[Editors] MIT Editors' Club Minutes, December 2009

Tue Dec 15 14:30:47 EST 2009

For what it's worth, if you'd like I can present at a future meeting  
on email newsletters, or Wordpress and other CMS's, or Hootsuite/ 
CoTweet/Twitter.

I use them all the time for both of my programs.

Recent newsletter example: http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=70543aaa7e732813eb2cf860a&id=c51aee4ca7
Along with its statistics: http://us1.vip-reports.net/reports/summary?u=70543aaa7e732813eb2cf860a&id=c51aee4ca7
C4FCM Twitter account: http://twitter.com/c4fcm
Comparative Media Studies Twitter account: http://twitter.com/cms_mit

Andrew Whitacre
Communications Manager
Comparative Media Studies & Center for Future Civic Media
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(617) 324-0490
awhit at mit.edu

On Dec 15, 2009, at 2:17 PM, Elizabeth A Thomson wrote:

> MIT EDITORS' CLUB
>
> *Meeting Notes from December 14, 2009*
>
> 15 Editors attended this meeting, of whom 7 have been at MIT for at  
> least 15 years. Two of the people present have been at MIT 30 and 31  
> years; a third said she has been here for 850 years. (We asked her  
> for firsthand anecdotes from the year the Institute was founded in  
> preparation for the 150th anniversary.)
>
> Seriously: that's a LOT of experience, and I personally know many  
> other members of Editors' Club who have also been at the Institute  
> over 15 years. Memo to all of us: take advantage of this group's  
> knowledge by sending queries to the listserv and, of course,  
> attending meetings. Also: attached is the list of members.
>
> *Social Media Training?*
>
> Robyn Fizz started us off by asking if folks would be interested in  
> IS&T training classes on social media. Answer: a resounding "yes."  
> What subjects are of most interest to us? Members at this meeting  
> mentioned the following, but if you have ideas you'd like to share  
> with Robyn, send 'em to her at fizz at mit.edu.
>
> --HTML e-mail newsletters
> --Wordpress (content management system for web sites)
> --A general primer on social media including a Q&A and best practices
> --Hootsuite (and other ways to manage a variety of social media)
> --Writing for the web
>
> That last topic generated a full-length discussion in and of itself.  
> Lisa Damtoft of MIT Medical noted that as more and more people are  
> making the transition from newsletters to the web, she's finding  
> that the resulting stories go on...and on......and on.  So, is there  
> a preferred word length for the web? No one seemed to think so; in  
> fact, Lauren Clark of Resource Development noted that she often  
> reads the New Yorker online, and its stories are L-O-N-G.
>
> However, everyone felt that writing for the web did involve a few  
> key tricks: for example, many folks appreciated short headlines with  
> a quick summary of a story from which you can then click to the full  
> story. Someone mentioned that writing very short, to-the-point  
> headlines is not something new to the web: think of the spine of a  
> National Geographic, complete with 2-word headlines for every major  
> story.
>
> *Climategate Debate*
>
> Last week a few of my colleagues and I attended The Great  
> Climategate Debate featuring a panel of 5 MIT scientists with a  
> sixth as moderator. I personally think the taped version, now on  
> MITWorld, should be required viewing for anyone interested in  
> climate change. For me, anyways, the event was absolutely riveting.  
> For more on the panel and to see the video, go to: http://globalchange.mit.edu/news/event-item.php?id=218
>
> Also recommended: the CNN video of President Obama's tour of two MIT  
> labs. Go to:
> http://us.cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2009/10/23/sot.mit.obama.tour.nanotech.cnn 
>  and
> http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2009/10/23/sot.obama.tour.wind.energy.cnn
>
> *Story Ideas Wanted*
> Liz Karagianis, editor of Spectrum, noted that the next issue of  
> that publication will focus on public service. She's already well  
> along with the issue, but is still looking for a few more examples  
> of MIT people across the Institute who are involved in public  
> service. Debbie Levey of Civil and Environmental Engineering  
> mentioned that she is currently writing a profile on a student in  
> her department who is very active in Engineers Without Borders.  
> That's exactly the type of person Liz is looking for. If you have  
> ideas, send them to Liz at rkara at MIT.EDU. Liz is also  interested in  
> hearing from you about interesting faculty or students in general.  
> They could be perfect for future profiles in Spectrum.
>
> *MIT 150th & Museum Exhibit*
> Check out the museum's web site featuring a list of nominations to  
> include in an exhibition celebrating the Institute's 150th birthday.  
> I haven't explored it yet myself, but someone at the meeting  
> *strongly* recommended we take a peek---"it's just fascinating," she  
> said. I apologize for not remembering who made this suggestion, but  
> you can see the site at: http://museum.mit.edu/150/
>
> *THANK YOU*
>
> A big Thank You to Robyn Fizz of of Information Services and  
> Technology for
> hosting this meeting in N42.
>
> *Next Meetings*
>
> The next meetings of MIT Editors' Club are as follows. Again, they're
> always from 12-1, and folks are encouraged to bring a lunch.
>
> Wednesday, Jan. 20, 4-303
> THANKS to Carol Breen of the Department of Physics.
>
> Thursday, Feb. 11, E38-254
> THANKS to Monica Lee and Bara Blender of the Publishing Services  
> Bureau.
>
> Monday, March 8, 66-360
> THANKS to Melanie Miller of the Department of Chemical Engineering
>
> Cheers,
>
> Elizabeth
>
> =========================
> Elizabeth A. Thomson
> Associate Director of Communications
> MIT Resource Development
> Office of Communications
> 600 Memorial Dr., W98-300
> 617-258-5563, 857-756-9457
> <thomson at mit.edu>, giving.mit.edu
> =========================
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