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CEGE Reflections – Dr. Binod Sundararajan

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“Social media allows us to share critical data that serves the greater good.  For example, when a natural disaster strikes, social media transports help from across the world. Social media brings together interdisciplinary teams to work towards solutions that will benefit society.  With the advent of social media, knowledge transfer has experienced exponential growth.  This is the salient point: articulating your ideas and experience builds upon what others have learned and shared.”

Dr. Binod Sundararajan

Academic/Research Director, CeLNET

Dr. Binod Sundararajan
Interim Director, Rowe School of Business; Associate Professor of Management; Academic/Research Director, CeLNET

Read Dr. Sundararajan’s full article here

Dr. Binod Sundararajan: How to Get Your Message Out There

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Created and painted by the students, staff, and alumnae of the Sacred Heart School of Halifax with artist, Kyle Jackson

Created and painted by the students, staff, and alumnae of the Sacred Heart School of Halifax with artist, Kyle Jackson

Dr. Binod Sundararajan received an invitation from the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute to help them use social media to get their research out to those who would benefit from their findings.    Their goal was to increase collaboration in oncology.  Without question, this research will benefit many people and build upon existing knowledge and experience.  Knowing how to disseminate this type of message using social media venues is an acquired skillset, but it is based on existing communication best practices.

Dr. Binod Sundararajan Associate Director of the Rowe School of Business, Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University.

Dr. Binod Sundararajan Associate Director of the Rowe School of Business, Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University.

 

As Binod explains:

My model for talking about social media interactions is to always practice “effective communication.” Whether you use LinkedIn, Twitter, a Facebook page, blog or YouTube channel, your end goal it to convey a message by creating a conversation.

Know you audience: The audience is out there, waiting for your message.  Be prepared by asking yourself if you understand what that audience requires.  Who are your stakeholders?  Are they internal or external? What would interest them? How would they like the message to be delivered?

Image and brand:  Whether you are representing yourself or speaking on behalf of an organization, speak with clarity and integrity.  The audience will measure your message by their beliefs and expectations surrounding your name or company/group logo.

I have found that critical listening is a significant factor in gaining trust that fosters long-term alliances. Listening provides us with invaluable information as to why an audience requires a specific message.  We can then customize that message and choose the appropriate channel.

Remember, social media is a two-way dialogue.  The highest vote of confidence that your message has been received is when someone responds and participates in a deeper conversation.  Being available for follow-up, support and guidance will open new possibilities for learning and engagement.

From the CEGE Connection Archives:  First published August 15, 2017.

 

 

Dr. Binod Sundararajan: Is Anyone Listening?

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BINOD SUNDARARAJAN Associate Professor of Management; Associate Director, Rowe School of Business; Academic/Research Director, CELNET

BINOD SUNDARARAJAN
Associate Professor of Management; Associate Director, Rowe School of Business; Academic/Research Director, CELNET

Social Media

Social Media allows us to create and exchange information, ideas, and knowledge.  Websites, blogs, photo applications – all act as our link to networking opportunities within a wider audience. Social media has advanced global communication even as it has transformed the way we engage within social and work environments.  Our smart phones connect us to places that we may never visit; yet we experience “being there” via a photo uploaded on the other side of the world.  We send messages, listen to music, share videos, post selfies, all with nonchalant ease as we go about our daily routine.

CFAME Connection interviewed Binod Sundararajan to discuss the importance of participating in a complex and chaotic communication environment. Does my voice matter?  Is anyone listening?  Why bother?

According to Binod, every voice matters.

Social media allows us to share critical data that serves the greater good.  For example, when a natural disaster strikes, social media transports help from across the world. Social media brings together interdisciplinary teams to work towards solutions that will benefit society.  With the advent of social media, knowledge transfer has experienced exponential growth.  This is the salient point: articulating your ideas and experience builds upon what others have learned and shared. 

Social media will continue to influence and transform our communication styles.  To provide context, the statistics are impressive (Smith, 2016).  As of July 2015, total worldwide population was 7.3 billion. The internet has 3.17 billion users with 2.3 billion actively involved in social media.  Ninety-one percent of retail brands use two or more social media channels.  Internet users have an average of 5.54 social media accounts.  Even more telling, social media users have risen by 176 million in the last year.   What does that look like for any given 24 hours? There are million new active mobile social users added every day. That is twelve each second.  Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp handle 60 billion messages a day.

These numbers may appear daunting.  Of course, the next question that comes to mind: with so many messages surging through WIFI, is anyone listening?

Next Post: Binod Sundararajan: How to Get Your Message Out There

From the CEGE Connection Archives:  First published August 8, 2017

JoAnne Akerboom: Parental Awareness and Interest in Social Media Use

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“The goal of my case study was to provide information to Christ the Redeemer School Division that can assist in helping parents and children use social media in a way that allows them to benefit from the positive impacts of connectivity and mitigate the risks that may arise.”

JoAnne Akerboom (MIM 2018)

JoAnne Akerboom (MIM 2018)

JoAnne Akerboom (MIM 2018)

JoAnne Akerboom, MIM Class of 2018, was presented with the prestigious 2018 SIM Research Award, Master of Information, for her capstone project, Parental Awareness and Interest in Social Media Use: A Case Study in St. Anthony’s School.

Today’s technology offers an increasing array of innovative tools for communication.  These advancements promise unimaginable possibilities and well as unforeseen risks.  In a recent telephone interview with CEGE Connection, JoAnne shared insights from her research that speak to the need for parental awareness within a world barraged by social media.  As Principal of St. Anthony’s School, Drumheller, Alberta, JoAnne’s research in this area of information management reflects her vision to provide leadership within an environment where high quality academic education is provided in a safe, caring, and Catholic setting.  JoAnne has submitted a proposal to present her findings at the Alberta Teacher’s Conference, Spring 2019.

JoAnne Akerboom

The Premise:

Picture this: A thirteen-year-old girl walks into the change room after gym class and takes a picture of her classmate undressing. She sends the picture to her classmates as a joke through snapchat. One of her classmates who receives the picture takes a screenshot and brings it to the principal.

Who is responsible for teaching this young girl about the appropriate use of technology? Is it the school? The parents?

Internet SafetyThis is one of many examples of the negative impact of social media. The irresponsible use of technology is a concern in our school division (Christ the Redeemer) and for many of our parents. As a result, our school division is developing curriculum to help address both the positive and negative use of technology with a focus on developing healthy relationships. Great initiative with another major element added – the involvement of parents.

Children access social media through multiple electronic devices – cell phones, tablets, computers and games systems. They can access social media at home and at school. We need to work together with parents and share information and resources that can keep our children safe and responsible. More importantly we need to help them understand and value the importance of healthy relationships that will help them navigate this evolving world of new technology and use it in a safe and responsible way.

The goal of my case study was to provide information to Christ the Redeemer School Division that can assist in helping parents and children use social media in a way that allows them to benefit from the positive impacts of connectivity and mitigate the risks that may arise.

Social media is a prevalent force in today’s society offering users the ability to develop and maintain social spheres in interactive, multimedia rich online environments. With this opportunity comes the risk of online vulnerability in which individuals can experience detriments to their psychological, reputational, or physical wellbeing because of their online experience.

Inappropriate use of social media is a concern for school administrators, educators and parents. We want our students to be cared for and safe. Parents and schools provide children with the tools to access social media, but how aware and interested are parents in their child’s use of social media? Given that parents are our partners in their children’s education, it is valuable to explore what parents know about the impact of social media on their children.

Three Recommendations:

The recommendations that I presented were directed to Christ the Redeemer School Division but are applicable to other school districts. I look forward to presenting my findings to our parents at our parent council meetings this fall.

Recommendation #1: School Divisions should continue to develop and deliver curriculum to students on the responsible use of social media. School divisions could consider:

  • preparing a plan to communicate with parents on the development and implementation of social media curriculum and
  • partnering with community agencies such as law enforcement and health to create and deliver resources to both parents and students

Recommendation #2: Parents are encouraged to actively engage in ongoing conversations with their children on the use of social media; monitor their child’s use with the intent of supporting rather than penalizing their child and focusing on activities where there are more face-to-face interactions with their children.

Recommendation #3: The study demonstrates parents’ interest in more support and resources to assist them and their children in the responsible use of social media. Areas for further research include exploring the knowledge gaps in parents’ awareness of social media’s impacts and the potential for more supports for parents to better support their child’s use of social media and how the age of child may result in higher or lower levels of monitoring and conversation with parents

Acknowledgements

This MIM research project allowed me to explore and recognize our responsibilities to our emerging generation. My thanks to my supervisor Dr. Bertrum MacDonald, who inspired me to continue in the field of Information Management after the first course in the program.  Thank you to the parents of St. Anthony’s School who were enthusiastic participants.   My gratitude for the support of my colleagues and, in particular, Cora-Leah Schmitt, for her comments on the various stages of my paper. Finally, I want to thank my husband, Chris Curtis, and the rest of my family for endless support and patience.

JoAnne Akerboom, MIM Class of 2018, is the Principal. Anthony’s School, Alberta, Canada. “Making the World a Better Place To Be!” is the motto of St. Anthony’s School. As the principal of this school, her main responsibility is to provide leadership and support an environment where high quality academic education is provided in a safe, caring, and Catholic setting. JoAnne has graciously agreed to be a repeat contributor on CEGE Connection

Internet Safety

Liseanne Cadieux: Social Media and Information Management

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Liseanne Cadieux (MIM 2017)

Liseanne Cadieux (MIM 2017)

Social Media connects our global community and allows information, ideas and messages to be shared in real-time from any location that has access to WIFI technology.

In recent posts, Binod Sundararajan suggested that social media allows us to share critical data that serves the greater good, bringing together interdisciplinary teams to work towards solutions that will benefit society. Tanya Chedrawy, a recent MPA(M) graduate, discussed how she uses social media to highlight stories of individuals who are making a difference in their local communities.

Liseanne Cadieux (MIM 2017), a recent graduate of CFAME’s Master of Information Management program, continues the CFAME Connection dialogue on social media from the perspective of a professional in the field of information management

“There is no doubt that social media will continue to evolve and transform the way in which we participate within a wider audience,” Liseanne noted in a recent WebEx conference call with CFAME Connection.

“We have the ability to store vast amounts of data. Our challenge is to manage the flow of information.  We need to be strategic in our custodianship of knowledge.  How do we pull value from an overwhelming amount of information spread across the internet?”

Management of information is embedded in our lives and influence community volunteer programs, educational facilities, business entities and governments worldwide.  Whether we organize family vacation photos or structure sophisticated business reports – everyone is engaged in a plan, formal or informal, to safeguard valuable knowledge.

Management Information Systems (MIS) are increasingly becoming more adept at collecting, storing, and organizing data. The result is that relevant information is retrievable and available.  It is about getting the right information to the right person, at the right time.

I chose the CFAME’s program, Master of Information Management, because of its blended learning opportunity. I found the weekly discussions promoted an accelerated method of learning because of the knowledge sharing from such a diverse range of student backgrounds. We also had the opportunity to meet in person and collaborate on issues that are currently coming up in the management of information space. For me, this form of learning was extremely compelling.

Currently, I am involved in piloting a semantic technology program that facilitates categorization and retrieval.  The approach and overall objective is to teach the tool to find certain information we know to be of value and find it across terabytes of unstructured repositories. The information then gets classified according to a taxonomy and migrated to an official system of record/EDRMS for long term preservation and sharing.

While the project has not matured to the social media stage, in theory this tool could be as effective in social media spaces (they are all unstructured environments). I look forward to sharing more on this topic in future CFAME Connection posts.

Tanya Chedrawy: Small Talk, Big Ideas and Social Media Engagement

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Tanya Chedrawy, Creator, Host, Producer of "Small Talk, Big Ideas"

Tanya Chedrawy, Creator, Host, Producer of “Small Talk, Big Ideas”

“Essentially, I am in the business of putting the spotlight on individuals who make an impact. I continue to hone my skills, which is the point of life-long learning. That is what makes life interesting, and our personal narratives remarkable.”

 Tanya Chedrawy

Tanya Chedrawy MPA(M) 2016, has over ten years experience in building media strategies to enhance organizational positioning and profile via market research, competitor evaluation, and multiple communication vehicles.  She agrees with Binod Sundararajan that every voice matters. We all have an innate longing to connect, to engage in conversations that encourage, inform, entertain and inspire.  Whether communication takes a traditional form or moves into the arena of social media, successful outcomes reside in an individual’s ability to transmit messages with clarity and integrity.  Social media has given local dialogue a global reach that invites a robust and diverse discussion.

Tanya enjoys conversations. As creator, host and producer of “Small Talk, Big Ideas” on Eastlink TV, she has applied her knowledge and experience to attract a wider audience. In a recent FaceTime interview with CFAME Connection, Tanya shared insights on how social media can leverage and build circles of influence that pursue, as Binod noted, the greater good for society.

CFAME Connection: You host and produce, “Small Talk, Big Ideas.”  You tell people’s stories.  How do you prepare for the interview?

Tanya: I like to meet with the person before taping to build a rapport and to get a sense of who they are, not just about what they do. I find that when I talk to someone there is an inevitability that those golden nuggets of information come to the surface. Always! I love discovering those nuances about people. All of us are interesting in our own way and have a unique story to tell. Even if we don’t think so! This is all in addition to doing an insane amount of research. I like to be prepared!

CFAME Connection: How do you use social media to exchange ideas and knowledge?

Tanya: I only like to use my social media to spread positive messaging or pose questions about important societal issues. I am a very private person and choose not to use it for anything personal or posting about family or for posting my every thought or action. For me, personally, social media should be harnessed for important dialogue or for galvanizing people around important events/causes/issues.

CFAME Connection: How do you build a community of engaged listeners?

Tanya: In terms of building an online community of engaged listeners, I’m still trying to figure this out! This is particularly challenging for me because you can only view “Small Talk, Big Ideas” if you are a subscribed Eastlink customer. Unfortunately, clips are not made available online so I try my best to promote the show and my guests as much as I possibly can through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

CFAME Connection: You have said every voice matters.  How can we position our voice as distinctive?

Tanya: A business mentor of mine has really been helpful on this front. He told me to create one phrase that explains who I am and what I do. Once people become familiar and identify with that phrase, they will take notice, especially if my message is relevant and delivered with respect. Essentially, I am in the business of putting the spotlight on individuals who make an impact. I continue to hone my skills, which is the point of life-long learning. That is what makes life interesting, and our personal narratives remarkable.

 

 

Binod Sundararajan: How to Get Your Message Out There

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Created and Painted by the Students, Staff, and alumnae of the Sacred Heart School of Halifax with artist, Kyle Jackson

Created and Painted by the Students, Staff, and alumnae of the Sacred Heart School of Halifax with artist, Kyle Jackson

A few weeks ago, Binod Sundararajan was invited by the people at the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute to help them use social media to get their research out to those who would benefit from their findings.    Their goal was to increase collaboration in oncology.  Without question, this research will benefit many people and build upon existing knowledge and experience.  Knowing how to disseminate this type of message using social media venues is an acquired skill-set, but it is based on existing communication best practices.

As Binod explains:

My model for talking about social media interactions is to always practice “effective communication.” Whether you use LinkedIn, Twitter, a Facebook page, blog or YouTube channel, your end goal it to convey a message by creating a conversation.  

Know you audience: The audience is out there, waiting for your message.  Be prepared by asking yourself if you understand what that audience requires.  Who are your stakeholders?  Are they internal or external? What would interest them? How would they like the message to be delivered? 

Image and brand:  Whether you are representing yourself or speaking on behalf of an organization, speak with clarity and integrity.  The audience will measure your message by their beliefs and expectations surrounding your name or company/group logo.

I have found that critical listening is a significant factor in gaining trust that fosters long-term alliances. Listening provides us with invaluable information as to why an audience requires a specific message.  We can then customize that message and choose the appropriate channel.

Remember, social media is a two-way dialogue.  The highest vote of confidence that your message has been received is when someone responds and participates in a deeper conversation.  Being available for follow-up, support and guidance will open new possibilities for learning and engagement.

 

Binod Sundararajan: Is Anyone Listening?

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Social MediaSocial Media allows us to create and exchange information, ideas, and knowledge.  Websites, blogs, photo applications – all act as our link to networking opportunities within a wider audience. Social media has advanced global communication even as it has transformed the way we engage within social and work environments.  Our smart phones connect us to places that we may never visit; yet we experience “being there” via a photo uploaded on the other side of the world.  We send messages, listen to music, share videos, post selfies, all with nonchalant ease as we go about our daily routine.

CFAME Connection interviewed Binod Sundararajan to discuss the importance of participating in a complex and chaotic communication environment. Does my voice matter?  Is anyone listening?  Why bother?

According to Binod, every voice matters.

Social media allows us to share critical data that serves the greater good.  For example, when a natural disaster strikes, social media transports help from across the world. Social media brings together interdisciplinary teams to work towards solutions that will benefit society.  With the advent of social media, knowledge transfer has experienced exponential growth.  This is the salient point: articulating your ideas and experience builds upon what others have learned and shared. 

Social media will continue to influence and transform our communication styles.  To provide context, the statistics are impressive (Smith, 2016).  As of July 2015, total worldwide population was 7.3 billion. The internet has 3.17 billion users with 2.3 billion actively involved in social media.  Ninety-one percent of retail brands use two or more social media channels.  Internet users have an average of 5.54 social media accounts.  Even more telling, social media users have risen by 176 million in the last year.   What does that look like for any given 24 hours? There are million new active mobile social users added every day. That is twelve each second.  Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp handle 60 billion messages a day.

These numbers may appear daunting.  Of course, the next question that comes to mind: with so many messages surging through WIFI, is anyone listening?

Next Post: Binod Sundararajan: How to Get Your Message Out There