EuroBlog2008

How the EuroBlog message spreads (2)

Not suprisingly, the way people are learning about the EuroBlog Facebook group is changing; we gained 24 new members in the week to Dec 20, and 14 replied to my email asking what prompted them to join.

Three came through Facebook channels, and 7 through blogs/ websites.

Here are the totals with joiners in the week to Dec 20 in brackets: Personal invite from administrators 15 (1); saw it in Facebook feed 7 (2); invite from Facebook friend 3 (0); Facebook group list 1 (1); EuroBlog blog 3 (3); PR Blogs 6 (3);  academic website 1 (1); Don't know 2 (1); Twitter 1 (0); Mailing list 1 (0).

I will send out a further email today - again it will be interesting to see how the message has reached the 18 people who joined in the Christmas week.

We have also launched a Facebook group for Euprera which is open to anyone interested in PR education and research.

How the EuroBlog message spreads (1)

Last Thursday (Dec 13) I sent a message to the 47 people who had joined the EuroBlog 2008 Facebook group asking them how they had found out about it. Here are the results - not very scientific but interesting...

One of the 47 was me (Philip), another was programme panel colleague Liz Bridgen; of the other people who replied, 13 people responded to a personal invite from PY or LB; 5 saw a notification in their Facebook newsfeed showing a friend had joined; 3 were told by a friend; 3 read about EuroBlog on a PR blog; 1 saw it on a society list. One may have first seen EuroBlog through Twitter.

I will send out a similar email today - it will be interesting to see how the message has reached the 24 people who joined in the last week.

I have also added a public version of Statcounter to this blog so participants can see who is reading it.

EuroBlog on del.icio.us

There is now a EuroBlog2008 page on del.icio.us which will try and collect together mentions of the project and related posts by particpants. If you would like to add things yourself, email Philip Young for the password.

EuroBlog on Facebook

We've just created a EuroBlog group on Facebook - please join! There's no doubt that a lot of speakers in Brussels will mention Facebook, MySpace, Bebo etc so let's see how inventive we can be in using these tools to build the EuroBlog community. Any ideas gratefully accepted - let's experiment!

Edelman supports EuroBlog: Call for Papers

We are delighted to announce that Edelman, the world's leading independent public relations company, is backing Euprera's EuroBlog2008 Symposium. To find out how you can contribute to what is sure to be one of the most significant social media events of 2008, download the CALL FOR PAPERS.

Call for Papers

Social media and the future of PR:

New ideas, new research, new business

EUPRERA EuroBlog 2008 Spring Symposium     Brussels, March 13-15, 2008

The EuroBlog surveys of 2006 and 2007 highlighted the ways in which interactive social media technologies – weblogs, podcasts, wikis, social networking and other social softwares and services - were beginning to impact on communication. The Brussels Symposium (March 13-15, 2008) brings together the latest academic thought with leading edge practice from Europe, the USA and elsewhere to draw new theoretical insights and encourage and shape practitioner innovation and implementation. By identifying and presenting examples of best practice, empirical investigation and new concepts for modelling and understanding the rapid changes in relationship management, EuroBlog 2008 will shape the agenda for social media discussion.

Papers are invited which address these questions:

• How can academic research lead and support the ways in which practitioners embrace social media?

• How should academics approach teaching social media (both in terms of course content and pedagogy)?

• What are the societal implications of social media (democracy, accountability, privacy)?

Participants

Researchers from all over Europe and beyond, including many involved in the EUPRERA network of academics from more than 30 countries. – Public Relations executives from major companies, institutions, and specialists in online initiatives, interactive media, digital communication and issues monitoring.

Location

Institut des Hautes Etudes en Communications Sociales (IHECS), La Haute Ecole Galilée, Brussels, Belgium

Presentations/Call for Papers and Publication

Researchers who would like to present empirical findings, theoretical insights or case studies should send an abstract (2 pages) which contains author(s) and affiliation, title, theoretical/empirical principles, main findings, and implications for further research via e-mail to the organizers no later than Monday, January 7, 2007 (philip.young@sunderland.ac.uk) Papers that combine public relations theory and social software or focus on an international perspective are especially welcome. The programme committee will give feedback on submitted abstracts by January 22, 2008. Presentations must not exceed 15-20 minutes and may incorporate PowerPoint charts or online demos.

Programme committee

Philip Young, University of Sunderland, Great Britain; Ansgar Zerfass, University of Leipzig, Germany; Axel Gryspeerdt, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium; Pierre de Villers, IHECS, Haute Ecole Galilée, Belgium; Liz Bridgen, Leicester De Montfort University, Great Britain; Anne-Marie Cotton, EUPRERA Secretary General, Belgium