Academically I have a few areas of expertise and interest: organizational communication, feminism, and public relations. My interest in org comm and public relations build on my former career in integrated marketing communication (IMC). In IMC we talk a lot about cross platform promotion – the basic idea is that if you connect with audiences using similar messages across facebook, twitter, reddit, wordpress, pinterest, linkedin, etc. you will have a better chance at forming relationships.
The goal is, ultimately, to be heard. To have a chance at the digital handshake that can spark a conversation, that can lead to … endless possibilities.
It was with this potential in mind that I considered my contribution to Shout Out JMU! As a reader of the blog I wanted to spread the word, to get people talking, to help increase the chances that Shout Out would contribute to feminist buzz and not fade into the vast internet noise. My worst fear in the online social sphere is manifested in the image of shouting while on mute.
As Alison and I brainstormed about the syllabus I talked on and on about increasing the expectations for twitter and facebook. I contemplated how many twitter & facebook posts were needed for each blog to be heard. I considered how to integrate expectations for hash tags and @ mentions — this is me digital name dropping. But, you can see where my thinking is. It centers around the question of how to be heard; How to start conversations; How to invite dialogue. It’s a challenge in a digital universe of 64,157,976 word press blogs–not to mention tumbler, 500 million twitter users, the messaging from facebook, instagram, pinterest. It’s enough to make anyone snap their macbook shut and consider letter writing–with a pen.
But, as daunting as it is to consider how to make yourself heard online, it’s also exciting. Because those vast numbers of digital/social users are accessible to you. You just have to learn the nuances of the digital handshake, because you never know how those small digital connections might transform you.
I really like the image of a digital handshake–it’s such a great orientating idea to have for social media. Ever since you first mentioned the phrase in a conversation I have thought about how you can tell a lot about someone by their handshake–the overly assertive and the meek handshakes–and I think the same impression can be made by one’s digital handshake. So, thanks for opening my eyes to think way of thinking! (Also, I was inspired by your post last week, so I also claimed feminist in my twitter profile!)
The concept of voice is really powerful in this post. It feels like the difference between whispering in a packed stadium and having the microphone at our disposal. Perhaps my analogy is too simple, linear and focused on dissemination – masculine. Your metaphor of the digital handshake is more interpersonal – our digital interactions can be like the proliferation of multitudes of individual contact. Each of us invited to respond, to interact, to engage or perhaps to just reflect. Indeed, you never do know who you might transform or who might be a party toward your transformation! In what ways do you think using cross platform communication can contribute to an invitational rhetoric in the digital sphere?