Twenty Questions Regarding Social Government Business

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Andrea Baker

OMNI Hotel at CNN Center

Today is officially day one of the ALI Social Media for Government Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. This morning, I went around the room of about 40 attendees to ask them what questions they have as they attend this event and what they expect to learn. I jotted down the questions with the promise to make sure everyone has an answer or at least a place to go to, to get more information if no quick answer exists.

I can haz a question

To help this group get their questions answered, I am putting this list out to my social networks to share in the conversation. I ask of you, if you have a presentation, story, anecdote, or anything else to share to help answer these questions, please do so in the comments below and pass on this blog post to your circle to continue to build the answers to this list of twenty questions. If you have the answer to the question, in your comment, please put the question number and then your answer. If possible, please link liberally to more information. While this is a Government audience, I think we can agree that no matter what industry you are in, these are universal problems. I have been able to answer some of these questions in the little time I have as chair between sessions and hope to discuss others at the end of each day. Tomorrow morning, I present another session in which I hope to focus on the Return on Investment (ROI) of Social Media.

When I get enough information to complete the answers to the Q, I will take that into a permanent page on my website as a continued resource that I can bring out and refresh now and again. I thank you in advance for your time.

Here are the questions I culled from the group:

How can I get/use an editorial calendar to manage my social media content?
How can I get my peers onboard, get excited, or keep their interest with using social media?
How can I enhance my blogs with Twitter and Facebook?
How can I create a group blog and make it a successful one?
How can I get past management’s reluctance to embrace social media as another content outlet for our information?
How can I put social media policies or create guidelines for management of social media into place?
What else should my organization be doing in social media besides a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube?
What are some of the best practices available?
How do I get the most bang for my buck?
How can I do effective measurement and analytics, how do I measure twitter?
How do I handle all my daily requirements and run our social media presence? It’s just me! How do I manage this monster?
How to I bring IT on board and convince them social media is not an evil thing?
What is the most effective way to cross-broadcast our information using multiple social media channels?
How do I address the generation and cultural gaps of my target audience?
How do I shift the paradigm from email to social?
How do I reach my rural constituents when they might not even be web connected?
How do I boost the effects of Follow Friday or other audience gathering techniques?
How do I select the right tools for the job/audience?
How do I maintain success once I achieve it?
What is the next big thing/trend in social?

Graphical Resume

Image

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For those job seekers out there looking to set yourselves apart from the rest, take a look at the Brazen Careerist facebook app I tried out recently. I was able to have my graphic built from connecting to my resume and information pulled in from LinkedIN in seconds and shared instantly with my stream. You can also tweet a link to it or download and post on your website like I have done here.

Some of you might be weary of 3rd person apps, which this requires a few to get the final result, however, the final result is pretty cool. Of course this reads incorrectly in a few spots, but I am sure after tweaking with the settings, it would be more accurate. Perhaps I should create a second profile just for my acting career. As this reads I have been doing E20 and social media since I was 5 years old, or maybe I have? hmmm

http://brazen.me/u/andrearbaker

http://apps.facebook.com/brazenapp/?ref=ts

It’s FOSE Time Again

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Andrea Baker

The FOSE Conference & Expo is returning to Washington, DC, July 19-21 – are you planning to attend? I am, I can’t tell you how many times I have attended in recent years, as the conference circuit is quite a blur from one to the next. However, I always know when it is time for FOSE because it is THE biggest event in the Washington DC area for the Federal Government IT. As a US Army veteran and former consultant to the Government industry, this was a must do event every year for me. This year, I will be there again in support of Operation Gratitude and for my organization’s booth – AIIM International.

If you stop by our booth (number 505), you can ask Jesse Wilkins, who also will be speaking on Social Media Governance on the 20th at 1:30pm or myself about our Social Business Roadmap. In fact, if you head over to Jesse’s blog post about the event, you can enter to win a free full conference pass.

If you’ve never been to FOSE before, then make 2011 the year you attend! There’s a reason (several, actually) why it’s the top government IT event in the country. FOSE features a FREE Expo with education sessions and over 400 IT solution providers, including Blackberry, Canon and Dell. Another excellent reason to attend FOSE: Apple founder Steve Wozniak will be one of this year’s keynote speakers!

This year’s Conference features advanced level sessions and keynotes across 5 tracks, including:

Interested in attending FOSE? Register today at http://bit.ly/FOSE20Reg for a 20% discount off the full conference rate!

Open Position: Program Manager, Online and Interactive Content at AIIM

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Andrea Baker

Please send your resume and cover letters addressed to “Human Resources” and email them to abaker@aiim.org. If you would like to know more about AIIM, you can read more on our website at http://www.aiim.org/About

Staff: OPEN

Reports to: Director, Market Access

FLSA Status: Exempt

Travel Required: less than 10%

Location: The employee is required to work at AIIM headquarters office and eligible for Tele-working policy. Deviations from this requirement must be approved by supervisor.

Infrastructure: AIIM provides standard office equipment.

Summary: Under direct supervision, assist Director with online and interactive content initiatives to drive traffic to AIIM and sponsor content. Manage Microsite, eNewsletter, and eAdvertising programs.

Specific Tasks:

Social Networking

Monitor Linkedin groups (AIIM and other industry groups)
Create Linkedin discussions around Microsite and AIIM content.
Monitor Twitter and create tweets to Microsite and AIIM content.

AIIM website

Post articles to AIIM Latest to drive traffic to events, research, and Microsite articles, etc.
Post “Case Study of the Week” banners and rotate for Microsites.
Monitor AIIM web traffic via Google analytics.
Update stats sheet.

eNewsletter

Coordinate content, HTML code eNewsletter, pull list and send to subscribers.
Coordinate headlines and classifieds.
Post “Case Study of the Week” banner for Microsites in eNewsletter.
Send leads to advertisers.
Monitor and track subscriptions, opens and click thrus.
Update stats sheet.

Banner ads

Post AIIM house ads, microsite sponsor banner ads, and advertiser banner ads to AIIM website.
Monitor impressions and click-thrus.
Provide stats (impressions/click-thrus).

Microsites

Post vendor and AIIM content to Microsite.
Drive traffic via eNewsletter and social networking.
Coordinate vendor content, process orders, and send weekly leads.
Monitor and track traffic and leads.
Update stats sheet
Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Marketing or Communications, or equivalent experience.
Strong knowledge of social networking and web analytics to effect marketing activity.
Two (2) years experience, preferably in a Marketing setting.
Must have strong attention to detail, project and time management, planning, execution, and communication skills (verbal, written and interpersonal).
Understanding of core marketing principles such as driving traffic, market segmentation, targeting, etc.
Ability to write marketing copy for web and email based communications.
Must be able to interact with staff in a professional, effective, and proactive manner.
Must be able to interact with sponsors in a professional, effective and proactive manner.
Excellent HTML, PC and MS Office skills (Excel a must).

AIIM Releases Social Business Roadmap

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Andrea Baker

In January 2011 I joined AIIM International, a non-profit organization to help make a difference in the realm of Social Business for Government and Industry. I am happy to say, today is a big step in obtaining my goal as we officially released the roadmap. Please feel free to download, share, tweet, email, post to your social media circle websites and whatever you can do to ensure the widest possible release. This document is free and shared under creative commons share-alike. When you do share, please link back to www.aiim.org or hashtag it with #aiim and #socbiz to help us see where this goes. Also please feel free to follow me on twitter @immunity and let me know your feedback.

Please note, we have also developed an infographic to download and post in your cubicle. Or if you telework like me, post on the wall of your home office. Additionally, also as noted below, we do offer customized briefings for your organization in support of the roadmap.

As mentioned below, we are collecting your feedback, case studies and examples on the AIIM wiki and we hope you take part in this as we shape future versions of the roadmap.

To download the roadmap and contribute to the AIIM wiki, please go to www.aiim.org/roadmap or with your smartphone scan this QR code to take you directly to the AIIM site.

The social business roadmap consists of eight primary steps. Each step is briefly described here and is addressed in substantially more detail over the course of the document. Links to the eight steps take you to our wiki, where we discuss the “what’s next”, case studies, and your additional thoughts and feedback.

Emergence. In this step the organization is not using social technologies in any formal or organized way. Instead, individuals or small groups within the organization are experimenting with social technologies to determine whether there is business value to them.
Strategy. Once the organization begins to develop experience with social technologies and has identified potential business value from their use, it is important to create a framework that identifies how it expects to use these technologies, and the goals and objectives for their use.
Development. With the strategy in place, the organization can make informed decisions about what tools to implement, how to implement them, where to implement them, and how they will potentially scale more broadly within the organization.
Monitoring. Initially the organization should spend time monitoring and listening to the conversations taking place in and around a particular tool to get a sense of the nature of the tool, the content of the conversations, the target audiences, and who the leading participants are. This is perhaps more visible in externally focused processes but is important for internal ones as well.
Participation. Once the organization has done some listening it will be able to participate more meaningfully and should begin doing so according to what it has learned about the target market and the nature of the conversations on the various tools.
Engagement. The goal is for participation to move to engagement – from speaking at or to customers to engaging with them. This means creating processes to respond to issues, both internally and externally, and ensuring that communications are clear, accurate, and authentic.
Governance. This step describes the process for developing an effective governance framework for social business processes. Some of the steps are specific to certain tools or capabilities, while others are more broadly applicable, such as an acceptable usage policy.
Optimization. Once social business processes are in place, they should be actively managed and reviewed to ensure that the organization is realizing the expected benefits. This includes but is not limited to monitoring the tools in real time, identifying and measuring specific metrics, and training users on new or evolving tools and processes.

In addition to the roadmap document, we have also created a detailed infographic of the eight steps. Please feel free to download this graphic and share.

Contact

Please contact Jesse Wilkins, Director, Systems of Engagement, to schedule a briefing for your organization. Andrea Baker, Manager, Systems of Engagement Development is available to present classified briefings for organizations with security concerns.

- Cell: +1 (720) 232-9638

Email: jwilkins@aiim.org

A New Gig and What Are Your Top Business Problems

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Andrea Baker

This post was cross posted on AIIM Community Blogs and on GovLoop.This post was cross posted on AIIM Community Blogs and on GovLoop.

Career Update: I am happy to announce that on January 18, 2011 I joined AIIM as the Manager of Systems of Engagement division under Jesse Wilkins, Director of Systems of Engagement. This team is a new business area for AIIM, as its only about 3 months old, yet both Jesse and I bring expertise and real practical experience to the table in our efforts to grow this area. It’s been a busy first few weeks as I have jumped right into my role as a thought leader bringing my expertise on Enterprise 2.0 from a Government 2.0 perspective. I leave my former role as Director of Enterprise 2.0 at Navstar, Inc out of Reston, Virginia and all-around innovative muse in the Government community with no regrets, but the utmost respect as I bring that experience to AIIM.

In joining the Systems of Engagement team, we are setting the stage for an exciting first half of 2011. I hope that with this first blog post, my readers will come back to share their knowledge as well as read what I have to offer in the realm of Social Business, as not only a thought leader, but as a peer. This blog is not intended to be a series of ramblings as mostly found on my personal website, but as a conversation on how the world of social business is constantly changing the way we communicate with one another inside and outside of the firewall.

I also plan a busy year of speaking engagements and participation at events covering Government 2.0 (I will be at Gov2LA this weekend and have submitted to GTEC). I also have plans to present both nationally and internationally throughout the year. I hope to hear from AIIM community members for which events I should be aware of and when the calls for presentations are announced. You can always give me a heads up on Twitter or connect with me on LinkedIN, outside of this blog if you feel more comfortable sharing through other social media means. I should also remind you, that our own Systems of Engagement team is putting on our first virtual conference this September 8, 2011. Our call for presentations ends this February 18, 2011. So I recommend putting your thoughts down and submitting them as soon as you can.

In addition to blogging on here, I will continue to resume blogging at the AIIM Community Blogs and on my personal website. I will also be happy to learn more from you all offline and via email as my job is to learn from your experiences in order to share lessons learned and better the community through guidance and education, provided by AIIM. In fact, I just came back from Denver where Jesse, Atle Skjekkeland, and I had our first strategy session for our division and set our goals for this year. I am very excited about what we plan to achieve and will be sharing with you, our community in the very near future.

As now you have gotten to know me a little, I would like to know a little about you, through a short 10-question survey I created, Click here to take survey. I would like to know your top business problems. My goal is to get the top 100 business problems in all areas of business, be it industry or Government. You can help me by sharing this survey as widely as possible through social media links.

I would like to thank you all in advance for helping me with your feedback and survey participation and look forward to a healthy and fruitful discussion with each and every one of you in 2011 and beyond. I am looking forward to taking this next step in my career to not only better myself, but to better you and your organizations.

See you at an event soon

WIRe Conference 2010

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Andrea Baker

The World Intelligence Review (WIRe) will host its annual conference entitled, “Beyond Tools: Transforming Online Intelligence” on February 24-25, 2010 at the Gaylord National Hotel at the National Harbor, MD.

The goal of the 2010 WIRe conference is to propel the Intelligence Community (IC) beyond the static use of tools toward a more dynamic point of cultural transformation and repurposing of the ways that we utilize online intelligence. As we investigate the differences between how the IC and the rest of the world use social media, we will pinpoint best practices across the social networking spectrum and examine how constantly evolving Web and social media tools impact the intelligence mission.

Who Should Attend:
The 2010 WIRe conference will foster networking opportunities for members of the IC, Department of Defence (DoD), military, and academic communities, as well as Government contracting and industry representatives.

This event is completely unclassified.

Just announced: WIReCamp — a networking & open brainstorming session during the WIRe conference next week! Bring your fresh ideas 4 #gov20

This moderated networking event will take place during the conference between 12-5pm each day. I am looking forward to moderating the event. Hope you can come with your ideas.

I will be attending this event, always moving forward in making Government more efficient and less redundant.

I am also looking forward to seeing Dion Hinchcliffe and Marcia Conner speak as well as the progress for the Apps for the Army and IDEO presentations.

If you are in the United States Government, Contractor, or state or local… DHS included, please think about registering and attending. Its not too late.

Web 2.0 Corporate Communications Manager

Posted on January 11, 2010 by Andrea Baker

This position is no longer open. Please do not reply to this notice.

You can send your resume to me (abaker at navstar-inc.com). All new job postings are listed on our website. I am also pleased to announce that starting this new year, we offer health, dental, and vision coverage for domestic partnerships.

Navstar, Inc Job Order #1327

Posted Date:	1/8/2010
Job Category:	Information Technology
Position Title:	Web 2.0 Corporate Communications Manager
Salary Range:	90-100K
Location:	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Desired Skills:
Description	This position will be responsible for developing corporate communications strategy with stake holders by identifying and evaluating current social media market tools and technologies, and incorporating the newest technologies, including wikis, blogs, forums, etc, to deploy across the enterprise. Responsible for determining costs and making recommendations as to which capabilities are best utilized to address specific communications requirements and audiences. Concurrently, this position is responsible for interfacing with existing tools and technologies, such as the corporate intranet website to enhance their effectiveness and to continually improve the corporate communications system. This position will play a key role in driving innovative, but at the same time, practical, cost effective, and achievable incremental communications systems improvements. Candidate should have skills in newest web 2.0 technologies to maximize communications to engage internal and external audiences. Also, skills in project management and effective presentation, informal personal and written communications are required. In addition to developing current communications solutions and system improvements, this position will be responsible for keeping current with and informed on emerging techniques, tools, and capabilities, and particularly identifying those that appear will become durable and practical solutions. The successful candidate will possess a bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent, and typically will have ten to twelve years of overall related experience with three years of recent direct experience in social media strategy and implementation. Candidate will also have specific experience in a large and geographically dispersed organization of more than 6,000 employees deploying and utilizing Enterprise 2.0 and other advanced communications and collaboration applications and tools. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated innovation in strategic planning, identifying, evaluating, and applying tools such as forums, blogs, personalized websites, SharePoint and other collaborative tools, as well as new and emerging tools that apply to personal electronic devices including cell phones, PDAs, and BlackBerrys, to achieve measurable improvements in communications effectiveness, particularly with a dispersed and non-homogeneous employee population. Desired technical skills: Microsoft .Net Framework, AJAX, XHTML, HTML, JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and support for user-generated content such as wikis, blogs, and forums. Photoshop and Flash expertise would be a plus. In the performance of his or her duties this position will interface closely with creative, technical, and infrastructure support people in multiple groups departments.

Continuation on Communicating With Social Media

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Andrea Baker

Last Week, I spoke at the Potomac Forum’s session on “How to” in Social Media in Government. My presentation was on How to Write a Blog Post: The first steps of organizational blogging.

I have been blogging in some shape or form since 1999. I started blogging about concerts I attended and the occasional hi-jinks that ensued with my work as a music promoter. Over the years, I have transitioned to community management and supporting the Federal Government with Enterprise 2.0 best practices. Part of being a good community manager is to have a voice that can be heard above the rest of the noise of discussion in regards to presenting policy and guidelines, as well as mitigating wiki edit wars.

As such, I leverage my blog internally in my company and with the customers I support to organize the chaos. Blogs are an effective way to place a conversation or announcement you would normally send to a large email recipient list and can prevent those long chains of “reply all”.

This workshop is a follow-up to my previous talk at the last Potomac Forum I spoke at in August 2009, Hints for Communicating in Social Media.

To see the steps I have covered in my talk, please check out the wiki on GovCollab.

http://govcollab.wikispaces.com/Blogger

Blogs I contribute to on the open internet aside from this one:

I am also a guest blogger for ZDNet and Social Computing Journal on topics of Enterprise 2.0 and Government 2.0. Occasionally, I am also asked to guest post on blogs, which I consider an honor and will link on my website. If you would like me to be a guest blogger on your site you can contact me via twitter (@immunity) to connect for more details.

Andrea Baker – Your Chief Social Engineer

My Life Through The User-Driven/Generated Web

Category Archives: Technology

WIRe Conference 2010

Web 2.0 Corporate Communications Manager

Navstar, Inc Job Order #1327