David R. Murray is the editor of the Journal of Employee Communication Management and in his latest editorial, he has shown that he is well behind the times when it comes to communications!
He writes in the article about a communications consultant called Allan Jenkins, who is, he says:
a communication consultant with a blog. (Which is like saying he’s a dog with a tail.)
One day I was reading his stupidly-named blog, “Desirable Roasted Coffee.�? I read his blog a lot, despite the fact that Jenkins is pretty much a nobody in the communication business.
Now, the first problem I have with this, apart from the downright rudeness, is the fact that he doesn’t link to Allan Jenkins blog when he says it. This from someone supposed to be the editor of a Journal of Communications? You might think - aha! Tom, he was being clever. He didn’t want to give Jenkins’ blog any Google Juice by linking to it and ordinarily, I’d say “d’oh! of course, you are right” but in this case, I genuinely believe Mr. Murray doesn’t know how to link - there are no links at all, to anything, anywhere in his editorial.
Worse, in the article, he admits he can’t get his head around social media and he asks his readers to tell him the advantages of social media:
Is social media The Next Big Thing in our business? I know you’ll let me know by answering this urgent call for essays. Please, readers. Please try to succeed where Allan Jenkins has failed: teaching me (and your colleagues) about how social media can make for better internal communications.
I’m sorry, what? Essays? Do they have to be handed in on lined paper, in blue pen, on every second line and signed by our parents too?
Oh dear, has the man never heard of comments? Obviously not or he would allow comments on his editorial thereby immediately being brought the advantages of social media!
I repeat - this man is the editor of the Journal of Employee Communication Management! Is it any wonder blogs and social software are slow taking off in the workplace when the commnications journals can’t get their head around concepts like two-way communications?
Technorati Tags: communications, david murray, ragan communication
hell, now we are all nobody’s ! - I think it’s very sad when a communication manager is talking about essays.. no wait, it’s directly embarrasing.
anyway Allan has made a nobody blog on desirable roasted coffeee.. word !
Sad fact is that most management types that I’ve met, don’t have a clue about the internet and the possiblities of interactivity. They prefer to keep things controlled and managed and don’t want to learn all that techno mumbo jumbo. It’s a failure of corporate training that most of them think that linking and blogging is something complex and highly technical.
It’s all part of a trend–the trend that you’re cool if you’re able to force all communications down channels you like best. Like the director of the department of homeland security does. He doesn’t do email because if it’s important, he knows he will be called.
Good tidings!
I hate to interrupt your chortling to introduce a fine point, but I must: The original piece, rude though I admit it was, was an editor’s letter in this here Journal I edit. It was leaked out by an author who had gotten an advance copy. I had someone at Ragan put it up so people could read the whole text.
So yes, while I could have inserted links and turned it into a forum for conversation, the fact that I didn’t doesn’t mean I’m a knuckle dragger. Just that I’m kind of busy writing the next hopelessly outdated issue of my hopelessly outdated magazine for my hopelessly outdated paying subscribers!
Cordially,
David Rutherford Murray
David - thanks for stopping by and commenting.
I hope I didn’t come across as chortling at any point in the post - I was, in fact, appalled.
You were too busy writing to insert links? In the time it took you to pen this comment, you could have inserted the links and if you had enabled comments, all the discussion would have taken place on your site and you wouldn’t be visiting sites like this all over the Internet trying to keep up with comments.