BCS expert on world class IT services

Manx triskelion.

Image via Wikipedia

The British Computer Society Isle of Man section kicked off this season’s calendar of events with an excellent presentation by author Peter Wheatcroft who discussed world class IT services delivery.
It was quite a coup for the Isle of Man section to get Peter to visit our shores.

He’s a much sought after speaker and consultant and his diary is typically filled months in advance.  He was formerly a director at Alliance & Leicester plc, where he achieved world class status for its IT services. His clients cover a range of industries including process control, retail, travel and leisure and healthcare.

His book World Class IT Service Delivery is a BCS best-seller and having seen him in action, I understand why.  Central to his proposition is taking best practice from the marketing and management worlds and applying it to information technology services.

Click here to read the rest of this Tech Talk column.

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Two-thirds of online adults use social media

Baby Boomers and Social Networks

Image by cambodia4kidsorg via Flickr

Markettools has just released a report that reveals that more than two-thirds (68 percent) of online adults say they visit online blogs, communities or social networks, and 33 percent engage in product research online to help make purchase decisions.

It’s more evidence that organisations, especially companies who sell products or services need to get serious about social media engagement.

Many of these people are visiting social media sites specifically to research products and services:

  • 33% are doing research to inform purchasing decisions.
  • Baby Boomers are significantly more likely than other groups to read or post comments about products and services on these sites (37%).
  • Baby Boomers (63%), along with Generation X (59%), are significantly more likely than other groups to visit the corporate websites of product or service providers.

The research shows that blogs, communities and social networks have a direct impact on purchasing decisions:

  • 47% of all respondents say that social media sites have influenced their decision to purchase particular brands or services to at least some extent.
  • 26% of all respondents actually changed their minds about buying a product or service because of what they read on a blog, community or social network.
  • Women are significantly more likely (29%) than men (22%) to change their minds about a purchase because of these sites.
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September 28: PR top 5

Conservative Party logo

Image via Wikipedia

Wow, September is almost gone already!  Here are my top five posts from the PR blogosphere this past week.

1.  Sally Whittle has some excellent advice for newbies on pitching trade media.

2. Deborah Zanke tells us how to get media coverage for fundraising events.

3. Today, having a degree means nothing. It’s all about intelligence and creativity. See Kami’s post and Sir Ken Robinson’s video about how the educations kills creativity in people.

4.  Caroline McCarthy’s writing about me on cnet.  Erm ok, not actually about me per se, but I think she must have seen my Facebook profile.

5. Nick Burcher has done a great analysis of the UK Conservative party’s new website. He takes us through all the social aspects of the new site.  I think the Britain might really be starting to ‘get it’.

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FIR listener contest

Image of Neville Hobson from Facebook

Image of Neville Hobson

Want a free ticket to the upcoming Web 2.0 Expo Europe?  It’s taking place in Berlin  on October 21-23. The three-day conference and exhibition is for designers and developers, product managers, entrepreneurs, VCs, marketers, business strategists and anyone passionate about creating a better web ecosystem.  You get free entry to all conference sessions, workshops and the expo (ticket value €1,300).

Neville is giving away his ticket in an FIR Listener Contest. All you have to do is make and post a short video and link to FIR comments.  Click here for full details.  I’d like to go myself, but October is shaping up to be a pretty busy month.

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The Claremont’s new conference facilities

All by myself.

All by myself.

Had a great time at the Claremont Hotel in Douglas tonight.  They are launching their newly refurbished conference facilities and a new state-of-the-art boardroom facility and invited people to come along to take a look and have a taste of the menu on offer.  The facilities are really great…fantastic IT infrastructure and presentation kit. The food was second to none and the champagne, plentiful.

The only problem was that not many people turned up.  They had set out a banquet for at least a hundred and only a couple of dozen folks came out.

The good news is…they are doing it again tomorrow night.  Manager Andrew confirmed to me that everyone is invited. Drop in between 18.00 and 20.00. Meet the nice people at the Claremont and see what’s new. Have a nice meal and glass of superior wine; it’s all gratis.

I might even go back for seconds.

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Marriott bombing in Pakistan

Marriott International

Image via Wikipedia

Here is an excellent example of how having a blog can help a company in a crisis.  Bill Marriott, chairman and CEO of Marriott International, has been blogging since at least January 2007.  He is widely read by employees, customers and the tourism industry in general.  He comments on a range of topics from employment issues, to operations to personal insights like his views on  the Beijing Olympics.

So when tragedy struck last weekend in the form of a terrorist attack on the Islamabad Marriott, in which 53 people died — most of them Marriott employees, Bill’s blog allowed his team to respond quickly. They posted a quick statement of facts within a couple of hours of bombing including a phone number for people who wanted to know information on the guests staying at the hotel.

Then a couple of hours later, while the true extent of the damage was still unfolding,  Bill himself posted a personal comment expressing his own emotions about the tragedy and saluting the employees who were still at the scene doing everything they could to help.  There are more than 200 comments of condolence and support on his blog post.

As Shel Holtz points out, without Marriott’s  blog, the company would have been restricted to traditional channels for expressing itself. They would have issued as news release or perhaps posted a comment on their corporate website.  But this wouldn’t have been nearly as effective in conveying Bill’s own sentiments as his blog post did. And both solutions would have provided only for one-way communication.  The audience would not have had the facility to express their own grief and outrage.

Here are the main takeways:

  • Bill Marriott already had an established relationship with readers through his blog who find him to be a credible spokesperson.
  • Blogging is nimble so they company could react almost instantly to communicate the facts.
  • It allowed people to express their own views and concerns, thereby strengthening the relationship.
  • Bill was quickly able to assume leadership in a crisis, despite geography, time zones and other constraints.

Like too many of us, I had my own brush with terrorism on September 11th and I really feel for the people involved in this cowardly attack. I hope companies will learn from Marriott’s example of how to use social media in a crisis.

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Strive PR’s September e-newsletter

We’ve published an e-newsletter for those who may not be using  RSS and newsfeeds, but would still be interested in reading our news and information about media, marketing and communications.

If you’re getting  Strive Notes via RSS and don’t wish to receive the newsletter, just send a message and we’ll remove you from the list. Or, if you’d like to be added to the distribution list, let us have your email address by using the sign up box at the bottom right corner of the blog.

Feedback is more than welcome! Please send me your story ideas and questions.

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Is your head in the cloud?

Cloud computing

Image via Wikipedia

Do you think of cloud computing as some advanced theoretical concept that only super geeks and rocket scientists really understand?  Nothing could be further from the truth; you are probably already in the cloud in some way.Ask yourself the following questions.
  • Do I use Hotmail, Gmail or any other similar email service?
  • Do I have a Facebook profile?
  • Do I store and share my photographs online?

If you answered yes to any of these questions you are already ‘in the cloud’ even if you didn’t know it.

In fact in a recent survey of 2,251 adults, the Pew Internet Project found that some 69% of people online use webmail services, store data online, or use software programmes such as word processing applications whose functionality is located on the web.

Click here to read the rest of this Tech Talk column.

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September 21: PR top 5

Lego Group

Image via Wikipedia

1. Rohit has a right good rant about Kellogg’s Lego Fun Snacks.  Why do people hate marketers?

2. Jeremiah gives a interesting explanation of how VCs and tech analysts are similar yet different in their perspectives when engaging with entrepreneurs.

3. Chris Brogan has an excellent discussion going about defining web authority. There’s a lot of comments but it’s well worth investing the time to read it.

4. Seth Godin explains why some companies resort to advertising. Erm… well specifically he’s talking about Microsoft.

5. Friends v Fans. Susan Getgood gives her views on scaling a community.  Love and respect your fans as much as they love and respect you.

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Isle of Man welcomes social media pro

We’ve recently welcomed a new voice in social media to the Isle of Man. Derek ‘The Bandit’ Richardson has just relocated from South Africa and you’ll soon be hearing him at weekends on 3FM.  But when he’s not entertaining Island residents with his take on dance music, he’s pretty busy online. He’s got two podcasts: Switched On, where he looks internet technologies and Sound Republic which focuses on his passion, dance music. He’s got a lot of fans from all over the world (about a millions Facebook friends) and is destined to be a leading light in the Isle of Man social media community.  Welcome Derek!

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Third Thursday

Thanks to everyone who came out to today’s Isle of Man Social Media Club Third Thursday lunch.  We covered everything from libel to Graffiti to Podcasting to Technorati to the need for a great foodie blog in the Isle of Man.  As always I learned a lot.  I hope you all did too.  See the pix below!

Thanks to Owen, Nickop, Leo, Derek, Steve, Jamie, Jen, Chris and Rob, Charlotte and Charlie for coming out.

UPDATE:  See Owen’s take on the event.

Rob Mercer, Charlotte Beeman, Chris Gledhill

Rob Mercer, Charlotte Beeman, Chris Gledhill

Third Thursday

Third Thursday

Why you should come to Third Thursday

The third Thursday of each month, the Isle of Man Social Media Club meets. This month, Third Thursday is tomorrow, 18 September, 12.30 at Paparazzi, Douglas Promenade.  Everyone is welcome.   But should you come?

Anyone who is interested in journalism, publishing, communication, art, media, teaching, learning, Internet, marketing.  In short, anyone who is curious about how humans communicate should come along.

Bloggers, podcaster, Facebookers, MySpacers and Twitterers are all welcome.  Or maybe you are just curious about these online social platforms and wonder how they fit into your life and business.

The idea behind the Social Media Club is to share best practices, establish ethics and standards, and promote media literacy around the emerging area of social media.

It costs nothing but the price of your meal and you’ll definitely learn something.

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Isle of Man are you prepared?

Tonight, at the Sefton hotel in Douglas, Martin Blackburn, emergency planning officer will be speaking to the Junior Chamber of Commerce.

It’s a subject that we all worry about and then put to the back of our heads – what would really happen if the Island suffered a major incident?  How would the hospitals cope?  Could the communications systems stand the barrage of extra calls?  Is there enough food and water to go round?  If you have staff members who are in the Civil Defence Corps how would you cope with them being called to duty?

Martin will answer these questions and more.  The event starts at 18.00 in the Garden Room at the Sefton.  There is a buffet and the bar will be open.  £10 for Jcc members and £12 for non-members.

It’s also the JCC’s AGM and I’m joining the executive council.   Everyone is welcome.

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IT industry bright

Tales of economic doom and gloom have been filling news pages around the world for about a year now, since we first heard the term ‘credit crunch‘.

But it seems that the IT industry has been immune to the economic downturn with all indicators showing that things were holding steady in IT budgets.

That was until last week when Forrester Research released its Business Data Services report.

It said that more than 40 per cent of large businesses have cut their IT budgets this year due to the global economic slowdown according to a survey of nearly 950 senior IT managers across North America and Europe. Click here to read the rest of this Tech Talk column.

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An apology

The IndependentImage via Wikipedia

Every once in a while a journalist, a blogger or commenter will push things just a little too far. I’ve been accused of it myself once or twice.  Usually I’m happy to make things right.

Today the Independent on Sunday teaches us all a lesson on how to write an apology for publication (blame the reader!):

“As we are happy to point out, we, The Media, have been keen supporters of Mrs Beckham since day one, and any indications to the contrary have been entirely in the imaginations of you, the reading public. Shame on you.”

Love it!

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September 13: PR top 5

An example of a social network diagram.Image via Wikipedia

Well that was the week that was.  There’s little more to say, except here is my list of some of the blog posts I enjoyed reading the most over the past week.

1. Jeremiah Owyang makes some good points about why some start ups need to hire PR professionals.

2.  Lee Hopkins gives an excellent explanation of why companies should allow access to social networks.  You need oxygen to breath.  He is so right.

3. Nickop has some interesting observations about the state of the Isle of Man blogosphere.

4. Jeff Pulver celebrates his social media birthday.

5. Kyle Flaherty talks about the importance of listening when it comes to building communities.

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Seven years

The Pentagon, headquarters of the US Departmen...Image via Wikipedia

It’s been seven years since I stood in stunned silence watching through my office window as the  the Pentagon burned. It’s been seven years since I first understood why the word terrorism is such an accurate descriptor.

Life has moved on, but each year on September 11, I think about the people who died that day, and how nothing and no one has ever been quite the same.

I remember those fantastic women I was working with in DC and wonder where life has taken them over the years.

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A blog newbie on Naked Conversations

Naked ConversationsImage by marketingfacts via Flickr

A blog is traditionally written by someone who knows what they’re talking about. However this blog post on blogging isn’t. I didn’t even know what blogging stood for until I recently read a book on the subject, Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel.

It  has opened my eyes up to the whole world of blogging, and its growing massive impact on several levels – commercial, social, economic, journalistic …

The book developed the realisation that blogging could lead to no less than a new world order, where openness, transparency and direct honest communication suddenly stamp forcefully on the world of spin in which information – and misinformation - is fed to us by others.

This is an interesting statement when made by someone whose career in journalism has recently detoured to also embrace PR. Both professions are often cruelly lambasted for being misleading.

Does blogging turn news reporting upside down and shift the balance of power to the public? Does it rattle the foundations of the edifice in which journalists smugly sit as the untouchable professionals who filter out the news because they think they’re so clever? Is it a revolution that will sweep aside vast media organisations?

Is blogging the ultimate democratic tool in which even the tiniest voice can be heard?  Or is it a ’sad little ego trip’ that, in the hands of the greater public with little ‘establishment’ control will lead to anarchal stabs that will ultimately signify nothing? Is it just a mass of ‘worthless white noise?’

As far as I can see, blogging changes everything and it changes nothing.  The basic problem with blogging is there’s so much of it out there – we’re in blog jam - and so much of it is lengthy (because it’s ego driven) and frankly, boring.

In terms of its impact on journalism, the thing that will keep news organisations ticking is the editorial process that is quite rightly in place partly to keep reporters’ egos in check and write copy the reader wants to read.  There is a team of professionals sifting through copy - editors, sub editors, legal advisers, other reporters - it is read and re-read before it hits the page to ensure it is interesting and correct.

Being interesting and correct are two critical elements that are missing in the blogosphere, meaning how do you trust what you’re reading? You can’t.

As for PR, the profession still has a very valuable place in news delivery, I see it as the flip side of the coin to journalism.  Business people are often so busy making business that they do not see the story they’re sitting on – nor can they necessarily communicate it effectively - and this is where the PR comes in. There is a sea of PR professionals out there who are delivering stories to busy reporters. Again, accuracy and interest are two critical elements of message delivery.

But this doesn’t mean blogging has no place, on the contrary.  Businesses realise this and are harnessing its power. Big corporations have teams of people whose sole employ is to seek out and responding to blogs about their company.

A whisper of something going wrong with a gadget on your new mountain bike could develop a momentum of blogging that could wipe out any benefits of an expensive advertising campaign.  Be honest and apologetic about the misbehaving gadget and be seen to make amends and it will do wonders for the loyalty of the customer base.

The clever PR will advise their client to get a blogging area of their website to attract comment - both positive and negative - and help companies to see that not having a blog on their website is seen as evasive and therefore damning in itself.  The reporter might sniff out some interesting stories via blogs.
Blogging must be taken seriously by everyone - organisations, professions, journalists and PRs – anyone that’s in the business of communication, which is just about everyone.

It may be a refreshing and a truly democratic tool, but blogging will by no means lead to the demise professions such as journalism and PR, not least because everyone, just everyone, is time poor and the last thing they need is more to do.

Apparently worldwide there are 120,000 new blog posts created every day, that’s 1.4 every second, and guess who’s just added to that?

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Sometimes you just need hard copy

Typo!Image by Tasa_M via Flickr

Last evening, after a pretty trying day, I spoiled myself by sitting down in a quiet room and reading the newspaper.  For someone who usually only finds time to scan a website, it was a real treat. The Isle of Man Examiner is still published as a broadsheet, and I spread the pages out and thoroughly enjoyed myself as I ruffled and turned them and took in stories of every description from all over the Island.

You don’t often get to see a 36 point headline on a website.  You miss many of the colour stories and much of the comment,  With search you see only what you are looking for and inevitably you miss out on a lot. You don’t get to see how the editor has organised the page to give prominence to one story or another; you rarely look outside your own world.  And for all the crowing I do about the long tail and the future of online, this is surely a great weakness of this media.

The people at the Isle of Man Newspapers tread a fine line in reporting on a community of which they are an important part.  Each week, three times a week, they publish news, information and opinion of interest to the whole of the community and at the same time they carry enough specialist information to satisfy most individuals on the Island.

You can’t please all of the people all of the time, it’s true.  But I think on the whole, Isle of Man newspapers usually gets its story mix right.  News publishing is a tough, increasingly competitive business and much respect is due to professionals at our newspaper for their efforts in reflecting our community.

At the very least, I thank them for providing me an enjoyable read last night.

Full disclosure: I write a weekly column, Tech Talk, in the Isle of Man Examiner.  This comment does not relate to my own copy. (I’d already read that!) :-)

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Android ideas get cash from Google

Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...Image via CrunchBase, source unknown

It was last November when I first wrote about Google Android. At that time the company had just announced the launch of an open source mobile phone platform that would put it into direct competition with both Microsoft and Symbian.

But what set them apart was that they issued it under an open source licence.  Android stacks software as a Java-over-Linux platform, and when it was launched many industry pundits said it would form the basis for a whole new generation of mobile devices.

At about the same time Google announced its $10 million Android challenge to reward developers who built great applications for Android.

Click here to see the big money winners.

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7 September: PR top 5

as day shifts to nightImage by Stuck in Customs via Flickr

I learned a lot more about how the Internet impacts public relations this week. Here are my picks of the best stories:

1. Ten ways to measure the ROI of social media; Charles Helfin has some really good advice on evaluation.

2. Susan Getgood points us to some excellent Internet statistics.

3. Cool diagram of a PR person’s brain from John Bell.

4.  Geoff Livingston has a great discussion going about why events still play an important role in a community.

5. Owen has given the Greymatter Honeypot a new design.  Check it out.

(I include this pic, just because I like it!)

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BCS IoM: Peter Wheatcroft explains IT services delivery

Astonishingly few companies within the UK are benefiting from the advantages that come from world class accredited service management. This talk presents a distillation of the best practices in IT service delivery. We will touch on existing and developing global IT standards, and IT performance aspirations including ITIL v3 and related best practice methodologies

About the speaker
Peter Wheatcroft is a management consultant, currently tasked with improving the management of IT departments in a number of prestigious blue chip companies.

While a director at Alliance & Leicester plc, he achieved World Class status for their IT services.  He has also been instrumental in the provision of world class service delivery for companies in a number of industry sectors including process control, retail, travel & leisure and healthcare.

Holding chartered status as both an engineer and IT professional, he is a fellow of BCS and the IET Institution of Engineering & Technology as well as a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and the British Quality Foundation.

Venue:     The Claremont Hotel, Douglas
Date:        Thursday  18th   September 2008
Time:       Doors opened at 18:00 for an 18:30 start.

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Big brand blogs

no original descriptionImage via Wikipedia

If you think that blogging is just for geeks and emo teens you’re wrong.  Debbie Weil, renowned communications consultant and author, has put together the definitive list of 67 Big Brand Blogs. The list covers global leaders of a range of industries from Accenture in finance to technology leaders Cisco to Harley-Davidson and McDonald’s and Xerox.  If you want to see how corporates are leveraging this channel check out their blogs.

Sooner or later, all companies will have a blog as a fundamental part of their corporate communications function.  I know of a few corporate blogs in the Isle of Man. There are probably more and if you know of any, please add links to this post.

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PR: polish your pitches

Up Yours Delors!Image by dullhunk via Flickr

How do newspapers choose which case studies make their pages? What’s the difference between pitching a feature to the FT and a column to the Mailon Sunday? On September 9th 2008, the folks at the:101 are giving people the opportunity to sit down with experienced BBC and national journalists to find out!

The latest Nationals Pitching Day is taking place 9 September in London, and there are a few places left. The workshop focuses on providing practical skills that enable PR executives to pitch any journalist with confidence. Using interactive exercises, role play and Q&A sessions, it will provide insights into:how to craft attention-grabbing email pitches who to call on a national newspaper and when tailoring pitches for blogs and websites using news wires and regional press as a gateway to nationals and more.

About the trainers:

Neil Aitchison is a freelance radio, broadcast and online journalist whohas spent many years working with BBC Television, BBC Radio and BBC Online.

Catherine Cooper is a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph, Observer, Sunday Telegraph and Guardian newspapers, as well as a range of women’s and parenting magazines.

Linda Jones is a freelance journalist with almost 20 years experience. She regularly supplies stories to the likes of the Daily Mail, Daily Express, News of the World, Guardian and Telegraph newspapers.

Sally Whittle has been covering business, HR and training for almost ten years, and today regularly contributes to broadsheet newspapers on a range of topics, including charities, technology and small business.

The workshops will take place at 44 Portland Place in London on the 9th September and run from 9.30am to 5pm.

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Twitter brings risk and opportunity

Image representing Twitter as depicted in Crun...Image via CrunchBase, source unknown
With many global brands such as Ford, Coke and Harvard Business School getting into it, blogging has gone quite mainstream, in the USA at least.

But the corporate world is now just waking up the world of microblogging, Twitter, Plurk and Spoink, if you like. So when Exxon Mobil jumped into the fray last month, joining the conversation with millions of ‘Twitteri’ from around the world, there was a lot of excitement. The only problem was, it wasn’t actually Exxon.

Click here to read the rest of this Tech Talk column.

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BlogDay 2008

Blog Day 2008

Jeff Pulver is encouraging us to take part in Blogday 2008 and I figure why not?  It’s a great way for us all to check out different blogs and maybe learn a thing or two.  So here are my five blogs (non-PR)  to celebrate BlogDay.

1. Special Little People provides aromatherapy products for children. Blogger Janine Wood shares how she uses scents in her own life as a mother.  She has a nice writing style and reveals quite a bit about herself and her life.

2. I love reading Dan Santow’s blog Wordwise.  It’s chock full of expert information on writing style and grammar.  Everyone who reads or writes English should subscribe to Dan’s blog.

3. I’ve been following the Invincebelle blog for the past few months.  It’s an online community for women who live and work in a multicultural world. Its goal is to provide both personal and professional development for women who work.

4. I’ve been incredibly impressed with the Ramsey Daily Photo blog ever since I found it a couple months ago. This blog has an incredibly active community and showcases this photographer’s incredible creativity.

5. I’ve been following Rita’s Musings ever since she launched the blog a couple of years ago. There is no central theme. She doesn’t update often. But this blog gives a window into Rita’s world and me feel that I’m still connected to her even though I now live thousands of miles away and haven’t seen her in years.

Happy BlogDay 2008 everyone!

30 August: PR top 5

Gartner Research's Hype Cycle diagramImage via Wikipedia

I just spent 3.5 hours reading PR blogs.  What an excellent way to while away a cold damp Saturday morning. It’s tough to boil it down to just five favourites, but here goes.

1. Dave Jones has posted and invited us to steal his blog stats dashboard template.  It seems to be a useful tool. Thanks Dave.

2. Neville Hobson offers some analysis of the 2008 Gartner Hype Cycle. Apparently Web 2.0 has a good chance of delivering on its promise.

3. Robert Geller gives us a useful framework to ensure our teams continue to delight our clients with RSOI.

4. Owen offers some insight into Microsoft’s recent acquisition of GreenField Online.  Are they chasing consumers?

5. Chris Edwards points out how inept BT was with a recent announcement about the withdrawal of a service.  Reminds me of an email I received from my accountants this week.  “Dear Sherrilynne, We are doubling our fees starting next month.  Thank you.” Well at least they are being clear.  Shall I vote with my feet?

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Johnston Press cuts deep

Media Week is reporting that Johnston Press, owners of Isle of Man Newspapers, has seen advertising revenues plummet by 21.0% year on year in the first seven weeks of the second half of the year.

Total revenue fell 6.3% to £293m for the first six months of 2008, year on year, while operating profit fell 15.6% to £81.6m. Interesingly, the group reports that digital revenues grew by 52.1%, but I suspect they were starting from a very low base.

The company said it has cut costs by £7.6m in the first half and will continue to do so.

Well cost cutting is all well and good as long as the quality of the reporting doesn’t suffer. Management needs to ensure editorial staff is sufficient in both number and ability to turn in the content that that readers need.  Otherwise they’ll leave in droves and advertisers will follow them.

I’ve seen a real change in the Examiner’s business pages since reporter Julie Taylor left several months ago and haven’t heard anything about a replacement being sought.  The Editor’s post too has been vacant for some weeks now, but Richard Butt will soon be arriving to take the helm.

It’s comforting to know that Isle of Man newspapers is one of the most profitable outfits in Johnston Press’s stable.  Hopefully the cuts here won’t go much deeper.

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How to use Google Reader

Further to my recent post on how easy it is to use RSS.  The guys at CommonCraft have just released this short how to video for Google Reader.  Enjoy.

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