Yesterday I had the honor – and it really was an honor – of introducing Dr. Donna Vincent Roa as she received the 2011 Matrix Award (that’s her on the left) from the Association for Women in Communication’s DC chapter, in recognition of her accomplishments in the global communication field.
As I said in my remarks, long before I met Donna (who is IABC-accredited and a former IABC/DC Metro president, as I am), I bumped into her reputation. I couldn’t avoid it. Wherever I went, there it was. Kind of like a doppelgänger, but much, much nicer.
Over the years, I’ve come to know her, and not just respect her smarts, which are incredible, but see what a genuinely kind and giving person she is.
Donna’s done some pretty amazing things: not only does she have a Ph.D. in Communication (how many of us have that?!), she’s
- handled communications for the UN Economic Commission for Africa,
- spearheaded the EPA’s Office of Research and Development’s science branding and communication efforts…
- and oh, by the way, also wrote the screenplay for and executive produced One Child, a short film that “artfully positions a disastrous social policy that affects the lives of millions of girls in China and throughout the world with one child’s wish to connect to her birth family,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008.
She even had the KGB watching her when on assignment in Russia, when she was a social scientist, doing international media research with the US Information Agency (which existed from 1953 until 1999). You know you’ve made the big time when you’re on the KGB’s watch list!
But how many of you know who Donna is?
(If you’re plugged into the IABC/DC Metro network, that doesn’t count.) How many of you, who are active in social media and are business communicators yourselves know who she is?
If you focus on finding your influencers on Twitter, or pretty much any social network, you’d be unlikely to think of Donna as a mover and shaker in the business communication field. Her blog isn’t fancy. She has only recently started getting active on Twitter. If you rely on Klout, her score sucks. She is extremely unlikely to pop up in any discussion of online A-listers.
But I guarantee you that when it comes to working on projects in her chosen field – as her company website puts it, “communication about the Earth and its people” – Donna is at the top of the list, or pretty close to it, when clients are wondering whom to call.
There are many, many people like Donna.
Professionals who have distinguished themselves through the course of their career, who have done extraordinary things, who have given back to their communities time and time again… and who you might never get to know if you continue to live squarely at the center of the social media bubble. Granted, the bubble has been expanding, but it’s still a bubble.
But if you do get to know them, I can also guarantee you that your world will be immeasurably enriched by them; by the force of their knowledge, by their generosity of spirit, and by the power of their ideas.
I can’t tell you who these people are, in your neck of the woods. But you can find them.
Instead of going to the same ol’ tweetup, try an IABC or PRSA meeting, or maybe that of a local communication organization such as AWC-DC in my area.
Talk to the organization leaders and find out who their top five chapter leaders have been, and get to know them.
Look at who’s getting awards for excellence in your field, in your community… and not just in “social media.”
These are the true rock stars of our field, even though they’re practically invisible in social media.
Social is great. You know I love it. But I think it’s important for us to periodically remind ourselves that it’s just one facet of our world, just one of our many dimensions.
The real world is still out there. And it’s not going away any time soon.
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[…] when we meet people not of “our” world, we’re not quite sure how to behave with them… if we even acknowledge that they might […]
Shonali,
As an aspiring public relations practitioner, this post gave me hope. As my college career will be coming to an end in May, all of my relative work recently has been centered on social media. Last year about this time, I heard of Klout, and haven’t stopped hearing about it since. Fellow peers of mine have stressed how important it is, but as your post explained, is that really all that matters? I am a confident young woman, and believe I can go far in life, but I am not influential when it comes to social media. What advice would give a college student on how to start taking the necessary steps for creating a professional reputation off of social media while living in a college setting?
-Paige McNeal
pmcneal1 Paige, I am SO sorry, but somehow the notification for your comment got lost and I literally just saw it. I am mortified. If you are still getting notifications for this post & comments, please reply below, and then I’ll do my best to answer. My apologies again; hopefully several months later you are doing very well!
[…] we’re playing with and learning, we start to think everyone’s like us. And when we meet people not of “our” world, we’re not quite sure how to behave with them… if we even acknowledge that they might […]
@Shonali@JGoldsborough@ginidietrich
Yes, Shonali, I agree with your points and in hindsight could have softened my comment. Let me put it this way: it’s very easy to analyze numbers without looking at qualitative factors as well, or even knowing If you’ve really got ALL the right numbers from ALL the right accounts. The fact is, you need professionals who really know the market and the players – intimately – to analyze what it all means. I still maintain that QUALITATIVE analysis is well undersold and undervalued.
@LynnMiller You know, I was really down on Klout when it started (and have written a few posts about it too, as have @JGoldsborough and @ginidietrich to name just a couple). I do think they respond very well to inquiries as well as the criticism that go their way, and they are trying to improve the service. My biggest problem is with people who think a Klout score is the be-all and end-all. I don’t think Klout is a racket, though. There is huge demand for these kinds of scores, and they got onto the bandwagon at the right time. Still a long way to go, though…
@LynnMiller … and my work is done. :) So glad you now “know” Donna!
Ack, now I see the points everyone was talking about….I’m not a big fan of Klout. And by the way, the system did not locate my “real” Klout number simply because of the way I logged into livefyre. Geoff Livingston has written some great blog posts deconstructing Klout. It’s…a racket, like much else in the communications/social media world.
@Shonali, what a simply wonderful post. I’m so grateful to have been introduced to Donna’s work. As you may know, I focus on sustainability as well – but with a heavy emphasis on social media and inbound marketing. How sad that our paths have not crossed – but you’ve changed that.
@DonnaVincentRoa The points are @HowieSPM ‘s way of keeping our pals at @livefyre on the straight and narrow. :p And God help you if he starts talking “measuring public radio” with you, LOL.
@ExpatDoctorMom That’s wonderful – and thank you for taking the time to stop by!
@DonnaVincentRoa I’m not a power blogger at all – believe me! I’ve just been trying to discipline myself, and the community has been a huge part of WUL growing.
I completely understand what you’re saying about being conflicted as to where to spend your time – what will give most value to your clients, as well as to yourself. However, I do think someone like you (in particular) would benefit hugely from ramping up your social activity, not least because there are a ton of people active in social who just won’t get exposed to professionals of your caliber, because they do live in a fairly closed world.
The other part of it is that at some point, it’s possible that your client pool is going to start needing more social media experience… it may not happen today, or tomorrow, but just as the landscape today is vastly different than it was 10 years ago, who knows what will happen 5 years into the future? I know for myself, there’s no way I’d have the kind of clients I do had I not started getting involved in social a few years ago. So just as the social community could benefit from “real life” rock stars like you, I’m going to gently suggest that there is a ton waiting out there for you as well. Of course the trick is balance… and we each have to find our own.
Thanks again for a wonderful afternoon, Donna!
@C.dillard I think those lists can have value, but they can also be quite myopic.
@HowieSPM ROFL!
@OnlineBusinesVA Thanks.
@DonnaVincentRoa Hi Donna I am not far away from having enough points to redeem for a Number 3 Pencil. (1500 points!). I am really excited.
Yes sorry about the Klout score thing. @shonali knows how much I use that measurement when deciding who I am associated with. I mean it is a new age and I need to stay cutting edge because someones influence in the 0.005% of their life that can be measured by Klout is really important to me.
Plus I see you like writing and speaking but not one mention of a passion for Space Daiquiris or Cupcakes never mind investigating various ways to measure Public Radio.I will have to have a talk with @shonali about this and we just might have to corrupt you to our ways. 8)
Hope you had a great weekend and thanks for the wonderful post!
Shonali
Thanks for highlighting this amazing woman. Am now following her on twitter!Cheers,Rajka
PS – what does the 13 pts by my name mean? @HowieSPM has 1374. Way to go Howie!
@shonali
Shonali, nice article. Thanks for showcasing my accomplishments and using the opportunity to reflect on an idea that deserves talking about from both sides of the coin.
I am in awe of your social media prowess and ability to sustain a strong social media presence day in and day out. You are always doing so with compelling, provocative articles and insights. You are a social media rockstar and a power blogger to emulate (and I hear you make a great dahl, too!).
After our experience and chat at AWC-DC Matrix Award Ceremony and Tea, my conversation on the ride back to Rockville focused on how each of us in communication really benefits from choosing a specialty and how, realistically, we cannot be experts and active players in all aspects of our growing and dynamic field.
My interest and emphasis has been on global communication with an emphasis on the environment, drinking water, sustainability, energy, and technology. I opted, for example, to get LEED GA training and get a CSR practitioner certification to make the most of my interactions with my architect and engineering client base. This complements my IABC accreditation. When they ask me to write a meaningful sustainability communication strategy or write an article about “whole building design” for an annual report to Congress, I can do so with confidence.
Sometimes I wish I had the luxury to join your ranks. I watch with great interest the activities surrounding social media and yearn to be a more active player, to have a Klout score high enough so that people like Howie would consider interacting with me. In my quiet moments, I wonder if I, too, will ever be or could ever be a power blogger?
It made me feel good that I did know what a Klout score was, but a bit sad that Howie wouldn’t give me a second look. ( @HowieSPM Howie: you inspired me to write this post!!)
Oftentimes, it is a genuine battle for time: do I write a blog article, tweet and spread my social media wings or use that time to add more insights into a strategy that will affect a client’s outreach to farmers who need to know about sustainable land management, or to a global partnership that is trying to raise the visibility of water and sanitation across the world?
Or, write a compelling speech that moves an audience through a range of emotions, including tears (Victor said he was telling himself…don’t cry, don’t cry, in addition to other great feedback from the AWC-DC event).
I did a computation: I could have written at least 9 blog articles for that one speech. But, I would not have traded the speech for those articles. While I love writing, I love speaking more.
I am in the real world looking into that social media bubble and watching with amazement the whole industry that is growing up around it. Heck, I even bought stock in LinkedIn and have signed up for and am using SproutSocial (before I learned from you that you liked HootSuite better).
I am honored to be a rock star in your eyes and will always be open to any jam session you organize (as long as dahl is included)…as one rock star speaking to another.
Now that I’ve written this, I will post it to t and f….that ‘s Twitter and Facebook.
Stay safe.
I loved what you have done here. The design is elegant, your stuff classy. Yet, you have got an edginess to what you’re offering here. Ill definitely come back for more if you keep this up. You’ve got a fan right here who values what you’ve got to say and the way you’ve presented yourself. good on you!’
Shilpi Singha Roy http://www.obvainc.com Facebook fan page – http://on.fb.me/i9Oifw
I completely agree with you. There is way too much emphasis put on a follow list these days. Especially when these mediums are by real world standards so very new.
I only interact with people who have high Klout scores. 8)
This is a great post on Donna. She has been a part of some really dynamic career experiences and obviously is tenacious at her work or she wouldn’t be on Putin’s speed dial. 8)
I only interact with people who have high Klout scores.
This is a great post on Donna. She has been a part of some really dynamic career experiences and obviously is tenacious at her work or she wouldn’t be on Putin’s speed dial. 8)
@pasmithjr Thank you!