Having been a little negative in the past about Facebook’s platform developments (some publicised, others, of course not), I have to say, things have really been hotting up over the past few week with a raft of new changes being introduced. Some of these changes have been in reaction (never a great place to be) to Google +’s introduction a few months back –  easier filtering of friends into specific categories (called ‘lists’) and targeting of messages.  Others, however are really starting to show the integral nature of Facebook’s ‘open …

I’ve been doing some work recently with The Times, helping them out on a feature about the issue of unemployment amongst the over 50’s. I was called upon to offer my expertise on how job seekers can use social networking to help them find work. The feature was based on a number of case studies, two of which I spent the afternoon with, coaching them through the different sites they could use and tactics they could implement. The piece is now live online (behind pay-wall I’m afraid):
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/career/article3039242.ece
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/career/article3039002.ece
It also featured in …

Having been recruiting for various social media roles over the past couple of months I find it incredible the CV is still considered a credible descriptor of a person’s employment history. No more! I refuse to look at these pieces of paper which are crying out for a role in digital comms and yet show no passion for the medium these candidates want to work in day in, day out. No URL’s – nothing, just an email address.  So, to the humble Google search, then LinkedIn…Twitter. Ok obvious but it …

I’m feeling pretty powerful at the moment with a word- of-mouth influencer score of just under 300,000. Actually this figure is ridiculous but it certainly acts as an trigger to start wielding my opinion around on new  ‘have a complaint (rant)’ site Gri.pe.
According to their About Page Gri.pe:  “lets you share public praise or complaints that get sent to the business for response, while being spread by your friends, followers and beyond!” – basically it allows you a very public forum to moan in the hope that you’ll get some …

Working in both PR and digital comms I have been involved with a number of blogger relations campaigns throughout the years. The most recent one I’ve been involved with has been for one of my clients, ‘make mine Milk’, where we invited mummy (and, not to be forgotten daddy) bloggers down to the London School of Coffee for a morning of Barista training and low fat semi-skimmed milk discussion.  After chatting to many of the attendees about how they liked being approached by PRs, plus some of their worst PR …

After revelations that Yell.com were ‘faking’ 1 in 8 of reviews on their review platform Trusted Places by incentivising staff to write them, it got me thinking about the importance of review sites and how users really rely on them to make informed decisions. The question is, when it comes to review sites have we ever really taken some stranger’s opinion as gospel – the answer is no. Whether it’s an online publication who is reviewing a product as part of a PR process or if it’s a review left …

Horray – now do you believe Twitter is a viable communications channel? Not only do the new developments make Twitter.com more inviting, they open up new opportunities for brands to create a personality for themselves which is not just inferred through the tone of their tweets. It’s the larger icon, the images and video – all housed in one destination. ‘A Facebook feed’ I hear you cry! Yes, there’s no doubt, but what’s interesting is when individuals pull in brand content to the right hand column of the their own …

Don’t create channels of communication for the sake of it – it’s a drain on time and energy. It amazes me that some businesses and organisations still take the ‘we must be everywhere’ approach when this can actually lead them to be less efficient whilst building a confusing digital footprint. Think about how your audience uses different social networks and then decide whether, and in what way, you can really add value by being in those spaces.
Some things to think about:
Facebook as a newsfeed..?

If your intention is not to engage …

With Facebook Places now officially launched, sign ups to Foursquare have apparently increased due to the huge amount of comparison articles which have been published (no such thing as bad PR right?).  I couldn’t help noticing the influx of check-ins and questions on Twitter from individuals wanting to know whether they should sign up, all within 24 hours of Facebook’s announcement.  Until ‘Places’ actually kicks off in the UK, who knows what the backlash will be in terms of privacy, but I suspect this could be huge. This is because …

With 3.2 million UK users and a market value of over $2 billion, LinkedIn is no longer just a fishing pool for recruitment agencies and head-hunters. It is now a viable business networking and resource tools which works most effectively with the more connections you have. So, start connecting and make the most out of all the new functionalities which are available (new apps, group features, plug-ins).
Growing your network
Think about who you may have worked for in the past and who you have everyday contact with. The Outlook toolbar add …