Interesting communications web chat (November 19th)…. November 14, 2008
Posted by Tom Murphy in : Environment, Public Relations , add a commentBjorn Edlund, vice president of communications at Shell, was in touch (Are you impressed? Well… when I say he was in touch what I meant to say was that one of his team sent me an e-mail… well when I say one of his team sent me an e-mail what I meant was that one of his agencies sent me an e-mail… well when I say… OK let’s stop there I’ll revisit this stream of consciousness at the end of this post).
OK where was I?
Oh yes Bjorn.
Shell are hosting what looks like a very interesting web chat on November 19th 2008 on Communicating Sustainability. There are two sessions to choose from one at 6am GMT and one at 4pm GMT (11am Eastern). Note that you have to register to get into the details and I am less than impressed that they wouldn’t accept my fantastic hotmail address. :-)
The webchat will be led by Bjorn and will include a number of members of his team at Shell. You can watch a brief preview video outlining some of the issues around communicating sustainability on the site.
I think it’s a very interesting approach and is definitely worth a visit to anyone involved in communications around the whole area of the environment, sustainability etc… eh that probably means everyone in PR…
PS:
If you’re wondering what the mindless preamble at the top of this post is all about, let me try and explain. The invitation e-mail came from “Bjorn”, but actually came from a anonymous Shell alias – which is OK - and then at the foot of the mail just under “Bjorn” there was a signature from a guy at a company called SigWatch which from their web site: “specializes in activist/NGO tracking”, which I have to say a) threw me and b) put me off somewhat.
I do think it’s an interesting initiative and as least they got the name of the blog right in their mail merge, but why not just send the e-mail from someone at Shell without the alias and sigwatch signature? Odd. Otherwise I’m impressed with their idea.
Interesting PR-related stuff November 11, 2008
Posted by Tom Murphy in : Blogs, PR Blogs, PR Social Network, Social Media, Twitter, web 2.0 , 4 commentsThere has been a drought of interesting things in my RSS feeds recently, the majority of content seems to tirelessly (and boringly) focus on “blah blah is dying or dead” or “blah blah is going to change the world”.
The good news is that today I came across some interesting items I thought I would share.
In a move that will cause widespread dismay among the digerati, the Economist claims blogging has gone mainstream. This would explain the spate of “blogs are dying” posts that have wobbled onto the internet recently. Of course one could argue that this story appearing in the Economist means that blogs are nearly mainstream but not quite there yet. Hat tip to Mr. Bailey.
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While the re-invention of the wheel (or the reinvention of the wheel as something not quite as useful as the wheel) is a passion for many people online, often I find that the simple suggestions are best. For example what about David Berlind’s suggestion of including a shortened URL in your press release. Simple, yet makes the link portable across blogs and the shortened world of Twitter. Hat tip to Alice Marshall.
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Speaking of Twitter*, Andrew Smith has a nice aggregated post with loads of links to Twitter-related content, including a list of UK journos and a list of UK PRs on eh Twitter from Stephen Davies. [Aside: the UK PR list looks like a most wanted list… and I don’t mean in a good way :-)]
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Neville Hobson points to a new list of the Top 150 PR oops sorry Social Marketing blogs. My rule of thumb is never trust a list you’re on, so given I’m at #89 that’s not a good sign. The good news is I normally drop off them like a stone… so keep an eye on the list, it’ll probably get better with age.
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I am a firm believer that you never stop learning. That’s why I love Dave Fleet’s list of top twelve communications, marketing and social media podcasts. It doesn’t matter whether you agree or disagree it’s great to hear different perspectives.
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PS:
If you reading this in a somewhat confused manner then you are probably someone who has clicked on the Moofer link from the New York Times blog. I feel something of an link-love charlatan as the originator of the Moofer theme is this blog!
PPS:
Can I ask… is there actually anything more annoying on a blog or website than those pesky widgets that pop up a browser preview when you hover over a link. For the love of jebus…
PPPS:
*Twitter: Innocent or Guilty? Interesting or Boring? Indulgent or Philanthropic? The jury is still out having lunch…
Why do I love the interweb? November 7, 2008
Posted by Tom Murphy in : Public Relations, web 2.0 , add a commentYou know sometimes we take the web for granted. I often remind people about the days when the only way to get company information was to:
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Ring the company’s customer services department (real people in those days) and ask them to send out a brochure – which could take a few weeks
Climb into the car, drive the local business library with a bag of coins and go photocopying
That was in the 1990s, things have moved on rapidly.
Sometimes we forget.
I don’t love the internet for the incessant hyperbole or fact-free opinions, but I do love it its ability to facilitate the sharing of people’s fantastic expertise, experience and perspectives that frankly you never or rarely would have had access to before the internet went mainstream.
A week or so ago Shel Holtz posted a thoughtful and timely piece on communicating layoffs.
This unfortunately is something that will become an increasing feature of the communications landscape until the global economy improves.
Does it amaze you that now with the click of link you can enrich your own knowledge with the experience of another practitioner? It should.
It’s easy to gloss over the employees left behind while lamenting the loss of those who have gone. After all, they still have jobs. But the victims are gone; it’s the remaining employees you’re counting on to drive the business forward. If they’re paralyzed in the aftermath of the layoff, everything from productivity and innovation to engagement will take a hit. One concern all layoff survivors share is the expectation that they’ll shoulder the work that had been done by those have have left in addition to their existing responsibilities. Explain honestly how the slack will be taken up and what kind of sacrifices will be expected.
Oh and don’t forget the other great think about the internet is the community so come and give me some help.
Social media test: Tell me what to say… November 5, 2008
Posted by Tom Murphy in : PR Social Network , 12 commentsOK so I’ve come up with a little social media test or maybe that should be request.
I am speaking at the “Don’t Panic Guide to Social Media Event” at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Friday December 5th 2008.
I’m mulling over what I should cover during the event, so I had an idea. Why not ask you.
Simple question:
“What should Tom talk about at the event?”
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You can leave a comment or drop me an e-mail, humour is always appreciated.
Go on… you know you want to (and keep it clean!).
Can you stop taking credit for everything? October 31, 2008
Posted by Tom Murphy in : Media, Social Media , 7 commentsSo to get you all up to speed on the subject of this post (especially those living outside the UK), two “comedians” on the BBC have gotten into hot water for a prank call (in poor taste) on a radio show.
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Initially there were a small number of listener complaints but some UK newspapers (potentially with an axe to grind) wouldn’t let the issue drop and their continuous coverage of the issue brought matters to a head.
Subsequently Russell Brand has resigned and Jonathan Ross has been suspended.
Listening to the analysis of the snafu as it developed - and the role the national press played - the thought occurred to me how long would it be before the usual suspects started claiming that in a Trent Lott-like development somehow social media has caused the issue to come to a head.
It didn’t take long.
People are now claiming that social media was central to the whole affair.
Eh not it wasn’t.
This need to justify social media’s central role in everything that happens, is at best unappealing.
The world is a crazy, mixed up place. It’s far more complex that many people seem willing to accept, which is why the simplistic and naïve view of social media being the death knell of traditional media (and everything else that pre-dates 2002) is misguided.
For the immediate future we’ll see social media and traditional media living alongside side each other, sometimes operating independently, sometimes together.
But let’s be grown up and stop trying to give credit where it’s not due.
There’s enough hype out there already…
Supplemental:
If someone advanced the argument that the traditional media got this issue into the mainstream and that social media fanned the flames by providing access to the footage in the studio and fostered online debate, I’d absolutely buy that. But then that’s all about the integration of traditional and new media. That’s what we’re talking about :-)
The life of the indignant comment spammer October 29, 2008
Posted by Tom Murphy in : Blogs, Social Media , 4 commentsA rather amusing incident occurred today. I was beavering away on one of my work related blogs when within minutes of a post going live, a new comment appeared.
The comment was relevant to the post, but then I noticed that the “commenter’s” URL was clearly comment spam – I obviously won’t reproduce it here.
Aside:
Now I had heard that spammers were circumventing technologies like Captchas (a technology which stops spammers doing automated sign ups) by employing lowly paid humans to physically register for hundreds of web sites – they’re called Captcha Solvers.
But I hadn’t come across blog spam solvers, but they’re out there.
Anyhow, I deleted/declined the comment and within seconds received an incredibly indignant reply querying why I had declined a relevant comment and suggesting I should change my mind.
Needless to say a quick challenge on the URL omitted no further response.
Clearly there are now armies of blog spam solvers monitoring RSS feeds and diving in with “relevant” comments with spam URLs.
Innovation is alive and well… even if it’s unpleasant.
Where’s Web 2.0’s stamina? October 24, 2008
Posted by Tom Murphy in : Social Media, web 2.0 , 1 comment so farYou know it never ceases to amaze me the attention deficit that infects the world of Web 2.0.
In 2003-2004 blogging was going to kill journalism and destroy traditional media because here was a way to publish information fast – and more importantly anyone with access to an Internet connection could publish their thoughts and opinions for everyone to read (they were simpler times).
Four years later the whispers about the decline of blogging have started. Seemingly Twitter, Facebook and Flickr are the way forward. Blogging is too slow and too much like hard work.
Sigh
This lack of stamina is a serious challenge for Web 2.0. It takes time for anything to get established into the mainstream. It takes even more time for behaviours to change so that habits form.
If you keep leaping from one widget to the next, then you’re probably going to struggle bringing the majority of the population with you. This may not effect many of the digital pioneers, but for those who want everyone to participate (which will never happen in my mind) this is a serious barrier.
Blogging may have lost the shiny quality of the new new thing, but it’s established and provides some great benefits. Many bloggers I talk to have admitted that since using Twitter they’ve found less time to blog. For me, Twitter is an interesting side show, but I still enjoy reading blogs, enjoy hearing people’s opinions and learning.
From a PR perspective the starting point in great communications is identifying and understanding your audience. Looking past the hype (unless your client is a web 2.0 widget producer) and having insight into where your audience is, how they’re finding information, and how they’re sharing information, is far more important than the new new thing.
Guess what, even in this difficult economic environment, traditional media is alive, and so is blogging.
What a surprise.
Thanks to Richard Bailey for dangling the bait in front of me…
It’s the week for them obviously…
Posted by Tom Murphy in : Public Relations , add a commentYou know we should all try and be more reasonable here, there are too many people taking themselves too seriously online. I hope I’m not turning into one of them.
Post my last rant, this e-mail appeared today:
“As a blogger on public relations or marketing, you may be interested in commenting on the…”
Can you imagine pitching a story to a reporter in a similar fashion:
“Hi, as a journalist writing about fashion or automobiles or household products, you may be interested in writing about…”
And that pitch was about media montoring…
Rant: How you can showcase how you don’t understand the basics of online PR or web 2.0 October 22, 2008
Posted by Tom Murphy in : Public Relations , 9 commentsAhem.
Now you may know that I can be something of a contrarian when it comes to all the unbridled excitement you often find associated with “Web 2.0” but let’s park that for the moment.
If you’re thinking about starting a blog then it’s probably a good idea to do a quick search and discover some useful tips on how to start it, sustain it, promote it.
The basics are pretty easy. You should probably write about something that you’re interested in, you should be aware that it requires an investment of time, and if you want to get connected then jump in, read other blogs, link to them, comment on things that you find interesting etc. etc..
It does take time, but it’s really not terribly hard.
Of course there is an alternative.
Start a blog and then pretend that you are far too important to bother wasting your time with the other little bloggers, so rather than getting in touch with them yourself, you get one of your minions to promote your blog for you.
This is the opening of an e-mail I received today:
This blog (the blog his boss writes) is an amazing resource for anyone who works in public relations, who is interested in learning more about developments in this field, or who wants to benefit from the entrepreneurial and aggressive spirit of –name deleted- and –agency name deleted-. For someone like yourself who maintains a blog about the public relations industry and communications and media trends, –name deleted-‘s blog would offer your readers an insider’s perspective that they undoubtedly would appreciate.
It continues:
The rapid growth of –agency name deleted- was made possible by –name deleted-’s aggressive, results focused orientation and his close relationships with members of the media, key influencers, decision makers, politicians and celebrities. Under –name deleted-‘s leadership, –agency name deleted- has used its aggressive and committed talent to represent clients including –poor distressed client list deleted-. These client experiences, combined with –agency name deleted-’s status as a full-service public relation firm maintaining practice areas in consumer, technology, health and wellness, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion and corporate communications, make –name deleted-’s blog an excellent resource.
–name deleted- is so busy with “his aggressive, results focused orientation”, that he couldn’t be bothered actually taking a few minutes to understand how this internet thingy works. He clearly doesn’t understand the very basics of engaging with people online and I wouldn’t link to his site at risk of death.
Interestingly I did visit his blog to have a look and you’ll be relieved to know that I didn’t see any “insider’s perspective that you undoubtedly would appreciate”.
You won’t be surprised to hear that the poor intern tasked with hyping the blog doesn’t understand the whole blog relations thing either.
(Aside: I wonder is this task the 21st century equivalent of being forced by your boss to ring and ask a journalist had they received the press release, like we were in the old days?)
Thanks for the spam.
Tell your boss thanks for his time.
And I won’t be linking to him.
Thanks
Tom
Social networks for PR and media, online video, future of news, blog product reviews and web 2.0.. what’s that all about?
Posted by Tom Murphy in : Media, Public Relations, Social Media, Video, web 2.0 , add a commentRex Riepe was in touch about the launch of a new social network for PR people and journalists called IvyLee. From the site:
IvyLees seeks to revolutionize the way PR professionals and journalists interact. The site provides a tool-based social network at no cost, an exciting alternative to traditional media tools. Members can distribute and receive news from any industry at their own convenience by sending news releases, pitching story ideas, building media lists, creating association pages, and inviting other users to continue expanding their personal network. University of Central Florida alumni Rex Riepe and Greg Allard established the site in 2008.
It’ll be interesting to see if the poor downtrodden journalists wish to network with their PR colleagues :-)
Douglas Simon of D S Simon Productions Inc was in also touch about a survey they’ve published on “Web Influencers”. You can view a video from Douglas on the survey here (registration required).
Is this the future of news? It’s an interesting post from Mr. Rubel. It’s certainly interesting and I’m sure is something that the avid online media consumer will like, but the question is: Does this stuff all require too much work by the casual user/consumer? I don’t know, but I’d like to know.
Speaking of the future, is this the product review model of the future? FuelMyBlog is a a little confusing, it’s a kind of social media network for bloggers that also offers the opportunity for registered bloggers to review products. [Via Eoin Kennedy.]
Finally, a very interesting post about Web 2.0 written by Dennis Howlett posted on Chris Brogan’s blog via Peter Himler – if you can follow that. It’s a balanced piece calling for people to start demonstrating real, tangible and most importantly understandable benefits.
I believe the biggest barrier though has come in the use of terms and language that simply don’t resonate with business. In my social psychologist trained mind, the term ’social media,’ a cornerstone of web 2.0, is one of the most egregious abuses of a term I’ve seen since the early days of ERP. After three years of listening to definitions of the term I can guarantee that 99% of the press releases I see are exactly the same as those I would have received 5, 10 or even 20 years ago. They’re still dopey, riddled with double speak and wrung dry of useful content. So where’s the value in all this socmed stuff? Show me how customer service has radically improved as a result of applying web 2.0/social media services? Where are those most forward of technology adopters - banks - in all this? What about the main consulting groups that drive adoption inside big business? Heck, I’ve got them calling me up - so you know it’s got to be bad.