In the past month, I've been paying closer attention to Twitter and trying to learn as many words I can from Twittonary*, which by the way isn't going well at all and only resulting in tweepless (not actually).
Digital communications has truly made a lot of life's tasks easier and wedding planning is definitely one of them.
The iPad, Apple's latest style-savvy gadget on offer, has created quite a divided stir. Since its unveiling at the beginning of the year and with its official release date in the US being this Saturday, some are preparing themselves for queues around the block and the occasional cat fight for last dibs. Others have been wary and cynical from the start and think: "Great – it’s an oversized iPod Touch that also displays eBooks and runs more robust productivity applications.”
There are countless courses, workshops, seminars, pow-wows etc. dedicated to the better understanding of social media on offer. From the CIPR to publications like Communicate to recruitment agencies like AdLib and let's not forget about the PR Digital Conference, there are plenty of opportunities for social media virgins to get down and dirty with the ins and outs of digital communications.
The PR Wire highlighted Nestle's defamation due to a Greenpeace allegation that led to a viral Youtube video circulation which spawned high numbers of venomous reactions on FB and Twitter.
There's no denying that the internet has become an indispensable realm of access to anything and everything one could possibly want.
According to The Digital Future Project, created and organised by The Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenburg School for Communication, "In 1994, fewer than two of every ten Americans used the Internet; in 2009, more than eight in ten Americans go online."
Inspired by Kathryn's "Illegal versus legal" post at Stirling PR Student, I thought it would be interesting to delve deeper into what the internet has now become, an all-in-one, one-stop shop for all your entertainment needs.
In her post, Kathryn talked about how illegal music sharing has taken over the music industry and that musicians and labels haven't really gotten a grasp on how to tackle this problem that results in loss of album sales and decline in popularity.
Not all hope is lost if you want to make it big in the music "biz" because there are some artists who are definitely taking the gamble of releasing free album downloads and it looks like it's paying off.
Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead both released free versions of their latest albums on Bit Torrent sites and their websites for a limited time. People were so receptive to this gesture of good faith, they reciprocated by actually purchasing the albums. In 2008, NIN and Radiohead were among the best selling albums on that year on Amazon. See the full article on ReadWriteWeb here.
The same "give a little, take a little" approach has been applied to television as well. Live streaming and video sharing in the form of torrents and files has become the new way to catch up on your favorite shows or to see why everybody and their mother is obsessed with LOST. All you need is a computer and a fast internet connection and the world of bad reality TV is at your finger tips.
TV networks haven't missed out on this opportunity. All major networks have archives of full high-quality episodes of popular shows so you don't have to resort to sketchy foreign sites anymore or clog up your hard drive with huge torrent files. BUT every time you click on that link to watch last week's Grey's Anatomy, you are still watching through ABC.
So it's a win-win situation right?
What will be the evolution of entertainment (TV, music, films, books etc.)?
Photo courtesy of Bond Girly
I suppose since this blog is to be a revelation of my own personal ideas and opinions, it's a good opportunity to come clean.
Reality TV is almost everyone's guilty or not so guilty pleasure. There are some who relish in the latest season of "The Bachelor" etc. and can't wait to gossip about last night's episode around the water cooler and then there are those who secretly watch dated episodes complete with dodgy Chinese subtitles. I fall in the latter group.
- "I wonder whether PR graduates knock on the doors of agencies or in-house PR teams through consequence, and not self-motivated design." - Matt Stewart
- "PR is a strategic business function with its own specific skill set and knowledge base. So while you can't beat experience, some things are better learnt from a base of formal instruction, guidance and acquire knowledge." - Kevin Taylor
- "Communications remains more art than science...PR may sometimes be textbook material or something a lecturer could teach, but a good PR practitioner will require considerably more than to have read the requisite pages of a book or attended a certain lecture." - Matt Stewart
- "PR degrees and qualifications are vital to our future. They underpin the industry's professionalism. In turn valuing PR degrees too lightly undermines our credibility as a profession." - Kevin Taylor
Check out this animated short film: Logorama
With the sun and a gentle breeze, the month of March makes its entrance (at least here in the Southwest of England) and also marks my first trip into the official blogosphere.
Gone are the days of Livejournal (which I will admit, I was an LJ-addict in high school) and emo-ridden rants amongst close friends. The idea of opening up my ideas, opinions and thoughts (mainly PR-specific) is absolutely terrifying.
Blogging has become an art - extremely high standards have been set and there are those who flourish and many who fail. According to Technorati, as of June 2008 there are over 112 million registered blogs.
How does one even begin to successful navigate such a vastly new realm? And more importantly how does one fit in?
At the end of the day, isn't it really just having a way with words?
With more and more organisations acknowledging the sheer power of blogs (along with other forms of social media), how are PR professionals handling their requests? What kind of results are standard? Who can call themselves experts in such new mediums?
I suppose I have a lot of questions about it all, but in my opinion (here we go...) blogging success comes from a balance of online persona and an established identity in reality, all wrapped up in charisma. Multi-tasking within two worlds all the while staying relevant and interesting.
I'll end my first official post with a some amazing blogging tips from one of my favorite artists and bloggers, Nubby Twiglet.
Looks like I have an interesting journey ahead of me...