Wadds' tech pr blog

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Event report: Chinwag Live Xmas Futures, Crystal Balls?

Chinwag last night looked five years into the future. Hard predictions were few and far between but plenty of the challenges facing tech, PR, mobile and social networks were discussed. Here’s some of the ground that was covered during the evening.

Pervasive networks: Blogger, communicator and podcaster Neville Hobson said that it was tough to connect to networks and cited the example of trying to get wi-fi access at the venue for the event, the Slug and Lettuce in Wardour Street. Operators need to make wi-fi connections simple and pervasive, as users just want to connect .They don’t want to constantly enter information to access a network.

Mobile applications and services: the Apple iPhone and gPhone show the potential of mobile applications and services. Ewan MacLeod of Mobile Industry Review cited the example of Starmap and said that by opening up mobile platforms to developers handset manufacturers were creating new long tail markets. He said that other handset manufactures such as LG, Nokia and Samsung faced being left behind.

Mobile billing models: mobile operators face a discontinuity in switching from a subsidised handset model whereby voice subscription and pay as you go model to a flat rate, all you can eat model. MacLeod was quick to point out that no one is moving fast and that 24 and 36 month handset deals are common.

Internet access: there was one firm prediction that came out of the evening that all the panelists agreed on, namely that more people will be accessing the internet via mobile devices by 2013 than on PCs. Jonathan Mitchener, BT’s futurologist said that markets such as Asia and China showed the potential.

Online ID: the panel addressed the issue of open identification systems and agreed that the issue of online identification needs tackling. Jamie Coomber, head of digital strategy at Profero said that she envisaged a day when different online profiles could be moved from application to application or network to network.

Social persona: Social networks are redefining social hierarchies. Consider how the definition of a friend has changed. Coomber said that we’re developing different personalities for each network of which we’re a member. In future its likely that we will have a network for every aspect of our lives and that we’ll adjust our engagement and intimacy from network to network.

All in all it was a great night with the majority of discussion focusing on mobile and social networks, but without any firm predictions.

Tags: Chinwag, mobile

Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 10:54 AM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=8277760528472416159 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=8277760528472416159

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Twilert: digital data mining and identifying motivated audiences

http://www.rainierpr.co.uk/blog/uploaded_images/twilert-760264.jpeg Buzz monitoring is very much in vogue in social networks and digital communities. It enables brand owners to track discussions relating to their assets.

A new tool called Twilert borrows the Google Alert model and allows registered users to set up alerts for keywords. I’ve been putting it through its paces over the past 24 hours and made some really neat discoveries.

It’s very easy to set up terms related to your company name, client brands and track your own name or Twitter moniker. Now instead of feeding data into buzz monitoring tools to track discussions in real time reports can now be fed directly into your inbox. No client will fail to be impressed by a ‘live’ snapshot of how their brand or product is being discussed.

But dig deeper. By setting up alerts related to key assets or messages it’s possible to find motivated individuals discussing topics aligned to your proposition and by selecting the advanced options it’s possible to track keywords around a location.

For example by creating targeted alerts I’ve generated databases of Twitter users that are interested geocaching, Northumberland, tech PR and are seeking a PR agency. I know they’re motivated because they are having discussions about these topics with their Twitter network.

Next I could invite these individuals to join a special interest community built around a related proposition or I could attempt to engage with them directly via Twitter. It’s very simple and quick to do, yet the potential is incredibly powerful.

If there is a downside to Twilert it is that it isn’t possible to receive alerts in real time. The shortest alert period is 24 hours. If that period is reduced Twilert will have created a very potent tool.

Tags: buzz, Twilert

Permalink | 6 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 12:57 PM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=533311838852048404 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=533311838852048404

O2 advent campaign

http://www.rainierpr.co.uk/blog/uploaded_images/priority-795021.jpeg Here’s a neat piece of work by archibald ingall stretton for O2 that attempts to serve-up what Chris Reed would call social objects.

The O2 Priority campaign combines multi-channel ads around London with bleeding edge image recognition technology and a call to action to O2 customers to win tickets to the O2 New Year bash with Elton John and Hed Kandi.

Ads on billboards, in print, online and on TV show the word ‘Priority’. The letter 'I' is an advent calendar door that is unique to each ad.

Snap the ad with a camera-phone and text it with the tag NYE to 6333. Seconds later you’ll receive the image back with the letter 'I' replaced by Christmas scene, or an image of The O2 announcing that you’ve got a place at the O2 New Year party.

But as an iPhone user I can't participate in the campaign as I can’t send MMS messages. O2 has created an iPhone App to support the campaign but unfortunately it doesn't appear to have made it into the iPhone App store - yet.

Tags: O2, social objects

Permalink | 4 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 9:21 AM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=871222926152916466 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=871222926152916466

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Bill Bailey’s Tinselworm antidote

http://www.rainierpr.co.uk/blog/uploaded_images/bill-799724.jpg Here’s a tip. Beg borrow or steal a ticket to see Bill Bailey at The Gielgud Theatre, London. His Tinselworm show will bring about a near constant state of hysteria for 120 minutes and as numerous critics have reported, is the perfect antidote to the current doom and gloom.

Bailey mixes musical brilliance with lyrical banter and intellectual insight with plain daftness, as he wanders around topics such as tattoos, marketing, doorbells, creationism, post-war banking secrecy and travel. The show runs until 24 January.

Eddie Izzard, another contemporary comedy genius, is performing at the Lyric Theatre, next door to the Gielgud on Shaftesbury Avenue. Unfortunately his show only runs to Christmas and is sold out.

Tags: Bill Bailey, comedy, Gielgud Theatre

Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 8:40 AM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=5075347726203684002 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=5075347726203684002

Review: Confessions of the Fake Sheik by Mazher Mahmood

http://www.rainierpr.co.uk/blog/uploaded_images/fake_sheik-748451.jpg During the last 17-years the investigative team at the News of the World led by Mazher Mahmood have broken some of the biggest exclusives in UK journalism. Many of these have now been documented by Mahmood in a new book called Confessions of the Fake Sheik.

Mahmood has acquired the fake sheik nickname after the disguise he frequently adopts to catch criminals and celebrities misbehaving. In the book he tells how the work of his team has resulted in more than 230 criminal convictions, nailing drug dealers, paedophiles, arms dealers and illegal immigration traffickers.

The book tells the story behind the headlines and recounts the sheik’s biggest exclusives of recent time. You’ll cry when you read about the Bulgarian and Romanian families selling their children for adoption or the mother offering the virginity of her 13-year old daughter to the highest bidder.

The antics of Sven Goran Eriksson, the former England manager, are well known and debauched tales of Douglas Hall and Freddie Shepherd, former directors of Newcastle Football Club, remain etched in the memory of football fans across the North East, if not the UK.

Elsewhere within the book you’ll find stories of how Mahmood infiltrated the Taliban, bought guns on the streets of the UK, highlighted flaws in the UK immigration service and exposed the sexual antics of David Mellor, Jerry Springer and Sophie Anderton.

The book contains plenty of practical advice for the PR profession. Mahmood cites examples where the News of the World has shown leniency in it’s reporting to targets that come clean when faced with evidence from an investigation.

Bargaining is often the most sensible option for people who are caught red handed advises Mahmood but despite this targets rarely respond positively when approached. Notable exceptions to the rule include Lionel Blair, Johnnie Walker, James Nesbitt and Lord Laidlaw.

Mahmood isn’t shy to address the ethics of his trade or provide justification for the work of his team at a time when investigative journalism is a much maligned genre. Details of frequent dealings with the Press Complaints Commission and the Courts are recounted.

However the author dodges tackling the criticism frequently levelled by other areas of the media and the legal profession. Opponents argue that his investigative approach involves entrapment and serious breaches of the law.

That apart, this book should be on the reading list of anyone in media or PR professionals. It’s a hugely entertaining and educational read. Make sure that you stick it on your Christmas list.

Tags: Fake Sheik, News of the World, Mazher Mahmood

Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 8:38 AM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=7022261101452562830 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=7022261101452562830

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Marketing fail for social media businesses

I’m pissed off. Thoroughly pissed off. I’ve just had another cold call from a muppet trying to flog me a social media tool. Yesterday it was a directory of blogs. On Monday it was social media measurement tool.

If you’re trying to flog social media services or tools at least make an effort to engage using the channels in which you claim to provide expertise. Don’t make bloody cold calls. And if you must do some bloody research in the first instance. Stick the name of the person and the firm that you’re about to call into Google.

And another thing: a glossy PR Week insert is out today containing essays from apparent social media leaders. And very impressive it looks too. But is this the right format for promoting social media expertise? I think not, in spades.

The Thought Leader publication contains essays from folk across the industry, some making some excellent points about social media. But of the 13 contributors I can find only five that blog regularly. Come on guys make a bloody effort. Use the toolkit that you profess to provide to your clients.

Shouldn’t PR Week and Haymarket be creating a community off the back of the PR Week web site so that the industry can debate and discuss these issues? I don’t suppose it would drive the same level of ad revenues as a glossy book, but it could certainly open up new revenue streams by engaging with the readership. Philip Sheldrake is having a good crack with Marcom Professional.

Rant over. Maybe I’m missing the point, but I don’t think so. James Warren won’t be impressed. This doesn’t fit his Be Nice manifesto. And I'm guessing that this won't make next week's PR Week Best of the Tech Blogs slot.

Tags: social media, PR Week

Permalink | 11 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 10:48 AM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=7326870755209227880 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=7326870755209227880

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Has the FTSE bottomed out?

http://www.rainierpr.co.uk/blog/uploaded_images/ftse-759818.jpeg There could be money to be made by investing in British companies now. The FTSE 100 is now into it fourth swing around a mean position of 4,200. The historical performance over the last 12 months is scary, but I reckon that we’re close to the bottom of the cycle – for equities at least.

There is some astonishing value to be had - check out this article on the Fool spotlighting firms' whose value is less than their assets. By all means watch for balance sheet debt but its time to take toddler footsteps and jump back in. I am.

Data chart courtesy of the BBC.

Tags: equity, FTSE, investment, market, turnaround

Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 3:26 PM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=4355568272707929191 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=4355568272707929191

Meet my new girlfriends

http://www.rainierpr.co.uk/blog/uploaded_images/hen-778460.jpeg Just back from a week off during which we built a hen house and run ( sourced at a bargain price via eBay) at home in Northumberland and acquired a small flock of hens. No eggs yet, but in a bid to rival the incredibly successful local blogger Wife in the North, I’ll keep you posted.

Tags: Northumberland, hens

Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 12:57 PM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=7876144362804710576 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=7876144362804710576

Friday, November 14, 2008

Thanks for dropping by

http://www.rainierpr.co.uk/blog/uploaded_images/image-751240.jpg I’ve met some fantastic new folk over the last few weeks that have stopped by and linked back to this blog. Hello to Adam Lewis, Chris Reed, Daryl Tay, David Brain, Dominic Garcia, Kyle Lacy, Michael Litman, Phil Szomszor, Rax Lakhani and Robert Anderson.

Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 2:00 PM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=7129762861405797050 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=7129762861405797050

iPhone update: keyboard works, video fail, power okay, GPS review and some more apps

http://www.rainierpr.co.uk/blog/uploaded_images/lastfm-735390.jpeg Want to make new friends? Get an iPhone. As Loewy CEO Iain Johnson says it’s a conversation starter. How do you find the battery, can you use the keyboard and what’s your favourite app are just three of the conversations that take place when iPhone users meet.

I’ve got used to the keyboard. I’m not sure what happened but after a month or so of usage I must have conditioned my stubby thumbs to dance across the digits as Apple intended. Iain found the same, albeit a bit quicker.

I discovered last week that the camera won’t record video. Except it can if you unlock the feature, buts its fairly complicated. I hadn’t thought about it until my eldest daughter got hold of the phone last week and put it through its paces. What is Apple thinking?

The GPS combined with Google maps has got me out of trouble a couple of times when tracking down locations. Paper maps and print outs have been consigned firmly to the recycling bin. But put the GPS under pressure and it’ll let you down. Its accuracy is limited to about 100m which is fine for most things but doesn’t work for geocaching or hiking.

It’s not uncommon to get the error ‘Your location could not be determined’ when you launch Google Maps. This is due to a timeout as the iPhone attempts to sync with GPS satellite signals.

I solved this (thanks to Henjo at Scenic Living) using a free app called TrackThing Lite which forces the phone to wait (up to 4 minutes) until it receives sufficient sync data. After that Google Maps will work normally.

The operating system upgrade largely fixed the power issue. And after being shown how to turn the phone off completely (hold the on button down for 10 seconds and follow the onscreen prompt) rather than going offline I’ve got through most days without a second charge.

My favourite applications? I’m still using all those mentioned in my last post on the topic. But here are some recent discoveries.

Gecaching (£5.99)
Access Geocache locations from Geocaching.com but don’t really on the location finding features.

Last. FM (free)
This was a recommendation from Andy Smith. Access your Last. FM library or Last.FM recommendations on the move

Tube London City (£5.99)
Bit pricey but delivers real time London tube updates and a route planner

Twitterrific (free)
Robust Twitter interface. It just works. And it’s free

Has anyone got anymore recommendations?

Tags: iphone, iphone apps

Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 12:11 PM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=3182017147173149568 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=3182017147173149568

Sources of blog inspiration

http://www.rainierpr.co.uk/blog/uploaded_images/DSCF0892-735603.JPG
Ged tagged me with a meme asking what sources of inspiration I used for blog postings. Here’s the answers.

Meeting people – meeting people in PR and tech, but also other industries because working in PR in London it so easy to because it is so easy to become introspective and out of touch with what’s happening elsewhere

Out and about – walking, ideally with my missus and children, or friends, in the countryside around our house in Northumberland. After a week in London, there is no surer way to completely clear your mind and I’ve yet to find a sheep that gives a shit about the credit crunch

Reading –media and non fiction. Daily Telegraph, Guardian, FT, Private Eye, The Sun and The Week. Just finished reading Seth Godin’s Tribes. My fiction reading is currently limited to toddler favourites

Podcasts and vodcasts – I’ve become an ardent download junkie since collocating. iPlayer has set BBC content free from schedules and a TV. My typical download list is: Best of Today, Broadcasting House, The Media Show, Money Box, For Immediate Release, The News Quiz and Peter Day’s World of Business

Blogs and web sites – see my blogroll. Mostly PR but also some left field, notably Holy Moly, Make Magazine (currently predicting a rise in DIY, self motivation and self-sufficiency as a result of the downturn), moneysavingexpert and TED

I’m passing this meme on to Matt Watson, Tom Malcolm and Jon Silk.

Tags: inspiration

Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 12:09 PM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=2820880003381969511 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=2820880003381969511

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

PR industry salary benchmarking data

UKPRagencies has published a 2008 UK PR salary review. Its data is based on published salaries and recruitment advertising, across a range of sources, in October 2008. Here's the headline chart.

Job function    Av salary

Account executive    £21,846
Senior account excecutive    £26,183
Account manager    £30,792
Senior account manager    £37,333
Account director    £44,480
Senior account director    £53,253

Tags: salary survey, PR

Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 1:16 PM http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=22669906&postID=3998602802186042639 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=22669906&postID=3998602802186042639

Top 50 UK PR people by Twitter influence

There has been a lot of Twitter chatter over the last couple of days about Stephen Davies’ list of PR and journalist Twitter users. Names are being added to both lists by the hour and anyone named on either list is enjoying a rush of new followers.

Lists are great for creating order. To this end Stephen has created a useful directory of PR people and journalists that use Twitter.

But does it tell us any more than that? What level of influence do PR people using Twitter have? Is Twitter being used to change opinions? After all, influencing opinions is our raison d’être.

I had a quick exchange with Stephen yesterday about this – via direct messages on Twitter as it happens. It turns out that he’d been thinking along the same lines. Wouldn’t it be interesting to push his list of PR Twitter users through Twitter Grader.

Twitter Grader is a neat online application that quantifies relative influence on a percentile basis within the Twitter community. Its scoring is based on the number of followers that a user has, the power of that network of followers, the frequency of updates and the completeness of the user profile.

So after a late-night deal with an e-lancer here are the top 50 ranked PR users on Twitter along with their score. There are three disclaimers: first, I used Stephen’s list as of the end of yesterday, second, the data results were correct as of around 3am this morning, and third, any user that protects their updates has had to be excluded.

Its worth noting that Twinfluence, another Twitter measurement tool, would produce a different set of results. It uses a more complex two dimensional algorithm, based on reach ranking and relative scores.

Is there anything we can learn from this? For anyone that has used Twitter for six months or more there are no surprises. Everyone named is well known and many of the individuals listed are common to Matt Watson's listing of top UK PR bloggers.

No agencies dominate the list. In fact no agency has more than four people in the top 50. Digital PR is as much about individuals building out their own networks as it about agency’s building digital skills, whether that be in specialist teams or through agency-wide educational programmes.

Twitter’s value as a business tool is still being explored. I have been completely converted from sceptic to advocate in the last 12 months. But views remain polarised: Twitter-haters dismiss it as self-indulgent and a waste of time, whereas Twitter-lovers enjoy the openness and the ability to make connections that it allows. That individuals within the PR industry are at the forefront of this debate has got to be a good thing.

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