Stunning stories of leadership and twitter

 By @okieprof

Stunning. I've run out of adjectives and superlatives to tell the stories @JillCastilla, president and CEO of @CitizensEdmond in Edmond, and other speakers in #clarkclass, but that word comes close, especially for her.
She brings a refreshing can-do attitude based on hard work, honesty and humility, "owning her own story," as she puts it. 
Right before Christmas break was the third time she's spoken to my unique Twitter for Media class at UCO, #clarkclass, and every session she brings something new and inspiring. In the intense eight-day winter intersession class of 27 mostly graduating seniors, she becomes a vibrant and positive role model for success, especially to my 22 female students. 

Citizens just opened its tradition-breaking "You've-never-seen-a-bank-lobby-like-this" downtown that exemplifies what she and her team have accomplished in turning a back around in just seven short years, much of which was accomplished through social media. She's built a national reputation and garnered national awards and honors for her work in community banking--and advises others on the use of social media in business.

You can read about previous visits at these two links: Vibrant Influence  ;  Creativity from adversity
Her  marketing director, Ann Chen, @AnnJ_Chen accompanies her, running the visual and live tweeting during our class. 
@okieprof's comment: I can't type fast enough on my little phone to keep up with Jill's constant stream of advice and wisdom. Then it takes this old journalist time to decipher notes and process. I just know our students, our program, our university is blessed to have her as a friend. 
Oh, the group shot at the top of my page, and below, was Jill's idea two times ago. It's become a tradition, as this class explodes in possibilities, thanks to her, our other speakers, and our great students.
What follows are some of our students debriefing comments after Jill left,  recorded by @johngardener358.

• Creativity can’t happen in a no fail environment
• When you shine the light on others it will come back to you.
• Doesn’t matter where you get your degree from as long as you apply it.
• Find out what your weaknesses are, own those weaknesses and learn how to make them your strengths
• If you handle convicts with machetes and chainsaws, you can handle the Fed.(Her personal experience)
• If you do good, you’ll do well as a result
• CEO should be accessible and accountable
• Cherish the times that you struggle in darkness that’s where the greatest light comes from
• I’m not going to die if I fail
• I am a pro at feeling insecure
• Being in the Army was almost shameful time in my life , but ultimately what landed me my dream job
• Start owning your story ; there’s a lot of strength there
• Shows CEO is involved when response personally
• #clarkclass is one of the most relevant classes that you can take in college
• Your changes in life can often can be your incentive to change
• Started from the bottom to the top
• Moving to a small town she didn’t know anyone and social media created that intimacy with people you just met.

The esteem of my students showed in their own hashtag, #chillwithjill. Here are a few of the students' live tweets during class:

• @JillCastilla can take 33 credit hours in a semester, and I can barley manage 12 credit hours in semester. #Goals #ClarkClass @UCO_MCOM
• "Your challenges in life can often be your incentive to change." -@JillCastilla @UCO_MCOM #clarkclass
• "Character is built in the valley" -@JillCastilla #clarkclass @UCO_MCOM
• Cherish the times that you struggle in darkness, because that's where the greatest light comes from. @JillCastilla @UCO_MCOM #clarkclass
• As a leader in your community, your community is your product. @JillCastilla #clarkclass @UCO_MCOM
• If I had to describe @JillCastilla in one word it would be RESILIENT. #clarkclass @UCO_MCOM
• "It doesn't matter where you get your degree from; it's about the hard work and dedication you put in" -@JillCastilla #girlboss #clarkclass
• If I worked hard and paid attention I could do just as well or better than they did." -@JillCastillia #clarkclass
• Social media can help individuals make connections in new environments and with new people. -@JillCastilla #clarkclass
• If I worked hard and paid attention I could do just as well or better than they did.-@JillCastillia #clarkclass
• "My community is my product in many ways ... you are able to showcase it." -@JillCastilla @UCO_MCOM #clarkclass
• “Social media is going to be woven into any pursuit that you have.” - @JillCastilla #clarkclass @UCO_MCOM

#clarkclass 7.0--Twitter for Media, UCO Mass Comm, & @JillCastilla, center, & @Okieprof, far left

From Boston, tattooed with curiosity

@vargas1 Skyping in to #clarkclass from Boston

"Put community first," said 2000 UCO grad Lauren Vargas, one of the most astounding students I've been privileged to know, to #clarkclass. "No matter what form of media it takes," she added, Skyped into class from her home in Boston.
She is not an "early adopter" of new media; she's a "first adopter," and it's lead to multiple successes since she's graduated. Her Linked In resume will tire you out, moving from helping set up Department of Defense digital operations to her current position as director of marketing technology ad operations for Aetna in Boston.

She's a lifelong learner, currently working on a doctorate in museum studies at a university in England. With two masters degrees, one from Harvard where she's an adjunct professor, she started here as a Public Relations grad. Her first MA was in communications, with a thesis about  digital media changing PR forever, in spite of being discouraged by the powers-that-were who didn't believe it.
She's a voracious reader, and rattled off books to students to consider.  She's a self-described nerd, but more, and certainly not a traditionalist as shown by her collection of wild glasses matches her "Mad Hatter" moniker also.
I best enjoy, other than her friendship, her comment about everyone having a "digital tattoo," which she coined in speaking to school students about using social media (What you put out there isn't going away). Yes, she has real tattoos--my favorite "Nevermore" with a raven on her forearm. And all of hers have special meanings, she says.
Her outlook on social media, including twitter brings this great quote: 

"We don't understand the ripple effects. Using twitter is like designing, building and flying a plane, all at the same time." 

I deeply appreciate her emphasis on curiosity, which I think has tattooed her every success as a forward-looking woman and profesisonal. I hope it inspires my students; it does me.
Here are student debriefing comments, recorded by @AshleyNapier:

@Vargasl debriefing

• She’s a real go-getter. She is very involved in education and isn’t afraid to leave her comfort zone.
• She is accomplished and has gone head-first into everything
• It’s cool she sucked it up and took a government job even when it wasn’t glamorous
• Social media has remained constant, there hasn’t been a lot of significant changes
• She reads 3-4 books a week, it’s impressive
• She is tenacious
• She is vibrant and bright and works for an insurance company
• It’s cool that someone from UCO can go to Harvard and eventually end up teaching at Harvard
• She doesn’t follow the rules, it has allowed her to stand out
• It is important for everyone to understand and carry out the company brand
• Her awesomeness makes us feel inferior
• She is integrated and involved in everything that she does
• You have to build trust through conversation
• Always be curious
• If it happens, it happens- we should remember to take risks
• Even though her creativity was stifled at times, she was unafraid to try new things
• Everyone’s voice has an equal weight on social media
• Be the bridge to the community

Enthusiastic UCO alum and journalism ambassador

@okieprof

Some people win you over with their immediate smile, enthusiasm for life and work.
Mike Sherman, UCO journalism alum and sports editor of "The Oklahoman" is one of those. He's a regular speaker for the Twitter for Media class, and I still get carried away listening to him. There are repeated stories and comments of course, but there is always new "stuff" as well. In fact, he's a constant stream of storytelling, illustrating every thing he says.
It's so refreshing and exciting to find a journalist with confidence in the future these days. He's a great ambassador for journalism.  So much so that I forget to stand up and take a photo while he's talking to the class. Ah well, he'll be back.
And something else all our speakers have said, and the students notice, is the emphasis on reading. They all spout off names of people you need to follow or read.
And my students came up with a hashtag for Mike, #MikeontheMic!
(Again, all of this should have been posted much earlier. The fault all belongs to @okieprof. Sorry.)
So here are some of his comments, and the class debriefings, recorded with the help of @cassjack12:

• twitter is a way to learn, it's an antenna
• Twitter is antenna to find conversation, not an open window to scream out of "
• "Twitter is one giant sports bar." 
• “Creeping is what the cool kids call it, I call it research”
• the way you act on twitter, You are.
• it's a better listening device than it is a broadcasting device
• look up Andy Carvin, Seth Godin, Jay Spear
• “have a brand before you start trying to build it”
• know what you want to provide
• “your brand isn’t what you say it is, its what your customers say about it “
• this generation lives out loud – everything is on the web
• twitter makes the world small
• you can follow prospective customers 
• don’t let you Twitter be too self-centered 
• don’t be too busy building your brand to see your neighbor
• what would we do if we were all in the same room 
• how would we talk 
• how would we interact 
• twitter is like Sam’s samples--tweets are samples, you pay with attention 
• “people don’t have to follow you to know what you’re saying”
• homepages of websites are dead as we knew them
  have to find ways to get on people's screens 
• twitter allows you to see what readers care about 
• my growth game is strong 
• "there is no done"--there is no deadline in journalism today 
• advice: 
• learn how to interview  
• “you cant write what you don’t report”  
• when writer’s block happens 
• show don’t tell 
• make people see 
• read “Making Words Dance” a book about Red Smith

 Student debriefing comments about what stood out:

• writers block is just about having not all the information 
• I'm not the same two years ago...always changing and growing
•  things you put on social media is public, you put it out there so expect people to see it 
• use twitter to follow along with conferences you can’t go to have empathy to get the real story 
• twitter is a great way to learn because you get to go to places you are not
• your brand is what other say about it, not what you say about it 
• ask compelling questions-what do people want to know, and tell that story
• journalists are servants
• be a human first
• never done, constantly transitioning
• read a lot, even beyond your field

Broadcasting lessons and change in twitter in #clarkclass

 @okieprof

If you want to teach about change, you need people who embody change. Desiree Hill,  @dezhill, our UCO television broadcasting professor, is one of those. 

Professor Desiree Hill teaching #clarkclass. Photo by @adamropp

Speaking to my twitter for media class Friday, she brings energy and professionalism to the students, with years of broadcasting experience. She brings new thoughts to new media, always student-centered. Using her research in Tulsa, she showed how TV stations there changed in their use of twitter over time.
She does far more than just show up in class. Her preparation and student engagement helps make our TV broadcasting program the best one in the state, winning awards and propelling our students into sought after graduates. 
Desiree is a newshound and presented the class practical advice and lessons on twitter and journalism. She uses twitter not only as a source of news, but continually tweets job openings. She knows students by their names and involves them in innovative ways--election coverage, telethons, management and more. In the meantime she's working on her doctorate.
It is fun and challenging working with her. Her positive attitude is contagious. 

At our debriefing, here were student comments, recorded by @SydOKC:

• “Grammar matters. Never know who is look at your twitter.”
• “Content, good writing and grammar all matter. It’s universal."
• “You have to be professional. You never know who is looking.”
• “Twitter can improve your writing.”
•  “Gate-keeping was  just the media owners. Twitter  opened up the floodgates.”
• “Some employers sometimes won’t hire you if applicants don’t have a social media account.”
• “Just because you have social media doesn’t mean you know how to use it.”
• “We need to think about these new media in a new way. We need to move past that and go to the future. How we develop our writing needs to be new. Just be new and creative.”
• “I like that she hit on how it can help your writing.”
• "Be the voice of your community.”
• “Adaptability is one of the most important tools of a person going into their career.”
• “The user is the maker of media.”
• “You are public and you are in the network. Be careful with how you communicate.”
• “It was interesting that she said to be ready because you never know when breaking news is going to happen.”
• “Twitter can make you a better writer.”
• “Users create Twitter. They gave us a backbone, but users formed it in what it is today.”
• “The percentage of personal and business depends on the profession you are going into.”
• “Hash-tags (high-jacking hash-tags) are valuable. ”
• “Be specific. You don’t need to give a long paragraph.”

@okieprof tweets from her presentation:

• Twitter can improve your writing. It's harder to write short than long.
• Twitter writing should be specific. Make sure there's user benefit.

 

From an "F" to the top of #clarkclass with twitter

 
 @okieprof

@rcrissinger talking to my students on the stairs

My students' eyes got wide when Rob Crissinger @rcrissinger  told them today that I'd flunked one of his writing assignments (He went on to ace the course). That was 2004.
Today he's one of the edgy top PR professionals at Bumbershoot PR @BumbershootPR, changing the arts and entertainment world of OKC, using social media among other tactics.
The lights came on as the lights went out--the power went out 10 minutes before he arrived, so we congregated on the stairs as he told how he got to where he is as one of the early adopters of twitter.

Close up--student photos by Devyn Frazier and Brittany Robinson

(He got an F because I told him no first person writing and he could revise it. He didn't and handed it back. He got the F--in retrospect, he was right.)
He continued to wow the students with not only his personal stories but the stories of how he and Bumbershoot use twitter and serve clients. They're a small agency that doesn't hold meetings, that has clients and H&8th, Dead Center Film Festival and many more. 

After he was gone, and the lights came back on in the building, as usual, we debriefed. Here's what the students said, recorded by @SydOKC

@okieprof #clarkclass photo by Gary Parsons

• “You can do what you want. Don’t give into the game everyone else is playing.
•  “I got the vibe that he strives to be the best in PR. He was really driven.” 
• “I like that he hit on the percentages of Twitter. 80% personal and 20% business.” 
• “Twitter is only effective if you’re listening and broadcasting.” 
• “Rob’s Twitter page changes and before hand it was silly and fun, showing his personality. He doesn’t worry about always being professional.” 
• I think part of what attracts us to media is not having to always being professional.” 
• “He doesn’t think he could do his job without Twitter. That blows my mind. People within my circle don’t use it professionally. Hearing that Twitter got them a job, it blows my mind that this silly social media side is impactful.” 
• “I like how he said he likes the fun side of Twitter.”
•  “I like that he makes Twitter fun.” 
• “Today isn’t about being better; it’s about being creative.” 
•  “Twitter is changing the rivalry between PR and journalism”
• “The definition of news is what people are talking about. It’s really true to Twitter. People don’t post what they aren’t interested in. They post what they think is happening. “
• "Networking is the key to success in any career.”  
• “Everything happens for a reason.” 
• “Interact with someone on Twitter. You can talk to one person in a certain manner that grabs their attention and you’ve reached many.” 
• “Favorite and retweet.”  
•   “Twitter helps you amplify your voice.” 
• “He does a 'shit-ton'  of research.” 
• “He really went inside and showed you how he orchestrates with any project. He plans ahead. He preplans 20 steps down the road about what the sparks will be. I’m going to apply that myself.”
• “Media never sleeps, clients never sleep and therefore he doesn’t sleep.”

Grump and Guru--Adam Ropp photo

@Okieprof tweets during Rob's discussion

• Social media is the fuel to get people to other media
• PR is people art
• Social media is the great equalizer
• We are in a world where information hits you from all sides and never stops.
• PS. My students make us look good.

(If you want other student comments, search #clarkclass on twitter.)