A few weeks ago, I did something I never thought I would have the honor in doing.
I gave a keynote presentation on the state of social media strategy for the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence in Riga, Latvia.
To say I was honored would be an understatement. This was probably one of the most impactful and significant professional experiences I’ve had in my career.
Here are a few takeaways I’d like to share with you all about my experience:
NATO is doing incredible work in social media. One of the things I really appreciated about this experience was hearing how they were using social media strategically. Most of the work I’ve done from a research and consulting standpoint has been on the private sector side of things, but it’s another ball game entirely when it comes to what government agencies are doing and what opportunities (and significant challenges) they are addressing.
Books >>>>>> Research Articles for Opportunities. I got my speaking invitation over the summer, and I was so excited to see this invitation and accepted it immediately. I was also very thrilled to be able to have the chance to visit Riga (I have a few friends who lived and worked there) and meet everyone. When I did ask how NATO found out about me, the answer may surprise my fellow colleagues who are very traditional in nature.
For the entire time of my career (and PhD program), everyone said “Peer reviewed publications are the most important thing you can do in your career,” or “research articles are the most important and valued work you produce in your career,” and my favorite “Textbooks are a waste of time and cannot establish you as a leader in the field.”
Well, you know what the answer was to the question on how NATO found me? My books. The lesson here is to 1) never listen to traditional researchers who assume things and our field are staying the same and 2) always go with your gut on what you feel will create opportunities. You are in charge of your journey, story, and destiny!
The importance of tying in theory AND practice. A lot of times, I see colleagues say they are able to tie in practice and theory together in their work, but it is sometimes difficult to do. I had 20 minutes in my keynote to talk not only about the state of social media strategy, but do exactly this – tie in the theory and research into actionable items that could be impactful and relevant for the professionals in the room. In PhD programs and even in academia – we not only not do this in our conferences and work, but we do not teach or discuss how to do this effectively. I’ve always felt I had a foot in both worlds, and I think we need to emphasize this a bit more for the future educators and researchers entering academia that this will continue to be an expectation for them to do in their work.
F2F is better than virtual in these cases. I had the option to either do my talk virtually, or in person. There was *no* question in my mind that I would not do this in person. With everything that has happened over the past few years, I feel it is vital to make sure to attend events such as this one in person. I am very grateful to the hotel and team in Riga for making sure I had lots of coffee on hand because I did my keynote at 3 am my time! However, the conversations, connections and people I met while I was in Riga was truly priceless. I would not have had this otherwise if I had attended virtually.
Experiencing the culture. I had never visited Riga before, and I had about a day before I headed back to the USA to learn, experience, and appreciate all that Riga had to offer. I was very impressed with the diversity of cultures in the city. It was also great to be able to walk around and see the sites and history, but also experience the food (move over, France! I found the pastries in Latvia to be epic!).
Putting things in perspective. This was a huge one for me – we talk all the time in various circles about the use of social media for an influencer campaign or for a brand partnership. What about using social media as evidence for investigations related to war crimes? Or to prebunk or debunk misinformation? These were the types of conversations and presentations that emerged – putting everything into perspective. It was important to learn what others are doing and what takeaways and lessons I can bring back to my students, and colleagues.
Overall, this was truly one of the best professional (and personal!) experiences I’ve had in my career. I am grateful to the amazing team at the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence and special thanks to Sara and Leva for all you did for the event! Truly an honor to be a part of this great experience and event.
Hope you all are doing well!
Best Wishes,
