Socially Diverse Engaging With Diverse Communities Online

By James S. Walker Monday October 18, 2010

PRSA International Conference

#SOCDIV #PRSA_IC

  Social Media & Fashion   Marketing & Branding for Fashion Businesses

  Social Media & Linguistics   Bare Words, Bare Bones, True Culture

  Social Media & Crisis Communications   Effective Communication When It Counts

Fashion

Linguistics

Crisis

Diversity???

Any Underlying Connection?

Conversations

Tools Facilitating

Interaction Relationships

 Social Media Mirrors Culture

 Social Media Reflects Culture

 Social Media Creates Culture

This is the underlying connection.

  Merriam - Webster Definition: The condition of being diverse : variety; especially : the inclusion of diverse people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization.

  A few reasons for my focus here:   Diversity online goes largely unnoticed. So many interesting

conversations are happening in corners of the internet. So many cultural projects of great value. So many people that should be highlighted.

  Diversity issues, specifically lack of representation, is acknowledged but there is not enough solutions-focused activity. A large part of the problem is that we are not all as aware and as connected as we could be. I set out to do something about that.

  Socially Diverse was conceived on July 22, 2010 @ DC Media Makers

  Sparked by a discussion about gender diversity at panels

  Personal interest in Diversity manifested in two ways:   1. Diverse representation among practitioners   2. Diverse conversations and projects in the online

space

  Mission: Socially Diverse was created to highlight unique, interesting, diverse conversations online and the people who lead them.

  Six Steps for Successful Social Media Engagement   1. Listen (Research, Get the conversation pulse)

  2. Map out participants and communities (Connections)

  3. DIY (Do-It-Yourself, Develop Your Own Strategy)

  4. Rules of Engagement (Plan for Managing Interaction)

  5. Exit Strategy (Timeline, Transition, What’s Next?)

  6. Measurement & Evaluation

PR Prescriptions

Socially Diverse

@jaywalk1

James S. Walker

-

LinkedIn

Public Relations

Social Media

#SMCEDU

Diversity

Socially

Diverse

PR Prescriptions

@jaywalk1

James S. Walker

-

LinkedIn

Public Relations

Social Media

#SMCEDU

Diversity

4

DAYS

4

DAYS

  Name: Johnny Laird

  Age (or range if that’s better): Think Yoda!

  Blog: johnnylaird.net

  Twitter handle: @johnnylaird 

  Profession: Blogger, connector, communicator, change agent & social activist… friend of the geek & radical

  Location: Oxted, Surrey, UK...close to London

  Place of Origin: Aberdeen, Scotland.

  Adopted Culture (The one you are most connected to): I guess I’m a Londoner as much as anything else and a South Londoner at that. By being a Londoner, it means I’m likely to have been born outside of the city. I will have lived, learned, worked, played and partied with friends and family from all over the world. My cultural influences will have been many and varied, and I am as likely to enjoy a Jamaican pattie or a Chicken Tikka Massala as I am fish and chips. That said I am a Scot....with an elastic English accent. Londoners are a patchwork. It’s entirely possible to be a Scottish Londoner.

  Lesson: Sometimes diverse convos come to you!

  Name: Nichelle Stephens

  Age (or range if that’s better lol): thirtysomething

  Blog: http://pepsiweinspire.com

  Twitter handle: http://twitter.com/niche

  Profession:  Editor, Blogger, Social Media Strategist

  Location: Brooklyn, NY

  Place of Origin: Birmingham, AL

  Adopted Culture African American

  Launched in August 2009

  6 great icons, all Black women who have made great contributions on a professional level and with their greater communities

  African American women are the primary audience members

  Content and storyteller roles are open to all women

  Have been contributions by men as well.

  “To love who I am and what i do and express that through my poetry and to those around me. So to Pepsi and all the inspiring Women on Pepsi we inspire THANK YOU – 14yr old reader

  Pepsi We Inspire is more than a URL, it is an online community for all of us.

  Lesson: There won’t always be a label!

  Name: Angela Benton

  Age: 29

  Blog: Most Notable: BlackWeb20.com however we also have YBPGuide.com and Politic365.com; You can also check out BlackWebMedia.net

  Twitter handle: @ABenton

  Profession: Publisher/Mom/Superwoman

  Location: Charlotte, NC

  Place of Origin: Birthplace - Chicago, ILL.  Lived most of my life however in the Washington DC Metro area.

  Adopted Culture (The one you are most connected to): I am a bit of an eclectic perso,n so I am most connected to new cultures that I haven't experienced yet. I love and can appreciate how other people live.

  Name: Manny Ruiz

  Age (or range if that’s better): 40

  Blog: PapiBlogger

  Twitter handle: @papiblogger

  Profession: Entrepreneur,

Former Journalist & PR Pro

  Location: Miami, FL

  Place of Origin: Miami, FL

  Adopted Culture (The one you are most connected to): Cuban-American by birth but Latino at heart

  Creator - Hispanic PR Wire, Founder National Hispanic Market Practice of Porter Novelli, One of the catalysts “PRSA Diversity Today” podcast

  “Moms get the attention because they are perceived as the major decision makers when it comes to household purchases and the marketers almost universally believe that dads only buy cars, video games and cologne.

  Another reason why mom bloggers are vastly ahead in this game is because they blog in such greater numbers than dads and until now dad bloggers have not united to support each other as the moms have.  

  Unfortunately, until research and dad bloggers don’t make a stronger factual case indicating that they actually buy groceries or at least influence many of the things that are purchased, marketers will heap all the money and attention on mommy bloggers.  

  What is going to change is that following the recent M3 Modern Media Man Summit, the first of its kind for male bloggers, male bloggers will unite. I think we will succeed in showing marketers how they need to include us more in their blogger campaigns.” 

  Lesson: Sometimes diversity is literally JUST OUTSIDE your normal circle of people.

  5 months

  21 posts

  11 Interviews

  9 cities

  3 continents

  Dealing with Diversity means Dealing with Labels

  Be Bold

  Acknowledge instead of avoid

  Never Assume

  Be Aware of Nuances

  Personal Preference Always Wins

  You can’t tip toe around Diversity

  Politically Correct is not the same as Culturally Correct

  Sometimes You Just Have to Be Humble and Ask the Right Questions

  It’s okay to start at home, but don’t get too comfortable.

  The web is so unbelievably diverse.

  So much to see. So much to do. So many people and projects to connect with.

  Start with the man in the mirror and expand from there.

  Issue-Focused Approach to Diversity

YOU

Group

Issue

Group

Group

Group

Issue

  Network-Focused Approach to Diversity

YOU

Group

Group

Issue

Issue

Issue

Issue

  6 hours per week

  5 months

  20 weeks

  120 hrs

  @ rate $125/hr: $15,000

  Expanded Mindset

  Enhanced Brainstorming Sessions

  Creative Pitches

  Informed Execution

  @ rate $125/hr: INVALUABLE!

So…What’s Next?

#SOCDIV

 Blogger, Public Relations Professional, Connector   @jaywalk1  james.walker@prprescriptions.com   http://prprescriptions.com  http://sociallydiverse.posterous.com

Socially Diverse Engaging With Diverse Communities Online