10 July 2008
Melcrum's Communicators' Network scoops SIPA award
Professional online network awarded for best use of interactive media.
Melcrum's online network for communication professionals, the Communicators' Network has been selected as the winner of SIPA's (Specialized Information Publishers Association) 2008 Award for Publishing Excellence, for "best use of interactive media".
The award was received by Melcrum staff at the 14th SIPA UK Congress, the association's annual event, which took place yesterday in London.
Last year, the Internal Comms Hub was "Highly Commended" in the "Best Electronic Subscription Product" category.
Social networks will play an increasingly important part in building communities of interest.
Web 2.0 is little understood
Explaining why Melcrum won the award, one of the judges, Jonathan Feroze, co-founder and managing director of Business Monitor International (BMI) said, "The Communicators' Network won the 2008 UK SIPA Award for Interactive Media
not only because Melcrum surpassed their own objectives in launching the
site, but because they've done something in the little understood world of
web 2.0 that most other b2b IPs only talk about."
"Here at BMI, we believe that social networks will play an increasingly important part in building communities of interest, in generating traffic and leads, and in selling high-value services," continued Feroze.
Don't be afraid to be part of the network
Robin Crumby, (pictured, right) Melcrum's managing director said, "We're delighted to have received the award. The Communicators' Network has been going strong for over a year now, and we're currently thinking about how to develop it and improve it for a much better user experience."
He advises that publishers that launch social networks shouldn't be fooled into thinking that just because the site revolves around user-generated content and discussions, they should just sit back and watch the activity. Instead, warns Crumby, publishers need to play an active part to ensure that the momentum continues.
"A key learning from our experience would be that, while you don't want to control the content in any way, you do need to allocate resources to it. Social networks need attention, nurturing and encouragement to really flourish and sustain activity," says Crumby.
Where communicators meet online and offline
Melcrum's Communicators' Network was launched in April 2007 with the aim of helping members be more effective in their daily work by connecting communicators who work on the same challenges, wherever they are in the world, as well as sharing resources that work.
Social networks need attention, nurturing and encouragement to really flourish and sustain activity.
The website provides users with the ability to create specialist groups online, a feature that has proved to be very popular. For example, as regular Hub readers will be aware, the London Area Communicators Group has been meeting in person every month for the last 10 months to explore their online discussions in more depth.
Another active group is the Communciators in India group, members of which also regularly meet in person, proving that the social network has truly cast its net far and wide.
Melcrum collects IABC award for Angela Sinickas
We’d like to congratulate the Hub's communication measurement expert and Strategic Communication Management (SCM) columnist Angela Sinickas on her recent appointment as an IABC fellow. Angela was also the recipient of a Gold Quill award for her two-part article "Making communication performance data more compelling" (SCM, June/July and August/September 2007). This was awarded during the IABC world conference in New York last month.
Due to a prior IABC commitment, Angela was unable to collect the award in person. Instead, she asked Mandy Thatcher, Melcrum’s head of content and the editor who worked closely with Angela to produce the final version of the article, to collect it on her behalf.
Have your say
How have online networks such as the Communicators' Network, Linked In and Facebook helped you in your role?
Perhaps your company has set up an internal social network for employees to communicate, share resources and get to know each other, like Pfizer's soon-to-launch "Pfacebook"?
Discuss these issues with other comms practitioners by joining the Internal Comms Hub members' group on the Communicators' Network.
Recommended resources:
Global networking site for communicators announced
Pfizer launches enterprise RSS, with "Pfacebook" on its way
Hub wins UK publishing industry commendation
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