Last week, I conducted my first Twinterview with Johna Burke, VP of BurrellesLuce. Experimenting with Twitter, and writing about it, made me want to use this format to get a better handle on how a 140-character limitation would work. I found out some interesting things as the back-and-forth was going on.

There were time lags, and given the fact that an interviewer doesn’t have the benefit of evaluating an answer by body language or eye contact, Twitter can be challenging. But then again an interviewee like Johna Burke compensates for that.

@heyangelo: Welcome Johna Burke. You’re probably good at this –got an 140-character elevator pitch?

@gojohnab: As VP at BurrellesLuce I consult with PR Pros on measuring PR effectiveness. In almost 20 yrs I’ve seen a lot of changes

@gojohnab this is my first twinterview and I’m excited

@heyangelo Will get 2those changes in a min. Youve been a leading voice in get’ng comms and PR 2pay attention 2socialmedia Tough road to hoe?

@gojohnab Not really. The audience is really receptive and there’s a need to get up to speed quickly. I’m glad to be making a difference.

with any new development there’s always some resistance, but this medium requires quick action.

Quick action as in getting to understand need 4 speed of response, or getting up to speed on new tools fast?

@heyangelo @gojohnab – your response is being timed

@gojohnab keep in mind there’s delay on tweetdeck today…doing the best I can with the tools I have…like all PR pros:)

@gojohnab I think it’s both, but more understanding how to make it work and the relevance for their audience. This is still 1 tool of many

@gojohnab a little nugget of experience…make sure you leave a space after the hashtag otherwise your interviewer may miss your response

@heyangelo Re your recent webinar on ‘Listen-Monitor-Measure’ Do we chatter (yes, even here!) more than listen Whatsthematter with us peeps?

@gojohnab Sr management from the perspective of investment and allocation of overall resources.

@gojohnab This new tool is being incorporated into existing programs not totally replacing other tools altogether.

@gojohnab There’s no blanket answer to that question. In social media, as in real life, there are talkers and listeners.

@heyangelo Could you give our followers an example of how you blend this tool into other programs?

@gojohnab That said, the linear nature of Twitter (screen) sometimes makes it harder to listen and respond and easier to talk.

@gojohnab and we naturally have a lot of good things to say and this is a n easy platform:)

@gojohnab Being an active participant in social networking drives audience and message penetration to other comm. i.e. Blogs/webinar

@heyangelo Moving on 2 your recent post – Harvey Levin’s expose of Northern Trust. How could PR & communicators support a struggling media?

@gojohnab establishing social media presence also translates into other PR opportunities: press interviews, speaking opps. & twitterviews:)

@heyangelo Let’s switch 2 Media Monitoring. Its on steroids w/ BlogPulse, BuzzLogic, Streamwall, & good ol Technorati etc. How do u compete?

@gojohnab Provide more than fluff. Educate on your industry so reporters do their job and tell the story. The post: http://tr.im/htEJ

@gojohnab BurellesLuce makes a big deal about human monitoring. Aren’t bots and algorithms practically running the analytics world?

@gojohnab BurrellesLuce has the content plus the ability to provide qualitative judgment on both monitoring and measurement. ….more…

@gojohnab plus iMonitor http://tr.im/hqmH is getting traction in the market. It’s our new self-service, online news monitoring service.

@gojohnab Automated solutions are 80% accurate at their best, but are definitely a fast means to get some idea of quantitative metrics

@gojohnab Most PR pros are after PR effectiveness. That is only achievable with a holistic program of quantitative and qualitative metrics.

@gojohnab Self-service monitoring? Is this not the thing agencies are trying to get people to avoid? Trying to do it all?

@gojohnab Self-Service monitoring- Has been adopted by many agencies due to ease of use and affordability. …

@gojohnab Qualitative= key messages, marketing power, editorial tone & prominence

@gojohnab The BurrellesLuce difference is content sources and tools.

@gojohnab So it’s all about empowerment, then. Lets switch gears now.
Must ask an IABC question:What was it like 2run the Phoenix chapter @ d early stages of social media?

@gojohnab Exciting. The Phx chapter has amazing thought leaders, yourself included, who embrace comm challenges in a strategic way…

@gojohnab 2004-2005 as pres or IABCPHX and current (2008-2009) Chair of Southern Region
We were struggling with whether 2 provide a paper newsletter and gladly one still exists today & is also available in pdf online

AT IABC We used the medium to attract attendees to events and new members to the organization..
There is a growing IABC Southern Region presence on facebook promoting upcoming events and many IABC members on twitter.

@barb_g current IABC Chair, has really embraced twitter and has elevated the organization profile through her efforts.
Another great thing about IABC volunteering is having a non-threatening environment to learn for your company vs. @ your company.

@heyangelo What year was that when u were pres of @IABC_Phoenix? Were there some warning signs things were changing?

@gojohnab in 2004-2005 we had message boards on the website..seems so archaic now

@heyangelo Time management update: 7 more questions…

@gojohnab I’m ready….keep ‘em coming!

@heyangelo Let’s talk about jobs. This is a horrible time for job seekers, Any advice to folks getting into PR, marketing, media positions?

@gojohnab I blogged recently of the power of networking even when you don’t need a job http://tr.im/hwsD and some great people to follow—
on twitter: GenY &Interns: @heatherhuhman and other Comm openings follow hashtags #PRJOBS…these are good, but don’t replace face to face and other connections inside a company where you want to work. Word of mouth and personal referrals are powerful and LinkedIn is an amazing professional resource with discussion groups and contacts….grow your network…the right way I also suggest to young communicators to showcase their Social Media talents and make sure that is a listed skill on resumes

@heyangelo At BurellesLuce, would you hire someone of even look at their resume if they didn’t have some Google juice, or online experience

@gojohnab depends on the position. Most positions require online savvy since we are full digital delivery now.

@heyangelo But one person’s online savviness could be another person’s baby steps, no?

@gojohnab Would agree it’s a relative term.

@gojohnab I can share a BurrellesLuce success story. Our SVP of Marketing found recruits using LinkedIn.

@heyangelo Go ahead

@gojohnab A local example is @JessicaLHansen and how her social networking “worked” when she needed a new job and how people found her
Community is powerful.

@heyangelo speaking of whom @JessicaLHansen just sent a link to http://twitter.com/microjobs could we be doing more to connect people?

@gojohnab The PR twitterverse is well served to help peers during this challenging time.

@heyangelo No offense, but when I hear ‘community if powerful’ and ‘join the conversation’ my eyes roll. I want to see concrete steps…

@heyangelo Maybe this tiny twinterview will raise awareness, and get some engines revved up

@gojohnab Fair enough. I personally listen for opportunities and pass those to my network…open to other ideas…

@gojohnab your Blog talks about your endeavors can you share something with us?

@heyangelo Last 3 questions: Twitter could hurt your career, too. Did you see this? http://ow.ly/15r4 Any advice about using this tool?

@gojohnab I did see this story. And like with anything else on the internet be prudent about what you say and know your audience…..

@gojohnab Twitter is only private when you use the DM feature

@heyangelo @SenJohnMcCain is tweeting. Does that mean he’s cool, or is it a signal that micro-blogging’s on its way out?

@gojohnab LOL

@gojohnab I think that signals its perceived effectiveness.

@heyangelo Excuse the Sarah Palin-like scrutiny: What media –name some names– could you NOT live without?

@gojohnab Industry pubs: PR News, PR Week, AdAge, Daily News: AZ Republic, USA Today, CNN Personal: Harvard Business Review, People, TMZ
Even TMZ.! No CW Of the newspapers and mags, which do you read as print, and which online?

@gojohnab and of course CW for AMAZING Angelo stories:)

@gojohnab You must have missed my CW follow up tweet. Online: CNN, TMZ & USA Today Print edition: all others. I need print on airplances

@heyangelo Ha! Sorry Hootsuite is crawling today. Good 2 know. The folks @IABC won’t cancel your membership now

@heyangelo Any final thoughts before we go, gojohnab?

@gojohnab My 1st twinterview is behind me and I have new perspective on how social media plays into PR Effectiveness. Thanks @heyangelo

@heyangelo Johna, Thanks for taking time for this. It’s been great, um, joining the conversation…No really, you had some great ideas.

@gojohnab “eye roll” right back at ya:) This was fun and I appreciate the opportunity. Catch you in the bogosphere http://bit.ly/2picy