Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with communications

What to do with a worthless degree?

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:23:16 -0800

What to do and where to go with an admittedly useless degree? After 6 ridiculously long years of going to college, i graduated (2 years ago) with a degree from Portland State in Communication studies. I have tried numerous times at getting employment at the lowest levels of PR and marketing firms both big and small here in Portland. About a year ago, I was told straight up by an interviewer, that my degree, without an incredibly solid internship, was fairly meaningless in their line of work.

At least i know this now, right? I'm fully admit that getting a communications degree was a huge mistake. My personal interests lay closer to design (mostly of the graphic and industrial persuasions) and mechanics. But i'm not nearly versed well enough in those to start a career off them.

I currently work a fairly standard, boring office job, albeit for a "cool" company in Portland. They do not pay well, but we get medical. This job would have been awesome 6 years ago, but with my student loans and other bills, it'd be great to get paid in cash, not paid in "cool" points. This is also a horrendous company to network from and with.

I have no. clue. at. all. on where to go from here...I'm petrified of going back to school to attempt another degree because i can't afford it without more loans, and what if the same thing happens? What if i'm stuck with another degree that is worthless?

Mrs. Anon has suggested finding a job on the state or federal level, but i have no clue how to go about this, or even if it would be a good idea or not. I have no idea what on earth i could do in that context.

I know job hunting in Portland is insane, but we have to stay in Portland for at least 3 years, and will probably be moving to the Northeast after that.

Have at it Mefi. What on earth should i do? What's a guy waist high in school debt supposed to do with a fairly useless degree?

Posted anon, because several people in the company i work with read MeFi. Hit met up at seemingly.common.problem@gmail.com if need be.

Will a newspaper job inch me closer to a career in public relations?

sureshot — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:46:48 -0800

Job_Offer_Filter: I'm a struggling freelance writer trying to (someday) break into the pr/communications field. I've just been offered a staff writer position at a small local newspaper. Does accepting the job inch me closer to my desired field? Or just burden me with a ton of unmarketable experience? So, my background:

4 years out of college, doing my best to flex my English/Creative Writing degree. Over the past three years, I've established myself as one of the top arts writers in a large, non-Chicago Midwestern city. I have regular columns in the glossy monthly, aimed at young, hip, and moneyed readers. I am a regular contributor to an alternative weekly, and I fill in for the big daily's art critic when she is sick or on vacation. I also get to do occasional speaking engagements, juried art shows, etc.

Problem is, none of this has evolved into full-time work. I've worked random odd jobs since graduation, some vaguely related to media--wrote audio description scripts for a year, wrote back cover copy for paperback books at a small publisher, picked up random corporate copywriting/speech writing/press release writing projects here and there. I've been unemployed and broke a lot. I'm now working 30 hours per week as a paraprofessional at a local public school, while still doing all my writing stuff on the side.

So now I have an actual job offer:

Staff writer/reporter position at a pair of small, neighborhood newspapers. A small local publisher, hanging on by a thread. The staff seems overworked and underpaid. The job calls for 10,000 words per month, writer pitches/plans all stories (in a very broad range of subject areas), deadlines every two weeks. Some nights and weekends. The pay is low. $30,000 (salaried, which means no overtime pay).

I don't see a future in newspapers. And print publication, though a true love of mine, is not my final career goal. I want to sneak my way over to the other side of the media. And I'm not sure that amassing more print clips is the way to do that. But print journalism is much closer, industry-wise, to pr/communications than teaching, so maybe a year or two at a paper would narrow the gap for a career leap. And perhaps I could learn enough new media skills (video and sound, slide shows) to balance out my increasingly-obsolete print portfolio.

The alternative would be to stick at this part-time school job until summer (when I will be laid off) and devote myself to a long-term, strategic job hunt. Get an on-line portfolio up, maybe start a blog. Network like crazy. By summer, I"d be ready to launch a targeted, nation-wide search. And if the fish aren't biting, I just go back to the school in the fall and keep at it.

So. All of this nattering is to simply ask: Will a newspaper job get me closer to where I want to be? Or is it just another detour?

Any recovering journalists out there starting a new life in PR?

My mother loves to talk when I really don't want to listen right now!

InterestedInKnowing — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:40:33 -0800

How can I drown out my mother's constant advice giving banter? I love my mom. I really do. She is the strongest woman I know. But sometimes I find it hard to tune her out when she is talking to me and giving me advice like a child. It makes me feel so annoyed. I don't mean to be that way but damn I feel I can't tell her to sit down and watch some TV. If I'm on the computer, it usually means "Do Not Disturb." But she loves, loves, LOVES to talk. She tells me things as if they are new concepts to me. Arrrgggh. What can I do? And she picks holes into my concepts at times which makes listening to her even harder. Either how can I gently tell her to stop her non-direct nagging or how can I stop being so annoyed at her jabbering?

Fiber optics for dummies

mudpuppie — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:35:55 -0800

I have absolutely no comprehension whatsoever of how fiber optic cables can transmit information -- phone calls, emails, whatever -- by using light. Seriously, this makes no sense. Please explain it to me as if I'm a fifth-grader who makes decent grades in science class. Listening to an NPR story about the Nobel winners this morning, I realized that I simply can't conceptualize how light can transmit my mother's voice on the telephone. And how did phone lines/internet work before they started using fiber optics?

Explain it simply?

Assume no prior knowledge or familiarity with acronyms.

How do you keep from crossing the line between squeaky wheel and stalker?

gottabefunky — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:12:10 -0800

Fellow freelancers and/or marketing gurus: where is the fine line between staying on a potential employer’s radar and being a pest--and how do I get as close to it as possible? We all know that networking and Building Relationships are the keys to getting freelance gigs, as much as or more than sheer talent.

Some of my clients tell me to bug them every now and then to check in about potential projects. But I feel the need to keep those communications fresh and interesting, and not have it look like just copied and pasted a “just checking in” email one more time.

How do you keep from crossing the line between squeaky wheel and stalker?

Of course there are communication hooks, like projects one of us recently completed (“Congrats!”), industry scuttlebutt or even recent life events (for the friendly types). What about when there really is no other reason to get in touch besides, “Hey, got any work for me”? (And the time after that? And the next?)

What are your secrets for staying in touch in an engaging way, indefinitely? Is it even possible (or necessary)?

FWIW, I'm talking about writing for print and TV.

How do I get my links in Twitter to post to Delicious?

metalheart — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:31:59 -0800

Is there a way or tool to easily wed Twitter to Delicious, through sickness and in health? Preferably more health... I have been using Delicious since 2004 to save bookmarks, so I can access them anywhere. However, since the advent of Twitter, I find myself just posting links to it, in order to spread the word of something interesting, quickly. I still want to keep a copy for my "records," though.

How might I go about doing this, without having to essentially double post? Ideally, I would like some tool that detected when I posted a link in Twitter and automatically added it to Delicious, too, perhaps with the full tweet's text in the link description area. I'd like some solution for tagging, too, but I realize that may be asking for too much, really.

Does anything like this exist? I found out about twitticious, but it seems to have issues. That was also posted a year ago, so I'm hoping that there are some newer tools out that I'm not aware of. Help me, guys!

CU: A flange.

turgid dahlia — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:23:04 -0800

How To Write Technical Training Films? The government department I work for is in the midst of an enormous communications restructure and, hoping to move into corporate communications, I volunteered my services to one of the managers in my business group.

One of the myriad tasks on his plate is the start-to-finish development of a number of technical training films. The nature of our work here sees people out in the field installing specialised monitoring equipment.

From the prescis:

“These films will be for internal departmental use as training aids. The primary target will be for new staff who will not have someone at their side to assist them. It is hoped that most of the tasks in the field process will be covered. They may last a few minutes only dealing with specific technical issues or of greater length if going through data entry type procedures.

“These training films are not to be seen as replacements/substitutes for the National Standard training requirements – they will at all times be complimentary.”

So, pretty straightforward (if dry) stuff, I imagine. What I have been asked to do - with the assistance of experts in the actual processes I will be documenting – is develop the “textual storyboards”, or teleplays, if you will, for these processes.

I have a fair idea of how to set about doing this but I’d like to make an extra good impression with this work, so I’d love to hear about any easily accessible resources (preferably online) on this subject, and I would similarly love to hear advice and tips from any MeFites who have done similar work.

Help me transition from journalism to government PR and/or corporate communications

t0astie — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:57:00 -0800

Due to a raft of factors beyond my control, I have to give up my awesome but poorly paid and very demanding job as a reporter and seek a more 9-5 employment, with better pay. AskMe, can you help me identify my selling points for PR and communications jobs? Background
I worked as reporter and photographer at a daily newspaper, running an office remote from the paper's main headquarters. I loved it. But I got sick. Too sick to live in the middle of nowhere with poor health care, work from 5am-9pm, deal with extreme heat, no breaks and conditions best be described as, uh, somewhat adversarial. Thankfully, I will eventually recover completely and am currently well enough to hold down a regular 9am-5pm job. So, I've moved back to the main city in the (Australian) state where I grew up and I'm gearing up to apply for jobs in PR and communications, mainly in government.

Apart from writing skills and knowledge of how the media works, I'm a bit vague about why a government department would hire a former journo instead of someone with a specific PR background. Other than better pay and working conditions, I'm also at a bit of a loss for positive reasons to seek out a career in PR. While ''I need to do something that doesn't suck the marrow from my bones and pays above the poverty line'' is true, it won't win me any gold interview or cover letter stars, I'm sure. Moreover, it's not a *personally* satisfying reason for making the change. I'd really like, in my own mind, to have sorted out some positive reasons for embracing my new career other than brutal necessity.

Further background
I have an MA in journalism and communications; three years reporting experience, a couple of awards and fellowships, and five years prior technical communications experience. I do NOT want to go back to tech writing. While I look for a job, I am volunteering as a migrant English tutor two mornings a week and have also been considering some volunteer PR work to put on my resume.

AskMe PR and communications peeps, can you enlighten me?

i) Why do you love your PR job?
ii) What strengths would a former journo bring to the table in a PR role?
iii) What weaknesses would a former journo need to compensate for when applying for PR and communications jobs?
iv) Is there anything I haven't thought of about this transition that I should know?

Help me become a computer whiz!

themaskedwonder — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:57:03 -0800

Here's the deal, MeFi: I know absolutely nothing about computers, other than how to access the internet and use MS Word. However, I'm starting to think seriously about careers in media and communications, and I know being a decent writer isn't nearly good enough, especially in this economy. So, what programs should I start with? I'm thinking excel spreadsheets (sad I know), Outlook, Photoshop, maybe basic html coding? Bonus points if you can point me to any useful websites or books with introductory tutorials. Thanks!

Design + policy + communications: what colour is my parachute?

Weng — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:34:58 -0800

Graphic Designers / Commercial Artists, Social Policy People, PR/Communications Professionals: where do your professions overlap? I'm currently working my way through the What Colour is Your Parachute exercises, and have had some interesting and unexpected results. Where I'm a bit stuck is finding the "overlap" between particular fields of interest.

Can anyone suggest roles where the above-mentioned fields overlap? Bonus points if you can explain how to get there!

The only one I can come up with, is an in-house communications officer, who also designs posters/pamphlets etc, for some kind of non-profit organisation or policy advocacy group. Which, by the way, would be ideal. But since I have little practical experience - though lots of interest - in these fields, I'm assuming there must be many more options?

(Am I being too literal in doing these exercises?? Any advice welcome!)

Who is 14F1? What is device 2720?

carsonb — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:26:51 -0800

My PCI Simple Communications Controller has bitten the dust. When I start up my crusty eMachines T2682 classic desktop computer these days I get the good ol' WinXP Found New Hardware Wizard prompting me to install drivers for my "PCI Simple Communications Controller". Sadly it cannot locate said drivers, and it turns out that "PCI Simple Communications Controller" is Device Manager-speak for "WTF is this?"

As this computer has failed bit by bit I've become more adept at reading tech forums, and as usual they've dealt me a cryptic clue to this puzzle. I learned that Device Manager deals out very little info about "PCI Simple Communications Controller", but what little it gives can be used to find drivers to reactivate the ? device. The Device Instance Id is
PCI\VEN_14F1&DEV_2720&SUBSYS_200014F1&REV_00\4&29817089&0&10F0
which, I believe, details the device vendor as "14F1" and the device itself as "2720".

Vendor 14F1 is listed as Conexant Systems Inc., a modem chipset manufacturer. However, for the life of me I cannot find their device 2720. None of the pci id lists that I've read match that device with vendor 14F1.

What am I missing? What is this mysterious device?

Maybe relevant: During video playback the audio snaps in and out, at random. I have not reinstalled Windows lately. I upgraded to SP3 a few weeks ago, then immediately reverted to a restore point. One of my RAM sockets has gone bad, the computer freezes occasionally, and I think the whole mobo might be dying. Is this some extension of that growing problem, or is there a local solution?

I ask this last because, while I know I need a new computer and will be purchasing one when the wallet is ripe, I'd like to use this opportunity to learn some about how computer guts work and what to do get them to work when they don't. Percussive maintenance only goes so far.

So, tell me about so

partner — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:34:11 -0800

So, awhile back I noticed a lot of people beginning a lot of their sentences with the word so. Suddenly, I was doing the same. Does anyone know if this has a specific origin in the culture? A character in a TV show, maybe?

Ready to go POTS-less. Need good voicemail.

dammitjim — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:14:51 -0800

I'm looking for a good personal voicemail service that can replace a home phone number. I want to avoid having a regular landline, using my cellphone for all calls, but I don't want to give out my cellphone number to credit card companies, etc. However, I do want to selectively allow those types of parties (Doctor's offices, etc.) to reach me, since sometimes they won't leave messages for privacy reasons.

Here's what I'd like my dream voicemail service to do:
- Have local numbers, in multiple locales, so I can have two numbers in two different cities go to the same service
- Take messages for me, and send me a text message or email that I've received a message
- Autodetect and receive faxes
- Have a web interface (or something) that allows me to select a whitelist of numbers that I'll allow to forward to my cell phone
- And for extra credit, allow me to dial into the service to place outbound calls, so I can "appear as" my voicemail number when contacting one of these institutions, for purposes of activating credit cards or whatever

The whitelist feature is the one that I'm unable to find while looking at the websites of various vendors. Any help? Any comments like "I wanted this too until I tried it and discovered that it actually sucks"? Those are good too.

Send that email, stat !

fizzix — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:34:14 -0800

I'm working for a newer growing, small business (4-5 employees or so). We have to send emails containing the same information to existing customers. For example, we have to notify customers about their accounts (for example, their CC/billing information becomes outdated) or customers send us a question. We're looking for an efficient way to do this. Right now, we want to send out emails more efficient and rich than our current system: using Apple Mail (our office is using Mac OS X Tiger, and will continue to use Tiger, and Leopard, once Tiger is no longer supported by Apple) having a templates folder, selecting the send again button and then inserting the person's email. More importantly, Apple Mail (to the best of my knowledge) doesn't send out emails in HTML. Also, the ability to edit these emails before we send them out (like, adding an extra sentence to it before hitting send).

Instead, my boss is looking for a system that would create more professional looking emails (ones that you get from an established web business) and will allow someone with no web development expertise to send them out to customers.

Related to this, is there a way to automate this so that an html version of the email, and a plain text version is also automatically generated ?
(For this second question, I'm hoping there's an easier way
than writing a script from scratch (I'm familiar with java, but I think that isn't appropriate for this) to assign the content that changes to variables, and then inserts the content to the variables in templates that already contain the formatting.)

Forms look like a way to go, but I'm not sure if javascript or PHP is a better way. I'm leaning towards php, because I read there's the ability to integrate php with sql, eventually creating a database record of customer interaction (phone calls, emails, etc).

Call Me: Anytime Anyplace Anywhere Anyway

Xurando — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 17:05:26 -0800

Novel Research Filter: Help me describe phone culture/ etiquette in the 70's prior to the advent of answering machines. I'm writing a story set in the 1970's. In the story the protagonist has to call the librarian at his law firm late at night regarding a research question. Would the law firm have had a paid answering service and would the service have passed on the message to the librarian late at night?

If the protagonist had called the librarian directly sometime after 10:30 PM, would a normal person in that era have picked up the call thinking it was important or just let it ring. Would she/he be angry to find the call was work related?

How would you describe in general the phone culture of the time in terms of how important messages were passed on by phone. Was there a cultural conditioning regarding what was important to share and what wasn't. I'm sure it wasn't like communication today, anything anytime. Now I see people talking on their cell phones in the airport at 5AM, on the east coast, and can't imagine such conversations happening in the 70's. Am I wrong about this?

How can two critical AND sensitive people get along better?

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 09:49:08 -0800

How do two people who are both a) super-sensitive to criticism, real or imagined; b) prone to being critical toward others; and c) married manage to coexist peacefully? My s.o. and I are committed to the long haul, relationship-wise, and in most ways we get along famously.

One way we don't, though, is in the realm of nitmicking/criticism/nagging. We each - proof that god has a wicked sense of humor - tend to do it, hear it and react poorly to it, whether it's real or (more often) imagined, implied in tone of voice or "that look," etc.

This often leads to annoying, exhausting bickering that sometimes escalates into fights over nothing - mostly a test of wills over who said what with what intent, what "really happened," who was slighted and who deserves an apology. Basically, minor details about who's "right," instead of the underlying feelings. (Did I mention we're both control freaks?)

It's the reflex to snap back when you feel someone is unfairly criticizing you, usually in the form of "why-did[n't]-you," "what-were[n't]-you-thinking" statements. Sometimes it's even true, but it's still no healthy way to communicate.

We're well aware of it, we talk openly and lovingly about it once things cool down, we've gone to couples therapy at times and read many books about getting along with your spouse. In short, we know we do it, but deeply ingrained habits (thanks Mom and Dad!) are damned hard to break.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any battle-tested wisdom to share about either end of the equation: avoiding the statements that could be construed as critical; and avoiding the snap-back response. Biting your tongue and growing thicker skin, I guess.

How were cell phone calls completed from hijacked planes on 9-11?

Pastabagel — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:20:35 -0800

9-11 Technology Filter: I have never been able to even get signal on my Blackberry 8200 (GSM) within 10 seconds of liftoff, so how were cell phone calls completed from hijacked planes on 9-11? Specifically, given the prevailing handset, carrier, and tower technologies present in the Boston, NY, and DC metro and intervening areas at the time, and given the flight paths and altitudes of the hijacked planes, how were passengers able to complete cellphone calls to loved ones? On the radio this morning, I heard some conspiracy theorists posit that proof of the 9-11 hoax is that all the evidence of the hijackers comes from cell and AirFone calls from the planes. They claimed that one of the planes was not equipped with AirFones, but that nonetheless descriptions of that hijacking came from passengers calling loved ones and their own voice mails on their cell phones (I don't not remember which plane they claimed didn't have airphones). All I could find online that was remotely coherent was here but it is very light on the technical details which would seem to put this issue to rest conclusively.

Some my questions are as follows:

A. How was it possible to for passengers to complete these calls at high altitudes? Were phones and towers more powerful then? Did they use a different encoding scheme that was more robust? (Analog vs. Digital, CDMA vs. GSM, etc.) The more technical the response, the better.

B. Were any of these calls from passengers recorded? What about the infamous "Let's Roll" (or "let's roll it"?) call? Are the voice mails available online?

C. Is a map available of the flight paths of the four planes that (a) includes their altitude, and (b) includes tower locations from 2001 from the major wireless carriers?

D. Has anyone been able to complete a cell phone call from an aircraft at any time between a minute after takeoff and a minute prior to landing? What carrier and phone?

E. If you have ever worked near the top of a very tall building (i.e. much taller than surrounding buildings and far above the ground, i.e. Transamerica in SF, Sears Tower in Chicago, Empire State or WTC in NY, Petronas Towers, Taipei 101, etc), have you experienced poor service that was explained because of your floors height above the surrounding towers?

F. Do cell towers not broadcast or receive signals from above? I assumed that towers broadcast signal radially and would therefore be subject to the inverse square law. Am I wrong? Are towers in rural areas significantly higher and stronger than towers in urban areas? Why?

Sorry if this is too long or inappropriately formated for AskMe. There is very little I could find about this on the web, so any help would be appreciated, and as I said, the more technical, the better.

Interview questions for intranet content manager position

hootch — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:25:40 -0800

I've been asked to do a short job interview with some candidates for an intranet content manager position. I've never been on that side of the interview table before and need some help coming up with good questions to ask. I'm a web developer for the site and they've asked me to do a 5-15 minute interview with each candidate to gauge their tech savvy and compatibility with me, since the person will end up working with me quite a bit. The position is mostly about writing news articles for the site and supervising other publishers' work on the site to make sure their pages fit within the guidelines for the site. They also have a hand in guiding the development of the site as far as new initiatives, selecting which feature requests get developed, etc. We have a publishing system where they use Word to create content for the site, so they won't need to know HTML or anything, but they can't be completely clueless about technology either. What would be some good questions to ask to gauge their general technology knowledge?

The only question I've been able to come up with is asking them to give an example of how they currently use the Internet that might be a bit out of the ordinary ("I store all my address and phone number information in Yahoo Address book so I can access it from anywhere while only maintaining it in one place" vs. "I use it to check my e-mail.").

Help Me Liven Up Financial Information Design

thinkpiece — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:55:25 -0800

Help me find a well-designed financial services site that is not stuffy! I'm looking to resolve the marketing challenge of communicating executive compensation account information and updates via a dedicated site and also email and epostcards in an innovative, un-stuffy way for a very senior group! Any un-boring financial services bells&whistles that you recommend, much appreciated.

For example I once saw a site that looked like a bunch of notebook pages and you could click and turn the page, or stick it in a old-school manila type file folder ... I would like to adapt that kind of jazzy presentation ...

Apologies if this is too tedious!!

So... Do we have deal?

LakesideOrion — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 08:10:46 -0800

Sales Filter - What are some creative ways to communicate with and motivate an extremely mobile sales force? I'm working on a communications proposal that needs to motivate an independent-minded group of sales employees.

This sales force is extremely mobile and may or may not have 24/7 access to email or the web. The sales force does however, typically have reliable access to voice mail and snail mail.

Among this group of employees, some (most?) are disillusioned with the head office. Due to a long-term lack of regular communication, the sales force now tends to view communications from HQ with a mild skepticism.

So my Hive-like friends... (especially, anybody with any background in sales) in addition to the obvious (more $), what are some fun and creative ways to communicate with, and motivate to this group of employees?

Note: Not that it matters, but this sales force sells a common thing that everybody eventually needs. So it is less about convincing the customer they need it - more about convincing them this is the best deal.

post-starving-college-student quandry

furnace.heart — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 23:04:26 -0800

How does one make even make an attempt at getting an entry level job in the journalism or PR fields, when he or she has no real access to those fields (and no experience)? After six years in college (and four universities) I've finally obtained a BS in Communication Studies. During this time, I worked full time at a local grocery store to make ends meet, and make a small dent in the ammount of debt i have. Working at a grocery store has many wonderful perks for a young college student (such as staving off starvation and discounted beer). Regardless, all of this surviving didn't allow me to take advantage of internships, and aside from helping out with our (now defunct-ish) local pirate radio station, and promoting a few vintage Vespa rallies, I have no real practical experience in any sort of media field.

Now that i'm out of school, and looking for a "real" (read: non-grocery) job, I'm at a complete loss. I've got a decent resume for someone starting out, two killer letters of reccomendation and plenty of good references outside that, including from my current boss who knows i'm looking for work elsewhere.

How on earth do I attempt to break into the media or PR fields? Every post i see on craigslist, monster, or any other site requires 5-7 years experience...which i don't have. How does one actually make contacts and connections in this field?

Not just a rhetorical question

parmanparman — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 12:16:00 -0800

Where do I find a ranking of graduate programs in communications arts and sciences in the United States? I am looking at the possibility of doing a graduate degree in communication focusing on rhetoric, but not necessarily so. Regardless, I have found list of graduate programs but I can't find a current ranking of good and bad programs.

Corporate Do-Gooder!

thinkpiece — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 07:13:29 -0800

How can I help my fellow employees get the most out of their benefits program via efficient, lively, multi-platform communications? I'm in a terrific new Communications job in the very progressive HR department of a global business information company. My initial mandate is to improve Benefits communications which are currently complex, and myriad.

I have a wide-open opportunity to shape how a large employee population accesses healthcare and financial planning information -- and acts on it to get the most they can from their benefits program -- from a company that really wants to do the right thing.

I'm interested in any and all ideas, from program gripes or praise to content to delivery, that would keep your eyes from glazing over everytime you heard from HR about Benefits! Creativity, technology and simplicity (or at least, pitch-ability for budget allocation) will be extremely appreciated.

What means "5 by 5"?

fox_terrier_guy — Fri, 04 May 2007 06:02:00 -0800

Radio communications trivia: What is the meaning of the term "5 by 5"? I repeatedly hear the term "reading you 5x5". What do the fives represent? Power? Clarity? (unlike this question). Is there a 3x4? What would that sound like?

Google Fu turns up plenty of examples, but no definitions.

All in one Comms hub?

tiamat — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 22:40:47 -0800

One stop communications software? I use my laptop as a secondary moniter. I'd love one peice of software that could run full screen, and moniter or otherwise show the status of a few different services. 1-2 POP3 accounts, 1-2 RSS feeds, an MSN account, etc. Is there one piece of software that could do this? I just want one screen I can glance at and have all my current news and comms displayed simply and at the same time.

Or for that matter, can anyone suggest a suitable and easy to use development language. I'm horribly out of shape when it comes to coding, but I've got some free time on my hands...

I'm currently using the custom google homepage for this purpose, but I dislike the massive amount of wasted whitespace. There's too much space between the elements and too little detail within each section.