Twitter hits PR agencies – guess what it’s called: twitpitch November 25, 2009
Posted by kewroad in 2009 predictions, Journalism, Twitter, blogs, conversational PR, internet, pr.Tags: pr, blog, Twitter, marketing
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Twitter makes the world go round and probably provides more opportunities than people can think of right now. Not only journalists, bloggers and analysts find a new communication channel in the 140 characters space that Twitter offers. Companies start to talk to their clients, partners, best friends and potential new clients about new products, the market or other hot issues. PR agencies like us try to introduce the advantages of Twitter to our clients and we try hard even in “far-behind-Germany”.
Now as part of the PR community we can make Twitter a new business channel for us as well. We start twittering in our community and talk about PR news, discuss issues and get quick feedback from other agencies of our thematic focus. And this network could lead to new contacts for our business. Watch us twitpitching!
Bettina
GBC Germany
Who will pay? November 18, 2009
Posted by kewroad in 2009 predictions, Facebook, Google, Journalism, Online Reputation, blogs, conversational PR, information technology, new media.add a comment
Murdoch has created a lot of storm recently talking about how consumers will have to pay for content. In this Sunday’s Observer, there was yet more discussion about how even in the good old days of printed newspapers, customers never paid the full price anyway – so why does Murdoch think they will now! And then later in the week, the editor of the Times shed more light on how he expects readers to pay for the digital edition of the Times. Good luck to them. Now, the founder of Digg, is suggesting that news aggregation sites have a contribution to make. So it’s definitely all still up in the air, in terms of how it’s all going to work financially.
In the meantime, it’s goodnight to another printed publication, 25 year old Media Week but welcome to it’s new online presence..let’s hope they can make it pay.
So in this revolutionary world we currently live, the winners will be the ones able and prepared to change their business model and make it work financially.
Sue Grant
E-bookworms on hold November 13, 2009
Posted by kewroad in iphone, new media.add a comment
Looking at Billy’s entry from yesterday about reading world literature on the iPhone we had a look at the German situation again and found that regarding e-books it’s the same with all new technology or media like the fax machine, internet, CDs, digital cameras: nobody wants to change old costumes naturally, but cannot hold off the development. As usual Germany is far behind other countries regarding changes.
A popular German literary critic finds reading books on an iPhone is a contradiction: People with an iPhone don’t read anymore. They are just playing around. Personally I doubt that there will be e-bookworms in the near future. Reading a book to me means slouching about on the sofa with a blanket, having some music, a candle light and letting the pages of the book be the only contact to real life for a while.
Bettina
Why the eBook has potential November 12, 2009
Posted by billyburnettgbc in Uncategorized.Tags: Battery, eBooks, Flurry, Google, iphone, kindle, Print, Publishers
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I made the mistake of mentioning to a colleague on the way back from a meeting the other day that I was currently reading the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes on my iPhone. Rather than be shocked at questionable literary tastes, he was, instead, appalled that I was reading a book on my phone.
A recent report by Flurry, a San Francisco based analytics firm, however indicates that I may not be alone, with 1% of the entire U.S population already reading a book on the iPhone in August ‘09. With the recent global launch of the Amazon Kindle and the availability of a PC version announced yesterday, the future of the printed word in my opinion looks bleak.
Books are not just not that portable
Firstly, the cost of eBooks is considerably less than that of the physical version. The entire works of Sherlock Holmes cost me just £1.49 and a variety of classic tales, such as The Picture of Dorian Gray and Aesop’s Fables are free. I admit that the cost of more recent books are, in some cases, more expensive, however as publishers embrace this platform surely this will change?
Another great advantage is access. When previously I had finished a book I had to plan a trip to the local bookstore and walk around in the hope of something catching my eye, or in the event I knew what I was after, a copy actually being in stock. Anyone who has finished a book midway through a long journey will share my frustration at this arduous process. With the iPhone I can quickly scan, purchase and download a new book in a matter of minutes.
My phone weighs 133 grams and the average book weighs 340 grams. I can therefore carry hundreds of books on the 16GB memory of my iPhone and put it neatly in my pocket, whilst I would need a pull cart to carry the equivalent amount around the town. The latter would likely get a few odd glances on the train into work or in the local pub on a Friday night. eBooks are, in brief, very portable.
Apart from being convenient, I also feel that the rise of the eBook will actually benefit society. The internet has provided millions of people with access to a wealth of information and with the proliferation of mobile handsets this has been expanded to billions. The rise of eBooks represents a global library that will get digital natives interested in reading again (as shown by this Daily Telegraph article).
My last point and one that I know will interest the more eco-conscious of you – eBooks are environmentally friendly when compared to the long-term carbon footprint of its printed predecessor.
As our mobile handsets continue to evolve to an entertainment, information and communication hub for the masses, and both publishers and companies like Google embrace the market, I feel that that the printed book may fall, although not completely, by the wayside. My colleague did however get the last laugh on this occasion, my battery died halfway through the journey!
Symbian Exchange & Exposition: My Thoughts October 30, 2009
Posted by billyburnettgbc in mobile.Tags: Earls Court, Event, London, mobile, SEE 09, Symbian
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With Gartner’s prediction that Symbian will continue to dominate the OS market for the foreseeable future, I was excited to get the opportunity to attend this year’s Symbian Exchange & Exposition in London earlier this week.
The first “large” event organised by The Symbian Foundation, it was an opportunity to cement the operating system as a major player in the OS wars amongst the developer community despite recent headlines being dominated by new market entrants, such as Google and Apple.
Someone had tried to smuggle in an Android handset
So, how was the event itself? Well notably smaller than previous years, with fewer exhibitors, less “big brands” and visitors being evident from the moment you walked onto the floor. This is perhaps a sign of the current economic climate, but also the changing focus of the show – which is education.
With considerably more keynotes and seminars taking place than any other year, with a comprehensive main stage agenda complimented by a series of “topic rooms”, Symbian seemed keen to engage with the developer community and address their concerns. For example, Symbian was keen to highlight the reach of the platform both in terms of market share, but also the growing number of active Nokia Ovi Store users and future benefits of the Horizon Directory.
So, did Symbian succeed? When walking the floor I often heard the Android OS mentioned by both media and attendees as a viable alternative, perhaps strengthened by the timely announcement of the 2.0 SDK. Several media also remarked, when looking at the Symbian Wall of Ideas, that many of the features requested were already available on alternative platforms.
Overall, the event seemed to answer a lot of the concerns of the developer community and provide a clearer view of Symbian’s strategy moving forward. However, with several new handsets coming out on the Android platform in the coming months and Apple continuing to be the media darling, this is the first step on a very long journey to win back the developer community.
Microsoft Windows 7 Launches with a Successful Whimper October 23, 2009
Posted by kewroad in Journalism, Microsoft, Windows 7, pr.add a comment
Impressed this week with how “little” Microsoft has done to launch Windows 7. Seems to have learnt the mistakes of the Vista and past hullaballoo and gone down the path of “less is more” and well-judged restraint. (though the Japanese haven’t been able to restrain themselves e.g. the Windows 7 Burger King burger).
And, with expectations nicely calmed if not lowered to zero, the media’s response has been pleasantly positive. Few commentators have found much to complain about except the price and the fact that XP users – who hated Vista and were most enthusiastic about what Windows 7 would offer – have to pay the most to upgrade.
Notwithstanding it’s been so low-key (actually overshadowed in the UK by much bigger stories e.g. Nokia suing Apple, nasty but thick right-wing politician on premier UK political chat show) the PR approach does follow the old maxim of the most powerful stories are Man bites Dog, not Dog bites Man in that Microsoft launches a (so far) Good OS rather than launching a Bad OS.
October 5, 2009
Posted by kewroad in Uncategorized.add a comment
I was recently asked to give my views to journalist Alex Blyth for a piece for PR Week on women in technology – have we finally come of age?
From a gadget perspective, this new world has definitely opened up tech for women. From young female gamers who have been brought up using mobile phones, PSPs, DSs and playstations to mums organising their children’s social activities via text and communicating with their childrens’ schools over the web. You are now as likely to see a blackberry being used in the school playground as you are in the office..just ten years ago few women even had a mobile phone (unless they worked in tech). In terms of social media this is also exciting for women simply because women love the art of conversation. From keeping in touch with friends and contacts via Linkedin and Facebook to sharing thoughts on holidays, families and fashion in blogs and online communities. It embraces all ages from myself at 46 to my ten year old daughter who has grown up with MSN, Facebook and now Twitter all as a way of communicating and following people (though I’m still not sure I should be letting my ten year old use Twitter) All of this of course creates exciting new opportunities for the PR industry with many more avenues for ‘talking’ to your audiences and communities. However, a slight negative. The glass ceiling still exists and probably always will. Look at the majority of boards of PR firms – even the tech ones – aren’t they still run mainly by men? Quite often, this happens because women take time out to bring up their children, which of course is absolutely the right choice for some people – life is about choice. As a result there are still few women running the large global technology brands. It’s probably still true that whilst the majority of account execs and managers and even account directors are women in agencies, the majority are men at the top even today.
