Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Cassette boy V Dragon's dead. So wrong it's right.

2010-09-01T14:15:00.001Z

via youtube.com

Once more Cassetteboy hits the nail on the NSFW head.

If you haven't checked out his old audio-only stuff, do. But in the meantime, his YouTube channel is great.

Posted via email from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Federer knocks off bottle from a mans head using his serve

2010-08-18T10:59:00.001Z

via thedailydust.co.uk

Touch of the William Burroughs to this. Very impressive.
So what does it say about the world, when the out-takes for an ad-shoot are so much more entertaining/interesting/spontaneous than the ads themselves.
But then again, I've got a beard, so what do I know....

Posted via email from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Real world meets digital world - Sony Toykyo Zoo

2010-08-18T08:38:00.001Z

via contagiousmagazine.com

I'm a sucker for digital activity related to cycling. And also mixing up digital/real-world action, so this was always going to appeal to me.

It's simple, and it's fun.

But not quite convinced it's going to make me go out and get a Sony Sat Nav for my bike though...

Posted via email from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Right product. Right parternship - Dolby V Beardyman

2010-07-16T16:06:00.001Z

via youtube.com

Got to hand it to Beardyman - he is incredible. And while so many brand meets celebs things don't work, this is spot on. 10 points all round. Or should that be 5.1 all round...

Posted via email from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Alberto Balsalm - Steel Version (via @flashboy)

2010-07-16T11:53:00.001Z

via youtube.com

The Steel Drums are a hugely under-used instrument imho. As is the speak and spell, but that's a different story. Fine version of an excellent song.

Posted via email from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Star Wars Cantina V Adidas V World Cup

2010-06-05T10:00:00.001Z

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Ben Folds does his Chatroulette thing live

2010-03-21T22:08:00.001Z

via youtube.com

The impressively entertaining Ben Folds doing his chatroulette improv live. Excellent stuff...

Wait for sitting on the toilet man. What has the world come to?

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Very clever shadow art...

2010-03-20T22:01:00.001Z

via beautifuldecay.com

Great spread of shadow art on Beautiful Decay site. Really clever stuff (via ffffound.com).

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Tron in stop motion animation

2010-03-11T23:16:00.001Z

Tron
Uploaded by freres-hueon. - Discover more animation and arts videos.

via dailymotion.com

An oldie, but a goodie.

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Wanted - the best and worst cracker jokes ever #brewcrackers

2009-12-16T14:11:00.001Z

Christmas is a time for family, food, fun and terrible jokes from crackers.

Here at Brew Towers we thought we'd celebrate this fine English tradition by asking people to tweet their favourite ever cracker joke (or jokes) with the #brewcrackers hashtag.

We'll then tweet them all out from @brewcrackers (do follow us if you want regular updates), and, what's more, we'll give a prize to the best and worst jokes we hear between now and Christmas. If you're very lucky we'll come round and make you a cup of tea.

So get tweeting and we look forward to some fine #brewcrackers.

Posted via web from What's brewing

Everyone loves a ginger kid. FACT!

2009-12-16T12:11:00.001Z

via blogs.telegraph.co.uk

I can't believe that Tesco backed down on this. Laugh? I almost LOLd while I was ROFLAO.

Or something.

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

What's ET short for?

2009-12-15T11:59:00.001Z

Because he’s only got short legs

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This message has been checked for all known viruses. Please contact your System administrator
should you require any further assistance or email:-

mailto:mailsweeper@fishburn-hedges.co.uk
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Posted via email from Brew Christmas Crackers

Lego stop-motion animation car-racing goodness

2009-12-10T13:11:00.001Z

via youtube.com

My house will be a riot of Star Wars lego this Christmas. My kids love the stuff almost as much as me. If I can ever get them into stop-motion animation I'd be so proud if the produced anything half as good as this. Very clever stuff...

(via @stuartmlambert)

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Debating the Digital Economy Bill - The Spectator

2009-11-27T12:00:00.001Z

via spectator.co.uk

So the day has come when there's rap video on the Spectator site. Is this a first?

A very well-written open letter about the Digital Economy Bill from Dan Bull. He's not a fan.

His open letter to Lilly Allen is also worth a read/listen too.

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Why booze and train tracks don't mix - the best public information film ever?

2009-11-11T09:57:00.001Z

via youtube.com

What an amazing film of a very pissed woman falling onto train tracks in Boston (I think).

Two things strike me straight away.

Firstly: how lucky she is and at the same time quite how pissed she must be...
Secondly: how effective this is as a warning/deterrent as it's so realistic, and so credible

(hat tip to Julian Blom)

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Advertising flies. Or flies advertising, I'm not quite sure...

2009-11-09T09:45:00.001Z

via Seventy Seven PR's Spinning Around/a>

I'm not entirely sure of the ethics of this. But it does show quite how far communicators are prepared to go to get noticed. A very clever idea.

From the always excellent Spinning Around.

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Q: Is Bing really behind this? A: err, yes

2009-11-02T16:35:00.001Z

via youtube.com

Amazing video, and not for the right reasons either.
Reminds me of the time Justin Trousersnake used to do the "I'm loving it" song in his tours (when he was paid by McDonalds) to arenas full of teenage girls.
Am I the only one who finds the use of innocent students singing a commercial song purely for (social media) broadcast slightly insidious?
(via @mobbie and tribbleagency.com. Oh, and JWT)

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Coldcut and Hexstatic - timber

2009-10-24T15:33:00.001Z

via youtube.com

One of the original A/V mashups. And still one of the best. Hexstatic V Coldcut

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Cassetteboy vs Nick Griffin vs Question Time

2009-10-23T17:35:00.001Z

via youtube.com

Brilliant stuff, as ever, from everyone's favourite cut-up King, Cassetteboy

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

A palindromic poem. Or something

2009-10-23T17:28:00.001Z

via youtube.com

This is worth spending 2 minutes on.Some extremely good copywriting. Very clever indeed (via Steve M).

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Tuesday night tunes - You've got the love (XX remix), Nadine (Memory Tapes version), and Miami Horror

2009-10-20T18:21:00.001Z

A couple of songs I’m listening to a lot at the moment for your perusal...

I always thought it was sacrilege to re-version You’ve got the Love, given how it improved on the Frankie Knuckles original (Your Love if I remember rightly). But Florence and the Machine totally nail it. And XX do a tasty little mix of it. Most impressed.

In a very different vein, this Fool’s Gold tune, Nadine (Memory Tapes Version) is also pretty intoxicating. Don’t know much about them, except I’ve got this on repeat. Pitchfork called them an afro-pop band with American influences, or something of that ilk.

Oh sod it, while I’m at it, check out the Peter Hook bassline on this Sometimes, this synth-heavy beauty from Miami Horror (via etmusicpourtous). I remember the 80s first time round, but don’t recall much that was quite so catchy. It turns out this guy’s Australian. Maybe it’s the sun, permatan and beaches that give him, Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun, Pnau etc etc. all their catchy riffs. I don’t know. And I don’t care. But it is all very good loud.

You've Got The Love (Xx Remix) by Florence + The Machine
Download now or listen on posterous

youve-got-the-love-xx-remix.mp3 (6728 KB)

Nadine (Memory Tapes Version) by Fool's Gold
Download now or listen on posterous

Nadine (Memory Tapes Version).mp3 (15063 KB)

Sometimes by Miami Horror
Download now or listen on posterous

Miami Horror - Sometimes.mp3 (9869 KB)

Posted via email from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

The Helicopter Boyz promoting the Nikon coolpix - with free dodgy headgear and music

2009-10-15T22:29:00.001Z

via youtube.com

Not sure if this says more about the state of Japanese Pop music or the cutting edge technology of the new Nikon coolpix (with built in projector).
Either way though, it's a very creative approach.
But I can't stop thinking of it as one long Jim'll fix it for the Helicopter Boyz.

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

b3ta.com challenge: if America were still British

2009-10-14T08:50:00.001Z

Lovely collection from b3TA.com, via my mate Mrs Mandi Hunt.

Their challenge: Since Great Britain and the US separated in 1776, the Americans have very much gone their own way, inventing both canned cheese and obesity. But what if America were still British? Show us, using Photoshop devilry...

There's 24 in the full deck. Worth a quick look at I reckon...

via b3ta.com

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Mr Magic RIP

2009-10-02T17:44:00.001Z

So Mr Magic has died. One of Hip Hops true pioneers. So here is Whodinis tribute to him in… what, 1982/83?. OK so the rap is dated, but the riff still sounds fresh.

And – from my memory, this classic 1984 Malcolm Mclaren & the World Famous Supreme team track was for him/was about him/ or involved him.

But then again, it did seem to involve a whole load of the early New York Hip Hop scene’s movers and shakers so he’s bound to have been involved.

mailto:mailsweeper@fishburn-hedges.co.uk
************************************************************************

Magic's Wand by Whodini
Download now or listen on posterous

03.mp3 (6621 KB)

Hey Dj by Malcolm Mclaren & The World Famous Supreme Team
Download now or listen on posterous

06.mp3 (7263 KB)

Posted via email from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

My Mate Nik's fingers - as featured on Kanye West's blog...

2009-10-01T08:20:00.001Z

via youtube.com

My mate Nik is an artist who makes mechanical contraptions which never fail to raise a smile - whether it's the "unplugging" machine - as soon as you plug it into the mains, it drives off and unplugs itself. And that's all it does.

Or his jelly-wobbler. Think Singer sewing machine, amazing jelly mould, a big spring and a large mess.

But this time his tapping fingers have gone global. Fair play to <a href=”http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/index.php?em3106=239691_-1__0_~0_-1_9_2009_0_0&em3298=&em3282=&em3281=&em3161=
”>TMr Kane West<> for featuring them on his blog</></a>

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Peter Mandelson and the "C" word

2009-09-30T17:08:00.001Z

Lovely exchange between the Prince of Darkness and C4 News' Cathy Newman.

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Nike: philanthropy or branding?

2009-09-29T09:14:00.001Z

via crackunit.com

Either way, a cracking film by James Jarvis/Richard Kenworthy. Really fantastic animation.

And top tune too - released in the UK as Crayon by Manitoba years ago, on my mate Tony's Leaf Label. Great to hear that get the credit it deserves too.

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Scratch perverts as you've never seen them before

2009-09-18T08:07:00.001Z

via youtube.com

It's very rare to see a totally new approach to a music video. But I think this certainly is one. Genius. The turntable skills are excellent anyway. The video on top is the icing on the cake...

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Asda social media response the the late night chicken licker

2009-09-17T15:27:00.001Z

via youtube.com

I think Jet Blue were the first to totally demonstrate the honesty and transparency of a "straight to YouTube" apology, a couple of years ago, when bad weather left thousands of people stranded on the tarmac over a holiday weekend.
Asda in Fulwood have given it a go as well, to demonstratet that the infamous late night chicken licker was in a minority of one.
Fair play to them - hope they get the views (especially locallly). It's a nice approach.
But (maybe because I work in that intersection of digital comms and PR) I can't help thinking that even their response is not quite as credible as it could be. It reads to me as if Head Office have come up there with a camera, found some good people and edited it together - rather than staff at the store taking matters into their own hands...
Either way, we're going to see more of these of these heartfelt apologies/singling out of the one bad apple on social media. The chalenge companies have is how to demonstrate sincerity and honesty as they do it.
But 10 points ot Asda for having a crack.

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Moving to Posterous

2009-08-11T21:43:00.002Z

Have been thinking about moving off Blogger for a while. Having tinkered with both Wordpress, Tumblr and Posterous, I've decided to take the plunge and move Chris Reed - ginger and proud over to Posterous.

So, I'll shift feedburner over shortly (and hopefully seemlessly), but will be double-posting for a little while. In the meantime, if you wouldn't mind posting comments there, and not here, I'd appreciate it.

And thanks for reading this far...

London Bloggers Meetup

2009-08-11T21:38:00.001Z

I'd missed a few London Bloggers Meetups in a row for various reasons, so was really looking forward to last week's. Not only was Matt from the Londonist speaking (I was on holiday when he was on the panel for the "What next for journalism?" debate at Fishburn Hedges [my employer], but had heard very good things), but also those fine people from Starbucks were sponsoring the night at The Old Crown on New Oxford Street.

Despite the heat, the atmosphere in the room was as friendly and welcoming as ever. And both Matt and Jason from Edelman (representing Starbucks) gave a fine old spiel, though I'm afraid Chris from Buy.at failed to convince me that I should start affiliate marketing. The whole transparency issue worries me...

Anyway - hats off to Andy Bargery for organising another fine night, and for Starbucks and Edelman for supporting it financially (and with free VIA coffee sachets). While doing a bit more research into the coffee I did raise a wry smile at the instructions on the Starbucks site for it. Having seen the pic I was half expecting to see disclaimer: warning - adding boiling water may make the contents hot ;)

Posted via email from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Twitter and Facebook - A Consipracy of Denial by the Denial of Service Conspiracy Theorists

2009-08-06T19:19:00.002Z

The internets were rocked to their very foundations earlier today when people who spend a lot of time on the internets, couldn't spend as much time on the internets as they would have liked, because someone had switched off some of the internets by using them too much.

Speculation as to who organised the Denial of Service attacks on Twitter and Facebook is rife, and the conspiracy theorists who like to spend a lot of time on the internets are having a field day making up conspiracy theories on the internets about the internets. Welcome to echo-chamber heaven.

To save Google going down under the sheer weight of people trying to search for the conspiracy theories, I make up many of them here:

1) It was Ev from Twitter who was getting concerned that his appearance on Newsnight last night (below) hadn't done him any favours, and he simply didn't want any other tweets doing the rounds pointing it out and linking to it

2) It was Kirsty Wark from Newsnight, or the Newsnight production team, also concerned that his appearance on Newsnight (and their Demi Moore... Demi Moore line of questioning) wasn't doing them any favours either

3) It was Demi Moore, a bit peeved that she featured so much in the Newsnight interview with Ev when all she does is use Twitter like the rest of us

4) It was Desperate Dan, Dennis the Menace and Gnasher wanting to deflect attention from the £25M purchase of Friends Reunited. That's a lot of Fan Club memberships' worth of money, for not very much of anything at all really, isn't it?

5) It was Rupert Murdoch, fresh from dropping the bomb that his online media empire would start charging for content, to show all these business-plan-free businesses who have been depriving his titles of advertiser-friendly eyeballs that he's up for a fight

6) It was those black-hat hackers who were hacked off that Apple fixed the scary SMS bug that would have brought the world of iPhone fanboys to their knees weeping and gnashing their teeth because they received a [] text

7) It was all the cool kids, pissed off that their parents had not only taken over their favourite social networking sites, but that OFCOM had found out about it too, and they were showing the world and their parents that they know how the internets work

8) It was one of Scobles 100milllion recently unfollowed followers. Just out to prove a point...

I'm sure there are other possibilities, but I reckon it must have been a combination of all of these... Unless it was something else entirely. Either way, the world hasn't ended...just another ordinary day on the internets.

And if you haven't yet seen the Newsnight interview, enjoy.

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

But Beardman does it so much better...

2009-08-03T21:23:00.001Z

via youtube.com

OK, it's an oldie but a goodie, but this never ceases to put a smile on my face. Have seen Beardyman a few times and always been impressed - especially when he gets cracking with a reverb/sample pedal.

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

DJ Steve Porter featuring Vince Offer - "Slap Chop Rap"

2009-08-03T21:11:00.001Z

via youtube.com

First we had Will it Blend. Now an autotuned dance version of a cheesy infotainment ad. What could be finer...

Posted via web from Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Building projections

2009-07-30T09:16:00.002Z

I researched a few of these recently for a pitch, but just came across this. Cracking stuff via urbansscreen.com.

555 KUBIK_ extended version from urbanscreen on Vimeo.

Lord Alan Sugar in Cassetteboy V The Apprentice

2009-06-05T12:31:00.003Z

Have long admired Cassetteboy's re-working of audio stuff, but am indebted to @mazi for tweeting this yesterday. Total NSFW genius.

Gratuitious self-promotion on Sky News

2009-06-05T11:36:00.002Z

Did my regular stint on Sky News' skynews.com programme last night. I tweeted straight after that it has certainly improved with age - some great perspectives from bloggers on Obama's speech in the Middle East preceeded my brief stint...

Inhaling gin is a social object - discuss

2009-04-19T19:18:00.009Z

Douglas Adams understood the many theraputic (and quintessentially English) benefits of a good Gin and Tonic. But his mantle has now passed to Bompass & Parr, previously best known for their fantastic jellymongers work.

I first came acros Bompass & Parr via my mate Nik Ramage, who (as far as I know has made the world's first, and best) jelly-wobbling machine. The jelly community is strong...

Anyway, I was lucky enough to be invited along to Bompass & Parr's Alcoholic Architecture installation on Friday night. And very entertaining it was too. The long and the short of it is that they've totally infused a basement room just off Carnaby St with Hendricks gin and tonic. After donning a protective suit (to keep your clothes gin-free) you're ushered into a room which is heavy with a sweet and sticky gin mist. And you simply breathe. Deeply.

It reminded me a slightly alcoholic version of Gormley's Blind Light installation. You can see about 6ft in front of your nose - occasionally making out the giant lime in the corner. Or the 6-foot decorative straw. Everyone's wearing head-to-toe white boiler suits. And everyone's asking everyone else if they feel a bit pissed yet.

Great fun. Hats off to Bompas & Parr for some fine entertainment.

More reviews on The Londonist and Around Britain with a Paunch, and some great pics on Flickr taken by Qype/Chris Osborn.

Spinvox Rocks

2009-04-19T19:05:00.000Z

I've been using Spinvox on my iPhone for a few months now, and thought it worth a quick post. I'd always ignored Spinvox when it was shipped on my old Nokia's (on 3). Not quite sure why - but I've since learned how useful it is, after testing it prompted (in part at least) by this post from Mr Whatley.

(Pic by Imeldanz on Flickr)

It's a brilliantly simple tool: instead of you having to listen to a voicemail, Spinvox converts that voicemail to text, and then (err) texts it to you... It's a total godsend if you're in an important meeting and you're not sure whether the call coming in is more or less important than that meeting. A quick glance at the screen once it arrives answers that question. Nice.

Various friends and family have tried to trick the technology, and only barely succeeded. I'm now a fan - a bit like Sky+. Before you use it you don't know how useful it is. After you use it, you don't want to go back to your old ways.

Charity begins online

2009-04-08T20:42:00.008Z

Have been thinking a fair bit about the way that campaigning organisations and charities are using social media effectively recently. And some are using it very effectively indeed.

In no particular order, before I pick out some of the common themes

Amnesty UK. They've been active on social media for a long time (I've included one or two of their films here which I've picked up via Twitter). But the way they ran the 1 in 10 campaign for International Womens Day was textbook. Really good. And my mate Steve works there/writes for their blogs. Result
Comic Relief - Other campaigns have persuaded Twitter users to change their avatars for the day, but no-one has managed it as well as them imho. They gave people the tools to do it easily (with help from James Governor), and pay a little bit for the privilege. I have a sneaky suspicion that @amanda might have been involved - one of the leading lights of ...
Twestival - Enough said. A lot of good people had a really good time, and raised a fair whack for charity:water (the first Charity: water well will be dug next week)
The gift of life - a campaign by Holly Shaw to get as many people as possible to sign up to be organ donors yesterday. It resonated with a lot of people on Twitter, until, by the end of the Day Gordon Brown got in on the act and backed the campaign, perhaps conscious of his wife's growing involvement in online campaigning. Talking of which...
Sarah Brown - This morning she had 50 odd followers on Twitter. Now she's got 650 odd. She's following a lot of UK charities on there, and her bio is "signing up a million mums". Watch this space - she's going to use it very well...
Earth Hour - although I'm a bit dubious about the real-world effects of this WWF campaign, the fact they got massive brands and buildings to participate, made it extremely accessible across all social media and generated significant media coverage says something....
Yes yes yes to safe sex - campaign by MTV and The Body Shop to raise money for the Staying Alive Foundation (MTV's AIDS charity) by selling a limited edition Lip Butter. The reason this one gets included is because the campaign has energised the social media community, by encouraging active bloggers (mostly more active than me, it has to be said) to compile on-topic Spotify Playlists. A shrewd move. Everyone likes to check out their peers musical tastes. (Mine is on the yesyesyes blog here)

So what are the secrets of good online "Issues" campaigns?

Make participation easy, fun, worthwhile, and incredibly shareable (especially via Twitter).

Of course there are then all sorts of questions about how "engaged" people actually are in online campaigns when it's now so easy to (be seen to) participate - but if a campaign's objectives are to "raise awareness" (i.e. be talked about) then ticking these four boxes will undoubtedly help.

If I've missed any other amazing examples or obvious secrets, I'm all ears...

With power comes responsibility

2009-03-09T21:39:00.009Z

Been slower to blog recently, but I have been saving up a theme.

1) PR Week threw a large twitter cat amongst some twitchy PR pigeons 10 days ago. Much has been written since. I've never been a fan of these sorts of rankings, but seeing as I let off my steam about the perils of carrying out "influence" research on a self-selecting data-set back in November I stayed quiet this time (except when talking to a couple of people directly involved at the Shoreditch Twit), though my feelings haven't changed since.

2) New Media Age have started a campaign to encourage the digital media industry to self-regulate. A great campaign (around behavioural targeting) , and one which (maybe because of my experience at the Advertising Standards Authority?) I'd totally endorse.

3) Skittles.com went everywhere and did a Modernista. Some people gamed it by seeing if swear words would appear on the Skittles.com site. (They did). Others pointed out that the very people at the cutting edge of the industry who spend their day jobs encouraging clients to "be brave" and commit to un-moderated social media seemed to be the very ones giving detractors the excuses to not invest in it. (They're right).

4) Twitter went a bit bonkers tonight as people shared this link around. A very real url from the Daily Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/gordon-brown/4961897/Gordon-Brown-is-a-cunt.html

It currently takes you here, but whether it will tomorrow morning I don't know...

[update - it transpires that anything you put after the number will take you to the same article - this is not quite as bad as it first seems. And apparently the Indy has the same set-up. Though I still wonder if/when it might get fixed]

5) A teenager got sacked for writing on her Facebook profile that her job was boring.

6) Someone (sorry, can't remember who) forwarded me this link on. It's ace.

...With power comes responsibility.

Social Media Influence Conference 09

2009-03-09T20:39:00.000Z

For the last two years I've attended the Social Media Influence conference. This year I was lucky enough to be on the platform with Neville Hobson, Hubert Grealish and Kris Hoet in a session about PR and Twitter, hosted by Robert Andrews - managing reputations in an era of 140 characters.

I'm not going to go into the whole thing here - it's been pretty well blogged and tweeted, and today's Business Week gives it a pretty good write up

Good to see/meet some familiar and new faces, including Antony Mayfield, Michelle Goodall, Mazi, George Hopkin, Bash, and Kerryatdell.

10 points again to Matthew and Bernhard for sorting it out.

Seth Godin - London Tribes

2009-02-17T20:34:00.008Z

Seth Godin is an inspring thinker who practices what he preaches. Today's London talk was a sell-out. It was also entertaining, inspiring and (dare I say it) extremely re-assuring too.

Around a number of central premises (covered off in Tribes and elsewhere):

Ideas that spread, win.
Marketers should live a bit more dangerously - it's at the edges that marketers win
We should be in the business of helping people spread stories about their brands

He offered a series of entertaining examples of brands which get it - illustrated by images that don't.

I know I come from a PR background, but a lot of it was music to my ears. He said that Method's soap is the same as others. It's THE STORY that people pay for. (very reminiscent of working with clients to get their narrative down on paper before any major launch)

He also said, "People like people who like what they like". Obvious but true - and one of the most succinct arguments I've heard for making more content (online and off) social.

One big soundbite which is still resonating:

TV/Radio/Magazines depend on advertising
The internet doesn't

All totally laudable. And extremely noddable-alongable-to. I left the talk enthused. Particularly about the way that the boundaries between "traditional" marketing services industries are disappearing.

It's now all about the story you tell, and the story that your audiences can pass on. One which people like me, with a PR background should hopefully be well placed to deliver...

I'm sure I'm not alone.

Sony V Apple - Let the Onion decide

2009-02-11T22:17:00.008Z

The Onion's NSFW Sony rip-off has been doing the rounds on Twitter/email the last couple of days. It's extremely funny and worth a watch if you haven't seen it yet.

Sony releases new stupid piece of shit that doesn't fucking work

It posed an interesting question round our office - if you were offering PR advice to Sony, what would it be? A cease and desist letter? Let it wash over? Or try and laugh it off?

Either way I'd rather have been Apple's PR, after they got Onioned, last year.

Apple introduces revolutionary new laptop with no keyboard

Tony Hart RIP

2009-01-18T13:11:00.004Z

Inspiration for a generation.

And the music for the Gallery was ace too.

RKCR's BBC6 campaign and Blu's MUTO - spot the difference

2009-01-16T23:07:00.007Z

Just seen the BBC6 trail, put together by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R. It's very good. A-Punk by Vampire Weekend works really well. But it's also extremely similar to one of my favourite Blu animations. I mean EXTREMELY.

I've blogged about it Blu's genius film in August here, and blogged about advertising agencies paying "homage" to artists/academics several times before (Sony, WCRS). Is this yet another example of an ad agency's idea being uncannily similar to someone else's? I think it might be...

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

So I have a question or two for Damon Collins, executive creative director at RKCR [warning - Flash only site], who was quoted in the Guardian about it, saying "Such a cutting edge and fresh digital radio station requires something appropriately innovative to promote it, and we hope we've done that," said Damon Collins, executive creative director at RKCR [my itals]

1) Did you run the creative idea by Blu before pitching it?
2) Did you pay him for the creative concept?
3) Did you tell the BBC that the idea behind it was his?
4) Or did you genuinely not know of Blu's work before, or
5) Think that your creative was so different from his that you didn't need to acknowledge it in any way?

And questions for everyone else. What do you think? Homage, or copy?

(and hat tip too to Gerel who's written a v similar post)

Puma 1, other sports brands nil

2009-01-06T09:25:00.004Z

We could all learn from Puma.

All over the UK papers today/yesterday is the story of Joseph Pritchard, born with just two fingers and a thumb on each hand. His ambition is to be a premier league goalie, but given his disability, normal goalie gloves kept slipping off.

His parents (according to the Sun) "contacted several sports brands for help and were thrilled when Puma got in touch".

Puma then made up four pairs of the gloves, with his name on, and got them to him for Christmas.

Why is this so special, apart from the obvious?

1) Someone with the foresight in Puma listened to the request rather than sending a standard "sorry we can't help you response" and recognised that this was just a good helpful thing to do. Their processes for dealing with requests like this let them pull this one out and act upon it. More companies should behave like this.

2) It's just going to make everyone who hears about the brand feel better about it

3) It shows that PR is not just sending press releases. Word of Mouth doesn't just happen online. How a brand acts is far more powerful than whatever a brand says or sponsors. Fact. But it takes a certain amount of self-belief to do it.

4) I'd be surprised if Puma punted out a release on this themselves. I reckon the story bubbled up through local media - but could be wrong. Certainly that's what I hope happened. Does anyone know?

5) In one act it's transformed Puma's reputation. Nike might spend millions on CSR projects, but they're still remembered for all the pre-No Logo backlash of young kids sewing footballs together for a pittance in the developing world. Compare that reputation to Puma's this morning - making four pairs of bespoke gloves for an 8 year old boy to follow his goalkeeping passion.

Virgin's 25 year anniversary ad - still red hot

2009-01-05T23:58:00.004Z

This is the first 80s throwback ad which I think works very well, even down to the retro styling of the ad direction. Brings back a lot of memories. Top marks all round.

But why can't I find a decent quality version on YouTube from Virgin themselves? Why only have it on Virgin's microsite with no share/send buttons? You can't even watch it on Facebook... Considering Mr Branson's dalliances with Twitter and social media this seems like a real faux pas, no? Or does Virgin not want to have it discussed/forwarded on? In which case, why have a dedicated microsite, and a pretty effective PR operation to support it, but no obvious campaign to generate online talkability/distribution of the ad. Curious. I'd have loved to have the brief to generate coverage for the ad and the red hot campaign...

Anyway, excuse the quality. But do admire it at the same time.

Memes maketh the man (2) - What made me go into PR?

2009-01-05T23:16:00.005Z

Another meme, this one from Adam Lewis of Flawless Buzz fame.

He's asked five of us

1. Ben Matthews
2. Tom Malcolm
3. Jedster Hallam
4. Chris Reed
5. Richard Bailey

to answer three questions about the world of PR... So here goes

1. What is the one piece of advice you would give to someone entering the world of PR?

Consume all of the media you want to influence and get to know journalists' likes and dislikes as soon as possible. The single worst mistake anyone can ever make in PR is to not know enough about the individual you're pitching to, what they've written/broadcast before, and how they like to be approached. And with the advent of google and social media (especially Twitter) it's actually much easier now to research these things than ever before.

Totally understand the topic/area/product/sector you're going to represent. You're only useful if you know more than the person you're talking to, or can help them quicker and better than Google can. You have to earn their respect and trust by being authorative, accurate and helpful. And don't miss their deadline.

Actually - if it was just one thing, I'd say it's be transparent at all times. Never lie.

2. The favourite part of your job?

The variety. I've always been interested in marketing communications, advertising, DM etc - but with PR you can combine the best bits of all of those disciplines. The best PRs are account handlers, creatives, strategists, planners, project managers and evaluation experts all wrapped up in one person, or one tight team.

3. Why did you decide to go into PR?

I'd thought about law, but felt I could not represent people who were so obviously not telling the truth. I thought about journalism, but after seeing some death-knock tabloid hacks in action decided I wouldn't get a kick out of it... In my last year at Uni (1992) I was running an environmental/recycling campaign. I wrote and sold in a press release about it which got me interviewed on the local BBC station. I liked the idea of giving journalists a story they wanted but with my agenda. The rest is...

Next up for this one (partly because I'm curious) is Daljit, Becky, and Stephen Davies. Consider the meme batton passed on, if you fancy it. And while I'm at it, Alex or one the PR and Comms Network bloggers.

Do slow memes maketh the man?

2009-01-05T21:47:00.006Z

I've been tagged twice in memeworld (once ages ago) so thought both worthy of a reply. Belatedly, mind. I've been quiet on the rss reading/bloggy/tweety front recently. Christmas with two young kids. My three year old got a new bike and learned to ride straight away. Total highlight.

Anyway, the entertaining Melanie Seasons tagged me and Iain Tait (I'm a big Crackunit fan) in the "What inspires you to blog?" meme, which as so far attracted some of the old guard like Drew Benvie and Ged Carroll, as well as Jaz Cummins, Jonny Rosemount, Lewis Webb, Wadds and no doubt lots of others who did theirs way back when.

So here goes.

1) It's when interesting thoughts and time to write about them collide. Generally late at night, with one eye on the laptop and one eye on the TV. Especially true after I've tagged things in Delicious during the day/week before and there's not that much on the box

2) If I see something I want to share - which requires a bit more commentary than 140 chars. Often this is something I really like. Sometimes it's something I can't stand

3) When something in the world is just plain wrong - according to my own ginger world view

4) When I think I can add something useful to a conversation (Chris Applegate's recent post on Andy Burnham's proposal to age-restrict certain sites was so spot on I simply didn't want to re-write it after he'd done it justice already)

5) After I've met, listened to or talked to someone interesting

6) When I want to pimp great stuff any of my mates are doing/have done

By way of pedigree... my first blog was a travel blog in 2000 (The only page left on the Way Back When machine is in 2001). Since then I didn't pick it up again until this one. But I also have a little music blog which I'm not quite sure what to do with. And I set up Twitterfund.com after what I thought was a great idea (but unfortunately just before Twitter got $17M in VC funding). I'm not good at generating linkbait. But I do like to learn new stuff, share stuff and be helpful... Which is, I guess, why I got back into blogging - to participate in conversations.

And given that this is all about a conversation - albeit one with a massive gap between sentences, I tag Robin Wilson, and James Gordon-Macintosh to continue (or rather revive) things.

Two more great cards

2008-12-19T13:22:00.004Z

Some very creative Christmas cards doing the rounds. Mucho respecto to Daljit and the Diffusion chaps...

...and Wadds at Rainier. Very nice.

Christmas time, mistletoe and wine

2008-12-17T22:40:00.001Z

Two of the finest digital Christmas Cards I've ever seen - AKQA's microwaves (slightly reminiscent of some of Ze Frank's early stuff.

And this interactive Christmas card gem (admittedly, from last year I think) from Pill and Pillow

More Sky action

2008-12-17T21:42:00.000Z

London Bloggers Meetup - an online wine tasting

2008-12-10T20:19:00.005Z

I've only been to two London Bloggers' meet-ups, but I'm hooked. Organised by Andy Bargery, they're a great informal mix of chat, booze, interesting people, and...in last night's case, wine. Plenty of wine.

Rob Macintosh of Wine Conversation set up a table in the corner of the room, and invited London's bloggers to sample a selection of 9 wines (if you include Port and Sherry), all of which have blogs devoted to their production.

Vivanco Viura/Malvasia 2007, Bodegas Dinastia Vivanco - courtesy of thirstforrioja.co.uk
Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2007, Weingut Clauer (and if you are really nice to me, a taste of Riesling Auslese 2003, Weingut Clauer) - courtesy of winzerblog.de
Higueruela 2007, from Sta. Quiteria - courtesy of tintoralba.com
Dinastia Vivanco Crianza 2004, Bodegas Dinastia Vivanco - courtesy of thirstforrioja.co.uk
Bellamarsilia 2007, Poggio Argentiera - courtesy of poggioargentiera.com
CVP 2007, La Casa de las Vides - courtesy of casavides.com
Syrah 2004, Cortes de Cima - courtesy of cortesdecima.com
Antique Oloroso Sherry from Fernando de Castilla - courtesy of jerez-xerez-sherry.blogspot.com (who also writes about sherry here)
Special Reserve Tawny Port, Quevedo Port - courtesy of Quevedoportwine.com

(pic by Peter Marshall)

Do vineyards make good bloggers? I'm not sure yet. But the idea of using blogs to add a bit of personality to wines has got to be a good thing. I will regualrly default to buying wine from a vineyard I've been to (both of them) if I see it for sale. And I guess a blog is one way to keep your vineyard's visitors updated wth news, should they want it.

And no doubt about it, Rob Macintosh is passionate and authoritative about wine. My favourite (which as luck would have it I seem to have won a bottle of), is the CVP. Looking forward to pulling the cork on it this weekend...

Matterbox unboxed

2008-12-06T21:34:00.005Z

I missed the first Matterbox in the Summer, so was quite excited about this one. Expected it last week, but there was a delay so it arrived this morning. After I'd left the house, natch.

And I must say, it's left me just a little bit disappointed. It was free, so I shouldn't really be that disappointed. I should be really grateful. But I think I was expecting just a bit too much. Or, at least I was expecting some sort of cross-referral of databases.

The concept is great. A box full of stuff. Not digital stuff. Real stuff. Paid for by the companies keen to get their stuff into the grubby mitts of people like me (presumably). All organised by Royal Mail (again presumably) as a great illustration of the effectiveness of Direct Mail.

So in this one I've got - for free - A Love Film DVD-cleaning cloth, a DVD of a fire (courtesy of Gordons/Baileys/Smirnoff/Bell's), a sample of a book called "Let Battle Commence" (an Epic new take on the life and times of Genghis Khan apparently), A BBC Comedy sample CD from BBC Audiobooks, some Source Hair and Body Wash, a couple of O2 Sim cards, and a Cadbury's Dairy Milk cranberry and granola.

The reason I'm most disappointed (I suppose) is because the targeting was so spot on. Too spot on. I'm already a member of Love Film. I'm on O2. And I'm a BBC Audio podcast downloader. And I have an log fire at home. Etc. etc. - So half of the pack is wasted on me. I knew I shouldn't be so honest about filling in my age details... I might try and be 15 years younger next time just to get the more exciting stuff.

My advice to Matterbox: If you can, either get people to opt in to the samples you want to send, or get your advertisers to share their databases with you so you're not duplicating/preaching to the already converted.

But as I say, the concept is fantastic. Such a clever idea. And my wife likes it. Partly because she's got her beedy eyes on the chocolate...

PR is over-reliant on email. Discuss

2008-12-05T15:07:00.014Z

Not sure if it's Wadds week here at ginger towers, but his post today picking up on the whole Dennis Howlett/PR's can't pitch theme got me writing way too much as a comment, so I thought I'd stick some of it here.

The nub of Howlett's piece is that PR email pitches are rubbish. I first cottoned on to the piece on the back of Becky McMichael's comment. Before he (quite nicely) gave her credit for being a ballsy lass who knows her stuff.

Anyway, I have a bit of sympathy with Howlett's POV (who I don't know and have never pitched to).

As co-incidence would have it, I was spouting off about the reasons why the PR industry might face this over-reliance on email criticism at a really good Metrica/CIPR breakfast meeting this week (on measurement as it happens - but I went a bit off piste...)

It was slightly head in the lion's mouth time, but I reckon that the PR industry (probably in common with many others) is over-reliant on email. Simple.

Drew Benvie also reaches a similar conclusion in his post today, in which he concludes:

But what I'm getting at is that I believe that email is broken as a universal business comms tool.

I am in that lucky long-in-the tooth position to offer this historical version of events - which also makes me think that even though things are bit broken, they can still be fixed...

Before faxes, telephone (and postal) relationships were the best non-lunch/drink way of knowing journalists.

With the advent of faxes, you could save yourself some time by sending stuff instantly. Though mass-faxing was always a bit of a pain. The phone was still very important, but less so. Journalists went out to meetings/drinks/events quite often as financial pressures started to bite at newsdesks.

But then email came along. And you need no relationship with a journalist (or even 150 journalists) to ping them all the same thing. This co-incided with reductions in news-gathering budgets. Media started to be more reliant on stories which came into them, rather than them finding stories. Meaning there was an added incentive to email. More pages got PR-able.

But that history leads us to we are now - with blacklists, and bad pitch blogs and journalists getting totally hacked off with spraygun emails and follow-up phone calls.

That's one of the reasons I'm such an advocate of comms techniques like twitter for anyone who wants to get on in this business. PR students, and PR Directors - take note...

PR (and increasinly digital communications and social media) is all about relationships, listening and being useful. Microblogging (and blogging for that matter) tools help with that listening. And help with those relationships. No question.

So my advice to budding PRs is to get used to following journalists on twitter, reading what they write, or listen to what they broadcast each day. Build a relationship with them.

And get used to pitching in 140 chars (or less), if that's what they want. And avoid the bacn.

The mobile future. O2 Priority campaign, and Wellington Zoo

2008-12-03T17:11:00.007Z

Saw a nice post from Wadds earlier which drew my attention to O2's very clever interactive "send a pic of our PRIORITY print ad in and win a money can't buy prize" campaign at the moment. Really smart campaign (though, as he is, I'm looking forward to it working with my iPhone) [update - had a nice email from Geoff at Archibald Ingall Stratton to say that the app is now live.]

As pure co-incidence would have it later this afternoon I was talking about mobile with some colleagues considering a mobile campaign to reach teenagers.

I don't need much of an excuse to dig out and demonstrate Saatchi and Saatchi NZ and HitLab NZ's groundbreaking mobile campaign for Wellington Zoo. So here goes. I can't believe that I haven't seen anything similar since - hats of to them for their Gold at Cannes in 2007 last year for it. It is genius. But it isn't on YouTube.

If you haven't seen it before, it's worth a click. But do please come back ;)

Does this viral stink?

2008-12-03T16:56:00.004Z

Not entirely sure what the brief was here. I guess it's a simple "put leftovers in fridge" message. In which case - sorry FSA - I'm not sure this works at all. A bad-taste/retro/70s family with the squits does not make me want to change my refridgerating behaviour at all. Or laugh.

What do you think? Is this post Cholmondly-Warner video going to be the next big thing in crazy viral goodness? Or is the oft-repeated "diarrhoea" tag just a bit shit.

Now DON'T FORGET TO WASH YOUR HANDS.

Redefining news, re-valuing journalists. And loving what's local

2008-12-01T21:29:00.013Z

I'm a news snob and a news addict. Can't get enough of the stuff. But what I classify as news these days (or rather, what I pay attention to) is rapdily changing. It's getting so much more personal, and I'm getting so much more discerning.

I don't think it's my age. Rather, I think it's the way that I get my news.

If was David Armano I'd be able to graph my news intake over the years - from working in press offices and gladly reading all of the papers every day, through to now: doing the equivalent of copy tasting news from my Twitter community, or if I have time, RSS feeds. (If I have time?!) Reading a stack of newspapers is increasingly a luxury.

But as well as the way I receive news these days, the other radical difference is that I can now access much more news depending on my specific interests/people I follow on Twitter. But just because it's on Twitter, doesn't mean it's true.

Rory Cellan Jones (@ruskin147)[UPDATE - CORRECTED] posted today on the role of Twitter in reporting the events in Mumbai. I couldn't agree more with his central point: journalists sift fact from fiction and present it in a way their audience (community?) can understand. Twitter can be a fantastic alert mechanism, but the crowd is not always truly wise.

Unless... unless that crowd is the one which posts on Stroudgreen.org/I *heart* N4 - a fantastic local website/forum (hat tip Andy Martin /@firetail) which gives me extremely personal local news, commentary, advice and insight from my local community.

The site has recently been revamped. It's a work of genius. Every area should have one.

Death Cab for the Black Cab Sessions

2008-11-26T22:46:00.003Z

It's been a while since I posted any music, so here goes.

I went to see Death Cab last week in Brixton. A venue which was just too big for them. And they tried too hard to play too loud. Shame, as I'm a big fan. But while nosing around Black Cab Sessions I came across this. And figured I'd much rather see them play in a black cab than in a big venue.

Maybe I'm just getting old.

(you have to press play to...err... get it to play. For some reason it looks like it's permanently loading.}

What have Survivors, Morecambe and Wise and the Blow Monkeys got in common?

2008-11-24T08:45:00.007Z

Clue - it goes beyond popularity into talkability.

I'm not sure water-coolers had made it over to the UK when Morecambe and Wise were holding down viewing figures of 28 million for their Christmas specials, but they certainly made popular TV programmes which people then talked about. In fact, they still do.

The Today programme did a great piece this morning about how fans are "clubbing together" (at £100 a pop) to see their favourite old bands (the example they used was The Blow Monkeys, no less) regroup and play a private gig a la Kylie in Dubai. The communities are already there - but one clever person (can't find his name online) is helping to bring them together around a common theme - seeing a band they love again.

Last night BBC One's Survivors programme launched, prompting a vigorous live (and often critical) back-channel debate on twitter.

What all three of these examples demonstrate is some sort of talkability. Or in Hugh Macleodspeak, they're all examples of great social objects - whether that's M&W's sketches, Dr Robert's £100 a pop acoustic set, or some big budget remade TV.

Once again MacLeod is on the money. The task for marketers/PRs/digital types going forward is to provide or piggy-back on social objects like these to generate buzz/support for the brands. We could do well to learn from the broadcasters/gig organisers.

They're letting their fans feel like they belong/influence something they clearly like. Building stronger bonds, if you will.

Cloverfield, Lost etc etc have done this sort of thing very well before. Snakes on a Plane was probably sidetracked by the whole thing, but 10 points to the BBC (presumably [update 24/11, though @wearesurvivors say they're not official BBC]) for setting up @wearesurvivors (the programme's backstory) on Twitter, and the follow-through website, Northmoor plc.

So far, it looks likethis back story might be a bit more captivating than the programme itself.

I for one will be watching with interest.

As long as I can shake of this sniffle and funny lump under my arm this morning...

What if film posters were honest?

2008-11-14T22:42:00.007Z

Product placement is either pure evil, or it's the only business model that will keep the entertainment industry going over the next few years.

The secretary of State, Andy Burnham MP has toned down his original concerns about product placement, talking more about self-regulation at this week's IAB Engage conference. But it's going to be an increaingly lively issue as my kids grow up.

Amidst a whole load of non-sequiturs in Quantum of Solace, the one that grated most with me was Bond, in a Hydrogen-powered Ford, in the Bolivian (?) desert.

1) A Ford (and not the first Ford in the film), and
2) Hydrogen-powered. ?! You can't fill up a Hydrogen car in the middle of London, yet alone the middle of the Atacama.

Product placement has to be believable to be believed, surely? But unfortunately, that's when it's at it's most insidious. I'm in two minds about it - I love a bit of transparency, me.

Anyway, that's partly why I really like these posters. Total transparency/honesty. Fim posters, and the brands within the films...

There's more where these came from - Antrepo. I'm quite tempted to buy the 8 poster set ($150) or $30 each. It's very clever indeed...

[update 17 November. According to today's Guardian, producer's trade body PACT have been busy and :

ITV, Virgin Media and Discovery have signed up to a new product placement code of conduct, which includes an on-screen symbol signalling to viewers that a brand is being plugged.

which seems like a step in the right direction for TV to me. Transparency all the way...]

Stop the Twitter navel gazing please

2008-11-13T14:08:00.010Z

Over the last few days we've had all sorts of lists, tables, rankings and wikis about PRs, and PR agencies on Twitter. Some of it's useful. Some of it's plain ridiculous.

Can we please stop the ride, because I want to get off.

1) While I am flattered to be twenty somethingth (according to Twittergrader) in a list of PRs who use twitter, I don't really care. No seriously, it's truly unimportant to me because...

2) Call me old-fashioned, but I don't really care how many people follow me. Again, I'm flattered by it, don't get me wrong, but it's not important. I briefly tried - and then very proudly - quit Quitter for that reason. If you're following me and you like my tweets, great. If you don't, I won't be offended if you stop. Please don't follow me just because I'm on that list. I'd be tempted to unfollow myself sometimes. And if I don't follow you back and interact as much as you'd like, please don't get pissed off with me.

3) What is important to me is who I follow, and the reasons I do. Sometimes I like the banter. Most of the time I like learning stuff. And I've learned a lot of stuff from other people via Twitter. And since following them, have met some of them, and like them too. And then learned some more. Result.

4) Oh, and I quite like helping people too. Cheesy but true, but Twitter makes it so so easy to help clients, friends and complete stangers alike. That's what helps make it a community.

5) Some of the people I rate the most (that's you Davies and Wadds) have spent a lot of time and effort pulling together some useful information about who is most active on Twitter using the original (and still best) tool there is - if you're into those tools (twittergrader). And I've followed a few extra people as a result. Other people are complaining about being totally shafted by twitterrank changing their passwords, and twitterawsomeness spamming their mates. Sorry people, I don't have much sympathy for you. Giving your password away for a vanity-ranking?!

5) Anyway please please please, let's not all get hung up on this whole: If more people in agency A than in agency B are on Twitter (according to a three-day old-wiki) than agency A are better at everything social media. Just because I watch a cookery programme and bake cakes doesn't make me a good cook. And Michelin starred chefs don't watch cookery programmes (Or something like that). I disagree with Luke Pollard on this. Quite strongly. Which is unlike me.

6) But here's the big thing. Rant over, but here's the really big thing. If we're all about web2.0, participation and helping our clients understand social media, then let's get back to some quality listening, rather than loud broadcasting. And use it for our clients.

If you haven't yet set up some global searches in Tweetdeck, or Rss feeds from search.twitter.com (when they're working), then that's the best place to start.

p.s. just spotted Borkowski's comment/pingbackto David Brain's perfect headline on this whole discussion ("Am tallest midget in circus"). I couldn't agree more. Just wish I could be as succinct as him.

Vanity publishing, moi? - Me on Sky.com news

2008-11-13T09:22:00.007Z

Did my regular stint on Sky News' Sky.com programme last night. And met some interesting people in the green room before-hand (including one Duncan Bannantyne). [updated - I reckon he must have known that this expose in today's Sun was coming by 7pm, but he certainly didn't let on. He seemed remarkably calm to me]

For pontification on the amazingness that is using Google data to predict flu pandemics, the most-recent Nigerian 411/419 scams on Facebook, Troop Tube, turning Tequila into diamonds, and a semi-naked Heidi Klum, click below...

Amnesty International - World leaders get handy

2008-11-10T12:14:00.005Z

I like a lot of Amnesty's stuff. As communicators, they regularly produce quality material which gets their point across convincingly.

This 30 second film is no exception. Nicely done. I think (but please correct me if I'm wrong) Sholz and friends deserve the credit.

Obama and McCain on the NYT word train

2008-11-04T17:32:00.009Z

The New York Times are getting everso web2.5 with their user-generated coverage of the "mood" of the Election. it's a bit like a live Wordle mixed with Brandtags. Very clever indeed.

Ask readers what one word describes their mood. And then scroll them all. Check out the NYT direct to see it in action. But you'll see something a bit like this...

Do the Test. A whodunnit.

2008-11-04T07:43:00.003Z

The first Do the Test film is great. If you haven't seen it yet, then you should.

This Do the Test Whodunnit is also very very clever.

Watch, enjoy, and pass on.

Every day I cycle to and from work (well almost). And every day I spot at least one person who is simply not paying attention to what's going on around them - pedestrians, cyclists, bikers and drivers, no-one's better or worse than anyone else. This campaign truly brings that to life.

[disclaimer - I am doing some work for TfL (including on this campaign). But I would not write anything here which doesn't come totally from the heart. So there.]

Hat tip to WCRS for doing a fine job on the film, and to Altogether Digital who won a BIMA for seeding the first one, and are also seeding this

McCain V Obama in Social Media - impact in the UK?

2008-11-03T18:13:00.004Z

I seem to have blogged a bit about social media and the US elections. Here's Jeremiah Owyang's take on how the Presidential candidates have harnessed social media.

Unsurprisingly, Obama is way out there in front in terms of the numbers...with this demographic.

Will the UK election follow these patterns, either in terms of sheer volume, or activism of voters?

Somehow I suspect not, for two main reasons (both of which came out in the Torin Douglas piece, below).

1) Our electoral system is simply not set up like the presidential system where "cult of the personality" is everything, partly because...

2) We still do elect individual MPs, not the PM. Constituency votes are the be all and end all

But UK politicians should certainly be listening and learning to what's going on in the States.

Harnessing social media effectively could help in at least four main ways

1) Motivating the supporter base. Preaching to the converted remains important. They're the ones who help get the votes out on the day

2) Fundraising. We haven't seen the levels of individual donations that the US elections rely on, but given recent ship-based discussions I predict that the parties will have to tap more voters (i.e. not just party members) than ever before in the next election

3) Policy development and argument. The internet is basically a pub. It's where people talk, and clever people listen. Sometimes it's an early warning system. Sometimes it's an echo-chamber. But it provides unrivalled access to what people are actually thinking. Political parties of all shades should take note, and tweak their policies accordingly

4) The personalisation of politics. Rather perversely - being friended by a politician can sometimes be akin to being "followed" by a celebrity on twitter (@stephenfry anyone?) All politicians are looking for that "personal" touch. Using social media wisely can help to make invidual supporters feel special, and, when used appropriately, can also help answer critics' questions in a sincere and honest way.

I'm sure there are other reasons - any suggestions/contributions most welcome..

Anyway, enough of my thoughts. Here's Jeremiah's take on why Obama seems to be at least 240 times more popular than McCain...

Internet Usage in United States
United States Population: 303,824,646
Internet Usage: 220,141,969
Penetration rate: 72.5%
Growth from 2000-2008: 130.9%
Stats from Internet WorldStats (Census, Nielson)

Facebook
Obama: 2,379,102 supporters
McCain: 620,359 supporters

Obama has 380% more supporters than McCain

MySpace
Obama: Friends: 833,161
McCain: Friends: 217,811

Obama has 380% more supporters than McCain

YouTube
Obama: 1792 videos uploaded since Nov 2006, Subscribers: 114,559 (uploads about 4 a day), Channel Views: 18,413,110
McCain: 329 videos uploaded since Feb 2007 (uploads about 2 a day), Subscribers: 28,419, Channel Views: 2,032,993

Obama has 403% more subscribers than McCain
Obama has 905% more viewers than McCain

Twitter
Obama: @barackobama has 112,474 followers
McCain: @JohnMcCain (is it real?) 4,603 followers

Obama has 240 times more followers in Twitter than McCain

Setting up a new digital agency

2008-10-31T08:39:00.003Z

[disclaimer - entirely work-related post]

Yesterday, the Fishburn Hedges Group announced that Mobbie Nazir will be joining me next month to launch a new digital communications agency within the Group.

Exciting times ahead - marrying her skills in "traditional" digital comunications (MRM Worldwide, Wundermans, Digitas) with mine/ours in PR, online reputation management and social media, to establish a digital communications agency operating with a PR mindset. An agency equally at home planning strategy and generating digital content as initiating and responding to online converstions.

We'll be formally launching early next year - but will be open for business in just over two weeks when she joins.

The Fishburn Hedges press release has got all the details, as has the story on Brand Republic.

Social media and politics. Obama and Sarah Silverman

2008-10-24T16:39:00.006Z

I'm not a huge Silverman fan, but this whole campaign for The Great Schlep is just fantastic.

For someone whose work revolves around behaviour-changing campaigns utilising digital communications, this is right up there at the top.

The brief: Get retired Jewish people to turn up to vote - for Obama - in Florida.

The result: The Great Schlep site. If you can't be bothered to schlepp over there, then here's her video - you'll get the picture.

It was boing-boinged a while ago - which undoubtedly generated traffic. But it is also - apparently - working. Class. (hat tip to a future colleague on this one)

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

UK MPs who use Twitter

2008-10-24T16:08:00.006Z

I also had a bit of twitterchat with @lfeatherstone this week, who's almost my local MP - good to see her using Twitter well too (she claims to be the first MP on there). For some reason I do get the feeling that the Lib Dems "get" it, @brianpaddick aside. Though you've got to give him points for trying.

I tweeted a request to find other blogging MPs before my interview with Torin - there weren't that many out there - apart from everyone's favourite @tom_watson. Who totally gets it?

So far I've got a few from various wikis which are around, but who else is there? I feel like making a list... suggestions welcome.

Tom Watson

Jo Swinson
10 Downing St
Lynne Featherstone

Grant Shapps (thanks Will Howells) - update

A week of Politics, Social Media, the BBC and Twitter

2008-10-24T13:41:00.009Z

Given the meteoric take up of social media in the US Elections, I wonder how much we'll see in the UK for our general election?

This was broadly the theme of Torin Douglas' piece for The World Tonight this week, which he interviewed me for. It's seven minutes long, but if you're into politics, and social media, it's well worth a listen.

Torin approached social media seriously - as do US politicians.

Compare that to John Humphrys interview of @ruskin147, @cybersoc and @katebevan about Twitter, prompted by "that" article in Wired.

Stella's reputation - beaten black and blue

2008-10-15T21:32:00.005Z

Do InBev realise what they're doing, with the forthcoming launch of Stella Black, their new 5.5% "aspirational" lager? Have they thought through all the unfortunate implications of the name?

Now maybe it's not planned as a "session" lager - but either way, if you're trying hard to shed the 'wife-beater' image associated with Stella, surely you'd think twice about launching something even stronger than Stella, that could so easily be nicknamed "black and blue"?

In fact, Robert Bruce, a spokesman for InBev told the Independent last year, "It's gone too far. There's a real risk in the way 'wife beater' has been associated with Stella Artois of undermining the issue of domestic abuse." Hmmm.

Name it "gold", name it "white" - just anything other than black or blue, surely? OK, so I expect it's only going to launch in bottles in trendy bars, but I wonder how long before those volumes don't do quite so well, so it inevitably hits the draft pumps.

In this day and age when Government has got an ever-beedy eye on the responsible marketing of booze, and InBev have very public about trying to shed the "wife-beater" image, I wonder if this name might in time, turn out to bite InBev on the arse.

Or even punch them in the face.

UPDATE 15/9 - it's in the comments, but thought it deserved an airing on the post.

Hi Chris, I represent Stella Artois at Edelman. I read your post and wanted to share InBev's statement on the 5.5% story to clarify the situation:

"As you would expect from the Nation's No 1 lager in the UK, InBev is constantly looking at a number of product innovations. However InBev UK categorically denies it is launching any variants of Stella Artois at a higher ABV than currently available."

So either Marketing Week are making the whole thing up, or... I don't know what. Either way, their story looks to be pretty well (and double) sourced to me.

Sources also add that Stella Black will be made available exclusively at top premium outlets and aimed at “opinion formers.” The launch is expected in the first half of next year and InBev is already understood to be planning an experiential sponsorship programme to support it.

But hey - we've all been stung by dodgy and unfounded (though well-sourced) leaks in the past, and a company the size of InBev (or InBev UK) - hmm, I wonder if there's a subtle international distinction here which would explain a lot - simply would not countenance anything other than a totally transparent and honest statement. So I believe them. And also, simply because I really really want it to be true.

Though I would dearly love to know when the decision to NOT launch any higher-ABV brand in the UK was taken.

p.s. Fair play to Edelman in responding to this in the comments so promptly. Shows an agency genuinely working for their clients' reputation across all media. When I expect they've also got their hands full dealing with "traditional" media on this issue too.

The corporate social media curve

2008-10-15T21:06:00.004Z

Straight lift from David Armano's blog, which is often etertaining and informative in equal measure. This is no exception...

Now - back to challenging that brief...

Great Star Wars iPhone light sabre film

2008-10-15T20:58:00.005Z

Very nicely put together film. Basically two geeks having a light sabre fight in their living room. Quite literally iphone armageddon. Nice job MGEN.

But why "for Google? Did they pay? (link via Contagious)

Bansky's show opens in New York

2008-10-09T15:14:00.007Z

Banksy's last US show (if I remember rightly) involved an Elephant in the room.

This one features animatronic animals/animal parts/animal derivatives, hosted in the Village Pet Store, West Village, New York.

I'm not entirely sure about all of it, but I do like his take on fishfingers, and chicken nuggets.

More Banksy goodness on the Wooster Collective, or his own site, or the New York Times (sub required)

What sort of morons do McDonalds think Beatles fans are?!

2008-10-09T08:37:00.007Z

Those are the words of Paul McCartney's spokesperson on discovering that McDonalds had used - without permission - images of the Fab Four in a campaign to demonstrate the cultural significance of the band in Liverpool.

Macca has been a veggie for nigh on 30 years. And therefore he's unlikely to be a fan of the (excuse me) Bic Macca. He'd prefer an Apple any day...

Cue lots of possible Beatles song titles?

Fools on the McHill
We Can't work it out
Hippy Hippy Chocolate Shake
Strawberry Milkshakes forever
You've got to hide your burgers away
Help
Money - in this case, that's not what I want
Roll Over Ronald

Any more?

Recession blocker

2008-10-08T12:24:00.005Z

Totally flippant, but you've got to admire the idea.

Applying recession-blocker to any website automatically blacks out any "unwelcome words" ranging from "Alastair Darling", all the way through to "Woe".

This is the BBC news homepage at the time of writing...

Hat tip - Peter S at work

Mashed event - Data and Government 2.0

2008-10-07T21:20:00.012Z

Just back from a surprisingly entertaining panel discussion on the future of data in Government, hosted by those nice Mashed* types.

Lots of extremely intelligent people, many of whom appeared to be balding blokes in specs. I half-blended in.

William Perrin, Secretary to the Power of Information Taskforce, and right-hand man to everyone's favourite blogging MP Tom Watson, was one of them.

He sat alongside John Sheridan, from the Office of Public Sector Information. Also up on stage were Steve Palmer, CIO of Hillingdon Council, and Mike Bracken, Technology Director of the Guardian (who have obviously been running the Free our Data campaign). And Mr Will Mcinnes took his usual provocative chairing role with aplomb.

Some of the key points which popped out of it:

Government really is moving from establishing websites to freeing up data to be used off-site, it's just that some departments aren't running as fast as others (Andrew from Ononemap.com pointed a wagging finger at the Environment Agency, by way of example)
OPSI are extremely willing to nudge the right people to provide the right data in the right way - use the access form on their site
The more examples that the digital communications industry can demonstrate that it's in Government's best interest (both economically and socially) to publish xml files or spreadsheets, the more likely they will play ball on a bigger scale
There's money in them there hills - innovation can come from within Government, but is highly likely to come from outside
Google Maps API is imperfect. And without a Universal Service Obligation from any company in place ("Who's going to map Shetland?") no exclusive access could be given to the data. In fact, even without it there'd be no exclusive access
According to Nick Jones, Director of Interactive Services at the COI, Canada and the Nordics are ahead of the curve (though the UK is very well placed in Europe)

So what does this all mean for PR? For digital communications? For me?

1) Interpreting data remains at the heart of the stories that Government can tell - By asking for the right data, in the right way from the right Department we [disclosure: my employers, Fishburn Hedges, do a lot of Government work] can generate new and more interactive stories about how citizens relate to Government, and vice versa

2) As PR/digital communications specialists, the release of the data and the APIs means we can start thinking very differently about what makes news, and how it can be personalised and localised using digital media

3) We're at the start of something big in terms of how people related to local information. The rapid take-up of mobile will speed up that process no end

4) I want to start mucking round with mapping APIs. And pay more attention to what people like ononemap.com are doing.

Anyway, all in all a really useful, thought-provoking session.

More wordle fun - from Cameron

2008-10-01T20:36:00.006Z

And this is what David Cameron has been telling the Tories today. Thanks to http://wordle.net.

Gordon Brown's Labour Conference Speech wordle

2008-09-23T16:25:00.004Z

Hat tip to Mr Jem Stone, who was very quick off the mark with this.
Hot from Manchester this is what the PM was telling the delegates...

More Wordle fun from http://wordle.net

Planning a deluxe weekend away - and not with Mrs R

2008-09-11T20:05:00.003Z

Good mate of mine is sorting out some whizzy weekend-in-a-nice-hotel-dating thing for London types, and I'm helping her sort some online stuff out. Over a cocktail. Tough work, but someone's got to do it.

If you fancy staying in a hotel like this (the Bull Hotel, Bridport) for a weekend in early Nov, meeting new people, and enjoying some fine food, wine and company, then let me know and I'll put you in touch with her.

Positive PR from motoring chaos?

2008-09-05T10:05:00.006Z

A lot of buzz (see below) at the moment about this stunt by Electronic Arts in Finsbury Park, London N4 (where I live).

As part of the EA stunt, the Last Stop Garage is giving drivers up to £40 of free petrol.

Local residents, and people trying to get through are not happy about it, but EA will be getting shed loads of free publicity for "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames" the rest of the day no doubt.

picture is from PA ( Dear PA - I'm happy to take this down if you'd prefer - I'm still waiting for creative commons pics to hit flickr, then I'll use that)

Not sure if I like the idea of my small part of London taken over for a PR stunt, but you've got to hand it to EA - they're certainly going to generate a lot of coverage - all for the cost of £20,000 of free petrol.

But whether of that coverage reaches or targets prospective purchasers of the game I'd be surprised. Seems to me coverage for coverage's sake - rather than coverage which will meet business objectives of selling more games.

Cynic, moi?

BBC News report on gingerfest in Wolverhampton

2008-09-04T08:24:00.010Z

Just one ginger follicle away from being a Day Today sketch, this piece from BBC West Midlands in praise about the opening of a ginger hair exhibition is something else entirely.

One of the opening lines says it all, "For centuries having ginger hair has meant you're the butt of many jokes..but that's about to change with the opening of a new photographic exhibition in Wolverhampton. Gingerfest."

Currently the most watched video on BBC News in the UK, and 4th most emailed story. Go on, you know you want to watch it...

Even just for the pleasure of hearing on the BBC that way under-used line, "So now you can say it loud. I'm ginger and proud".

(hat tip to Nessy at work for the link)

UPDATE - thanks to Richard for the link to some of the photos in the exhibition.

They are all copyrighted to David Rann. David, if you'd rather they weren't posted here than let me. But 10 points to you, sir for generating such a huge amount of PR for your exhibition.

Banksy on holiday in the USA

2008-09-03T23:45:00.002Z

Looks like Banksy is on a busman's holiday in the Deep South of the USA.

After stopping for a while in New Orleans (pre hurricane)...

...he's now leaving a graffiti trail near Birmingham, Alabama which has a fine old pop at the KKK.

Links and story via the Wooster collective - one of the best street art sites around

James Yorkston's Black Cab Session at the Green Man Festival

2008-09-03T22:33:00.004Z

I like the Black Cab Sessions. I like James Yorkston. I also like the Green Man Festival. But I'm glad I didn't go this year as the weather looked shocking.

This is near enough. (Doesn't seem to load a screen so press play to watch it)

Becks, music and digital stuff

2008-09-03T22:03:00.008Z

I meant to blog about today's Measurement camp, last month's holiday, and all sorts of other fine stuff, but instead got totally waylaid in musical tomfoolery.

Firstly, the Becks live studio. They emailed me. I was interested. I clicked. And I spent a good hour just mucking around on various tracks until I did this pared-back Roisin Murphy mix. I defy anyone who likes music not to spend some time on it too.

And I would encourage more brands to put these sorts of easy-mash-up-games online. (My previous favourite was a DJing beatboxing dog. Sad but true - but worth a play)

As a brand, Becks seem to have got their music sponsorship and online stuff (through Dare?) pretty sorted.

Thanks to Becks Fusions I won tickets to see Massive Attack, Santogold and United Visual Artists (who I think are amazing - totally loved their recent exhibition outside the South Bank) and various others in Manchester this weekend. Exciting stuff. I suppose that entering that comp is how I got on their email list. But to be honest I don't care.

Does the music and online stuff make me feel better about Becks as a brand? Yes, indeed. Especially when coupled with their art sponsorship too. Will it make me drink more of the stuff? Maybe.

Will it make me do their water, barley, hops, yeast dance like these fine people? No.

Kid Carpet - 8 bit tune, cheeky vocals and a top notch video

2008-08-13T22:51:00.004Z

Kid Carpet was one of the highlights of Camp Bestival. Most entertaining - though trying to explain to a 5 year old why a song was called "Tom Jones' cock" was quite entertaining.

And this is a great mix of 8 bit music, sort of singing, and some of the most entertaining athletic Olympics FAILs I've ever seen in one place. Truly a failed world record attempt.

Online reputation and buzz monitoring

2008-08-07T16:53:00.009Z

You wait ages for some interesting social media monitoring stuff to come your way, and then, lo and behold, two things come along at once.

First up - yesterday's social media measurement camp, arranged by Will McInnes (background to it on Nixon Mcinnes' social media goodness site, and hosted by Helen and those nice people at Dare.

I've posted on measurement camp before. It's a bloody marvel. 20 odd good people - and I mean good as in good at their jobs, and good as in, just plain good (and not really odd at all) - in a room helping eachother define, agree and generate metrics, which will in turn help us all demonstrate how this new-fangled communications technique is worthwhile to the people who pay our wages/bills. I came away with a buzz about buzz. And a nice warm glow inside. Which doesn't happen after every meeting.

Good to meet a few people there too who I sort of know online - Ben Matthews, Tom Malcolm, Amanda Rose, and bump into some of the regulars - Quozza, Adrian Moss and Drew Benvie too.

And then today, E-consultancy publish their "online reputation and buzz monitoring buyer's guide". They've hit the mark, those E-consultancy peeps. It reads well. it's pretty authoratitive and seems to list virtually all of the key players in the market.

And I'm quoted extensively within it. Which is nice. Hope I make some sense. Pummel me here if not.

Free sample from E-consultancy. Or you can subscribe, and get the whole lot free. And all of their other fine reports too, which are all pretty handy if you ask me.

Blu animation - genius

2008-08-06T22:50:00.002Z

Saw his pic at the Tate Modern on Sunday. Or rather on the Tate Modern, and Stumbled upon this last night. Totally amazing. A whole day of animation in one 7 minute film. Get past the first 30 seconds, and you'll be hooked.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Ernie and Burt rap

2008-08-06T22:13:00.004Z

This reminds me, for reasons I really can't explain (though I guess it might be something to do with them sharing a bedroom) of Morecambe and Wise. But it's not. It's some clever lipsyncing of Ante Up by MOP (Mash Out Posse) by everyone's favourite 1970s puppet duo.

Cute ginger kid with glasses

2008-08-06T21:38:00.003Z

Guaranteed to get my attention every time.

In fact it starts off as a great recruitment ad for BBH, but lets itself down with the Lynx and I wannabe his girlfriend gags. But I'll forgive it that. Because it shows that ginger kids can be cool.

Link via the highly readable Measurement Matters blog, run by [disclaimer - the do a fair bit of work for Fishburn Hedges] Metrica, who are seeming to make the jump from print to online monitoring and analysis a relatively smooth one.

PR Week's agency of the year?

2008-07-31T16:27:00.007Z

So the shortlist of PR Week's Agency of the Year is out. And Fishburn Hedges is on the shortlist. We've never won it before - it's the only biggie that's so far eluded us - so fingers crossed this is our year...

My colleagues at 77pr, in fine crowdsourcing fashion (no cheating now folks!) are conducting a little awards ceremony of their own and are trying to find The People's Vote for agency of the year.

So if you're in an agency, a client, in-house, or have the honour of not working in PR at all but know a bit about who's who, who's done what and which agency deserves this accolade, then do pop along and make your vote count.

And if you are reading this, and work in PR, then also do check out a couple of handy PR Week twitterfeeds. PR Week's UK news (which I set up) and PR Week tech news, courtesy of Mr Drew Benvie.

And while you're at at - also have a nose at the Flackenhacks, a different sort of PR awards cerremony altogether. Or something.

In praise of the iPhone

2008-07-30T21:39:00.007Z

The iPhone is the first piece of Apple kit I've ever owned which failed to live up to expectations, and failed to work straight out of the box. It reminded me much too much of using Windows, back in the day.

But now I'm more acquainted with it, I'm a massive fan. (Though, I hasten to add, not a fanboy)

Mobile me - tremenduous FAIL. Totally monstrous.
Apple's communications about mobile me - an even more monstrous FAIL.
Battery life - very poor.
And why oh why did they make the thing NOT fit old chargers and cradles. There is NO reason to do so apart from a desire to force people to buy new ones. Come on Apple - that's not your style. That's Microsoft's.

BUT - the interface is ace. So intuitive, and so easy to use.
The extra apps are a joy - Beatmaker in particular adds a sampling drum machine to a phone. A phone for God's sake.
And being able to access YouTube/iPlayer on such a screen is revolutionary. It really is.
As is the locator. Very nice indeed.

So - all in all, I'm a fan. But I do wish that Apple had got their systems sorted first of all. Maybe next time...

The future of PR in a connected digital online world

2008-07-30T21:23:00.004Z

10 points to David Cushman for starting a great discussion going about whether we'll soon see a new job in PR (or P2PR as he calls it) which is populated by experts in communicating with people in networks, and across networks. I didn't mean to comment in quite such detail on the post - but I did. So go there for the full story.

But the long and the short of my views: Good PRs should be as comfortable communicating with Facebook users as they are with FT readers. They should know how networks work, and know how to work with networks.

It might be that some PRs develop expertise in digital networks, and do become P2PRs, but I think that all PRs should understand how to do their job - even if they choose not to.

So there.

Two enterntaining ripped-off brands

2008-07-30T21:03:00.009Z

Two different re-interpretations of world-famous brands caught my eye today, which further illustrate how big brands are no longer in control of their own self-image. This "spoof" Guinness ad (very saucy - according to Marketing Week they're trying to get it taken off YouTube)

And this series of cartoons (sorry, can't remember who tweeted this today) which show the "real" genesis of the Chinese Olympic logo. Sick, but effective.

Sky.com news

2008-07-24T08:53:00.002Z

Pity my colleague who wanted to get away from work, so went to the Gym, only to be watching Sky News when her boss popped up...

Crittering and Twitticising

2008-07-09T21:23:00.005Z

Over the last 18 months or so that I've been twittering, I've been at more and more events which are being live-twittered. Indeed have been doing some of it myself.

But I'm getting increasingly interested about the influence of twittering on the dynamics of the events themselves (Zuckerberg/SXSW anyone?). I think that audiences are getting quicker than ever to judge events they're at, to be the first to tweet.

I came up with a definition (or two actually) during yesterday's Tim Berners-Lee talk at NESTA:

Crittering or Twitticising: Offering live commentary or criticism of a talk, lecture or conference using Twitter (rather than verbatim reporting)

Such crittering can totally influence the mood of the twitterers in the room (which may well include the speakers). And certainly outside too.

I'm not saying that crittering or twitticising is good or bad. Just that "critters" are becoming increasingly influential at all of these events.

The strange thing about the TBL/Nesta event yesterday though was that I was tech-free. Just a pen and a notebook until I got home and checked out the chatter on summize and blogged my experience. I quite liked it that way, but fully expect to be crittering or twitticising the next events I go to...

Exciting but vague - no. Vague but exciting - yes.

2008-07-08T21:29:00.007Z

Tim Berners-Lee's talk at Nesta this afternoon (live tweeted by @innovationedge, amongst others, and tagged #futureofweb) was packed to bursting. And you can see why. He's that rare breed - a passionate scientist and a very effective communicator. Oh yes, and he invented the World Wide Web. He is a genius. No question.

So it was a bit of a shame that he wasn't given a bit more time to talk. After all, the people who were there were there to listen to him, rather than Andy Duncan or Charlie Leadbetter.

What we did hear though, was hearty and inspirational stuff. Someone still looking forward. Someone who wants to make the semantic web happen. And happen for everyone. And, you know, he probably will make it happen (though not as fast as Bill Thompson would like) - at least once people start to realise that they "own" their data rather than corporations or states. TBL was at his most animated when he said, "Don't sell my clickstream".

Mr Leadbetter is also clearly well read, and his analogy of the current state of the internet v the rise of The Levellers in the English Civil War, is strong. Will the www equivalent of the Reformation happen in 15 - 20 years? Will states or corporations take over the web and "run" things? In Western-based democracies, I don't think that can happen. And hope that it won't. It was interesting to hear, but I would rather have heard more from Sir Tim.

A couple of phrases summed up the untapped potential of the event, for me - "We have a duty to study the web because we created it. We built it, so we'd better fix it if it isn't right." (Berners-Lee), followed by, "If we screw it up, it will invite in brands or Governments" (Leadbetter). And while regulation became something of a theme, I was disappointed not to be able to ask what "not right" looked like to the guy who invented the whole thing. And then, how could it be fixed. Next time, I guess.

But when he was allowed to pontificate on how the web would develop (the question was basically would it be for the greater good, or not), he pontificated nicely in soundbites. "When it comes to humanity, I don't think we can expect too much. But we must make sure we don't expect too little."

He summed up by repeating the memo from his boss after he'd been shown TBL's first work on a lateral, hypertext-based filing system. The memo read, "Vague, but exciting" which gave him tacit approval to carry on. "If it had read 'Exciting, but vague'" he said, he would probably have stopped then and there.

Amazing the difference the order of a few words makes.

[update - links to a few other blogs on the event. Emma Mulqueeny, Mia Ridge, Lloyd Davis, and the technorati search.]

Chris Reed - ginger and proud

Cassette boy V Dragon's dead. So wrong it's right.

Federer knocks off bottle from a mans head using his serve

Real world meets digital world - Sony Toykyo Zoo

Right product. Right parternship - Dolby V Beardyman

Alberto Balsalm - Steel Version (via @flashboy)

Star Wars Cantina V Adidas V World Cup

Ben Folds does his Chatroulette thing live

Very clever shadow art...

Tron in stop motion animation

Wanted - the best and worst cracker jokes ever #brewcrackers

Everyone loves a ginger kid. FACT!

What's ET short for?

Lego stop-motion animation car-racing goodness

Debating the Digital Economy Bill - The Spectator

Why booze and train tracks don't mix - the best public information film ever?

Advertising flies. Or flies advertising, I'm not quite sure...

Q: Is Bing really behind this? A: err, yes

Coldcut and Hexstatic - timber

Cassetteboy vs Nick Griffin vs Question Time

A palindromic poem. Or something

Tuesday night tunes - You've got the love (XX remix), Nadine (Memory Tapes version), and Miami Horror

The Helicopter Boyz promoting the Nikon coolpix - with free dodgy headgear and music

b3ta.com challenge: if America were still British

Mr Magic RIP

My Mate Nik's fingers - as featured on Kanye West's blog...

Peter Mandelson and the "C" word

Nike: philanthropy or branding?

Scratch perverts as you've never seen them before

Asda social media response the the late night chicken licker

Moving to Posterous

London Bloggers Meetup

Twitter and Facebook - A Consipracy of Denial by the Denial of Service Conspiracy Theorists

But Beardman does it so much better...

DJ Steve Porter featuring Vince Offer - "Slap Chop Rap"

Building projections

Lord Alan Sugar in Cassetteboy V The Apprentice

Gratuitious self-promotion on Sky News

Sponsored Hashtags #trustFAIL

Inhaling gin is a social object - discuss

Spinvox Rocks

Charity begins online

With power comes responsibility

Social Media Influence Conference 09

Seth Godin - London Tribes

Sony V Apple - Let the Onion decide

Tony Hart RIP

RKCR's BBC6 campaign and Blu's MUTO - spot the difference

Puma 1, other sports brands nil

Virgin's 25 year anniversary ad - still red hot

Memes maketh the man (2) - What made me go into PR?

Do slow memes maketh the man?

Two more great cards

Christmas time, mistletoe and wine

More Sky action

London Bloggers Meetup - an online wine tasting

Matterbox unboxed

PR is over-reliant on email. Discuss

The mobile future. O2 Priority campaign, and Wellington Zoo

Does this viral stink?

Redefining news, re-valuing journalists. And loving what's local

Death Cab for the Black Cab Sessions

What have Survivors, Morecambe and Wise and the Blow Monkeys got in common?

What if film posters were honest?

Stop the Twitter navel gazing please

Vanity publishing, moi? - Me on Sky.com news

Amnesty International - World leaders get handy

Obama and McCain on the NYT word train

Do the Test. A whodunnit.

McCain V Obama in Social Media - impact in the UK?

Setting up a new digital agency

Social media and politics. Obama and Sarah Silverman

UK MPs who use Twitter

A week of Politics, Social Media, the BBC and Twitter

Stella's reputation - beaten black and blue

The corporate social media curve

Great Star Wars iPhone light sabre film

Bansky's show opens in New York

What sort of morons do McDonalds think Beatles fans are?!

Recession blocker