We’ve invited all of our speakers to share a bit about themselves to prepare PABsters for an incredible weekend with incredible content. Our first responder is Susan Murphy. Sue will deliver the session Making Meaning: How to Create Content that Speaks to People at 11am on Sunday, June 20.

Everyone has a story to tell, but in a sea of information, it can be discouraging to try to create content that matters to your audience. Susan Murphy discusses some methods for developing and producing content that people will notice. You need to decide what stories to tell and how to deliver them most effectively. And once you’re wowing people with your stuff, she’ll provide some practical tips on how to keep the momentum going. After all, content is King…and everyone wants their time on the throne.

SuzeMuse (as she’s known in social media circles) has been a content creator for 21 years. She’s an Ottawa gal who started her career in broadcasting at Skyline Cablevision, now Rogers TV, producing and directing local television programs.

Today, she’s a partner at Jester Creative Inc., where she helps people discover and tell their stories in a variety of media, including video and Web. Her interest in social media is extensive (i.e. she is a total nerd), and she contributes to the community though her blog at suzemuse.com, on various social networks and as a teacher of Video Production and Web Media at Algonquin College. She is a member of the creative team of 12for12k.org, and is also on the Board of Directors of SAW Video Coop, an independent video and media arts organization that promotes the amazing work of Ottawa’s media artists.

When she’s not working and writing, Suze enjoys spending time with her family and friends, playing guitar badly while singing along fairly well, and traveling with her extremely patient husband. She was also one of the organizers for the amazingly successful TEDx Ottawa!

We asked Sue five very important questions.

What is your best memory of creating media for other people to enjoy?

In 1997, I worked with the Deaf, deafened and hard of hearing communities in Ottawa to produce a 4 part television series called “For Listening Eyes”. The volunteer hosts, reporters, and many of the crew were all members of these communities, and my job was to train them on the ins and outs of producing a TV newsmagazine show. It was one of the most inspiring experiences I’ve ever had as a content creator. We didn’t communicate in the same language, yet, through sign language interpreters, lip reading, lots of weird hand gestures from me, and many, many pens and notepads, we were able to make it happen. My co-producer and I also figured out an innovative way to combine ASL interpretation, video, audio, and open captions on one screen without obstructing anyone’s view of the video itself (no sign language bubble or subtitles on top of the video). That’s something that is really easy to do nowadays with digital video editing. But back then, all we had were a few analog videotape recorders and a small special effects generator. People told us it was impossible, but we pulled it off. The hard work by this amazing team of volunteers won us all the most prestigious award of the Canadian Cable Television Association that year. I learned from this that it doesn’t matter how you communicate your stories – it just matters that you do what it takes to tell them well.

Which media creator has been most inspiring to you and why?

Aw geez, I knew you were going to ask this. I can’t possibly pick just one, so I’ll tell you a story. In February 2007, I walked into a room in Toronto where I didn’t know a soul. Four guys named Mark, Bob, Chris and Chris were standing at the front of the room. In the few minutes they spoke to us, the passion those four guys showed for storytelling, and media, and community made my heart skip a beat. As I got to know this community better over that PodCamp weekend, I was overcome, feeling incredible excitement and emotion about what this amazing community of storytellers was doing. All of these people were doing the very thing that I’d spent my whole professional life working at – helping each other tell their stories. These people were passionate beyond belief, and best of all, they were making content that was really, really good. I walked away from that weekend with some great new friends and a whole new perspective, and I never looked back. I owe so much to the crowd in that room, I can’t even begin to tell you. This is the most amazing community of people I’ve ever been involved with, and I’m honoured every day, to be a part of it.

What do you think is the most important consideration to media relevance?

I think what people need to remember about relevance is that it’s totally subjective. I follow over 3,500 people on Twitter. There is no way I could ever read every post. But what I CAN do, is seek out the content that is relevant to me. I can skim, use filters, groups, and so on. Most importantly, I can engage in conversations about things that are relevant to me and the people I’m talking with. But just because it means something to my experience, doesn’t mean it has to mean something to yours. I think we expend a lot of energy trying to force our relevance on others. Unfortunately, this creates a culture of “pick me!”, and the authenticity of peoples’ content is lost. Instead, we should focus on being who we are, telling OUR stories (or our clients’ stories). If you’re telling your stories well, those to whom your content is relevant will find you.

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?

I’d have started blogging in 1996, the second I found out about the Internet.

How do you hope your PAB2010 session will change the way people think and/or act?

I hope to help more people to realize that what they have to say is important and interesting. The best way to create content that is meaningful is to believe in yourself and the stories you’re trying to tell. Creating content isn’t just about pushing information out there, but it’s about crafting stories in memorable ways, and figuring out how to link your content together, so it tells a complete story, from all possible perspectives. Good stories told the right way can change the world. And with the Web, that means anyone, anyone, has the ability to do that now.