Theatre North Carolina

Triad Stage's New, New Media!

Triad Stage just joined Twitter! Make sure to follow them, @triadstage

You all know how much I love Twitter and I'm thrilled to see local arts organizations utilizing this awesome tool!

Also, Triad Stage has launched a new blog called "This Little World".
The blog looks great! "This Little World" looks to be, primarily, the blog of Triad Stage Artistic Director Preston Lane. He promises to start a "dialouge about the work we're doing and the directon we're heading." Lane also promises to talk about theatre he sees outside of Triad Stage! I'm so excited to read his thoughts about theatre in North Carolina and beyond!

So, where'd the name "This Little World" come from? Lane says:

"The phrase “This little world” comes from one of my favorite films, Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander.  I saw the movie the year it came out in the Appalachian Cinema in Boone, NC.  The impact that Bergman’s glorious, mysterious and disturbing film had on a pre-teenager in a small Blue Ridge town was enormous and began a love affair with Bergman’s work as a director of both film and theatre.  I am thrilled to have an opportunity to see a new stage adaptation of the film at the National Theater of Norway this December."

Here's the actual quote:
"I love this little world inside the thick walls of this playhouse... Outside is the big world, and sometimes the little world succeeds for a moment in reflecting the big world, so that we understand it better." --Ingmar Bergman

Congrats Triad!!

Listen, Engage, Encourage - Tips For Integrating Social Media

I just love this post from SmartBlog and I think it deserves some attention! Here's a bit of the article. Click here for the full article!

On Twitter, word spreads like wildfire, and companies no longer have the option of ignoring the conversation. The paradigm shift from broadcast to direct communication via social networks has changed the way PR professionals, marketers and customer service teams work. As social media evolves, it’s becoming a vital and vibrant way for professionals to stay in touch with colleagues, suppliers and partners — and not just for communications purposes but for product development, innovation and more.

Here are three tips for getting started on integrating social media into your business operations:

• Listen first. Learn from what your customers are saying to establish your baseline.

• Engage employees internally through social media. Use blogs, Yammer or company-specific social tools to get people used to and excited about the platforms.

• Encourage employees to set up social media accounts. As you know, social media is addictive!  Once people try it, not only will they be itching for more, they’ll be coming up with ideas for how it can benefit their team.

Theatre Blogs in North Carolina

Over the past year, three North Carolina theatre companies have launched really great blogs; Inside Triad Stage, Theatre - The neXt generation (North Carolina Stage Company) and North Carolina Theatre's self-titled blog. Each blog gives perspective on the artistic process and offers insight into the voice, vision and vibe of it's respective theatre.

Inside Traid Stage's blog is appropriately subtitled - a blog about a theatre and its community. And that's just what the blog delivers - a behind the scenes look at the this incredible Greensboro based theatre company. The blog is full of great photos and engaging information. The blogs voice is sincere and playful and light-hearted. I've had the pleasure of seeing a number of productions at Triad and this blog makes me want to see more. I want to be part of the community represented in this blog. Inside Traid Stage is fairly new and I look forward to reading more.

Theatre - The neXt generation is the blog for North Carolina Stage Company. The blog is subtitled - The blog of North Carolina Stage Company co-founder and Artistic Director, Charlie Flynn-McIver. There is no particular theme or subject matter to which this blog is devoted, save for the musings, observations and thoughts of me, Charlie Flynn-McIver. And does it ever! I love Charlie. He's smart and funny and wildly talented! This blog is all about whatever the hell Charlie wants it to be about - personal musing about administrative work like grant writing, a place for artistic discussions, contest announcements and lots of guest writers. This blog makes me wish I didn't live so far from Asheville and the great work at NC Stage!

North Carolina Theatre's blog has been around the longest and probably ranges the most in topics. NC Theatre integrates a lot into this blog and it works! From more personal posts like Lisa Grele Barrie's note about the fear and excitement of "The Curtain Speech" to beautiful photos of both the productions and the load-ins. The blog also peppers in educational materials, artistic perspective and lots of great promotional materials like radio interviews and videos.

I'm so happy to see these theatres using social media and using it right! I'm sure other theatre blogs have popped up, but I may have missed them. Sorry I left you out. Let me know if I've missed any good ones!

Facebook Users Getting Older

Think your patrons are too old for social media or that only college students use Facebook? Think again!

Beth from Beth's Blog writes that a new report with some facinating results was released this week from Nielsen Online. According to the report, social media is continuing to gain popularity and is now the fourth most popular destination online. She also reports that Facebook is aging! 

In terms of sheer audience numbers, for example, the greatest growth for Facebook has come from people aged 35-49 years of age (+24.1 million).  Furthermore, Facebook has added almost twice as many 50-64 year olds visitors (+13.6 million) than it has added under 18 year old visitors (+7.3 million).

Check out Beth's Blog and think about how you can use social media to communicate more effectively and effeciently with your inclined participants. 

Tweet This: Theatre and Twitter

I'm a huge fan of an arts marketing blog called SmArts & Culture. Maryann Devine, the blog's author, is full of interesting tips and thoughts. One of her latest posts is about a new way of using Twitter effectively... during a live performance! This is a must-read for those interested in the future of theatre and new technologies.

Portland Center Stage held an experiment with twitter last month.

They invited “30 or so of [their] closest twitter friends” plus anyone else who cared to join them, to live-tweet the world premiere performance of the play Apollo. You can read the resulting twitter stream on their blog, or use #apollo on Twitter Search.

According to Trisha Pancio, PR and publications manager for PCS, the goals were two-fold: one goal was to embrace the use of social media, rather than fight it – people were already tweeting and texting in the theater. “…we wanted to see what it was like to release that restriction, and let them have a real conversation with each other (and the world) during the performance.”

Publicity was the second goal. It was almost by definition an experiment in publicity – twitter is about sharing your thoughts with the world at large. “We wanted the experience, not to replicate the experience of seeing the show, but tease the experience… leave people wanting more,” said Trisha.

Read it all...

McCarter Theatre Rules the Web

The McCarter Theatre has one of the best websites around.

Not only is their website beautiful to look at, it's full of easy to navigate content. Content that is actually useful and interesting. McCarter is using their website as a vital, first-tier audience development and marketing tool.

Too many performing arts organizations spend valuable time and money on traditional marketing like advertising and PR, but completely neglect their own website. Traditional marketing is vital. It lets inclined participants know what's going on,  but in this day if you don't offer a little extra on your website, you might not close the sale. A static or ill-designed website might even turn potential patrons off.

The McCarter Theatre's website is engaging, informative and beautiful. Take a look around and see for yourself.

So why am I on this McCarter Theatre kick. Well, I just took a look at this amazing Audience Guide to Twelfth Night! I hope you are as inspired by their website as I am!

In order to help audience members grapple with the relationships in Twelfth Night, Graphic Designer Danny Garber and Web Designer Dimple Parmer have collaborated to create this new online feature: “Navigating Twelfth Night,” which uses costume designer Miranda Hoffman’s designs and sketches to map out the relationships in Twelfth Night.

Click the image above to visit our Audience Resource Guide and enjoy this new interactive feature.

Texting Encouraged

A friend sent this to me and I wanted to pass it along because I think this is a great idea.

The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta is planning a special interactive performance. The January 24 matinee of Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL will include a special Text Narrator. Participants will receive text messages before the show and suring intermission. Patrons will also be able to text questions for a post-show discussion.

Why does a theatre company want to embrace texting?

To engage new audiences.

Different audiences like to be communicated with in different ways.

Text messaging gives a younger, more tech-savey audience infomation the way they want to receive it. Texting can deepen reltionships with those audience members by giving them "insider only" information.  It's very forward thinking and it allows the theatre to capture cell number for future text messages about  events, specials, contests and promotions. The possibilities are endless!

Rather than ignore new technologies, embrace them, it worked for Obama!

40 (Yes 40) Key Elements to Social Networking

So many great new posts this new year!

I just found a great new blog, louisgray.com with an amazing post - 40 Key Elements to Getting Started In Social Media. If you are getting started with social media, or thinking about it, start here! This post is not just a great introduction to social media, it's a very well developed game plan for effective and efficient social networking. The tips are simple and straightfoward  - Stay consistent, Don't use Twitter for spamming, Promote others, Never fly blind...

Here's the intro:

Getting started with social media,
whether for personal or professional use, requires learning the basic
fundamentals. Social media is more than just creating a blog or Twitter
account. The tools are great and give us big advantages, but they are
simply extensions of how we engage and participate in social media,
they are not the answers. The social in social media is all about the
human element. This post touches upon 40 key elements to aid your
success.

New Media - A How To Guide!

Fantastic article from E Commerce Times!

By Louis Columbus
CRM Buyer
Part of the ECT News Network

It's not a question of whether social networking will influence your company, customers, employees, suppliers and others, it's a matter of when. If you haven't committed to learn more about this area, it's time.

Deciding if social networking is going to be an asset or liability is dependent on how your company chooses to approach it.

Companies who look first to their communications objectives and selectively choose which aspects of social networking can accentuate their messaging are the most successful.

Those that choose to look on social networking as a means to blanketing the connected world with their messaging fail.

Whether social networking is going to be an asset or liability depends on your decisions of how to use it.
Starting With Web 2.0

The idea of the Internet being more responsive and participatory is one of the aspects of Web 2.0, a concept defined by Tim O'Reilly and Dale Dougherty of O'Reilly Media.

One of the best books written about the adoption of Web 2.0 and the rapid growth and popularity of social networking sites is Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, from Forrester Research.

Josh Bernoff writes the Groundswell blog as well.

Subscribing to it gives an excellent education on how social networking is changing how companies are adopting these technologies.

After reading their book, I put together a short table to explain the different aspects of social networking, and it is presented here.

Blogs
Comprised of short articles or comments posted via blog writing applications; typically supports integration of text, photo, video and audio (podcasts). Strengths of this application are the depth of analysis and opinion you can deliver; the development of more complex ideas and use of graphics and video to explain ideas.

Mashups
A mashup brings together multiple sources of data and creates a single application, often created as a Web service. Awards are in fact given for the best mashups.

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) An approach to syndicating content from Web sites, blogs and social networking sites that relies on a feed-based technology that allows content to be read in RSS readers. This is a must-have for any company Web site or blog as it allows people to track current news via their RSS Feeds.

Social Media
This is a very broad area that has as its catalyst the fruition of Web 2.0 concepts into products. It includes Web sites for sharing video such as YouTube Latest News about YouTube, sharing photos (Flickr) and also blogs, Wikis and podcasts.

Social Networking
This is the most rapidly expanding area of the Web today and includes sites that enable users to create their own online communities. LinkedIn is one of the most well-known business sites and is often used by recruiters looking for new hires. Facebook Latest News about Facebook, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has grown from 24 million users on May 24 to 70 million in late July, stated at a recent developer's conference. Also included in this group is Twitter, FriendFeed and others. Twitter has initiated the debate of what microblogging is or isn't, so be sure to stay tuned into that site specifically. Be sure to visit Compete and check out the traffic of the sites listed in this section, you can get a sense of how rapidly social networking is growing.

Tagging
Simplistic technology that gives users the flexibility of bookmarking the specific pages and sites of interest; basis of the approaches used by Digg and del.icio.us for reporting popularity of specific blog posts and Web pages.

Wikis
A collection of Web pages that allow anyone to add or edit content. IBM (NYSE: IBM) Latest News about IBM, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Free Trial. Security Software As A Service From Webroot. Latest News about Microsoft and others have extensive internal Wikis that act as their content management Learn how you can enhance your email marketing program today. Free Trial - Click Here. Latest News about content management systems. Wikis are useful for also nurturing collaboration of specific projects.

Source: Groundswell

First Lessons Learned

Companies getting the best results have a very clear idea of what their communications objectives are before ever attempting anything with social networking. Getting those goals defined first makes participating and contributing all the more productive and valuable. Far from complete, here are lessons learned so far from working to understand how social networking can be an asset for a company:

* Realize that social networking is changing how your customers want to communicate with you. This point is very well made on one of my favorite blogs, Church of the Customer. The post How companies connect using Twitter, is must-reading as you get going with a social networking plan. Maybe your customers DON'T want to get a telephone call or direct mail; maybe they want to communicate over Twitter, FriendFeed or any other number of social networking sites. It's time to realize that customers are drastically changing how they want to communicate. It is also up to every company to stay up with this change.

* Define your company by solving customer dilemmas and listening, not just selling. This is the biggest philosophical leap many companies need to make. Social networking is more about offering up knowledge and insight that solves problems and helps customers first. It's not about starting a sales cycle, it's about building a brand that is respected for stepping up to solve customers' unmet needs and problems first. Get a Twitter account and check out Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) Latest News about Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) -- at last count they have over 800 updates. This is a real commitment to transforming how they interact with their customers. Also check out Marriott (@Marriott) and the start of Delta Airlines' efforts (@DeltaAir).

* Definitely check out how your company is viewed online. There are a multitude of services to do this and many Web sites as well. Just to get an early sense of how your company is being talked about on Twitter go to TweetScan for example. There are also RSS Feeds you can put into place to track your company being mentioned on each social networking site as well. Companies including Cymfony can track your company's mentions and provide you with analytics as well.

* Be real, warts and all. I am far from an expert, yet what is immediately clear is that for any company, or individual for that matter, to be taken seriously in any social networking context they have to be real, warts and all. If your company has a problem and someone on a social networking site finds it, it's best to own up and deal with it. This is a medium that brings the essence of marketing to it; it is immediate, clear and blunt. Just as a learning observer, this point comes out loud and clear.

Bottom line: Start getting an education in social networking by signing on to these sites and observe what is going on and then take a hard look at your communications goals and see how your company can contribute to solving problems and meeting needs first. Get an account going on Facebook and Twitter and explore their features, as each is a powerful tool for first getting a great education on these new technologies, and second, how to better connect with and serve your customers.

E-Commerce News: Strategy: Is Social Networking an Asset or Liability for Your Company?

iFireside

Time Magazine and others are making comparisons between Obama and Roosevelt. I think the comparisons are genuine, but I think he has the opportunity to communicate as well as Roosevelt did.

I found this article about Obama and his continued use of new media on CBS News. I think new media could be the new fireside chat. If Obama uses these new technologies to his advantage he could keep his brand evangelists and "community organizers". Obama has a fantastic opportunity right now!

"The Internet has changed the game dramatically," says Andrew Rasiej,
founder of TechPresident.com. "It's as if, in 2004, the Internet was
allowed into the conference room of politics; in 2006, it was allowed
to sit at the table; but in 2008, it's sitting at the head of the
table, holding the agenda."


Mr. Obama has said he'd like to appoint a chief technology officer,
perhaps at the cabinet level, and he's made it clear he will embrace
new technologies in office -- technologies such as Skype, a video tool
Sieberg used to get this quote from John Tedesco, a Virginia Tech
political communications professor: "(Mr.) Obama recognized that young
voters are using social networking sites and social networking
software, and he brought his campaign to the young voters online."


Read the rest...

Obama could also use many of the titles of Roosevelt's chats as his own...Bank Crisis, Unemployment, Progress of War and Plans for Peace...

1. On the Bank Crisis - Sunday, March 12, 1933
2. Outlining the New Deal Program - Sunday, May 7, 1933
3. On the Purposes and Foundations of the Recovery Program - Monday, July 24, 1933
4. On the Currency Situation - Sunday, October 22, 1933
5. Review of the Achievements of the Seventy-third Congress - Thursday, June 28, 1934
6. On Moving Forward to Greater Freedom and Greater Security - Sunday, September 30, 1934
7. On the Works Relief Program - Sunday, April 28, 1935
8. On Drought Conditions - Sunday, September 6, 1936
9. On the Reorganization of the Judiciary - Tuesday, March 9, 1937
10. On Legislation to be Recommended to the Extraordinary Session of the Congress - Tuesday, October 12, 1937
11. On the Unemployment Census - Sunday, November 14, 1937
12. On Economic Conditions - Thursday, April 14, 1938
13. On Party Primaries - Friday, June 24, 1938
14. On the European War - Sunday, September 3, 1939
15. On National Defense - Sunday, May 26, 1940
16. On National Security - Sunday, December 29, 1940
17. Announcing Unlimited National Emergency - Tuesday, May 27, 1941 (the longest fireside chat)
18. On Maintaining Freedom of the Seas - Thursday, September 11, 1941
19. On the Declaration of War with Japan - Tuesday, December 9, 1941
20. On Progress of the War - Monday, February 23, 1942
21. On Our National Economic Policy - Tuesday, April 28, 1942
22. On Inflation and Progress of the War - Monday, September 7, 1942
23. Report on the Home Front - Monday, October 12, 1942
24. On the Coal Crisis - Sunday, May 2, 1943
25. On Progress of War and Plans for Peace - Wednesday, July 28, 1943
26. Opening Third War Loan Drive - Wednesday, September 8, 1943
27. On Tehran and Cairo Conferences - Friday, December 24, 1943
28. State of the Union Message to Congress - Tuesday, January 11, 1944
29. On the Fall of Rome - Monday, June 5, 1944
30. Opening Fifth War Loan Drive - Monday, June 12, 1944