Last week was a busy week which set me back on posting and on saying thank you to a lot of people.
My time was taken up preparing my presentation for the Advanced Learning Institute Social Media for Government event in Washington, D.C. in July. Meanwhile I was working on answering questions for Judy Gombita who was preparing a profile of me for prconversations.com and I was getting ready for an Acuity Forums social media event in Calgary  where I was speaking. Somewhere in there I also managed to prepare a report for our Board about our communication activities for the last quarter and it was certainly easy to show a lot of activity  (some of which even showed results).

As all this was coming together though I ended up first questioning some of our Comm efforts, then in the end feeling we were on mostly the right track and that there was a lot to be said about our approach. The Board reports can sometimes look fairly soft. There were no meeting with cabinet officials who fund our efforts and no great scientific results to let loose on the world. As I prepared the various presentations though it was clear that we do carry some influence that outstrips our PR and Communications budget.

• Our GenOmics application while low on interaction has decent readership ( same for our blog )
• Website hits and unique visitors continue to trend up
• A recent webinar we held had 70+ registrants
• In the past quarter we received funding from the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency to hold a science competition in livestock genomics
• Pictures from events we attended in the last quarter are picked up from our Picasa site by the Premier's office and Alberta Advanced Education
• Judging by the number of events I'm asked to speak at there is some validation from outside our organization that we're on the right track. This past quarter included me being part of a communications panel at the huge BIO event in Chicago - certainly part of our target audience
• The number of times we are re-tweeted is not bad which helps keep our name in front of people

Now that this little crisis of confidence that rolls around with every Board report has passed, on to the thank-yous to a lot of people who have shared the PRconversations.com link, commented on my presentation at the recent Acuity Forum in Calgary, or generally offered encouragement.  As promised at the Acuity Forum I have included an updated slide deck.

First off, a big thanks to Judy Gombita who did the PRConversations profile, re-tweets me regularly and catches my typos before they start spreading. Here's how she describes herself on Twitter - "PR/comms management specialist. Maven-connector. CPRS member/volunteer. Passions: travel, film, theatre, opera, books, fine food & wine". Follow her as @jgombita for quick Twitter hits or go to http://www.prconversations.com/ for more depth.

So from the last couple of weeks here at some people and organizations I need to say thanks to:


@WordWritePR : WordWrite Communications helps organizations share their stories with everyone who needs to hear them and can be found on the web at http://www.wordwritepr.com/index.php   They also tweet @HealthcareBuzz 

@CommAMMO is Sean Williams of Cleveland, Ohio who provides strategy & tactics for PR/communication through his company Communications AMMO at http://www.communicationammo.com 

@RFIPR is the Twitter account for Ruder-Finn Israel, an  international communications firm with a strong presence in Israel. Find 'em on the web at http://www.ruderfinn.co.il/ 

@jsource A source for Canadian journalism news, opinions and resources found at http://www.j-source.ca/english_new/

@CalgaryRealtor  is a Royal LePage Calgary REALTOR specializing in  web and social media marketing for Calgary area property. Look for Jim Sparrow at http://www.jimsparrow.com/ 

@dblacombe is doug Lacombe who describes himself as an ex-webmaster, ex-BBSer, ex-newspaper/newswire guy, dog lover, Maritimer, railway brat and President of communicatto, a social media agency.

@nscafe Eric Vondran says he enjoys inventing things out of fun. After all, life is a game, not a career. http://web.me.com/kawphy/Reviews/Main/Main.html 

@karenjovi Karen Parucha  is a Toronto gal in YYC. FT law firm MarComm. PT Sweetspot.ca writer. Pro wine, sustainability and self-proclaimed foodie. Twit behind @BPWCalgary Look for more from Karen at http://karenparucha.com/ 

@prconversations is the collective blog on global public relations found at http://www.prconversations.com/

@Kelly_Doody Kelly Doody says she straddles the fence between serious independent PR on one side ( www.DailyInk.ca ) , a fluffy newspaper columnist on the other. ( www.CalgaryHerald.com/CityScene )

@mariedavis is a recovering English Major. Knowledge Junkie. Hooked on Phonics. Slave to the Rhythm. Look for her on Facebook.

@BernadetteDCWin Bernadette Winberg is the bundle of energy Conference Manager for Acuity Forums who researches, markets, and connects with experts to ensure best possible events. 

@JackieOst A communications professional by trade, and running goddess by hobby

Lastly here is the Acuity Forum presentation that may seem cryptic in parts  if you weren't actually there, so if you have questions either post a comment or send me an e-mail to mspear@genomealberta.ca