Thursday, May 27, 2010

Martha Murphy on Media Mining the Internet

I first met Martha Murphy of the Fire Sciences Library at the Office of the Fire Marshal in one of my classes at the Professional Learning Centre (now the iSchool Institute) at the University of Toronto a few years ago.

Martha has been a leader in thinking creatively on how to use social media tools in both research and the dissemination of information to her stakeholders.  This recent presentation gives a good overview of some of the tools she is using. In it she discusses the use of these tools for:
  • mining information
  • building your personal image and reputation management
  • providing customer service
  • crisis communication
  • brand awareness


I suggest you also view the other presentations by Martha Murphy for additional ideas.

Update:  As proof that "great minds think alike" I noticed Wendy Reynolds posted a column on Slaw.ca yesterday discussing another presentation she did as a panelist with Martha Murphy for Showcase Ontario. 

2 comments:

Martha Murphy said...

Thank you Connie for getting me hooked on social media thru your course! I can remember when you talked about Twitter as this little new IM sevice! Now its a major tool for crisis communication - remember Haiti and all forms of communication were down and major news outlets relied on Twitter and TwitPic to disseminate news stories. Thanks also for highlighting a presentation I gave at the Education Forum, Canadian Fire Safety Association. The Fire Service is continually looking for ways to reach their "community" and get those critical messages out to citizens. They want to reach beyond print notices in local papers and website updates. Social media tools can be a great way to help spread those fire safety messages and reach their target audiences. However there is a huge gap in knowing what the social media apps are and what tools to use for the appropriate messaging. Bring on the information professionals! There is a definite role for us in training and enlightening our colleagues on the new social media tools.

Connie Crosby said...

As I recall, you were already doing well before you even took my course, Martha.

Amazing, isn't it, how these things have gained importance?

I never thought of it before, but I should introduce you to John Piercy, a fireman friend who is very prolific online-- http://twitter.com/johncpiercy Have you met him before?