Posts in Communities/Social Networks
Is blogging dead? Hell, it only just got started
Now there is a bit of sadness from the early-adopters like Adriana and Hugh that the intimacy of the early years has bone. And the hugely hyped when they change their habits.
But surely, when a medium goes mainstream it's bound to change. There are so many tools available now that just weren't here in 2006 when I started writing.
I just moved my rowing blog onto a WP platform and a new URL, Scullfast . Gonna have to work hard to redirect the RSS juice, I know that. But I also know that Google finds mentions by and about me within about 40 minutes of them going live online. More...
Social Media Smackdown as PR Defends Itself from Marauding Bloggers
The contrary view, of course, is that social media is a fillip for the industry. Let's face it, with so many media channels now available, companies and brands need more help than ever with their communications and one could argue quite persuasively that PR is the most suitable discipline to provide the most effective guidance and counsel.
American PR company Horn Group recently hosted a forum to discuss this very issue under the handle Is Social Media Killing PR? (see video below by Kara Swisher from Allthingsd.com). More...
Future of Mobile 2008 Round-up
Yesterday, however, was an insightful (and social) day for me, spent at Future of Mobile in London. Future of Mobile is in its second year, organised by the great team at Carsonified. I did a dreadful job of tweeting or blogging the event, being far too busy buzzing around chatting to new people, but many others did a stellar job of documenting what turned out to be a very interesting day.
During my presentation at FOM, photo by Rudy de Waele
The very lovely Tom Hume (who’s excellent presentation teased us all with colourful macaroons right before lunch) posted his review of the event earlier today. More...
Barack Obama, The Social Web, and the Future of User-Generated Governance
Source: Barack Obama's flickr stream
Where there’s victory, there’s also opportunity…
America voted while the entire world watched and listened. Whether you supported Obama or McCain, we equally shared the hope for positive change and a new beginning towards a brighter future. This Presidential election was the first in 50 years, in which there was no incumbent President or Vice President from either party competing for the Presidential nomination. More...
Now is Gone Celebrates First Anniversary
On November 13th, 2008, Geoff Livingston and I quietly celebrated the bookversary of Now is Gone, one of the first books that tackled the subject of social media and new PR strategies for corporate marketers and communicators.
As Geoff pointed over out at LivingstonBuzz, the book has earned tremendous milestones:
- Thousands of people have read the book
- We’ve received hundreds of thank yous from folks who said it changed their business life
- Now Is Gone received more than 50 positive reviews
- Thanks to Scott Monty, it was cited by the Wall Street Journal as a resource for small businesses
- The book took the silver medal in the Axiom Business Book Awards
Now Is Gone helps businesses embrace Social Media realistically, intelligently, and authentically as an extension to their corporate marketing initiatives.
Reaching 'Stay At Home Britain'
Further evidence that consumer confidence is taking a beating emerged this week and made me think more about what this will mean for marketers operating in a depressed commercial environment.
My previous post alluded to the need to adjust marketing and PR strategies to take into account the fact that none of us are going to feel particularly flush in the next 12 months, and how this might impact on the habits of the great British public. I had dinner with some friends earlier this week and realised that talk of us spending more time at home (and less time spending money on the high street) isn't just theory - it's happening now!
Two out of three have spent the last two weekends at home, one has installed Sky Broadband so that she can download music and movies and, she says, order takeaway. More...
Why is Facebook so damn popular on Mobile?
Figures from the company back up this anectodal evidence; according to a post on the Facebook blog, the company has tripled its mobile users to 15 million over the past year. More...
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. More...
Twitter Gets Political
Al Gore on the Social Revolution for Change
While several posts have emerged recently crediting Social Networks (Social Media) with Obama's victory, I'd like to inject another element into the discussion - people, sociology, and the communities and tools that bind them, us, together.
Smart people intelligently and genuinely connected with other people to further a cause and a greater hope supreme. Social Media provided the channels to create, discover, inspire and share together...nothing less, nothing more.
I attended the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco and we were treated to something truly special. Al Gore closed the conference with a powerful, inspiring, and uniting keynote that earned two standing ovations and honorary residence in the hearts and minds of Silicon Valley's catalysts for innovation and change.