First of all, I’m blown away by the work done by the UGA campaigns class that headed up the planning of this event! Lead by UGA grad student, Connie Braesch, this team of 13 students put in many long hours over the course of 46 days to plan and execute an event that typically would have taken months to pull together. But who needs months when you’ve got Kaye Sweetser leading the charge?? Not us! So thanks to the students for doing a phenomenal job with the event (learn more about them and what roles they play here), and thanks to Kaye for making the arrangements to have this event be the “client” for her campaigns class for the semester. Would this have all come together otherwise? Nope.

Speaking of top-notch educators, are you fully familiar with the educators that we had helping with the event? Are you reading their blogs?? Well, you should be. Go. Do it now. We’ve got Kaye, Robert French, Mihaela Vorvoreanu and Karen Miller Russell. Leaders in social media education — bravo!

In addition, Dr. Russell’s WOM class was doing the live coverage of the event. They did absolutely everything! Live blogging, tweeting, flickring, audio and video podcasts … it’s unbelievable how much great content these folks produced.

Through all of that coverage, we hope you got a taste of what the event was like. But I must say, nothing beats actually being there. For my part, I spent the day helping to lead the student track and, like my other Edelman colleagues, had my own group during the break-out sessions. (Go Pink Team!!) So I had lots of face time with the students. I was very impressed with the thoughtful questions posed by the students; there were so many deep, probing questions. Lots of “what if” scenarios were raised, leading to invaluable conversations filled with insight into what we professionals do on a daily basis. I know when I was a college student (which — shh! — wasn’t all that long ago), I was never able to wrap my brain around what an actual day at the office would look like for a professional — especially for those at an agency. How does all that stuff you do in class actually translate to effectively serving a client?? Truth be told, you just have to DO it to get it. But hopefully, the students came away with a better sense of that than I ever got while I was in college.

Beyond that — the practical sense and skills gained — we were aiming for something bigger. I know I’d like to get to the point where social media relations is as integral a part of the PR skill set as traditional media relations. The professional world is asking for it. The demand for practitioners skilled in both is there. But the learning curve with incorporating social media in the classroom is tough! With this bootcamp we’re just hoping to help jumpstart that process of adoption and work toward giving educators what they need to do this. The educators that attended the event demonstrated a commitment to that higher level of excellence (students — you better appreciate that!!). It’s a process, but at least we’ve got dedicated people like these on board.

So with that, one last big THANK YOU from me to everyone who worked on and attended the event. We’ll be adding a few more pieces of content and news to the site, but I know my student team is heading on spring break this weekend … so GO HAVE FUN!

• Blogger relations: Personally address issues. Be familiar with the technology and the terminology.

• Google never forgets.

• If you work hard and do your research you can do a lot of stuff with digital media.

• New and fresh content is key to keeping your consumers engaged.

• A user-writable Web site is inherently profound.

• Technology is not a solution in itself. It takes people to implement ideas.

Knowing the fine line between the boardroom talk and the living room talk. Confused? Check out Ask a Ninja…

Here’s some other things he (and other employers) want to see:

• Having a basic understanding of social media concepts and technology
• Intellectual curiosity
• Up-managing skills
• An examined, omnivorous media consumption life

Anagrams of Public Relations spell a lot of things - most notably, SOCIAL BLUEPRINT. (Much better than some others.)

Just be sure that your social blueprint is in line with your social media use. Combined, they can be POWERFUL tools!

Ethically and effectively using Online tools (from the students’ perspectives)-

1. Transparency is key. This is more than just a buzz word. “If there is a rule for writing Online… transparency is the key rule of thumb”–Erin Caldwell
2. FREE, FREE, FREE. If you do your research, you can do a lot of Online stuff for free!
3. Updates are key. Audiences want NEW content to experience and work with
4. Put yourself in the client’s shoes
5. Personally address and UNDERSTAND how to use the Online tools. This will allow you to enhance your research and Online practices.

From Edelman’s perspective:

1. Teamwork was evolving throughout the day
2. Cool ideas abound!
3. It’s DIFFICULT to find people in the industry with the skill set to understand and effectively use Online tools. Those who are in the know are EMPOWERED!

No, it’s still in the game. It’s a way to connect people with content. Also, it can drive people to action. E-mail can be the stimulus for grassroots action. Viral word of mouth can be a powerful tool.

• Blog content is syndicated by RSS, but not everyone has an RSS feed. An e-mail notification of a blog post is not out of the question.

• Avoid sending e-mail out on a list more that three times a month though. Over messaging will get tuned out very quickly.

• Use HTML formatting to customize your message and create a connection between you message and the content you are linking to.”Yay E-mail” says Steve.

Yes, this is really happening. The U.S.  is slower in the mobile race than Asia, but we’re trying to catch up.

Swift Mob: This is a free service that can take your company or personal Web site and make it available for mobile phones. It is free because they put a small ad on your site. The ability for people to reach your content on the go can be a powerful tool. There are also pay services in this department.

Well, maybe its not that simple. It takes a little bit of money to produce a corporate video, but often it is worth the dime. Video has the potential to make an interesting story even more interesting.

Companies like Dove have great success with viral video. Dove’s “Self-Esteem Fund” campaign videos have generated over 4 million hits. Platforms like YouTube also allow viewers to leave comments. Each comment provides insight into consumer’s perception of the brand. There’s some free research for you right there.

First and foremost, make sure your content lends itself to a games. One client wanted to develop a game for their tax accounting firm. No one would want to play that game.

Secondly, consider the type of a game you want to develop. Is it informational, serious, funny, etc.? Is that tone in step with your brand?

Caution: Interactive games are expensive to do right, even when they are outsourced ($5,000-$50,000). Also, they can take time. Sometimes up to a year to develop.

A success story: When XBOX 360 was leading up to release of its hit Halo 3, Microsoft created a game that combined the online and real-world gaming. Months before the release of the game, XBOX began putting mysterious pictures of digitized ants in the windows of video game stores. Immediately a massive online discussion began about the posters. After some time, Microsoft announced that the picture was a clue to a type of scavenger hunt that combines other real world and Online clues. The winners would get a substantial prize and get their names in the credits of Halo 3. The gaming community went nuts and Halo 3 was a smash hit.

Look a this case as an exceptional example, not a benchmark. Interactive games are rarely so successful. XBOX’s success is partly due to the the nature of its product

Earlier this year, Wal Mart announced they would no longer be carrying HD DVDs in their stores. This news effectively brought about the death of HD DVD as a format. Was this breaking news announced through a traditional press release? No, Wal-Mart announced it on their blog.

More and more companies are finding blogs as a way to strengthen relationships with their consumers, shareholders, vendors, partners, etc. A company blog provides an immediate way to release pertinent information to the public. What’s more, each blog post is another page on the companies Web site. Many people also link to blog posts they find helpful. These are two key factors in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Meaning, a given companies web site will show up higher when key words are searched in Google. And as we all know, that’s huge.