ATEK gets a new national communication’s officer – also known as – Roboseyo

I got an email this morning with a press release pdf file attached about ATEK's new national communication's officer, Rob Ouwehand--also known asRoboseyo.

In my last post, If ATEK falls in the forest, does it make a sound? Musings on why ATEK isn't communicating with the expat community . . ., I wanted to elicit reactions from ATEK members, its leadership, and the general native teacher community . . . and I think I succeeded in provoking some thought and action about the general issue of TWO-WAY communication between ATEK and the native teacher community, and also the general lack of outgoing communication from ATEK's leadership about what it's doing.

You can read the full text here, ATEK: New Communications Officer Plans to Get the Word Out. I'll share a few of the more salient points . . .

ATEK: New Communications Officer Plans to Get the Word Out

Rob is going to be a busy busy BUSY guy: "His duties will include communicating with the press and other media, developing and maintaining communication channels with the expat community, and responding to interview requests and inquiries from other media."

I like how specific Rob is in describing the "goals for his term include working with ATEK’s webmaster on maximizing the website’s usefulness, finding new ways to more regularly update the public on ATEK’s actions, and plotting and producing materials useful for teachers at different stages in their life in Korea, from deciding to come, arriving, and adjusting, to maximizing their experience here and contributing meaningfully in their communities" (my italics and bold).

I think if ATEK, and Rob in particular, are creative in their communication and public relations strategies that reaching over 20,000 teachers won't be a problem, "However, Ouwehand has his work cut out for him: there are estimated to be over 20 000 foreign English teachers in Korea, and it is difficult to reach them all." If one teacher is reached in each of the hundreds (if not thousands) of groups out there, and within each group that ONE teacher shares their knowledge about ATEK with their group members/friends about how to access ATEK's resources, and sign up if they're interested, then the problem is nowhere near as ginormous as it seems to be. Twitter, Facebook, and blogs will facilitate this goal if they are used strategically and creatively, I think.

"Ouwehand believes ATEK is an easy sell: “It’s hard to refuse a group that is doing everything it can to make your life easier.”" I recently sent Rob an email in which I made some suggestions for ATEK . . . .

Click on the link below to see pictures and read more at Kimchi Icecream: The Second Serving . . . . I've moved over to wordpress.com and will be blogging there from now on.

ATEK gets a new national communication’s officer – also known as – Roboseyo

J