And the Newsworthiness Award goes to...

What makes something newsworthy?

Is it something that is popular with the climate of the times?

Who determines the worth of news?

Is it you? Me? Mainstream media? Bloggers?

The problem I have with "newsworthiness" is that its subjective. Essentially, whats worthy to me as news may not be worthy to you and vice-versa. Do I care that the Cardinals won the World Series? Not really, but that's HUGE news for sports fans. Did you hear that Mazda isn't actually stopping production on its trademark rotary engine? I'm so excited about this news. I LOVE rotary engines! But I bet to most of you that's not worthy news. Some of you couldn't care less.

Lately, the trend in news has been Libya, U.S. Troops coming back home, Cancer Awareness, snow, and of course Halloween festivities. Some of these are recurring themes (i.e. Libya and U.S. Troops) that have been in the news for years now because they're a matter of public concern and national security thus making them newsworthy. We as normal citizens don't have the capabilities to follow the war first-hand so the media has to cover it so that we can stay informed about what is happening overseas.

Then there are those items of news that are seasonal. We just got the first snowfall of the year; people are talking and the media has picked up on this. In this case, we have made the topic of snowfall/the arrival of winter newsworthy because its a topic that is on everyone's mind. The same goes for cancer awareness and Halloween. They are seasonal trends. That's the topic of conversation right now and that has influenced the news.

What I've found is that there really are two main things that make something newsworthy. Primary, something is considered newsworthy if its informing the public of an issue that might affect them. This includes things like medical breakthroughs, war, protests, construction work, policy changes, etc. Secondly, issues may be considered newsworthy if they are the topic of conversation. These are social matters like holiday related stories, weather, sport victories/failures, etc.

So what the final verdict? Who determines newsworthiness?

As I asked earlier, Is it you? Me? Mainstream media? Bloggers?

Well its everyone. The job of the media is to be a watchdog for our society and so not only should they inform us about things that we otherwise would not know about, but they must also monitor those things that we are talking about and report stories around those topics.

What news are you going to make today? Either way, fasten your seat belt because it's bound to be a wold wild.

Drive safely my friends!

Let's talk business!

With all the social media and collaboration tools now available on the web, its insane to me that businesses are still having trouble communicating. We have Skype, that allows us to have video conferences and share desktops; There's Google docs that makes it easy for various team members to work on word, excel, and PowerPoint presentations simultaneously; and the list continues. So what's the problem?

The only thing I can think of is a lack of knowledge. These methods of sharing are great, but they could be highly ineffective if even one member of the team is not very skilled at using that tool.

Another issue I find with these tools is that many times business people use these tools independently and forget that the best business tools we possess are our voices, our hands, and our physical proximity. For instance, it's great to use skype to make a presentation when physical distance is an issue, but I find that face-to-face presentations are more personal and at times may be more effective.

With this said, I personally love collaboration tools. When you have to work on something as a group and are meeting regularly to discuss the project, collaboration tools like Google docs add a ton of value. Instead of everyone working off one computer to do edits (which is extremely time ineffective), everyone can work on the document at the same time and on their own computers, but you still are able to communicate with your team through conversation. Skype's video calling and desktop sharing works similarly, but again only the person sharing their desktop can work on the screen.

What I want you to take from this, is the idea that these tools are not the only thing in your briefcase. You have your communication skills, your interpersonal skills and so-on. So don't forget to use them. No one tool is better than the other, but when combined, these tools can be highly effective.

Hoped this helped in your road to better communication. Drive safely my friends!

CEO Blogs?

With the rise of social media, companies are now forced to be transparent. It becomes obvious then why CEO blogs have risen to such popularity. Companies have come to learn that publics value organizations that have a voice and communicate openly with them and therefore CEOs, as the face of the company, are being forced to have these blogs. Don't get me wrong I think CEO blogs are wonderful, but in order for them to be effective, the CEO must be willing to take an proactive approach and embrace the blog as a natural extension of his/her communication strategy. Simply having a blog that is never updated, having a blog that someone else ghostwrites or having a blog that does not contribute to the goals and values of the organization is useless.

Follow this post across the break to learn what you know before starting a CEO blog...