(photo: Trent Gilliss)
Chris explains his ideas about competitive analysis while Wade and Jana listen on. On the wall behind them is each member’s suggested activity and outstanding question he/she would like answered. The pink tabs represent a vote by other members of the team on what they consider a more important question; the yellow tabs a vote for suggested activities we pursue as an organization.
Trent Gilliss
There is a concensus that in the coming five years a dramatically larger number of people will be using their mobile devices to access our content. Is the question: Will these same people be interacting with us through these devices?
Chris wants to better understand what this platform looks like and how these devices are used.
Whether or not it’s one of our activities to explore, I’m sure it will be one we’ll continue discussing. Personally, I can’t wait; the brass ring is there to be grabbed.
Julia Schrenkler
Team Leader Mike Reszler challenged us to become anthropologists in order to understand who our audience will be in 3-5 years.
Julia Schrenkler
I’m thinking about how we’re wrestling over the audit / assessment / inventory. Out of curiosity I’d like to present the MPR.org page. Can we spot the online opportunities above the fold?
(photo: Trent Gilliss)
Our fearless team leader exercises his skills in corraling, synthesizing, and focusing us on coming up with some strategic activities. After all, he has to make sense of it all and report back to the larger group. *big smile*
And Alex has her own methods of centering — with a can of soda and a Sharpie.
“I want to be able to let our younger audience members txt us.” — Julia Schrenkler, capturing a quote from MPR News Director Chris Worthington
“Who are our competitors?” —
Trent Gilliss
Chris asks and Jana responds. We’re engaged in the tough question about who we measure ourselves against. Is any entity off-limits? Ooh la la. My read is that it’s daunting with varying levels of execution. Do we need to have some quantitive data and/or to what extent do we follow our gut?
UPDATE: Do we combine the assessment/audit and the competitive analysis?
Julia Schrenkler
Wrestling the question…
What value would a full interactive audit bring to APM | MPR?
AMP Director Sheila Kim challenged us to turn our ideas completely around and to explore the dreams we want to pursue.
MPR News Director Chris Worthington wonders is there any downside of any portion of us pursuing it?
I’ll hang up and listen.
Trent Gilliss
After discussing potential projects of engagement and questions we’d like to put to the senior management group, Brendan, Wade, Julia, and I debated where the organization is at — where we’re at — when it comes to being involved in social networking.
Some are asking whether it’s valuable to revolve, to engage in those spheres. I’ve already made the assumption that we need to be there. The question to me is a foregone conclusion. Perhaps I need to reevaluate my position, or perhaps we need to accept the premise that we need to be there but ask the question of how are we participating and to what level of engagement are we interacting with our audiences.
Julia Schrenkler
During the break some folks nabbed an ice cream bar others of us had a discussion where we compared our understanding of one comment:
“Should we be involved in online social engagement?”
Quick poll on whatyouthinkthismeans:
[] Of course.
[] No, aim for media extinction! (competitor special!)
[] The question may help APM reflect on the terminology and possible actions
[] The group should just ask the person to clarify
(photo: Trent Gilliss)
Lindsay contemplates during a larger group session during the kick-off summit for the Strategic Initiative.
Julia Schrenkler
The Online Engagement group is determining the difference between action, recommendation, and pursuit. Team Lead Mike Reszler pushed us to consider our action list as an opportunity to do some hypothesis testing.
Other departments: I’m open to your suggestions for rigor and communication on that.
“Where’s the commonality?” —
Julia Schrenkler
Mike Reszler inspires us to find the commonalities in our own ideas. I’d love to see the same action around the idea process as done - independently - in APM | MPR’s various departments and from the public.
ETA: The ideas and questions we captured? They’ll be communicated internally.
Julia Schrenkler
Traditional brainstorming seems to be more about storming and less concerned with the brain. It is open, noisy, and usually enjoyable.
Today our Team Lead (MPR.org’s Managing Online Editor, Mike Reszler) charged us in something I’ll loosely call comparitive brainstorming. He asked each team member to quietly write one idea of what we should do and to capture one question we’d like answered as they relate to online engagement. Then we went around the room (here’s the noisy part) and used appreciative inquiry to clarify and further understand each other’s ideas. I found that to be the enjoyable part.
While our group of 12 (no disciple jokes please) presented each thought, every query, I couldn’t help but wonder how PublicRadioCamp attendees would answer this challenge.
1. What is one online interactive idea you’d like to see APM | MPR try?
2. What question would you like to see APM | MPR ask - and answer - to be better for you online?
Normally we’d call for comments, but to follow Mike’s challenge I’d like to see you send in your thoughts [link here] and then we’ll make all of them (including our own) public for discussion.