Comments for Sheffield Institute Blog - Narratives, Message Mapping, Digital Fluency, PR, Marketing, Online Video

Comment on Is PowerPoint dead yet? by Petras

Petras — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:37:37 +0000

500 million smokers can’t be wrong. Is it just me or is PPT mostly used by people as a crutch who don’t have a clear message and who are incapable of engaging an audience? Skilled presenters don’t need PPT, why do unskilled people present?

Comment on Good news for liberal arts majors by Paul Engel

Paul Engel — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:15:15 +0000

As a business professional with a B.A. in English Literature currently working on my M.A. in Humanities, I have to agree with your sentiments.

Comment on What’s the difference between a mission and vision statement? by Anthony Dalrymple

Anthony Dalrymple — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:34:17 +0000

certainly helps to clear up misconceptions.

Comment on What’s the difference between a message and a story? by Greg French

Greg French — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:01:59 +0000

Though I do not completely disagree with the difference between stories and messaging above, I do not see it as being necessarily “obvious.”

While its true that stories are permitted the latitude to amble and ramble a bit, the great stories of all time ensure that even the most subtle subplots, sidebars, and innuendo come to bear on a final point (moral of the story, if you will).

Great messaging can do the same. It can incorporate a system of messages that support a core point of issue, or in the case of an organization or product, “what it stands for” (esp. from the customer perspective). Every message in the hierarchy beneath (or which surrounds) the core message should support this point or position.

Comment on Hulu: Redefining Internet TV by Cavenger

Cavenger — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:53:00 +0000

They suck. We’re better hulahoop and other services have Hawaii 5-0, I mean, who watches that? We have Entourage, The Hills, and everything else – you know, shows people actually watch.

http://www.cavenger.com

Comment on Hulu: Redefining Internet TV by Colin Donald, Director, Futurescape

Colin Donald, Director, Futurescape — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:55:22 +0000

If you’re interested in how original online television is developing, you’re cordially invited to read more on our Futurescape blog at:

http://www.futurescape.co.uk

Comment on What’s the difference between a mission and vision statement? by Dense Moorehead

Dense Moorehead — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:14:31 +0000

I really like the answer given in a vlog message (http://tsne.wordpress.com/2008/05/30/vlog_mission/) by Jonathan Spack, ED of Third Sector NE, where I work. He said mission is defined as the purpose for which an organization/ business is founded and exists. Vision is a description of the change that the organization seeks to make.

But, and here where it gets good, he reminds us that the distinction between these two terms is useful to understand. However, we want to avoid getting caught up for long periods of time in wrestling internally over which is which.

What we really want to focus our resources on is achieving the impact we want our organization to have in the wider world.

Comment on What’s the difference between a mission and vision statement? by Dense Moorehead

Dense Moorehead — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:59:22 +0000

I really like the way that the Jonathan Spack, executive director of Third Sector New England, tsne.org, (where I work) responded when asked about the difference between mission and vision.

Spack explained that mission is defined as the purpose for which an organization is founded and exists. Vision is a description of the change that the organization seeks to make.

But, and here is where I most liked the answer, he said that organizations, businesses, etc. shouldn’t spend too much time focusing on the distinction between these two terms. Instead, the important thing is to focus resources on the impact you want to have.

Comment on Social bookmarking tools are a waste by Jennifer A. Jones

Jennifer A. Jones — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:01:17 +0000

While I agree you don’t need to really place all the social bookmarking icons on every single post (something I fell for when they first became all the rage), social bookmarking sites are a great way to promote your content.

Whenever I post a new blog entry, I make sure to submit it to Digg.com, Stumble Upon, Delicious, etc. According to my traffic stats, these sites do indeed drive new traffic back to my blog AND enable me to build a connection with the “friends” and “followers” I have on the sites as they are immediately alerted to my submissions as well.

It takes work to use them, but they can be very valuable.

Jennifer A. Jones
VP, PR & Social Media Strategy for Fletcher Martin
Author: SpeakMediaBlog.com

Comment on What’s the difference between a mission and vision statement? by Barrett Rossie

Barrett Rossie — Sat, 24 May 2008 00:15:17 +0000

There’s actually a big difference in a mission statement and a vision statement. Maybe this post on vision statements clarifies a bit:

http://barrettsbook.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/vision-statement/

While there are varying definitions, I’ve found these to be particularly useful:

Vision Statement: A statement of the future of your customers, your industry and the markets you serve. A vision statement takes into account economic, sociological, technological and other trends and factors to create a view of what the near-term and intermediate future holds for your customers and industry.

Mission Statement: A statement of your organizations role, within the future you have envisioned. Your role should describe a leadership position in a specific aspect of the future for your customers.

Other people may have valid definitions — but I’ve found that these are actually very useful in planning. You can envision the future, using your experience, expertise and insights. And you can define or design a mission given your insights that take into account unstoppable trends.