On Twitter, almost no one hears you. Or at least that’s the case for 99.95% of Twitter users whose Tweets evaporate into the aether, scrolling off the feed, leaving scarcely a trace. According to statistics released last week by Twitter, users now send a billion Tweets a week (up nearly 3x from 350M a year ago). But [...]

The term “strategic communications” has become popular over the last two decades. It means infusing communications efforts with an agenda and a master plan. Typically, that master plan involves promoting the brand of an organization, urging people to do specific actions, or advocating particular legislation. It can refer to both a process, and to a specific [...]

When web sites invite commenting, they open the door to unwanted comments. By quickly identifying types of unwanted comments, you know which comments to delete quickly, which to consider responding to, versus which are part of a healthy community. The following are common species of unwanted comments…

This weekend, I was a judge at a local chapter of National History Day (NHD). I judged web sites. Amazingly, these sites were much better than those of many small history museums. The students’ sites used a mixture of text,  images, video and audio clips in a thoughtful way. This year’s theme was “Debate and Diplomacy.” I can’t show you [...]

Blogging is an increasingly important way for the public to learn about science and culture. Bloggers fill in the information gaps, as traditional publishers slash jobs for science and arts journalists. More important, for good or bad, bloggers remove the gatekeepers (editors, press officers) which previously stood between experts and the public.

Blog networks are collaborative blogs. They give readers an interesting destination, like a newsmagazine, with more content than blogs with just one or a few authors can usually offer. For bloggers, joining a blog network provides more visibility and respect, and allows busy bloggers who can only blog occasionally to build an audience. There are [...]

Bad presentations abound, but it’s particularly egregious when presenting to public audiences. Text-heavy slides? Score! Confusing graphics? Score! Too many slides? Score! Have fun at your next presentation with Bad Presentation Bingo, a game developed by Monica Metzler, president of the Illinois Science Council. Check out the game…

Blog networks provide readers an interesting place to read a variety of interesting articles, or other media. They can be win-win for everyone. Technically, they are relatively easy to make with the current generation of blog authoring software. It’s the human side that takes time and work. Here’s an example of how not to go [...]

Online video gained momentum in 2010, says a recent report from comScore. Compare 2009 and 2010:

The Hirshhorn Museum’s ARTLAB+ program gets local DC teens involved in art. For their event tomorrow, “Teenagers Are Taking Over The Hirshhorn,” they directly used Facebook to promote the event and invite participants. See their Facebook invite. So far, they have 73 attending, 134 maybe attending, and 464 fans who are awaiting.