OKC communication pro-from dead raccoons and beyond

@zachnash at #clarkclass, twitter for media, at UCO Mass Comm

Former student and friend Zach Nash @zachnash brought stories, details and humor on Oklahoma City's extensive communication efforts to #clarkclass this week.

A former editor of The Vista, student newspaper for UCO, under the auspices of the Journalism/Mass Comm Department, he traced his background from embarrassing headlines to newspaper work before becoming   communications and marketing manager for the city.

The city has about 71 different social media accounts in various departments, thousands of potholes, and Nash believes social media has helped the city stay in touch with its citizens. But analytics show that most city customers get their information from the monthly water bill newsletter.

(Hint, if you're in an organization and want a comprehensive look at the city's communication efforts, contact Nash.)

You can tell he's still a journalist, inserting comments about government transparency, the first amendment, and serving citizens.

He started his presentation about a viral social media event in Toronto about a dead raccoon that the city took a long time to pick up.

After he left, we debriefed as usual. Here are some of each student's comments, dutifully recorded by @madisonsturgill

• Have thick skin and be able to take criticism
• Don’t let people use your photos without paying
• Don’t forget your first amendment rights
• Local government touches so many people’s lives
• Put a face to bureaucracy
• Be consistent with the voice of what you’re portraying
• make sure you put your initials after you reply to people
• Kill them with kindness
• Water newsletter was important
• High percentage of crime tips come from social media
• Respond to negative feedback / don’t delete it
• Dead raccoon – one post can take off
• Be aware of what you put online
• Think about who we're impacting through the decisions we make over the next 20 years
• Monitor your posts after you post them
• We turn to social media when regular customer service fails
• Plan in advance
• "Pubic" doesn’t auto correct to "public"-spell check
• Sometimes people just want their voices to be heard
• Show your followers you’re accessible
• He would rather talk to someone who is angry with him than talk to someone who is happy with him

Zach is a friend, here with the Steve Hill @sportstoons caricature of me for my retirement last year