Harvest Reapers Communications - Regina's Blog

Social Media Trends 2013: Breaking Down Big Data's Role

Wed, 01 May 2013 06:59:33 GMT

Photo by: Flickr user ibmphoto24

Breaking down big data’s role in social media marketing is the focus of this third installment in my blog’s “Social Media Trends 2013” audio series. All content © 2013 Harvest Reapers Communications; All Rights Reserved.

Thus far, I have shared excerpts of my audio interviews with three Subject Matter Experts who provided insights into how their organizations use social media to engage with their target audiences. The series began in January and runs whenever I have great content to share.

Why Care About Big Data?

Whether it’s Webopedia’s definition of big data or the one recently referenced in The Wall Street Journal, the bottom line is big data’s onslaught is keeping leaders across various sectors awake at night as they wrestle with how to maximize it for their organizations. Social media enters into the fray as marketers seek insights from the data generated by analytics tools to determine if they are on the right marketing path.

Nate Silver (ctr) poses with us. Photo courtesy of Fabian Robinson.

Statistician & FiveThirtyEight.com
Blog Founder Nate Silver Weighs In

I asked New York Times FiveThirtyEight blogger, statistics guru and author Nate Silver to share insights about this year’s social media trends after his talk at the Gartner Business Intelligence & Analytics Summit.

Silver spoke with me after his keynote presentation as we dashed to his next engagement in the Gaylord Texan. Listen.

Women in Technology International sponsored my registration at the March event held in Grapevine, Texas (just outside Dallas). Special thanks to WITI's Richard Budd and David Leighton for making my participation possible.

GolinHarris' Director of Insights Eric Swayne

GolinHarris’ Director of Insights Eric Swayne
Breaks Down Big Data

I interviewed Eric Swayne, GolinHarris’ director of insights, about the role of big data and social media marketing.

Special thanks to Dallas independent consultant Chris Bradshaw, of BOOMboxNetwork.com, for the invitation to attend the Social Media Breakfast Dallas event where Swayne was the featured speaker in January.

The interview began with an overview of Swayne's role. He said he "collects" the digital data his PR/marketing agency generates and determines insights for clients so they can market more effectively.

RLB: Break it down for us. RLB: Give us some social media (analytics) tools.

RLB: What can people do to shore up their metrics capabilities?

Women's History Month Salute: Marion Edington, Former A.P. English Teacher

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:42:26 GMT

With Marion Edington, my former Advanced Placement English high school teacher, 01.13

I recently fulfilled a longtime goal to find my Central High School Advanced Placement English teacher to share how much her great instruction impacted my life and my career. This Women's History Month, I am saluting Mrs. Marion Edington.

Mrs. Edington and I reunited Jan. 6 at her East Memphis home, for the first time since my graduation from Central.

The reunion more than met my expectations because she provided insight into her career and she allowed me to record her well-remembered saying, “Students, details students, Hershey Bar details.” Listen to her great wisdom. Mrs. Edington drummed that "mnemonic rule of thumb" into her students.

Her "Hershey Bar details" maxim embodies the essence of great writing. It underscores what sets award-winning writers, playwrights, journalists and communicators apart from the mundane.

She was a demanding teacher who asked us to reach for the world through literature, writing and grammar. I am thankful to her and to all of my teachers, guidance counselors, and principals at all of the Memphis City Schools I attended. Thank you for caring enough to teach, to instruct, to correct and to help. You made the difference!

Previous Women's History Month Blog Salutes
2 Lives Impacted by the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing: Guest Post By Jacqueline Wald
My Women’s History Month Salute: Belva Davis, the first African-American woman television journalist in the western US

A Tribute to My Mother, Mrs. Rowena Whiting
Happy Birthday Ma Dear; I 'sure am' grateful for your life lessons

PBS Documentary
“Makers: Women Who Make America”

More Resources
The National Women's History Project
Jewish Women and Social Activism
Discovering American Women's History Online
300 Women Who Changed The World

'Roll of Thunder' and the Dale Carnegie Classic in the 'Digital Age'

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:38:26 GMT

Photo from Amazon.com

Regrettably, I just recently discovered Newbery Medal award-winner Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry at a public library and it’s the best audiobook I have heard this year.

Narrated by Tony award-winning actress Lynne Thigpen, who left us much too soon, the book focuses on 9-year-old Cassie Logan and her family, set in Mississippi during the 1930’s Depression. The land and the fear of losing it drives the novel.

Author Mildred D. Taylor pulls from stories her family shared with her to take us through the very real struggles of racism, poverty and hatred. Yet the book has many wonderfully lighthearted moments that uplift the power of family, love and unity.

Thigpen’s powerful narration brings Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry to life and at the end of the audiobook, Taylor shares insights into her writing process and the influence her family, especially her father, had on the novel. Taylor treats us even further, by singing a song that came to her as she was working on the book.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is more than an award-winning children’s book; it offers a poignant window of history for adults as well.

Photo from barnesandnoble.com

Last year I discovered an update to Dale Carnegie's famed bestseller. How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie & Associates with Brent Cole, published in October 2011.

Those magical words “digital age” caught my attention.

Essentially, this book enhances your soft skills with a solid Web 2.0 framework, enabling you to reap rich relationship rewards.

Of particular note: “soft skills such as compassion and empathy drive hard skills” … by linking both skill sets "to operational productivity, organizational synergy and commercial relevance because all require human commitment.”

Here are 15 insights from the book:

1. Make your status updates, tweets and posts meaningful by "removing your agenda."

2. Engage in face-to-face connections when possible.

3. Look for nonverbal cues during interactions with friends, family and others.

4. Use common courtesy online just as you would on a first date.

5. "Resist badmouthing as a differentiation strategy."

6. Think before you hit "Post."

7. Take a breath and “calm down” if you are upset.

8. Look ahead to the future because you might need help from an unexpected source.

9. Listen with everything you've got.

10. Allow your online life to be as harmonious as possible.

11. Uplift others' needs more than yours.

12. Maintain relationships by finding and SHARING common ground.

13. Recognize the responsibility that comes with being an "influencer."

14. Settle disputes in person rather than online.

15. Admit mistakes and make restitution right away.

Read this book to enhance your relationships, which enriches your entire life. Brent Cole is reachable at invisibleinkfirm@gmail.com.

New On My Reading List

With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee

Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put On My Pajamas & Found Happiness by Dominique Browning

2 Books Making News

Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America By Andrea Davis Pinkney

Listen to NPR's Tell Me More Host Michel Martin's interview of the author

Examining The Personal Finance Industry By Helaine Olen

Watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's interview of the author

Saluting Kenneth DeWalt: Memphis Trombone Player for Rev. Al Green, the Bar-Kays

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 05:14:00 GMT

Memphis musician Kenneth DeWalt in action.

Once upon a time, I was a beginning saxophone student and my cousin, Kenny DeWalt (right, below), was learning to play the trombone under the direction of Emerson Able at the famed Manassas High School in Memphis, Tenn.

Cuz taught me to use a broom to help learn the keys on the sax. Then he worked with me on breathing correctly. All of that coupled with Band Director Kurl McKinney's instruction came in handy when the Lincoln Junior High School Band went to the Strawberry Festival in Humboldt, Tenn., back in the day. (See my band photo in the slideshow below).

Kenny went on to become a professional horn player, performing with Rev. Al Green and the Bar-Kays, thanks in part to my mom, Mrs. Rowena Whiting, who bought him his first horn. She also prophesied that he would perform on "The Tonight Show." He didn't believe her and laughed. Years later he called my mom from "The Tonight Show" just before he performed!!

Meanwhile, in high school and college, I put the saxophone down and picked up a microphone, video camera and other journalist’s tools. This is my Black History Month salute to my 54-year-old cousin, Kenneth DeWalt, who shared insights with me about his amazing professional career during an interview Jan. 5, 2013 in Memphis.

Q: Who are some of the entertainers you have recorded or played for?

Q: What is a live recording in a studio like? Take us there.

Q: Any final words of wisdom for us?

Q: What TV shows have you performed on?

Q: Did you see yourself becoming a national and international musician when you were in school at Manassas High School in Memphis, Tenn.?

Q: What's been the most amazing experience you have had during your career?

© 2013 Harvest Reapers Communications; All Rights Reserved.

Martin L. King Jr.'s Influence on Immigration Reform

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 03:46:17 GMT

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Dallas immigration attorney M. Elizabeth Cedillo-Pereira and her husband Oscar Pereira, a mechanical engineer on the Joint Strike Fighter Program at Lockheed Martin Corp., say Dr. King's influence is alive and well, especially in the immigration reform battle.

They agreed to be interviewed for my MLK Day 2013 blog post. The interviews were conducted at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dallas, Texas New Year's Day, where attorney Cedillo-Pereira gave the keynote address at the Dallas County Elected Official Swearing-In Ceremony.

All photos by Regina L. Burns.

Q: What do you think of Dr. King's legacy in 2013?

Q: How is Dr. King's legacy impactful in your work as an immigration attorney?

Q; What is the call to action?

Social Media Trends 2013: The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn.

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 01:15:55 GMT

The National Civil Rights Museum's 1.21.13 Twitter Page

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn. is the second installment in the "Social Media Trends 2013" series.

I interviewed NCRM Communications Coordinator Connie Dyson and Socially Advanced Marketing Founder Peter Hall at the museum Jan. 7, 2013. Hall assists the museum with day-to-day social media communications.

Follow their organizations:
https://twitter.com/NCRMuseum | https://twitter.com/peternhall

NCRM Communications Coordinator Connie Dyson

Q: How are you using social media to market the museum?

Socially Advanced Marketing Founder Peter Hall

Q: What type of metrics do you use to measure your social media efforts?

Q: (To Dyson) What type of results have you seen? Q: (To Hall) What's next?

EDUCATION AS A CIVIL RIGHT

Q: (To Dyson) The museum recently received a $549,000 grant from the Gates Foundation to address Education as a Civil Right. Tell us more.

Q: (To Hall) The museum has a separate Facebook page as part of the grant. How are you using it?

Introducing 'Social Media Trends 2013': Darlene Ewing

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 06:11:11 GMT

Dallas County Democratic Party Chair Darlene Ewing

As 2013 starts to settle in, I extend a "Happy New Year" wish to all who spend some of your online time with me in this space.

In planning for this year's posts, I am launching a series featuring Subject Matter Experts to help us understand "Social Media Trends 2013." I am curious about how organizations, various industry and groups use social media. How has it changed their communication strategies and tactics? What metrics are used to measure social media? You get the idea.

This series will be posted periodically throughout the year. I look forward to your feedback.

My inaugural post features an audio (turn on and up your speakers) interview with Dallas County Democratic Party Chair Darlene Ewing.

We chatted New Year's Day 2013 at the elected official swearing-in ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dallas, TX. Ewing is a Dallas political guru and family law attorney. Follow her organization at @dallasdemocrats.

Q: Give us a sense of how your organization used social media to reach your target audiences in 2012?

Q: Do you guys have any metrics that you use to measure the effectiveness of these resources?

Q: What 's ahead for 2013?

Q: As a result of the response on Facebook, are you changing other media that you were using in the past?

© 2013 Harvest Reapers Communications; All Rights Reserved.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Insights for First Responders & Journalists

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:20:56 GMT

When I saw President Obama wipe his eye last week as he informed the world about the Connecticut school mass slayings, my thoughts turned to all those affected by this horrific event, including the first responders and the journalists covering the story.

"Thank you."

Those are the two words I say to law enforcement, medical personnel., the coroners and to journalists, whose job is to deliver the good news and the horrible.

I hope you are taking care of yourselves, getting the proper rest and spending time with your own families during this holiday season. And if you need to, please reach out to a professional for counseling in light of post-traumatic stress disorder.

What is PTSD? The National Institute of Mental Health defines it as "an anxiety disorder that some people get after seeing or living through a dangerous event."

How to detect PTSD? View NIMH's answer here.
How does PTSD affect children compared to adults? View NIMH's answer here.
How to treat PTSD? View NIMH's answer here.

Almost two years ago, NPR reported First Responders, Rescuers Come Forward With PTSD about an Aspen, Colo. first responder who battled post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the story which Outside magazine covered, Michael Ferrara worked as a search-and-rescue man, ski patrol officer, paramedic and firefighter for 30 years. Later, "horrific images" paraded before his eyes from those rescues.

He says eventually he could not control 'the slideshow that was all these events' including 'an eviscerated man from an automobile crash,' according to NPR's report.

Ferrara found help in therapy.

One of many resources for first responders is the First Responder Support Network. According to its website, it provides "treatment programs that promote recovery from stress and critical incidents for first responders and their families."

Journalists who cover tragedies, which is routinely referred to as "breaking news," have resources also.

According to information on its website, "The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, a project of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, is dedicated to informed, innovative and ethical news reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy."

Check out its 40-page guide for journalists and others who report on violence

Dart's Tips on Covering Mass Shootings
Covering Trauma: Impact on Journalists
Advice for Student Journalists
Self-Care Advice from Joe Hight, who led a team of reporters and editors who covered victims of the Oklahoma City bombing

Update: "Entrepreneurial Journalism: Making Yourself the Brand"

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 01:21:46 GMT

Update: "Entrepreneurial Journalism: Making Yourself the Brand" at Abilene Christian Univ.

I joined some other Gutenberg Award winners and Abilene Christian University alums at the "Entrepreneurial Journalism: Making Yourself the Brand" panel discussion Oct. 19, 2012 in Abilene, Texas. The event was part of ACU's 20th anniversary Gutenberg Awards celebration. In an earlier post, I referenced this event.

This year's Gutenberg Award honorees are: Tracey Ferguson, Victoria Ahlén and Lovey Chin.

Students received insights from the following presenters:

9 a.m: "Entrepreneurial Journalism: Making Yourself the Brand"
Moderator- Kenneth Pybus, J.D.
Panel members- Regina L. Burns,Grant Rampy, Wendell Edwards and Tracey Ferguson

10 a.m: "Internships: Launching Your Career"
Moderator- Doug Mendenhall
Panel members- Victoria Ahlén, Brent Magers, Marcia Prior-Miller, Ron Hadfield, Lovey Chin and Byron Harrell

Here is the handout (.pdf), Four Stages of Your Career Diagram, that I shared during my presentation.

A Mighty 'Good' Thanksgiving 2012

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 05:23:32 GMT

"In my writing, as much as I could, I tried to find the good, and praise it."
-- Alex Haley, author of Roots

Author Alex Haley's remarkable quote is an excellent backdrop for my 2012 Thanksgiving post.

I had a mighty "good" Thanksgiving this year, in part, due to: an Attitude of Gratitude.

In other words, my decision earlier this year to focus on gratitude and to express it as often as I can, has paid off throughout the year. Today it showed up through connecting with Teresa Baxter, who did her first Turkey Trot in Dallas. She did 8 miles and I did the 5K and she carried Yoda (see photos below) on her back, which was the most unique costume I saw today.

Then there was a wonderful invitation to join my friend Elizabeth Hupf in Colleyville for a heartfelt family gathering. I brought along my cinnamon cornbread cake.

It was a mighty good day to meet new friends, bake a favorite dish and to share it with others. What a blessed Thanksgiving!