About Me

Public relations and media relations are still two necessary needs for any organization, especially in the current economic client of slashing marketing budgets. A large component of the 21st century communications toolkit is New Media (or as it’s also called, Social Media). The ability to communicate a message across a variety of media, new and traditional, in a variety of voices while maintaining your core message is part art, science, technology, voodoo and passion.

I work in public relations, media relations and multimedia/new media content creation for the University of New Mexico. In addition to this, I’m one of the university’s social media “dudes” (I don’t like the idea of evangelists, or “gurus”, or super-experts.) I bring my knowledge, gained from years of studying and working in the Internet Communications realm, and a passion for using new media tools to communicate messages and creating engaging community relations to solve problem to the table.

My goal includes working in a public relations/media relations/new media content creation role for the organizations I work for. I enjoy education, and believe that (when I do any consulting work) the best thing I can do for an organization is teach you to tools and mindset for developing a social media program as part of your overall communications strategy and letting people pick up the ball and run from there.

I examine problems with as much of a zen-like calm as possible, and believe that there is no problem that can’t be dealt with in an interesting and unexpected way, especially when people learn to, and I am loathe to use this cliche, “think outside the box.” Keeping an open mind, as it’s called in Zen – “beginner’s mind” – you can often find these interesting answers to your concerns.

---

Originally I wrote this site under a pen name.  I selected one of my favorite characters from literature, and have decided to leave the about page under “William de Worde,” even though it’s talking about me. – Benson

“About William de Worde'”

From The Discworld & Pratchett Wiki Web site

William de Worde began his career as a reporter by gathering up news of interesting occurrences and items in Ankh-Morpork, writing them down and sending copies of this writ to several nobles in other countries, ranging from the city-states of the Sto Plains, to Lancre, to Al Khali and Überwald. When he encounters the printing press of Gunilla Goodmountain, a dwarf with grand ideas, they decide to go into business together, continuing and expanding on William’s enterprise. And so, the Ankh-Morpork Times newspaper is born.

He is currently senior editor and also head reporter.

*snip*

According to the Annotated Pratchett File, the “name is a composition of the names Wynkyn de Worde and William Caxton. In 1474 Caxton printed the first book in the English language, a translation of The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troy. In his career he printed more than 70 books, 20 of them his own translations from the Latin, French, and Dutch. Wynkyn de Worde was his successor”.

Why William de Worde?

This is an homage to one of my favorite literary characters, from one of the best books I have ever read.

My then-GF, now fiancee, introduced me to Terry Pratchett and the Discworld early in our dating history. She loaned me her copy of The Truth to read while I was housesitting for my folks.

At the time I worked for a newspaper and she thought I would enjoy and identify quite a bit with the main character: a person who, like me, found himself working as an “accidental journalist,” and doing it quite well. Quite possibly even enjoying it…

One thing about working in a newsroom, it starts to grow on you.

Why Net News 54?

I’m an old Cyberpunk-genre story fan, and Net News 54 was the name of the big media outlet in one of the books my friends bought me. I thought it was cool, and being someone who is interested at the intersection of mass media, new media and information in the 21st century it seemed to stick. But “Net News 54” sounds so serious, don’t worry, I’m not too serious, ever.

I’m just a writing, rugby-playing, cyberpunkish nerf-herder (check your Star Wars movie collection for reference) 😉 here in New Mexico and points all over the world.