Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few.

Pythagoras

Image courtesy: no thneeds needed

What do good photography and storytelling have in common?  When I was a photography intern at the Virginian-Pilot, my editor once told me, “Eye candy sells papers, but good photography tells a story.”  Visual imagery is pervasive in our society today, but lately I’ve been asking myself where the message is.  Photographers seem to have forgotten that a picture used to be worth a thousand words.

As a photographer and videographer, one critical skill that I base my style upon is that for an image to be effective, it has to tell a clear story and it has to put the subject in context.  I teach photography courses on the weekends, and one question I always present to my students is “What are you trying to tell me with this picture?”  With my first-time pupils, I am almost always met with a confused response, because most people initially assume that a picture is just a picture. My philosophy is that a picture is worth at least a thousand words, and if you can’t fill a page with the message that your shot conveys, then you aren’t sending a strong enough message.

Every communication tool should send a well-defined message, always. If it can do so artfully, then your audience is more likely to listen to what you have to say. In today’s visually immersive world, the best way to make your product stand out is with imagery that helps tell your story!

Image courtesy: www.JasonAllenPhotography.com

My video production team was webcasting the Consumers Union’s “Safe Patient Project” Conference. Amidst the public clamor regarding spiraling costs, public options, and liability, the conference stressed the need to focus on the patient and quality of care. One point was made perfectly clear: patients must take a proactive and involved role regarding their treatment.

One method is the My Medication Tracker which is an online tool designed to help the individual in such a way was mentioned at the conference. Vital information, such as dosage, refill information, prescribing physician, and costs can now be organized, accessed, and printed, allowing you to take the information with you to effectively communicate with your doctor and pharmacist. This can reduce the risk of dangerous drug interactions.

Having relatives who suffer from multiple ailments, I know each one of them is on a serious prescription medication regimen. With multiple physicians and specialists, corner pharmacies, and online pharmaceutical suppliers involved, the need to track and organize medication is paramount. This is one online tool that I couldn’t wait to share with my family.

On December 2^nd I listened to the third in series of four social media webinars being given by Matrix Group CEO Joanna Pineda. This one, “Understanding the Art of Tweeting,” covered the basics of using Twitter as a marketing tool for organizations.

One of the key points Pineda made is that an organization should not merely tweet headlines and links to its news items, blog posts, press releases, etc. That’s not adding value to what someone could get from your e-newsletter, RSS feed, Facebook page, or other outlets. Instead, only about 20% of your tweets should be about your organization, and the other 80% should be information your clients are likely to find helpful and interesting.

For example, Mind & Media employees could tweet about new social media tools, examples of effective communication campaigns, or news of interest to our major government clients. Pineda suggests that an organization tweet about 4-6 times per day, with several employees tweeting as agreed on areas of interest to them vs. assigning one person to be the company’s tweeter.

The final webinar in this series will be “Measuring the Return on Investment of Social Media for Business” on December 16. See the Matrix Group International, Inc. website for details.

Image courtesy: twitter.com/

I’ve been reading trickles of information regarding Adobe’s new lightweight application, Adobe AIR, that holds some serious promise for anyone interested in interactive storytelling.  I first heard rumors about it being installed and integrated in all multimedia devices starting next year.

In reading up on its various capabilities (of which there are many interesting ones) I came across the promotion for AVATAR.  Built with Adobe Air, the AVATAR trailer is actually an application that I install on my desktop.  Yes, the bulk of it is a three-minute movie trailer streamed via the web, but this trailer has a number of “hot spots” that over the course of the promotion were updated with ancillary content such as character back story, actor interviews, and production designs.

This got me thinking about how this non-linear approach to storytelling could be applied around the web.  As media and news becomes more of a conversation between author and audience, I could see a single, focused story grow many branches with an application like Adobe AIR, as users contribute their feedback.  Think of it like something akin to Amazon.com’s user-generated reviews, except that instead of text there are webcams and personal stories.  Additionally, you can program YouTube and Twitter feeds that populate the application on your desktop.  As AIR gets embedded in more devices in 2010 it will be interesting to see what other types of interactive applications are built.  You can download the AVATAR application here.

Image courtesy of Adobe.com.

It’s been almost a year since the Obama administration launched their version of whitehouse.gov, featuring a blog and videos embedded from YouTube. The White House social media folks also manage an active Facebook page as well as a presence on six other social media sites. So connected!

Here we 11 months later and I’m wondering if the social media habits at 1600 Pennsylvania have trickled down to the Cabinet. “Look, Mr. President, I’m blogging, too!” So today I made visits to each of the 15 executive departments that make up the President’s Cabinet to see which were engaged in social media.

Here’s the list—following each I indicate which they employ: a blog, Facebook (FB), YouTube (YT), Twitter (TW), Flicker (FL), MySpace (MS), or others.

Participating in Social Media

• Agriculture: Blog, FB, TW, FL
• Defense: Blog, FB, YT, TW, FL, other
• Education: Blog, FB, YT, TW
• Energy: Blog, FB, YT, FL, other
• Homeland Security: Blog, YT, TW
• Housing & Urban Development: Blog, FB, YT, TW, FL
• Justice: Blog, FB, YT, TW, MS
• Labor: TW
• State: Blog, FB, YT, TW, FL
• Veterans Affairs: FB, TW

Still in the Stone Age

• Commerce: They have a Videos page that doesn’t include a single video for all of 2009!
• Health & Human Services
• Interior
• Treasury
• Transportation

I was impressed to see 10 of the 15 are making a concerted effort to change with the times and take advantage of new (free) tools to engage with and serve this country’s citizens. I’m really surprised to see a few still in the Stone Age, particularly Health & Human Services. Now, they do run Flu.gov, which is active on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, but still, there are other health issues in the world, eh?

If government is of the people, by the people, and for the people then what better way to support that mission than to engage directly with the people? Agencies employing social media are not just keeping up with the President, or chasing a trend, they are actually better prepared to meet mission. The immediacy of information exchange provided by social media allows agencies to more quickly disseminate and respond to information. It makes it easier for the people to interact, too. One great example is an exchange I saw on the Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Facebook page:

Diane H.: I just found out that my daughter is living with a couple that has section 8 housing. My daughter is not part of their lease. They are having her pay to live with them. They have been caught in the past for section 8 fraud. What can I do?…

HUD Response: Hello Diane If you suspect section 8 fraud, please contact HUD’s Office of Inspector General at 1-800-347-3735. Please let us know if this information helps. [plus a link to the hotline website]

Voila! Easy for Diane—as easy as saying hi to any other friend on Facebook—and easy for HUD to put her in touch with the correct authority. Government in action.

Or how about this one:

Tammy A: How does one get a list of HUD housing or apartments in their community?

Brian M: Try HUD.gov, I believe this is the link you want: http://www.hud.gov/renting/local.cfm

Here we have two Facebook users exchanging information via the HUD Facebook page—the HUD page is the vehicle but no HUD folks even got involved. The Facebook page serves as both information vehicle and community. Good stuff.

Now, come on Interior, how about some YouTube videos or weather tweets about my favorite national parks!