Wadds' tech pr blog

Mamma mia, smear we go again…

noreply@blogger.com (C M R Lee) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:07:00 +0000

Hark back to your earliest days as a PR exec and I’m sure there’ll be some mid-level manager harping on at you to make sure you proof the press pack before it goes to the media. Looks like this most elementary facet of common sense slipped those highly-trained hawks at the White House when they issued briefing documents to journalists accompanying President Bush on Air Force One with some pretty damning comments about Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi.

The document smears the media mogul-turned-prime minister as "one of the most controversial leaders" of a country "known for governmental corruption and vice", and added that he was "hated by many". Wow! There’s a wake-up call for all PRs embarking on a press event, or any client briefing documents for that matter - remember Waggener Edstrom? The White House claims it was an accident and has apologised. Have you ever done something similar?

Friends and family

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:36:00 +0000

James Warren posted on Friday that social media is as much about being social as it is about media and is best summed up by the two words "be nice". James is spot on. Inspired by his generosity of spirit thanks to folk that have linked to my blog in the last week or so: Loewy founder Charlie Hoult, fellow ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08 shortlist nominee Paul Fabretti (yes I’ve voted for you), telco exec and author of London Calling Andrew Grill, fellow Three Peaker and Lewis PR’s Will Sturgeon, and northern photo-blogger and family friend Charlie Bell. Thanks all.

Podcast production

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:15:00 +0000

The PR industry chuckled when Weber Shandwick made it into the pages of PR Week a couple of years ago with news of its bespoke podcast studio when the simplicity of the format means that a microphone and laptop PC are all that it required.

But the quality of podcast production distinguishes good from lousy. Noise levels, hisses, pops, coughs, splutters and pauses are not acceptable.

There’s an awful lot can be done to clean up an interview in an editing application such as Audicity but it’s time consuming and there’s some background glitches that just can’t be removed. It’s far easier to follow best practice for radio interviews and get it right first time.

I know. I re-recorded the reverses for an interview three times this week to eliminate electrical interference from a mobile phone and an orchestra of audio interference including pencil tapping, chair shuffling and page turning.

Weber Shandwick’s studio aside, the entry costs for podcasting are minimal. But the skill required to edit down and produce a professional podcast is anything but.

Neville Hobson is the first and last word in podcasting for the PR and marketing industries and a prolific podcaster himself. The search box on his site is the first place I go whenever I’m looking for advice.

TED’s top ten talks

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:54:00 +0000

I’ve long been a fan of TED, the annual conference that brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers to explore “ideas worth spreading”. I would love to attend the conference at some point in the future. But in the meantime all presentations are recorded and uploaded on the web as TEDtalks so its possible to participate without attending.

TED has just published its all time top ten TEDtalks in celebration of more than 50 million downloads. They feature speakers who were little-known before their talk was released.

Here’s the listing.

1. Jill Bolte Taylor's stroke of insight
2. Jeff Han's touchscreen foreshadows the iPhone and more
3. David Gallo shows underwater astonishments
4. Blaise Aguera y Arcas demos Photosynth
5. Arthur Benjamin does "mathemagic"
6. Sir Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity
7. Hans Rosling shows the best stats you've ever seen
8. Tony Robbins asks why we do what we do
9. Al Gore on averting a climate crisis
10. Johnny Lee demos Wii Remote hacks

The most popular talk, viewed 2.5 million times and counting, features neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor, who observed her own stroke while it was happening and spoke powerfully about the function of the brain.

Be inspired.

Solving the in-car power problem

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:49:00 +0000

Every single car in the UK suffers from a fundamental design flaw that is a hangover from the 1950s irrespective of specification or age: the cigarette lighter. These days it is unlikely to be used to spark-up in transit and is more likely to be used as a means of tapping into a vehicle’s power supply.

As a means of delivering power to consumer appliances it is potentially lethal. The coil in a cigarette lighter needs a steady 15 to 20A at 12V for up to 30 seconds to get hot enough to ignite a cigarette. That’s a lot of power: up to 240W in fact. You’d better be sure that anything you plug into the socket has its own supply fuse.

There’s a second issue: the design and form of a cigarette lighter plug and socket isn’t fit for purpose. The chunky plug vibrates in the socket and if the plug isn’t spring loaded inevitably comes lose. There’s typical only one socket which means despite the relatively high power output it’s only possible to power one device at a time.

The Waddington household has a growing line-up of gadgets fighting to make use of the power supplied by the in-car cigarette light.

12V/240V Inverter (for camping trips)
Digital camera charger
Headrest DVD player
iPod charger
Mobile phone charger
Nintendo DS
Sat Nav
Torch

Stuart Bruce wrote about this issue back in January 2007.

I may have found a solution. Maplin is selling an adapter that plugs into a cigarette socket and converts it into two regular 12V cigarette sockets and – perhaps more usefully – two USB sockets powered at the standard 5V. Any device that can be recharged via a USB socket can be powered up in-car without the need for adapters.

It’s not a complete solution but a series of USB sockets on a car dashboard would be damn site more useful for charging digital appliances than the now 50-year old cigarette socket.

Award nomination

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:55:00 +0000

Wadds' Tech PR Blog has been shortlisted in the Company blog category of the ComputerWeekly.com IT Blog Awards 08. You can vote for us here. Er, that's it.

Twitter personalities

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:58:00 +0000

We’ve been using Twitter at Rainier PR for some time now and lately you’ve probably seen a few more of our crew dipping their toes into the micro-blogging bath tub. Over lunch today we stuck together an anthropological guide to personality types on Twitter.

Which one are you, and what others have you spotted?

Twitter Googlers
Characteristics: Uses Twitter like a brainstorm. If they need any information go first to Twitter. Sees the collective mindset of Twitter as a fountain of knowledge. I'ts not what it's about.
Typical quote: What’s Nick Booth’s email address? Anyone?

Overly-eager boss
Characteristics: Generally US-based, with a sexual preference for social media news releases, this species is all about the new wave.
Typical quote: We’re redefining the industry guys. Hang on for the ride.

Social media Massif!
Characteristics: The small crew of PRs that have inhabited the social media space for the last few years. Generally young and pretty and couldn’t scare away a cat.
Typical quote: Hey guys who’s going to the ChitChat social media dinner tonight?

Random Scarborough
Characteristics: Usually northern, occasional poster who has delved in to the world of social media but is still to be convinced.
Typical quote: I’m having m'tea sat in front of t'telly. On train to London

Lewd Bloke
Characteristics: middle aged, usually bald. Because he’s in a senior position, he gets away with lewd behaviour on the basis that its ‘cheeky’ and ‘down to earth’. Typically three incidents a day that could result in a court case.
Typical quote: Scratching my arse. @sexy_sair how are your buns?

Excited and want to get involved
Characteristics: Young and fresh. Heard about this social media malarkey at university and visits all events. Usually handsome.
Typical quote: Morning everyone!!! How are you all today!!! Hello to @tim @coca_cola_twitter_test @jesus @slut_angel @jangles @everyone!!!!!!!!!! Sorry if I missed you off but hello!!!!!!!!! / wow. welcome @porn_spam. 12 more followers and I’ll hit 100. Very excited.

Blog promoter
Characteristics: rarely engages in conversation, just Tweets whenever he has a new blog post. Has a beard.
Typical quote: Social media news releases death knell for traditional PR: http://www.tinyurl.com/qwrllae.

I’m too good for Twitter
Characteristics: Random, preferably Latin quotes as updates - the more obscure the better. Has far right views. Hates PROs but works in PR.
Typical quote: Accipere quam facere praestat injuriam. I hate these smelly people on the train – I hope they get run over next time they visit the job centre. A wounded deer leaps highest.

Who the f*ck cares
Characteristics: random musings of a bored digital person who covers every aspect of his life. Probably based in Brighton. Likely to be obsessive and single but attractive.
Typical quote: Just saw a pebble, I wonder if it was happy.

Why a gender salary gap doesn’t exist within PR agencies

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:08:00 +0000

Richard Bailey posted recently on pay equality within the PR industry following Harriet Harman’s proposals on pay equality last week. Richard cites data from a PRCA survey from 2005 which reckons that there is chasm between the pay between the sexes in the PR industry.

Research for the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in 2005 suggested a stubborn pay gap remained. The average salary for all men working in PR was recorded as £57,165. The figure was £39,507 for women (these figures are on page 50 of the report). What can explain this gap?

This is nonsense and is as valid as claiming that there’s a differential between the salary of PR executives and board directors. Different roles within agencies attract different salaries as Richard recognises.

Averages can be misleading, since men are disproportionately well-represented at the most senior levels. So the gap may not mean that men are earning more for doing the same work as women.

A more useful comparison would be to compare male versus female salaries in like-for-like roles. And on this basis I don’t believe that there would be any differences. The market agency-side for people is far too competitive and the presence of recruiters ensures salary parity.

PR Week leaves Fleet Street trailing

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:05:00 +0000

Congratulations PR Week. Not just from the crew at Rainier PR for the recent redesign, but from the media section of The Observer no less. Apparently our weekly rag is the envy of Fleet Street for its political scoops.

There’s a long held mantra that business sectors get the trade media they deserve. Maybe things are looking up for the PR industry.

Red tape rant: pay equality

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:02:00 +0000

Commodity prices are at an all time high, debt finance is all but impossible to raise, inflation is at four per cent or higher and all but the bravest pundit reckons that we’re on the precipice of a recession.

What is the Government’s response? Harriet Harman is proposing a stack of legislation to ensure men and women receive equal pay. Bloody brilliant: more red tape, exactly what

business needs.

When will this Government start to address some of the fundamental issues facing business rather than wrapping it up in even more red tape?

It's alien to me...

noreply@blogger.com (C M R Lee) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:05:00 +0000

The western reaches of the United Kingdom appear to be under surveillance by extraterrestrials, if recent videos are to be believed. After a police helicopter was apparently thrown off course by a UFO in Cardiff, other sightings have been made on Merseyside, Worcester and Bristol this week. The reports all site ‘orbs’ or static spots of light in the sky.

Personally, I’m delighted. It looked for a moment there like all the mystery was gone from our world – no evidence of a Loch Ness monster, dubious acting on Most Haunted – so hoorah for the little green men! If the truth really is out there, maybe these intriguing lights will provide it.

Sometimes online shopping just doesn't work

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:53:00 +0000

Friday night. 9pm.
Shopping online for car insurance.
Confused is confused,
MoneySupermarket isn’t pushing data through to the best priced sites,
and CompareTheMarket recommends Norwich Union.

Documents delivered to an online portal,
but not the cover note.
That’ll take four to five days by post.
But I want to go out and play in my new car,
not until you've got a cover note and tax disc you don't.

Saturday 9am.
Call to Norwich Union call centre in

India

.
Press 2, 4, 6, 8, who do you appreciate?
On hold 6 minutes,
this call may be recorded.
I want my cover note sent out by Royal Mail Next Day delivery please.
Computer says no,
call back on Sunday.

Sunday 10am,
Call to Norwich Union call centre in India.
Press 2, 4, 6, 8, who do you appreciate?
On hold 4 minutes,
this call may be recorded.
I want my cover note sent out by Royal Mail Next Day delivery please.
Computer says no,
call back on Monday.

Monday 9am,
Call to Norwich Union call centre in India.
Press 2, 4, 6, 8, who do you appreciate?
On hold 12 minutes,
this call may be recorded.
I want my cover note sent out by Royal Mail Next Day delivery please.
Computer says yes,
that’ll be an extra £5 please.

Three Peaks Challenge: the Road Movie

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:53:00 +0000

Video, photography and production by Chris Lee.

Lisbon Treaty referendum

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:20:00 +0000

The Downing Street petition site is offering UK voters the chance to vote for (12 votes so far) or against (19,500 votes so far) ratifying the Lisbon Treaty. Via Guido Fawkes and various mates by email.

Wadds' Photo Casebook - June 2008

noreply@blogger.com (C M R Lee) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:37:00 +0000

Click on image to enlarge

Time for smarter TVs

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:59:00 +0000

My LG flat panel LCD is a cracking product packed full of features and a great display panel but I can’t help feeling that it could be a whole lot better if it had a smarter user interface.

It’s got an internal tuner and DVD and a stack of content inputs which I've fed with the following: PC for web applications such as BBC iPlayer, Flickr and YouTube; a Hyundai digital TV tuner and PVR; and a Wii.

There’s three different ways of watching a TV channel and you have to sit with the remote control hitting the TV/AV button to switch through the different inputs. It’s incredibly clunky and not at all user friendly.

But it shouldn’t have to be this way. If I want to watch a programme on BBC1 or Channel 4 the TV should be able to determine the most appropriate (analogue, digital or web TV) input rather than relying on the user to make the decision.

And if I want to watch a programme that has already aired the TV should make the call on whether to pull the content from the PVR or the web.

Three Peaks Challenge in numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:26:00 +0000

Three mountains in three countries completed over 14/15 June
Six people from Rainier PR and Lighthouse PR
28 litres of water and 6 litres of lucozade
20 portions of pasta salad
24 rounds of egg and 30 rounds of tuna sandwiches
460 miles travelled by car in 10 hours
£3,000 raised so far for Macmillan Cancer Support
3,400m of climbing: approx 14 miles up and 14 miles down
22 hours and 10 minutes to complete the challenge

Customer pricing versus web pricing or how 10 mins work saved £30

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:49:00 +0000

Integrity is an important brand attribute for retail businesses. But there’s no sign of it in the retail insurance industry. As a customer of MotorCycle Direct I received a letter last week inviting me to renew my annual insurance.

MoneySaving Expert’s Martin Lewis has taught me never to accept an insurance quote without first tarting around for a better deal. So I spent ten minutes following the MoneySaving Expert motorbike insurance tutorial completing my details on a couple of screen scrapers.

Confused.com found me the best deal from, you’ve guessed it - MotorCycle Direct - undercutting my existing quote by £30, a difference of almost 15 per cent. And it’ll probably come down even further if I pick up the phone and haggle.

What sort of a business sells a product via the web at a price significantly less than it sells to an existing customer? Maybe I'm being overly simplistic but how can an insurance company expect to build customer loyalty under such circumstances?

Praise from Admob

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:48:00 +0000

Thanks to Russell Buckley, European managing director of mobile advertising marketplace Admob (currently serving three billion ads per month) for his unsolicited praise of our work. There’s no stronger endorsement for the team or the agency. In additional to his day job Russell is chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association.

Custard PR releases YouTube viral for Mobyko

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:34:00 +0000

Here's a YouTube viral that Custard PR - our consumer PR team - has just released for one of its clients Mobyko. Mobyko is currently changing from being a mobile backup service to a mobile lifestyle management tool, bridging the gap between mobile handsets and the internet.

The video updates an old candid camera gag with a modern twist to represent the huge amount of content stored on a mobile phone. There was much hilarity during the shoot and the participators received the prank well. Let's hope YouTube viewers do too.

Loewy Three Peaks team en route

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:32:00 +0000

We’re off. Three Peaks in three different countries in 24 hours.

We’re heading up to Fort William for a 5pm start up Ben Nevis in Scotland tomorrow afternoon, followed by Scafell in England around 4am on Sunday, and then Snowdon in Wales sometime after midday. Assuming the technology works we’ll be posting to the Loewy Challenge web site.

If you haven’t sponsored us any last minute donations would be gratefully received via our JustGiving web page. If you have sponsored us, many many thanks.

Recent link love

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:18:00 +0000

Thanks to the following for stopping by and linking: former-Weber and Apprentice-pal Becky McMichael; cycling nut Ben Ayers; Manchester digital cheerleader Paul Fabretti; SEO champion Richard Millington; Birmingham based Complete Media Group; and self proclaimed London-mischief maker Jaz Cummins.

Web PR toolbox seminar presentation

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:39:00 +0000

Here’s the Diigo seminar presentation on web 2.0 PR tools that I gave this morning. The seminar session is a fairly basic hands-on workshop that takes participants through some of the key web 2.0 PR tools. Almost none of the ideas are original. Thanks in particular to Andrew Smith for his blog postings on web media relations. And if you're interested in Rainier PR running a seminar on web 2.0 tools please give me a shout.

Community discussion with 150-year old heritage

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:26:00 +0000

It's easy to forget that user generated content and community based discussion aren’t the creation of web 2.0. Radio stations have been running phone-ins for decades and the letters page has been a feature of newspapers for even longer.

A wonderful discussion has going on in the letters page of our local newspaper in Northumberland over the last month. Correspondents have been challenged over the disappearance of song birds in the

.

This week has seen three letters on the subject including a contribution from yours truly. Community discussion that originates from 1854, the same year as the Crimean War.

Hugh hits target for Tesco AGM

noreply@blogger.com (Wadds Tech PR Blog) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:45:00 +0000

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall raised the £90,000 he needed to take his animal welfare resolution to the Tesco AGM within 24 hours.