First, I should tell you that when it comes to technology trends in communication I tend to be an early adopter…not quite on the cutting edge but close enough. I also tend to be enthusiastic about these changes, most of which are happening online, viewing them as a positive step forward in how we engage with content, how we learn and how we obtain our news. But as sources of online content increase in number and scope, coupled with the rise of social networking, it looks as though we may also be in for a future of increasingly balkanized information and fragmented content consumption…something I’ve referred to in the past as info snacking or media snacking. But before I get too deep into an explanation of what I mean by that terminology, let me first describe what my self-created media ecology looks like .

Several years ago we stopped almost all of our magazine & newspaper subscriptions (I still have a couple that I can’t let go of…like Harper’s and The Atlantic…and my wife still gets Washingtonian Magazine). We did this partially in an effort to be “greener,” and partially because we had become increasingly used to getting our news, educational and arts & entertainment content online. So I now read The Economist on my iPad, as well as browse through Politico, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Huffington Post and Slate. I get a digest of the Wall Street Journal in my email inbox every day. I also get e-newsletters from Government Executive, Nextgov, Washington Technology and several other government related publications.

A few months ago, I also decided that we would cancel our cable TV subscription. We had already been getting used to watching movies and documentaries via Netflix (by mail) and other programing fare via Hulu, so I canceled our cable subscription but kept our cable modem, and bought a WiFi router and a Blu-Ray DVD player instead. The router lets me access the speed of the cable modem via various of the WiFi devices we have at home (via our iPads and laptops) and the Blu-Ray DVD player lets me view Netflix and Hulu movies and programs on my TV.

While proud of our move towards more media independence and control, I also wonder about two trends that have accompanied this new state of affairs. Increasingly, both my wife and I can sit in front of the device of our choice and watch (or interact) with whatever content, information and programing we may be interested in at the time, which includes what our friends, colleagues and others may be saying or doing via the various social networks we belong to. It also means that although we have narrowed our own fields of interest, those funnels are now capable of presenting me with almost unlimited choice within that narrower scope. Let me explain. I love documentaries. And furthermore, and more narrowly, I love political and social justice documentaries. Netflix now knows this (better “suggestion” engines, a la Amazon) and has managed to recommend no less than a hundred political and social justice documentaries of all types…and since they make it so easy to add a title to my personal instant “queue,” I’ve got more than a hundred documentaries patiently waiting for me to decide to watch them.

Now multiply similar access to various other passions and interests (via smaller screens on multiple devices) and it’s not hard to imagine that the Aldo Bello media universe is a fairly large space. Not only that, it’s got so many goodies, all of them pre-selected and waiting to be sampled, that it’s hard to stay with only one thing…hence, my media snacking comment. I have found myself sampling and accessing content of short duration from many different sources. The social media networks actually function best in this manner…Twitter being the most extreme example…but Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media spaces function very similarly…short bursts of content, often devoid of larger context. Additionally, when I got rid of my magazine and newspaper subscriptions and began to sample news and information via selected online sources, I have been reading more but not as deeply, another problem associated with media snacking.

So one trend is towards media snacking which I believe, forces one to sample, and which often implies that deeper understanding is out of the question. But I’ve observed an even more disturbing trend, and that is towards the balkanization of information. Aldo Bello’s universe of online media is so attractive that it tends to present me with the things that I want (hurrah for that) but keeps me from accessing other information, in a way that hardly ever happened with print magazines and newspapers…or cable TV (even though I could always choose to ignore certain channels, and did). Increasingly, I hear people talk about the content that they access in a way that is different from the recent past: favoring certain channels and altogether avoiding others. I am beginning to think that it’s this trend that is contributing to a lack of civility in political discourse and the resulting lack in bipartisanship.

What do you think?

FotoWeek DC 2010 Festival: Nov 6 – Nov 13

Founded in 2008, FotoWeek DC has evolved from a city-centric photography festival to a multi-season tribute — with international appeal– to photography in all its forms.

FotoWeek DC celebrates the transformative power of photography through the exhibition of inspiring and provocative images, diverse programming, and collaboration with the local and international community.

Whether through photojournalism, fine art photography, or the work of emerging artists, FotoWeek DC provides a dynamic, evocative, engaging experience for photographers, cultural institutions, galleries, curators, schools, area residents and tens of thousands of visitors to the Nation’s Capital.

In just three short years, FotoWeek DC is Everywhere You See.

Find out more about this event here.

PodCampEDU 2 – Washington, DC : November 15

The PodCamp for educators and those interested in education and multimedia.

Find out more about this event here.

Meet the New Media: November 16

In 2010, the Washington region witnessed a rebirth in local media. We experienced a complete changing of the editorial guard at the region’s alternative weekly, a new business newspaper from the Washington Post and an entire new online local news enterprise from Albritton Publications.

Capitol Communicator invites you to Meet the New Media on November 16. Find out what the reporters and editors at the Washington City Paper, Capital Business, TBD, Washington Business Journal and Citybizlist DC Edition have to say about the future of media in Washington and the convergence of traditional news and social news media.

Find out more about this event here and RSVP if interested.

The Government Video Expo 2010: Nov 30 – Dec 2

If you are a video professional in the federal space or working with federal clients, you might want to attend the Government Video Expo.  Vendors will be present to tout the latest and greatest gear, seminars and presentations abound, and networking events will give you the opportunity to mingle with peers and potential clients alike.

Find out more about this event here.

When we first embarked on this path, we did some research and also wrote an action plan (something we always do for our clients), which served as our playbook going forward.  I’m proud to say that we’ve instituted most of the suggestions in our own internal guide and some that are outside of it (for example, we’ll be painting the roof white, which not only reflects 98% of the sun that hits it but also has the added bonus of extending the natural life of the roof…resulting in less expense and less waste).

As I was reviewing the guide yet again, I thought it might be a good idea to share it with the world…so here it is…attached to this blog post.  Enjoy…and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

It’s Easy Being Green! Recommendations for the Greening of Mind & Media

And if you want to stay tuned post barcamp, follow the conversation at Government 2.0 Club.

One of the presentation’s main points was that you must educate yourself and others to recognize the importance of using blogs and other social media to communicate with your stakeholders.  GovLoop has a great forum on “must reads for Social Media/Government Web 2.0,” including a list of resources they have put together.

Lynn Dean’s presentation can be found on the YAFCEA Bethesda Chapter’s website.

By using music, graphics, and fast-paced cuts, MTV has been credited with shortening a generation’s attention span.  Do you agree with that assessment?

Lauren Lazin’s answer (and I’m paraphhrasing) is that this is a chicken-and-egg question.  In her opinion, the audience at the time was actually demanding faster-paced cuts because simply put, they had the capacity to absorb and process more information more quickly and furthermore, they actually desired that the information be presented that way (whether they knew it or not).  And I agree.  I believe that MTV and CNN were simply reacting to the zeitgeist of the moment.

With today’s growing list of new social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Friendster and Squidoo, plus hundreds of blogs and Ning sites popping up all over the place, plus smart phones and IM (and I could go on) it might seem as though an entire generation’s attention span has been shortened and segmented even further. But what does this mean?  The implication in the question above is that this is a bad thing but I don’t agree.  I simply think that this is the way that a whole new generation of people want to engage with media.  I simply believe that it’s the current zeitgeist.  What do you think?

On day one I was a little annoyed, feeling like none of the content was relevant to me and my federal clients. The examples and strategies were, as I first saw them, simply too cool to fly in the federal sector. Too cutting edge. Too risky. Too expensive. Too original. On and on. I debated returning on day two, but, hell, it was paid for.

I went into day two looking to maybe just meet some folks, but somewhere between coffee number 11 and the lunch I found purpose. Maybe it was better speakers (Brent Canfield from RTCRM was awesome!) or topics, but I ended up jazzed and inspired. Most of all, I came away wanting to do the stuff I was hearing about, but in my sphere, the government sphere. Possible?

First, what makes that level of work possible? What factors support the creation of best of the best marketing? After listening to the slew of speakers I’d say:

• Trust between the client and vendor
• The client’s willingness to accept risk, meaning an acceptance that original ideas may fly or not
• Time to dream, execute, measure and revise and
• Money to get it all done

So, if those four things are necessary to generate killer marketing, can it be done in the government sector? I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how agencies, with non-government clients, work versus companies focused on federal government clients. The most glaring difference is the inherent competition injected into federal contracting. Certainly the system is designed to eliminate preferential treatment from buyer to seller, which is good if you imagine someone awarding a billion dollar airplane design contract based on who’s his favorite golf partner. But think of the drawbacks. Does the nature of government contracting allow for all four of those factors? Can you develop trust, take risks, and spend time brainstorming as partners when the bid,  proposal, and contracting process is drenched in oversight and mandated recompetes?  Or when RFPs must be so clearly defined that deliverable are pre-determined?

Keep in mind I’m not talking about multi-year billion dollar aircraft design and production contracts. I’m talking about marketing, recruiting, and public awareness campaigns that are often doled out based on specific deliverables as opposed to being based on mission or measurable results. Budgets reset each year. Contracts recomplete. Agency leadership turns over. That environment runs counter to long-term, successful marketing efforts. It seems to me that in order to sustain top notch marketing campaigns the sphere of each effort has to get bigger. Imagine an SES being able to plan out a three- to four-year strategy knowing that one partner will be along for the whole effort. Or even (bite my tongue!) that an SES could choose to work with a vendor with which s/he has a previous successful relationship. In such a scenario there could be all four factors: trust, acceptance of risk, time, and money. And with that come innovation and excellent work.