The top ten Political Bloggers in the UK

Iain Dale is regarded as Britain 's leading political blogger in so far that his blog is the most visited blog in the country and at the beginning of the political conference season, he has written an article about political blogging for the BBC. Not bad publicity for an aspiring Tory MP.

Of course, for news of events at the conferences, the best 'news' will come fastest electronically.

The bloggers being faster because there are fewer processes in the way (editor of one) and so will be monitored closely.

Political PR and corporate affairs is now much mediated by social media and, whereas in the past the Westminster Village did not need to look outside very often (a few weeks before the next election was quite cool), the influences are coming from a wider range of campaigners that the usual FoE, Greenpeace, CBI lobby machines.

Some of those machines are even using social media to help make their point.

Political application of social media in the USA is a street ahead. For example there is not a single picture on Flickr for the LibDem Blogger of the Year awards last night. Sort of sluggish really.

But this year the political bloggers at the conferences are going to be much more powerful.

Wide area Internet is getting exciting.

This from The Guardian:

xG Technology is the company behind xMax, a transmission technology that can broadcast a phone or wireless broadband signal using much less power than conventional radio transmitters. The technology also uses unlicensed spectrum, which could make it attractive to businesses looking to set up cheap communications networks.

The significance being that it has potential to offer fast Internet access both in homes and offices and on the street making the Internet even more accessible to more people.

Is Television New Media?

Almost but adoption is some way off.

I am tempted to post about this because of Kevin Anderson's post yesterday. In it he describes what is in the pipeline and discusses opportunities for the medium.

The sentence that sticks out for me is his comment: "I watch a lot of video, just not a lot of TV."

He time shifts, he selects what he wants to see when he wants to see it. He references Tom Coates post: Social software to set-top boxes:

Imagine a buddy-list on your television that you could bring onto your screen with the merest tap of a 'friends' key on your remote control. The buddy list would be the first stage of an interface that would let you add and remove friends, and see what your friends are watching in real-time - whether they be watching live television or something stored on their PVRs.

The fact that we are at the mercy of TV type thinking by the TV industry now does not mean that this will not change. Partly this is because TV audiences are dwindling and time watching TV is shrinking.

I think there is resistance built into the system.
The TV we watch is box in the corner that is not a computer.
It seems all too easy to muck up current TV settings when trying to enhance TV options.
The hand controls are designed by Martians.
The interface is not familiar.
We do not know the options that are available because it is such a pain to find out what they are.

All this may explain why TV audiences are declining and may be why there will be change in the near future and not long term.

The announcement that Google is talking to Apple about supplying video clips for Apples's iTV device may be a move to engage the digitl bit of digital television. This lets users watch video content stored on their desktop PC or their home TVs. Google's consumer product chief, Marissa Mayer, told Newsweek that the two companies are "engaged in talks". The iTV device is a video streaming player which uses wireless technology to play video on a TV.

TV as we know it will keep rumbling on like newspapers and fax machines. But there are alternatives that will be exciting for more than few Geeks.

New Media Release case study

Dan McGinn provides a case study of the use of the New Media Release. It is interesting reading.

So last week my firm sent out a press release for the Chevy Super Bowl College Ad Challenge. We used the Social Media Press Release template developed by Todd Defren and Shift Communications. We looked at as many examples as we could find. I have to say that Chevrolet was very open about doing this and a traditional press release was sent out at the same time.

Issues management ideas

BL Ochman has offered a view of how an organisation might manage an issue using a blog.

As part of building a strategy, a PR practitioner may well examine if when and how blogs might be helpful in such circumstances.

Of recent weeks I have been thinking about how one might resolve issues of web server overload in times of crisis. One strategy may be to have a blog available on one of the services with high capacity such as Google.

This would allow for fast response with heavyweight web server capability.

Press release finds its way to magazines readers automatically

Lee Odden at Webpronews, has taken an interest in the hRelease or social media release and offered a list of hyperlinks to web and Usenet resources.

This initiative is of interest to people who issue press releases.

It is especially interesting for people who want to issue press releases via the web, forms of social media or to/through press release agencies.

As an initiative, it has the merit of cutting to cost of press release distribution because of its nature this form of publishing has built in search engine optimisation, RSS and web friendly features such as an XML base.

What practitioners will have to wait for are the software engineers - geeks in garages - to create software to allow you to fill in the boxes to get the most from the idea and some bright person to create a release distribution site. (Disclosure - One of those geeks is a friend of mine).

One thing to remember about social media releases. You get one chance. If a journalist thinks you are abusing the concept you get switched off - permanently. RSS is like that you just switch off the feed. So no more corporate boilerplate stuff from the marketing boiler behind the big desk (you know what I mean ... embargo 0900 hrs 09/08/06 Headline - The Next Revolution - First par - XXX plc. the leading global leader in raspberry blowing today announces the first revolution in pursed lips since its miraculous acquisition of red current jam(tm) ... bla bla...).

This kind of development is only the start. A press release using such technologies (to you... boxes to be filled in) is built up from lots of small elements of information called microformats.

They can be used like building blocks.

A press release may have an embedded calender, or address book, audio or video resource that could be on uTube or Fileodge. It may even link to a Writley document or map.

Using these technologies you can lever up online facilities and add them.

This 'mashup' capability offers the reader (journalist) as much or as little information needed. In addition, it can be issued in such a way that it finds its own way to the online members of your community, the readers of the publication. It goes direct to readers too.

How cool is that.


Picture: Finding My Way

Big Desks

A lot of the 'fixed mind' process, command and control, ISO 9000, Marketing, advertising, MBO stuff has to be thought through again. It is not all bad or all out of date but much of it no longer fits with what we know and what is happening in our societies and cultures.

Simple things just keep coming up and biting the old school in the butt.

What is the value of an MBA when it takes creativity out of management?

Which models work and which are ones force old thinking on new models.

When relationships are so important and relationship value is moving to the fore, we see notions of the networked society and cultural relations having significance in a cultural economy.

To meet these needs there is an ever growing list of Public Relations practices and there will be more to come. It will be down to the Relationship Manager to understand what PR can do and deploy such skills.

The Big Desks are now getting the way.

I see references to 'Marketing' and think of big desks. I see advertising and see Big Desks, I see Auditing and see Big Desks. Mostly, there is not much of worth behind such Big Desks.

The people behind these Big Desks now have to take a walk down the corridor because unless they do, they cannot optimise the value of relationships.

Make your own vidcast

If you ask most Marketing Directors about using Video on line, they get a vision of a cameraman, clapper boards, lighting, scripts, music. The whole nine yards. BDM's (Big Desk Marketers) miss the communication opportunity.

In the meantime Sixty Second View shows, for a lot of communication, you need not much more than a cellphone. Its is the kind of content you can use on a blog or wiki or as content to liven up your intranet.

Good strong points can be made, with a real voice and it is powerful stuff. The use of YouTube has shown how such content can be hosted and there are more options in Dion Hinchcliffe's site.

Of which Eyespot caught my eye. It includes a web based editing suite.

I will try it but it does look very cool and offers an easy option for providing vidcasting.

The Center for PR Education: How Managers Hit PR Paydirt

The Center for PR Education: How Managers Hit PR Paydirt: "As a business, non-profit or association manager, you'll know it's PR paydirt when you're able to persuade your key external stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that lead to your department, division or subsidiary's success.

But to realise such results, you'll have to get personally involved with the public relations people assigned to your unit. Then shift their emphasis from communications tactics to a workable and comprehensive blueprint that will lead to your success as a unit manager.

A blueprint, for example, like this: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished."

Levels of Geek speak for PR's

It is said that it does not take long to learn the basics of computer programming languages. Its not something I have done.

My approach to programming language is the same as my approach to other languages. When in Rome I speak English with a smattering of Italian words picked up on the way. Its fun and it puts me in the mood and, fortunately, Italians have a great sense of humour.

Most computers also have a sense of humour about the misuse of programming language . Sometimes its difficult to see the smile lines round the eyes when your frustration at you own incompetence boils over.

I would recommend that PR student did an appreciation course, just to get over the hang up between arts and sciences and find the smile lines of a geeks best friend.

What to learn? Try this list.

Oh yes, to find out what it is you will need a phrase book.

ONline PR tools and channels

A very, but by no means comprehensive, list of channels and devices for collaborative conversation with corporate constituencies is provided by Go2Web20.

A browse through these ideas may be valuable when trying to come up with a really cool creative approach.

State of play for Mobile Internet

I found this article by Dan Simmons, at the BBC very helpful because it puts the use and application of mobile web into perspective as a channel for communication.

It seems to be a bit of a turnoff but getting my gmail on my mobile is OK . It is a bit slow but then I seldom read email on my mobile in a rush.

Mobile web is coming and is important.
In the meantime there are a lot of communications channels that are available on mobiles that perform brilliantly and should be considered for all PR campaigns (even if they are then cast aside in for some reason).

If you are a podcaster

You may like to note that directing your audience to iTunes to download your podcast may be a problem for your audience.

I noticed problems today and see that c|net has a report:

Apple unveiled iTunes 7 on Tuesday at an event in San Francisco. The new version delivers new features like Cover Flow, a parade of album artwork, and allows iTunes Store customers to buy movies from studios owned by Disney. It was available for download on Tuesday following the event, but the early feedback has not been positive.

The tipping month for UK political blogging

The three main parties are falling over themselves to woo this new breed of political blogger, offering computer facilities, background briefings and even access to big name politicians.

For Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats it is not just about appearing to be on top of the latest media trend - or showing how open to debate and criticism they are.

It is about getting a toe-hold in a medium which has been growing in influence at Westminster.

So says BBC Political Reporter Brian Wheeler

As the politiacl conference season revs up, this year will be a big year for blogging and I guess podcasting and video casting online. It is something to watch if you have a PR role with a political element.

A twist to traditional blogging

The scientific journal Nature is to adopt an open peer-review system to judge papers submitted for publication.

Manuscripts will be uploaded to a pre-print server and made available online in what is essentially a blog, allowing members of the scientific community to comment on the content's merit, reports PC Pro.

The range of applications for new media is very wide and this is an example. Inagine doing the same for internal reviewing and aproval for draft 'press release' or online comment prior to publication.

It may mean that lawyers and product managers will truly be singing of the same hymn sheet.

Discredited by association with astroturfing

Be careful who you work with.

Netribution made this comment about Google:

BoingBoing is reporting that Google have appointed controversial Washington-based lobying and 'astroturfing' firm DCI to represent them in the US. DCI, run by Republican Party officials, came into public controversy earlier in the year when the Washington Post revealed it had pretended to be a 29 year old basement filmmaker to post a YouTube video attacking Al Gore and his film An Inconvenient Truth, released this week in the UK.

Pointing to This comment from Boing Boing:

Google's new lobbyists: lying, astroturfing, push-polling scumbags
Google's new DC lobbyists have a reputation for slime, astroturfing and push-polling.


The result of hiring a company associated with Astroturfing and other practices that are unpopular with social media commentators is probably not helpful to Google's reputation.

As Google becomes more pervasive in people's lives, its relationship with governments will become more important and any interface will be scrutinised in a very different light because of these comments.

There will be commentators who will look at this appointment in the light of the Google philosophy of 'do no evil'. For many Astroturfing is not good if not evil

What Clients want - really want

Neville Hobson has a great post about how new media is being applied by the Public Relations industry. There are two video clips that are a 'must see'.

They are short contributions by David Brain, CEO Europe at Edelman, and Pete Blackshaw, CMO at Nielsen Buzzmetrics.

I would also recomend the contribution of Pete Blackshaw on 60Secondview about engaing with people who interact on line about brands.

These contributions are further demonstrations of how significant social media has become to the practice of Public Relations.

Note also that these video clips are also applications of New Media in their own right.

On line video is BIG

The PR industry has a big opportunity. Video.

Almost 40% of internet users download and watch videos on the web, according to a survey of 10,000 consumers. Reflecting the explosion in networking websites such as Bebo and video download site YouTube, the research also found that just over half of all young people (54%) want to create or share their own content on the web, reports Tara Conlan of the Guardian.

The global study by consultancy Accenture found that audiences want more control over where and when they watch footage, and they want to make more of their own.

Sounds like an opportunity.

The drumbeat of XPRL

Last Thursday, there was an XPRL meeting. Chris Heuer was among the attendees and he has an excellent report of the meeting on his Social Media Club blog.

First I have to say how delighted I was to meet Chris who I met via an introduction from For Immediate Release. He is great fun. It was very generous of him to make the effort to fly the Atlantic in time for the meeting and even more so to be invited to the inauguration of the London Chapter of the Social Media Club.

His summary of the central XPRL issue is this:

As the Chair of the group, Mike Granatt was trying to dig at some key questions, including “Why would the large stakeholders support this effort tactically and financially?” The group came up with 4 primary answers that I noted (in addition to several other secondary reasons):

1. Financial savings through decreased effort required and easier interoperability of disparate systems that would lead to projects that have greater impact than traditional press releases.
2. The added value of search engine optimization through distributing structured information instead of the typical unstructured format
3. A stronger potential for measurement and tracking than currently exists with clipping services
4. The future capabilities and innovations that will come as a result of a common standard

The nitty gritty part for me is the notion of interoperability. Which means that a client is able to use information, from many sources and plan and implement aims and strategies with tactical ease. The need to respond to developments that offer advantage or disrupt relationships as communication gets faster and to a wider audience means we now need new tools. They need to be able to draw together and distribute information and need a common, global language. We now need the underlying technology in place.

As I put it on Chris's blog:

XPRL needs to become the background drumbeat to the tools we use in our work. Without it, PR can have no rhythm and it is forced to serve the pounding timpani of others while our work is served up in musical phrases, each a delight but together, a cacophony lacking harmony and coherence. In an Internet mediated era, the output becomes ever more raucous.

Its a good time to get rhythm.

One of the best bits on his blog post are the photos of the event which he posted to Flickr.

"This is your audience you want to attack, fool"

There is no doubt that the entertainment moguls are have not yet understood that riding rogh shod over their customers is barbaric.

Apparently not happy with how negotiations are going with YouTube and MySpace, Universal CEO Doug Morris is threatening action over what he sees as copyright infringement of Universal's music videos illegally posted to sites. He told an investor conference:

We believe these new businesses are copyright infringers and owe us tens of millions of dollars. "How we deal with these companies will be revealed shortly.

Them's fightin' words says Business2Blog. To which media critic/blogger Jeff Jarvis responds:

This is your audience you want to attack, fool. They are marketing and distributing your music for you. Don’t want them to? Fine. Plenty more where you came from.

Media executives are realizing that there is a lot of advertising money to be made from online videos and their attitude is to try to grab as much of it as they can. But the YouTubes of the world are saying, "Wait a second. Don't just slap ads on this. The videos are a form of marketing in and of themselves."