The Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) just published their Key Finding from the 2009 Middleberg/SNCR Survey of Media in the Wired World.  The study involved 341 journalists from around the world with more than half from the United States.  Here are the findings I found most notable:

• 70 percent of journalists use social networking sites, up 28% from the previous year
• 2/3 of journalists use blogs
• 48 percent use online video

Clearly, professional journalists are embracing new media, social media, and new communications tools at an increasing rate.  The reports indicates journalists aren’t just using these tools to disseminate news, but to

“…find story ideas and sources, monitor sentiments and discussions, research individuals and organizations, keep up on issues and topics of interest and participate in conversations.”

I’ve mentioned in the past that you can use social media tools to:

• Listen
• Share
• Discuss
• Drive Action

While traditional journalists aren’t always interested in “Driving Action,” they always keep an ear to the ground to know what is going on.  They have always had to “listen” to get the scoop.  Now journalists are embracing social media as a new way to “listen” to what is going on in the world.  They can monitor social media for trends, and use keyword searches to research and monitor specific people, organizations, and topics. They can also use social media to discuss a topic and use the “wisdom of the crowd” to guide the research.  Finally, journalists are increasingly sharing their content through new communications tools.

Action Step:  Use the tools the pros are using.  Do a Twitter Search on your name, right now.  Let me know what you learn.

Jakob Nielsen, called the guru of web page design by the New York Times, just published his report, 10 Best Intranets of 2010.

Three points from the report stand out for me.

Mobile access Only 30% of winners had mobile enabled intranets. This is low compared to many world wide websites. The report sees this as a growth area.

Social networking tools Social media tools were common on the winning intranets. This included features for both employees as individuals and workgroup connections.

Emergency Preparedness 40% of the winning intranets had integrated some features for use in crisis situations. Some winners had learned from experiences with previous disasters like Hurricane Katrina. The inclusion of emergency preparedness indicates intranets are becoming a key part of the enterprise, communication infrastructure.

What can you do with this info?  Plan to integrate these winning features into your intranet and external website.   I know I’m extrapolating from a report on intranets to external websites, but the reports acknowledges faster adoption of these tools and techniques on external websites.  So,  if your enterprise lags in either arena, start planning.

This report reinforces something I say all the time.  You have to be where the people are. Seems obvious enough.  The report says people are increasingly in two places – on their smartphones and on social networks.

More people are using smartphones in their personal lives and in their business lives.   So whether it is for business or pleasure, the tool is there.  The smartphone is the “forth” screen after Big screen, the TV screen, and the computer screen.  You have to be where the people are.  This is just as true for your external customer as it is for your widely dispersed, mobile workforce.

As the use of the world wide social web grows, the thought of connecting and collaborating through social networks will become less novelty and more reality.  Enterprises can plan now to enable workgroups to be more engaged, involved, and  productive.

On the last point, Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “… plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”  Nobody can have the perfect plan for an emergency, but the process of planning for it will be invaluable.  So start planning how to leverage your website and intranet during an emergency.

Be where the people are – mobile and social media; leverage web technologies during emergencies.  These are what top businesses are doing.  What are you doing?

Social Media is here whether we want it to be or not. It is not a fad. It is here. More and more tools are pouring into the market, on our computers, on our phones. Social networks, crowd sourcing, restaurant recommendations, job possibilities – All of these are here right now.

I’ve watched this 5 times.  I’m still amazed.  What a great conversation starter for an social media education seminar.

Watch this video and let me know what you think…

This article in Advertising Age really demonstrates one of my favorite terms – corporate inertia. Nothing new in the concept of corporate inertia – just lots of people with a slow rate of change. Organizations that can adapt quickly to change, win.

This article shows the corporate inertia in the advertising industry. As a podcaster, I “know” there is an incredible relationship that is fostered between the podcaster and the consumer. The strength of this relationship is real, but hasn’t be measured, yet. Advertisers are using the metrics they know. Exposure, Eyeballs,… Advertisers are buying “exposure to” consumers not the “relationship with” the consumer. I do think this will change as the strength of the new media – podcasting relationship will be measured and fed back to the advertisers. The ADM – Association of Downloadable Media is working on this. I’m also sure PodShow, Podango, and Wizzard Media are all gathering their facts and figures to change the opinions of the advertising world.

If a conventional advertising conversion rate of 2% could be upped to 5% through the relationship strength of a podcast, I see huge advertising money moving into the new media arena. That’s why I’m playing in this sandbox.