Case Study Jam

Case Study Jam (Ottawa) #6
Wednesday, September 22 @ 6 pm
The Foolish Chicken (79 Holland Ave)
Hashtag: #CSJam

Bust out the feather dusters, we’re clearing out the cobwebs and getting Case Study Jam back into action.

We’re trying something a little different this time around, a theme night. Journalism as a craft has come under fire in recent years in the face of a major upswing in so-called citizen journalism. Reporters these days are increasingly faced with the choice to adopt social tools into their work or face potential obscurity.

So call this one big work in progress jam.

We’ll be hearing from:

• Emma Godmere (blog | twitter), former editor in chief of the Fulcrum and current Ottawa Bureau Chief for the Canadian University Press.
• Mary McGuire (website| twitter), professor at Carleton University’s School of Journalism teaching a new multimedia journalism workshop with a focus on social media.
• Laura Payton (blog | twitter), reporter for the Quebecor/Sun Media Parliamentary Bureau.

Come out and hear three different perspectives on how social media is changing the way journalists work.

Case Study Jam (Ottawa) #5
Thursday, June 17 @ 6 pm
The Foolish Chicken (79 Holland Ave)
Hashtag: #CSJam

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, i’s your last chance to get in on the jammin’ fun before summer and all that goes with it begins.

June 17 at the Foolish Chicken, hear from:

• Graphic designer and t-shirt impresario Emily Chen (@mchenwears) on taking her t-shirt business from hobby to sideline.
• Mark Buell (@mebuell) and Sheila Bergeron on CIRA’s Show us your .CA program
• Foodieprints‘ Don Chow (@foodieprints) on the lessons he learned when he tried to move his online network of food bloggers into the offline world, with mixed results.

As has become the custom, we’re also going to be passing the hat during the evening. This time around, we’re going to try to help local twitizen @spoonsie hit her target for her mammoth undertaking on behalf of the Canadian Cancer Society. Parking around the Foolish Chicken is free so please consider tossing your parking meter money into the hat.

This will be the last Jam until the fall so you don’t want to miss it.

Case Study Jam (Ottawa) #4
Thursday, April 29 @ 6 pm
The Foolish Chicken (79 Holland Ave)
Hashtag: #CSJam

It’s that time again, boys and girls. Time to register for Case Study Jam.

As per our strictly-adhered-to mandate, this month’s jam features an awesome win, a work in progress and a fail we can all learn from. Namely:

• A win from independent financial advisor Randy Little, who went out on his own with a commitment to doing things differently. Building from the ground up, Randy has built his business by reaching out to the people of Ottawa almost entirely through his Twitter account.
• A work in progress from local realtor Jane Daly, who is not only using social media to expand her reach with buyers and sellers but she’s also embracing open data principles and trying to find ways to make real estate data more accessible.
• A fail from Chelsea Edgell that is probably best summed up in her own words: “It happened when I was hired to address a problem with environmentally unsound practices that were also a collosal waste of effort. Response to my proposal for a collaborative solution was one of such hyperbolic terror that I thought the higher-ups were joking when they removed me for my ‘unorthodox approach.’ They weren’t.”

Please note: This time around the event is moving slightly west and doing the funky foolish chicken. They don’t offer the awesome German fare of the last venue but they do have a kick-ass pulled pork sammich and awesome fries. Oh, and it’s far more transit friendly – Tunney’s Pasture is mere steps away.

Case Study Jam (Ottawa) #3
Thursday, March 25 @ 6 pm
The Lindenhof (268 Preston Street)
Register Now!
Hashtag: #CSJam

Ask and ye shall receive, faithful jammers.

Based on some welcome feedback from those who attended the February jam, we went out and got some more war stories from the field; some tales from those who toil in the trenches; people who could speak to the struggles of the lowly comms officer.

Oh, and a cop!

Want to know more? We thought you might:

• Community outreach is about a lot more than walking the beat for the police these days. Constable Nathan Hoedeman, the officer in charge of Ottawa’s Somerset Community Police Centre, is not only using social tools to reach out to his community, he’s also bringing in volunteers to help get the message out. Constable Hoedeman will share his story and give you a chance to help shape the future of his online outreach efforts.
  
• Notwithstanding the warnings REM’s been giving us since back in the ’80s (editor’s note, I’m freakin’ old), it seems not everyone in this country is prepared in case of the end of world. Or, you know, some far more realistic disaster. The folks at Public Safety Canada, clearly seeing that club-friendly pop-music wasn’t getting the job done, took a more proactive approach and launched the Get Prepared campaign – complete with outreach to mommy bloggers. Theresa Woolridge and Jennifer Jager will tell us how they did it.
• Of course, it’s not all sunshine and lollipops for public servants interested in introducing social media tactics and tools. Sometimes, communications ideals come head-to-head with a risk-averse culture and very legitimate concerns about privacy and discretion. Can the military embrace social media or will loose twits sink ships? Join National Defence media analyst Dan Blouin as he ponders this important (and cheekily-worded, if we may say so) question.

After being so warmly hosted by the good folks at the Lindenhof last time, we’re bringing the Jam back to Preston’s finest German food joint. Be sure to get there early enough in time to sample the schnitzel.

Case Study Jam (Ottawa) #2
Thursday, February 18 @ 6 pm
The Lindenhof (268 Preston Street)
Register Now!
Hashtag: #CSJam

In the immortal words of LL Cool J, don’t call it a comeback.

Yes, kids, after taking a month off to enjoy the holidays (and, in the case of two of our organizers, bring life into the world), we’re back with a brand new invention… wait, no, that’s Vanilla Ice.

Anyway, gratuitous references to ’80s rap aside, we are indeed back and pleased to present Case Study Jam 2: Jamming Harder. If you missed the first one, or if you’ve got a really bad memory, we’ve added a primer to the bottom of this message.

This installment of the jam will feature at least three jam sessions, with a fourth one in the works if all the stars align.

• Ever had a really great idea that just sort of flopped? Ian Capstick did. And he’s going to tell us all about his failed attempt at creating a resource for bloggers.
• With more and more books coming out about social media, doesn’t it make sense to have a book club? Doesn’t it? Guys? Anyone? Bueller? Kelly Rusk will be on hand to discuss her fledgling efforts to get an Ottawa chapter (pun!) of the social media book club off the ground.
• Long before the anti-proroguing crowd was turning heads with its efforts to convert online activism into on-the-ground action, Bob LeDrew was rallying Ottawa’s social media crowd to help the Cornerstone women’s shelter, one of the local shelters to be hit by a devastating fire a few months ago. He’ll tell us what the secret is to mobilizing the online masses.

Now, we realize we’re asking you to come out on an Olympic men’s hockey game night. And that is really, really uncool of us. But we’ve appointed one of our iPhone-toting organizers as the designated scoreboard watcher and he’ll keep everyone up to date as needed. And we should be done in plenty of time for you to get home, flip on the TV and see Canada wrap things up against those dastardly Swiss.

Lastly, the organizers would like to thank Allison at The Lindenhof for graciously agreeing to host this little shindig. If you’ve never been there, it’s the place to go in Ottawa for hearty German fare (and beer!). You are hereby encouraged to show up right at 6 pm so you have plenty of time to enjoy a schnitzel or a bratwurst before festivities really ramp up.

Register Now!

The aforementioned primer

• Case Study Jam is an event for do-ers. People in PR, communications, IT or anything else who get their hands dirty, particularly in the social media realm.
• There’s only a rough agenda and no featured speaker, per se. Instead, a handful of people will make quick oral presentations to get discussions flowing. From there, the presenters break off and host small group sessions to carry on the discussion. Everyone else is welcome to drop in on any jam they want, sticking with one or moving from group to group.
• There are three types of presentations: Wins (successful case studies), Fails (less-than-successful case studies) and Works in Progress (that one’s pretty self-explanatory, actually).
• The goal is to share ideas and lessons, not sell services and products. Check your ego at the door and be prepared to share.
• Still want to know more? Check out the FAQ.

Case Study Jam (Ottawa) #1
Thursday, November 19 @ 6 pm
La Roma Restaurant (430 Preston) – Open in Google Maps
Click here to register

The first ever Case Study Jam event is upon us. If you’re new to this site (and let’s admit it, you probably are), here’s what you need to know in bullet form:

• Case Study Jam is an event for do-ers. People in PR, communications, IT or anything else who get their hands dirty, particularly in the social media realm.
• There’s only a rough agenda and no featured speaker, per se. Instead, a handful of people will make quick oral presentations to get discussions flowing. From there, the presenters break off and host small group sessions to carry on the discussion. Everyone else is welcome to drop in on any jam they want, sticking with one or moving from group to group.
• There are three types of presentations: Wins (successful case studies), Fails (less-than-successful case studies) and Works in Progress (that one’s pretty self-explanatory, actually).
• The goal is to share ideas and lessons, not sell services and products. Check your ego at the door and be prepared to share.
• Ultimately we want to build an online repository of case studies hosted on the Case Study Jam Wiki but we’ll discuss that more during the first event.
• Still want to know more? Check out the FAQ.

For the first session, we’re planning four presentations. If you’re interested in sharing your win, fail or work in progress, let us know.