Archive for November, 2006
November 14th, 2006
How often have we said “why doesn’t this work right?” or “what am I supposed to do with this now?”
Well, today is World Usability day, a day focused on raising awareness of the benefits of usability engineering and user centered design.
In fact the Usability Professionals’ Association organises 36 hours of activity, which is celebrated in 40 countries, with the sole purpose of making sure software, hardware, in fact practically anything, is easy to use and a good fit for the people who use it.
Foviance is leading the crusade this side of the Atlantic, perfecting a simple idea and something that should really be the most obvious function for any product or service.
With so many conversations around social media and Web 2.0 it is too easy to get distracted by the very fundamentals of what we are trying to do. If your new website, mobile device, pen, shopping trolley, whatever, isn’t usable, it isn’t anything.
Not a difficult concept.
November 13th, 2006
In a meeting this morning with a potential new client the subject of creating a persona for a corporate blog, and the business repercussions this might have, came up in conversation.
Without naming names, the person we were meeting, who is well-respected for his IT and telco expertise, expressed concern at launching a corporate blog focused on his persona, when the faces of his staff ‘on the ground’ were a key USP for the company.
As a voice of authority on his industry sector, it makes perfect sense for him to be the face of his company’s online network, but his concerns are well-founded and something for us to take seriously.
I thought this conversation was worth sharing as it highlights the number of business considerations that PRs must be taking into account when advising a client to launch a blog. There are obviously different approaches that can be taken with a corporate blog and ways of working around this situation in question, but my main point is that in some cases it might simply not be the right thing to do.
At Liberate Media we’re keen for all of our clients to realise the importance of communicating with their online network, but a blog isn’t the only way to do this. It’s crucial that PRs evaluate whether a blog will meet their clients key business objectives, and if it won’t, to think of alternative options.
It would be interesting to hear what PRs and non-PRs have to say on this subject…
Daily Mail ignores online discussion…literally
November 10th, 2006
Roy Greenslade’s post on Guardian blog, Greenslade, titled: ‘Why the newsprint Mail has defied online movement’ confirmed what many of us have been thinking for a while, The Daily Mail is ignoring its online presence.
In this case it appears even the topic is to be dismissed.
As Greenslade confirms in his post: “I’ve rarely seen Andrew Neil stumped for words or wave away a questioner. But he did so during a question-and-answer session at the Society of Editors conference when asked about the apparent contradiction between the success of the newsprint Daily Mail and the fact that its owners have been very slow to engage with the internet. When he failed to offer an explanation that satisfied the questioner she pursued her point and he told her he would speak to her privately. That conversation never took place and I understand Neil later described her as ‘an anorak’.”
On the face of it, we could be forgiven for thinking the Mail is being a little naive to dismiss its web presence so readily. But does this lack of dialogue suggest a different agenda? Should we in fact read more into the Mail’s readership as Greenslade suggests?
Further investigation shows the Daily Mail hasn’t dismissed online totally, it is being developed, but considerably slower than its peers. The reason? As the ABC figures show, The Mail is one of only two nationals (FT being the other) not to suffer a downturn in readership figures (year-on-year).
Does this suggest Daily Mail readers are not looking to the web yet and that the Mail’s lack of real presence and personality online does not matter? Or will it’s belated internet focus trigger an eventual downturn? One thing is for sure, it appears the Daily Mail isn’t ready to share.
Decide for yourself - Daily Mail.
November 9th, 2006
Following the recent acquisitions of Telewest and Virgin Mobile, it appears NTL is hot on the trail of the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, ITV.
The story broke earlier today on MediaGuardian and has since been confirmed by both parties. Statements follow below.
Following the news, shares of ITV climbed 7.8% to 113.63 pence in London, while NTL shares dropped 2.4% in New York.
ITV is valued by the market at around £4.6 billion.
On Wednesday, NTL reported that its quarterly loss widened to 96 million pounds from 52 million pounds on the interest charges need to finance the Telewest and Virgin deals.
According to the Guardian, one possible alliance would be a tie-up between ITV and NTL’s content division Flextech, which operates pay-TV channels such as LivingTV and Trouble.
NTL’s statement confirmed: “NTL notes the press speculation concerning ITV. NTL confirms that it has advised ITV of its interest in exploring a possible combination transaction and has scheduled an initial conversation with ITV to that end.
“This process is at a very preliminary stage and there is no assurance that these discussions will lead to any offer being made for ITV.”
ITV’s statement said: “In response to speculation, the board of ITV confirms that it has very recently received, from the board of NTL Inc, a highly tentative expression of interest in holding discussions about a possible combination of NTL with ITV.
“In the interests of its shareholders, the board of ITV has indicated its willingness to listen to any bona fide proposal, but to date no meeting has been held nor has any proposal been received.
“Accordingly, there can be no certainty that any compelling construct will be forthcoming, still less that any merger or takeover will result.
“A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.”
November 8th, 2006
It’s official: the world has gone Second Life crazy. As part of a fascinating experiement in social media, the virtual world is on course to build a media empire of its own.
The virtual world already has one foot in traditional media with the Second Life Herald, but it is now poised to get its own tabloid a second tabloid. Thank you to Urizenus for pointing out this correction.
As the MediaGuardian reports this morning, Axel Springer, the publisher of Germany’s top-selling Bild newspaper, has laid out plans to launch a weekly paper filled with news and gossip from the avatar world.
According to the report, Springer will build a virtual editorial team to manage and produce SL News, and a team of roving reporters will be recruited from the Second Life community.
The paper is due to be launched in December and will cost between 10 and 15 Linden dollars.
And placing its other foot in digital media, Second Life is also gearing up to launch its first broadband TV network.
Channel 4 and the Sci-Fi channel are among the companies contributing content, and the pilot project is being put together by creative agency Rivers Run Red.
Virtuallife.tv will launch in the virtual world at the end of this month, and the plan is to have more than 100 specialist channels streaming by the end of 2007. User-generated content will be a key factor in its success.