Social Media Mashup

We have moved!

2009-05-22T11:26:00.001+01:00

For the latest social media news and views, please take a trip to:

Social Media Mashup on our new Wordpress site.

thanks

Seesmic Desktop v0.2 launched

2009-05-13T08:55:00.004+01:00

And the details/features of it are:

Add your Facebook account (since v0.2-rc2)
Aggregated timelines for Twitter and Facebook accounts (since v0.2-rc2)
Now supporting Twitgoo and Posterous in addition to Twitpic to share images on Twitter
Cleaner column look and feel
Optimized use of space to display more tweets
More tooltips on buttons
Improved error handling (especially for connection problems)
Improved pre-selection of "SHARED as" account to reply or retweet from
Remembering your preferred image sharing and short URL service across restarts
Auto-updating the timestamps in timelines
Sidebar can be scrolled when there is more content than available space

Bug fixes
Issues with webcam dialog - solved
Userlists and searches could get lost under certain circumstances - solved
Empty error message when trying to lookup a protected Twitter user

Download Seesmic here

Webby Winners- Social Networking Class - Reviewed

2009-05-05T13:58:00.008+01:00

This contest spans nations and industries, awarding the best use of digital to the deserving. Under the section of 'Social Networking' the following winners have been announced:

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Webby Award Winner	Agency/Credited Organization
Digg http://www.digg.com/	Digg
People's Voice Winner
Digg http://www.digg.com/	Digg
Nominees
BakeSpace.com http://www.bakespace.com/	BakeSpace Inc
Birdpost http://www.birdpost.com/	Birdpost
Digg http://www.digg.com/	Digg
Flock http://www.flock.com/
Unigo http://www.unigo.com/	Unigo / Deepend New York / GotCoders

Digg - No introductions needed for this. Kevin Rose and co GET social bookmarking. Started as an experiment in 2004 and now has 27million unique users. not sure why it has won this year? Possibly in recognition of its newly released 'Digg Bar'.

Bakespace - What it says on the URL- a hub for recipies and general food conversation. Includes a 'mentors' feature for advice as well as the usual forums, blogs and other web 2.0 stuff.

Birdpost - I'm going to tell my dad about this one. He's a twitcher, and I don't mean that with any dis-respect. This is one of those rare things- a website derived from a real need/demand. Bird watchers can utilse Goggle Maps to geotag sightings as well as to search for other user's sightings. It allows users to create online lists and share - all thats good about social networking, sharing shared interests.

Also available as an i-phone app. Which is good.

Flock - The social web browser. Powered by Mozilla Firefox, this browser allows you to aggregate your online friends in one neat place. sounds like a great idea but I downloaded this last year and found that I never really used it. Maybe I just didn't get it...otherwise it wouldn't have been nominated for a Webby this and won one last year (2008)?

Unigo - College Reviews By College Students. In America. So gets a big fat 'n/a'. Looks good though for when it does eventually cross the pond.

social media blog

5 OTHER Social Networks

2009-05-01T11:54:00.014+01:00

Facebook? Meh. Twitter? Ok doing well at the moment. Linked In?

But what about the other social networks out there? Sure anyone can start a social network by using Ning but there are some alternatives out there that you may want to consider. They tend to cater for niche users but hey, Facebook was a just meant to be a niche network for US college students!

There are so many out there but the following five are of particular note...

Sagazone www.sagazone.co.uk/

Social networking for the over 50's.

Sagazone is a social network for those of a more experienced age, created by Saga. The site is very easy to use and instructions and site information are provided in a simple yet non-patronising way. Anyway, simple is as usability does.

The network provides forums, media sharing, instant chat, blogs and 'clubs' allowing silver surfers to connect online.

Tangle www.tangle.com/

Half Youtube (was formerly called Godtube), half Facebook this social network is centered around video and photo uploads yet has a community feel. The site seems to have the balance just right in combining a sense of fun with more serious, religious undertones. This 'God' side of things is factored in through the 'Prayer Wall' and the 'Virtual Bible'. The virtual bible in particular allows users to even select which version of the bible they want to read and search for verses, titles or particular passages. I'm not hugely religious but if I were then i'd be straight on this site!

Petstreet www.petstreet.co.uk/

Now this is social networking for fans of animals (well of the pet variety). Sign up and get involved in forum discussions, view pets or you can even enter your pet in to 'Pet Idol'! There is a section hosted by a Vet called Catherine with downloadable advice sheets. A handy events section allows for pet owners to view upcoming courses, shows and competitions.

A lot of the information on Petstreet is available to non-members. They may do better to make some of this info member only to improve uptake and retention.

May Contain Nuts www.maycontainnuts.com/

Awesome dude! Bodacious! And other such 90's pseudo surf phrases....
This, liek the other sites has its own, very specific niche target user group or extreme sports enthusiasts. If you consider the number of viral videos that go round featuring extreme stunts then you can appreciate how there is a demand for a dedicated social network.

Users tag their profiles depending on the sports they are interested in making it it easy to find fellow enthusiasts. The site has an inherently young feel to it as you would expect for this subject matter with a lot of UK users.

Wiser Earth www.wiserearth.org/

Wiser Earth is a project of the Natural Capital Institute and aims to create a community connecting the people, nonprofits and businesses working toward a just and sustainable world". It allows people to share ideas, form groups and promote their own smaller projects for saving the earth.

So there you go, its not all about Facebook, Twitter and Myspace etc. There are a huge number of really useful social networks out there.

social media blog

A Day Out At Internet World

2009-04-30T13:40:00.010+01:00

Sorry if this post rambles a bit but stick with it, it will save you valuable time in the long run...

After being an exhibitor at Internet World last year I was looking forward to seeing it this year from a visitors perspective. Before going I had optimistically circled the seminars that I wanted to go to, and arrived with plenty of time to have a look around the exhibition before the first event.

Well the automated badge machines and the lovely lady that greeted and helped me with it made for good first impressions. I made straight away for the Web 2.0 theatre so that I knew where to go when my first seminar began in 1 hours time.

After 30 mins salesman dodging I returned with a colleague to the Web 2.0 theatre to discover a large crowd pressing against the entrance. 'At least i'm here early for my Buzz Montitoring seminar' I smugly thought to myself. These wallies should have got here earlier if they wanted a seat for 'Web 2.0 - The Legal Aspects'! After being threated by security several times for loitering with intent in the aisles (er, intent to...visit a seminar?) I moved around the corner to await my lecture. It was as I was leaning against the thin wall of the Web 2.0 theatre that I started to hear word like 'Buzz' and 'measuring socail media'. I checked my watch and it said 11:45 so couldn't possibly be my show whish started at 12. Then I heard more words, 'influence' and 'conversation' and realised that this was my seminar! By this time I had luckily been shoved to the front of the crowd of wallies (that I realised I was one of). After 15 mins of craning my neck to hear what was being said the security woman must have felt sorry for us few at the front. We were ordered to a space on the back wall.

Once this finished I had a another look around the stands. Red Ant and Punky Duck stood out. Once I had finished my £6.95 Jacket potato and beans I rushed back to the theatre as I most certainly did not want to miss the talk from Mark Watts-Jones of Orange. I arrived (30mins early) to a queue reminiscent of the toilet queues for the London marathon.

It streched for miles! Twisting round the theatre all the way back the length of Earls Court. I was dissapointed to say the least. (I did manage to get in, but am not proud to say that I had to queue jump). Well Mark's (@MWJ ) 30 min presentation was thoroughly engaging and would have been worth an hours wait. He covered how Orange uses social media to their advantage. The key point (I think) was that they take their brand to where their customers already are, rather than trying to entice customer s to visti them. A large precense on Facebook and Bebo as well as the website and related microsites (Orange Film Club for their 'Orange Wednesdays' promotion).

Immediatly after this, there was a lecture on 'Engaging users through online video'. Great! I thought, got my seat so i'll sit back and enjoy. Nope. I was ordered out of the theatre and told I had to join the back of the queue. This was a queue that would reach to the moon and back if laid out in a straight line.

B***cks to this I thought and set off home.

So please Internet World. I only went really for the seminars. Is there anyway that I can prebook my space now in the Web 2.0 (3.0?) theatre for next year? Otherwise I won't be going again.

Social media blog

Facebook Desktop

2009-04-28T14:55:00.004+01:00

So Twitter has Tweetdeck, Twhirl, Seesmic et al, which are all made by third party developers and provide Twitter updates straight to your desktop.

Well Facebook has taken note and launched Facebook Deskop. This uses the Adobe Air platform and is very, very reminiscent of a basic Tweetdeck. It only shows you friends most recent updates and allows you to update your own status. There is currently no further functionality. It doesn't even notify you of new status updates.

After downloading it to review it I will now be removing it as it offers no added value to Tweetdeck's Facebook option.

Download it here

social media blog

MS Vine - Microsofts first success in Social Media?

2009-04-28T13:30:00.006+01:00

"Hyperlocal, personalized message and alert system"

Ok so what this actually is, is every teenagers nightmare. An application that incorporates feeds from local and broader news sources, as well as serious weather warnings and social networking updates. Its intended use though is for times of emergency - keeping family and close friends connected. Users can geotag their location so keeping those closest to them up to date with their whereabouts.

The app is still in beta but soon to be added features include updates feeds from Twitter and other social networks. Facebook updates are already available.

Microsoft Vine was the brainchild of Tammy Savage, general manager of Microsoft’s Public Safety initiatives following Hurricane Katrina four and a half years ago. Therefore this is an app that has been developed after being identified as a real need and one that will certainly find itself being downloaded by parents and guardians.

It is interesting that Microsoft has chosen to keep this to itself and this is vaguely admirable in a time when . Though could this not be taken a step further with the use of Google Latitude? Could parents auto tweet their kids after a certain time period. Geotagging only works if users undertake the action of updating their location. Most smartphones have GPS functionality and so could provide this data automatically.

Read the full details below:

Techcrunch

Econsultancy

Tech.Blorge

social media blog

Most Influential Bournemouth Twitter folk

2009-04-16T16:06:00.009+01:00

The top 100 Twittereers in Bournemouth according to Twitterholic

#	Name (Screen Name)		Location	URL
1.		David Rogers (David365)	Bournemouth, UK	http://confident1.com
2.		Philip Guest (Mediatwin)	Bournemouth	http://www.mediatwin.co.uk
3.		Simon Crabb (simoncrabb)	Bournemouth, UK	http://simoncrabb.com
4.		Mark Ng (markng)	Bournemouth	http://www.markng.co.uk/
5.		(Off2_Travel)	Bournemouth	http://www.off2.com
6.		Bournemouthecho (Bournemouthecho)	Bournemouth	http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk
7.		(airtrafficlive)	Bournemouth	http://www.airtrafficlive.com
8.		(WebDesignerMag)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.webdesignermag.co.uk
9.		Peter Meanwell-Ralph (pmeanwellralph)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.flickr.com/photos/...
10.		Samantha Shepherd (SamShepherd)	Bournemouth	http://www.subbedout.wordpres...
11.		Justin (Justin_A)	Bournemouth	http://www.flickr.com/photos/...
12.		Tim West (trcwest)	Bournemouth	http://trcwest.com/photoblog/
13.		Ian Davenport (laymansreviews)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.laymansreviews.com
14.		Paul Seys (Paulseys)	Bournemouth	http://www.joystik.co.uk
15.		Karen Redman (RedMummy)	Bournemouth, UK
16.		(svanna)	Bournemouth
17.		Luke Williams (socialtech)	Bournemouth, UK	http://socialtech.biz
18.		(jimmyhayes)	Bournemouth	http://www.iphonekungfu.com
19.		(meetdraw)	Bournemouth	http://www.meetdraw.com
20.		Carl Martin (carlmartin)	Bournemouth	http://advertisingmatters.wor...
21.		adamgoswell (adamgoswell)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.club-2020.com
22.		Verity Burns (verityburns)	Bournemouth
23.		Rock Lifestyle (rocklifestyle)	Bournemouth	http://www.rocklifestyle.com
24.		Steve Winduss (stevewinduss)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.smallbusinessvoodo...
25.		David Burton (Phishtitz)	Bournemouth	http://www.blurredfocus.co.uk
26.		robmurray (rob__murray)	Bournemouth	http://socialmediamashup.blog...
27.		DannyT (dannyt)	Bournemouth, UK	http://danny-t.co.uk
28.		Michael Wilson (AtiKuSDesign)	Bournemouth	http://www.cityofangels.wordp...
29.		Lee Henderson (lee7seven)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.geekchicsoundsyste...
30.		(XimenaLeiva)	Bournemouth
31.		David Hopkins (hopkinsdavid)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.dontwasteyourtime....
32.		(rachelhanham)	Bournemouth
33.		(Underphunk)	Bournemouth	http://www.underphunkdigital.com
34.		Scott Lovegrove (scottisafool)	Bournemouth	http://scottisafool.spaces.li...
35.		2020club (2020club)	Bournemouth	http://www.club-2020.com
36.		(StudioAneurin)	Bournemouth	http://www.aneuri.net/
37.		(joeflintham)	Bournemouth	http://www.menticulture.com
38.		(mjroche)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.socialsaviour.com/
39.		peterolding (peterolding)	Bournemouth	http://www.peterandsusan.co.u...
40.		Ed Merritt (emerritt)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.edmerritt.com/
41.		(Paidia)	Bournemouth	http://www.CEMP.ac.uk/communi...
42.		(joshuasimons)	Bournemouth	http://www.squaredagency.com
43.		Kelly Leckie (soupdragonkl)	Bournemouth	http://kellyandbenji.blogspot...
44.		Ben Harvell (benharvell)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.iphonekungfu.com
45.		smartphonedaily (smartphonedaily)	Bournemouth	http://www.smartphonedaily.co.uk
46.		flamesparrow (flamesparrow)	Bournemouth
47.		Stevie (stephendew)	Bournemouth	http://www.stephendew.net
48.		(kwells87)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.cemp.ac.uk
49.		Andrew Gee (andrewgee)	Bournemouth	http://www.andrewgee.org
50.		(yellowgroove)	Bournemouth	http://www.yellowgroove.co.uk
51.		(oliverbourne)	Bournemouth	http://oliverbourne.com/blog/
52.		(webspaceinvader)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.webspaceinvader.com
53.		Neil Dennis (dennisified)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.dennisified.com
54.		Richard Bundock (rbundock)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.cohaesus.co.uk
55.		(Katieee_b)	Bournemouth
56.		sneakybadger (sneakybadger)	Bournemouth	http://sneakybadger.com
57.		Emma Cake (bigbouquet)	Bournemouth	http://www.bigbouquet.co.uk
58.		(SamRevell)	Bournemouth	http://www.bournemouthecho.co...
59.		(Peardrops)	Bournemouth
60.		(AbbyTayleure)	Bournemouth
61.		jonhoff (jonhoff)	Bournemouth	http://www.itsthefinalword.com
62.		Jamie Pullman (jamiepullman)	Bournemouth	http://orchestralmanhoovers.w...
63.		(chiller149)	Bournemouth	http://www.jamesmallorie.com
64.		(pressredmedia)	Bournemouth	http://www.pressredmedia.com
65.		(charlieraven)	Bournemouth	http://www.charlieraven.com
66.		(stevejbeck)	Bournemouth	http://www.stevebeck.co.uk/
67.		(amberjaneburton)	Bournemouth, UK
68.		Dean Owen (quietdean)	Bournemouth	http://www.quietdean.co.uk
69.		(urbanbeach)	Bournemouth	http://www.urbanbeachhotel.co.uk
70.		(EmilyIsabelle)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.myspace.com/666nig...
71.		Jon (fullforce)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.emptyforce.net
72.		(michelledinan)	Bournemouth	http://www.michelledinan.com
73.		(cahill777)	Bournemouth	http://www.cahilldesigns.com
74.		(NekoFever)	Bournemouth
75.		(amycanflyy)	Bournemouth	http://www.myspace.com/amycan...
76.		(hooj)	Bournemouth	http://www.adido-solutions.com
77.		(hanormsby)	Bournemouth	http://www.hanormsby.co.uk
78.		Tim Redman (timredman)	Bournemouth
79.		(ChrisSaidWhat)	Bournemouth
80.		(RobSmithRadio)	Bournemouth	http://www.2crfm.co.uk
81.		(AndreaBlack)	Bournemouth
82.		(JayGB1982)	Bournemouth	http://jaygb1982.blogspot.com/
83.		Damian Proctor (randomapricot)	Bournemouth	http://randomapricot.com
84.		Oliver Maton (olivermaton)	Bournemouth
85.		David Heys (dnheys)	Bournemouth
86.		(naveed_ahmad)	Bournemouth
87.		(JonDenton)	Bournemouth	http://blog.360magazine.co.uk
88.		tsuki_chama (tsuki_chama)	Bournemouth, UK	http://www.marmablue.co.uk
89.		Sarah Howells (ThePassionatePA)	Bournemouth	http://www.thepassionatepa.co.uk
90.		(gillgill)	Bournemouth
91.		(Chirostudent)	Bournemouth	http://chirostudent.blogspot....
92.		(jimirich)	Bournemouth
93.		rich_allen (rich_allen)	Bournemouth	http://richallen.blogspot.com
94.		mattmorgan0506 (mattmorgan0506)	Bournemouth, UK
95.		(cassheaphy)	Bournemouth	http://www.strangecorp.com
96.		(smoir)	Bournemouth, UK
97.		QuoteBook (QuoteBook)	Bournemouth
98.		Dom Udall (dmno)	Bournemouth	http://www.thecocktaileffect....
99.		(whitejamie)	Bournemouth
100.		(JamieSergeant)	Bournemouth	http://www.strangecorp.com

See the full list here

social media blog

Social Media As Part Of An Offline Marketing Strategy

2009-04-15T11:19:00.003+01:00

Compare the Meerkat. Possibly one of the most successful social media campaigns (at least in the UK), ever. This got me thinking - was it as successful as it was due to the fact that it was integrated with a TV/offline campaign. This then got me thinking further...is social media at its best when used as part of an offline campaign rather than a digital one? Does it just create repetition when using social media on top of other established digital channels?

It is well established that the more a consumer sees a brand name/product then the larger the share of mind of that product. If the brand or product has a larger share of mind then then the consumer is more willing to act upon this (sign up/purchase etc). A TV advert that leads people online provides deeper interaction.

So does Social Media marketing work better as part of an offline campaign that online?

social media blog

An Ode To Twitter - The Twitter Poem

2009-04-06T10:51:00.006+01:00

Theres a little corner of the web

Where people talk and much is said

Where colleagues laugh and strangers witter

that corner is our much loved Twitter

You can follow people who inspire

Or retweet like a town crier

Unfollow those who don't satisfy

Or when they talk just don't reply

Where once the king of social stood

That noble Facebook once was good

But Twitter stole its lofty crown

To sit up high and look on down

For us the early adopting types

We ignore the media hype

We've been there from the very start

and we love Twitter with all our hearts

And then there's all these Twitter haters

Well kiss my *** and see you later

You're just scared or technophobes

Just come on in and say hello

We'll welcome you in with open arms

You'll love Twitter and all its charms

And once you're followed and following

You'll surely see that Twitter's king

social media blog

5 Great Apps for Nokia S60 phones

2009-04-02T13:33:00.013+01:00

Ok so the iPhone is king of smartphones. Lets not beat around the bush...1000's of apps and an image of coolness that shouldn't really even be associated with a phone.

But there are others! Google's Android phones and of course Nokia's S60. So what applications are there for the Nokia S60 platform? Well below are 5 apps that are definately worth a mention:

Nokia Sports Tracker (beta)

Nokia Sports Tracker is a GPS-based activity tracker that runs on compatible Nokia mobile devices. Information such as speed, distance, and time are automatically stored in your training diary. It recently won the award of 'Best Mobile Internet Service' at the Global Mobile Awards

This is great for all sports fans as it allows you to time yourself doing laps and record your route. If you want to run 10k then it'll tell you when you've reached 5k and you can turn around and run back.

The only downside is that this is not available on the Nokia 5800 yet so here's hoping...

Synble

This allows you to access your phone inbox and contacts via web browser. Get instant notifications of a new messages and missed calls to your computer screen. Be connected to Twitter, get direct messages and @replies as text messages. Send free text messages to your Synble friends from mobile and web. It also allows for RSS feeds to be received as text messages which could be good or could just clutterup your phones inbox?

PanoMan 3.0 - Automatic Panorama Stitcher

This one's for the wannabe photographers out there. This nice little app allows you to generate 360° panoramas with your mobile phone.

Features:

- High resolution panoramic pictures
- Support for images up to 32 megapixels (hands up who has a 32
- 360-degree views
- Patent-pending image processing system
- Real time preview while the picture is being taken
- Automatically adjusts exposure and white balance

phling! (beta) - Mobile Music Social Networking

- Stream music to your phone directly from your PC.
- Listen to all your music anytime(Even if your PC is turned off)
- Find other phling! users with similar music
- Discover what's hot and what's not
- Share your music with friends
- Submit your own song reviews
- Read what others are saying
- Leave messages for friends

JoikuSpot Light

This app is available for Nokia S60 3rd edition phones. It turns your phone in to a wifi router and provides a wireless internet connection. Laptops and Apple iPod touch devices can establish instant and fast wireless Internet connections. Supports WEP encryption so only people you allow can access it.

Here's who's talking about Nokia elsewhere:

The Nokia Blog
The S60 Blog
Nokia Beta Labs

social media blog

BBC Music Beta

2009-03-30T13:46:00.010+01:00

Open source seems to be the way forward at the moment for large UK organisations. February saw the launch of Guardian Open Platform which allows 3rd parties to utilise their API to create useful applications.

The BBC has now launched their music beta called....BBC Music. The new site aims to be an aggregator of data from both internal sources (BBC) and external sources (Musicbrainz, Wikipedia). The aim? Well their intention appear to be entirely altruistic. To create a hub for music whereby info from across the wide spectrum of BBC sites/microsites is pulled together to create a single, consolidated platform for music. They are also "now publishing several hundred thousand pages automatically, which harvest third-party content from Wikipedia and MusicBrainz" (BBC Internet Blog)

What does this mean for us users?

Well essentially its makes it a whole lot easier to browse artists and to then find out more once you have reached your artist's page.

Say I like the Arctic Monkeys. I go to BBC Music and use their nifty Flash scroll bar to find them. If they don't appear then I can just choose to view all artists and locate them alphabetically.

Once I have found my chosen artist I am then presented with a whole host of info about them, both from within the BBC and from external sources:

- Latest news stories (from the BBC)

- Biography (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

- BBC Reviews (A mashup of all reviews from throughout the BBC on this artist)

- Now On The BBC (directs you to where they are currently appearing on BBC Online)

- Played by (Which DJ's have played that artists music)

- Played on (Which BBC channels have played music by that artist)

- Members (Who's in the band)

- Links (to: Official Homepage; Fansite; Wikipedia; IMDb; Myspace & MusicBrainz)

Thats a lot of information and great for users of BBC online to be able to find out so much, about so many artists. They are constantly adding new material and acknowledge that the site is very much still in the beta phase.

The one concernI had was that all of this information could be obtain by purely going to an artist's Myspace? so what was the point? they responded by saying "you're absolutely right. We know that our users rightly expect an artist page to contain audio - it's what happens everywhere else on the web, isn't it? And we're on the case - there are technology and rights issues to consider here, but we think there's a way round it. Watch this space.

So could BBC soon be a contender for Myspace? With the API to such a large amount of info being opened up...watch this space!

social media blog

Accessing Social Media on the Nokia 5800 - Reviewed

2009-03-26T14:47:00.005Z

The nokia 5800 xpress music looks really nice. It has a big old screen (3.2") and the touch screen actually works surprisingly well. There is a built in accelerometer so the screen changes layout depending on what angle you hold the phone. This is no i-phone though usability wise. Usability is less intuiive and functionality less streamlined. For instance, when turning the phone to view the screen horizontally it first shows a black screen before changing configuration. Social Media wise - Its better

Using the 5800:

The point of this post:

Is to let you know what it is like for that lynchpin of modern society - Social Media.

It comes with Flash (Lite) built in. This allows for out of the box use of rich media sites such as You Tube or BBC iPlayer. Mine didn't work straight away though, I had to adjust the RealPlayer setting to be able to stream video which annoyed me. I still can;t use any site which uses any version of Flash over v7 which is actually a fair few.

Once on a site the touchscreen navigation is much like the iPhone but with out the 'pinch' to zoom in functionality. This is no problem though as a zoom in or out bar appear upon a double tap.

Wifi access makes download speeds incredibley fast (for a phone). as long as you are within reach of a wifi hub then you can browse at laptop/PC speed (ok a fairly old laptop or PC but nevermind).

The camera is 3.2 megapixels which these days is not considered that great but compared to other smartphones, is actually pretty good (better than the iPhone's 2mp). Video or images can be recorded directly to the 8MB card that is supplied and the 2x LED flash is v bright!

Standard features like bookmarks allow for quick access to favourite sites.

The Nokia 5800 is Java enabled and runs on the latest version of the S60 platform. The number of applications is limited and pales in to insignificance when compared to those available for the iPhone. The phone comes with buttons preinstalled to quickly access Facebook and Myspace from the 'Internet' menu. I am yet to find a good Twitter client for the 5800 though. I have tried Stew, Twibble and Twirl with little success. Although perhaps my expectations are too high after using Tweetdeck all day everyday.

The Nokia 5800 enables easy acces to Nokia's Ovi platform for sharing videos, images and is synchable with your phone

The battery life on the Nokia is 8.8 hours talk time; 406 hours standby where as the iPhone is 5 hours talk time; 300 hours standby. Lots more time for social media browsing!

Twitter - Break it down now

2009-03-23T09:06:00.004Z

Some would argue that the internet offers a place with no social boundaries and no glass ceiling. 'Blue sky thinking' is a certain term that is used (I would never use this phrase.)

Twitter however appears to me to be a complex world of friendships, allegiances, cliques. Socialisers, broadcasters and spammers all have different agenda's concerning their use of Twitter.

Socialisers use Twitter to:

Locate people they don't yet know, who can add something to their Twitter profile. It may be that being seen to follow a certain person gives you kudos or it may be that you actually want to keep up to date with what someone of interest is doing.
Engage with existing friends, colleagues and acquaintances on another level. Twitter allows you to keep abreast of what colleagues out of the office are dong or it allows you to see what friends did at the weekend.
Share information. Third party Twitter apps are facilitating easier sharing. Applications such as Twitpic for photos and URL shorteners like Tweetdeck's bit.ly allow for quick link sharing. Who needs social bookmarking sites these days when Twitter allows you to catalogue your favourite links in the favourites folder and share your favourites via your status update? People can show their interest by retweeting (surely this is the same as 'digging' something?)

Broadcasters use Twitter to:

Disseminate a message to a large number of people. The people have to 'follow' the broadcaster and so must therefore have some kind of interest in what they have to say. Examples of broadcasters are; @bbcnews @google @twitter. They have an asymetric stream of information and tend not to interact with followers but more act like an information source (replacing RSS feeds?)

Spammers use it to:

Spam! They follow everyone and hope that they will be followed. They can be following tens of thousands of people. Twitter admin do not like Spammers and they very often have their account removed.

The above profiles are the norm but are not mutually exclusive. Many celebrities broadcast what they ate for lunch to a large number of people but then interact with them on a social level, albeit humouring their fans.

There does appear to be a social hierarchy within Twitter which bears a relation to the number of followers a user has. If their followers to followees ratio is high i.e. Following 100 with 9000 followers then they are high up the Twitter hierarchy. Offline influence can very much affect your social standing within Twitter.

Below is a list of what I believe the social structure of Twitter to be:

1. World leaders eg (@barackobama)

2. Real celebrities - huge stars in the real world eg (Ashton Kutcher @aplusk, Lance Armstrong)

3. Early adopter celebrities - not so well known in the real world but well followed on Twitter (Stephen Fry, Russell Brand, Phillip Schofield)

4. Key influencers/bloggers etc (Seth Godin, Robert Scoble)

5. Journalists for major broadcasters online and offline (@jemimakiss -Guardian Rory Celan Jones @ruskin147 -BBC tech

6. Business leaders/key figures within organisations (@emilybell -Guardian

6. Smaller scale bloggers and journalists -

7. Civilians - You and me @rob__murray @joebloggs

social media blog

5 Reasons Not To Use Spotify

2009-03-20T15:25:00.007Z

5 Reasons Not To Use Spotify

1) Adverts. I do not want to have to listen to an irelevant advert half way through listening to my favourite tracks. This I feel is an invasion of my privacy. The reason I bought Sky Plus was so that I could begin watching programmes 10 minutes late and then fast forward through adverts. It's the reason I refuse to listen to commercial, tin pot local radio too.

2) If you're listening to it in an office or if multiple users are logged in - It stops if anyone else hits play! Rubbish. I don't like unscheduled interuptions to audio delights...

3) The music choice is disappointing to say the least. Lots of tracks are covers or karaoke tracks. Many artists are not represented at all. If you enjoy new music or niche artists then Spotify is not for you. Having said that, if you like random versions of songs then Spotify is perfect.

4) Its invite only so you have to wait to be invite dto join the fun

5) The music is streamed but is not yet available on mobile devices (although this is coming shortly I am led to believe). So good for static music listening. If it successfully makes the jump to mobile...it will be very very good.

I'll stick to Napster and i-Tunes for now thanks.

social media blog

New Facebook - A users review

2009-03-16T13:43:00.001Z

Having had a couple of days use of the brand spanking new Facebook layout I feel educated enough to present its pro's and cons. The latter being the longer list - buts that's to be expected right? No-one ever likes the new layout (there was an outcry last time) but this version seems contrived rather than intuative. It assalts the eyes with its mass of information although this may just take a bit of getting used to. If something is improved though, should it not appear instantly better? Any who here are the collective Pro's and Con's:

PROS

1) More immediate - A whole trail of information regarding friends and 'connections' is presented to you upon opening. Meh.

2) More like Twitter- Which is a positive for me as I love Twitter but a loss for Facebook as they are no longer industry leaders, but industry followers.

3) It is now easier to filter news feed and drag and drop your own filters.

CONS

1) Sponsored Ad's - The new Facebook layout serves to integrate the sponsored ad's better. They don't stand out so much now and are slipped subtly in between your highlights. so adverts are my highlights are they? I think not. Facebook loses me a little bit more with each wrongly targeted and irelevant ad that I come across.

2) Whats on your mind? - The new 'Publisher' box invites you to 'share' videos and other content. Nice but you could do that before.

3) Highlights section - The 'highlights' section is very busy and confusing. Althought it's about 'discovering content' its such a hotch potch of information that nothing seems to grab the attention. In my opinion Facebook should present glancable content that is easy to recognise and view.

4) Homepage doesn't stream - you have to refresh it. The immediacy of the information would be much improved if you didn't have to constantly refresh it for updates. Twitter is the same but this is overcome through applications such a Tweetdeck.

5) No collectivised stories - such as “5 of your friends changed their profile picture” or “3 of your friends wrote on so-and-so’s wall”. It’s all very singular.

6) Unhiding Friends doesn’t ’stick’ - Maybe thats a bug, i don't know but its annoying none the less.

7) Status updates - are now limited to 160 characters. 20 more than Twitter but thats not the point.

Click here to read further at AllFacebook Blog

Click here to read from the horse's mouth at Facebook blog

Other bloggers talking abouth this:

social media blog

5 Ways not to be ignored on Twitter

2009-03-11T10:45:00.001Z

1. The Goldilocks Tweffect - Don't tweet too little or too often. Too much and your opinions may just become noise, too little and people forget about you and not take note when you do Tweet.

2. Retweet space - Always leave enough space for someone to add a retweet (RT) at the beginning

3. Tweet about interesting things. Whether your tweets be business or pleasure make sure they're interesting. Its still possible to bore someone in 140 characters!

4. Negative tweets - Don't piss people off by Tweeting about them negatively without having all the facts. Some people learn this the hard way.

5. Keep it real - Be everything you would be in 'real life' if you wanted to make and keep friends and acquaintances. Be transparent and if you're ever going to be caught out for lying or exaggerating, Twitter is the place.

Most importantly - don't be contrived. Don't TRY and be funny, relevant or irreverent, just be yourself. Ok thats six tips but five sounds better.

social media blog

Google and Social Media.

2009-03-03T13:54:00.001Z

Warning: This is a rambling mess of a blog entry. More of a way of collecting my thoughts than a coherent article but interesting I think none the less.

Four of Googles last five business acquisitions have been relating to social media. These being:

Zingku Social network service
Jaiku Micro-blogging
Omnisio Online video
TNC Weblog software

Does this signal their intentions to move further towards the social media foray? They recently introduced Google Wiki which allowed i-Google users to rate and re-order search results according to personal preference. This doesn't seem to have been well accepted by the new media community and largely ignored by the general public.

Do Google need to enter the social media market? total 2008 revenue was cited at $21.796 Billion. Which by any account is a lot of money.

They are the masters of the search universe. They have a market leading algorithm which no competitors can touch and a whole industry built around their core product - Search.

But Google don't seem as cool and relevant as they were. Sergey and Larry are older and not so down with the kids. Facebook and more recently, Twitter are becoming more useful as methods of locating information and contacts. For example, if I want to find out what general opinion is about the new Skittles website I could type in Skittles to Google. This will provide me with a link to the website but it won't let me know how people feel about it. This I presume is Tim Berner-Lees semantic web. Dynamic by nature and constantly evolving, sites like Twitter, Friend Feed, Facebook can provide the concise sentiment that the internet currently lacks.

This is a long and round about way of getting to my question...when will Google enter the Social Media industry successfully? They could have bought Twitter 2-3 years ago but didn't. They could have bought shares on Facebook but didn't. They have recently purchased Zingku, Jaiku and Omnisio which are all concerned with micro social media channels. Googles Orkut is their only entrance into the social networking industry so far and although huge in Brazil, does not really register in the UK and only has 67,000,000 worldwide (compared to Facebook's 175,000,000)

So my bet is on Jaiku being the next big social network IF it can bring something different to the game. Oh and it should also change its name, Jaiku is a rubbish name it doesn't mean anything to me. It is currently in invitation only, beta testing so watch this space (thats the tiny space in between Facebook, Bebo, Myspace and Twitter. You can see it if you squint really hard.)

More here:
Unofficial Google (Google Operating System)

Techcrunch

Scobleizer's Jaiku vs Twitter

social media blog

Beebcamp 2 - The BBC's version of BarCamp

2009-02-24T12:57:00.001Z

Wednesday the 18th February saw the BBC host it's now annual 'BeebCamp. Yes this is a play on the word BarCamp and yes - they do have the same theme.

"BeebCamp is designed as a collective, spontaneous bashing together of ideas, with no set structure to the day." This was a get together of largely BBC employees but also included some external bloggers of note to add to the mix.

I'm slightly confused. BarCamp (and all other get togethers with the 'camp' suffix) is a user generated 'unconference' - For the people by the people. Surely a camp organised by a corporation afor a corporation will never truely have an unbiased agenda? Therefore maybe they shouldn't have jumped on the Camp bandwagon. Kinda like if Lloyds were to call their annual conference 'Lloyds Fest'...It's just a bit...

Anyway thats only a mild query as any get together of digital minds is always an exiting thing. Items discussed included pre pay TV, uses of Twitter, a user generated content presentation and 'open source documentaries'.

Each discussion was limited to 20mins (10 mins each) although there were some who would like to see 30 mins sessions next time as there's just too much to talk about!

This is one blogger who would love an invite to BeebCamp 3...hint hint ; )

Computer Games: My 10 fondest memories

2009-02-24T10:44:00.001Z

A slight deviation from the norm today...

From my ZX Spectrum Sinclair to my Playstation there have been some games that not only did I enjoy playing but that actually left a mark on my conscience (as well as blisters on my thumb!) Here they are in no particular order. Comment if you have any to add:

1) Lemmings - AcornArchimedes

2) Chuck rock - Acorn Archimedes

3) Street Fighter 2 - First the Arcade game then the SNES version

4) Arkanoid - ZX Spectrum

5) Sonic the Hedgehog (original version) - Sega Master System

6) Super Mariokart - SNES version and Wii version

7) Olympic Gold Barcelona 92' - Sega Master System

8) Alex Kidd in Miracle World - Sega Master System

9) Vendetta - Arcade Game

10) Michael Jackson 'Moonwalker'- Arcade Game

Dam it now I really want to play Chuck Rock!

social media blog

Top 100 Twitter Apps

2009-02-23T11:22:00.001Z

REBLOGGED - The 100 most popular sites mashing up and remixing Twitter as measured by the number of bookmarks at del.icio.us.

twitter (14265)

twittervision (4416 overall)
twitterfeed (4232 overall)
twhirl (3601 overall)
tweetdeck (3076 overall)
twitter-search (3010 overall)
tweetscan (2744 overall)
twistori (2708 overall)
twitpic (2607 overall)
hellotxt (2120 overall)
twitterholic (1877 overall)
tweetstats (1842 overall)
twitterrific (1788 overall)
twellow (1739 overall)
twitter-grader (1703 overall)
twitturly (1654 overall)
twitscoop (1613 overall)
monitter (1580 overall)
hashtags (1475 overall)
twitterlocal (1405 overall)
twittercounter (1385 overall)
twubble (1336 overall)
quotably (1330 overall)
tweetburner (1277 overall)
grouptweet (1263 overall)
twittearth (1218 overall)
tweetlater (1176 overall)
friendorfollow (1152 overall)
twitbin (1116 overall)
qwitter (1107 overall)
tweetvolume (1006 overall)
twitthis (997 overall)
terraminds-twitter-search (965 overall)
twitter-karma (932 overall)
tweetbeep (918 overall)
xpenser (895 overall)
twist (888 overall)
twittermail (862 overall)
twemes (862 overall)
twtpoll (825 overall)
cursebird (797 overall)
twitxr (793 overall)
twitdir (777 overall)
twitterfox (761 overall)
mrtweet (759 overall)
twinfluence (751 overall)
twuffer (713 overall)
tweetmeme (707 overall)
hahlo (703 overall)
twittersnooze (694 overall)
twittercal (683 overall)
tweetwheel (678 overall)
tweetgrid (667 overall)
spy (639 overall)
remember-the-milk-for-twitter (639 overall)
twitdom (635 overall)
twitbacks (634 overall)
twitterfriends (632 overall)
botanicalls-twitter-diy (630 overall)
foamee (629 overall)
strawpollnow (626 overall)
twitterpatterns (617 overall)
tweetag (612 overall)
whoshouldifollow (602 overall)
tweetree (590 overall)
snitter (590 overall)
twitterfone (565 overall)
peoplebrowsr (564 overall)
twilert (557 overall)
favrd (551 overall)
twistory (549 overall)
tweetr (533 overall)
pockettweets (505 overall)
election.twitter (505 overall)
tweetclouds (504 overall)
splitweet (504 overall)
tweetake (486 overall)
twittermap (480 overall)
twitterverse (475 overall)
spaz (470 overall)
twitterposter (464 overall)
loudtwitter (462 overall)
be-a-magpie (462 overall)
twitter-friends-network-browser (453 overall)
brightkit (453 overall)
matt (437 overall)
twittgroups (428 overall)
twitter100 (427 overall)
tweeteffect (419 overall)
twittersheep (416 overall)
colorwar2008 (415 overall)
twitteroo (410 overall)
tweetrush (410 overall)
twitterfall (406 overall)
fuelfrog (402 overall)
retweetradar (391 overall)
twitter-blocks (382 overall)
twerpscan (382 overall)
retweetist (380 overall)
tweetwasters (377 overall)
tweeterboard (374 overall)

Thanks to MoMB

social media blog

Has Second Life become reality?

2009-02-18T13:40:00.001Z

You know who your friends are and most people can count the number of their 'real' friends on one hand. It used to be so simple; you had a group of friends and that was it. You spoke to them on the phone, you met them in town or went round their house to play Mario Kart on a Saturday morning (ok that still happens). If you didn't want to see someone, you didn't. If your lives went down a different path then you lost touch unless your friendshop was strong enough to last. Survival of the fittest. You'd meet new friends along the way and so went the cycle of friendship.

NOW... I have old friends, new friends, auld enemies, weirdo's I never spoke to, work colleagues past and present, relatives and even my parents friends all on Facebook. Then there are my aquaintances on Twitter and the old school Myspace crowd.

So does that mean I have a second life? A secret life? Are friends, like products, becoming niche items. Things to be compartmentalised and kept separate, only to be called upon when a specific need is required. I use Twitter mainly for networking but Myspace to yell about what my band are up to. I'm friends with people on Facebook who made my life hell as a kid and I thought i'd seen the back of - only for them to appear in the god dam 'People You Might Know' area...

The other side of the story is that this segmentation of friends helps get the most out out existing relationships and find new ones.

One things for sure...keep your social networking friends close, but your social networking enemies closer! You never know what they're saying about you.

social media blog

100 best blogs (arguably)

2009-02-16T13:51:00.001Z

Following on from a great Sunday roast yeasterday at the folks house, my wife threw Times newspaper supplement at me shouting, 'YOU'LL probably be interested in this!' (as though it were an accusation?). I flicked through the pages of the 'Culture' magazine to find an article on the top 100 blogs in the world/on the web (same thing really).

This list must be read carefully and with a pinch of salt. As Steve Clayton, London commented on the Times' website "The UK has more to offer from blogs than fluffing up the careers of these folks. This list proved to me that The Times is the best Sunday Paper but The Guardian has it's finger on the the tech pulse." Couldn't have put it better myself. Personally I prefer the work of Jemima Kiss of the Guardian.

The Times has tried to be trendy with an article on blogs but what we are presented with is a shallow list of blogs...Richard Madley, Paul Daniels anyone?! The article itslef is a well written and incisive piece of jouranlism if you ignore the shameless self plugging "I am also, thanks to Thought Experiments (the title of my blog)" It is a great way of making the 'real world' more aware of whats going on on line which can only be a good thing for those of us who's careers depend upon it.

Here are some of the cream of the crop:

blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/harare

A blog updated by staff of the British ebassy in Harare. A place where actually saying what you think can get you killed. Well they say what they think and it's great.

myspace.com/lilymusic

I know, I know Lily Allen is not cool and not clever. But hey she does say some funny stuff about other celebs and we all like to laugh at celebs don't we?!

orwelldiaries.wordpress.com

A wonderfull insight into the life of Eric Arthur Blair. Had he known that Big Brother would actualy become an inane show, synonomous with attention seekers and weirdos, he may not have written the novel 1984 to prevent Big Brother the TV series ever being born!

stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com

Quite simply the Blogger's Blog

Read the actual article here

Thanks to Bryan Appleyard for the original article in the Sunday Times.

social media blog

Twitscoop - What a wonderful Tworld

2009-02-12T13:47:00.001Z

Ok how many more words can begin with the Tw prefix?

This is cool though. It is updated by the second and allows you to view what is being talked about in the Twitterspere. Funny how what people talk about in the wonderful Tworld bears little ressemblance to whats happening in real life! Most talked about item as I write is Shakespeare??

You can also paste it in as a nice little widget to your own website or blog (see right hand column of this blog). For those who require further details...hover over the words (which are displayed in tag cloud format) and the sources are revealed.

Good stuff! Twitscoop check it out

social media blog

Top 100 Social Media Brands

2009-01-30T09:12:00.001Z

Ive been searching for this for ages; a list of the biggest brands making the most of social media. It has been compiled by Vitrue and posted on their blog.

The list includes all the names that you would expect (Apple, Disney, MTV) and heavily features all American brands. I don't have a problems with this. After all, the worlds biggest brands are from the USA as are the worlds biggest social media brands (Digg, Facebook, Techcrunch). I'm not sure whether Vitrue chose which brands they wanted to monitor (include list) or monitored different social media channels to find the most talked about? Surely brands who's demographic are also the bulk of social media users will be the most talked about? Brands whose target market is the over 5o's will never have as much online chatter about them but surely this doesn't make them any less of a brand? They say "We apply a series of algorithms to reflect the frequency of usage, the size of the social media environment, and the magnitude of the conversation. The result is a single numeric score for each brand: the Vitrue Social Media Index (SMI)."

I'd like to have actually seen each brand's SMI. Crucially, we don't know if this is positive or negative chatter which only adds to the slight ambiguity of this study. See my post on Buzzdaq which was an attempt to dynamically monitor brand names. However everyone likes a good list and this one has been a long time coming.

Enough already - heres the list (top 50) - For the full top 100 visit Vitrue

For more insight read Adage's blog

iPhone
CNN
Apple
Disney
Xbox
Starbucks
iPod
MTV
Sony
Dell
Microsoft
Ford
Nintendo
Target
PlayStation
Mac
Turner
Hewlett-Packard
Fox News
BlackBerry
ABC
Coke
LG
Best Buy
Honda
eBay
Sharp
Lincoln
NBA
Pepsi
General Motors
McDonald's
General Electric
Walmart
NFL
Mercedes
BMW
Samsung
Nike
Subway
Dodge
Pandora
CBS
Mercury
NBC
Disneyland
Last.fm
Toyota
Cadillac
Chevy

social media blog

BBC is ADVERTISING...ummmm

2009-01-28T17:13:00.001Z

Flick on Radio1 and its not long before you hear something along the lines of 'I was at Sainsburys the other day...' and then a producer interjects with 'other supermarkets are available.

There has been furore over the BBC's stance on not televising an appeal for Gaza. This they say is due to impartiality issues.

Now the Mashup learns that the BBC has launched a travel portal linking to Lonely Planet and will feature 3 'editorially selected' news items.

"The BBC.com travel module will appear on the BBC home page for users outside the UK from today and will provide access to the destination pages from the Lonely Planet website and a picture gallery for inspiration on places to travel."

This is a great coup for Lonely Planet as it will be linked to from one of the most well known brands in the world.

This move by BBC online may be an indication of their future plans to monetise (cash in on) their readership. That said, this is a bold move by such a highly regarded corporation and it is not only innovative but shows that they can embrace the specialities of niche companies (Lonley Planet).

The winner in this partneship can only really be Lonely Planet.

Mashup out.

social media blog

Youtube have been hd

2009-01-27T16:38:00.001Z

Thats right the most famous video sharing network of them all has gone HD. Is this a necesary addition? No. does it look and sound good? Yes

This seems to be part PR behaviour and part future proofing. As we all know, eventually there will be just a single piece of kit in your living room through which you can access all media formats; TV, music, the internet (and so Youtube) and probably all manner of other things things that haven't even been thought of yet.

This has garnered a lot of attention and so has done the PR bit well.

By providing videos in an HD format Youtube is making itself the video browsing site of choice for the home viewer of the future. As we have all believed the hype that our non HD TV's will soon be obslete we may feel validated by the fact that such a market player is heading in this direction.

Glanceable content. Thats the media of the future. Its all around us with Youtube clips, mobile/web only TV shows and mainstream TV programmes like Rudetube being born from the web. As I believe it though, the videos have to be recorded in HD form to be then shown in HD. This can only be done on expensive camcorders. Youtube is the land of the cameraphone so until we have HD quality camera phones...this may be ahead of its time.

social media blog

Make money from your Twitter account...again?

2009-01-26T15:48:00.001Z

I was afraid that headline might look slightly spammish but then I though ah forget it yo home to Belair!

Look it up yourself. Ad Cause is the slightly schizophrenic site that is half aimed at money grabbing Tweeters and half at charitable folk.

The site is pleasing to the eye with clear initial instructions on how to sign up and make money. The page seemed to show the main content out of the page area on the right so frustratingly to view any info I had to keep scrolling over to the page. Also, when signing up and choosing my country, I was given the options of living in Great Britain or United Kingdom....hmmm

How it Works:

It's not a way of monetising your Twitter background, its about showing ad's in your Twitter stream for companies who have signed up.

1) Visit AdCause and sign up. Write a bio about yourself to attract advertisers and make sure you're signed up to Paypal beforehand as this is how you'll get paid.

2) Choose how much you charge per ad and how long you want the ads to show for.

3) (and here's the catch) Wait for an advertiser to select you to advertise through. You'll need to be a poplular fellow with plenty of followers in their target market. I would estimate you'd have to have over 500 relevant followers (don't quote me!).

4) Sit back and wait for the dollar bills to start pouring through the letterbox.

See what you think

social media blog

What EXACTLY is Social Media...really... when you get down to it?

2009-01-23T12:34:00.002Z

Social Media as a viable commercial option has arrived on the scene so quickly that I believe those that are not intimately connected with it, don't really understand what it is. Then there are the people who think they know what it is eg. Oh yaaa lets put that on Twaddle and Facespace lets embrace Social Media (and look good in front of our peers/bosses)...don't even talk to me about THEM. I'm not a social media SNOB but it annoys me in any walk of life when people jump on the bandwagon and the gravy train or just do things to look cool. Rant over.

Firstly to deal with the definitions:

Social - Some definitions ;

relating to human society and its members; "social institutions"; "societal evolution"; "societal forces"; "social legislation"

living together or enjoying life in communities or organized groups; "a human being is a social animal"; "mature social behavior"

Media - Some definitions;

In communication, media (Singular: Medium) are the storage and transmission tools used to store and deliver information or data. It is often referred to as synonymous with mass media or news media, but may refer to a single medium used to communicate any data for any purpose.

And finally social media;

Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words ...

A category of sites that is based on user participation and user-generated content. They include social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, social news sites like Digg or Reddit, and other sites that are centered on user interaction.

source: wikipedia (of course!)

Here's 5 steps to get you on your way to a great social media campaign:

1) Choose the right people

If setting up a campaign, you should make sure that the primary research and finished product(s) is centered around the community. And any community is made up of individuals so you must ensure that any campaign appeals to your target tribe (thanks Seth)

but...you must also ensure that it appeals to each indiviual. If you can identify the individual that is the tribe's 'leader' then so much the better. They are the online gatekeeper to your brand.

2) Choose the right technology (right)

Like else where in life; its not what you've got its how you use it. The aim isn't to use the newest or most expensive technology. The aim is to get your target audience to engage with your brand. Now innovative technology may well do this but just using it for the sake of it won't help anyone. A place for everything and everything in its place.

3) Give people a reason to interact with you

Why should anyone want to join your community. Just because you think your company/product/service is the bees knees, to everyone else you are just another soulless company trying to sell stuff. Give them a reason to love you and your product! Then if they love you they'll tell their friends about you...which leads me on to...

4) Spread the word

Use all of the seeding channels you possibly can. Chat in forums, write in blogs, create groups on social networking sites. Get online editorials to review your campaign, bloggers to link to you. Identify key influencers and bloggers to make them aware of you. DON'T try and bribe them to write about you...they will probably write about it!

5) Be honest and transparant

Internet users are not dummys. They've been clever enough to find your video/game/application/widget so don't insult them by trying to pull the wool over their eyes. You'll give the impression of being a wolf in sheeps clothing...or a cat amongst the pigeons...

Never, ever pretend that you are doing anything other than that which you are doing i.e. trying to get their attention. In fact if following the AIDA model you should be trying to stimulate:

Awareness

Interest

Desire

Action

No-one likes fake people and no-one likes companies who pretend to be their best friend.

social media blog

BBC using social media for its teenager brand...

2009-01-21T13:58:00.001Z

Once upon a time the BBC made programmes, put them on the TV at a specified time and we watched it if we felt so inclined.

BBC Switch is the corporation's teenager wing. I imagine it to be a section of their television studios with a disco in one corner, Kevin the teenager sulking in another and Hoodies (thats what teenagers wear isn't it?) having board meetings.

So what the BBC are doing now is going multi platform. They're flirting with the New Media furore and it's great! Research done by the BBC themselves shows that the young are far more likely to use t he internet for entertainment.

So what has Auntie been doing then? Well they are creating a new show for teenagers called 'Proper Messy'. this will be delivered in short, 90 second episodes and be shown on BBC 2, the BBC switch site and kids favourite, Bebo (Blog Early Blog Often). The BBC is also hoping that 5000 of it's target audience will sign up to receive mobile SMS text featuring real time messages from the soap's characters. Future storylines will then be affected by audience participation.

A bold and welcome step by the BBC and if it works, they could capture a large proportion of the hoodie market.

Just as my predictions for 2009 suggested...

See this NMA story on Ad Funded content

Attempt at Social Media Tracking

2009-01-19T15:05:00.001Z

Research company YouGov have just announced their intention to investigate the actual usage of social media networks. They propose to interview over 2000 users to discover the most used networks, how often these are used and test participant’s reactions to various adverts. See my article on Social Media Measurement.

The aim it appears, is to learn how best to make money out of the unsuspecting public. How to make money in the short term with clickable ads ‘Google’ style, and in the long term through increasing brand engagement and two way communication. Clickable ads equals bad idea. Social network users are generally of a demographic that is educated (to some level) and not ignorant when it comes to being advertised at. Research may say that users don’t mind the ad’s, but there will be a limit before. David Lucas, head of media consulting for YouGov, said, "The next challenge for these websites is to find a way to take advantage of their audience and make money from their product. Appealing to advertisers is an obvious route, but finding the best way to engage with those using this channel needs further consideration." …take advantage of their audience…people don’t like to be taken advantage of I’m afraid chaps. Be careful.

If companies really want to benefit from brand engagement through social networking, they may want to think about other, more subtle ways of financing Facebook et al.

Read further at NMA

social media blog

Brilliant example of a digital campaign

2009-01-16T15:05:00.001Z

Compare the Meerkat.com

This is the best integrated digital campaign that I have seen since the Orange balloon race!

And I’ll tell you why:

1) Integrated platform usage- The use of more than one media platform to advertise the site increases awareness of the brand. It may cost a bundle to run a prime time TV ad but if this results in an increase in traffic then and a good ROI will not be far behind. Not only has a website been setup but also a Facebook group has been established for lovers of Aleksandr the Meerkat. Six separate groups have a combined 1058 members. This repetitive method increases Compare the Market’s share of mind and thus makes it the first place we look when we need to get an insurance quote.

2) Brand re-enforcement – The creation of a spoof site called ‘Compare the Meerkat’ is a genius form of brand extension. The similarity between the two is uncanny and after several exposures to the advert, ‘Compare the Meerkat becomes synonymous with Compare the Market.

3) Use of Humour – The key to any successful viral campaign is that you have to give people a reason to pass it on. Now although this isn’t technically viral as it features on TV, the first time I heard about it was through an email from a colleague.

4) Identifiable Character- Many companies have proven in the past the importance of having an identifiable character. Halifax have Howard, 118 118 has the 118 men, Sprite has (or had) Fido Dido. It presents something familiar and humane about the brand. Compare the Market is a comparison site and aggregator. Aleksandr of Compare the Meerkat is humorous and so appeals to those of us easily tickled.

Watch the TV ad here:

social media blog

New Radio 1 Homepage

2009-01-15T10:30:00.001Z

The BBC (or at least the Radio1 section) is jumping forwards in leaps and bounds when it comes to digital and online content.

I found the Radio1 site quite engaging and intuitive BEFORE they changed it and now….well it’s even better. It looks good and is perfectly stylised with their target audience in mind (16-30).

Now I could dissect the site for hours but that’s not what this blog concerns. What we care about is social media isn’t it…Which brings me to the best part of the new site. This is what Radio one have coined ‘Visualising Radio’. What they intend to do is reflect back user interaction through dynamic visuals on the website. This is to be done through placing a filter in incoming SMS text which then feeds in to the visualisation.

For example, the Chris Moyle’s show has Chris Moyles, Dave, Dominic, Carrie, Aled and Rachel. There is a feature whereby each member of the team can choose a song to put on. Listeners can then text in their response as to whether they like or dislike the song. Radio1 then scan and filter the incoming text messages and display this information in a chart (see below).

This is great. It’s innovative and it looks good. Bravo to Radio1 and I’m glad my license fee is being spent on something other than paying the ‘stars’ of Strictly Come Dancing or whatever!

Or read NMA's news story

social media blog

2009...The year of total digital integration?

2009-01-13T10:22:00.001Z

Hmmmm not possible...such a convergence is not! Is what a Yoda type digital marketer would have written 4-5 years ago. Only two years ago do I remember reading with interest (and seeing the 'tellyvision' ads) from Virgin advertising their new Lobster 700 TV phone. It was the "first handset in the UK to offer such a feature without users having to incur data costs."(Pocket Lint).

Gosh, I thought, wouldn't that be amazing? I can watch TV where ever I want, when ever I want on my mobile phone! It didn't catch on though or take off and the likely, most contributory factor to this failure may be sited (well i'm siting it!) as... on demand internet TV. That and the fact that it weighed 140 grams and was named after a crustacian.

Now here we are 2009, the year of integration. All of the major television providers in the UK provide some form of 'watch again' or 'on demand' television service. BBC (i player), ITV (ITV player), Channel 4 (4OD) and Sky (Sky Player - subscibers only). I can sit here in my lunch break and watch Eastenders that I missed last night...should I wish to. If I have a 3G mobile such as an Apple i-Phone I can watch these digitally streamed programmes at my leisure. Obviously I can't watch live TV only repeats but does this matter (although ITV does stream almost live TV)? Not to me it doesn't. If I want to watch my favourite programme it doesn't matter where on when I watch it, just so long as I can, in fact, watch it.

So where are we headed?

The final destination is centred around a single entertainment centre can can allow the user to view digital television, play music or even order their shopping. Myspace (an internet company) have just signalled their intention to launch 'Widget TV'. This will allow viewers to interact with their Myspce accounts through their television. One suspects that had they held back a year or so then the majority of televisions would be able to browse the internet anyway, thus doing away with the need for a seperate TV channel.

The second series/programme of Rude Tube was shown recently on Channel 4. This again flips it around and has the internet providing the content for a mainstream, terrestrial TV show. and just the other day I was walking around Tescos only to come across a TV with an integrated (there's that word again!) ipod dock for playing music/tv shows/films straight from you ipod.

Next they'll be telling me I can make a phone call on a portable telephone?! Crazy.

social media blog

2009-01-09T15:07:00.001Z

Why can't we be happy with what we've got?

Everything I know tells me that this is not a good headline for a readership that is obviously at the forefront of technology. Let me play devils advocate for one moment though to discuss a trend that is causing me slight unease. as I remember being amazed at the fact that I could sit in a room, in front of a computer screen and talk to people I'd never met before in a chat room.

Then came ICQ, MSN and their cohorts allowing friends, strangers and strange people to connect to each other in a more direct fashion. 2003 saw the advent of the great Myspace. At last we could listen to our favourite bands instantly online, message each other and then, as times moved on watch videos and write blogs; but it wasn't enough. There was a thirst for something more niche. A bit more exclusive. Cue mass uptake of Facebook, then Bebo (for the younger guys and gals), not to mention Linked in, Faceparty and all the others that quickly emerged (I would be interested to know the exact chronological order that they appeared.)

Still not enough though. We didn't want to trawl through blogs for information. 'Blogs are dead', said Wired.com recently. We can't be bothered to read more than the status report on our Facebook page and so came Twitter et al, as we apparently aren't interested in reading anything longer than 140 characters.

Now the time has come when we can't even wait to get to a computer, and have to have the latest application uploaded to our i-phone and other generic third generation smartphones. Don't get me wrong, it is of course important to be aware of every new development but do we have to jump on every single bandwagon? Does Twitter actually benefit our day to day life or does it get in the way.

So I put it to you. Instead of signing up to the latest dotcom social networking next big thing. Why not spend that time investigating what utility can really be taken from your current big thing. Surely in our role as technological overseers we have a responsibility to not only talk up every new startup but to also fully appreciate and discuss what we have at our disposal right now. That said, never take your eye off the horizon digiteers, you never know what may be around the corner.

New Media Predictions For 2009

2009-01-09T09:54:00.000Z

Well the gloves are off with each and every blog, site and column vying for the position of the most novel/innovative/incisive prediction for 2009.

This is difficult with any industry but the dynamic and ever changing nature of digital marketing makes it difficult to predict what will happen next week, let alone in several months time. It's not just about predicting what will happen and what new things may appear its more about what will become highly relevant to people inside and outside of the industry. The shifting paradigm is from companies testing the water with certain areas (social networking), to them actually implementing results driven socnet campaigns with analytics and profitable ROI's.

Anyhoo, it seems that lists are the standard format for predictions so here we are:

1) Dynamic ad insertion to computer games – on the brink of happening and being tested in the new Sims games where there is a poster for the latest Indiana Jones film as you walk down the virtual street. Or it could even be in Fifa 09 where the football stadiums have real advertising on the hoardings surrounding the pitch. Dynamic in that can be constantly updated with more and more video game consoles being connected to internet servers (eg x box live)

2) Mobile TV (and so ads) through BBC iplayer etc via iphones as iphone ownership proliferates.

3) Natural product placement within online social environments. Bebo is playing host to an increasing number of corporate led initiatives such as shows 'Kate Modern'. These shows may be sponsored by brands overtly or covertly but this is set to increase in 2009.

4) Predictions aren't just about about 'in with the new', they also concern 'out with the old' - With the hundreds of niche products available (Twitter, Friendfeed, Flock) etc) we are probably set for a mini dot com bubble burst. In the loan friendly economic environment of the 00's new start ups have gain the support of venture capitalists with relative ease. This support may be set to wane with the doom mongering and credit crunch. Therefore 2009 is to be a year where we develop, embrace and exploit the exisiting rather than constantly searching for the new.

Blobbing...Another funny you tube vid

2008-08-13T17:40:00.000+01:00

This is so funny. I don't want this to just become a blog about the best of You Tube but it is hella funny. Feel the pain as she back slaps the water. Ouch!

Paddys Revenge Irish Jig

2008-08-12T14:48:00.000+01:00

When You Tube goes viral.

What counts as viral though? Radio1 seems to have an obsession with making funny songs get to the top of the charts or You Tube vids getting loads of plays. It's only viral if it spreads by virtual word of mouth isn't it?

Or maybe it is viral. If it wasn't good then I wouldn't have heard about it to pass it on to the minions. Anyway, its funny the first 100 times Vernon Kay mentions it on Radio1 but then the humour wears thin and the whole thing begins to appear less and less 'ad hoc' and more and more set up.

Look for yourselves

Has Barack Obama Slipped Myspace or Google A Few $$ ?

2008-07-31T17:26:00.000+01:00

For years and years (well since 2006 so a year and a year really), I have been trying to figure out how to get one's Myspace page to the top of the Google rankings. Think about it. If I could get my band's page to appear when ever anyone types in the search query 'myspace' i'd get hundreds of page views a day.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that Lilly Allen came up particularly high in the Google rankings when 'Myspace' was typed in. This I can understand as she was made famous by Myspace (so the legend goes) and so her large following, length of time on the social networking site, blog history etc etc all count towards a raised ranking.

Imagine my surprise then, when I type in 'Myspace' to Google and Barack Obama, 46, appears as number two in the list. How has this happened? What did he do? In my humble and admittedly slightly bitter opinion this is a travesty. Social networking is about the people. It's about us small people, connecting to make something bigger. Facebook groups protesting against oil prices, Myspace fans building up bands to catch the attention of record companies.

This is why I was so annoyed to see the future president (perhaps) of the USA have his name appear on my screen when I all I wanted was to listen to a local band.

Barack, I'm sure you're a nice chap and you have some fine policies but please don't appear on my screen with your below the line, subliminal advertising.

thank you

Wrapmail...seems like a good idea?

2008-07-29T16:36:00.000+01:00

According to About.com over 2.3 billion email messages are sent every day. Thats 2 million emails a second which is a fair few clicks on the send button.

An industrious and clever type in California's silicon valley has created WrapMail. This ingenious device effectively 'wraps' any outbound email with information about the sender's company. A bit like popping a brochure in to an envelope when you send a letter or quote off by snail mail.

Click thoughs can then be measured in real time and you are able to monitor which ads have been most effective.

Plus points: Free advertising, viral every time email is forwarded, good click through stats,

Bad points: Unsolicited ads, may appear slightly spammy and put off potential customers.

See what others think at techcrunch

Experiment: Google Image Search

2008-07-24T16:54:00.000+01:00

I have an experiment...it occured to me that when searching Google Images for a photo or picture, I then click through to the site from which the image originates. The way I decide which picture to click on if there are several options is by choosing the one with the best pixel size.

So, if I put lots of high resolution photo's in this blog entry, I should see a rise in visitor numbers. Hopefully they (you if this has worked) will find this interesting.

Here goes: (P.s don't hate me, blogging purists its just an experiment!)

Wot! Judge Jules is Rick Steins Nephew??

2008-07-23T10:59:00.000+01:00

Totally unrelated to anything but I just saw a video where Judge Jules says that Rick Stein is his uncle. How completely and utterly random.

Apparantly the Judge worked in Rick's seaside restaurant for a summer, hated it and they fell out for a long while.

Have a look here

Failure to commit Facebook suicide

2008-07-22T15:03:00.000+01:00

The walls are closing in, the pressure's getting too much...Get me out of here! Facebook's just a website, right? I've closed down e-mail addresses and changed my phone number before so how hard can it be to unregister from a social networking site.

IMPOSSIBLE! Thats what it is. Just like my send phobia (constant reading emails over and over again before sending), I couldn't bring myself to do it. The only people I have any real contact with on Facebook are my 'real life' friends anyway so who cares about the others. It's more than that through. It is a name that has become so intrinsically linked to daily life that to not have a Facebook account would be like not having a head. Well not quite but you get the idea.

We go and watch a band and where do we look and laugh at the photos the next day? Facebook. Arranging a Stag Do? Send the invites out on Facebook. Without Facebook I would not be able to air my innermost thoughts and feelings concerning what I had for dinner via my status page.

Verdict: I will keep my Facebook to continue it's use as a social tool and calendar but I willl try to avoid plunging in to the deep depths of Facebookism that involves staring for hours at photos of people you don't know doing things you'd never do with people that you only vaguely know.

Right i'm off to check my Facebook.....doh!

Measuring Social Media

2008-07-21T10:58:00.000+01:00

Here I just thought I would share some ideas and observations on measuring social media

Social media helps us to communicate and share more easily.

The key is in not just analysing stats but behaviour as well. Measure peoples thoughts, ideas, opinions, suggestions, feedback. Social media is inherently measurable in that by being talked about in a written dialogue and recorded online, marketers can subsequently analyse what had been said (good, bad and neutral). Statistics such as Google analytics can tell us numbers and figures but not feelings.

In order to ensure consistent and non biased results, it is recommended that a third party is used for all measurement. This is the case in many other industries and adds integrity to the results of any social media campaign.

Planned measurement is most effective:

Before campaign is introduced those involved must ask the question...’What are we going to do?’

· Set clear and realistic KPI’s
· Measure these KPI’s against industry benchmarks or other similar campaigns
· Have KPI’s been reached?

Study online users by observing online conversations and being aware of who is in the conversation, where (website/blog address) it is taking place, and how many people are taking part. BE SPECIFIC about what you want to achieve from social media...if you don’t know what you want, how can you know when you’ve got it?!

More specific methods of tracking social media are:

· Google Alerts
· Use bookmarking sites URL history (who bookmarked you)
· Then contact the influential bloggers to start a conversation.

Referrals from influential bloggers and other social media users hold greater value and are trusted.

For example...Upon the release of a new model, Toyota identified ‘leading’ (daily page views/number of subscribers) bloggers. They then invited them to a pre launch show with freebies and test drives and made them feel special. These ‘influencers’ then went on to give warm reviews in their blogs thus creating positive brand and product empathy and creating a buzz online.

What to do with measurements?

Use measurements to feedback in to product design and customer service. Constantly changing and updating.

How below the line is digital?

2008-07-19T14:28:00.000+01:00

Before I worked in digital, I never realised the extent to which we are influenced whilst browsing the internet. I always understood that whilst watching TV or listening to tinpot local radio there are adverts but in an obvious way (above the line). Then this whole slightly seditious world was opened up.

So I want to get a good deal on a nice little cottage in Devon for a week. Here is how often I am advertised at online:

1) Obviously go straight to Google which presents me with 242,000 search results. Here I class this as 2 different ads (paid search and organic) but will only include the piad search ones so +11 ads

2) Click through on the top organic listing and website loads. 9 Google Content ads. 1x banner ad and 1 skyscraper.

3) Click on a cottage that looks nice. 4 further Google content network ads and 1x banner

So there we have it. I was advertised at 27 times in 3 clicks and 5 minutes.
Sorry maybe a pointless blog and yes I know advertising is neccesary to sustain many sites...

Wow is what I said when I saw this

2008-07-18T16:20:00.001+01:00

This is awesome. someday computer games will be like this. Designed by Immersive Media, this is Flash video is fully interactive through 360 degrees.

It's like you are actually in the bar or underneath the snowboarders when they jump. Incredible. Slightly in the style of the film 'Being John Malcovitvch' (or however you spell it!) it is almost voyeuristic in the sense that you are in control of where the virtual head looks.

Take a look and have an interactive play here (and I bet you say WOW at least once!).

If it doesn't work which it never seems to then follow this link to watch it

Online brand management reputational risk blah blah

2008-07-17T13:29:00.000+01:00

Currently working on a project to create an application to monitor social media for positive and negative comments regarding a certain well known brand in the UK.

This has become more and more complicated we delve deeper and deeper in to the squelchy quagmire that is social media. A major problem is that many of the bookmarking sites have a strong bias towards American blogs/bookmarks/sites and so are less relevant to us Brits.

As a result of my research I found a great article which breaks down the differing types (and reasons for doing) online brand awareness. Read it here

Buzzdaq

2008-07-16T09:29:00.003+01:00

I found this curiosity on the Internet World website. It searches over loads of relevant blogs and then presents the most frequently appearing words. It updates daily so you can see what everyone is talking about in almost real time.

Buzzdaq