and they want to connect with governments using this new technology.

In particular, the younger generations in Saskatchewan, those born after 1974, are constantly connected through technology. They spend copious amounts of time on Facebook, instant messaging, sending text messages and so forth.

Some studies indicate that these groups spend 25 hours in a 24-hour day using technology because they multi-task. I know I’ve been caught watching TV, surfing the web and instant messaging on my laptop, texting on my phone and eating a bag of Cheetos all at the same time.

What really drove the message home that governments need to be better connected online was the latest social media revolution video that we showed. Check it out; it has some powerful stats.

The strategy
To wrap things up, Albert Jame our Creative Director then gave an overview of how to develop a proper web strategy.

Albert talked about how the single biggest hurdle in web planning is having everyone seeing the same end result for their website. To help with this problem he recommended trying a news release exercise at the outset of planning a new website.

The activity asks each person of the website redesign team to write the news release for when their website gets launched several months down the road. You may be surprised at how divergent the ideas are and you’ll see what people are thinking.

Albert also passionately spoke about how all advertising or educational promotions from the government (ie: TV, radio, print, etc.) should point back to the web. He encouraged us to think about the web as an infinite brand impression, compared to a finite one like the pint media. For example, you never see a website refer to a billboard for more information.

He covered a ton of topics but he lastly encouraged the attendees to create a social media policy as a first step so employees can start experimenting with Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and the like. Al recommended that any policy should allow the government to be responsive and allow debate but not abuse, while promoting messaging that is genuine and transparent.

The rub
In sum, the underlying message is that action needs to be taken to improve the Government of Saskatchewan’s web presence, like most every government right now. Technology can help make governments better for citizens, make democracy stronger and give citizens a voice like never before.

According to Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics, governments have responsibilities beyond market requirements such as addressing issues of poverty, crime and providing adequate health care. That is really just a fancy way of saying that governments deal with really frickin’ important issues that affect us all. Hence, if we do, in fact, believe in democracy and majority rule then don’t these issues deserve an intensely collaborative effort through this new technology? Yeah, I think so.

The answers aren’t perfectly clear yet and they won’t be easy to implement, but it’s time to start trying. Governments have an amazing opportunity to innovate and to collaborate with citizens like never before.

Call me crazy, but I want to have a say in what our government does more than every four years and I don’t want to have to write a letter, join an association or call news talk radio in order to participate.

Cameco and PotashCorp were listed as the Best Ranked IR Websites in North America. They were in good company alongside Intel, General Electric Company, Microsoft, Bank of Montreal, Del Monte Foods Company, and Overseas Shipholding Group.

After a complete site redesign and reengineering in 2008, Cameco has worked to enhance their environmental assessment content, regularly update the CEO messaging, add webcast and audio recordings, and consistently keep the site’s content fresh and relevant. In the past Cameco achieved an overall Top 5 ranking for best ranked IR website in North America (2009) and best online annual report in North America (2008), along with best IR website as ranked by technical criteria in North America (2008), and best IR website in Canada by technical criteria (2008).

“We strive to be a leader in our ongoing communication with investors,” says Lyle Krahn, Cameco’s director of external communications. “We rely on zu’s knowledge, advice and expertise to achieve that goal with our website. The awards reflect our combined efforts.”

PotashCorp reloaded and relaunched this year with a complete redesign and reengineering of their website. The new site features a  DataTool that allows users to easily find historical market and company information, and a library to access a range of documents in one convenient location. The focus on ease of navigation and simplified usability was spurred by feedback collected from investors. In past years PotashCorp has taken home IR Global Rankings awards including Best Online Annual Report in North America (2009), Best IR Website in the Basic Materials industry (2006), and Top 4 for Best Earnings Releases and Disclosure Procedures in North America (2006).

“At PotashCorp we focus on clear, transparent and timely disclosure,” says Denita Stann, senior director of investor relations with PotashCorp. “Our website is an important part of our communication strategy, and zu’s expertise and vision has been a key part of our success.”

“It is extremely rewarding for our team at zu to see the accolades our clients receive from everyone’s hard work,” commented Lejbak. “We are very proud of the work Cameco and PotashCorp have done and believe they will remain leaders in online Investor Relations for many years to come.”

About the IR Gobal Rankings
The annual IR Global Rankings and Awards survey is the most comprehensive auditing and ranking system for IR websites, corporate governance practices and financial disclosure procedures – a great opportunity to benchmark IR efforts vis-à-vis peers and industry leaders. Based on extensive proprietary research of publicly held companies and investors, and supported by input from independent audit, corporate governance and legal experts, MZ’s methodology is highly detailed, transparent and fully accessible to all participants.

What made the webcast unique was the first-hand experience of both speakers in dealing with universities. Both Stephanie and David recalled their own university encounters as a student while also highlighting their experience in dealing with university bodies and colleges during their careers.

Throughout the webcast the message for educational institutions was clear: If your students are online, explore the various ways to easily engage them through a dynamic interactive strategy.

Is it good enough to have our content stored in PDF’s on our school website?

It’s important to have PDF’s but it isn’t enough to engage your students or potential students. Audiences want to experience as close to the real thing as possible. A PDF, which is a traditional print piece, will not foster that emotional connection that students look for in a school. With that being said, you shouldn’t disregard PDFs because you want to give your audience file format options: video, photos, interactive maps, and even PDFs.

How do you prioritize all of the projects and initiatives you would like to undertake? Where do you start? It seems very overwhelming.

Well, if you are feeling overwhelmed with all of these online initiatives it would be best to consult with a web agency to help you prioritize your needs. It is important to also look at other initiatives going on throughout the school and use that as your driving force behind the online outlet. We see a lot of online projects fail because schools jump into social media with no meaning behind it. It generates a small buzz, but then fades quickly. There always needs to be strategy for the initial and maintenance stages.

How important is it to have professional photography instead of stock photography?

It is vital. Potential students will want to be apart of something real. Viewing and experiencing what life will be like on campus will come across more authentically with professional photos than with templated photos. You can’t fool students as they are online and live the fast paced visual experience every day.

Everyone talks about social media, what if someone says something bad to us?

The truth is that people are going to say it anyways. Don’t be scared. It is better to be there and be involved.  Not all comments deserve an answer, but most students will want to provide valuable feedback and be heard. The worst scenario would be if no one was saying anything at all.

How do you get buy-in from Senior Admin to move forward with these online best strategies if they don’t understand how valuable they are?

David mentioned that he had been lucky to have Senior Admin who bought in immediately and worked to develop their online strategy. However, if your admin do not understand the value of a web strategy, it is important to educate them. There are so many statistics highlighting the web as a powerful medium for engaging any audience and it will take some time to showcase this to your staff. The important thing is to move slowly having them buy in a small amount at a time.

Join us for this live webcast

Date: Tuesday March 16, 2010

Time: 11:00pm PT, 12:00pm MT, 1:00pm CT, 2:00pm ET

Cost: Complimentary

Register

Join Stephanie and David live as they walk you through basic strategies for how you can enhance your school’s online presence. Learn from current university, college and institution examples, showcasing some of the best websites, online initiatives, and social media tool use. Stephanie and David will highlight how you can develop interactive experiences to fully engage your stakeholders.

• Explore opportunities to reach your main audiences, including students, alumni, and potential staff.
• Examine simple social media tools that schools can use to more widely distribute their message.
• Review steps to take your interactive strategy towards the ultimate goal of creating an engaged, sustainable community, both on and off line.

Stephanie Hughes is an Account Executive at zu and has worked with a variety of educational institutions, including SIAST and SIIT (Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology). Serving individual departments, entire school divisions, and specialized training centres has granted her well-rounded insight into the realm of schools. When combined with her knowledge of web trends, the newest interactive tools, and her own BBA and MBA experience, Stephanie will share a unique expertise with viewers.

David Francis is the Academic Director for SIAST’s Virtual Campus and has 15 years of experience in leading online learning initiatives. SIAST’s Virtual Campus is the institution’s centre of excellence for online course development and delivery, as well as website oversight, faculty training and print-distance materials. David will share his experiences in managing stakeholder expectations while delivering high quality initiatives for SIAST’s web properties and online training materials.

Before I get further into this story, I want to get you in the mood for what I’m going to do next. To do that, I’m going to ask you to watch the video below. I hope you’re strong enough to muscle through at least half of it.

Ok, ready?

It looks like Internet Explorer 6 – *puts on sunglasses* – has been rendered obsolete.

Wow. I really can’t believe I just wrote that. Or that I spent half an hour trying to think of a good line and that’s all I came up with.

But yes, the bell has tolled for Internet Explorer 6. As of March 1, 2010, Google has officially started phasing out support for Internet Explorer 6. A statement like that is enough for web developers to rejoice and start singing songs. If you don’t believe me, check out this video.

I won’t break down all of the reasons that led to Google making this move but I will be so bold as to sum it up with one word: security. If you wish to know more details, you should read their excellent blog post regarding their decision.

Now that you know what Google is doing, I bet you want to know what zu is doing!

At zu, we have a two-tier browser support system. We build sites so they look and function identically in any Tier 1 browser. With Tier 2 browsers, we have a level of “acceptable losses” in terms of display and functionality discrepancies.

Our definition of “acceptable losses” is the following: “any discovered bugs that affect the usability of the website should be fixed.”

This means that if we notice extra spacing between the top navigation and content, we won’t spend time debugging and fixing that issue in Tier 2 browsers. If the top navigation doesn’t show up in Tier 2 browsers, we would spend time to correct that issue.

Internet Explorer 6 has been a Tier 1 browser dating back to before we introduced our tiered system. I’m happy to announce that as of March 1, 2010, Internet Explorer 6 is officially a Tier 2 browser at zu.

Some may wonder why we haven’t simply dropped support altogether for IE6 as Google has done. I’ll sum that up in one word: 20%. That’s the estimated market share of IE6 as of February 2010. And while we want our developers to not be restricted by a decade-old relic of a browser, we also want to ensure our client’s sites are as widely viewable as possible.

There will be funeral services today and while we won’t be attending, we will be wearing our best mourning attire. I’m guessing there won’t be too somber of an atmosphere though. In fact, it’s likely to be one of the most jubilant funerals ever!

If you Google “twitter hacked” you will see that banks, politicians, large corporations and individuals experienced the same issues as zu did. You will also read that many of them did not know what to do and they started sending out panic tweets, which probably did more harm than the original phishing attack. It should be noted that in all cases, no follower data was accessed.

Here is what we did a few minutes after the attack. We quickly changed our password so that the phishing attacks would stop. Then we disabled the ability for third-party software, such as TweetDeck and TwitterBerry, to access our account. Finally, and this is the most important thing, we sent out a tweet acknowledging what happened, apologizing and saying we fixed it.

This let everyone know we were aware of the problem and we fixed it. What happened afterwards was a bunch of people thanking zu and supporting @zutweets.

Phishing attacks will happen to everyone at some point. It is part of being on the Internet. These are not a big deal if handled properly, so prepare yourself ahead of time.

Actor Genie has been specifically designed for actors, but it can be a powerful tool for anyone working, or interested in the film and television industry. It’s the best way to know what’s casting, who’s casting it and where to find representation.

The app is the brainchild of Hollywood casting director Heidi Levitt, perhaps best known for her work on such films as JFK, Natural Born Killers, Nixon, The Rock, Joy Luck Club, Lakeview Terrace and numerous independent films.

As for zu, though we all considered auditioning for the new Conan movie, we’re just as happy to be on the development side of things.

For a closer look or to download it, check out the Actor Genie Website.

]]> http://www.zu.com/live/2010/02/news-events/news/new-iphoneipod-app-for-actors/feed/ 0 http://www.zu.com/live/2009/12/news-events/events/zu-holiday-office-hours/ http://www.zu.com/live/2009/12/news-events/events/zu-holiday-office-hours/#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:53:11 +0000 Michelle MacDonald http://www.zu.com/live/?p=4155 We’re looking forward to some valuable time with friends and family this holiday season. We hope you are too. But in case you’re trying to track us down over the next couple weeks, here’s the zu holiday office hours (CT).

Thursday December 24 – Open 8:30am to 2:00pm
Friday December 25 – Closed
Monday December 28 – Closed
December 29, 30 & 31 – Open 10:00am to 4:00pm
Friday January 1 – Closed
Monday January 4 – Back down to business for 2010. Regular 8:30am to 5:00pm office hours resume.

If we don’t cross paths in the next couple weeks, have a wonderful holiday season and we’ll catch ya next decade!

Happy holidays,
The zuCrew

StampsConnect is a unique social media aggregator site that uses familiar platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. The Calgary Stampeders have successfully enhanced fan engagement by permitting their audience to participate and contribute to the content. Connect is a real-time aggregator of fan-generated photos, comments, blogs and videos that allows them to interact and share with others around the world.

The 2009 Grey Cup Festival also adopted the Connect concept to build anticipation and engagement around their event with Grey Cup Festival Connect. The potential for Connect sites spreads beyond sports, with opportunity for political parties, artists, actors, musicians and many others to enhance stakeholder engagement.

The Interactive Media Awards™ recognize the highest standards of excellence in website design and development, and honour individuals and organizations for their outstanding achievement. The Outstanding Achievement award is the second highest honour bestowed by the IMA and is an extremely challenging award to win.

twitpitch: StampsConnect takes IMA outstanding achievement award in sports for social media site. #calstampeders http://twurl.nl/ihc88p