Nerds in C suites

A new survey has found that the number of CIOs sitting on the operational board has increased to 46%, from 43% last year.

Harvey Nash got KPMG to survey over 500 CIOs from leading UK businesses -- average salaries were up to £104,000 from £84,000 last year

As long as they understand that PR moves at the speed of opinion and not the speed of a programme implementation.... Now, as a counter ballance, we need at least that many PR people on both the ops board and the main board because the job is getting bigger by the day.

Jason Stamper's Blog: Are UK CIOs still not strategic enough? - www.businessreviewonline.com/...

'Second Life' tops 1 million

Daniel Terdiman celebrates

"A few years ago, it was considered an article of faith that massively multiplayer online games and virtual worlds struggled to the million subscriber mark.

Then along came World of Warcraft, which quickly disabused the world of that notion.

Now, Second Life has joined the seven-figure club. On Wednesday, the so-called metaverse, which launched in 2003, passed the million mark.

And its growth -- it was at 963,212 accounts midway through Tuesday, and sits at 1,014,617 at the time of writing -- is continuing at a brisk pace of at least 20 per cent a month."

News.blog: 'Second Life' tops 1 million, News at CNET.co.uk - news.cnet.co.uk/...

Pod helps decision making

Pension customers at Legal & General have access to a three-minute podcast, which offers information and advice on their contracting out decision for the 2006-07 tax year.

Hey! Here is an interesting application for a podcast.

Legal & General offers pension podcast - www.qck.com/...

Sony shouts louder

Sony Pictures has launched an interactive campaign to promote the release of its latest film 'Marie Antoinette'.

The online campaign is targeting 16- to 25-year-olds with banner, MPUs and flash overlays, which will run across youth-orientated and social networking sites such as Piczo, Get Lippy and Refresh.

The sites will run interactive promotional activity including SMS and instant message campaigns in addition to competitions offering users prizes such as a trip to Paris and Sony Walkmans.

Natalie Wilkie, account director at Spinnaker, said: "Our challenge was to speak to our target audience, creating a strong campaign which encompassed the aspirational nature of today's youth culture and the decadency of the period in which Marie Antoinette is set.

I have some big worries about this sort of push promotion. Where is the conversation? Where is the interactivity? Where is the community? Why is Sony shouting?

In PR we can do much better.

Sony targets social networking sites for Marie Antoinette - Digital Bulletin - Digital news by Email - www.brandrepublic.com/...

Blog cop on rack

CONTROVERSIAL Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom is to face an inquiry over his use of the North Wales Police blog to label people "idiots".

The issue will be discussed behind closed doors by the police authority's professional standards committee next week.

Authority member Darren Millar, a Conservative candidate at next year's Assembly elections, said there had been complaints from members of the public about the Brunstrom blog, which the Chief Constable updates just about every day.

Recent entries have criticised opponents of a needle exchange scheme as "nimbys" and called a driver a "dangerous idiot" after she broke the speed limit going to a speed awareness course.

Well, Darren Millar is, of course, a saint when some idiot cuts him up doing a a ton on on Welsh roads. I guess he says 'poor dahling - just needs quiet counselling'.

A real voice is a bit too close to home for a politician I guess.

icWales - Police chief Brunstrom's blog sparks row - icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/...

Buckinghamshire has another journo blogger

So this is what it's come to. After years of scribbling in notebooks, using typewriters and mastering keyboards to produce stories on a screen for newspapers - I have been launched into the brave new world of online journalism. This is the first day of a Bucks Blogger's diary I hope you enjoy what will follow!

For all those PR's in Bucks... it's good to converse.
Bucks Free Press: Opinion: Bucks Blog - www.thisisbucks.co.uk/...

Voices do more

Voices.com, the voice marketplace, has produced a web-based guide for small businesses and entrepreneurs who want to start their own podcast, including complimentary pre-recorded podcast episode numbers.

I just like thier stuff!

Press Release: Voices.com Delivers Podcasting Support Online for Small Biz - Voice Over/Recording/Po - www.newswiretoday.com/...

Its dawned on the FT

The Financial Times will next week launch FT Alphaville - a digital news and commentary service.

The sub-site of FT.com, which will feature blogs and rolling discussions, is aimed at finance professionals working in hedge funds, private equity and investment banking.

Lionel Barber, FT editor, said: "Our readers need timely and tailored news - FT Alphaville will do just that.

"The '6am cut' will allow readers to pick up vital financial news either on their way to work or as soon as they get into the office and the rolling blog and online discussions will mean FT Alphaville will constantly be on top of breaking financial news, giving readers core relevant information when they need it."

The FT could do better. 'Relevant news at a time and via a channel of the readers' choosing is a good model and better than 'buy this product'.

But, where there is wifi... there is a channel that is as good as broadcast.

News and jobs for journalists :: FT to launch Alphaville - www.journalism.co.uk/...

Corporate Social Responsibility - makes me shudder

Vodafone may be under the cosh from shareholders but it emerged today as a world-beater when it comes to corporate social responsibility.

The mobile phone giant led by the embattled Arun Sarin has been ranked as the world's most accountable business in a survey by AccountAbility, a London thinktank on organisational and corporate accountability, and csrnetwork, a British corporate responsibility network.

So says the Guardian

As soon as I see Corporate Social Responsibility, I give a little shudder. If not responsible - not corporate. Just an accident waiting to happen - and shareholders will gnash thier teeth twice over.

If a company needs to hang CSR on its sleve, the person i/c PR should be going round wringing necks to get rid of those who are not responsible - especailly in the week the Enron Chief got banged up.

Guardian Unlimited Business | | Vodafone tops corporate social responsibility survey - business.guardian.co.uk/...

To scream or build a community

Research, carried out by DJG Marketing indicates that visitors to the OPA sites bought more frequently and spent more money across several major categories including, entertainment, financial services, travel and automotive.

On-line Publishing Association president Pam Horan believes her members’ sites offer value for advertisers because:

“This study demonstrates that branded original content sites deliver more valuable buyers than portal and search sites. OPA sites allow advertisers to be where consumers are eager to learn, more likely to buy, and more willing to spend."

Advertising executives may take a different view. Advertising on portal sites gets products and services seen by a larger audience and also allows them to target potential customers through paid search marketing.

This is a debate about how to capture attention and involvement. I can't help feeling that scream advertising wants the big buck campiagns in this debate. OPA might feel it has a 'community' and that counts.
It is in building relationship that site owners win. Its more PR than anything else.

Branded sites more valuable for advertisers - OPA survey | Internet Marketing News and Blog | E-cons - www.e-consultancy.com/...

"Viral" as in catching a cold

In anticipation of the forthcoming debut single ‘I Know U Like Me’, from Mr Skillz and his Crazy Girls, EMI Music UK label, EMI Liberty,has launched "a multi-channel campaign" with interactive website and WAP site.

Andy Way, Digital Media Manager for EMI Liberty, explains, “We have created a cross-platform campaign with a strong viral element, to appeal to a young fan-base. The interactive website enables fans to interact online. However, as we will be attracting a young audience, all submissions to the site will be strictly moderated at all times

Elements include:
Cootie Catcher (old-school origami game), which can be downloaded and taken to school for playground fun, and a picture gallery enabling fans to interact with friends online.viral elements, including a ‘send to a friend’ function whereby fans can Bluetooth six different free animated gifs to their friends, The WAP site also enables fans to purchase mobile ring tones, download wallpapers, and put themselves forward for the title of ‘honorary crazy girl of the week’.

Well its an attempt. Very Marketing think! Keep screaming boys, your days are numbered. "Viral"... puhh!
In PR we can be much more imaginative, more engaging and can give people a real interactive and social experience - pity the poor marketers they just can't get it right.

EMI Music UK label, EMI Liberty, launches viral campaign to promote Mr Skillz and his Crazy Girls de - www.e-consultancy.com/...

How stories jump channels

CEN comments on PR pride....Now it is in the bloggershpere....The story had jumped from the press to bloggersphere and has another life in a new channel..... a lesson for PR people everywhere ....

"Hurt pride has made the PR team at Cambridge-based WAR withdraw from the latest Chartered Institute of Public Relations Pride Awards.

One of the region's premier media agencies, WAR has pulled out of the contest after not getting two of its campaigns short-listed this year.

As a result, the agency has withdrawn all its entries and says it is concerned about both the judging process and the standard of entries.

WAR's PR team swept the board last year, picking up 10 awards, including PR Consultancy of the Year."

http://www.war.uk.com/html/news.asp?nav=b2c

Note created Oct 25, 2006

CEN : Businesss : News : WAR out of award shortlist - www.cambridge-news.co.uk/...

Blog search from Google News

Google has given a boost to the blogging community by highlighting its blog search service on Google News.

The move, which took place over the weekend, has seen links to the one year old service added to the front page of Google News and at the end of search results.

Google News adds blog searches | Internet Marketing News and Blog | E-consultancy.com - www.e-consultancy.com/...

Another newspaper offers blogging.

Blogs have become a way of life on many websites and we now have the facility to do the same here on The Bolton Blog.

So if you feel like letting off steam or would just like to go public on anything let us know.
There's no money in it (naturally), but you can always let the fame go to your head . . .
Reply to Internet Editor Chris Sudlow if you would like to be a Bolton Blogger.

So here is another route for PR people to engage in conversation with journalists.

Welcome To The Bolton Blog (from This Is Lancashire) - www.thisislancashire.co.uk/..

Diplomacy exposed

Blogged by: Andrew Stroehlein

Khartoum has ordered Jan Pronk, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the UN in Sudan, to leave the country by Wednesday because of comments Pronk made on his blog. Some may dismiss this as hardly surprising because diplomacy and openness don't exactly mix. I'm always a bit cautious of claims about the revolutionary character of blogging, and in some respects, I remain so in this case. After all, a diplomat can get kicked out of a country for saying the wrong thing in any forum, and annoying a host in a blog is little different from doing so in a media release or op-ed. But there has been something unique about Pronk's blog. While it hasn't been as casually written or as frequently updated as many bloggers' fare, it has provided a running log of a high-level diplomat's thinking quite unlike anything we have seen elsewhere. What other top envoy dealing with such delicate matters of conflict resolution regularly pens such an ongoing account and commentary?

Gosh! Diplomats that tell it as it is.

Reuters AlertNet - Darfur: The end of an insider's blog? - www.alertnet.org/...

Don't mess with the soccer barons

A football fan site that has links to YouTube showing Premiership goals has been told to stop this practice, according to reports.

NetResult, the company monitoring internet activity for the Premier League has warned the website 101greatgoals.blogsport.com to not put any more links on the site.

See also http://www.copyrightcontrol.com/

Links to YouTube land blog in hot water - www.ihotdesk.com/...

Video conferencing is moving on

Cisco has a new 'telepresence' product which uses three large-screen televisions with a resolution of 1080 vertical lines. It requires a high speed network connection of 10 megabits per second.

Telepresence is essentially videoconferencing on steroids, using high definition (HD) streaming video on large-screen televisions.

"Telepresence can do for business networking what Myspace and the other social networking sites is doing for social networking," said Marthin De Beer, general manager of emerging markets for Cisco.

"It will create new relationships with people you may have never met before and enable you to do business in a much broader circle than what you are able to do today."

I will be interested to see if this really is as smart as they say. There are other products like Skype, that can offer a lot too.

Cisco unveils telepresence push - vnunet.com - www.vnunet.com/...

Why Journos dislike PR's

A new training workshop for PR (Public Relations) executives explains the well-intentioned behaviour that consistently annoys journalists in contact with them – and how to avoid many of the most common errors when seeking to place a news story or feature, to secure media coverage for PR clients. The post goes on to list many of the things Journos hate...

creativematch: New course aims to help you avoid hacking off journalists - www.creativematch.co.uk/...

Campaigners use a wiki -

Here is another wiki application. It provides information for campaigners and other interested bodies.

NHS 23 wiki (http://editthis.info/nhs_it_info/ ) is a dossier of documents, reports, letters and press coverage about concerns with the direction and progress of England's National Programme for IT in the NHS.

This is a reason for PR people to monitor wikis and to be able (within a strategy of course) make contributions and edit content.

University scientists share their dossier on NPfIT concerns - www.bjhc.co.uk/...

Digital Divide hardens

The digital divide is deepening in the UK, with the most tech-savvy households embracing the internet while a growing number of standouts are being left behind, according to new research. The reasons for not getting internet access were found to fall into three broad groups – lack of need or interest; cost or other material constraints; and lack of the necessary skills. Almost everybody has at least heard of the internet, but only 26 per cent of respondents from non-access households believe they have a good knowledge of how to use the internet.

Number of UK web refuseniks rockets - vnunet.com - www.vnunet.com/...