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Faculty - David Balzer

To Tweet or not to Tweet: Social media workshop

A timely workshop specifically for non-profit, NGO and faith-based communicators in the Winnipeg area.  This workshop is being coordinated by the team that puts together the Going Barefoot Communications Conferences.

To Tweet or not to Tweet: Developing a social media strategy for your organization
Presenter: Susie Parker, Sparker Strategy Group
When: February 17, 2012 (Friday), 10 am – 1 pm, lunch included
Where: Canadian Mennonite University, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd (South Campus, southwest corner of Grant and Shaftesbury) Conference Room, main floor
Cost: $25/person. (Payment at door.)
RSVP: By February 3, 2012 to  John Longhurst, Longhurst4@shaw.ca
Description:
Using social media to raise awareness of your organization comes naturally to some, and is a mystery to others. For many this communication channel raises questions we’ve not been asked to think about before: What does your organization want to achieve on social media?
What’s your social media message? How do you attract friends/followers? Twitter, Facebook, Google+ – how many channels are enough/too many? Who is the ‘face’ of your social media presence? What are the rules: Content? Frequency? Relevance? Repetition? Tone? How do you measure success in social media?
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Blogs Faculty - David Balzer

Going Barefoot III Communications Conference on Oct 14

Going Barefoot III is a one-day communications conference is being hosted at CMU on Friday, October 14.  Well worth signing up, for anyone interested in creative communications harnessed for good in our world.

Everything Old is New Again: Communication and Fundraising in the Digital World.

The presenters are:
 Owen Charters, CEO, CanadaHelps.
Presentation: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Future of Fundraising.
Workshop: Everything Old is New Again: The Fundamentals of Fundraising in the Digital World.

Bill Roberts, President and CEO of Vision TV.
Presentation: Going Barefoot with Boomers: The New Va Va Voom Demographic!
Workshop: ZoomerMedia Limited: A Case Study Overview.

Gayle Goosen, Founder and Creative Director, Barefoot Creative.
Workshop 1: Fund raising or Brand raising? The power of brand in the non-profit sector.
Workshop 2: Fund-amentals. A focused approach to growth-oriented fundraising

(A slate of additional workshops will also be offered.)

The cost is $87 (includes GST, lunch and coffee breaks).
Students: $25 (includes GST, sessions only).
Late registration fee: $97 (After Oct. 3).

To register, CLICK HERE
The past two times, registration had to be closed–we filled up all the spaces. So don’t wait too long . . . .

A note from John Longhurst, Conference Planning Coordinator.
As a by-the-way, what we do in Winnipeg by gathering regularly as church communicators, and holding conferences like Going Brefoot, is unique in Canada as far as I can tell–in my travels, I haven’t encountered any other group of church communicators doing what we do. (Not to mention giving the country its first-ever national conference on faith and the media, held in Ottawa in 1998.) Once again, Winnipeg leads the way!

Again, hope to see you at GB III!
John Longhurst
Director, Resource Management
Canadian Foodgrains Bank

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Blogs Faculty - David Balzer

Technology and education…this graphic made me think!

As Fall startup approaches, this graphic caught my attention.  If education was really about the mere transmission of data, I imagine these stats would be at the top of most faculty meeting agendas.  In my view of education as formation rather than information, I don’t disregard these stats but they are contextualized by a deeper question of what it means to be shaped in character.

Students Love Technology
Via: OnlineEducation.net

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Blogs Faculty - David Balzer

Putting an iPhone to good use

Tomorrow evening, Tuesday July 5, I’ll be hitting the road from Winnipeg to Ottawa as part of a Guinness World Record attempt at the fastest bike ride across Canada. Let’s be very clear, my role is NOT to ride the bike, that’s 54-year old Arvid Loewen’s job. My role has been and will continue to be to capture the story and get it out to the web and mainstream media outlets across the country. It’s a hands-on realtime exercise in putting some of our latest technologies to good use.

Arvid is raising awareness and funds to rescue orphaned street kids in Kenya. Pointing an iPhone at that is well worth the effort! Visit www.grandpascan.com/ride to follow the ride from July 1-13?? (yes, 6040km in 13 days on a bike) and to see what all you can produce on an iPhone that makes a real difference.

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Blogs Faculty - David Balzer

Vancouver melee about more than hockey

A Biblical Studies colleague here at CMU sent me this link today from the Winnipeg Free Press: Vancouver melee brings out a dark, disturbing side of social media

As we move into an increasingly wired and online reality, this article creates a helpful pause for reflection. When people ask me about the value of the latest technology, I often ask how we will steward its capacity. Do we become more fully human and alive? Thanks Sheila, for sending the link.

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Blogs Faculty - David Balzer

Canadian Mennonite magazine looking for Young Voices

I got an email from Emily Loewen, Canadian Mennonite Young Voices Editor last week inviting CMU students to join their team of journalistic storytellers. Here’s what Emily sent. A great opportunity!

“If you’re interested in journalism, photography, multimedia or just have some great story ideas, Canadian Mennonite’s Young Voices wants to hear from you. We are looking for journalists interested in contributing to the new young adults section of the magazine and website, covering events, ideas and people of interest to young mennonites. For more information or to pitch an idea send an email to Emily Loewen eloewen@canadianmennonite.org

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Blogs Faculty - David Balzer

Video – coffee with recent grad Mike Duerksen at Siloam Mission

Mid-afternoon I caught up with Mike Duerksen, Communications and Media grad (3-yr BA 2010), who is about 10 months into his position as Communications Coordinator for an incredible organization – Siloam Mission.

Here’s a bit of what it means to him.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/24637234[/vimeo]

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Blogs Faculty - David Balzer

Welcome to my new Communications and Media blog

Well, it’s time to do some storytelling about the Communications and Media program at CMU. So much happens each week with exciting student projects, alumni activities, practicum and job opportunities… Come back here often to catch my personal take on what it means to communicate for Life.