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26.7.09


According to this chart I was a web developer, IT journalists and professional blogger when I joined Twitter. I am/was none of these things.

We are hiring again at GREEN

re you financial whizz? Are you AAT qualified with an excellent understanding of SAGE and a keen eye for managing cashflow?

If so, we would like to talk to you as GREEN Communications, based in Wakefield, is currently seeking a capable financial administrator to provide full range of financial administration and book-keeping duties.
This position provides for a flexible working environment equivalent to three days a week. Salary £14,000 - £17,000 pro rata.
Send your CV to Ian Green, GREEN Communications, Wakefield Media Centre, 19, King Street, Wakefield WF1 2SQ
T: 0845 4503210
F: 0845 4503211
Closing date for applications August 7th. No agencies please

18.7.09

Public Relations: The next stage

I was at an event last week and a delegate I got chatting with said I should be worried about my business because public relations didn’t have a future – what with Web2.0 and all that.
The same thing was said to me in 2005 at LeWeb3.0 in Paris – I’m still around and doing PR and still thriving. The point is Web2.0 will not kill PR but make it stronger as a communications tool.
PR expertise is now paramount. SEO, social network marketing, Web 2.0 applications and the like have all served to increase - not decrease - the value and demand for high-quality public relations. The reason? PR has always been about the conversation and Web2.0 is all about the conversation.
In fact, thinking about it, is the concept of Web2.0 even relevant anymore? With PR, the problem is all about perception – most people think we just send out press releases and now that print media is in decline, they say PR is on it’s way out as well. They never understood that press releases and published articles are just means to an end. The core of PR has always been about communication skills and strategies - the ability to evaluate the competitive landscape, identify the right messages and effectively and honestly communicate those messages to the right audience – in deadwood media as well as any other media.
The slaggers argue that SEO is a dark art - add a meta tag descriptor here, create a load of keywords and move up the Google ranking. Bollocks! It’s all about content. And who manages the content? PR. And who influences user-generated content? PR.
Meanwhile, the press release remains as important as ever. Even with deadwood media the average 50-year-old hack working on a regional newspaper, or, indeed, a national newspaper, would be completely flummoxed if he received a social media press release with all the bells and whistles of podcasts, videos, links, images and third-party sources.
Remember newspapers, magazines, journals and their online companions have not gone away. They’re online, along with a host of bloggers, freelancers and forum writers that are also writing about you and your company.
This means that PR isn’t going away either. It has just become more complex and more important to a strategic communications plan than ever before. And that’s exciting!

Taking OpenCoffee to Barnsley

Following the success of the OpenCoffee networking events we have held in Bradford and Sheffield, bmedi@ are running another event on Thursday 23rd July 2009 in Barnsley.
The emphasis of OpenCoffee is very much on the internet and new media industries etc. These free events are informal and see a range of technology entrepreneurs, designers, bloggers, developers, geeks, investors and anyone else who’s interested in digital media and technology exchanging ideas and striking up relationships that would otherwise never have flourished.
The philosophy of OpenCoffee is very much of an Open House of ideas and people.
OpenCoffee Barnsley is being sponsored by bmedi@.
The event will take place on Thursday 23rd July 2009 between 10 and 12 midday at the Barnsley Digital Media Centre, County Way, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2JW.
Please click here directions.
The event is open to anyone who is interested in the region’s digital, creative and new media industries. You’re welcome to enjoy the coffee, bacon butties, the cakes and the company. We do however need to have an idea of numbers for catering, so please book your place by contacting Dev Dulai either by e-mail dev@bmedia.org.uk or ring 01274 747407.
We look forward to networking with you.