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.

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.

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.

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.

The second installment of the jam built on the success of the first and a good, inspiring time was had by all. We assume.

If you weren’t there (for shame!) the wrap-up below will give you a taste of what you missed. And if you’re more aurally inclined, Robin Browne was kind enough to capture the audio of the preliminary presentations. You can find that audio here (many thanks Robin!).

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Case Study: @DailyBlogPost
Jammer: Ian Capstick

Twitsized Summary of the Project: A twitter feed that was supposed to provide one idea per day to inspire writer’s-blocked bloggers. It didn’t go so well.

Key Points:

• Started with three rules: One tweet per day only; follow back everyone who followed; accept tips from others via DM or @ reply.
• Project died after 33 tweets, largely because it wasn’t social. No conversations. “It wasn’t a twitter account.”
• Good ideas + good people can = bad things.

In His Words:

I flocked to an idea that @julien gave away free like a star-struck fanboy … [but] I didn’t do any of the things that made Twitter work for me.

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Case Study: Ottawa Social Media Book Club
Jammer: Kelly Rusk

Twitsized Summary of the Project: A fledgling book club for social media enthusiasts that has mostly survived one big snafu and several logistical headaches.

Key Points:

• Started hosting on meetup.com, which charges organizers.
• First events went well and people were using the online discussion board to continue discussions.
• Misunderstanding of meetup.com terms of service led to higher charges than expected, so Kelly asked about closing the account.
• Account was closed immediately and all 60 members received message saying the organizer had abandoned the group; Kelly only had names, not email addresses.
• Slowly rebuilding membership on new self-hosted site, trying to get it back on track.

In Her Words:

If you’re going to plan an event, do your research .. Now I’m worried people think I started the club and just walked away.

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Case Study: Social community charity drive for Cornerstone women’s shelter
Jammer: Bob LeDrew

Twitsized Summary of the Project: When a local women’s shelter was destroyed by fire, Bob turned online shock into on-the-ground action, first with a clothing/money/supply drive, then with a delicious New Year’s feast.

Key Points:

• Started with a post by Ian Capstick outlining the things the shelter needed urgently.
• “I had no money but lots of time,” so Bob wrote a post offering to spend a few hours picking up donations.
• Post was tweeted a few times then went viral (at least among Ottawa tweeps).
• Local CBC radio picked up the story, which gave it more legs.
• As more people heard, they organized supplementary drives (Laura Payton at the Hill Times; Preston Street BIA).
• Bob made the rounds and filled his car.
• Later, around Christmas, Bob got a turkey as a gift and decided to donate it as part of a holiday dinner.
• Reached out to same online community for side dishes.
• Ended up with three turkeys and two car trunks full of side dishes.

In His Words:

A bunch of small actions became a huge amount of good … this wasn’t a win for me, it was a win for the community.

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Lastly, after the outpouring of support from the Jammers at CSJam #1 (part of the efforts in support of Cornerstone), we decided to pass the hat for charity again. Bob, who has become our charity liaison by default, offers this recap:

The kind folks who attended CSJam 2 raised $85 in our pass the hat. The more-or-less arbitrary “charity” chosen to receive the money is Maria Hawkins, Ottawa’s Blues Lady.

Maria is a veteran singer and presenter who was a pioneer with Bluesfest’s W.C. Handy-award-winning Blues In The Schools program. She’s also created lots of school programs combining music and education around issues such as bullying.

Starting last summer, a series of events have left her without a place to live, fighting back from health problems and in pretty dire straits financially. The money from our hat (a very bluesy hat, by the way) will help her get her back on her feet, and she is pretty darn grateful.

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.

Without further ado or silliness, here’s a quick rundown of the first Ottawa jam.

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Case Study: OttawaTonite
Jammers: Sue and Cheryl

Twitsized Summary of Project: Create a space for arts and entertainment information in Ottawa. Listings but less formal. Artists’ experiences in their own words

Key Points:

• Launched in Fall 2009; site still evolving
• Volunteer-driven project
• Web development has been major hurdle
• Site has taken unexpected directions; really creating social opportunities for the community
• Advertisers coming on board because they see something of value

In Their Words:

People from different communities are coming together; it’s a beautiful thing!

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Case Study: Canada@150
Jammers: Brent and Steffen

Twitsized Summary of Project: Year-long project inviting young public servants to discuss issues that will be facing Canada in 2017.

Key Points:

• Work done on Clearspace, collaborative software “that’s a mix between Wikipedia and Facebook”
• Approximately 10% of people were readers; 75% were intermittent users; 15% were heavy readers (better participation rates than typical 90-9-1 model)
• Social networking bridged the gap between kick off conference and wrap-up event where findings were shared

In Their Words

I was at my wit’s end when I got the call; then I realized we can make a difference here (Brent)

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Case Study: Apartment 613
Jammers: Ryan and Katie

Twitsized Summary of Project: Community platform focused on what’s going on in Ottawa

Key Points:

• Consists of blog, Twitter feed, Facebook page and Flickr account
• Flickr account in particular has been major point of interest; lots of involvement from local photogs
• Reached out to community through public meetings and “asking people to come for drinks with us”
• Using the blog as a catalyst to drive audiences out to do stuff
• Acting as liveblog for local events such as Change Camp
• Launch party came several months after actual launch; used as a marketing event with outreach to traditional media
• Future plans include video blogging and a partnership with Spacing Ottawa

In Their Words:

We want to do things; be involved in things; learn things

One thing we do want to bring to everyone’s attention, though, is the generosity of the community. As you might have read in the last post, Jam co-organizer Amy Boughner decided we should pass the hat for the Cornerstone women’s shelter – one of the worst hit in the rash of fires around Ottawa in the past few weeks.

As one of the pictures below shows, we literally passed the hat. And the generous folks you see below managed to come up with $76 and change from their pockets.

Many thanks, Jammers.

So with that one, plus the Ottawa Tonite Crew, plus the Apartment 613 gang… really, what reason could you possibly have for not registering?

Next, as most of you probably know, a spate of fires in the last few days has done a serious number on the services available to women in need in the city. Jam co-organizer Amy Boughner came up with the great idea to pass the proverbial (and possibly literal) hat at the first Jam to raise funds to help the Cornerstone Women’s Shelter, one of the affected groups. If you’re coming on Thursday, please dig deep and see if you can find a few bucks to help out.

If you can’t make it, local blogger and all around good guy Ian Capstick has put together a list of charities and community groups that could really use a helping hand right now – please consider giving what you can.