What Is News?
Who: Helen Sissons, senior lecturer of journalism at AUT
When: 6-8pm Wednesday 14th July
Where: Media Design School, Level 12, 242 Queen Street
What: In a world driven by information and news, it is often hard to get your message heard over the babble. Understanding why some stories make the cut, and some don’t, will help you on your way to gaining coverage for your cause.
In this workshop we will show you how to uncover and target your newsworthy message and grab journalists’ attention. You will also learn some best practice techniques when it comes to actually writing your story into a press release.
More about Helen: Helen has an extensive background in both the practice and teaching of News Journalism.
After working five years as a reporter for local and national newspapers in Britain and the United States she moved to the BBC where she spent 10 years reporting for television and radio news. From 1996 she incorporated her work with the BBC with lecturing in News Journalism at the University of Leeds.
In 2006 Helen published a textbook – Practical Journalism: How to Write News (Sage, London) and in 2007 she joined AUT’s School of Communication Studies.
Helen’s particular field of research is the effect on journalistic practice and news product of increased PR-isation and media convergence.
Many Minds (and a Whiteboard) Make Right Work
Eddy captures the inspiration Friday shared with us at our last workshop.
On Wednesday 30th of June, Media Design School overflowed with creative energy as Friday O’Flaherty, Creative Strategist at Running with Scissors, and one of this year’s yMedia Challenge judges, proved that many minds make right work through his workshop about how to brainstorm.
Friday started by pointing out that he doesn’t have all the answers. He then shared with us some of the brainstorming tools that he uses to find the best answers.
He asked (somewhat rhetorically) ‘why storm?’ And funnily enough his response went back to acknowledging that you don’t have all the answers. As an individual, you might have a couple of ideas, but if you extend your thinking to a wider group and involve more people – logic tells us that you’re likely to come up with a lot more solutions to the problem. Each person involved in a brainstorm stimulates the memory and imagination of the others in the group, and you end up with more creative solutions than what you may have come up with alone.
Now that we knew why we should brainstorm, we were taken on a journey of ‘how to brainstorm’. Friday outlined that you first need to turn your problem into points of focus. To do this you need to simplify your problem into smaller pieces, rather than trying to solve it all in one go.
Then came the rules of a brainstorm.
- Everyone’s ideas are welcome
- All ideas are good ideas
- Don’t judge, don’t criticise
- Every idea must go on the board
- We only need the idea, not an explanation or any supporting documentation
- There is only one person in charge – that person is the facilitator of the brainstorm
Then it was time for us to give it a go. The room split into three groups, one for each of the community groups present – Watersafe, Urban Pantry and NZ Charter of Health Practitioners. Each group set a point of focus, and we came up with weird and wonderful suggestions.
But what do we do with all of these ideas?
Friday outlined that through idea generation or brainstorming sessions, you come up with both ideas and directions. Ideas are the things that work as they are, and can be developed and implemented, but directions shouldn’t be discounted. Sometimes your first idea generation session doesn’t provide the end solution, but it does provide some interesting directions for further exploration.
Friday used an example from Urban Pantry’s idea generation. One idea they’d come up with was to use moss graffiti - this was a great idea that with development and planning about placement, messaging etc could work as it was. They also came up with ‘deterring Boy Racers’ – which isn’t an idea, but it is a direction worth exploring, which could lead to richer ideas.
To help assess the ideas, Friday also introduced us to two of Edward De Bono’s hats – Black, for negative and Yellow, for positive. We each picked our favourite idea from the board, and as a group we first looked at it with the Black Hat and say everything that wasn’t good about the idea and reasons that it may not work. We then had to change our attitude and look at the same idea with a Yellow Hat, and say all the great things about the idea and the reasons that we liked it.
This method meant that the whole group was assessing the idea in the same way, at the same time, rather than the group arguing their points about it – which Friday pointed out, can actually be counter-productive.
Friday also said that once you look at the positives and negatives you can then assess the idea properly, and look at the areas that need development to negate some of the problems that may have come up in the negatives.
He summed up his inspiring session by saying:
- The brainstorm is a powerful tool
- Turn the problem into Points of Focus - keep it simple
- Follow the simple rules when you storm
- Then look for ideas and directions
- Black and yellow hats can help you assess your ideas
Everyone left feeling well armed with the tools to find the right ideas – and we’re putting Friday’s advice about brainstorming into practice already!
Many Minds Make Right Work
Who: Running with Scissors Creative Strategist, and yMedia Challenge Judge, Friday O’Flaherty
When: 6-8pm Wednesday 30th June
Where: Media Design School, Level 12, 242 Queen Street
What: There are always a number of ways to approach any project, and the most obvious answer isn’t always right. Friday believes that great ideas can be anything, and can come from anywhere – but there is an art to delivering ideas that meet the needs of a brief.
During this workshop, Friday will share his experience within the creative industries, talk through some of the practices that his agency now adopts to apply lateral thinking to any project and identify some techniques that can be used to assess ideas to help deliver the best possible outcome.
Report: Workshop #04: Smooth Operators
On Wednesday the 26th of May, Jade and Anthea presented the Smooth Operators workshop at Media Design School. If you couldn’t make it or need a refresher, here’s what they covered.
Why Smooth Operators?
There are a bevy of tools online available for not-for-profits. These resources extend beyond social media to encompass everything from communication, to file sharing, to project management.
Our workshop introduces some of these tools specific to operational matters in a community organisation, which can be used for free to some degree.
We can make these recommendations as we use these tools ourselves at yMedia, and we’ll illustrate the value of each service with examples from our own experience, and some ideas for how you might use them.
All of the tools we cover in this Workshop are also detailed in the Online Toolkit, which you can download, print out, save, reference, and generally do with what you will!
MailChimp
For sophisticated email marketing, or sending e-newsletters, MailChimp is a fantastic option. With stacks of free newsletter templates to choose from and customise, the service is perfect for beginners through to expert newsletter craftspeople.
Last year, one of our student teams was able to implement MailChimp for their NFP with no previous experience at all! There is a free level of service, with a restricted number of email addresses you can send messages to at once.
Check out MailChimp’s introductory video for an idea of what the service has to offer:
The website is full of helpful info - don’t forget about Spam laws in New Zealand though! Your subscribers must have opted in to receive communications, they must be able to unsubscribe, and you must list your postal address on every communication.
For more information on the Spam laws in New Zealand, check out this guide from the Department of Internal Affairs.
Skype
Ten years ago, seeing a person on screen and talking to them at the same time was a thing of science fiction films. Today, we can do this for free!
We use Skype regularly to keep in touch with Pamela and Adele, who are in Vancouver and London respectively. It’s great to see their smiling faces, and they get to stay connected to what’s happening with yMedia back here in New Zealand.
You don’t have to have an offshore contact in order to use Skype however, you can use it to contact anyone with a computer and an internet connection (the faster the connection, the better the performance).
If you want to see the other person, and be seen, you will both need a webcam. You’ll also both need speakers and a microphone, a lot of new laptops have these all built in now.
Skype does offer services requiring payment, like calling from your computer to a telephone. If you make a lot of calls offshore, it’s worth comparing Skype’s rates to those of your telecommunications provider.
You can see an intro video to Skype here:
To use Skype, you and the person you wish to speak to will both need to install the Skype application, create accounts, and connect to each other.
Uh, what’s an application?
An application is another word for a program on your computer. There are really two types of applications.
- Desktop applications - these are programs you install to your computer either by downloading an installation file, or from a CD etc. A lot of these types of programs can be used without an internet connection - like Microsoft Word. Skype is a Desktop Application which you download from the internet, though as it facilitates talking over the internet, you do need to have an Internet connection to use it.
- Web Applications - a Web Application is just like a website, but does much more. A website crosses into Web Application territory when it performs complex calculations or processes. Just like the programs you install on your computer, but online in your web browser rather than on your computer. An example of a web app is Gmail, MailChimp, and you will soon be introduced to Dropbox which has a Web App component.
Dropbox
How many times have you forgotten to update your flash or USB drive when working on a document at home, only to get back to the office and need those changes?
Have you been frustrated with email trails full of attachments when collaborating on work with colleagues?
Dropbox is a great solution for document management and collaboration - we find it very useful for our design crew to collaborate on design files - Photoshop or InDesign files which can’t be accessed in Google Docs (more on this later).
The best way to get an idea of what Dropbox is all about, is to watch their intro video:
You can invite your colleagues to access and edit files in your Dropbox folder, where everyone can be confident that they are viewing the most recent version of a document (If it’s important, don’t forget to save a backup on your computer, as someone with edit access could also delete your file!).
Basecamp
Project Management is all about tracking progress against tasks, and managing those tasks within your deadlines. Basecamp is an online “application” or web app, so you don’t need to install anything on your computer to use it.
More appropriate with fairly confident users, Basecamp facilitates setup of to-do lists against projects or milestones, assigning of tasks, communication via messages, document sharing and updating, and scheduling of milestones.
Users can opt in to email reminders of their upcoming task commitments and any new messages requiring their attention.
Basecamp was introduced to the yMedia Challenge back in 2007, and is where all of the teams collaborated on their projects. Since then, it’s been an option for teams in the Challenge, but might also be useful for Community Groups running their own projects.
If you’re interested in Basecamp, they have a range of video introductions and tutorials, but do ask your student team for assistance n setting up. You can run one project with Basecamp for free to try it out.
The Google Suite
Google offers a whole range of free, online tools which are invaluable for NFP’s, including:
- Gmail - Gmail is an online email facility, where you may set up a free account to send and receive email. Having a Gmail account creates your overall Google Account, which is in turn used to access the other tools in their suite.
- Google Docs - Google Docs (short for Documents) is another online application. This one lets you upload, or create, “Word” documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, and even drawings online. You can edit, and even collaborate on these files at the same time, with anyone you invite to have access to your content.
- Google Calendar - Your calendar, or Calendars, everywhere. Google Calendars work similarly to Microsoft Outlook Calendars, though free and online with many collaboration options.
- Google Analytics - Google Analytics tracks visitors and activity on your website when a specific piece of code is added to your website. You can analyse who visits your website, what country they are from, what website they came from, how long they stayed on your site, how many pages they clicked, and whether they downloaded any files. It’s simple to set up, and Challenge students will be capable of either implementing the facility or giving instruction for it to be put in place.
- Google Reader - Google Reader allows you to subscribe to a websites’ updates, so you receive all updates to one place from any websites you follow. This saves you from returning to websites to see if their content has been updates, and can be completely customised to the “feeds” you are interested in. These feeds of updates are called “RSS Feeds”.
- Google Alerts - Just like performing a Google Search, Google Alerts feeds you new results for a search term you specify. So, you can set up an alert for your brand name to be notified when it is mentioned online. (Extra for experts - you can use Google’s Advanced searching tools to narrow down your search if you are getting irrelevant results).
The Online Toolkit
This resource is designed as an overview of these, and other, online tools which are available. It provides some idea of what each service has to offer, and in some cases some pointers for getting started.
It’s a work-in-progress, and you will always be able to find the ost recent release of the document on our website.
Exercise!
It wouldn’t be a workshop without some participation!
We asked students in the room to partner up with Community Groups in attendance, and for each group to consider:
- What are your Current Processes?
- What would you like to do better?
- How would you use some of these tools to benefit your organisation?
After 20 minutes spent eating sushi, drinking wine and Monteiths, we were thrilled to hear of Community Groups planning to synchronise documents through Dropbox, to analyse their Website performance using Google Analytics, and to start tracking their brand through Google Alerts.
Onwards!
We are looking forward to seeing these, and many other tools put into use over the course of the yMedia Challenge. If NFP’s have any questions about how to use these tools or integrate them into workflow - remember to save those queries up for your student teams when the challenge starts!
Report: Workshop #03: Traditional Tricks for New Media
On Wednesday the 19th of May, communications consultant and social media commentator, Courtney Lambert, presented yMedia’s third workshop ‘Traditional tricks for new media’.
With an incredible knowledge of the media industry, Courtney shared her expertise in social media, focusing on the importance of maintaining an effective and personalised online presence.
Exploring the capabilities of online tools such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Linked In, Mailchimp and blogs, Courtney shared suggestions on ensuring that not only are these tools utilized, but done so in an relevant, professional way that remains representative to your brand.
Although it is important to initialize an online presence, Courtney explained that it is crucial to do so in a meaningful way with an abundance of insider tips, including but not limited to the advice to:
- Use an appropriate representative for your brand online. Correct tone and use of language is crucial.
- Understand how your brand is perceived online. Become conscious of how accessible your online presence is to potential followers.
- Maintain an active and consistent online presence. Interactive and instant communication is a key advantage of new media.
For more information on Courtney Lambert and her take on social media, visit her blog at http://www.courtneylambert.co.nz.
Report: Workshop #02: Elevator Pitching
Eddy Helm is an Account Director at Running With Scissors, and one of yMedia’s directors. Last Wednesday the 12th of May she presented our second workshop, on Elevator pitching:
What is an Elevator Pitch?
A concise, carefully planned, and well-practiced description about your organisation that your mother should be able to understand, in the time it would take to ride up an elevator.
In a networking situation, you have a short amount of time to communicate who you are, what you are doing, and how the person you are speaking with can be involved. By being concise but still easy to understand, your points are more likely to be heard and absorbed.
Why do I need an Elevator Pitch?
It’s easy to miss something you’re not looking for.
It’s not enough to be communicating a message - you must communicate the right message, and make the most of every connection you make.
Take the example of Chinese Whispers. In this workshop, attendees were asked to stand in a circle and engage in a game of Chinese Whispers. The message was:
You are surrounded by extraordinary people, capable of creating a better future for New Zealand and quite possibly the world.
After being whispered in the ears and passed on by the whole group, the message was returned as:
Something something something uh something
This example highlights how important it is to deliver your message as clearly as you can, so that it’s easy for others to pass on.
Take some tricks from media training.
Don’t prepare a script. Work on potential Q&A’s - and cover all bases.
- Who?
Your organisation and the people that you support - What?
What your organisation does — the basics - Why?
What’s the reason for your organisations’ existence? Are there any facts that you can use to illustrate ‘why’ you exist. - Where & When?
If it’s relevant, where and when does your organisation do what it does. - How?
If you’ve hooked in a captive audience; Now’s the time to let them know ‘how’ you can help them, or even how they can help you
Know your Audience
Think about it - how do you speak to a child?
Now, how would you speak to your boss?
You communicate with different people in different ways in order to portray your message most effectively. It’s no different with your elevator pitch -
- Understand who you are talking to
- Tailor your massage to suit them - make sure what you are telling them is relevant
The Importance of Good Body Language
(Warning - this clip contains some nudity)
So, make sure you:
- Are comfortable, because this will help your audience to be comfortable
- Don’t stand too close to the person you’re speaking to - but not too far away either
- Don’t fold your arms - you’re creating a barrier between you
- Make eye contact with the other person, show them that you are engaged and interested in the conversation and they are more likely to participate. But don’t stare them down - intimidating them isn’t going to help!
- Deliver your message with confidence!
yMedia Workshop #04: Smooth Operators
Presenters: Anthea Whittle, Business Development at Terabyte Interactive, and Jade Tang, Freelance Designer, Art Director & Connector yMedia
Venue: Media Design School, 242 Queen St, Auckland Central Date: Wednesday 26 May, 4pm – 6pm
We’re all trying to make the world better in our own way, a task that can often feel overwhelming. However there is a plethora of tools available that can help you operate more efficiently and effectively so that you can get on with saving the planet! In this workshop we’ll show you how to use Gmail, Basecamp, GoogleApps, Teuxdeux and more to manage your projects smoothly.
(Register for the Challenge, and come along to our workshops!)
yMedia Workshop #03: Traditional tricks for new media
Presenter: Courtney Lambert, Communications Consultant
Venue: Media Design School, 242 Queen St, Auckland Central
Date: Wednesday 19 May, 4pm – 6pm
With new technologies and online communication growing, the way that people consume information is changing.
With all of the fragmentation of media, it can be difficult to navigate where people’s attention lies, and build a communication strategy to talk to people in the spaces that they’re actually in. During this workshop we’ll introduce the ‘Engagement Pyramid’, and look at creating and curating personal media channels online. We’ll also explore tools to get you started such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and MailChimp.
yMedia Workshop #02: Elevator Pitching
Presenter: Eddy Helm, Account Director Running with Scissors, Managing Director yMedia
Venue: Media Design School, 242 Queen St, Auckland Central
Date: Wednesday 12 May, 4pm – 6pm
You know who you are and what you’re trying to achieve, but would you be able to explain your organisation and sell the idea to a stranger within a short ride in an elevator? What about at an event, are you able to work the room and clearly convey what you and your organisation do? In this workshop we’ll look at the importance of networking, and how to define yourself
in a short compelling way so that you can make the most of every connection you make. We’ll also look at some upcoming meetups, tweetups and conferences that you could attend to test these new skills.
(Register for the Challenge, and come along to our workshops!)
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