Yesterday i took part in a large social media exercise that allowed us to cover the visit of president Barack Obama to ASU, where he spoke at the commencement.

To follow up, I am doing a series of podcasts and Twinterviews. Continuing where I left off.

This afternoon, I will be live posting responses from Nina Miller Kulhawy, principal  graphic designer at the Office of The President. Watch this space!

AF: You’re a Graphic Designer heavy into web design. What got you into social media here at ASU in such a big way? #twitview09 #asugrad

NMK: I went to web 2.0 conf 2 yrs ago, it clicked with me. Human connections have always fascinated me. #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: I think universities need to engage with people as individuals, and I see this as a way to do that. #twitview09 #asugrad09

AF: Few people know u are an improv actor. Does relating 2 a real audience have lessons 4 communicating w/ virtual peeps? #twitview09  #asugrad

NMK: Yes! Improvising and dealing with a live audience in person doesn’t differ from what is needed online #twitview09 #asugrad

NMK: Listening skills apply in both, not just always producing content, but hearing what others are saying #twitview09 #asugrad09

AF: Let’s get to Obama’s visit May13. What part did social media play in your job? Was it even in your job description? #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK:  It fits under “other duties as assigned.” I was tweeting as @asugraduation for the day w/@JulieEspinosa #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: I was part of the planning committee, worked with Melissa Werner & @tiffapiffa to build the event site #twitview09 #asugrad09

AF: You were tracking many Twitter feeds answring questions in realtime. Without this tool what would u have had 2 do? #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: I can’t imagine what I would have done. One woman in dublin was shocked when I answered her question #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: This is the only tool that I can see fitting the needs of that kind of communication #twitview09 #asugrad09

AF: Any neat example or success story in the social media newsroom y’day at the Sun Devil Stadium? #twitview09  #asugrad09

NMK: I think the running out of water rumor being addressed was one basic needs win. Photos really helped that #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: The biggest win was everyone bringing their expertise to the table, doing their thing. The collaboration #twitview09 #asugrad09

AF: For an audience not familiar with the water issue, can u explain? #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: There was a report that we had run out of water at the water stations on the field, it was incorrect. #twitview09 #asugrad09

AF: How long did it take for the rumor to disappear? I saw one reporter rushing 2 the exits to check this #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: It seemed to be diffused pretty quickly in person because there was water #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: but it was important to report that online so people that weren’t there didn’t think we were careless #twitview09 #asugrad09

AF: Got a link to that picture of the water station?#twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK:  RT @asugraduation: RT @emersunn: Contrary to reports, there is plenty of water. #asugrad09 http://twitpic.com/54i4y #twitview09

(this is the message she re-tweeted at that moment. Click image left to enlarge)

AF: I noticed several mainstream media folks following our tweets. Any collaborations or exchanges with them worth noting –online or off? #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: I can’t really think of mainstream media collaboration from yesterday #twitview09 #asugrad09

AF: No problem. I was sharing images with a photo journalist -he was basically shooting 4us. talk about Fair Use! #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: Our collaboration with ustream.tv managed by @dotguy was especially helpful. Featured on their home page. #twitview09 #asugrad09

AF: on the media, I wrote 2 Anderson Cooper who continues 2 paint a wrong pic- he let it slide #twitview09 #asugrad09

AF: Going forward how might ASU use the groundswell of social media users across our 4 campuses? Any big ideas? #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: I think if we continue to use it as a listening tool, it will be a great way to connect with individuals #twitview09 #asugrad09

NMK: The conversation and interaction is the most important part to me. #twitview09 #asugrad09

AF: Thanks, Nina. Great lessons for all of us. #twitview09 #asugrad09