Archive for September, 2007
September 28th, 2007
A step-by-step guide to how businesses should be
thinking about blogging in the era of social media.
click here to play in quick time, or right click to save as.
September 27th, 2007
I felt compelled to share a useful post from Shane Richmond at Telegraph.co.uk today, titled: ‘Building an audience for your blog’.
As Wendy pointed out yesterday, it wasn’t that long ago that we took our first tentative steps into the blogosphere and we remember the issues that held us back initially.
However, with perseverance and help from recognised bloggers, see Shane’s first and fourth point, we began to be recognised, and although we still have plenty to do, our confidence has grown.
So, for all those starting out and looking for help, you could do much worse than reviewing the thread on the Authority Blogger Forum, the original source of Shane’s post, and then getting stuck in.
In the spirit of sharing, and on a related subject, I’ve added a few pieces of advice to those starting out:
1. Understand the environment - Although you shouldn’t procrastinate needlessly before starting to blog, do make sure you understand blog etiquette in terms of writing style and the basic dos and don’ts.
2. Find your niche - Content isn’t just important - it’s everything, so make sure your chosen subject matter is a passion, or at least a subject you are enthusiastic about, otherwise blogging will quickly become a pain rather than a pleasure.
3. Persevere - Having said all that, you will make mistakes. You will find yourself shouting and getting no response and you will find posting a pain at some point or other. Don’t worry, keep learning and keep going!
September 26th, 2007
The Liberate Media blog is exactly one year old this week. Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun in the blogosphere!
This morning I’ve come across this great Technorati-based applet, created by Dane Carlson’s Business Opportunities Weblog, which calculates in seconds the perceived value of your blog. It claims to use the same link to dollar ratio as the AOL-Weblogs Inc deal.
My blog is worth $2,258.16.
How much is your blog worth?
So the Liberate Media blog has reached four figures in a year, which is a good start. It took a bit of trial and error before we hit on what our editorial focus was going to be, but we hope that you are now finding it a good read. If you have any feedback, good or bad, we’d love to hear!
Digital media drives Burma protests
September 25th, 2007
The media is hot with news of the Burmese protests today, and my eye has been drawn to a news organisation that is having a big impact on spreading news of the demonstrations within Burma.
Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) is a non-profit Burmese media organisation that is striving to provide uncensored and impartial news reports to its country. Channel 4 News has profiled it on this evening’s programme for the instrumental role that it’s playing, amid heavily controlled state television that is refusing to show footage of the protests.
I felt compelled to give the organisation a mention here, not only because of the good it’s doing, but also because of its technical creativity.
The TV channel is broadcast by satellite from Norway, but has 30 to 40 undercover journalists on the ground in Burma. While the Burmese regime is threatening to shut down mobile networks, DVB is continuing to deliver video footage and images to citizens. This is citizen journalism in its most powerful form.
Those wishing to pledge their support to the Burmese protests can do so here.
Ad-funded mobile network - a sign of things to come?
September 24th, 2007
It seems to good to be true, and in some ways it is, but Blyk, the brainchild of former Nokia president Pekka Ala-Pietila, is offering a free mobile network for students.
Free that is with advertising, a maximum of six advertising messages a day, and there is a limit to the free minutes - 217 free texts and 43 minutes of talktime every month. Then, when the free allocation runs out, the phone turns into an Orange pay-as-you-go tariff of 10p a text and 15p a minute calls.
That low amount of free talktime may be the big sticking point, but still, Blyk phones could become the ‘must have’ accessory for students if the comms are handled well.
Blyk bills itself as both a: ’new mobile network for 16 – 24s that’s funded by advertising’. As well as: a ‘new media channel for advertisers’. The advantage for advertisers being that it offers direct access to the all important 16-24 year old segment, as well as the opportunity to gather data on each user when they sign up, and through ongoing monitoring.
The company has already signed up 45 brands including McDonald’s, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Boots, NatWest, MasterCard and L’Oreal who are just busting to reach this important demographic.
It’s an interesting idea, and could form the blue print for any number of similar add-funded services if successful. As with all new launches the ‘buzz’ will be critical, and if Blyk can be positioned as a desirable object, rather than just a free phone, I think it could catch on. However, running a mobile network on ad revenue alone seems like a tall order.
Oh, and if you’re hoping to get hold of a Blyk phone it seems you maybe out of luck, unless you’re a first year student. Blyk is invitation only and will be distributed in Fresher’s Week packs at 30 UK universities and events aimed at the age group.
MediaGuardian has the full story.