The social web has gone a long way toward changing what it means to be in the audience at a speech – making an audience member less a passive spectator listening to a monologue, and more an active participant in a conversation among peers.
And nobody…
The social web has gone a long way toward changing what it means to be in the audience at a speech – making an audience member less a passive spectator listening to a monologue, and more an active participant in a conversation among peers.
And nobody d…
“Why won’t they blog?”
That’s a lament I hear from community managers, social media practitioners and communications directors who are begging, cajoling, coaxing and wheedling coworkers, trying to get them to post something to their organization’s or c…
Online participation 101: it’s easier to get people to take smaller steps and build on them, than to ask them to take a giant leap on your behalf.
I just got an email from the fine folks at SlideShare, letting me know they’ll be featuring our free e-book on getting value from blogging on the front page of their business and management section for the next day or so.
Which is great. For the e-book, that means more people will see it and, I hope, read it. And for me, well, I have to admit I’m a sucker for a combination of third-party validation and increased attention.
Actually, a lot of people are. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to motivate participation by offering prizes (“Win yet another iPod shuffle!”)… and in fact, contests do have a lot going for them.
But don’t underestimate the value of singling someone out, and giving them a higher profile, even for a little while. Discovering you’ve written the “Comment of the Week” or uploaded one of the “Photos We Like” can go a long way to making sure you contribute again – and maybe put even more effort into it next time, and encourage others to join in.
Better yet, the rest of your users will see there’s an opportunity to gain a little prominence, and they’ll be motivated to contribute more.
Getting featured is terrific, and the email I got from SlideShare is the icing on the cake. And the sprinkles on that icing? This paragraph:
P.S – Why not blog/twitter this and let the world know about this awesome masterpiece you have created?
Apparently that paragraph works, or you wouldn’t be reading this post today.
P.S. – I wonder if they’ve thought of hyperlinking the Twitter suggestion, so you could just click on it to tweet the good news to your network.
Looking for advice on public speaking, speechwriting and leadership communications? Here are some of my most comprehensive posts, on topics that people ask me about most often.
