COMMUNICATION FROM A TO AA
COMMUNICATIONS is A LOT LIKE DANCING
Do you prefer the waltz, salsa or rock’n roll? I do not master all dances equally well, but I got the rhythm, so the steps I do not know in advance, I’ll learn. Shall we dance?
ARTICLES
I am a guest writer for the online magazine Point of View International (POV) that has a readership of over 50.000. My articles are among the most read and achieve a reach of up to 100.000 page views. Recommendation by Annegrethe Felter Rasmussen (in Danish). Occasionally, I also write articles for the feminist magazine Udbrud!. I have authored and edited quite a number of articles for the household distributed magazine Bydelen Vesterbro. I took part in the entire magazine process – from initial idea to the finished product. As journalist, part of the magazine group and member of the editorial board, I had a saying regarding choice of articles, their content, the magazine’s overall concept (incl. layout) and its further development.
BRUGERVENLIGHED/ USABILITY
Usability on websites is, of course, still important. The user should be able to get hold of the information she is looking for as easily, quickly and efficiently as possible. In a lot of cases it’s just not the central element of a website’s “success”. The modern, personalised user increasingly demands interactivity.
CMS
I have a lot of experience with CMS – both in terms of creating sites from scratch and web editor. Generally speaking, you could argue that if you know one CMS system, you know them all. The biggest difference is found in the user interface. I have worked with SiteCore, Drupal and WordPress. See examples.
DESIGN
Maybe it’s down to the fact that I’m so visually oriented that graphics are one of the communication aspects that I love the most. Or is it to write? Now I think I have it: The best thing is when text, images, message and strategy all come together. That is utterly rewarding, but also very difficult.
ENGLISH
I’m a bit of a dab hand in English – speech and writing (cf. OVERSÆTTELSE/ TRANSLATION on this page). When employed at the Danish Seed Health Centre, University of Copenhagen, I assured the quality of all English material sent out of the house – from research articles to general correspondence. In the beginning, it was somewhat of a challenge, as I did not have any previous knowledge of plant pathological terminology, but I have a zest for acquiring new knowledge, so eventually, I caught up. After some time, I became so good at it that I was asked by the Head of Department to translate the entire department website.
in particular, but social social media in general, is probably the fastest growing media platform right now. This should, of course, be reflected in one’s communication strategy, but it has to be approached professionally and carefully contemplated. Do not even consider joining the media because everyone does.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
From my experience, Google Analytics is the best web analytics tool available today. The possibilities of analysing and monitoring visitor traffic are almost inexhaustible.
HTML
or Hypertext Markup Language isn’t exactly my area of expertise, but I know enough to make minor changes in the codes. This also goes for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
INTERVIEWS
To conduct interviews is a science in its own right. So many factors must be taken into account, but when it all comes together and you yourself get a bit wiser, it’s fantastic. I have interviewed everyone from police officers to politicians and shopkeepers to children.
JOBS
I have actually never planned my career. In all the jobs I’ve had, I have left it to chance. This has led me on a journey that I would not do without and I have learned that communication is my baby.
KEYWORDS
are probably the most important aspect of Search Engine Optimization – or SEO, as it is probably better known as. It sounds straightforward, but it is not. Finding the right keywords is a bit like winning the lottery or finding a needle in a haystack, if that image makes more sense.
LAUGHTER
As a person, I’m very outgoing and I have often been told that I have a infectious laughter.
MÅLGRUPPER/ TARGET AUDIENCES
Through the ages, I have communicated to quite varied target audiences – some genereal and others more specific: readers of print and digital magazines, patients, researchers, students, extension workers in third world countries and citizens in Vesterbro, but this i s exactly the challenge, as I see it; to be able to convey any subject ato any audience accurately, relevantly and to the point – what’s more, I’m fairly good at it and I enjoy it.
NETKOMMUNIKATION/ WEB COMMUNICATION
How do you create effective web communication? Put simply, you need great content, great design, and great organisation. If you add visitor interaction, you have created the basis for conversion – but absolutely no guarantee.
OVERSÆTTELSE/ TRANSLATION
– English to Danish or Danish to English? Bring it on. I absolutely love it and in all modesty, I’m pretty good at it. My freelance translation services includes, among others, the advertising agency FaceMedia‘s website, the life-style book Sjæleføde (Soul Food) by Annie von der Heide, poem and informational text for the 80th anniversary of the International Brigade and part of the website Spanish Civil War and the Seafarers and Dockers.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
I have also tried my strengths against project management – and successfully so. For instance, I was co-project manager of a large scale EU research project. The summer of 2011, I was brought back to clean up a flawed project report which had spurred the EU to demand a repayment of 3 million DKK. My efforts were rewarded: EU approved my report and withdrew the demand for repayment of nearly all 3 million DKK.
QUESTIONNAIRES
After all the hard work creating a perfect home page, what is left is to measure whether or not it is working as intended. To that end, we need a questionnaire. Should we conduct a qualitative or a quantitative analysis? It depends, of course, on the purpose of the measurement.
REDAKTION/ EDITING
Working with communication, you cannot avoid becoming acquainted with editing – and fortunately so. I have many years of experience editing Danish as well as English texts for web and print. I have, for instance, edited numerous articles, proceedings, annual reports, work plans, master’s theses and co-edited the book Danmark set med brune øjne (Denmark Seen With Brown Eyes), Tidens Forlag, 2003.
SEO
– he great buzzword when it comes to websites. Contrary to what you might think, it’s not that straight forward, but if you follow one simple rule, you make life much easier for yourself: make sure your homepage has high quality content and structure. If so, high Google rankings will automatically follow. This is not to say that you cannot put a cherry on top of the cake by using SEO, but it is nothing more than that – the cherry, the icing and so on – not the foundations.
TRYK/ PRINT
It is simply so great to be part of the entire process from initial idea to final product – especially when it comes to print materials. I’ve made my fair share of print materials such as posters, flyers and brochures, but I still get excited and proud when it hit the mark.
UDDANNELSE/ EDUCATION
I have a Master of Arts degree in English and History aimed at communication from Roskilde University.
VIDEBEGÆRLIGHED/ ZEST FOR KNOWLEDGE
Generally speaking, I find it quite easy to acquire new knowledge – to a great extend facilitated by my curiosity.
WORDPRESS
– is an amazing CMS system with a user-friendly interface. The present website has been created in WordPress. For examples of websites created in WordPress, please go to Websites.
XTRA
If treated with respect, you can always count on me to make the extra effort when the heat is on.
ZILLATUBE
This programme, which you can use to download and convert your youtube videos, is now available for free download.
ÆSTETIK/AESTHETICS
means more to me than it probably should. My eyes bleed and my soul weeps when I look at inaesthetic things. I tell myself that it is conducive to the process of creating beautiful things. If you believe in astrology, this is by the book, as I am a Taurus.
ØNSKEJOB/ DREAM JOB
Sometimes, people ask me what my dream job is. I have no difficulties in answering. If I had a basket of options, I would like to have a job where I get to use all my skills and competencies. I have a say, I have good and competent colleagues, a skilled manager, decent working hours, a balance between work and leisure time and a high salary. Unfortunately, there is an upper limit to everything, so if I have to choose (and in the real world you must), I will prioritise as follows: Good colleagues, challenging work assignments, high salary.
ÅBEN/ OPENMINDED
I am a fairly (if not very) open-minded and extrovert person, who enjoys working with colleagues in all shapes and colors. I have a well-developed empathy, willingly initiate useful changes, have strong analytical skills and a highly developed sense of order and structure. Furthermore, I’m really good at working proactively and finish my work tasks competently and on time.