On 1/31/11 I met with Jim Melamed in my continued quest to understand the history of community mediation in this area. I really enjoyed meeting and talking with Jim, also Clare Fowler who works with Jim and with the University was there. We met at a coffee shop near campus and Jim filled the hour with a great deal of interesting information.
Jim offered a perspective I hadn't yet come across in the interviews I've conducted - the role of the internet and mediation. I hadn't considered the possibilities for mediation made available with our ever-developing technology. Jim is obviously a visionary kinda guy - I understood that he played a huge role in the development of mediate.com and the case management software now being used by CMS, from inception to daily maintenance. Jim has ideas for using online technology like Skype for mediations under the right circumstances. Although there are obviously some disadvantages to parties not meeting in person, online mediation surely has a place somewhere in the future of the conflict field.
I appreciated Jim's willingness to sit down with me and the new perspective that helped open my mind to the myriad mediation possibilities that exist.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
KLCC meeting
On 1/26/11 I met with Chip and Cheryl Crumbley, manager of our local NPR radio station, KLCC. Cheryl gave us a nice tour of the station and introduced us to some members of the staff. I found Cheryl to be passionate and knowledgeable in her job and it was a pleasure to speak with her.
The media plays an important role in our society and I was interested to learn a little about how they operate and what their priorities are. The main take home was that, according to Cheryl, media outlets are after stories that "new, fresh, first." They want to publish something that people will read (obviously), and also perhaps teach them something they didn't know, or offer a different perspective in a non-threatening manner.
Cheryl thought CMS' story fell in to the category of "new, fresh, first" - that's very encouraging to me and to Chip! CMS is currently undergoing a "reinvention" - a new location, and possibly a new name and/or logo. We are hoping to improve our marketing efforts so that when community members have conflict, they think of CMS first. We are striving to strengthen our relationships with local businesses and non-profits. When the time is right, I hope to work with Chip in putting together a series of press releases for KLCC and other media outlets that will help spread the word about all the great work CMS is doing in our community.
The media plays an important role in our society and I was interested to learn a little about how they operate and what their priorities are. The main take home was that, according to Cheryl, media outlets are after stories that "new, fresh, first." They want to publish something that people will read (obviously), and also perhaps teach them something they didn't know, or offer a different perspective in a non-threatening manner.
Cheryl thought CMS' story fell in to the category of "new, fresh, first" - that's very encouraging to me and to Chip! CMS is currently undergoing a "reinvention" - a new location, and possibly a new name and/or logo. We are hoping to improve our marketing efforts so that when community members have conflict, they think of CMS first. We are striving to strengthen our relationships with local businesses and non-profits. When the time is right, I hope to work with Chip in putting together a series of press releases for KLCC and other media outlets that will help spread the word about all the great work CMS is doing in our community.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Community Engagement Seminar
On January 17, 2012 Chip invited me to attend a seminar called "Powerful Stories for Community Engagement" put on by the South Willamette Valley Nonprofit Network. During the course of the morning we looked into different ways to communicate to the public the work of our non profit. We explored the various learning styles and had the chance to practice writing a headline that sought to encompass as many of the learning styles as possible. We talked about what makes a well-written story for purposes of a newsletter, blog entry, Facebook post, etc. The facilitator was experienced and well-spoken. I think the message was generally well-received by the 50 or so participants.
As a "for-profit" business owner, I get the sense that my perspective is different than what the director of a non-profit's might be. Throughout the course of this marketing internship, I've heard from several people how non-profits need to think more like for-profits. Although I know the obvious answer to this question, I'm still left wondering, what's the marketing difference? Sales are sales and we all have to make them. The first thing that comes to mind is that if anything it should be easier to ask for money as a non-profit. In my small business, my income is derived from a valuable service I provide. CMS is no different - we provide a valuable service that needs to be marketed and made available so that we can keep the lights on. As far as I know, the power company doesn't care much whether the business using the electricity is for- or non-profit...they have to get paid either way. So my ideas for marketing CMS are really nothing new or special. We just need to get better at talking about the great services we provide the community.
As a "for-profit" business owner, I get the sense that my perspective is different than what the director of a non-profit's might be. Throughout the course of this marketing internship, I've heard from several people how non-profits need to think more like for-profits. Although I know the obvious answer to this question, I'm still left wondering, what's the marketing difference? Sales are sales and we all have to make them. The first thing that comes to mind is that if anything it should be easier to ask for money as a non-profit. In my small business, my income is derived from a valuable service I provide. CMS is no different - we provide a valuable service that needs to be marketed and made available so that we can keep the lights on. As far as I know, the power company doesn't care much whether the business using the electricity is for- or non-profit...they have to get paid either way. So my ideas for marketing CMS are really nothing new or special. We just need to get better at talking about the great services we provide the community.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Catch Up
I've been thinking the past few weeks that I should update this blog, but then didn't. So here I am with a few days of the term left playing catch up on 9 blog entries. Sigh. Now, we've learned in classes this term that there's a difference between an excuse and a reason. Here are my "reasons:"
1. I didn't think I was doing anything worth writing about. In late January, shortly after my late post, I found out that CMS had to find a new location. Then I found out its likely we'll change our logo and even perhaps our name. For marketing purposes, its difficult to accomplish much without knowing your name, your logo, and your location. So my marketing efforts were temporarily suspended.
2. I completely unexpectedly landed an internship with the United Nations - my first choice and the only internship that was going to get me to move from Oregon. In the spirit of honesty, my attention has been refocused on that mostly lately.
Despite these reasons - ok they're excuses - I'm attempting to make up for my blogging lack. Forgive me for using the next 8 posts to say things that may more efficiently said in one or two. :)
1. I didn't think I was doing anything worth writing about. In late January, shortly after my late post, I found out that CMS had to find a new location. Then I found out its likely we'll change our logo and even perhaps our name. For marketing purposes, its difficult to accomplish much without knowing your name, your logo, and your location. So my marketing efforts were temporarily suspended.
2. I completely unexpectedly landed an internship with the United Nations - my first choice and the only internship that was going to get me to move from Oregon. In the spirit of honesty, my attention has been refocused on that mostly lately.
Despite these reasons - ok they're excuses - I'm attempting to make up for my blogging lack. Forgive me for using the next 8 posts to say things that may more efficiently said in one or two. :)
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