Quora – the next big thing?

January 7th, 2011
Quora

Described by the founders as, ‘A continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it’.  The website seems to be a cross between twitter and Wikipedia with the added bonus of running several useful features that facilitate collaboration such as being able to ask a follower to answer a question, tagging any question with topics-redirecting it to a range of users, and posting the question to your twitter/Facebook account.

But what use is it for me? From a work point of view, with a little bit of luck I might be able to get some useful insight from useful people; currently it’s the hugely influential ‘tech’ people that are asking and answering the questions, but as the community grows the timelines and topics will become increasingly congested- and I’d be better off putting my message in a bottle and throwing it into the sea.

My followers on Quora are a subset of my twitter followers, so i’m working in ever decreasing circles. Quora affords me less engagement and a smaller audience than twitter and makes a voyeur of me. The one big advantage is following topics and reading the insight of the high and mighty, i’ll just sit tight and wait until they ask for my input.

Regardless of its future Quora is a great platform for discussion and will prove to be a hotbed of ideas. Twitter for all its interactivity and brilliance doesn’t provide for prolonged multi-user discussion so with the speed that these sites develop and evolve it’ll undoubtedly be an exciting few weeks, days(!) as it finds its place on the social media landscape.

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Golden Oldies on the Radio

December 15th, 2010
NorthernAir

Like many graduates do, I hunted around for ways to get experience and make contacts as I tried to break into the PR industry. A stint working on the ambitious 7 Wonders in 7 Days project worked to hone my social media skills, but it was volunteering at Northern Air that made a real difference.

I’ve been working with Northern Air for almost a year now, heading over every Tuesday night to help the long standing presenters to put on a show for the patients at North Manchester General and Salford Royal.

Some people would say that at times Northern Air fits the stereotypical view of hospital radio; geriatric presenters, on-air gaffes and a playlist made up of Matt Munro and Frank Sinatra classics.

What many don’t realise is that those presenters are the sensitive, altruistic types that have sustained the station into its 50th year. They may well afford Sinatra and Munro lots of air-time but they also grapple with ‘new-fangled CDs’ to meet any request they’re given on the wards. Those same wards they have paced up and down for years and in some cases decades. Contemporary R&B may well make them foam at the mouth, but they wouldn’t let on, they’ll bite their lip and play.

Alongside presenters, I’ve seen patients’ faces light up at the thought of their favourite song being played just for them. In some cases patients would spend visiting hours and the Christmas period alone were it not for Northern Air.

At Christmas the message of making time for family is often confused by consumerism as we dash around hunting for the perfect gift and few think about those who will be alone in hospital throughout the festive season. It’s good to know that they will have ‘a friend by your bedside’ to help them through the long days ahead.

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Bury’s got The Rock Factor

December 7th, 2010
C&T

As XFactor reaches its conclusion (vote Matt Cardle) and Strictly filters down to the top 5, people of Bury are also being treated to their very own array of talented performers as local singers, dancers and musicians battle it out in ‘Street Stars’ at The Rock.

We launched the Street Stars competition as an opportunity to showcase the best emerging talent in Bury, and the initial campaign was launched on The Rock’s popular Facebook page. Performers auditioned back in October with the final 8 chosen by our panel of judges which included representatives from Democracy PR, The Rock and David Agnew from Bury’s Met Theatre.

The 8 finalists are of an exceptionally high standard, and include an eclectic mix from original singer-songwriter Martin Poole, to teen street dance sensations Darcey & Paige.  Krazy Horse has even produced an exclusive Christmas song for the contest, aptly titled ‘Christmas at The Rock’.

The Street Stars have performed every Saturday at The Rock in the lead up to Christmas, and Democracy have launched an application that enables Facebook fans to vote for their favourite acts.  The act that receives the most votes will scoop a prize worth £1000 to help further their performance career.

The competition has seen fantastic online results with not only a massive increase in fans but also general activity (status likes, video views etc) and time spent on the site.  The competition has proved a phenomenal success.

So the Street Stars will continue at The Rock  over the next 2 weeks, with performances taking place on Saturday 11th and 18th December. Voting will carry on until January 7th 2011, when we will be announcing the overall winner.

View all the Street Stars, and vote for your favourite here

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The Changing Face of Charity Campaigns?

December 7th, 2010
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“Change your Facebook profile picture to a cartoon character from your childhood and invite your friends to do the same. Until Monday (December 6), there should be no human faces on Facebook, but an invasion of memories. This is a campaign to stop violence against children.”

This message populated the facebook news feed as faces of friends were changed to images of Fireman Sam, Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles and Bananaman getting behind the ’cause’.

Potentially this campaign had the power to reach millions, a simple idea that appealed to the public. 250m users log onto Facebook every day and with, on average, 130 friends each the reach for the campaign is huge even with a relatively small uptake.

But the campaign seem to raise more questions than answers. How could a change in profile image stop violence against children? There was no request for a donation, no unifying, easy to find, official group that set out the objectives of the initiative.

More harmful still is the seemingly widespread belief that this was all started by paedophiles. Just as a campaign can spread like wildfire across social networking sites, so too can rumour. The NSPCC were in a position to unify the cause but while the charity did belatedly condone the idea it did not adopt it.

The various fan pages/event pages i’ve seen purporting to represent the campaign claim seem to muddy the water further.

What’s clear is that despite being a great idea, it was poorly executed leaving it open to abuse from some and reducing the penetration of the campaign. In the social space it’s not enough to have a great idea, you’ve got to know what to do with it.

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Know what to shout about

November 10th, 2010
smlawtwit

Steve Kuncewitz is a lawyer who knows a thing or two about the world of social media,with 800+ connections on Linked in, an IP & Media law blog, a second book on the way and a healthy obsession with twitter, he is the voice of authority when it comes to ‘Legal issues and social media’.

Luckily for us, Steve is a friend of the agency and came in to give us an incredibly informative training session on the  issues that we could face when working within  social media.

As we know, the explosion of social networking sites has transformed the world of PR, and knowing the risks involved when engaging with the online community is essential for a smooth running campaign. You may not always enjoy the luxury of positive feedback, but with hard work, most conversations can be turned into proactive engagement: As Steve said “keeping the genie in the bottle” doesn’t work.

Social networking platforms are part of our everyday life now, we may be watching the apprentice with one eye, but the other is firmly fixed on the debates running on twitter.

Knowing how to use the different types of media effectively, to enhance your brand and create awareness is vitally important… equally as important as knowing the legalities involved.

Thanks Steve, you are ‘twitterific’!

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Got to love a Glossy

August 13th, 2010
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There’s something indulgent about taking time out of a busy day and leafing through page after page of super luxe fashion and perfect models, but i just couldn’t hold back my excitement this morning. Finally my delivery of the fashion bible has arrived. I’ve got three little words for you, VOGUE SEPTEMBER ISSUE!

I’m yet to give it the full attention it deserves, but it seems that the glossiest of all publications is taking note of the change in circumstances of its readers by embracing a style shift from indulgent wear once and never again pieces, to ‘minimal chic’ investment pieces that remain a wardrobe staple.

Glamour is another fashion glossy that seems to be appealing to our sense of nostalgia, having produced a special September edition of their magazine which focuses on regional pride. Each edition  features Katy Perry on the cover with the name of the particular region emblazoned on her t-shirt and takes a look at up-and-coming cultural talent from the region in addition to providing tailored shopping and leisure advice.

The weather may be turning a depressing shade of grey, but  at least I’m safe in the knowledge that this September I can indulge in all things glamourous in Manchester (the centre of the universe, don’t you know) and justify lusting after the beautiful pieces in Vogue. They are investments, not expensive but priceless!

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Mine’s a Manchester Digital Burger!

July 29th, 2010
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I had my first experience of a Manchester Digital Barbecue last night, and it certainly didn’t disappoint!

They certainly had me waiting with baited breath to see if I could get a ticket… I was the last in the office to receive a confirmation and was very happy not to be the only ‘billy no mates’ not attending.

Held at the very cool Atlas Bar on Deansgate and serving up great  barbecue food and mojitos, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend an evening, especially as it was free (big thanks to CTI Digital, Fudge, Creative Times and Melbourne Server who sponsored the event)

It was great to see so many people involved in the digital and creative arena in one place,  and to finally be able to put faces to the brilliant coders we’ve been working with recently.

A free dinner, cocktails, good chats and no rain….. Where do I sign up for the next one?

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Sherlock, iPlayer and the BBC

July 27th, 2010
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The BBC aired the remake of the classic tales of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson this Sunday, and Democracy Towers buzzed about it on Monday morning so much, that I caught up on iPlayer on Monday night.

Written by Stephan Moffat (the chap who’s been creating a stir with Dr Who), the fast paced excitement was brought bang upto date with blogs and geo location using smart phone technology all used as the plot evolved.

The evolution of the Sherlock Holmes story from the dark and murky streets of Victorian London to the modern world of laptops, mobile phones and carefully watched streets is a revelation and proves that well written stories featuring well developed personalities can be made as relevant today as they’ve ever been.

After a speedy romp through the back streets of London, the killer was caught by ….. as if i’m going to reveal that(!). Just like the adaptation of Sherlock, the BBC continues to meet the changing viewing habits of the public with their catch up service on iPlayer (thank goodness).

Today the press is awash with rumours that our growing online catch up consumption may cause the BBC to change their license fee structure. The existing model relies on us having a TV in our living rooms …. and if internet streaming takes off, they’ll be asking the government to protect them through legislation.

Any change to the license fee tends to create uproar – but if we can all embrace the evolution of  Sherlock into a modern day super sleuth, then maybe we can accept that the BBC, after 60 years, may have to do the same.

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Bury’s Got Talent

July 13th, 2010
airguitar

The X Factor may have been in Manchester this weekend , but they missed some serious talent in Bury.

As part of our social media campaign for the retail and shopping heaven that is The Rock, Bury, we have been holding karaoke roadshows to recreate Nickelback’s rock anthem, ‘Rockstar’ with the locals of Bury and the surrounding areas as the stars.

Sunday saw us spending a lovely sunny day at the ‘Forever Bury’ event held at Bury FC, and I was amazed by the enthusiasm and energy of everyone who took part. The event, held at the famous Gigg Lane stadium, saw fans of all ages eating ice cream, getting autographs from players and rocking it with yours truly…. I was so inspired I had a little go myself (never to be seen footage… I hope!)

Everyone involved got into the spirit of the day and i can’t wait to see the results of this bury rocking video.

Simon Cowell was definitely in the wrong place, if he’d been with me he would have seen that Bury’s got the X Factor.

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Twestival 2010

March 26th, 2010
Picture 16

A year has passed since the first Twestival in Manchester, and although I’m sure you’ll hear much about the money that was raised for @concern and the great work it will do, I wanted to highlight how much things have changed.

In 2009 Twitter was for those who wanted to share and embrace ideas, ask for help or off load their frustrations about the projects they were working on, it was real people sharing real things in a virtual world.  Twestival brought these people together and virtual relationships were cemented in real life. Many of the PR and media types were only just beginning to take the social media space seriously and a few uninitiated PR and marketing types hovered around the edges like fish out of water. (classical example, one PR agency put forwards a gadget as an auction prize that wasn’t MAC compatible – eek(!))

A year on, and we’re in HulaBar – the place is bustling as virtual relationships are cemented into real life. But the question is . . . . where are the Twitter fans of old? The event was full of PR people who are now firmly planted in the Twitter culture. I was asked by an interviewer my twitter name, why i use Twitter and my favourite celeb to follow – after admitting celeb followings isn’t really my thing the girl seemed to be at a loss.

I couldn’t help but think that the place I should have been was over in Madlab, where all the interesting people had got together to talk emerging digital, what’s new and how the landscape is changing.

The Madlab is a community space for people who want to do and make interesting stuff – a place for geeks, artists, designers, illustrators, hackers, tinkerers, innovators and idle dreamers; an autonomous R&D laboratory and a release valve for Manchester’s creative communities.

It’s here where PR and social media people need to be paying attention. It’s here where we’ll understand about what happens after Twitter. It’s here where we’ll learn.

So, I was asked at the event which person I’d recommend to follow this Friday – on reflection I change my answer to this follow @Madlab.

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