From: Larry_Geller@MBnet.MB.CA (Larry Geller) Date: Thu, 01 Sep 94 TC COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY Communicate 1 - Weekly Newslletter to be distributed from the Directors out of Ottawa Free-Net, and containing compact pithy reports from the President and each of the Director's committees. Communicate 2 Weekly newsletter to be edited and distributed to all the free-nets out of Ottawa and Sprague - to be an exoteric easy peppy read that can serve to keep up the faithful and might also serve to be printed off and photocopied for mass mailings promotions or with the tasteful addition of Internic files sold for fundraising and help in the War to catch the attention minds hearts and purses of the 94% OF ALL CANUCKS WHO NEITHER KNOW WHAT IN THE HELL A FREENET IS NOR CARE -- CURRENTLY, VOLUNTEERS FOR EDITING NEWSLETTER 2 ARE LARRY GELLER AND ROSALEEN DICKSON. WE, ROSALEEN AND I HAVE ALREADY DISCUSSED JUST SUCH A WEEKLY THING AND FEEL THAT WITH ONLY A BIT OF HELP, IT CAN BE AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT OF THE SUCCESS OF T/C. Past experience with national organizations has always thrown up the fact that the org's perceived effectiveness is closely linked to a copious two-way flow of quality communications.Quality here being sincere democratic peer-to-peer well written thoughtful insightful and above all useful to the furtherance of the org's top 3 goals. The newsgroups and the exploder of e-mail and the gopher are helpful but the newsletter is the crucial power tool that binds. Also these n-letters are the repositories of choice for collecting and disseminating GOOD IDEAS. Communicate 3. Build bridges into Academe. The MacLuhan Centre for Studies of Mass Communications at U of T has people who might want to study our incipience. Research funding for them is probably available. I have a connection there. Lyotard in France, Habermas in Germany, and many others can be mobilized to write flocks of intello-puffery on us in exchange for a fresh Studium. Communicate 4. Network with the Media of Canada. Assign shadows to each paper tv station and radio station. Court them romance them and help them get the message clearly and frequently. This should be a co-ordinated outreach between the T/C National Level and each separate Free-Net.Set up a senior Brains Trust to write some of the core Propaganda and help to design logos folders pamphlets etc for locals to beef up their packages with. Communicate 5. Co-ordinate a communications effort for lobbying at a national level, by getting friendly with ALL key actors and giving them copious frequent inside information ;-) so that specific lobbying for tangibles will not fall on deaf ears later. Cultivation of contacts should be delegated to mature and sensitive people and pursued at a high level of professionalism. Communicate 6. Recruit by co-operation all our fraternal Associations and organizations who share common goals with us and co-operate with them on specific projects.EG Canadian Library Association, Canadian Teachers Federation, OISE, Law Society of Upper Canada, even bodies like the National Library of Canada and CAN-OLE of NRC are natural allies. Communicate 7. Hold at least one NEWSCONFERENCE or Guerrilla theatre event per week to keep us fresh and visible to the National Consciousness.Ottawa and Toronto and Vancouver are filled with bored journalists waiting for magical entertainments and enlightenments. Communicate 8. Conduct Media Relations OUTREACH with foreign countries in their own languages if possible. We can assert our Telecommunications leadership in the Global Marketplace of Ideas chiefly by exercising that leadership and mastery in action. The world is looking to us for a sign or at least a signifier. Dont let them go to sleep unsatisfied! There is a correspondent for Der Spiegel, L'Express, and the Economist -- all three floating around the Golden Triangle down there. Find Them and Use them! ******************************************************************************* ** SEARDEN Free-Net ** Larry Geller Tel. (204) 437-2016 Fax. (204) 437-2382 Box 180 Sprague, MB, Canada R0A 1Z0 Internet * * * Verba Volent, Scripta Manent * * * ******************************************************************************* -- Garth Graham aa127@freenet.carleton.ca Coordinator, Canadian Community Networks Conference, and founding meeting, Telecommunities Canada, Aug. 15-17, 1994 Box 86, Ashton, Ont., K0A 1B0, 613-253-3497