Society for New Communications Research Announces 2008 Fellows
January 28, 2008 | 1 Comment
Palo Alto, Calif. – January 28, 2008 – The Society for New Communications Research, a global, nonprofit think tank focused on the latest developments in media and communications, today announced its 2008 Fellows. These new Fellows join the Society’s existing group of business leaders, scholars, professional communicators, members of the media, futurists and technologists from around the globe. The Society’s Fellows collaborate on original research and educational programs focused on the advanced study of emerging trends and developments in media and communications, and their effect on business, professional communications, media and society.
The 2008 SNCR Fellows include Michael Adolph, a vice president at Fleishman-Hillard Digital; Susan Getgood, principal of GetGood Strategic Marketing Inc., Mark Hannah, an account supervisor, corporate and public affairs at Edelman; Meghan Hindman, a vice president at Dorland Global Public Relations with expertise in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry; Nehul Jagdish Kumar, a journalist with new media expertise based in India; Emily Metzgar a doctoral student in media and public affairs at Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication; David Phillips, a PR expert based in the UK and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations; Kaye Sweetser, Ph.D., APR, an assistant professor of public relations at the University of Georgia in the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication; Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Clemson University; Brian Solis, principal of FutureWorks and John Yunker, founder of Byte Level Research.
The SNCR also named seven additional Senior Fellows, including Paul Benjou, vice president/director of strategic development, Datran Media; Adrian Chan of Gravity7, a leading thinker on social media and social software design; Francois Gossieaux, president and partner, MarketHum and partner, Corante; Steven L. Lubetkin, APR, Fellow, PRSA and managing partner of Professional Podcasts LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lubetkin Communications. LLC; Albert Maruggi, president of Provident Partners and host of the Marketing Edge podcast; Danny O. Snow, an expert on new publishing technologies and Paavo Vasala, a communications professional currently conducting his research at the University of Oulu, Finland, for his Ph.D.
During 2008, the SNCR Fellows will focus on a wide variety of research initiatives, ranging from exploring the ROI of online press releases to researching the link between customer care and brand in the age of social media, the growing influence of social media in politics and public affairs, web globalization, new trends in the publishing industry, how the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries are using social media and new communications, user interaction with social media technologies, new metrics for emerging media, and best practices for using social media in public relations and marketing communications.
The Fellows will also participate in the Society’s Education Program, which is designed to provide valuable education and training opportunities to educators and students at colleges and universities, as well as continuing education for communications professionals on social media and new communications. In addition, several of these Fellows will be featured speakers and instructors at the SNCR’s upcoming New Communications Forum (http://www.newcommforum.com), which will be held April 22-25, 2008 in Sonoma County, Calif. This event is the premier conference that brings together thought leaders and decision makers to discuss the impact of social media and new communications on media, professional communications, business, culture and society.
“More than 50 outstanding individuals have participated in the Society’s unique fellowship program since its inception in 2005,” said Jen McClure, executive director, SNCR. “They represent an incredible depth and breadth of knowledge and experience in the field of media and communications, and we are extremely fortunate to have them participating in our organization.”
About the Society for New Communications Research
The Society for New Communications Research is a global nonprofit 501(c)(3) think tank dedicated to the advanced study of new communications tools, technologies and emerging modes of communication, and their effect on traditional media, professional communications, business, culture and society. The Society’s Fellows include more than three dozen futurists, scholars, business leaders, professional communicators, members of the media and technologists from around the globe. In addition, the Society’s members include a Vendor Council with representatives from more than a dozen leading technology companies and Organizational Affiliates comprising industry associations, research organizations and other leading think tanks. For more information about the Society for New Communications Research, visit http://www.sncr.org or call +1 (650) 331-0083.
SNCR Founding Fellows
January 15, 2008 | 13 Comments
Elizabeth Albrycht is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research, and a co-founder of New Communications Forum. Elizabeth is a 17-year veteran of high technology public relations practice, with an expertise in participatory communications and social media garnered over the past four years as an independent consultant for European and US-based clients. She has authored multiple articles on blogging, RSS and other new tools for industry trade publications, and has presented teleseminars and in-person seminars on new communications tools for PRSA and Ragan Communications. She blogs about PR and corporate communications at CorporatePR and is a member of the Corante Marketing Hub. Elizabeth is currently lecturing at the Institut Supérieur de Communication (ISCOM) in Paris, France, and is a doctoral student at the European Graduate School.
Constantin Basturea is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Mr. Basturea is director, New Media Strategies for Converseon and the author of ‘PR meets the WWW’ blog. He was a co-organizer of the Global PR Blog Week, the first virtual conference on the impact of personal publishing on PR, and is the founder of NewPR Wiki, a collaborative space hosting online communication projects and resources. He has worked as an Assistant to President’s Advisor for Nonprofit Organizations in his native country, Romania. Mr. Basturea holds a Master’s degree in Public Relations from the University of Miami.
Elisa Camahort is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Ms. Camahort is the co-founder of BlogHer. Elisa has more than 15 years of experience in marketing, has been published numerous times and has extensive public speaking experience. Most recently, she has presented on the “What, Why and How of Blogging” to various technology and marketing organizations. Elisa is an avid personal, political and business blogger, currently maintaining no less than seven blogs on a highly active basis.
John Cass is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. John Cass is the author of Strategies and Tools for Corporate Blogging, published by Butterworth-Heinemann an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. in April 2007. He was 2005/6 President of the Boston Chapter of the American Marketing Association. In 2005, Mr. Cass was lead author of the ‘Corporate Blogging: Is It Worth The Hype?” study and website on the value and benefits of corporate blogging. The study reveals how major companies are using blogging. He was also joint lead author with Dr. Walter Carl of Northeastern University on the 2006 Backbone Media Blogging Success study. John Cass has been blogging at his PR Communications blog since 2003.
Elizabeth Fairbanks-Fletcher, Esq. is a Research Fellow, Chair of the New Commmunications Law committee and a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for New Communications Research. Ms. Fairbanks-Fletcher is a New York State licensed attorney and a tax accountant. She holds a J.D. from Albany Law School in Albany, NY, graduating in the Top 27% of the her class. She graduated summa cum laude from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY with a BS in Accounting. Most recently, she worked for the Department of Justice. She is a past recipient of the State Farm Outstanding Student Fellowship, Guistwhite Scholar, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants Award for Superior Scholarship in Accounting Studies, and All-New York State First Academic Team, among others. In 2003, she was selected for the Department of Justice Attorney General’s Honors Program. In addition to these accreditations, she served on the advisory committee for the International Nanocasting Alliance and is a member of the board of directors and research fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. She also chairs the Society’s Communications Law committee. She worked as an editor and journalist for Gannett Newspapers and is the founder/publisher of Rhythm & News magazine. She blogs and hosts a podcast at Blawgher.com when she’s not working her day job at the Law Offices of Elizabeth L. Fairbanks-Fletcher, PLLC.
Dan Farber is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Mr. Farber is vice-president of editorial at CNET Networks and editor in chief of ZDNet. Dan has more than 20 years of experience as an editor and journalist covering technology. He joined ZDNet in 1996, and led the development of ZDNet’s worldwide network of more than 70 technology-focused sites. Prior to joining ZDNet, Dan served as vice president and editor-in-chief at Ziff-Davis’ flagship computing news publications, PC Week and MacWeek. He was also a founding editor at MacWorld and part of the editorial staffs of PC World and PC Magazine.
Dan Forbush is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Mr. Forbush founded ProfNet, PR Newswire’s expert resource for journalists, in 1992 and continues to serve as president. In 2004, he converted his Media Insider webzine to a blog and recently launched the CollaborativePR wiki. In a more speculative venture, Forbush has founded Old North Church, Inc. as a producer of collaborative Web-based entertainments. With 30 years of experience in academic PR, Dan was named by PR Week as one of the 100 most influential PR people of the 20th century.
Tom Foremski is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Mr. Foremski left the Financial Times as a full-time reporter and columnist in June 2004. He had joined the FT as a full time US tech correspondent and Silicon Valley columnist in 1999 when it was launching its push into the US market. Tom is still contributing a “View from the Valley” column for the FT, but his main focus is now on the popular Silicon Valley Watcher blog.
Robert French is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. He has worked in various PR/Marcom related practices for 20 years. He is currently a Technology Advisor/Instructor at Auburn University in Alabama (USA), and has created several blogs and wikis to complement the classes he teaches in public relations. Robert earned a Masters Degree in Public Relations/Communication. He has done concert promotion, special events management, media relations, fund-raising and even directed student activities for two large state universities. His experiences range from technology/opensource to radio & video production/station management and public relations/marcom activities for non-profits and state universities. Robert has a blog for classes and PR comments at infOpinions hosted on his AuburnMedia.com site.
Phil Gomes is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Mr. Gomes is Edelman’s senior counsel, online communications. Phil enjoys wide industry recognition as an expert on the intersection of emerging media technologies and corporate communications, having been quoted in Release 1.0, PR News, Ragan’s Media Relations Report, San Jose Mercury News, Electronic Business, San Francisco Magazine, and other outlets. As a speaker on this topic, Phil has presented to the Forbes Forum For Dynamic Mid-Sized Companies, the PRSA, BusinessWire’s Media Breakfast Series, SFSU, and Golden Gate University. His MediaMap ExpertPR article, “Using RSS for Corporate Communications,” has been widely referenced as one of the very first texts that describe the PR potential of online syndication techniques. Over the past nine years, Phil has gained a comprehensive familiarity with several key technology sectors, including semiconductors, data storage, consumer electronics, open-source software, R&D, enterprise software, and PC hardware, as well as vertical industries such as pharmaceuticals, materials and energy. Phil’s work has not only resulted in greatly heightened publicity for his clients, but increased business development for them as well. His successful career in corporate communications is characterized by his passionate interest in technology, media and emerging forms of communications. Phil received a B.A. in communications from Saint Mary’s College of California, graduating at the top of his department. He blogs at Philgomes.com.
Neville Hobson, ABC, is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Mr. Hobson has 25 years of experience in organizational communication, including public and media relations, marketing communication, employee, compensation and benefits communication as well as investor and financial relations. He helps companies use effective communication to achieve their business goals. For more than 15 years he has been a passionate advocate for new and emerging technology tools and channels and how they can be deployed as highly-effective agents of change in better aligning organizational needs with the marketplace and the needs of customers. He was VP corporate communication at Scala Business Solutions NV. During the 1990s, Neville worked for William M Mercer Ltd (an actuarial, employee benefits, compensation and HR management consulting firm) in the UK. Neville spent five years as a UK-based independent communication practitioner and project leader, an Internet and intranet evangelist, website developer, software tester, freelance copywriter and editor on technology-related topics. In the 1980s, Neville lived in Costa Rica, where he was co-founder and principal of Communication Advisers Ltd, a PR, advertising and marketing communication agency. He authors NevOn, a weblog with commentary and opinion on business communication and technology. Through his blog and his growing network of influence, and in speaking at conferences and other events, he advocates how new communication channels such as weblogs, wikis and RSS can be of significant benefit to organizations in helping them achieve their business objectives.
Shel Holtz, ABC is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Mr. Holtz is principal of Holtz Communication + Technology. He has been advising companies on how to use online tools for public relations and corporate communications since 1996. Before that, he was a communications consultant and practice leader for Alexander & Alexander Consulting Group. He has also been director of corporate communications at two Fortune 500 companies, Mattel and Allergan. He is the author of several books, including “Public Relations on the Net,” “The Intranet Advantage,” and “Corporate Conversations.” He’s on the Web at www.holtz.com and blogs at blog.holtz.com.
Steve King is a Founding Fellow and a member of the board of directors of the Society for New Communications Research. Mr. King is a partner of Emergent Research, and Senior Advisor to the Institute for the Future (IFTF). His current research is focused on understanding how the Internet, new media and social networks are impacting marketing and communications. Steve has more than 25 years of industry and consulting experience. He has held a number of corporate executive, general management, and marketing positions including vice president of corporate marketing for Macromedia, vice president and general manager Asia-Pacific for Lotus Development Corporation, and vice president of marketing for Isys Corporation. Steve has served on the fiduciary or advisory boards of more than a dozen companies, and has served as interim CEO for five early stage technology firms. Steve King holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business and a BS from the University of Richmond.
Kathy Klotz-Guest, MA, MBA is a Founding Fellow and Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Society for New Communications Research. She has 15 years of marketing experience and a background in sketch comedy (including a cable show) and improvisation. Kathy has worked with Silicon Graphics, Dataquest, Gartner Group, MediaMetrix, Excite, Excite@Home, and Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network managing teams and launching products and brands. An author and occasional cartoonist, Kathy has published in Silicon Valley Biz Ink, The East Bay Business Times, MarketingProfs, and is a regular blog contributor to the New Communications Blogzine. Her business has also been featured in San Jose Mercury News. She founded Powerfully Funny in 2004 to help individuals and organizations of any size improve the impact of their marketing and communications through the use of humor. Clients include Cisco, IBM, PowerGenix Systems, Applied Signal Technology, SmoothSale, Positive Impact Partner, The Foot Rescue, W3-Studio, Stanford University, Stanford Hospital, Spherion, San Jose State School of Nursing, DeAnza College, CRONA and Fremont Union High School District among other organizations. A board member of the Silicon Valley AMA (American Marketing Association) and member of the National Speakers Association, Kathy has an MA and MBA from UC Berkeley, is currently working on her Masters in Liberal Arts at Stanford University and is an instructor for graduate and undergraduate marketing at the University of Phoenix in San Jose.
Bruce Lowry is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Mr. Lowry heads up global public relations for Novell, a $1 billion plus enterprise software firm in mid-transition from a traditional proprietary model to commercialization of open source software. Prior to joining Novell in 1999, Lowry spent nearly 14 years in the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer, specializing in economics. He headed up the Ukraine Desk in 1998-1999. From 1994-1997, he served as the Financial Attach in the U.S. Embassy in Rome. Earlier assignments included a position as special assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, providing policy advice and political and economic analysis on G-7, European Union, Middle East, and African economic developments; a stint in the State Department’s Office of European Union and Regional Affairs; and a position as staff assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs in 1990-91. Lowry’s initial overseas assignments with the Department were a 1988-1990 stint as a political/economic office in Mbabane, Swaziland, and a 1986-87 tour in Saudi Arabia as a consular officer. Lowry is a member of the Pacific Council for International Policy and on the advisory board of Business for Diplomatic Action. He received a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Pomona College and a Master of Arts in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Mike Manuel is a Founding Fellow and Chairman of the Best Practices committee of the Society for New Communications Research. Mr. Manuel is a communications strategist with seven years of technology public relations, journalism and marketing experience. He spearheads Voce Communications’ Digital Advocacy practice, consulting clients on a variety of online communication programs with a particular focus on integrating social media and influencer marketing strategies with traditional media campaigns. He is also the author of Media Guerrilla, an award-winning weblog that follows Silicon Valley PR and marketing news.
Matthew Podboy is a Founding Fellow and Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Society for New Communications Research. Mr. Podboy is a founder and client supervisor at Voce Communications. Matt has led communications programs for established brands and emerging private sector companies in a variety of markets including online collaboration, P2P, security, and data storage. Matt’s focus on infrastructure and consumer technology allows him to provide strategic positioning, corporate and product market introductions, corporate communications counsel, as well as competitive positioning for a variety of related technologies. He maintains strong relationships with key business media, trade media, market and financial analysts by bringing outside ideas, trends and perspective to media engagements. Recently Matt has focused on implementing online communication tools such as blogs and wikis to expand client programs and build more dynamic interaction with key market influencers. In addition, he has helped establish a significant platform for Voce as leaders in Digital Advocacy counsel for clients. Prior to Voce, Matt worked at Weber Shandwick where he helped manage public relations programs for global company Compaq, test and measurement leader Fluke Corporation, and various emerging technology companies. Previously, Matt held several in-house public relations roles for companies in Santa Barbara, California. Matt graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in psychology. His blog is Active Voice.
Giovanni Rodriguez is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and a noted consultant, author and speaker on public relations and corporate leadership. He is chairman and co-founder of The Conversation Group, a new global consultancy devoted to the art, science, and practical application of social media, working with clients and partners as diverse as Technorati, Ogilvy, and global-software giant SAP. A popular speaker on the social-media circuit, Giovanni has instigated an ongoing debate about the future of the PR profession. His work and opinion have been featured in numerous publications including PRWeek, Brandweek, BusinessWeek and Forbes. He is a graduate of Princeton University.
Philip Young is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. He is senior lecturer in Journalism and Public Relations at the University of Sunderland, United Kingdom, specializing in media ethics. He runs the Mediations blog.
2008 SNCR Fellows
January 15, 2008 | 7 Comments
Michael Adolph is a 2008 Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Michael is a vice president at Fleishman-Hillard (FH) Digital in Washington, D.C., with more than ten years of experience in digital content development, print design, production, art direction, advertising and integrated communications and advertising campaigns. At FH, Mr. Adolph has been involved in many facets of new media work, for clients ranging from the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution to the American Red Cross and the 2007 Webby-award winning www.thatguy.com campaign for the Department of Defense (Best Healthcare Site for it’s military-focused anti binge-drinking message).
Concurrently, Mr. Adolph serves as communications and media director for the YearlyKos Convention, the largest annual assembly of social and political bloggers, net-savvy politicians, and Netroots representatives. He additionally created the recently released book and e-book titled unConventional, which documents the first YearlyKos conference and features the work of five photographers and over 75 editorial contributors including A-list bloggers, U.S. senators, and socio-politically focused experts from many sectors. Mr. Adolph has also focused on developing and producing online digital image and motion content libraries for Mike Watson Images (UK), Getty Images, Digital Vision, and Rubberball Productions. Before this, Mr. Adolph worked as director of advertising for Cosmopak Product Development in Manhattan, New York, creating integrated PR, advertising and marketing initiatives, and managing the development of company Web sites (Internet, intranet, and extranet), and branding programs. He has also developed award-winning retail products for clients including Estee Lauder, Stila Cosmetics, Brite Smile, and Colgate-Palmolive. He has volunteered to manage the development of an e-commerce program and designed all promotional merchandise for the LGBT Community Center in Lower Manhattan and has also implemented branding programs and created collateral publications for the Empire State Pride Agenda, and served on their annual events committee, all pro-bono. He holds a degree in journalism and advertising from the Ohio State University and started his career by writing for an Off-Broadway theatre company in Manhattan’s East Village. His 1997 play, Do Videnja (So Long), won the Julie Harris National Playwright Salter Award.
Susan Getgood is a 2008 Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research. Susan was among the pioneers in introducing children and parents to the Internet as an expert in online safety and General Manager of Cyber Patrol, one of the world’s first Internet filters. Her 20+ years in the computer software industry included leading a global marketing team as Senior Vice President of Marketing for SurfControl, with offices in the U.S., England, Australia and seven other countries. In 2004, she founded GetGood Strategic Marketing Inc. to help bring blogs and social media into the marketing mix. Today, her firm helps public and private companies and organizations build brands and drive revenue with integrated marketing and communications strategies. She writes two blogs of her own, Marketing Roadmaps and Snapshot Chronicles, and also contributes to a number of group and client blogs.
Mark Hannah is a 2008 Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and an account supervisor, corporate & public affairs at Edelman in New York City. Mark has worked in diverse communications settings, which include a public policy think tank, presidential campaign politics, a popular reality television program and a boutique public relations & public affairs agency that specializes in new and emerging media. Before joining Edelman, Mark was a senior associate at v-Fluence Interactive Public Relations. Mark was active with v-Fluence’s stakeholder research and analysis as well as social media outreach and content development. Mark worked on the 2004 Kerry-Edwards campaign for two years. After starting in Senator Kerry’s press office in Washington, D.C., he traveled nationally for the campaign, planning and managing major rallies and message events as a member of the national advance staff. His onsite work included the presidential announcement event, the Democratic National Convention, presidential debate preps and the senator’s residence on election night. After the campaign ended, Mark accepted a position on the creative development team of the television show The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. He has also conducted research with an Annenberg Public Policy Center project, which analyzed the network news treatment of terrorist threats in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The research, which was presented at a private conference to the executives of major news organizations, was led by the APPC’s Kathleen Hall Jamieson. Mark is an active member of the PRSA, graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained a double major in communications (from the Annenberg School) and philosophy and also completed significant coursework at the Wharton School of Business.
Meghan Hindman is a 2008 Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and a vice president at Dorland Global Public Relations. Meghan is a senior level communications practitioner with expertise in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. She is leading the charge at Dorland to implement the latest developments within new media and develop specific new media programs and incorporate these emerging technologies and communications tools into client programming. Efforts thus far include development of a blogger relations program, as well as success in engaging patient social media networks. Prior to joining Dorland, Meghan utilized her high-science background in the New York City healthcare practices of Chandler Chicco Agency, Ruder Finn, and Fleishman Hillard, working with such biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients as Schering-Plough, CV Therapeutics, Forest Laboratories, and Pharmacia Corporation on disease topics including hepatitis, oncology, cardiovascular, and Alzheimer’s disease. Meghan was instrumental in planning and implementing a variety of patient and professional public relations programs, including disease awareness campaigns, clinical trial recruitment, and national patient education seminars. In addition to overseeing day-to-day account activities, Meghan served as scientific liaison interacting with senior scientists and clinicians to translate clinical research data for consumer and professional programs and materials. Meghan graduated cum laude from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia with a BS in biotechnology. She completed two years of a doctoral program in molecular oncology and immunology at the Sackler Institute of New York University.
Nehul Jagdish Kumar is a 2008 Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and a journalist based in India, with a research focus on online journalism. Nehul has a master’s degree in Journalism, is a foreign correspondent for CVC News, Australia and a journalist at the NRI Times. Nehul blogs at www.newsjockey.blogspot.com
Emily Metzgar is a 2008 Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and a doctoral student in media and public affairs at Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication in Baton Rouge. Her research focuses on the impact of blogs on state politics around the country. She expects to receive her degree in May 2008. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree from The George Washington University. She is a former U.S. diplomat with additional professional experience at the National Defense University and the United States Institute of Peace. Emily has extensive writing and editing experience. In addition to numerous academic and professional publications, she also served as a community columnist for the Shreveport (LA) Times from 2003 through spring 2007. Her work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, the International Herald Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Emily has maintained a website about her research and Louisiana politics. More information about Emily and her research is available here.
David Phillips is a 2008 Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, Founder Chairman of the Joint Chartered Institute of Public Relations/Public Relations Consultant’s Association Internet Commission and a founder of the Public Relations XML standards organisation XPRL. An early PR background in political organisation converted to ‘proper PR’ as the Lancer Boss Group Corporate Affairs Director in the 1980’s led to founding the PR consultancy Phillips & Company (now Taurus PR) and Media Measurement Ltd. There was the opportunity to lecture round the world on PR evaluation and then the emerging new digital PR opportunity. as well as teaching online public relations to first and post graduate students at both Leeds Metropolitan and Bournemouth Universities in the UK. Research interests include the significance of relationship management. David has been widely published in academic journals, and is the author of three books about online public relations, including Managing Your Reputation in Cyberspace, On-line Public Relations and Evaluating Press Coverage. He also contributes to the Leverwealth blog. David was also the founding regional director of the Prince’s Youth Trust, and developed the Clarity Concept, an approach to stakeholder mapping with Dr Jon White.
Brian Solis is a 2008 Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning PR agency in Silicon Valley. Brian blogs at PR2.0 (http://www.briansolis.com), bub.blicio.us (http://bub.blicio.us), and regularly contributes PR and tech comments and articles to industry sites and publications. Solis is co-founder of the Social Media Club, is an original member of the Media 2.0 Workgroup, and also is a contributor to the social media collective.
Kaye Sweetser, Ph.D., APR is a 2008 Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and an assistant professor of public relations at the University of Georgia in the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication. Prior to UGA, she worked as an assistant professor at Louisisana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication from 2004-2006. Dr. Sweetser’s research focuses on the use of computer-mediated communication/social media in politics and public relations. She approaches social media from a variety of methods, such as content analysis, survey, and experimental research. She has collaborated with leading academics and active PR practitioners alike. Apart from academia, Dr. Sweetser is an accredited (APR) and seasoned public relations professional with more than a decade of rich experiences and she remains active in the industry. Since 1996, she has been practicing military public affairs, first as an active duty enlisted Navy mass communication specialist (1996-2001) and then as a commissioned Navy Public Affairs Officer (2001-present). She currently supports U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain. In 2007, she and the NAVCENT team earned the prestigious Silver Anvil award from PRSA in the government crisis communication category. The winning campaign communicated the evacuation of American citizens from Lebanon (she was the acting media officer in the Middle East during that campaign). At NAVCENT, she also worked to implement some of the Navy’s first uses of RSS, podcasting and a modified social media press release. Dr. Sweetser obtained her doctorate from the University of Florida (2004), where she also completed her master’s (2002). She earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from Old Dominion University (1999) and an associate’s degree from Tidewater Community College (1998). She attended the Oxford Internet Institute’s (OII) first Summer Doctoral Programme at Oxford University (2003). Dr. Sweetser blogs at http://kayesweetser.com.
John Yunker is a 2008 Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and founder of Byte Level Research, a Web globalization research and strategy firm. Byte Level publishes an annual benchmark of the world’s leading global websites: The Web Globalization Report Card. Now in its fifth edition, the report has helped hundreds of companies improve their multilingual websites. John is author of Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies (Pearson, 2002) and the Global by Design blog. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and an MS from Boston University.
The SNCR Year in Review
January 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment
As we begin 2008, we’d like to reflect on the past year, and thank our Fellows and members for their participation and support of the Society for New Communications Research. Thanks to you, we enjoyed a great deal of activity, progress and growth during the past year!
The Society welcomed several new Fellows and Senior Fellows as well as many new individual and corporate members in 2007. We held another successful New Communications Forum last March – our third annual event – which was attended by nearly 450 participants. We also published another issue of the Journal of New Communications Research as well as New Communications Review. The Society’s Best Practices Committee developed three new Best Practices Tip Sheets: one on corporate social media policy development, one focused on corporate blogging best practices and one on understanding how to embrace consumer-generated media to collaborate with customers and successfully achieve co-ownership of the brand.
This summer the Society launched an Education Program to bring guest lecturers, seminars and advice about curriculum development by the Society’s Fellows to colleges and universities. The SNCR developed this program to address the fact that communications professionals and educators alike are facing the shifting paradigm to new communications and social media, but often without the latest information related to research, industry trends, case studies and best practices. The SNCR Education Program was designed to bridge this gap and provide valuable education and training opportunities to educators, students and communications professionals seeking continuing education. The Society’s Fellows have provided a wide range of guest lectures and seminars, special workshops and classes to meet the needs of colleges and universities that want to supplement their core curricula with content that addresses new communications tools and technologies, new media, Web 2.0 and developments in social media. Classes and lectures are available online (sponsored by WebEx) as well as via face-to-face instruction. In addition, the Society advises faculty in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Advertising, Journalism and Business departments on curricula development to address these topics.
In addition, several of our Fellows published new and important books, and many of our Fellows conducted groundbreaking research focused on new communications tools, technologies and emerging modes of communication, and their effect on traditional media, professional communications, business and society. In the beginning of 2007, we collaborated with SNCR Senior Fellow Joseph Jaffe to conduct the primary research for his book, Join the Conversation. In the second half of the year, we were honored to receive our first research grant from the Institute for Public Relations and Wieck Media to conduct a study entitled “New Media, New Influencers and Implications for the Public Relations Profession.” The study was conducted by a team of five SNCR Fellows including John Cass, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Gillin, Richard Nacht and Greg Peverill-Conti, with the assistance of our Newhouse School intern, Shayna Kim. The team shared their initial findings at the Society’s 2nd Annual Research Symposium in Boston in December.
Several of our Senior Fellows also conducted independent research studies and research projects on behalf of our corporate members, the results of which they also shared at the Society’s Symposium. These included a study by Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes which compared data collected from 453 colleges and universities to other new studies on the Inc. 500 and other companies, as well as America’s largest charities to provide insight into the current state of social media adoption in the U.S. In another study, Senior Fellow Joseph Carrabis examined how the language and tone of the communication in blogs suggest power relationships and determine patterns of influence. And, finally, Senior Fellow Shel Israel undertook the SAP Global Social Media Survey in which he conducted more than 50 interviews with people in 20+ countries on five continents.
In November we celebrated the Society’s 2nd anniversary, with a small reception and 2008 Preview event hosted by Voce Communications in Palo Alto, California. We concluded our year with our first open call for Fellowship applications and our 2nd annual Research Symposium and Awards Gala, which took place in Boston in early December. We were overwhelmed by the number and quality of applications we received from prospective Fellows – more than 40 from around the world. We were also delighted by the number and diversity of awards submissions – more than 100 from 10 countries representing a diversity of initiatives and media types from individuals and a wide range of organizations, including Cisco, Coca-Cola, Dell, GM, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, IBM and many others – and through this process it became obvious to us that social media has come of age in the enterprise.
And, in case you haven’t noticed, we have a new website, so check out http://www.sncr.org!
It has been a full, busy and exciting year indeed. And, we have an equally busy and exciting year planned for 2008. Very shortly we will announce our 2008 Fellows. They will embark on many exciting individual research and education initiatives. In addition, they will lead on some groundbreaking research studies on behalf of our corporate members and Vendor Council members.
In addition, the Society will soon release the latest edition of the Journal of New Communications Research and has issued a call for papers for its Spring/Summer issue. And, in April we will hold the New Communications Forum 2008. Please join us! Now in its fourth year, New Communications Forum is the premier conference that brings together thought leaders and decision makers from around the globe to discuss the impact of social media and new communications on media, marketing, journalism, PR and advertising, business, culture and society. NewComm Forum is not a typical conference. The Forum provides an in-depth, hands-on exploration of the future of communications. In its short history, it has come to be known as one of the world’s leading conferences focusing on the latest trends in new emerging media and communications platforms.
Later in the year we will hold our first Fellows Retreat, and will of course hold another Research Symposium and Awards Gala in fall 2008.
We look forward to having the opportunity to continue to support the work of our Fellows as they research, educate and publish their discoveries, and we look forward to serving our individual and corporate members with unparalleled insights into how they can best utilize the latest developments in media and communications. If you’re not yet a member of the Society, we invite you to join us! We are always seeking to expand our membership and build a global virtual community of individuals and organizations who are involved and interested in new communications. Joining the Society provides you with many educational benefits and enables the SNCR to continue its ongoing research, publication and education initiatives. Ultimately, your participation helps us all to better understand the impact of new communications tools, technologies and emerging modes of communication, and their effect on traditional media, professional communications, business and society.
We thank you for your support and participation in the Society for New Communications Research and wish you a great 2008!
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