Most cover letters are boring, formulaic. Applicants are too afraid of offending to risk standing out. And in an era of robot screeners, one can wonder: Do cover letters even matter?

This workshop lays out the roles and goals of a good business letter, and explains why yes, indeed, cover letters do still matter. The session will outline core principles of persuasive writing that will help writers pitch themselves successfully to a range of readers. Through analysis of letters that worked, attendees will come to a new understanding of strategy, and learn to distinguish elegant flourishes from cheap gimmicks. The workshop will demonstrate how applicants can use audience insight to showcase themselves to greatest effect, and offer a framework for taking calculated risks in professional prose.

Presenter:
Edith Updike is managing editor of FundFire, a daily Financial Times publication covering institutional asset management. From 2008 to 2012, she was a full-time lecturer in the master’s degree programs in Strategic Communications and Communications Practice at Columbia University’s School of Continuing Education. She taught business writing, critical thinking, media studies and communications strategy. Updike earned an MS in Journalism at Columbia, and has covered business, politics and social issues for a range of publications from New York Newsday and Business Week to Slate and Travel Journal International. She has served as a consultant on media, communications and management strategy to internet start-ups as well as major companies such as PriceWaterhouse and Honda.

The 4th screen is now your 1st screen. By 2013, mobile phones will overtake the PC as the most common web access device worldwide. Mobile will account for 3.4 percent of global ad spending in 2015 and is expected to reach $7.5 billion in the US by 2012, up from $530 million in 2008. This seminar will provide the insight and the toolkit to develop a mobile strategy, and present case studies with metrics on successfully executed mobile campaigns. From the gateway drug of texting to the mobile web and now apps, participants will gain a better understanding of how to navigate the mobile ecosystem.

Guest Speakers:
Kristy Young, Director--ESPN Mobile
Kang Ha, Business Development Manager--Textopoly Inc.
Michael Matthews, The Mobile Culture--Forbes.com
Jonathan Stephen, Senior Producer of Mobile Products--JetBlue

About Alykhan Govani

Alykhan Govani serves as Payfone’s head of business development where he manages strategic relationships with key partners. Previously he served as chief executive officer of MX Telecom, a leading mobile billing and messaging company that was recently acquired by Amdocs for $104 million. At MX Telecom, Govani led his team to become the 4th largest messaging aggregator in the U.S. He currently co-chairs the MMA’s Consumer Best Practices Committee where he is responsible for designing industry best practices for mobile messaging. Govani has over 12 years of experience across a wide variety of technology organizations and received a M.S. degree in Strategic Communications from Columbia University and a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley.

This event is sponsored by the Columbia University Graduate Programs in Strategic Communications and Communications Practice.

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Mobile: The Future is Now (PDF)

Get beyond the basics of Twitter. This seminar will introduce 12 new tools and techniques to help you use social media to accomplish your objectives efficiently. The seminar will focus on fresh ways to dig deep into social media hubs, including new sites that go beyond Twitter. Students will come away with a better sense of how to approach social media strategy, and get a useful summary handout.

Jeremy Caplan is a visiting professor at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism, where he teaches interactive journalism, entrepreneurial journalism, and the craft of journalism. He is also a Ford Foundation Fellow at the Poynter Institute. A longtime Time Magazine reporter, Caplan continues to write about business and technology for Time Magazine and for the Wall Street Journal's Digits Blog. He was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism and a Wiegers Fellow at the Columbia Business School, and now devotes his time to writing and teaching.

In the world of brands there are few words more loaded or used than “insight.” This workshop will challenge the one-dimensional definition and application of an “insight,” and inspire ways to discover new horizons for businesses and brands. Using real world examples and a few different approaches we’ll put ourselves to the test and see what is really an insight or an imposter. One is a true discovery that will incite action and engagement, while the other is a mere category observation that will do little to change the world. At the very least it will be an interesting discussion and debate. And if along the way we uncover a new idea you can take it with you.

Jason De Turris is a planning director at JWT and oversees strategic planning for diverse brands including Rolex, Schick and Nokia. De Turris' strategic efforts for JWT clients have been awarded by both the Jay Chiat Planning Awards and the Effie Awards. As the media landscape continues to evolve De Turris works closing with his media partners and leads his clients integrated agency teams - developing platforms for brand integration. Before joining JWT, De Turris led strategy for brands like Motorola, Monster.com, Tylenol and Castrol at agencies like Ogilvy, Deutsch and KPBwest. He has a master's degree from the VCU Brandcenter, where he continues to mentor and speak about consumer and brand strategy. Understanding his clients' growth potential and evolving consumer dynamics has given him a primary role in driving successful new product launches for both Motorola, BP, Dominos Pizza and Schick Razors.

Whether you’re new to Twitter or a devoted Tweeter, here’s your chance to dive in deeper.  After a brief review of Twitter basics and 10 tips on how best to get started Tweeting, participants will learn about a wide range of new ways individuals and organizations are using Twitter. Bring your laptop if you'd like to follow the talk live and try out the tools in real time. Participants will leave with a tip-sheet handout and a new strategy for making the most of Twitter.

As a Time Magazine contributor, Jeremy Caplan has written high-impact stories about business and technology, covering giants Google, Apple and Yahoo and smaller startups like Farecast, Zillow and 37 Signals. He also helped the magazine identify cultural trends, writing popular stories on colorful subjects ranging from carrotmobs and cereal cafes to mini-lit and life-hacking.

In 2008-09 Caplan was selected to serve as the Wiegers Fellow at  the Columbia Business School, where he earned his MBA, joining the BGS Honor Society as one of the top tier graduates. During the prior year he was one of 10 journalists selected from around the country for the prestigious Knight-Bagehot Fellowship at the Columbia Journalism School. In the years before he joined Time, Caplan first worked for George Plimpton at the Paris Review, then reported on tech for Newsweek, and finally wrote a monthly tech column for Yahoo! Internet Life. 

While at Princeton, Caplan studied at the Woodrow Wilson School, where he graduated with honors and wrote a policy thesis under the direction of Nobel Prize-winner Daniel Kahneman. He studied writing with John McPhee, Richard Eder and Toni Morrison and  earned a certificate in Violin Performance. For three years Caplan served as concertmaster of the Princeton University Orchestra during the academic year and for the International Symphony Orchestra of Jerusalem during his winter breaks. 

An expert on simplifying complex technology tools, Caplan has taught at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, Marymount Manhattan, St. John's University, Post University, and Hunter College on subjects ranging from writing and reporting to new media and interactive journalism. He has also worked on courses at Columbia Business School and Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism. 

Caplan has appeared as an expert on CNN, CNBC, Fox and other local and national networks and served as a featured speaker at conferences of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the South Asian Journalists Association, the Association of Independent Information Professionals, and the National Writers Workshop. He also teaches and tutors on a volunteer basis for HarlemLive, Principal for a Day, and other youth programs. Caplan's primary pursuits now include contributing stories to Time, advising businesses and nonprofits, and teaching college and graduate journalism courses.

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