Friday Conference Gossip

Random tips and tidbits from the EWA conference:  Kent Fischer of the Dallas Morning News is, thanks to his new and wildly successful DISD blog, the happiest journalist I've seen in a while...John Merrow's shop, LMI, is apparently working on a new segment for the PBS NewsHour about student incentive programs, and trying out some interesting new things...Lots of traditional journalists -- Roz Rossi (Chicago Sun Times), Dale Mezeccappa (Philly Notebook), and others -- seem pretty interested in blogging and may be on the verge of following Scott, Kent, and others into the bloggy world. I'm excited and fearful at the same time.... Communications folks who work for education organizations still seem to be sticking to the traditional things:  press releases, events, newsletters, etc.  -- and are still reluctant to get involved with blogs and blog comments even when we're talking about their issues and organizations.  I dare them to make a comment on this blog just to show that the world will not end if they do...Things may be rough for education journalists in the news industry, but times are still good for the education PR/marketing folks, I'm told.  The recession hasn't hit the foundations, yet...New blog I've never heard of but sounds good:  The Daily Coyote...Folks are talking about who might replace Russ Whitehurst at IES, and whether the effort to separate IES from the USDE will continue... The Exxon Mobile folks treated us to a nice reception last night, featuring the first African-American astronaut to walk in space. He told me that when he does school visits kids ask him things like Are you rich, what's it like to be weightless, and how do you go to the bathroom?    A conference is barely a conference without party boys Josh Benton and Greg Toppo helping rounds folks up to find a nearby bar.  We miss you, guys...Last but not least, the Gates Foundation's Marie Groark made my day by saying that sometimes she liked reading my blog, and sometimes it scared her.  Just the reaction I'm looking for.

Other posts about the conference from the EWA Conference Blog:

Can I get a price check on this?
Just a spoon full of video helps the newspaper go round
The story through the character
 My journalism crush
 Building a better blogger

Comments

[Jen Boggs]

I am proceeding to post this comment, and the walls around me, ground beneath me, etc. all seem to be holding. I grant you that as a communication folk-person who works for Scholastic I have spent much of my job writing press releases and planning press events. Our blog (http://onourmindsatscholastic.blogspot.com) is a new venture for us, because we understand that blogs and other social media are where our constituencies are at (educators, students, thought-leaders) or will be eventually (print press, everyone else).

In the interest of full disclosure, Scholastic (the company) sponsors "This Week in Education," but me Jen (the employee) is reading and commenting on your blog of my own free will.

P.S. Greg Toppo, party boy? Fascinating.

[paul baker]

Some people have told me they'd like to start blogging but feel uneasy about the time commitment; they're afraid they don't have enough to say, etc. I suggest that, for starters, they can make a mark in the blogosphere by commenting on others' blogs. So thanks for the nudge.

[Donny Claxton]

Alex, thanks for the mention about Bernard Harris, the first African American to walk in space. It's Friday night and while you're off to the cocktail party, I'm checking on emails and going to make a few posts on my own personal blog, (www.dadscenter.org/blog1) which I've been doing for more than a year. In 1995 as the press secretary to the governor of Alabama, I wrote the first pages for the state after getting a "how to write HTML in a week" book from Walden. When I wrote the news release and sent it to the Montgomery Advertiser, it was a six-column lead story on the front page in October of 1995. You clearly are an early adopter to this new area. In 1994, you probably were like me and had a 14.4 PCMCIA card and thought you were pretty cool. I know I did. Give the world some time and they will catch up. And you and I et al will be on to Net 3.0, whatever that will be. Thanks for your time at the EWA conference. It has been great to meet you.

DC

[Russ Campbell]

I think the reason the recession hasn't impacted foundation to a great extent is that they're still working off of last year's budgets. As the fiscal cycle wraps up, it'll be interesting to see how they adjust to the market. Last month saw a little recovery, but that can change quickly and it's one of the reasons I don't look at my own statements. I'd rather not know.

On the science side of things PR folks are coming around to blog, particularly those in the universities. Duke started an ambitious project recently focusing on its research: research.duke.edu.

Truly enjoyed your talk on Thursday. Blogging is definitely not for everyone. I'll stick to contributing my verse from the cheap seats.

[Scott Gomer]

I take your dare! Thanks for the great presentation at EWA. It was nice to meet you and I hope you got enough to drink at the opening reception! I'll keep reading and might even jump in from time to time. If you ever need to know more about ACT or our services, feel free to send me a message at scott.gomer@act.org.

[Bryan Goodwin]

Even though taking dares has gotten me into trouble in the past, I'll accept yours. Thanks for good sessions at EWA and Knowledge Alliance. You've persuaded me to venture cautiously into the blogosphere. You might, however, enjoy peering behind the PR curtain to see the kinds of warnings us PR people get about your ilk, the bloggers. I looked you up in an online PR tool that I subscribe to called, Vocus, and found this warning under your contact information:

PITCHING INSTRUCTIONS
Before sending press releases, story ideas or other information to a blog/blogger, we recommend you read the site thoroughly in order to understand the blogger’s area of interest and point of view. Spamming or mass emailing of bloggers is NOT recommended. This can result in unpleasant/unintended coverage of the company or organization you represent.

The guidance is probably valid, but may also go a long ways toward explaining why you're not on more media lists. Finally, you mentioned using www.technorati.com to track mentions of our organizations in the blogosphere. I did just that and was somewhat blown away by all the references to my organization.