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One of my favorite books on Web 2.0 is The Cult of the Amateur by Andrew Keen (http://www.ajkeen.com/bio/), who decries today’s self-broadcasting culture, where “amateurism is celebrated and anyone with an opinion, however ill-informed, can publish a blog, post a video on YouTube or change an entry on Wikipedia…” In this brave new world,” Keen says, “the distinction between trained expert and uninformed amateur becomes  dangerously blurred.”

That was 2007. Fast forward to January 2012, when a Cook County, Illinois, jury ruled that a California blog, TechnoBuffalo, doesn’t qualify as a reporter and ordered it turn over information  on a tipster who leaked details about Motorola’s Droid Bionic cellphone. TechnoBuffalo purports to have a million monthly readers and argued that it’s published under journalist shield laws in Illinois and California. An Illinois printing house, Johns-Byrne Co., brought a petition against TechnoBuffalo seeking the name of the individual who leaked images from the user’s guide to the Droid Bionic. Johns-Byrne allegedly wants to pursue an action against the tipster, who it believes may be a Johns-Byrne employee.

In a ruling that would probably bring a knowing smile from Keen, Judge Michael Painter ruled that the legal position argued by TechnoBuffalo is “a fast-moving issue facing courts everywhere.” He said TechnoBuffalo is not a news medium and should not be afforded protection under Illinois shield laws. In Cult, Keen himself wrote of citizen journalists: “The simple ownership of a computer and an Internet connection doesn’t transform one into a serious journalist any more than having access to a kitchen makes one into a serious cook. But millions of amateur journalists think that it does.” In a past study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, millions of American bloggers say they consider their online “work” to be a form of journalism. Keen said that translates into millions of unskilled, untrained, unpaid, unknown “journalists” who are “wannabe Matt Drudges.”

Drudge himself once said that “the Net gives as much voice to a thirteen-year-old computer geek like me as to a CEO or Speaker of the House.”

“We all became equal” is the catch phrase, Keen says, of citizen journalist movement. We, the media wannabes.

Watch this space. The issue of protecting blogger sources under the law promises to raise its head again soon. How it will affect our work as internal communicators remains to be seen.

While standing in the airport security line on my way home from a recent trip, I witnessed a rather tense scene. A young woman was pulled aside for additional screening after setting off the metal detector twice. She appeared very agitated as a TSA agent directed her into a clear Plexiglas booth (oddly similar to a hockey penalty box) to wait. She began shouting questions: “Why are you doing this?” “Why are you holding me?” “What did I do wrong?”

Communication mistake #1: The TSA agent ignored the young woman’s questions. She continued to shout, becoming more and more agitated. When another TSA agent barked at her to calm down, the reason for the traveler’s stress became clear. “I have a flight at 11!” she shouted. (It was 10:30.)

Communication mistake #2: No one acknowledged the traveler’s concern, nor did they attempt to help her understand what they needed to do and that she would be on her way in a few minutes.

When it comes to communicating with employees in times of change and uncertainty, it’s more important than ever to make sure that their communications needs are met. Employees just want to know what’s happening, why it’s important and how it will affect them. It’s critical to answer these questions as soon as possible, even if you don’t have all the answers. Open, honest and straightforward communication goes a long way with employees, especially during times of change.

If the TSA agent in the above example had calmly addressed the traveler’s questions or simply acknowledged her concern, they may have avoided the tense scene that followed.

Entering a new year can bring about enthusiasm and motivation for any organization. But, for the majority of us, the past few weeks have been a little off kilter. With office holiday parties, closings and the occasional week of time off, our regular schedules have been seasonally interrupted. The 2011 holiday season was my first with Insidedge and, being a person who thrives on structure, it’s been a bit of an uphill battle to get back into the working groove.

As I settle myself back at my desk and begin saving off documents with 2012 in the title, I think about how I can make the post-holiday work adjustment a little easier on myself. Here are a few ideas that have helped me:

• Before making your “to-do” lists, make a “completed” list of all your work that was completed before the holidays. It’s easy to return after a brief hiatus and forget what’s been done
• Plan time to catch up on administrative items, such as expenses and other small tasks, you put off during the holiday excitement. With work most likely at a lull, this is the perfect opportunity to get these things out of the way
• Set up “catch-up” meetings with team members you work closely with to not only hear about the holidays but check project status and prepare for the upcoming weeks
• Organize your office or desk by getting rid of old papers or files that you won’t need in the new year

Staying organized and being prepared will help you get through the holiday slump and back on track to ensure a productive and exciting New Year!

According to a recent survey by Brighter Planet, more than 50 percent of employers are actively promoting sustainability to their employees.

But it’s one thing to talk about sustainability, and entirely another to “walk the talk.” That’s why the best corporate sustainability programs include elements of engagement.

Read on, from GreenBiz.com:

A growing body of research identifies employee engagement programs that do work — and many have social media at their core. The Brighter Planet survey found that organizations with programs that empowered employees to share ideas were six times more likely to be effective. Sustainable Brands Insights recently released a survey that showed 50 companies were already using social media in their sustainability efforts. Seventy-six percent of sustainability professionals believe investment in sustainability-themed social media will help gain market share or increase the size of the overall market. More importantly, those using social media saw a 10 to 15 percent increase in recognition of their sustainability efforts and, crucially, increased compliance.

As communicators, we can champion the sustainability cause within our own organizations. Consider enabling employees to use your social network to track and microblog about their own green goals. Reward and promote the efforts of those who are acting sustainably. And use your existing communication channels to inform employees about simple acts they can do to make a difference, while providing them a forum to inform each other through social media.

With Thanksgiving a not so distant memory, I’m reflecting on my favorite parts of the holiday. Sure, the butternut squash soup and apple pie were high on the list, but to me, the best part of the holiday was bringing home all of the experiences I’ve had over the past several months to my family, and hearing theirs in return. The storytelling that went on throughout the holiday brought us together in a very special way. No matter how far away we were throughout the year, or how much time had gone by, we were connected for that moment in time; we understood each other and bonded from the experience.

The same idea holds true for the way an organization can connect employees to their business, an event, or to each other by bringing home the spirit of the story. And I’ve seen this done in an effective way through a project I recently had the pleasure of managing on behalf of my client, a leader in IT solutions and services. Every 18 months, this organization hosts a multi-day conference in Las Vegas where they invite some 5,000 partners, clients and employees to share in the latest IT innovations this organization brings to the marketplace. It’s a chance for everyone to learn, explore and network — it’s a momentous event that takes a lot of employee effort to make a reality.

As you can imagine, it was unrealistic to send all 13,000 of this company’s current employees to Las Vegas for the event; so instead, the internal communications team brought the spirit of the event back to employees by developing a professionally produced video snapshot of all aspects of the event. This coverage was not limited to the planned content and keynotes, it included “man on the street” testimonials from partners, customers and fellow employees all who described the high energy of the conference and why employees back at home should take pride in what was going on. The daily coverage was posted on the company intranet and teased what was ahead for the following day to keep employees coming back for more. Various employees working at the event also volunteered to produce video blogs from the show floor which provided an interactive and very personal point of view.

Video content does not replace in-person participation; for example, if I showed up for Thanksgiving dinner via FaceTime, that would not have gone over well. But the way companies use video can make a positive impact when in-person is just not possible. In the case of my client, I was so impressed with the effort, coordination, and outcome of the videos produced, all made possible because of the importance placed on not just sharing the facts with employees who could not attend, but bringing home the spirit of the event. In this case, video connected employees to information, but more importantly connected them to the emotions expressed directly from the show floor. Now that’s powerful.

Have you produced similar video programs in your company? If so, I’d love to hear about them.

As communicators, we spend a great deal of time reading, talking and writing about reading, talking and writing; most of our communication tools are built around the written or spoken word.  In most cases, that’s the most expedient way to get a point across.

However, if you’ve been doing internal communications for any length of time, you know that sooner or later, you have to come up with songs to use in a meeting or a video. Because nothing immediately generates emotion like music. The right song at the right time is worth any number of speeches and strategic imperatives for engaging an audience.

Picking the right songs can be challenging in a corporate setting. I’m reminded of a debate I once had with a CEO over whether ZZ Top was really sending the right message for his entrance to an employee meeting. I’m a huge (HUGE) Springsteen fan, but when I recently heard Glory Days at an event, I was wondering why we thought our best days had passed us by.

It’s a tricky balance. With cross-generational audiences, finding songs that are engaging, inspirational, and supportive of your message without being offensive,  tonally dissonant, unintentionally humorous  or culturally out of touch can be time consuming and generate passionate debate. Of course the Rolling Stones are a great band, but do you really want to play “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” before an open enrollment meeting? Probably not the primary message you want to send.

So, I’m reaching out to Insidedge and the readers of Intake to create a playlist of songs to play before and after employee meetings. You’re the corporate DJ. What are your go-to songs and artists for building energy and excitement? Together, we can take one more thing off the plates of our colleagues by having a ready-made list.  Some thought starters that were recently recommended for another project and the creation of this blog are*:

Born to Run—Bruuuuuuuce Springsteen

Beautiful Day—U2

Simply the Best—Tina Turner

Thank You—Sly and the Family Stone

We Are Family—Sister Sledge

Heroes—David Bowie

Monday Morning—Death Cab for Cutie

Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow—Fleetwood Mac (Assuming the statute of limitations has run out as the theme song of the Clinton Presidency)

One Shining Moment (the NCAA Tournament song)

What are we missing? Please submit your recommendations and we’ll publish a final playlist in a future Intake.

*Of course, simply playing music at a party or meeting is legal, but there are copywrite protection laws to protect artists from any party recording, producing and/or performing copywritten music. Please be aware of any legal restrictions governing the use of popular songs in any of your communications activities.

Could it be possible that email is on its way out? A quick glance at your inbox or the flashing red notification light on your BlackBerry may indicate otherwise. However, according to this article, real-time communication tools such as instant messaging (IM) and Sharepoint will replace email as the preferred method of communication over the next five years.

In an environment where organizations need to do more with less, it’s easy to see why more and more employees prefer to use other real-time communication tools. In fact, at a recent employee roundtable session, an employee advocated for IM to be used in her department. With the ability to allow everyone to see the same screen or share control of the screen so colleagues can make edits, teams can cross off deliverables on their to do list in lot less time than going back and forth on emails. While the president of the company appreciated her desire for a quick communication tool, he was most concerned about confidentiality. Many of our clients have the same concerns, so it’s worth considering a few factors:

• Create a policy which discusses, at a minimum, general guidelines for use of instant messaging.
• Ensure all employees are aware of the policy.
• Reinforce the do’s and don’ts of instant messaging such as IM isn’t the correct medium for communicating confidential or sensitive information.

I don’t know if email will be fading away anytime soon, but I do know that we need to be sensitive to using the right medium for the message. Personally, I love IM for quick questions and efficient collaboration.

What has your organization done to shift away from email and toward other real-time communication methods?

I’ve been following the coverage of the Occupy Wall Street movement and as a member of a generation that missed the civil disobedience and peaceful protest that brought about so much change in the 60’s,  I’ve been fascinated by this movement and trying to understand what they hope to accomplish.  Given the enormous economic swings we’ve been through the past three years, along with the continual cloud that hangs over the world’s economy, there is no doubt that there are many who feel disenfranchised and hopeless and this movement is trying to bring a voice to that.  However, what are these so called representatives of the 99 percent trying to achieve?

As I watch with fascination and try to understand their goals and desired outcomes, I can’t help but view the movement through the lens of an internal communicator.  Imagine for a moment if the organizations we worked for lacked strong leadership, clear goals and a shared understanding of what success looks like.  Would our organization be successful?  Would our members be engaged?  Would we be taken seriously by others?

It will probably be months or years before we know whether the Occupy Wall St. movement is a success but perhaps they should take a page from the same corporations they are protesting against and work on articulating their objectives, how they will accomplish them and what they expect and need from their members.  Perhaps then, the movement will move beyond a curiosity to one that can bring about sustainable change.

While boarding a flight recently, I noticed a flight attendant at the gate who seemed to be counting carry-on bags as people passed him on their way to the plane.  While we waited to depart, I asked him why he had been keeping track of carry-on luggage.  He explained that he knew how many roller-bags could fit in the overhead bins.  “Why not count them as people board and then gate-check once we hit our maximum rather than let people take on bags we know we can’t accommodate?” he said.

Why not, indeed.  How many times have you been waiting for a plane to depart because people were fighting their way back up the aisle to gate-check their bags, having discovered that the overhead bins were full?  Wouldn’t the boarding process work more smoothly, and wouldn’t more flights depart on time if this flight attendant’s approach was adopted more broadly?

My veteran flight attendant friend then went on to outline other ideas he had come up with to improve the flying experience.  He shared that years ago, the airline welcomed employee suggestions.  Employees even got paid if their ideas were implemented.  Today, he said, no one cares.  “It’s all management by cubicle now,” he said.  “The airline is run by managers sitting at corporate who don’t have any idea what it’s like to actually work on a plane.  They don’t listen to us and don’t care what we have to say.”

What a lost opportunity.  How many other great ideas are out there that will never be implemented because companies aren’t paying attention to the hand’s-on experience of their people on the front lines?  Maybe it’s as simple as dusting off the suggestion box concept and letting employees know their ideas are welcomed and valued.  Seems to me like an easy and productive way to engage your people, improve your processes and enhance the experience of your customers.

Why not start listening?