Saturday, May 3, 2008

facebook recovers in the uk

Facebook's loss of 400.000 users in UK in January, down to 8.5 million, seems to have been just a minor blip in its upward surge. New figures indicate that the popular social networking site now has 9.9 million UK users according to Nielsen Online. Facebook now has twice as many UK users as MySpace

These latest figures come at a time when many people are beginning to ask whether they really want to be in a place where they can be found and poked by virtual strangers - and have embarrassing moments from their past plastered all over the Internet (see video in my last post).

While it is a testament to the networking site's success that it features in a TV sketch show it will be interesting to see what effects that exposure will have exactly now that Facebook is being lampooned as they place to hang out for those who really don't have any friends.

But whether the figures Facebook reports are anything in similarity to those we hear about SecondLife is an altogether different story. How many have set up an account, taken a wee peek and never returned?

Friday, May 2, 2008

the funny side of facebook

Ok, I admit and you all know it. I am not the greatest fan of Facebook, so when I came across this video on YouTube (where else?) I thought I had to share it with you. Does any of this ring a bell with you?

Thursday, May 1, 2008

can a charity make file-sharing taboo?

A charity organization by the name of Childnet has launched an campaign whose primary aim is to educate young children about copyright infringements, i.e. downloading music through sites like Limewire.

What makes it eerily odd is that the campaign is funded by the music industry! The BBC-website has an interesting story about it followed by a hoard of comments, one of them mine to be frank, albeit under an even cooler pseudonym than my regular one.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

the funny side of the terminal 5 disaster

Just came across this video through a link on the Edelman-website. Who says there isn't a funny side to British Airways Terminal 5 disaster? Criticism in a song? You've got it. Sit back and enjoy!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

rss feeds – a tool of real convenience

News feeds allow you to see when websites have added new content. You can get the latest headlines and video in one place, as soon as it is published, without having to visit the websites you have taken the feed from. Feeds are also known as RSS.

There is some discussion as to what RSS stands for, but most people use the 'Really Simple Syndication' definition. Basically, the feeds themselves are just web pages, designed to be read by computers rather than people.

In general, the first thing you need is something called a news reader. This is a piece of software that checks the feeds and lets you read any new articles that have been added. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications. I prefer the latter version.

Browser-based news readers let you catch up with your RSS feed subscriptions from any computer, whereas downloadable applications let you store them on your main computer, in the same way that you either download your e-mail using Outlook, or keep it on a web-based service like Hotmail.

If you click on the RSS button you can subscribe to the feed in various ways, including by dragging the URL of the feed into your news reader or by cutting and pasting the same URL into a new feed in your news reader. Most sites that offer feeds use a similar orange button, but some may just have a normal web link.

Some browsers, including Firefox, Opera and Safari, automatically check for feeds for you when you visit a website, and display an icon when they find one. This can make subscribing to feeds much easier. I tried using the built-in Explorer reader but didn‘t find it convenient enough. It could be just me, but once I had tried using Google Reader I realized I had found my RSS-tool of choice. Simply brilliant.

It is possible to create your own feeds, by using the search engines of particular websites. The first step is to choose a search term, and type it into the search engine as normal. You then review the results and if they accurately reflect the topic you have chosen you can now use the orange feeds button to add the selection to your news reader, or to your website.

PS. I know this post exceeds the ideal length but I just found it too complicated to explain the RSS-features in fewer words!

Monday, April 21, 2008

hurdles for beijing olympics blogs?

The freedom of information through blogs is something we've become accustomed to. But what we take for granted has posed a new type of threat to Chinese authorities as they're hosting the Beijing 2008 Olympics this summer.

The IOC, International Olympic Committee, raised the issue on blogs as early as February. And to make the IOC's stance on this totally clear it issued new guidelines stating that: "The IOC considers blogging ... as a legitimate form of personal expression and not a form of journalism," and to allow bloggers only to do so from unaccredited areas.

China has said it will lift the "Great Shield of China" (an existing Internet firewall) during the Games – not least so the thousands of journalists in Beijing will be able to do their jobs properly, but it is interesting to see that the IOC is attempting to put pressure on the Chinese government. The Beijing officials recently "un-blocked" BBC's website in China, although they never admitted there ever was a block of any kind.

The recent unrest during the world-wide run with the Olympic torch should have alerted Beijing that the world will be watching this summer and not just the athletes. But since when have Chinese authorities taken any notice? This time they might be forced to, if only from their own PR point of view.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

early signs of "facebook fatigue"

British internet users are falling out of love with Facebook and the social-networking site has shed 400,000 visitors between December and January, the website's first decline in users, the Guardian writes. According to Alex Burmaster internet analyst of Nielsen Online this year we are likely to see a plateauing of social networking.

Despite the dip, Facebook remains the UK's most popular social-networking site with 8.5 million unique users at the end of January, according to Nielsen Online, down from 8.9 million in December. During the previous 12 month period Facebook sprung from 1.1 million users to 8.9 million highlighting how fast it caught on.

Facebook's nearest rival, MySpace, saw UK traffic drop 5% between December and January. It had 5 million unique users in January. Third-placed Bebo saw its users decline a more modest 2% month on month with 4.1 million users. Together the three networking sites attracted a combined figure of a whopping 21.6 million UK users! From a PR perspective this is a crowd that deserves to be monitored to some extent.

But has the balloon burst? Burmaster claims users are beginning to suffer from “Facebook fatigue” and maintains the aura has worn off a bit. According to the Guardian “there’s a growing sense in the online world that the hype around the company, founded by Harvard drop-out Mark Zuckerberg, has been overdone and the honeymoon is over.”

Saturday, April 19, 2008

danish pm jogs with facebook fans

Who says Facebook is an utter waste of time? Who says Facebook is useless? Who says Facebook poses more threats than opportunities?

Well, certainly not one Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, PM of Denmark, who has apparently used the social networking site to clock up some 12.000 fans and yesterday organized a four mile jog in which 100 of his fans took part.

The BBC website has more on this interesting story.

mudwrestling in the corridors of power

Mattias’ blog post on the Wikipedia-tampering by the PR people of the US presidential candidates shows how quickly people resort to mudwrestling tactics in the corridors of power. Again, this really got me thinking about how careful you have to be with the new communication-technology on offer on the Internet and what threats it poses to people working in public relations, especially those who are working as gatekeepers of the corridors of power.

You may have noticed I used the word threats and not opportunities. That is simply because I feel that the threats for PR people associated with new technology by far outweigh the opportunities they offer. To me it is a bit like fighting the three- headed dragon. You chop one off and face two new instead. And what is more important, most of the time you don’t even have an idea about who you are up against.

Don’t get me wrong. Wikis, podcasting, blogs, Facebook et al, every one of these novelties offers public relations opportunities. If nothing else, the latter are excellent for the purpose of monitoring the online-debate. But blog-examples from this little class of ours alone have already highlighted some serious downsides to it all.

I’d welcome some advice from a level-headed person as how to maximize the advantages and sidestep the problems. But so would PR people the world over, I guess.

Friday, April 18, 2008

ba given longer runway by liverpool fc

British Airways has now suddenly been given a longer runway to get its wings and sort out its PR mess by the most unlikely of sources, Liverpool Football Club. The crown of “PR ineptitude” has changed hands (or heads?) this week following a public playground-like spat by the football club’s American owners.

George Gillett and Tom Hicks only bought the club a year ago. Six months on, their relationship had broken down. Reports of an approach for another manager soured the atmosphere within the club and undermined the position of its manager, Rafael Benitez.

To make matters even worse Hicks has now twice in one week publicly called for the resignation of the club‘s CEO. Gillett has now responded, backing the CEO up, ultimately turning the club into a laughing stock. Remember, this is the club that set the benchmark for keeping everything in-house and out of the paper.

As such BA and LFC do not have much in common, if anything. What links these two cases is the total inability to handle their own communications through periods of adversity. One of the key PR elements is common sense. Apparently there’s none of that left, neither at BA nor at Liverpool FC.

Friday, April 11, 2008

israeli army in facebook clampdown!

Facebook? A social networking tool - but apparently also a social destructive tool! Again, just as with every other tool in the online PR toolbox, things need to be thought through. What seems to have an obvious advantage at first glance might have a serious disadvantage. Just ask the Israeli defence chiefs!

Just watched Sky News a few moments ago (see timing of post at the bottom) and they were running a story of an Israeli soldier so keen to impress with his access to strategic weaponry and information on Facebook that the Isreali military has ordered a "clampdown" in Facebook activities on behalf of their soldiers. The BBC website gives a good account of what this is all about:

"Israeli defence chiefs have moved to tighten internet social networking rules after photographs appeared showing sensitive military subjects. A review of Facebook pages belonging to Israeli troops found that some had posted detailed pictures of air bases, operations rooms and
submarines.

"These are things we don't want the public to see for security reasons," an official source told the BBC. Posting photos of troops in uniform - a popular pastime - is still allowed. The new set of rules - which has not been made public - includes a ban on images of pilots and members of special units, and anything that shows specific military manoeuvres."

Thursday, April 10, 2008

podcasting – another pr tool in the box?

"The PR people are drooling over the potential for going "beyond the press release" and influencing what journalists write - even those who fail to turn up to an event - because they can listen to it at a time of their choosing. Disney, General Motors, Purina, Cisco, Macromedia, Virgin Atlantic, TV Guide, Jupiter Research, are all podcasting."

Before we come to this quote, does anyone remember the quote just recently mentioned to us in one of the PR and Technology seminars? "Don't just use technology for the sake of it." The opening quote of this post is taken from a website called Blog Relations. And what is interesting is the fact that this was written in September 2005!

The point I am trying to make is the one that even though we should greet every new step the online technology brings us as progression of some kind, I totally agree with Tom Kelleher where he writes in his book Public Relations Online (2007): "...we have to be especially careful not to overstate the implications of the new technologies we embrace."

Podcasting, which at the time was touted as a revolution in communication and the way of modern PR, hasn't really caught on as people expected. As has been demonstrated (like in our class today, thank you George) it can be very helpful and it can also be an utter waste of time. All depending on who the producer is and what he wants to achieve.

So another tool in the PR tool box? Yes. But keep the breakthroughs coming by all means. Gradually the way we practise PR will be changed by technology, but it will not be revolutionized overnight by a single invention.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

nordic countries lead the way in ict

According to the World Economic Forum today, the Nordic countries lead the way when it comes to Information Communication Technology, ICT. Denmark sits proudly at the top of the pile, followed by Sweden in second place, Finland (6th), Iceland (8th) and Norway (10th). Switzerland ranks third, the US 4th and Singapore 5th. The Netherlands are rated 7th while the Republic of Korea occupies the 9th spot.

A press release from WEF today said: “The successful experience of the Nordic countries, Singapore, the United States or Korea shows that a coherent government vision on the importance of ICT, coupled with an early focus on education and innovation, are key not only for spurring networked readiness, but also to lay the foundations for sustainable growth.”

Published for the seventh consecutive year with record coverage of 127 economies worldwide, the Report has become the world’s most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of ICT. The Networked Readiness Index (NRI), featured in the Report, examines how prepared countries are to use ICT effectively on three dimensions: the general business, regulatory and infrastructure environment for ICT; the readiness of the three key stakeholder groups - individuals, businesses and governments - to use and benefit from ICT; and their actual usage of the latest information and communication technologies available.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

youtube as a pr tool

To date, I have not exactly been one of those who has bought into the beliefs that the Internet is the all-embracing solution of things. Nonetheless, it is a fantastic tool with its pros and cons.

How useful is it when it comes to public relations? Very useful if done right.
One of the most popular videos currently running on Youtube is featuring Will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas fame promoting US presidential candidate Barack Obama. Cleverly done, entertaining and very likely to win him some votes.

When accessed today, some 6.7 million viewers had logged on to watch this roughly four minute long clip. And interestingly, Obama's PR machine fingerprints have not yet been linked to this product.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

produsage - an idea whose time has come?

The concept of produsage highlights that within the communities which engage in the collaborative creation and extension of information and knowledge that we examine, the role of consumer and even that of end user have long disappeared, and the distinctions between producers and users of content have faded into comparative insignificance (based on the website http://www.produsage.org/ – accessed April 6th 2008 at 15.35).

One of the best examples of this term is probably Wikipedia, the online all-embracing encyclopaedia that anyone can adjust or alter. As all things in life produsage has its pros and cons. On the positive site it allows people who otherwise wouldn’t be approached, to throw their knowledge into the melting pot and perhaps bring new perspectives to the debate. Participation is as open as possible and the status of the participants is determined on a dynamic, real-time time basis by their contribution.

However, there is the downside to produsage that unscrupulous people can fiddle with things in a way that can be extremely difficult to detect. I certainly think produsage has got limits, but I also think there must be many fields where its application could be really useful.

I only have one question at the end. When a website boldly states that it is about “an idea whose time has come” doesn’t it strike you as odd that its main page (see link above) has not been updated since December 28th last year? Or is it just me again....?

Sunday, March 23, 2008

why shorter web-articles?

There are three main reasons for most news websites to provide short intros to their written pieces (and to keep news short for that matter):

1) Web users are impatient.
2) For a news site to maintain its interest among the users it needs to be constantly updated.
3) Short pieces allow a greater variety of topics on show each time you access the site.

In order to manage this most websites only publish the first paragraph or even just the first sentence of a news piece. The BBC’s website, one of my favourites, is an excellent example of this. How often you access a new site for information and up-dates is either determined by the way it is managed (laid out) or if a website’s material is of specific interest to yourself.


However, the three reasons for presentation of material in brief that I mentioned at the beginning are not the only driving forces. Incidentally, research shows that people read considerably slower from a screen than from a printed source.


On top of that studies have shown that you can expect a new reader/visitor to spend less than 10 seconds making something out of your message or he’s gone. Consequently, one of the key rules to adhere to is to realize for whom you are writing. Have I? Have you?

Saturday, March 15, 2008

of rss and "system overload"

How many of you have noticed the symbol/logo (on the left) on your browser without even making the slightest attempt to check it out? I am one, for sure. A bit amazing really, as through my work RSS would have/will be of great advantage.

Basically RSS (short for Really Simple Syndication) is a group of Web feed formats used to publish web-content that is frequently updated, e.g. news sites. You can subscribe to as many feeds as you like to enable you to have an overview of proceedings.

Most browsers already include a RSS reader, making it very easy to establish your own family of feeds. Once gathered, they can easily be managed. You can delete the ones you don‘t want any more and add new as you feel necessary. Really, really simple!

I guess most of us only use the technology we feel we needed at any given moment, be it the use of software like Word, Excel or Photoshop. That probably also applies to Web-browsing. But is it just because we‘re lazy or is it perhaps a sign of “System Overload” in an age where technological breakthroughs seem to be the order of the day?

Thursday, March 6, 2008

journalists can be lazy and selective

At the end of her presentation in class today Sherry Wang, my classmate, wondered whether the so called "online newsroom" posed a threat to the public relations practitioner. I tend to think not.

Although technology allows today's [lazy] journalists to access information in an easier manner than before there is nothing that indicates their behaviour has suddenly changed - or will, for that matter. Believe me, I know. I have worked as a journalist for almost 15 years.

Journalists are a bit like the resting salmon once having swum upstream during the spring for spawning. There's lot of food around but the fish is overworked, tired and picky. When the right meal comes along (sometimes a man-made fake bait) the the tail muscles work overtime to ensure a "scoop."

To hook a journalist's attention you have to use the right type of bait. When it comes to such specified methods, a simple web-link simply isn't enough unless the story is of such importance or magnitude that every media feels obliged to publish it.

However, most of the time journalist's attention needs to be aroused and their appetite whetted. And when it comes to that, skillful specialized PR practitioners do the job better than anyone else. When it comes to the art of communication an internet site or a news-release - no matter how good they might be - simply can't compete. Not yet.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

spotlight on ethics following resignation

Hi, my name is Siggi (Sigurður in full) Sverrisson, and this first blog of mine is a part of a course project at the University of Stirling where I am going for my MSc in Public Relations.

One of many commonly discussed themes in connection with public relations is ethics. With PR striving to rid itself of the notion that the practice is propaganda-oriented, issues on ethics arise on a regular basis.

Mike Granatt, an aide for Michael Martin (see picture to the left), Speaker of the House of Commons, has resigned for "ethical reasons" having unintentionally given wrong information to a journalist after being misled by Commons officials, according to the BBC website.

With an on-going debate on PR and ethics, it would be interesting to see what readers think of Granatt's decision. Should he have stayed on given the fact that he was misled or did he make the right decision by not only shouldering his own responsibility but also of the ones that misled him?