I WILL get crap for the title of this blog. I know this. I accept this. But here’s the thing. Using my domain name (the original concept) sounded like I was sitting in very large (think Lily Tomlin’s Edith Anne) overstuffed chair pontificating about this and that. That’s not what I’m going for.
And there will be the inevitable mispronouncements of my blog name. Just to be clear it is “Doo-ing” Media not “Doyng” Media.
OK, so that’s out of the way. Now why am I doing this? There are a few reasons. I have this thing I call my “professional mission” which has been with me since I started my career. It’s the tag-line you see on the main page: Help people leverage electronic media for communication.
Reason number two: I have been in too many client meetings, taught too many classes, spoken to too many professionals in which people don’t get it. It’s not about “Let’s do a video!”, “We need a website!”, “We have to have a DVD!” or “Gimme [your media delivery method here]“. It’s about communication. Too many people talk about the means but not the end. They assume the means IS the end. Well, Homey don’t play dat. I’ll be talking about how to use the means to achieve the end.
Reason number three: I’ve spent my entire career sharing information with other people, mostly informally. (I teach college media classes but they should be in their own category.) I figured I would formalize the sharing.
Last but not least, as you may have read in my first post, I have a book to get out of my head. I hope this blog will help me with the discipline to do that. I hope. So, keep me honest.
What you can expect here will be theory and practice, tips and techniques, referrals and resources. You will (probably) not get equipment reviews. Or tutorials. But expect the occasional rant.
This blog is for the accidental media practitioner, the intentional media practitioner, the future media practioner. It’s for you whether you’re in manufacturing or a non-profit, education or health care, management or marketing, religion or just at home.
If you’ve found yourself “Doing Media” you’re in the right place.
Later!
{ 6 } Comments
Loved this- ” It’s not about “Let’s do a video!”, “We need a website!”, “We have to have a DVD!” or “Gimme [your media delivery method here]”. It’s about communication. Too many people talk about the means but not the end. They assume the means IS the end. ”
Thank you, thank you thank you!!!!! I think I might just blow this up to poster size and keep it in my cube at work. I cannot seem to get this message across to top level managers, who are supposed to know what they are doing.
They want web site designers to create their programs and initiatives for them! Enough! “I’m a web designer not a HR specialist damn it Jim!”~ a la ‘Star Trek’
My favorite line is: “I want an 8 minute video.” OK, so if I can tell your story in 5, does that make it bad? Should I fill 3 minutes with fireworks and Yanni music? Next favorite is “How much does a video/website cost?” I don’t know. How much is a brown suit? We all fielding questions like this. It’s just part of the deal we made with the devil when we chose this path.
Welcome!
The first post is a great start. Indeed, cutting through the millions of words written about media, content, information, content management, etc. ad infintum, the statement that “it’s about communication” is positively inspired. One could take that statement even a bit further and say “the only really important groups in the entire information and media life cycle are those who know something and those who need to know and are willing to pay for it. Everyone else just carries water for them.” Unfortunately, and it is the cause of our curious inability to communicate as effectively as technology suggests we should, this truth gets lost in the software frenzy.
In our practice, “we like to say that content management isn’t something you buy, it’s something you do.” This blog may just help more people to see that fact and to begin looking more closely at what and how they are doing communication. That can only be good.
Best wishes,
Barry
After recently gong through the ‘lets do a website, what do YOU think we should put in it?” deal, this week, I had the pleasure of working on a site that had some forethought go into it first. There was architecture, content and would you believe it…a plan!!! We designers tweaked the architecture here and there, designed the front and inner pages and tomorrow I fill the site with pages and content that is already in my “in box!” I was just thinking how vastly different this week’s experience was, in a positive way. Think I need to put a process in place where I require, um…requirements? And they’re, uh…required???!!! In other words…get those who need training…trained. Period.
The hardest thing from a personal, professional and political viewpoint is saying “No”.
At a personal level we all want to be pleasant and polite, aiming to please. Professionally, we want to be good team players not trying to rock the boat. And in many cases we don’t want to ripple the political waters for fear of losing the client or losing the job or losing the next promotion.
But good team players need to pleasantly and courageously rock the boat to be successful. And to gain success for their customers. If its not working out then the big question is: Do I stay with this job or this project or this client?
The answer is “No”.
Thanks Julia! Mind if I riff on either of your “favs” sometime?
Thanks Barry for the vote of confidence. I’ll try to stay on the right track.
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