Today I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon at the Ontario Hospital Association Social Media Conference at the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto. What a great group of communications leaders. There were a couple of speakers before me. Lee Aase from the Mayo Clinic Centre for Social Media, gave a great workshop on a …
Continue reading “Gave a talk on social media metrics at #OHASM11”
I have spent most of the last week marking papers. As professors, we sometimes grumble and complain about this task, but it is important to consider how vital evaluation and feedback is to student growth. The thing is, marking work is a two-way street. I have been thinking a lot about the value of assignments …
Continue reading “Students don’t read anymore. What does this mean for democracy?”
Yesterday, I had my last day of class. This is always a bittersweet moment, since I love teaching and look forward to it as one of the highlights of my week! This has been a big term! I have been busy working on many different projects: a new journal, a program review, an election campaign, …
The long wait is over. I am pleased to announce the launch of the Journal of Professional Communication (JPC) – the first international journal of its kind. After announcing the birth of JPC at the Canadian Public Relations Leadership Summit 2010 at the Old Mill in Toronto, we have spent over a year developing the journal. From …
Continue reading “LAUNCHED TODAY: The Journal of Professional Communication (JPC)”
The cool breezes of autumn are upon us, and I couldn’t be happier. This is my happiest time of year – as nature falls asleep and we have to bundle up to keep warm. I find that the coolness keeps my mind crisp and focuses my thoughts on what is important. Last weekend, I went …
Today I took on a new responsibility at McMaster University. I will be the new Director of Professional Communication Programs – this is a diverse portfolio that I will explain in several blog entries. In this blog posting, I will focus on the flagship Master of Communications Management program, which is the jewel in the …
I just put the final touches on my courses for this year. I am pretty excited about what the year portends! On Tuesdays and Fridays at 2:30pm, I will be teaching CMST 1a03: Intro to Communication. I absolutely love teaching this giant course. It is the first course that I ever taught at Mac, on the …
Continue reading “Descriptions and times of courses I am teaching in the Autumn Term!”
A lot of readers have asked me to explain further my writing process. I have decided to include five tips for writing productivity in this blog post. Hope they’re useful to you. It is easy to fetishize writing, as though it is some sort of mystical or spiritual activity. That means considering it “special” or …
Continue reading “5 tips to get your writing productivity up.”
Last night I had a wonderful experience, giving a Mac on the Road alumni lecture on “Social Media Risk Management” in the St. Laurent Room of the Lord Elgin Hotel in Ottawa. There was a great, diverse crowd of people out, ranging from professional communicators from the Ottawa area to different generations of McMaster alumni, …
Continue reading “Gave a Speech on Social Media Risk Management in Ottawa”
I am someone who works tirelessly and generally very regularly. I am very disciplined and controlled, laser-focused on whatever I am doing at the time, intense. At times however, I am struck by an inability to get things done. These moments of paralysis are not unique to me, but common among academics. I have found …
Continue reading “It’s good to be back at it, after a staycation!”
