Erin Caldwell is managing editor of Forward, a new resource for those in public relations seeking to learn more about new media. I recently asked her to share a few words about this new site.

-Dan Karleen

DK: How did Forward get its start?

Well, there were two separate thoughts that lead to the big idea of Forward. Initially, it was becoming more and more clear to me how unique and ahead-of-the-times Robert French’s Style and Design class makes Auburn University’s PR program. I was realizing that very few universities were latching on to this new idea and embracing new media. I also anticipated an increasing knowledge gap between those who were exposed to it early on and those who weren’t. Forward was created to provide all PR students with knowledge and information on these new communications tools; to give them some basic skills and the confidence to start working with them themselves – even if their schools weren’t yet regarding them as worthwhile.

There is another aspect of the site that doesn’t really deal with PR issues or new media. The career advice section stems from my getting ready to graduate and realizing that there were TONS of questions that I had … and had no idea who I could ask, or I wasn’t satisfied with the answers I was getting (as in, they were just canned answers and didn’t really apply to my situation). I’m also a very inquisitive person, so the career advice area deals with discussing issues that people will face as they come to that time when they’re leaving college and entering the real world. We offer answers and discussion on some basic questions, as well as several that most people haven’t even thought to ask yet!

I should point out, however, that Forward would not exist if it weren’t for French’s class. The material he covered (i.e. introducing us to blogs and other new media tools) and the connections and relationships I made as a result are essentially what led to the creation of Forward.

DK: How did you decide on the name Forward?

That’s a good question. I wish I could remember. I believe I was actually trying to think of a new name for my personal blog and it popped in my head. I liked the word and started thinking, “But what does ‘forward’ really mean??” That train of thought eventually led to the “Forward thinking. Forward moving” tagline, and everything clicked.

Our tagline ties into our advocacy of forward thinking – we want to help people in the industry develop a forward-thinking mindset, to sharpen their skills and give them the tools and confidence to really start thinking critically. Forward thinking leads to forward moving – individuals going forward in their careers and an advancement of the industry with a focus on integrity and intellect.

DK: Why do you feel it’s important that Forward be more than a blog?

The HTML pages (the non-blog part) serve as the gateway to the blog, in a way. It was a strategic choice based on the recognition that we’re targeting individuals who haven’t necessarily been exposed to blogs and may feel more comfortable interacting with the site if there’s a buffer there to sort of introduce them to the new medium. Within the HTML pages, we try to spell things out and make navigation smooth and logical, again, to make it easy for people to embrace this resource. We also have the “About Forward Blog” page that gives a brief explanation of how to utilize that part of the site. HTML pages, by nature are more static, so the weight of content for the site is within the blog – that’s where all the conversation happens! The HTML pages are an introduction and a source of good, staple information. And of course, we’ll continue to develop that part of the site as well, to make it more thorough.

DK: What does it take to keep the site running?

Oh goodness, the first few weeks after the launch required CONSTANT monitoring. I had no idea! It was a big learning experience for me. It has settled somewhat at this point. We try to post about twice a day, but we have almost 20 contributors at this point, so that’s not hard to maintain. Only I have the permissions level, as the administrator, to publish posts. One reason for this, it allows me to manage the timing, frequency, topics and authors of the posts. I also read through, edit and give feedback on posts when needed prior to publishing. Coordinating and communicating with the contributors is also important at this early stage. I send an email to the group about once a week with notes and important news or information. I also communicate quite frequently with them on an individual basis, mostly regarding material for the site.

The contributors do a great job of keeping the conversation going on the blog. Feedback that I’ve received tells me that they’re really enjoying taking part in this and getting a lot out of the experience.

Besides all that, I also try to keep tabs on who’s talking about Forward, and I closely monitor the site’s statistics. I don’t put too much weight on the stats – I’m more concerned with posting quality material and maintaining good discussions – but it’s interesting to see where the peaks and valleys are and what affects those numbers. It’s all adding up to be quite a learning experience!

DK: In your opinion, what are the key things new PR professionals need to know in order to succeed?

Haha – that’s what I’m trying to find out! I think new PR professionals definitely need to grasp the idea that information and knowledge isn’t always going to be spoon fed to them. They need to go in search of knowledge. They need to read and research and find what really interests them and pursue it with genuine and thoughtful curiosity. Also, it’s important to really dive into and look deeply at trends, issues and new tools in PR – but never lose site of the big picture.
How can Forward help, and how will you convince people that they should pay attention?

How can Forward help … well, I hope that we’re stimulating thought. Thinking through these issues and reading all the different perspectives – I hope that that ignites an interest and gives people a little confidence to go and start looking into these things more. That’s the whole idea that this is a springboard. It’s a starting point.

How to convince people to pay attention … the PR people already involved the blogosphere certainly embraced the idea of this sort of thing, long before Forward actually. The trick is getting the folks not already acquainted with the medium to chime in. I’m still working on that. The best way, and how we’re approaching it, is contacting them through a medium they’re already familiar with, explaining the benefits of the site in terms they can relate to, and simply inviting them to take a look. This has actually been pretty successful. We did a fairly small-scale student-oriented awareness push a few weeks back and saw an increase in site traffic and blog-related stats as a direct result. Looking to expand on that strategy in the coming months …

DK: How will you know that Forward is accomplishing what you hope it will?

EC: That’s hard to say. Most likely through discussion on the blog. I can tell from our feed stats that our readership is steadily increasing (so folks are reading the material!), but I’ll have a better idea that we’re making an impact when more students are participating in the discussion. I’m expecting that to take some time, however. They have to feel comfortable enough to comment, and that essentially just takes a certain period of time of laying low in the blogosphere – just soaking it up and getting oriented.

DK: Have you received any feedback so far?

EC: Yes! We’ve received plenty of great feedback from professionals – both “good job” feedback and “here’s another idea” or “this didn’t work.” General consensus from the professionals is that they’re happy with what we’re doing and they’re enthusiastic. We’re working hard to maintain that.

We have also received feedback from students. Slowly but surely, they’re adding themselves to Forward’s Frappr map – which is an easy and fun way to see who we’re reaching. I’ve also gotten a few personal emails, and the blog has gotten comments. The feedback is very positive, and the involvement is slowly increasing. We certainly hope to see that trend continue.

DK: How do you see Forward evolving?

EC: I have thought about this question for a while, and the answer that keeps coming to mind is “However it needs to.” I realize that’s rather vague, but that’s precisely what I mean. We’re working to build a sharp team that will constantly strive to develop the site into a resource that fits the current needs and questions of our audience. We’ll continue to expand and add content to the HTML part of our site – I’d like to see that grow into a larger resource. And I think the blog will evolve naturally. Contributors will continue to write about issues and trends that are relevant and timely.
At the moment, we are developing a few podcasts. These will not differ much from the type of material found in posts, but will simply utilize the advantages of the audio medium.

We’ve also had some discussion of creating a place where PR educators from around the world can post lecture notes and other class materials. That could possibly employ the use of a wiki. We’re currently considering the logistics of such an undertaking and trying to gage interest in this sort of resource. Would educators be willing to share material (under a creative license, of course)? Would students utilize the material? We’ll see …

DK: Who would you like to reach?

EC: More students, and especially younger ones or those who aren’t necessarily in PR yet. Something interesting I’ve come across in a lot of the feedback from other students is that the site gave them a better idea of what PR is and what you can do with an education in PR. Perhaps this can help some young people determine if this is a professional area they’d like to pursue.

DK: What kind of effort do you think this will take?

EC: Really, I think it will take a massive outreach effort to develop relationships with faculty and leaders of PR programs at colleges and universities. This will take time and a lot of networking. Forward is only about a month old, so I think we’ll let the site grow a little more and then we’ll start up with this strategy.
We’re being very thoughtful about all of the choices we make and trying to take the time to do it right. This is in an effort to meticulously craft Forward into a valuable, lasting resource – not something that will just fizzle out or flop in a matter of months.

DK: Have you considered developing Forward into a business? If so, what would this look like?

EC: Honestly, I’d rather Forward not develop into a business. Several people have mentioned that, actually. Forward certainly wasn’t created with that in mind, and even after giving it some thought, I still maintain that I don’t want it to head in that direction.

Forward was created to provide a place for an exchange of ideas and information. Its focus and roots are in education. We’re sure that the relationships we form with Forward will provide benefits to all involved, without the need to try to make money from it.

As of right now, we just hope to expand the impact of our efforts and continue to develop Forward as a place where PR people – both novice and experienced – can learn and interact.

Blair L. Fannin
Texas A&M University System Agricultural Communications

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Abstract

An emerging technology called podcasting has been identified as a new source of Web news distribution.

Podcasting derives from the words iPod (Apple Computer’s portable audio player) and broadcasting. Audio content, such as news, is compressed into .MP3 audio file format and can be automatically downloaded to a computer. The audio file can be transferred to a portable .MP3 player for listening at the user’s convenience, whether traveling by car, airplane, working out at the gym, etc. The audio files can also be burned onto a CD-ROM and played in an automobile.

With the void of agriculture radio news programming in many rural markets, podcasting can help fill that vacancy with a variety of news and educational programming, targeting both agriculture producers and the general public.

Podcasting is an attractive technology to land-grant institutions with news divisions. The technology can be easily implemented without purchasing expensive transmitters and satellite time. Many institutions already have computers and servers, the only essential tools necessary to begin podcasting.

Introduction

The demise of farm radio in many rural markets across the country has left a void of agriculture news. An emerging technology called podcasting has been identified as a new method of news distribution, bypassing traditional radio media outlets without significant investment.

While downloadable audio files have been available for many years on the Internet, the key component to podcasting is its subscription method via Really Simple Syndication (RSS).

Users who download software capable of subscribing to RSS podcast audio feeds can automatically have .MP3 files downloaded to their computers. When the iPod or .MP3 player is synched to the computer, those new audio files are transferred to the player and ready for listening.

Podcasting can help fill the void of farm radio programming in rural markets, targeting both agriculture producers and the general public. With the content available as an audio file on the Internet, the end-user can download and listen to it at their leisure. Many podcast listeners listen to the content while commuting to work, traveling by air, or during gym workouts, walking, etc.

Usage of .MP3 players is growing at an extremely fast rate. Apple Computer Corp. reported sales of 20 million iPods in 2005. News organizations in the Northeast and some Public Radio Stations, including National Public Radio (NPR), now offer their audio content via podcasts.

Podcasting is an attractive technology to land-grant institutions with news divisions. The technology can be easily implemented without purchasing expensive transmitters and satellite time. Many institutions have computers and servers - podcasting’s key distribution components.

Methods/Process

Texas A&M Agricultural Communications produces podcasts for its news site (http://agnews.tamu.edu) and a weekly news podcast called Agnews Weekly (http://agnewsweekly.tamu.edu).

The audio content is produced using a laptop or desktop computer using a microphone and headphones. Interviews with Extension specialists and Experiment Station scientists are captured using a portable Olympus D330 digital audio recorder. As an alternative, interviews also are captured using an Apple iPod with an external microphone. The produced audio is downloaded to the computer. Free audio editing software, Audacity, is used to edit the interviews and produce the voiceovers for the news reports. The file is compressed into an .MP3 file using Apple’s iTunes and uploaded to a server.

The program’s contents are coded into a RSS file, which stands for Really Simple Syndication, and placed on a server. RSS is becoming a widely adopted technology. Texas A&M Agricultural Communications first began offering RSS feeds of its news in September 2003 - one of the first land-grant institutions in the United States to make this technology available.

RSS feeds can also include enclosures, which contain code linking to audio/video files on the Web. Those running newsreader programs and subscribing to RSS feeds can now receive audio news podcast reports automatically.

When including the audio content in a RSS feed, individuals can subscribe to Ag Communications’ RSS feed and automatically receive audio news content, which can be synched to the iPod. Users can also use a traditional method by downloading the .MP3 file and listening on their desktops or burning the programming to a CD-ROM.

Agnews Weekly is a program that spotlights Extension and Experiment Station research, educational programs, and current issues. The pilot program can be found at http://agnewsweekly.tamu.edu.

Results/Outcomes

As podcasting popularity grew through the end of 2004 and in 2005, a clearing house for Podcast programs was created on the Web at http://www.ipodder.org.

Texas A&M became the first land-grant institution to be listed under the Agriculture category with its Agnews Weekly program on Nov. 17, 2004 (see http://www.ipodder.org/directory/4/podcasts/categories/agriculture). Other sites have been created promoting various podcasts. Those sites listing Agnews Weekly include: www.podcastdirectory.com, www.podcastalley.com, www.digitalpodcast.com, www.podcastingnews.com and others. These sites offer free podcast listings, eliminating the need for investment in advertising and marketing on behalf of Texas A&M Agricultural Communications.

In June 2005, Apple Computer debuted iTunes 4.9 that featured a listing of podcasts as part of its iTunes Music Store. The podcast listings allowed site visitors to subscribe and download free audio content through its music store. Agnews Weekly was included in this debut of the new feature to its music store - yet another marketing avenue for Texas A&M Agriculture Program news.

Statistics have been recorded for the Agnews Weekly podcast dating back to when the project first began in October 2004. The number of requests and the amount of audio files downloaded have gradually increased each month since the inception of the podcasting project (See Table 1).

The request numbers and gigabytes of audio have steadily increased. Please note the month of July was when Apple Computer Corp. listed the Agnews Weekly podcast as part of their iTunes Music Store directory. It’s a free listing and it has boosted the number of people requesting these podcasts. Apple estimates its iTunes Music Store attracts between 6 million and 30 million visitors.

The following were the most popular Agnews Weekly podcasts that were downloaded:

*Oct. 27, 2004 podcast featuring interview with Jose Pena, Extension economist, discussing Texas pecan harvest (1,408 requests)

*March 11, 2005 podcast featuring interview with Dr. Parr Rosson, Extension economist, with perspective on recent action by WTO and ruling U.S. Cotton subsidies create unfair trade.

*Nov. 24, 2004 podcast featuring Dr. David Anderson, Extension beef economist, providing commentary on negative case of mad cow disease tested in U.S.

The podcasts have also led to listener feedback. The following is e-mail from listeners:

“Huge fan of the podcast. I’m not sure that I’m similar to the rest of your audience since I work in New York City. I was raised in cattle country in California so I’m familiar with your topics. I mostly enjoy listening at home or on my iPod in the subway on my way to work.”

“I’m not sure how far away your regular listeners are, but I’m a pretty far piece from College Station here in Chicago. Been listening to your podcast and have been enjoying it. My father was a professor-farmer in Southern Indiana, so hearing about hay usage, crop planning and ag extension is a lovely tie to my past. Keep up the good work and interesting programming!”

“What neat possibilities this technology could have for us…we found out about Agnews Weekly after visiting our son who is the Web Development Director at CNN.”

“I downloaded the podcast and put on my iPod so my father could listen to it on the way to the deer lease. He is a part-time cattle rancher.”

While it’s unclear if podcasting technology will become a standard application on the Internet, it’s predicted that usage will increase over the next five years with already more than 20 million iPods sold globally.

This table table illustrates the number of podcast users through 2010.

Discussion/Conclusions

Podcasts can be listened to at any time whenever the user so desires. Many radio stations across the country are controlled by one large company. Typically, programming is distributed via satellite to large groups of stations, therefore reducing the amount of locally-generated news. It is anticipated that these large media companies will identify podcasting as a new distribution method in the future.

Podcasting bypasses traditional media. Instead of Agricultural Communications having to pitch the news to radio outlets, we send the information directly to our audience via RSS and the Web.

Podcasting opens a new door to target general consumers and agricultural producers with our news content. Further, this may penetrate younger audiences who are more inclined to use portable .MP3 player devices.

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