Wadds' tech pr blog
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Is dishonesty a necessity?
Following the debate about whether those working in public relations had a duty to tell the truth, it was interesting to see that the majority at the University of Westminster were against the motion.
I don’t think for one second think that anyone believes lying in public relations is a necessity – more a last resort – but even then I think it is difficult to distinguish between spinning a story and lying.
Personally, I’d like to think I would be capable of spinning stories well enough to be able to avoid lying. Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 10:50 AM
Following the debate about whether those working in public relations had a duty to tell the truth, it was interesting to see that the majority at the University of Westminster were against the motion.
I don’t think for one second think that anyone believes lying in public relations is a necessity – more a last resort – but even then I think it is difficult to distinguish between spinning a story and lying.
Personally, I’d like to think I would be capable of spinning stories well enough to be able to avoid lying. Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 10:50 AM
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
All wind
The Times reported on Saturday that a domestic turbine installation in London is generating a payback of less than 10 pence a week.
I feel vindicated. I got very excited when B&Q announced domestic turbines last year, but couldn’t make the numbers work.
According to Wind Guru wind speeds in my area of West London hit optimal speeds for a domestic turbine for around 90 minutes a week. That means a payback period of around 300 years for the cost of the kit alone.
I'm in the process of switching all our dimmer switches and incandescent light bulbs for conventional switches and energy saving bulbs. Given the numbers cited by The Times I reckon we’ll save at least three times as much as if we had a domestic turbine. Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 11:05 PM
The Times reported on Saturday that a domestic turbine installation in London is generating a payback of less than 10 pence a week.
I feel vindicated. I got very excited when B&Q announced domestic turbines last year, but couldn’t make the numbers work.
According to Wind Guru wind speeds in my area of West London hit optimal speeds for a domestic turbine for around 90 minutes a week. That means a payback period of around 300 years for the cost of the kit alone.
I'm in the process of switching all our dimmer switches and incandescent light bulbs for conventional switches and energy saving bulbs. Given the numbers cited by The Times I reckon we’ll save at least three times as much as if we had a domestic turbine. Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 11:05 PM
IDG takes ComputerWorld global with UK launch
ComputerWorld UK will make its maiden voyage into the already congested waters of technology news websites when it launches at the end of February. Backed by the might of IDG it will go head to head for the attention of IT decision-makers with Computing, Computer Weekly and Silicon.
Mike Simons, presenting to the Rainier PR team upstairs at the Clachan on Friday afternoon, pulled no punches about its intended audience: it's not for the geeks. Rather, it’s aimed at senior IT managers and IT directors in UK enterprises and will provide practical hands-on information, but won’t bamboozle.
Simons is best known for driving stories off the pages of Computer Weekly into the nationals during his reign as news editor. So are his competitors throwing down extra anchors to secure their positions? Who knows, but one thing's for sure there has to be a casualty in this crowded market in the medium to long term. Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 7:57 AM
ComputerWorld UK will make its maiden voyage into the already congested waters of technology news websites when it launches at the end of February. Backed by the might of IDG it will go head to head for the attention of IT decision-makers with Computing, Computer Weekly and Silicon.
Mike Simons, presenting to the Rainier PR team upstairs at the Clachan on Friday afternoon, pulled no punches about its intended audience: it's not for the geeks. Rather, it’s aimed at senior IT managers and IT directors in UK enterprises and will provide practical hands-on information, but won’t bamboozle.
Simons is best known for driving stories off the pages of Computer Weekly into the nationals during his reign as news editor. So are his competitors throwing down extra anchors to secure their positions? Who knows, but one thing's for sure there has to be a casualty in this crowded market in the medium to long term. Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 7:57 AM
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Not so cheap as chips
There’s a curious discontinuity emerging in the electronics industry created by a rising demand for solar cells. The solar industry is prepared to pay a premium price for silicon wafers whereas the semiconductor industry has always expected rock bottom pricing.
Malcolm Penn, CEO, Future Horizons (disclosure: Rainier PR client) speaking at Semiconductor Industry Forecast last week said that the solar industry was driving up prices which could have an adverse impact on pricing of electronics chips.
The Inquirer has more on this story. Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 3:44 PM
There’s a curious discontinuity emerging in the electronics industry created by a rising demand for solar cells. The solar industry is prepared to pay a premium price for silicon wafers whereas the semiconductor industry has always expected rock bottom pricing.Malcolm Penn, CEO, Future Horizons (disclosure: Rainier PR client) speaking at Semiconductor Industry Forecast last week said that the solar industry was driving up prices which could have an adverse impact on pricing of electronics chips.
The Inquirer has more on this story. Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 3:44 PM
Drive by web visitors don’t buy
We saw a huge peak in hits on the Rainier PR web site when we announced the results of our You Gov PR hits and misses of 2007. But the majority of hits were from drive by visitors who had a quick look at the source press release and moved on.
I’m not sure anymore if hits are a useful measure of the success of a web site. Instead I think the amount of time a visitor spends on your site and the site journey that they take is a better guide of their intent to purchase products or services. Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 3:24 PM
We saw a huge peak in hits on the Rainier PR web site when we announced the results of our You Gov PR hits and misses of 2007. But the majority of hits were from drive by visitors who had a quick look at the source press release and moved on.I’m not sure anymore if hits are a useful measure of the success of a web site. Instead I think the amount of time a visitor spends on your site and the site journey that they take is a better guide of their intent to purchase products or services. Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 3:24 PM
Snow joke
It’s going to snow overnight in theUK
It’s going to snow overnight in the
Measuring electricity usage
The Waddington household invested in an Electrisave power meter in December to measure electrical usage. It’s a neat bit of kit that shows how much electricity we’re sucking out of the grid in large digits in both kilowatts and pence per hour.
It has motivated everyone in the house, kids included, to turn off lights and switch off chargers and electronic kit at the wall rather than leaving stuff plugged in. The effect has been to cut electricity usage immediately; in fact by around 20 per cent in January.
On this basis it’s going to take us around 9 months to recover the £80 price tag of the Electrisave, but it has also motivated me to investigate alternatives to the banks of halogen spot lights in the kitchen and tradition incandescent bulbs on dimmer switches.
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| Stephen Waddington @ 11:24 AM
It has motivated everyone in the house, kids included, to turn off lights and switch off chargers and electronic kit at the wall rather than leaving stuff plugged in. The effect has been to cut electricity usage immediately; in fact by around 20 per cent in January.
On this basis it’s going to take us around 9 months to recover the £80 price tag of the Electrisave, but it has also motivated me to investigate alternatives to the banks of halogen spot lights in the kitchen and tradition incandescent bulbs on dimmer switches.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Digital Trend Gathers Momentum
A record number of us are listening to the radio according to the latest RAJAR results released this week. 45 million people, equivalent to 90 per cent of the UK population, tuned in to their radios each week in the last quarter of 2006. That’s the highest number of listeners ever recorded since the weekly surveys began in 1992.
Once again digital listening has risen, with the number of people who have access to a DAB receiver, or listened to the radio via digital television or the Internet, increasing from 54 per cent to 55 per cent. 16 per cent of the UK population also now live in homes which have a digital radio.
Radio listening via mobile phone is up 24 per cent year on year with 7.8 per cent of the UK adult population using their handsets to tune in. Likewise the downloading of podcasts is on the rise. 2.1 million adults now use their mp3 player to listen to podcasts.
Also holding it’s own is commercial radio which takes a 54 per cent share of listening in the key 15 to 44 demographic, the core audience demanded by advertisers. 72 per cent of this age-group listen to Commercial Radio every week, up by 228,000 since last quarter.
However, the results show a major shift in radio listening from analogue to digital in all its guises and companies would do well to pay attention to the changing trends in media consumption or they could find themselves left behind.
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| Stephen Waddington @ 4:52 PM
Once again digital listening has risen, with the number of people who have access to a DAB receiver, or listened to the radio via digital television or the Internet, increasing from 54 per cent to 55 per cent. 16 per cent of the UK population also now live in homes which have a digital radio.
Radio listening via mobile phone is up 24 per cent year on year with 7.8 per cent of the UK adult population using their handsets to tune in. Likewise the downloading of podcasts is on the rise. 2.1 million adults now use their mp3 player to listen to podcasts.
Also holding it’s own is commercial radio which takes a 54 per cent share of listening in the key 15 to 44 demographic, the core audience demanded by advertisers. 72 per cent of this age-group listen to Commercial Radio every week, up by 228,000 since last quarter.
However, the results show a major shift in radio listening from analogue to digital in all its guises and companies would do well to pay attention to the changing trends in media consumption or they could find themselves left behind.
Loony toons
Move over Jade Goody, the Cartoon Network brought the spotlight on itself in the most dramatic fashion when its guerrilla campaign to place 38 one foot high electric cartoon characters around Boston resulted in evacuated buildings and tramways. Police finally twigged that it was a publicity stunt and the instigator, Turner Broadcasting System, has apologised.
Tip for all future PR stunts: In a state of heightened alert don’t plant dodgy looking devices in public places (especially under bridges) with wires sticking out of them. Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 3:48 PM
Move over Jade Goody, the Cartoon Network brought the spotlight on itself in the most dramatic fashion when its guerrilla campaign to place 38 one foot high electric cartoon characters around Boston resulted in evacuated buildings and tramways. Police finally twigged that it was a publicity stunt and the instigator, Turner Broadcasting System, has apologised.Tip for all future PR stunts: In a state of heightened alert don’t plant dodgy looking devices in public places (especially under bridges) with wires sticking out of them. Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 3:48 PM
