Posts Tagged ‘social networks’
Gustav creates an online social media storm
September 1st, 2008
I have been following the Gustav hurricane updates today on Twitter and am amazed by the amount of people talking about it over social networks and with social online tools.
Twitter has also been embraced as a ‘perfect storm’ for Twitter - A CNN reporter named Rick Sanchez has embraced Twitter with a vengance, calling on Twitter users to feed him information from the hurricane zone.
Twitter says Gustav is the most trended word of the day followed by Hurricane Gustav and #gustav - no surprise really!
Other sources of information include a blog called Gustav Bloggers - a group of concerned techies from the Internet sector who are based in New Orleans and survived Katrina from a New Orleans skyrise with NO DOWNTIME.
You can track Hurrican Gustav in Google Earth, listen to updates via Fox News radio, watch Hurricane Gustav Webcams or join a Ning group called ‘Gustav Information Center - Alerts and Information Regarding Hurricane Gustav’.
For more information also check out Gustav’s own Wiki page and the official Wikipedia page online at Hurricane Gustav.
It great to see people using social media as a way of communicating the latest happening for others that are not in direct contact with Gustav, but want to be kept updated in real time.
June 6th, 2008
It seems that the open online generation is beginning to have second thoughts about the content that it shares with the world via the web.
According to a press complaints commission survey into the media’s use of personal material sourced from social networks, and the web in general, sharing has quickly turned into protecting.
The survey revealed:
- Almost 80% of social networking site users would be more careful about the details they put online if they knew the media might use it.
- 89% wanted guidelines introduced on what the media could use.
- 49% of respondents said it was wrong for the media to use information that they had posted online without asking consent of the person concerned.
- 58% were fairly or very concerned about the lack of control about how they were depicted on websites.
We have already seen the result of employers searching for a prospect’s background on the web and turning up various images and text that the average candidate wouldn’t want their prospective employer to see, and now it’s spread to the media.
To be honest, i have little sympathy for people that freely share content one day but then want the brakes applied when it comes to using that information in the media. I do have some sympathy for people that didn’t know that they were being filmed, or if the content is pure fiction, and in those cases yes, regulation would be advisable, but wholly unenforceable.
However, for those that feel the need to share their most intimate/private moments and content on the web, even in so called ’safe environments’ such as friend-invited Facebook, the old rules still apply. If it’s on the web, it’s in the public domain and you’ve waved your rights.
I even find myself agreeing with the chairman of the PPC, Sir Christopher Meyer, who said: “In the digital age, self-regulation, with its sound principles and speed of operation, has never been more relevant.”
I must be getting old, as this just seems like common sense…
The BBC has the full story.
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November 29th, 2007
The PR industry has taken another bashing over the past couple of days for failing to embrace and understand social media as they should. If you’ve missed out on the conversations, it’s worth reading Will McInnes’ post “World has changed: PR agencies haven’t“, and Antony Mayfield’s follow-up post “Can PR evolve quickly enough?”.
Although Will makes the very valid point that “PR will NOT die at an industry level”, he insinuates that most PRs are in danger of being usurped by other agencies or disciplines, who have a better understanding of social networks.
And this is where I strongly beg to differ.
Expert PR thinking will always be at the strategic heart of any ‘PR’ campaign, and so long as we are always focused on being up-to-date in our approach and techniques, we will never be pushed out. The definition of ‘PR’ is on the very cusp of being radically overhauled, but our expertise and understanding of the media will never become redundant.
I am the first to admit that many PR agencies are taking too long over adapting and embracing the media climate that’s evolving so rapidly, but they shouldn’t feel bullied into having to becoming social media experts and having all the answers to hand. Their current PR expertise will be the only foundations and knowledge that they need to build on.
A great analogy to reference at this point is the publishing industry’s evolution from print to online. Ten years ago I got my first job at Ziff Davis, which coincided with the launch of its first two internet divisions - Gamespot and ZDNet. These websites were set up by traditional publishers and run by print journalists and editors - none had any prior knowledge of the Internet. To look back now it’s easy to see that we didn’t have a clue what we were doing, but we believed in the Internet and knew it was the right thing to be doing, and so just went for it! I don’t need to tell you how successful ZDNet and Gamespot are today.
My point is that we didn’t waste our time debating about how we should embrace the Internet, and who was best placed to succeed at it, or how we’d all lose our professions if we didn’t…we just did it, and learnt as we went along. As a result I’ve now been working in the digital industry for the whole of my career - I owe a lot to t’Internet!
So at the end of the day, us PRs are still the best people to do the job!
Technorati tags: pr, social_networks, socialmedia, willmcinnes, zdnet, communications
Google strikes back with OpenSocial
November 2nd, 2007
Google has announced that MySpace and Bebo are onboard with its OpenSocial platform, which promotes a common set of standards for software developers.
The OpenSocial network already includes Friendster, Hi5, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Ning and the blogging network SixApart, as well as the software makers Oracle and SalesForce.com. It gives developers access to a standard software kit that will allow their applications such as games, video players and photo albums to work across multiple social networks.
Google says it has invited other social networks, including Facebook, to participate in the spirit of openness.
Facebook showed the way forward by opening up part of its code to encourage the multitude of applications that are evident on its network today. It has replied by saying that Facebook will respond to Google’s invitation once it has had a chance to evaluate the OpenSocial network.
I think it’s safe to say that beyond ‘openness’ -OpenSocial represents Google’s ambition to sell more advertising on participating sites, similar to the $900 million advertising partnership it already has with MySpace.
Microsoft took a small but expensive stake in Facebook to secure ad rights just last week, but if OpenSocial is successful, Google could really mop up the ad opportunities in social networks. Furthermore, if Facebook does decide to join the OpenSocial movement, it could set up a battle of the heavyweights with Microsoft and Google rubbing noses on Facebook.
Whatever the motive, Facebook are still sitting pretty, enjoying being courted by the big boys.
The BBC has the full story.
Technorati tags: opensocial, google, myspace, facebook, bebo, microsoft, social+networks