Local newspapers: Use them or lose them

I took a phone call from an old newspaper colleague a couple of weeks ago. He wanted to know if I could help a former work mate find a job after being made redundant by a major regional newspaper publisher.
I seem to be getting a lot of these calls recently - and this issue was neatly addressed by Peter Wilby in today's Guardian.
Since 1989, circulation is down 51% to 12,549 for the Birmingham Post; 49% to 70,028 for the Leicester Mercury; 43% to 50,256 for the Northern Echo (I used to work there); 62% to 32,874 for the Argus in Sussex; 38% to 38,844 for the Echo in Southend; 38% to 36,516 for the Herald in Plymouth; 49% to 20,976 for the Oldham Evening Chronicle; 46% to 19,956 for the Halifax Evening Courier. North, south, east, west, large, small, morning and evening, the story for Britain's local papers is one of unremitting gloom.
Obviously, blogs, the internet, YouTube et al are having a huge impact on regional newspaper journalism and they are not going to go away. The main problem is that, certainly with the dailies is that they are pretending to give local, regional and national news.
But parochialism is everything - and regional newspapers seem to have forgotten that. In my part of the world, what makes news in Bradford doesn't make news in Leeds (ten miles distant).
Indeed, regionalism may have been deemed dead in some respects certainly at a local political level where people are not interested in what the councils of Hull, Leeds, Bradford or York have planned for their citizens. In spite of this I still love the Yorkshire Post and buy it every day. Similarly, as a resident of Barnard Castle I bought the Teesdale Mercury every week when I lived there.
Local is so important in regional newspapers. Back in the day when I was still a journalist - that meant covering the Women's Institute meeting, the Parish Council and the local art competition.
Curiously, I was in Alnwick in Northumberland a couple of weeks ago to grab a meal off the A1 on my way to meet with friends in St Andrews, Scotland. In the car park I found a purse. It obviously belonged to a lady of more mature years and, touchingly had a picture of her husband and about £22.00 in it. It had a receipt from the Post Office and that is where I handed it in.
Later, after our meal, I headed back to the Post Office to buy the local newspaper. The woman behind the counter recognised me and informed me that the lady had retrieved her purse and informed me: "She didn't have your phone number because you wouldn't give it to me. But she said she was going to write a letter to the Northumberland Gazette about it."
Bless! That's what local, regional newspapers are all about.

Next Bradford Open Coffee

Following the success of bmedi@’s first two OpenCoffee events held in May and June, bmedi@ are running another event on Thursday 21st August 2008. Full disclosure: I am a non-executive director of bmedi@
The emphasis of OpenCoffee is very much on the internet and new media industries. The 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 Bradford(Shipley), is being sponsored by the YoYo Bar & Restaurant.
Bradford’s third OpenCoffee event will take place on Thursday 21st August at YoYo’s Bar & Restaurant (Shipley) from 10am to midday. Alas I am holiday so won’t make it.
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, the cakes and the good company. To book a place just e-mail steve@bmedia.org.uk or go to Upcoming and register. We look forward to networking with you.

Social Media and T-Shirts

Sign up to Adbuster's Media Carta

When will we reach the breaking point? Our minds have become a virtual dumping ground of pollutants - manipulative ads, distorted news, untold violence, spin and hype. We can cope with the media onslaught to a degree. But all signs suggest that the cumulative effects of this toxic culture - on our stress levels, our moods, our relationships, our world views, even our mental health - could become one the most pressing issues of our generation.
This online activist network - 30,000-strong - is working to rethink our broken media system. We invite you to join by signing the Media Carta manifesto.
Media activism is still in its infancy and is currently fragmented into dozens of different agendas.
Sign up to the Media Carta now!

The difference between the West and China

Get ready for another BarCamp

It's nine months days since Leeds' first BarCamp back in November...but rather than wait a whole year, we wanted to catch the Summer Sun, so come join us at Old Broadcasting House again, this time for two days of geekery and (hopefully) great weather on the 16th and 17th of August 2008!

What is BarCamp Leeds?
BarCamp Leeds is the city's second 'unconference', a event where the folks that attend create the programme of sessions themselves. BarCamps are open, participatory, democratic, 'workshop' events; the organisers and sponsors simply provide wireless broadband, a venue, beverages and food! The attendees provide the content - and the buzz :)
BarCamps are a great opportunity to network, lean and share...plus generally a lotta fun too. We're hoping our stack of Nintendo Wiis will break the ice and we know Old Broadcasting House will be a fun and inspiring venue.
We'd love for you to come - if you're a creative, an artist, a writer, blogger, technologist, or a developer, geek, entrepreneur, academic researcher, gamer or investor please join us. If you're just curious and interested in digital culture or social media - we'd love to meet you too :)
Come and demo, talk, share or just hang out!

UK sets the pace for Twitter

Just back from a stay with friends in North Yorkshire and slightly distracted by the number of “tweets” I have been getting from Number 10 – the PM, Gordon Brown’s Twitter account.
Also, the BBC Tech Team, The Guardian and other have been twittering too. I love Twitter – but I don’t know why. Admittedly it’s a great way of staying in touching and monitoring what other people are up to … so far so good.
But it looks like Twitter is finally going mainstream and it’s being led by the Brits according to recent stats by Hitwise. "Twitter is more popular with Brits than Americans. Last week the site's share of UK Internet visits was 70% higher its share of visits in America," writes Hitwise's Robin Goad.

"UK Internet visits to www.twitter.com have increased by 631% over the last 12 months, with 485% of that growth coming this year."
Down with the yoof, my son uses Twitter as do his friends and the general view on the interweb is that the UK will be the region that will prove the tipping point for the platform.
I’m not convinced as most people I speak to have never heard of it but then they have never heard of blogging, Facebook, MySpace…
Any thoughts people?

bmedi@ is holding a re-branding competition

Over at bmedi@, where I am a director, they are holding a Rebrand Competition.
How good are you with words and pictures? Enter the competition and you can bask in the glow of creating a new brand for bmedi@!
bmedi@ is eight years old. Since it was launched as a thriving network of media and digital-related companies and professionals, the company has evolved beyond its original Bradford remit.
Today it has members from across West Yorkshire and beyond and has emerged as a network operating across the North of England.
With this in mind, and to maintain bmedi@’s success to date, the company is seeking to re-brand with a new name that reflects its diverse member network and its vision for the region.
In the spirit of bmedi@’s collaborative remit with its members and, with the current interest in social networks, they are throwing open the re-naming and re-branding of the network to competition – the winner will receive prominent credits on the bmedi@ website and all promotional materials, including press coverage. They will even throw in a new iPhone.
Criteria for entries:

• The new brand and name should reflect the collaborative nature of the bmedi@ network of creative and digital professionals.
• Its remit for sharing ideas and best practice in the creative, digital and media sector.
• The “northern” nature of the network.
• Our values of community, co-operation, optimism and openness
• Be web proof with an appropriate URL

To enter simply send us your new name and brand in the form of a graphic logo (as a jpeg, pdf, etc) and you could win a new iPhone. Those entries short listed by the judges will be published on the bmedi@ website and members and non-members will be invited to vote on the winning entry.
Send your entry to newbrand@bmedia.org.uk. Entries will close on July 31, 2008.

DISCLAIMER: The new logo and name will be secured under a Creative Commons Share-Alike License

Want to work for a top agency?

GREEN Communications is recruiting again. This time we are looking for an Account Director or highly talented Senior Account Manager with a sound knowledge of the consumer, lifestyle and business sectors to join our highly motivated team.
You will need to hit the ground running and have a passion for creative media relations, a desire to deliver outstanding coverage for your clients, the ability to think on your feet and manage an executive team.
The ideal candidate will need a broad spread of media contacts across consumer, lifestyle and business within the broadcast, national press, consumer press, online as well as freelancers. An interest in social media is also desired.
The work you will be required to undertake will have a broad consumer focus and will include working as part of a team to help implement high profile campaign activity. You will need to be a hot shot communicator and demonstrate your media knowledge to ensure you stay ahead at this agency.
Further information visit call Ian Green on 0845 4503210. Send CVs with covering letter to Ian at Green Communications, Wakefield Media Centre, 19 King Street, Wakefield, WF1 2SQ or email: ian@greencomms.com

We are doing OpenCoffee again!

Following the success of our first OpenCoffee event held in May, bmedi@ we are running another event on Thursday 19th June 2008.
The emphasis of OpenCoffee is very much on the internet and new media industries. 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 Bradford, is being sponsored by (WOW Hub) and the YoYo Bar & Restaurant.
Bradford's second OpenCoffee event will take place on Thursday 19th June at YoYo's Bar & Restaurant (Shipley) from 10am to midday.
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, the cakes and the company :- ) To book a place just e-mail steve@bmedia.org.uk. We look forward to networking with you. You can also register at upcoming

Back in the saddle

Have been too busy to write recently. What with work, family and travel. Normal service will resume shortly...

Open Coffee comes to Bradford

Following in the footsteps of Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield, Bradford is the latest to join the 82-city strong global OpenCoffee new media networking community.
The emphasis of OpenCoffee is very much on the internet and new media industries. The 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.
bmedi@ is sponsoring the inaugural OpenCoffee Bradford, using its role at the hub of Yorkshire’s commerce, academia and technology to leverage its a network of new media, companies, organisations and individuals.
Bradford’s first OpenCoffee will take place on Tuesday 20th May at YoYo’s Bar & Restaurant from 10am to midday.
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, the cakes and the company - register your plans to attend the event at Upcoming.

We're having a party

Facebook Chat fuels the conversation

What a great Web2.0 PR job.
1. Launch an instant messaging (IM) service on Facebook
2. Tell no one about.
3. Wait until users log on
4. Sit back and watch the conversation go viral
All Facebook users around the world can now use the social networking site’s integrated IM (instant messaging) chat application, which the site made available without so much as an official announcement.
While Facebook Chat went live in the UK today. The chat function appears as a bar on the bottom of the screen and indicates to users when a friend is online and allows the option of appearing offline if needed.
The chat bar also displays the user’s status message, as well as recently received notifications. Facebook said it is working on integrating other site features into the real-time chat application in the near future.
I think this great as I have always advocated that social network and Web2.0 PR is all about fuelling the conversation. This takes it to the next level.

GREEN in the awards again

Congratulations to the GREEN team for their recent success in the annual public relations awards run by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
This time we were at the Grand Prix finals in Birmingham after winning three golds in the regional finals for our work on Wensleydale Creamery and Beat Blue Monday.
At Birmingham, were we shared a table with client Northern Gas Networks and some lovely people from Devon County Council, we picked up a Highly Commended Award in the Not-For-Profit category for the work we did for beat Blue Monday.
The picture shows, Ian Green (left) with Account Manager Thomas Atcheson. The picture was taken by Alison Marks from Devon County Council who attended the event with the lovely Clare and Irene. Thanks Alison!

PR Students: The Kids Are Alright

Curious! Three phone calls from PR undergraduates, writing their thesis on PR and blogging asking me my views on how blogs and Web2.0 works in the marketing mix (WTFDIK?).
Hard to answer when I haven't posted here for weeks. But what I found comforting - especially as I was judging a student enterprise competition recently - was how keen these young people were. And not just from the point of view of buttering up a prospective employer but because they were genuinely interested in the subject.
So what did they ask?:
Should all companies have a blog?
My Answer: No - depends on the company, product and the people. Blogs don't work for everyone, or every business. But if they have something to say - consistently a blog is good way to communicate it.
Is the press release past it's sell by date?
My Answer: No - but its means of distribution have changed. I'm still not sure about the SMR as most journalist don't know what to do with it.
What do you do if a blogger says bad things about your company?
My Answer: Thank them for the feedback , then add some thoughts to the conversation.
What do you do if a blogger says good things about your company?
My Answer: See above and offer to send them some product.
Should Web2.0 be regulated like newspapers?
My Answer: God No!
Should we forget about print media?
My Answer: No - print (and broadcast) is still king for now. Who reads the Telegraph or the Times online every day? Not me, or my son. He reads the Guardian, then checks stories out on the web.

Not that insightful I know. But at least the kids are asking the right questions. And The Kid Are Alright.

Chocs, chimps and Web2.0

Now here’s a funny thing…
A year ago, Cadbury's UK chocolate business was in the shit but according to a recent article in The Guardian by Simon Bowers they turned it all around thanks to a gorilla, a drum kit, Phil Collins and Web2.0. Okay…
Knackered by a salmonella-related product recall that had wiped £30m off sales, which also provoked a £1m fine that damaged the group's reputation the company has come out the other end smelling rather sweet! Thanks to an ad campaign that required an actor to dress up in a gorilla suit and drum along to Phil Collins' 1981 hit Coming In The Air Tonight – the company is thriving.
The resulting television campaign boosted sales of Dairy Milk by 9% from when it first aired in September, and helped Cadbury's UK market share in chocolate to enjoy a strong bounce back.
CEO Todd Stitzer gets it but doesn’t get it. He said recently: "For the Chinese, 2007 was the year of the pig. For Cadbury, it was the year of the gorilla… I am a 55-year-old person who has lived through a different advertising experience ... In the end, I trusted in the young and talented people who came up with the idea."
Not only did the ad work well on traditional media - television and posters in particular - it also set a new standard in the viral world, becoming an internet phenomenon. On Facebook there are more than 70,000 people signed up to about 100 Cadbury gorilla-inspired groups. "Why you would want to join one of these, I don't know," Stitzer said, "but 70,000 people do." Of course they do!
The gorilla clip has become the most watched commercial ever on YouTube, spawning a string of spoofs.
For me the trick is how do we do it for GREEN’s smaller clients. Any ideas?

We're planning a BarCamp in Bradford

Over at Bmedi@ - the network for the creative, new media and digital industries in Yorkshire - we are planning BarCamp Bradford as the city's first 'unconference', a event where the participant who attend create the programme of sessions themselves. BarCamps are open, participatory, democratic, 'workshop' events; the organisers and sponsors simply provide wireless broadband, a venue, beverages and food! The attendees provide the content - and the buzz ;- )
Full disclosure - I am a board member of Bmedi@.
An unconference is a conference where the content of the sessions is created and managed by the participants (generally day-by-day during the course of the event) rather than by one or more organizers in advance of the event.
The term BarCamp is primarily used in the geek community. Open Space Technology is an energizing and emergent way to organize an agenda for a conference. Those coming to the event can post on a wiki ahead of time topics they want to present about or hope others will present about. The wiki can also be used as an attendee list and to manage the organization of the event from food through to the provision of wifi etc.
We're anticipating sessions on social media, blogging, 3D printing, digital film making, Augmented Reality interfaces, mobile technology trends, Drupal, games design, co-creation, public relations and marketing in the digital age, an SEO clinic as well as talks from some of the bug digital players of the North.
We'd love for you to come - if you're a creative, an artist, a writer, blogger, technologist, or a developer, geek, entrepreneur, academic researcher, gamer or investor please join us. If you're just curious and interested in digital culture - we'd love to meet you too!
Come and demo, talk, share or just hang out!
We will shortly set up a wiki which will tell you more about the format, our venue, the people who're coming and speaking and the ideas for sessions and what people are thinking about.
The event - venue to be agreed - starts with an introduction by the organisers rearticulating the purpose of the event, the guidelines for conduct during the day, parameters and health and safety.
Parameters explain the start and end time of the event, duration of the sessions, breaks for food, how to access the network etc.
The Rules of Bar Camp?
Rule 1: You must talk about Bar Camp Bradford.
Rule 2: You must blog about Bar Camp Bradford.
Rule 3: If you want to present, you must write your topic and name in a presentation slot.
Rule 4: Only three word intros.
Rule 5: As many presentations at a time as facilities allow for.
Rule 6: No pre-scheduled presentations, no tourists - we might break this rule with a key note speaker
Rule 7: Presentations will go on as long as they have to or until they run into another presentation slot.
Rule 8: If this is your first time at BarCamp, you HAVE to present. (OK, you don't really HAVE to, but try to find someone to present with, or at least ask questions and be an interactive participant.)
Here - I am just seeding the idea and would love some feedback so please do leave a comment. We are thinking of a date in April or May... would that suit?
GREEN for one will be getting involved.

Let's Beat Blue Monday

Right then! Today (Monday, January 21) is the most depressing day of the year. So I suggest you all start making a protest and make it the most wonderful day of the year. In other words blog about what is making you smile.
I, for one, will go into work with a Hiawian shirt and Fez! They always make me feel good about myself.
For a start you can blog about what makes your day - for me I will be in London (after 6.00) so anyone who fancies a beer and curry get in touch with Ian Green (greenboy106@hotmail.com) and we can all meet up for a pigout. Please recommend venues!
By the way please tag your posts with: "beatbluemonday" and let's get people smiling.
What else can you do to Beat Blue Monday? Try these
Try something new
Be creative, or learn something new to get your brain active and start thinking of new things instead of dwelling on the old.
Get physical
By changing your physical state, from a simple shoulder-shake at your desk to a full work-out at the gym, you can change the way you feel.
Contact a friend or relative
Get in touch with someone you have not heard from in a while; thinking of someone else takes your mind off you.
Take a break
Go somewhere different, whether it’s a coffee bar you have never been into, or a faraway luxury holiday; by changing your physical location, you change your perspective on the world.
Be nice to a stranger
Do a random act of kindness; doing good for others is the best form of self-satisfaction.
Help the planet
Be a good ancestor in some way; the planet will be here long after you are gone.
Pamper yourself
Spoil yourself, from a small indulgence to a luxury you have been promising yourself. You can even dye your hair blue to create a stunning eye-catching change.
Plan something new
Whether it’s planning a holiday for later in the year or deciding what to do at the weekend, looking forward to something new or different can be uplifting and refreshing.
Create your own carnival or go to the beach
By turning a bit of your home or office into a carnival or a beach you can pretend your somewhere relaxing and help us create world’s biggest virtual beach party!
Share you thoughts
A problem shared is a problem halved. Visit the Blue Monday blog to see what ideas people have come up with for dealing with life’s little problems.
You can get involved in a range of activities that are taking place across the UK.
Also watch this space - I think we need to have an online party tomorrow - check out the blog at... BeatBlueMonday.

Old Mother Riley - Queen of the Cannibals

The kids are alright

As I sit here my son is playing Beat On The Brat by The Ramones as he gets ready for bed. We’ve just come back from a "Parent’s Evening".
For US readers a Parent’s Evening is an opportunity to go to your child’s school and hear how your off spring are amazing teaching staff with their genius or how they are into hard drugs and attacking classmates in the common room.
Ours is not a genius - nor, I think is he a crack addict, but he is bright and, if he gets the grades for university, is planning a career in journalism. As a former journalist, with no money or pension I have tried to push him in another direction (Note to All Parents: Never, ever push your children in a direction).
But I was intrigued by a recent post by Sacred Facts on the three ages of media and what a career in media means - or what it meant and what it might mean in the future. It goes like this:

Media Career 1.0 (1950s - 1990s)
Go to University, preferably Oxbridge, and take an arts degree to develop your mind. Join a local newspaper or radio station. Blag your way in. Work your way up to a national newsroom or production department. Find an organisation you like and dig in for the long haul. Specialise in print or radio or TV. Climb the vertical ladder step by step, grade by grade. In the 1980s independent production companies open a few more opportunities. It's important to read newspapers, listen to the radio, watch lots of TV. Your employers will even pay you expenses to do so. In the 1990s managers start to talk about "multiskilling". This is obviously a ruse to get you to do two jobs for the price of one and should be resisted. As should any steps to take away your desk/office/locker. You worry content is becoming a mere commodity - it used to be a vocation. Don't panic about the introduction of computers and "emails" - they are just electronic memos. You read "Three Blind Mice" about how the TV networks failed to spot the threat from cable. If you are lucky you may occasionally be asked to go to a conference in another country - airports are exciting. Someone talks about a new idea of "working from home" - sounds like a good way to get a long weekend and avoid dull meetings.

Media Career 2.0 (1990s - 2015)
Take a media studies course that will teach you digital production - or computer science that will teach you how to build web pages. Blag your way in. Move from job to job trying to find interesting projects to build out your CV. Don't specialise in one skill - you need at least two or three. You're your own person and have no interest in a career ladder. If your employer is too restrictive - freelance or, better, offer yourself as a web consultant. Live out of your (Mac) laptop. Your last boss offered you a corner desk to get you to stay - wtf? You never sit at one anyway. You will need Twitter, Facebook, IM as well as email accounts to keep in touch with your peers and find out where the next opportunity may be. You will find yourself watching less and less TV, but radio (or rather audio) is good because you can stream it through your Mac while you work. Don't bother with newspapers - too analogue. What matters are ideas that can be monetized. You read "The Cluetrain Manifesto" about how markets got smarter than business. Make sure you regularly get to one of the many conferences where the digital clan gathers for its global campfire summits. If you can't get a ticket there are lots of social media drinks and breakfasts to go to instead. Airports are a hassle - no free wifi. When you're stoked and on a great project you work 24/7 to get it done - then take 3 weeks off. They can always get you on your mobile and you'll avoid dull meetings.

Media Career 3.0 (2015 - ?)
Take a series of highly vocational courses to give you the widest set of skills you can manage - coding, video, business, psychology, economics, law, web science, marketing. Blag your way in. Network constantly and aggressively. It's all about who you know. The successful ones sit on a beach in Australia and run the website for a European magazine or run an automated digital service which purrs away and earns them money from micro-payments while they sleep; some Californian guy pings you on your all-service IM (which you have open 24/7) to get you to do for his site what you did for the contract before last. Your functionality delivers higher returns than most of your colleagues - so the work chases you. If it doesn't - switch careers. You have to have a network of contacts to thrive - there is no distinction between home and work. TVs? What was the point of those? You watch video on your phone. Print? Too niche. Audio is good because you can stream it on your Mac while you work. You read Lawrence Lessig's latest book on how internet governance failed to keep up with technology. Your mobile screen is your office - you've never met your boss and don't know where he works. Meetings are virtual - video links. Some of the older guys still get on planes to go to conferences and eat together. But airports are hell and since the cost of flying trebled, it hasn't been worth it. You don't do dull meetings.
Yep! I agree with that. And it is already happening.

I agree with all this. But I think Sacred Facts is being a bit too timid. Master Green Gathering Junior, and all his friends, has all this going on:

• A Facebook profile
• A Myspace profile
• A blog
• A wiki - which he shares with his schoolmates
• Has spent time in London in the Sony Playstation House doing cool stuff - which they paid for
  
• A network of friends from China, Russia, US, Asia, Australia, New Zealand etc who he plays games with online
• His blog is regularly sent "free games" for him and his friends to review
• Networks online like his life might be in peril
• Creates his own podcasts
• Is completely mobile
• Plans to live in Japan when he has graduated
• He reads print - but also uses RSS and other online media
• He talks to people online he doesn’t know - but at least they are having conversation

Sigh! That’s just the tip of the iceberg. When I was his age my world was confined to home, people I knew in the street, a pen pal or two and that was it. I think the kids are all right…
What do you think?

Countdown starts to Beat Blue Monday

Yes it’s coming up to that day again – the most depressing day of the year is on Monday, January 21.
Blue Monday is the most depressing day of the year according to a mathematical equation was first devised by Dr Cliff Arnall, former lecturer at Cardiff University and founder of No Pills, a consultancy specialising in confidence, motivation and happiness. Blue Monday marks the start of the final full week in January when people experience a series of combined depressive effects. The mathematical equation is:The model was broken down using six immediately identifiable factors; weather (W), debt (d), time since Christmas (T), time since failing our New Year’s resolutions (Q), low motivational levels (M) and the feeling of a need to take action (Na).The equation calculates that Monday, January 21, 2008 is officially the worst day of the year, when the Christmas glow has faded away, New Year’s resolutions have been broken, cold Winter weather has set in and credit card bills will be landing on doormats across the land - whilst the January pay-check is still one week away.
However, with the Samaritans, the team at GREEN is looking to Beat Blue Monday with a range of feel good activities - we are even going to create a beach party in our offices in the UK.
Here’s some thing you can do to Beat Blue Monday:

Blog - Write a blog about what you are doing to Beat Blue Monday. Make your readers smile. If you do write a blog post on Monday 21 - make sure to tag it: "beatbluemonday".
Try something new -Be creative, or learn something new to get your brain active and start thinking of new things instead of dwelling on the old.
Get physical - By changing your physical state, from a simple shoulder-shake at your desk to a full work-out at the gym, you can change the way you feel.
Contact a friend or relative - Get in touch with someone you have not heard from in a while; thinking of someone else takes your mind off you.
Take a break - Go somewhere different, whether it’s a coffee bar you have never been into, or a faraway luxury holiday; by changing your physical location, you change your perspective on the world.
Be nice to a stranger - Do a random act of kindness; doing good for others is the best form of self-satisfaction.
Help the planet - Be a good ancestor in some way; the planet will be here long after you are gone.
Pamper yourself - Spoil yourself, from a small indulgence to a luxury you have been promising yourself. You can even dye your hair blue to create a stunning eye-catching change.
Plan something new - Whether it’s planning a holiday for later in the year or deciding what to do at the weekend, looking forward to something new or different can be uplifting and refreshing.
Share your thoughts - A problem shared is a problem halved. Visit the Blue Monday blog to see what ideas people have come up with for dealing with life’s little problems.

"Bloggers don't have our ethics"

Interesting item on BBC Radio 4 last night called New Kids on the Blog (geddit!?) – about the rise of citizen journalism in the US and how the political bloggers in particular are becoming more influential.
The main argument of the programme is that the public is becoming increasingly disillusioned by traditional media as the main thrust of most “news media” is led by an adversarial approach.
This involves a tough interview with a key anchor man or simply putting two people together in the same room with contrary views and lighting the blue touch paper. And I do have some sympathy with this view. Operating in public relations and reading the newspapers as an occupational hazard news is increasingly a mean now to express an opinion – particularly in the field of political journalism.
Indeed, some newspapers like the Daily Mail have a agenda on virtually every story they do.
But one of the key issues that the “traditional journalists” – including Dan Rather – raised was the issue of truth and ethics echoing an earlier rant but the former “Dean of the White House Press Corps” Helen Thomas, who claims that “bloggers and everyone…with a laptop thinks they’re journalists…They don’t have our ethics.”
Given that journalism never established itself as a true profession with a governing body, licensing procedure, or an official code of ethics, it’s fair to ask what exactly are the ethics that journalists practice that the rest of us don’t? FULL DISCLOSURE: I was a journalist for many years.
Thomas is wrong. Most bloggers do adopt an ethical stance I found – mainly because if you diss the readership you are going to create a shit storm. At the most basic level bloggers are ethical because they are nice, decent human beings.
And if they do transgress they are quick to admit it, correct, and apologise for errors immediately and publicly.
Now when did a newspaper last do that?

GREEN are recruiting... are you the one?

Yes, we are now recruiting again - we need an account manager with a few years experience who is not afraid of leading from the front.
As a fast-growing, award-winning, public relations and communications agency GREEN is seeking to appoint a new Account Manager/Senior Account Manager to support a wide range of clients.
If you want to work alongside some of the most talented people in the business and you’re passionate about public relations - with relevant previous experience - we want to talk to you.
Our blue chip clients operate in a wide range of sectors from business-to-business, consumer, regeneration and government.
The company currently employs several communications professionals who are specialists in PR, social media, creativity, journalism, design, internet, copywriting, brochure management and events management. GREEN has a wide client list in the corporate, professional services and public services sectors.
We help our clients win the reputation they deserve through intelligent creativity and passionate delivery.
For an informal chat contact via email at ian@greencomms.com and andy@greencomms.com or give us a bell on 0845 4503210.

Banksy at work again

My first podcast interview

Back in November I was interviewed by Anna Farmery of the Podcast Sisters following a presentation I did at BarCamp Leeds on Whisky, Web2.0 and the C0-Creation Company.
I had forgotten all about it until I came across a note from Kevin at FuelMyBlog that the interview was now on the web as a podcast - you can listen to it here.

Some food for thought

Some food for thought:

• More than 12 million American adults currently maintain a blog.
• More than 16 million European adults maintain a blog.
• More than 147 million Americans use the Internet.
• More than 150 million Europeans use the Internet.
• More than 57 million Americans read blogs.
• More than 60 million Europeans read blogs.
• 1.7 million American adults list making money as one of the reasons they blog.
• 89% of companies surveyed say they think blogs will be more important in the next five years.
• 12% of internet users say they have created blogs .
• Technorati is currently tracking over 70 million blogs
• More than 120 thousand blogs are created every day.
• There are over 1.4 million new blog posts every day.
• 22 of the 100 most popular websites in the world are blogs.
• 120,000 new blogs are created every day.
• 37% of blog readers began reading blogs in 2005 or 2006.
• 51% of blog readers shop online.
• Blog readers average 23 hours online each week.

Meanwhile, the top ten most popular online activities across Europe are:

• Search - 87% (note search is bigger than email, not second)
• Email - 81%
• Communicating via social networking sites - 42%
• Instant messaging - 37%
• Music downloads - 31%
• Listening to radio - 31%
• Watching TV, film or video clips - 30%
• Rating and reviews - 27%
• Sharing thoughts on forums - 26%
• Downloading a film, TV or video clip - 20%

Resolutions for the New Year

Resolutions for the New Year. Well I don’t really do resolutions as my liver will testify but there are more things I need to concentrate in 2008. These fall into two camps – professional and personal.
So here they are:

Professional
Concentrate on the bottom line. GREEN is a great agency doing some fantastic things for clients but like most creative agencies we don’t pay enough attention to profit. That will change this year and we will be counting the pennies and measuring ROI.
Encourage colleagues to take leadership. Too often I take on too much in spite of the fact that I am surrounded by talented people who would do a better job than me.
Engage with clients more. If everything is going well we take no calls. When there is a crisis we are in the thick of it sorting things out. I need to talk more to clients during the down time.
Do More Social Media Gigs. Pat on the back to me but I do know what I am talking about and can be very entertaining – certainly that’s the feedback I get. So this year I plan to do one speaking gig a month. Social Media & Web2.0 anyone?
Think strategically. I think 2008 is going to be a period of turmoil and unless you have a plan of action any business is going to sink deeper than whale shit.

Personal
Shut up and listen. I’ve learned that when I take the time to shut up I learn a lot more from other people.
Spend more time with my wife. Need I say any more!
Spend more time on the river. I’m not a passionate man but I am passionate about rowing. That’s why I plan to go sculling the day after Boxing Day.
Travel more. So many places and so little time.
Do some journalism. I’ve always been uncomfortable working in PR and writing as a journalist at the same time. But it is one of the few talents I possess so I might indulge in some freelance work.

Happy Christmas Everyone and here’s to an interesting New Year. Cheers!

Blogs are ten years old

The blog is now ten years old! Not this one you understand but the weblog itself as an online journal, with the first one created on December 17, 1997 by Jorn Barger through his Robot Wisdom web page.
A decade on and Technorati reports it is tracking more than 70 million web logs – which is one of the reasons why we started Fuelmyblog, the social network for bloggers. While many people maintained regular journals or diaries before the word was coined, 1997 marked the point when they started to become a particular online pursuit.
In 1999 the phenomenon took off as easy to use tools – like Wordpress and Blogger - started to appear which made it much easier to write and maintain these sorts of websites. Also in 1999 the word “blog” was coined as a shortened form of the original term.
Nowadays, blogs almost look old hat. Especially with the rise and rise of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. However, as a means for individuals to talk to the world they remain a very potent tool. Not least in the world of public relations, our main job, and we are increasingly seeing clients adopt the blog as an adjunct to their corporate websites.
But will they ever become part of the mainstream communications mix for organizations? I am not sure.

What is a blog?

One of the most common questions I am asked is: what is a blog? I do presentations on it and have lectured on issues of social media but have not yet been able to come up with a succinct definition and demonstration. So I am indebted to Common Craft for this neat video.


I will also put up some further videos on social media when I get the time.

Facebook goes offline

The new and old worlds will always collide. And so it has come to pass - Facebook has its own dedicated magazine.
Dennis Publishing has launched a "bookazine" according to The Guardian. It is a magazine/book hybrid - about the networking website.
The Guardian says the 148-page publication, produced without the cooperation of the social networking website, includes articles "Famous on Facebook" and "Create a real life Facebook event".
Bruce Sandell, the managing director of Dennis' lifestyle division, said: "The Facebook Bookazine started quite simply. Like many media companies we have a huge amount of Facebook fans at Dennis - we thought we could channel that enthusiasm with our expert knowledge of 'how to' bookazines to make a really compelling product that taps into a massive consumer interest at exactly the right time.
"The bookazine will be bought by Facebook experts and novices alike, as it covers everything from a step by step guide to getting started through to smart security tips."
Note to self: What is a Facebook expert?
Dennis has printed 20,000 copies of the Facebook bookazine, fewer than a normal magazine, but the bookazine costs £5.99 and has a longer shelf life than magazines, staying on shelves for up to six months. Dennis will monitor sales before deciding if it will produce a sequel.
Well should they produce a sequel?

The Blog Council or Magesterium?

Came across this via Twitter - The Blog Council, is a professional community of top global brands dedicated to promoting best practices in corporate blogging.
I came acrross this today (and some of this content is direct from their press release). Founding members include the leading companies from a diverse range of business sectors: AccuQuote, Cisco Systems, The Coca-Cola Company, Dell, Gemstar-TV Guide, General Motors, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, Nokia, SAP, and Wells Fargo.
The blurb says: "The Blog Council exists as a forum for executives to meet one another in a private, vendor-free environment and share tactics, offer advice based on past experience, and develop standards-based best practices as a model for other corporate blogs."
What's this? "Vendor-free environment" (what's that mean?). "And share tactics" (What's that? A means of getting what you want through sneaky tactics?). "Offer advice based on past experience (Read for that: The last time we fucked up - we did this and it seemed to work!) ...And develop standards-based best practices (ie How we plan to paddle our way out of a shit creak!)
Blog Council CEO Andy Sernovitz says: "Major corporations use blogs differently while abiding by the same rules and etiquette. Individual and small-business bloggers don't face the same issues. For example, we still need to deliver a responsible and effective corporate message, but we need to do it in the complicated environment of the blogosphere. We have to speak for a corporation, but never sound 'corporate.' And we have to learn to do it live, and in real-time."
All very good. Then the Blog Council (sounds a bit strange to me, a bit like the Magisterium)
representing "thought leaders" (WTF?) from corporate departments, the Blog Council's advocacy role functions as a collective voice in support of responsible, ethics-based corporate blogs (more marketing bullshit?). Other issues the Council will address include:

• How do global brands manage blogs in more than one language?
• What do you do when 2000 employees have personal blogs?
• What is the role of the corporate brand in a media landscape increasingly geared toward consumer-generated media?
• What is the correct way to engage and respond to bloggers who write about your company?

I do not know (says me) it is too early to say. Throw me a bone here!

"Every major corporation is struggling with the question of how to use blogs and engage the blogosphere the right way," said Sean O'Driscoll, General Manager, Community Support Services for Microsoft.

Microsoft? What have you guys been doing for the last three years? What doesn't Vista work - haven't you seen the comments? There are hundreds of them.
"The Blog Council brings together precisely the people who need to explore these issues together, in a productive and private networking environment," says O'Driscoll. "We can work together to develop model policies that set the standard for corporate blogging excellence."

Hold on a minute - read this again: "Precisely the people who need to explore these issues."

Says who? Who are these people precisely? Appointed by whom? This all about brand management - fair enough I have no problem with that. But at least state your case and business strategy. In PR terms you need to be transparent and The Blog Council is spin and Dell for one should be very, very careful.
By the way Simon Collister and Stephen Davies have been having conversation about this on Twitter all day. All I would say to the Blog Council is join in the conversation - doon't set the parameters for the debate - just pose the question.

England's football and PR disaster

England's economy is likely to suffer losses of around £2bn after the football team failed to qualify for the finals of Euro 2008 and I am grateful to David Brain who snapped the above replica shirt in Piccadilly, London, the day after the dreadful result.
It is also a PR disaster which the FA obviously saw coming (surely?! Even if they didn't they should have planned for it) but failed to do anything about - the ramifications could run on for more than three years unless the appoint some top notch manager - God perhaps?
According to the British Retail Consortium, the retail figures for beer, flat-screen TVs and fast food during the tournament would typically be around £600m but that figure has been dismissed by experts who said a more realistic number would be £2bn.
Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport Business Strategy and Marketing at Coventry Business School, told the Daily Mail that the probable loss is more than three times that figure: "Evidence from previous tournaments shows that worker productivity normally increases as the England national team progresses through major tournaments and the 'feel good factor' takes hold. A successful run to the 2008 finals would have led to a £2bn bonanza for the economy," he said.
Not one single country from the British Isles will be playing in next year's Euro football tournament and this is likely to have a knock-on effect on the rest of the economy.
My advice to the FA and all the other UK teams as well as the Republic of Ireland is to resurrect the Home Championships - my only worry is that England will probably lose that to. My money would be on Northern Ireland or Scotland.

Great day at BarCampLeeds

I could write at length about BarCampLeeds. It was brilliant! Not too techie. Not too preachie. And attended by really good people. GREEN was pleased to be associated with the event and will be involved in the next Northern BarCamp. Well done to Imran Ali.
Check out the pictures here.

Good luck to Parky and TheBusinessDesk

Well then - good luck to David Parkin, former Business Editor of the Yorkshire Post on the launch of his new venture TheBusinessDesk.com.

We have known David for more years than he cares to remember. He is a talented journalist and commentator with a canny knack of understanding what the Yorkshire region and its business community is interested in. TheBusinessDesk is still very much a Alpha business, given that it is all produced online but if David can get the right handle on the business he will do well.

It will be interesting to see how he adopts new social media tools into the site. At present there is nothing for Digg, Technorati or Del.icoi.us to excite the hardened social media junkie but I am sure that will come.

So good luck to Parky - he launches TheBusinessDesk on 19.11.07.

...and so to BarCamp Leeds

BarCamp Leeds is the city’s first ‘unconference’, a event where the folks that attend create the programme of sessions themselves. And it takes place tomorrow at 9.30 at the BBC’s old regional HQ, now owned by Leeds Met.
GREEN is one of several sponsors involved in the event which is an open, participatory, democratic series of ‘workshop’ at which the organisers and sponsors simply provide wireless broadband, a venue, beverages and food! The attendees provide the content - and the buzz :-). But due respect to Imran Ali for pulling it together.
We’re anticipating sessions on social media, blogging, 3D printing, Augmented Reality interfaces, mobile technology trends, Drupal, games design, co-creation, PR in the digital age, an SEO clinic as well as talks from the founders of BT Bizbox, Plusnet and eDocr.
There’ll also be a great opportunity to network - we’re hoping our Nintendo Wiis will break the ice and Leeds Met’s Old Broadcasting House will provide a fun and inspiring venue.
Come and demo, talk, share or just hang out! Topics that might be tackled tomorrow include:

• Intelligent human-computer interfaces and their possibilities - Reinhold Behringer
• rom start-up to £67m in 10 years - passing on the wisdom and hopefully not the pain) - Lee Strafford
• From startup to £45m in 8 years (Learn from my mistakes) or Launching BT BizBox a small business CRM solution in 5 weeks - Dean Sadler
• SEO Site Clinic - - Dominic Hodgson and Others
• Ladybank Company of Distillers - building a real co-creation business through the internet - Ian Green
• Unleashing social media and technology for the good of local communities - Stuart Bruce
• From Zero to Game in 30 Minutes - Tom Scott
• From a Mobile Telephone to a Computer - a Reality Dysfunction Ian Hay
• Why Wikis suck for post production environment? Capturing the essence of document interactivity - a paradigm shift Manoj Ranaweera - reference
• Drupal - Isriya Paireepairit
• Conquering Time and Space - A survivors guide to distributed dev team management - Ian Pringle
• ePaper? ShmePaper! - (how almost buying an ebook reader made me realise how cool the technology of books is) - 5m40s micropresentation, Guy Dickinson
• LiveCoding: Introduction to Ruby & TextMate - Caius Durling
• How technology can drive regeneration in Northern Cities - Inventya, Valerie De Leonibus
• One of three talks that you can choose from now, Paul Robinson
• Dude! Where’s my hash? - a frank look at OS X after jumping from Windows and my experiences of the past 6 months - Dan Hardiker
• Mind over Matter - How to take control of your state of mind, and of others - Dan Hardiker
• Feed Mailer - (A little demo of Feed Mailer and a round up of the upcoming features) - John Slater & Chris Richardson (This is not 100% confirmed)

Las Vegas and BlogWorldExpo

Sigh! Las Vegas is a very strange place. I am home (in the UK, Yorkshire, Ilkley) by the way after 18 hours via Atlanta. It is cold and raining now but just one day away I was at BlogWorldExpo. By the way the picture shows (left to right) Drew the US Ambassador for FuelMyBlog (FMB) Kevin, me and Marcus.
But Las Vegas is weird. After a couple of days in a conference discussing the development of Facebook and which way Google is going to go. After discussing how best to use social media to help big corps get into the zeitgest that is Web2.0 and talking about mobile blogging, Java programming and how to "join in the conversation" - it was always refreshing to walk out of the LV Convention Centre to be confronted with a buy-one get-one free offer for hookers.
I mean this is a weird town!
Meanwhile, I look like a Cicada beetle - everywhere is air conditioned, which dries you out and when you go outside - in the desert - it dries you out. Taking my clothes off at night I felt like a snake slothing its skin.
Anyway - back to BlogWorldExpo. It was very good but I didn't blog about it when we were there because we had Drew covering this area. Drew is a top man and hopefully caught what was going on.
Myself and Kevin were too busy joining in the conversation on behalf of FMB and spreading the word of European blogging to do much else.
For myself I will write about the following great people I met over during my time in Las Vegas. They are:
Matt Colebourne
Ann Manby
Jim Kukral
Michael Bayer
Voxant
Aaron Zaviles
and
Chitika

Also check out Kevin Dixie and "BenSpark" for a bit of balance on our time in Nevada.
Anyway, keep an eye here and see what I have to say.

GREEN win gold hatrick in awards

Congratulations to the GREEN team for their recent success in the annual public relations awards run by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Unfortunately I was abroad in the US at BlogWorldExpo doing some networking and research on social media and missed the event at the Queens Hotel in Leeds. I understand the team had a great time and that perhaps some wine was taken. You can make your own decision based on the picture (left to right) Kathy, Leander, Emma, Simon and Liz. Joe is hiding but I think you can see one eye. Anyway, here are the scores on the doors.

Category 1 - Corporate Communications
Gold - Green Communications, Wensleydale Creamery.

Category 2 - Not-for-Profit
Gold – Green, Beat Blue Monday

Category 8 - Low Budget
Gold – Green, Beat Blue Monday

Category 10 - Best Use of Media Relations
Finalist - Green Communications, Beat Blue Monday.

Category 13 - Best Use of New Media
Finalist - Green Communications, Wensleydaleblog.
Finalist - Green Communications, Beat Blue Monday.

Category 14 - Best Use of Photography or Design
Finalist - Green Communications, Wakefield Cultural Partnership.

Category 18 - Best Website
Finalist - Green Communications, Thinking, Doing, Sharing - www.urbanmines.org.uk.

Category 22 - Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy
Finalist - Green Communications, Green Communications

To Las Vegas and BlogWorldExpo

I am off to Las Vegas in November to attend the first and only industry-wide tradeshow, conference, and media event dedicated to promoting the dynamic industry of blogging and new media.
In addition to the only industry-wide exhibition, BlogWorld will feature the largest blogging conference in the world including more than 50 seminars, panel discussions and keynotes from iconic personalities on the leading-edge of online technology and internet-savvy business.
I am going with Kevin Dixie from FuelMyBlog and Marcus Dyson from eleventeenth.
At GREEN We have already delivered several compelling social media campaigns wrapped up with our usual expertise in PR. However, I am a firm believer that you can always learn new tricks and I am hopeful that I will return with a few more ideas that we can deploy on behalf of our clients.
The conference will be broken down into tracks designed to address specific needs and feature scores of well renowned blogging and new media experts. Topics will include blogging basics, monetizing your blog, podcasting, corporate opportunities in the blogosphere, building readership, RSS, Search Engine Optimization, blogging in the political arena, and other topics vital to serious bloggers who want to solidify their own space, and build their brand in the blogosphere.
If you're planning to be there and would like to meet a few Brits drop me a line

Global PR Blog Week

Constantin Basturea is planning another Global PR Blog Week - with the intriguing suffix Web3.0 - no, I don't know what he means either.
He says it is an event that will present the best articles, interviews, debates, case studies, and essays on how social media continues to change the Public Relations and Communications theory and practice, its relationships with other disciplines, and our roles as practitioners, students, and teachers.
Sounds good.
No dates yet but you can check out his plans here.
I, GREEN and other colleagues will get involved.

Twittering on twitter

I seem to spend a lot of time on Twitter nowadays – hence, the dearth of recent posts on this blog. I like Twitter as the word count for each tweet means that anyone posting on it has to keep things succinct and, as a result, there are some quite profound comments on there.
However, a lot of people just use it to pimp themselves – you know who you are.
What is intriguing thought is how quickly these new social network apps are being acquired by large corporations. First it was News Corp acquiring MySpace, now Microsoft is looking for a piece of the action with a stake in Facebook. Blogger was acquired by Google and Yahoo bought YouTube.
Now it has emerged that Google has acquired Jaiku, a Finnish company that pretty much does what Twitter does only with a few more bells and whistles – I used Jaiku for a while but it simply did not rock my boat.
Google product manager Tony Hsieh says: "Technology has made staying in touch with your friends and family both easier and harder: living a fast-paced, on-the-go lifestyle is easier (and a lot of fun), but it's more difficult to keep track of everyone when they're running around at warp speed.
“That's why we're excited to announce that we've acquired Jaiku, a company that's been hard at work developing useful and innovative applications for staying in touch with the people you care about most - regardless of whether you're at a computer or on a mobile phone.”
Google is not commenting on its plans for the service but Jaiku is now closed to new users.
So what is the betting that Yahoo! Will now launch a bid for Twitter with the usual proviso that you need a Yahoo! account?

Dylan and the power of social media

To promote his Dylan Greatest Songs album that’s coming out in October, Bob Dylan has created a Facebook application that lets you enter 10 lines of words or phrases. A video of Bob Dylan holding sheets of paper will read out your message. The last few sheets are a promotion for his album, but who cares? It’s a cool app. Create as many as you’d like and send them to friends...
There’s a website for the promotion of the album too, which also lets you create the video mashup and send it out to friends. The Facebook app works best though, because it’s the closest you’ll get to being able to embed the clip anywhere online.

That's the plug for Bob - God Bless Him. But in terms of viral marketing and the best use of social media this is one of the best I have seen. Bob fans will get it straight away but as one of the most iconic music videos to offer this up to the blogosphere is sheer genuis... we might even see if we can co-opt this for a prostate health campaign we are considering at GREEN. See the app below

Alisher Usmanov: A big, fat bully

Alisher Usmanov is a big, fat bloke with an interest in Arsenal Football Club. I’ve never met him – but I’ve just seen his picture on SimonSays. And I think “big, fat bloke” is an accurate description – and is also an honestly held opinion so there are no worries about any claims for libel.
He’s also an Uzbekh oligarch – a person whose political influence effectively rests on his wealth. I would have liked to read more about him on the blogs of Craig Murray – the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan - and political blogger, Tim Ireland, who wrote about their experience and views of Mr Usmanov.
Unfortunately, both their blogs have been closed down following threats from our fat friends’ lawyers. SimonSays points to Ellee Seymour who notes that:

"lawyers letters followed which led to the webhost pulling the plug… Newspapers are not shut down if they face libel allegations, (not in the UK anyway) there is a legal process that is followed. Surely that process applies to bloggers too. If the offending comments were not libellous - and only a court can decide this - then Mr Usmanov’s actions could be deemed illegal. He would have to pay damages. There are all sorts of legal ramifications involved with this story."

Yes, indeed.
Murray is the author of Murder in Samarkand - A British Ambassador's Controversial Defiance of Tyranny in the War on Terror – an account of the post-USSR Uzbekistan - relaying the problems of living in a brutal dictatorship but also because it shows to what depths the Blair sunk in its attempts to spin the truth and cover up torture (including boiling people alive).
Schillings, the lawyers acting on behalf of Usmanov, was allegedly successful in getting Murray's host to alter some of his posts to present Usmanov in a different light before taking down the site completely.
They also appear to have sent threatening emails to owners of Arsenal Football Club fan sites (Usmanov is an Arsenal shareholder), threatening libel action if any of Murray's statements appear on their sites.
The Google cache of Murray's blog makes for some interesting reading.
I think the answer to this censorship – as pointed out by Simon – is to get as many bloggers writing about the episode. This is my contribution to the big, fat bloke’s story.

Looking for a teacher who seduced her pupils - WTF?

Further to my earlier post, here's another selection of lazy journalist requests – most of them from women’s publications. I make no comment but would like to hear what you think about them. All the quotes are genuine – but I have left off the names of magazine and newspaper titles.

Woman’s Glossy
I'm looking to speak to a teacher who seduced one of her pupils. She must be willing to be named and photographed, as well as telling her story.

Woman’s Glossy
Ever said 'no' to sex?: The boys at [magazine] want to debunk stereo-types that men are all sex monsters, and tell the ladies a thing or two. So we're looking for some MEN to come forward and tell us if they've ever said 'no' to sex, for an upcoming feature. The more unusual the reason the better. We're looking for male candidates to be interviewed, and maybe have their photograph featured for the light-hearted article.

Women’s Weekly
I'm organising a press trip to New York for two people and looking for help with:
Two flights to New York
Accommodation
Places to visit
Places to eat and drink
Shopping Guides
We're looking to travel in October (dates are flexible) and hoping to stay three or four nights to incoperate (sic) a weekend (again flexible)
We're hoping to use this in our Christmas Special so it will get a lot of coverage

National Newspaper
£350 payment - I'm searching for a lady ideally in her 20s or at the very oldest early 30s who's planning to be sterilised in the near future because she's so certain she doesn't ever want to have children. I'd want her to keep a diary of the process for a feature in a national newspaper. I'd want to know all about how she made the decision, how she told friends and family, how she found a clinic, + the operation itself and her recovery afterwards. I'd also need her to be photographed. £350 upon publication of the piece and I'm happy to offer her sight of the copy too.

Woman Freelance
Do you - or any of your clients - have an amazing true life story?
Do you want to see it on the pages of a magazine - and get paid?
Newspapers like [pick anyone at random]and magazines such as [too many to shake a stick at] and other women's magazines feature true life stories on a range of subjects including:

• Health troubles
• Betrayals
• Love stories
• Acts of kindness
• Tragic events
• Love triangles
• Overcoming diseases
• Failed operations

The list is endless really - if you feel your story is newsworthy and of interest to readers then I want to hear from you.

Glossy Magazine
I'm searching for a woman in her twenties who is either currently a sex addict or is a reformed sex addict. I'd require a phone interview and for her to be photographed.
I am also searching for a woman who was a convicted cocaine dealer and is now repentant (sic). Please get in touch urgently if you can help with either.

Glossy Magazine
I'm on the lookout for truly astonishing stories about women aged between 18-50. Do you know a woman that has shed more than 15 stones in weight(yes, the mags are looking for HUGE weightlosses!? Or what about a woman who has survived an illness so rare it doesnt have a name? Or does a woman want to get revenge on a love rat husband?
As an agency, anything goes so please do send me all your ideas and suggestions (but please no stories about women setting up businesses unless there is a truly amazing twist!)

Fry on phones - bizarre

Bizarre – hundreds, nay thousands, of bloggers are writing about the fact that Stephen Fry, the UK’s talented writer and actors, has started a blog.
The picture is undoubtedly him. But it remains to be seen whether Mr Fry is the actual author – if it is him, he has emerged as an Uber-Geek with an impressive knowledge of mobile technology as his first post is about his love affair with all thing Apple and the iPhone in particular – all 6,450 words of it.
The style too is very much reminiscent of Mr Fry’s writing style too:

I accept that price is an issue here; if budget is a consideration then you’ll have to forgive me, I’m writing from the privileged position of being able to indulge my taste for these objects. But who can deny that design really matters? Or that good design need not be more expensive? We spend our lives inside the virtual environment of digital platforms - why should a faceless, graceless, styleless nerd or a greedy hog of a corporate twat deny us simplicity, beauty, grace, fun, sexiness, delight, imagination and creative energy in our digital lives? And why should Apple be the only company that sees that? Why don’t the other bastards GET IT??

I expect the truth will emerge in due course once the deadwood media discover the blog. If it is Mr Fry – it was an excellent piece. And is that a Renaissance artist displayed on the iPhone in his hand?

The Boss: Radio Nowhere

I totally love this. And am just waiting for the UK tour. I am also working out the chord sequence on my gi'tar - E, C, G, D?. Am I sad or what?

Mash and men in Fezs

Rumours of Yahoo!'s social media pretensions were vindicated today when they announced the launch of Mash.
The service includes features common to Facebook, MySpace, and My Yahoo. According to TechCrunch you can load a set of modules onto your profile page and move them around drag-and-drop style. The modules include Flickr RSS, Ego Boost, Common Friends, MyMoshLog2, Blog Module (RSS 2.0), Asteroids, Astrology, PimpMyPet, Hover, Kaleidescope, Guestbook, and My Stuff.
Users are encouraged to edit each other’s pages. Each time you visit a profile page, you see new modules that others have loaded for you. TechCrunch says: "This capability certainly adds to the 'mashing' aspect of the social network. It is also appears as though Yahoo intends for users to mash their information together from across the company’s various properties, perhaps making Mash the main hub for Yahoo users."
I wonder if it is all a bit too late given the success of Facebook but given all those Yahoo! user accounts out there I suspect not - I await the email inviting me to join.
Meanwhile, things get more bizarre at Facebook as my son has just set up a new group there called: Top Hats and Fezs: Man's Greatest Invention - that explains the picture anyway.

GREEN in the awards... again

Over at GREEN we are in very good mood - as you can see from the team picture.
We have been short listed for no less than nine Pride Awards – these are the public relations industry’s versions of the Oscars.
We submitted work we have carried out for a wide range of clients including The Wensleydale Creamery, The Samaritans, Beat Blue Monday, Wakefield Council, Urbans Mines and the Cultural Partnership.
What has been particularly interesting for us is that, for the first time, we have entered some campaigns which had a major social media dimension – particularly on Beat Blue Monday and Wenselydaleblog.
Anyway, we will know if we have won at a big dinner in November.

Well done Colin on award

Congratulations to Colin Glass on being named as Business Adviser of the Year in the Institute of Directors Business Awards in Yorkshire this week.
As well as being a top bloke, Marathon runner and being the best networker in the north of England Colin is also chairman of Fuelmyblog and GREEN Communications.
Colin is also a senior partner with Winburn Glass Norfolk Chartered Accountants which he founded in 1975. Since then he has helped many companies develop and grow, raised funds and floated several of them on the London Stock Exchange.
Well done Colin!!

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Facebook forces HSBC climb down

For a while now we have been advising clients about the power of Facebook and need to engage in conversations where their company is directly or even directly involved. Be Open, Be Honest is our motto.
So it was interesting to see that banking giant HSBC has been forced to back down on student overdraft fees after a campaign on Facebook orchestrated by the National Union of Students. More than 5,000 students got the bank to reverse its decision to stop free overdrafts for graduates after joining Facebook's Stop the Great HSBC Rip-Off!!! group.
The U-turn comes at a time of year when HSBC is trying to sign up potentially lucrative students. The bank said yesterday that it was not "too big" to listen to its customers – good on them.
According to a report in today’s Telegraphy Andy Ripley, HSBC's head of product development, said: "Like any service-orientated business we are not too big to listen to our customers. Following the feedback from our graduate account holders, both directly and via the National Union of Students [NUS], we have taken the decision to freeze interest charging on 2007 graduates' overdrafts up to £1,500 and refund any interest charged in August."
The NUS set up the protest site because it felt HSBC had reneged on the banking deal offered to students. It gave them accounts on the basis that they could have an interest-free overdraft of up to £1,500 for three years, reducing the facility by £500 a year.
But last month it informed customers that it would be charging this year's graduates for those overdrafts unless they paid a £9.95 monthly fee.
The move would have cost a graduate who had the maximum overdraft of £1,500 nearly £12 a month, or more than £142 a year.
Now according to a NUS statement on Facebook: “HSBC have contacted NUS to discuss this campaign. Following our discussions and negotiations, HSBC have decided to freeze interest on 2007 graduate overdrafts up to £1,500, with future policy subject to review. All those recent graduates who have been subject to additional interest charges this August will be eligible for a refund.
"Following this development, we will suspend the planned action on 4 September at HSBC HQ. We will send out a further communication later today."
The joint NUS/HSBC press release here.
"NUS would like to thank you all for your involvement in this campaign. The commitment, time and energy shown by the members of this group has precipitated real change. Despite all those who suggested that our concerns would not be listened to, our voice has been heard. HSBC have agreed to continue a dialogue with NUS, and we remain committed to expressing the concerns of students and graduates in our future correspondence.
“We recommend that all those HSBC customers who are affected get in touch with their local branches to discuss this matter in further detail.”
Who says social media doesn’t work? And who would still argue that companies should ignore it? Answers please.