URMA Conference 2009

University Research Magazine Association

Conference 2009College Station, TX

May 26 - May 29, 2009

Presented to the HSC Communications Council Thursday, June 11, 2009

1:00 PMvia TTVN

fromHSC-Baylor College of Dentistry

Art Upton, Webmaster

Baylor College of Dentistry

aupton@bcd.tamhsc.edu

Presenter:

Conference 2009

Choosing the cover story - Frank Stephenson, Florida State

Life after your magazine is killed - Conrad Storad, Arizona State

Setting up and running a research blog - Emily Carlson/NIH

Why it’s hard to get your institution’s name into print if the media write the

story - Deborah Illman, University of Washington

Editing health and medical stories - Barbara Gastel/Texas A&M

Writing for print and for the Web: old skills, new skills - Dale Rice, Texas A&M

Communicating research with social media - Max Malloy, Texas A&M AgriLife

Program

Moving the story from idea to print - Jason Smith, et al., UNC

Conference 2009Not Just Web, but “Web 2.0”

Web 2.0 fundamental shift on the Internet

Powerful effects on H.E. Communication, Alumni and

Advancement.

Web 2.0: major platform for ever-more complex services,

Web is no longer merely a means of presenting static pages.

PUBLISHING BECOMES TRUE COMMUNICATION.

Communication: No Longer One-Way Only

More Interactivity = Better User Experience

Web 2.0 More Effective as people USE it

Web 2.0 applications: designed, developed

and managed to exploit this strength.

Web 2.0 and Communication

“The Medium is the Message”

Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media,1964 Key Question: How best integratePrint/Web media -- TODAY

Communicators: Must understand both

To choose which Medium (Print or Web) is appropriate for the Message

• A Network is a vehicle for machine communication via wire/wireless connections

• A Web is a vehicle for human communication via machine network connections

Print -vs- Web Communications Network/Web Considerations

Print: Choose a press based upon needs of the publication;

Web: Choose Managed Hosting

of Infrastructure, Platform, Applications

based upon the needs of the Web’s user/audiences.

Without these choices, publishers (Print or Web) are restricted.

A University network is necessarily secured and restricted, being multi-purpose and multi-user based.

External Web 2.0 publishing needs must be considered differently.

Print -vs- Web Communications Network/Web Considerations

Managed Hosting The “as a Service” Model

InfrastructureIaaS

PlatformPaaS

SoftwareSaaS

• Hardware• Connectivity• Bandwidth• Security

• L-inux• A-pache• M-ySQL• P-latform

• CMS• Blogs• Social Network• Other ...

Is it difficult, or expensive?

From: University Web Developer’s Digest (cuwebd.ning.org)

“It isn't very difficult to redirect a sub domain of your university domain to an external hosting account supporting (LAMP) where you can install (SaaS). It's totally transparent for the end user and can provide you flexibility for just (a very small amount) per month for the hosting account.

Karine JOLYhttp://higheredexperts.comhttp://collegewebeditor.com

Communicators & Web Publishers always need this option.

The Conference SessionsLife after your magazine is killed

• Conrad Storad, Arizona State University

• His answer: Go write children’s books!

• In spite of his cynicism, the ASU example of integration is not bad. Too bad the pub got axed. Sorry, Conrad.

• http://asunews.asu.edu/

http://asunews.asu.edu/

• Emily Carlson, NIHWebmaster, NIGMS blog: “The Feedback Loop”

• Key points:

✓ A blog is NOT a “deliverable”

✓ Management is more like opening a store than delivering a product

✓ How to manage posts & comments in a workflow -- Analog: Letters to the Editor

✓ The Feedback Loop model: 5 authors/24 hour turnaround time for responses

The Conference SessionsSetting up and running a research blog

https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/

• Dale Rice, TAMU

• Teaches Political Blogging

• Key points:

✓ Write for “scanning”

✓ Break text visually (paragraphs/headings, etc.)

✓ Creative use of “Flip Videos”

✓ Consider a link to an interview audio

✓ Use Links well -- make documents “meta-docs”

The Conference SessionsWriting for print & Web: Old Skills, New Skills

• Max Malloy, AgriLife Webmaster

• Max is a guy who really “works the Web”

• Key points:

✓ Facebook/Twitter, currently on top

✓ Others (e.g. MySpace) on the wane

✓ Need a strategy in order to insure currency of information

✓ Relative independence of AgriLife (and A&M Former Students Association) give important freedom to move with the technology

The Conference SessionsCommunication Research with Social Media

http://texasextension.tamu.edu/

• Symmetry Magazine (DOD - SLAC/Fermi)

• Magazine -- 6x/year

• Web -- Published in alternate months

‣ Features -- fixed between issues;

‣ Includes downloadable for print;

‣ News block changes daily.

The Conference SessionsBest Example: Not Part of the Conference!

http://symmetrymagazine.org

Some Numbers:

What to do:

1. Don’t Panic: Get the Facts about existing publications;2. Do some homework: Ask readers and target audiences

about their preferences; CASE has survey materials3. Learn more: Determine possible cost-saving options for

mission-critical print publications;4. Explore: Different electronic options for other print

publications; 5. Decide & Share: Share it with stakeholders, target

audiences, and readers.

Conclusion • State of the Media:

‣ Print: On the wane, due to costs;

‣ Web: On the rise, due to Big-Bang-for-Bucks.

‣ Best practice: Integrate the two media for the best interests of the institution.

More on my blog

http://webcomm.bcd.tamhsc.edu/sphpblog/

Slides can be found at www.slideshare.net/artupton

http://webcomm.bcd.tamhsc.edu/sphpblog/