Archive for January, 2008

How should PR companies “engage” with Irish bloggers?

Monday, January 21st, 2008

I’ll be giving a private talk to a PR company in the next few weeks about being a blogger and the company wants to know how to engage with us blogging folk. Since I have not yet held that coup and installed myself as an evil overlord (Twenty is so going to beat me to it anyway) I thought I’d ask your opinion on it on how you see it. There are two-three PR people that blog in Ireland, Tom Murphy, Piaras Kelly and Rosemarie Meleady, though she blogs about weddings and it would be nice to see more PR people around the blogging landscape.

My own view is that PR companies should all be blogging in some way in order for the “community” to get to know them. Best way of exchanging information is sharing the same space as bloggers while adhering to some kind of politeness rules. No spamming in other words. Even without a blog, all PR agencies should have RSS feeds for all their releases. Sending press releases to bloggers though… are they of value to a blogger or to the PR company apart from an increment in an excel sheet to give to the client? Tom Coates certainly reacts strongly to getting shite press releases from PR companies.

What about events? I think yes, a blogger can still be a blogger and report on the event, if it interests them. The Young Scientist is a good example. How many press invited, how many bloggers? How many links online as a result? How many different opinions on the Young Scientist out there? How many just rewrote the final press release?

A nice initiative was Science Week that encouraged bloggers to blog answers to daily questions. The bribe of a Wii also helped but it is a good start to get people talking about science. I like ideas like that.

I think the unfortunate term “new media” had made PR companies think (lazily) that the same rules of engagement apply to bloggers as to existing journalists. Not that existing journos are very happy with the way some PR companies bombard them with crap. And as I wrote that last sentence I get a press release from an Irish PR company about the opening of a Conrad hotel in China. Jesus.

So fellow bloggers, how would you want to be approached by PR companies?
Not at all?
Should they blog and you can information from them that way? RSS feeds?
Would you be interested in press releases from them?
Would you be interested in free trials of various things that they are sending out?
Would you take ads from their clients or do paid blog posts?

I asked this question on Twitter a while back and Deborah pointed to this very good blog post on the matter from a Mummy blogger.

My love of the iPhone, it grows stronger

Monday, January 21st, 2008

Fred Wilson is not at all impressed by the iPod Touch and thinks more highly of the standard iPod models. Me, I like the idea of the touch and like the idea more of the iPhone. I bought an iPhone in December in Palo Alto and it was a while before I really started to use it*. Since I started using it though, I’ve really started to like it and it is without exception the best way to experience the Internet on a phone or Internet table type device. Safari and touch screen is a total joy. Over Christmas I also played with the new Nokia N81 and in comparison it’s total junk. So is the N95 and it’s 14+ buttons. I’m not the biggest Apple fan but they’ve kicked the ass of the mobile manufaturers with this and it might make them all cop on and use a bit of imagination and stop letting engineers design the outside and interfaces. I too was sceptical at first about it, especially because of the way you input text, but the more you use it, the better it gets. Because of it’s jailbroken too I can put a hell of a lot of applications on it, that Apple would say no to. Sorry Steve. It’s my phone, let me hack it.

The camera isn’t great but it’s not entirely crap either. Yes the N95 and most other phones have better cameras but for what I want, it does the job. Looking at photos and synching it with the computer too are amazingly easy. Shame it can’t be said for their competitors.

Of course the iPhone I got can’t be software unlocked to get it on the networks over here and I wasn’t going to spend 80 quid more on turbosim to do so. So right now I only use it at home and in hotspot areas to surf the net and everywhere else it’s pretty much just an iPod, though video works so well on it. I watched the latest episode of The Wire on it on the train on Friday. But it seems hope is at hand as someone is after hardware unlocking the version of the iPhone I have and I expect a software unlock to become available soon enough. Happy days. I think it would take off a lot more in Europe if it wasn’t for the insane pricing and contracts that you have to lock yourself into, in order to get it officially working over here. Madness.

*Zaniac actually unboxed the phone for me and helped me jailbreak it. Watch the very excited video he made. Warning, extreme Apple loveathon.

One iPhone per child, forget laptops and broadband – Wikipedia on iPhone/iPod Touch

Monday, January 21st, 2008

(note as of publishing this, Patrick’s site is down, oops)

Patrick Collison has created an app for the iPhone and with it that stupid debate about laptops in schools and maybe even the broadband in schools debate can be killed off. It will also be the best pubquiz hack ever too. For Patrick has created an offline version of Wikipedia with a search engine sitting on top of it.

iPhone iWiki

Handy if you’re not in a WiFi area which in Ireland is a lot of places. Why not give all the kids one of these instead of a laptop, since it’s an iPod and a phone too? They’ll always have it with them then. 2 Million articles of knowledge right there for them.

iWiki search

I know I’ll find it handy. And not just for pub quizzes. The install file is BIG. 2 gigs big because afterall it is the whole of Wikipedia really, compressed down. Don’t hammer his site too much. 🙂

iWiki

● Fluffy Links – Monday January 21st 2008

Monday, January 21st, 2008

Fluffy

Finally the site for Creative Camp is live. No excuse now. Get signed up to give a talk.

So Ireland is going ahead with the plans to log pretty much everything you do online. Great.

Paul Walsh has a new blog home. Have a look.

The Home and Away blog was featured in the Indo last week. Nice one!

I never knew Hotpress had blogs.

Hmmmm.

Have a look at the English Mum in Ireland blog. There might be a test later, maybe. Ok, maybe not.

The Green party. With John Gormless and Lieing Ryan, they’re really digging their graves these days.

Seriously? A Hello Kitty assault rifle?

Via BoingBoing Love this seminar idea from the Open Rights Group. Creative Business in the Digital Era.

This is a superb post from Ewan McIntosh.

Via That’s Ireland – Fianna Fáil, the Pirate Party of Ireland.

Devendra Banhart – A Ribbon

Did Tony Gregory violate privacy for the sake of the anti-hunt lobby?

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

Update thanks to the Limerick Blogger: He did it to others too.

via Treasa is this Irish Examiner article about Tony Gregory passing on details of a pro-hunting campaigner that emailed him. Tony passed the details on to an anti-hunting group who in turn complained to the chief executive of her company.

The Irish Council against Blood Sports confirmed it made the complaints after being passed the correspondence by Independent TD Tony Gregory, who is the organisation’s vice-president.

It is unusual for politicians to distribute an individual’s correspondence to a third party — particularly a third party opposed to that individual’s view.

and more:

Within hours of the woman making her representations, the council emailed her employer, complaining directly to the chief executive of the company.

In the complaint, the council drew attention to the fact that the woman had used her work email account to write to the TDs.

Susanna and the Magical Orchestra – Love Will Tear us apart

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

Via Fabulist

Dublin avec badges de Fluffy

Friday, January 18th, 2008

I’ve been summoned to Dublin for the evening, not really free tonight but I will be for some of tomorrow before the 1600 train back to the people’s republic. Yes I will have some Fluffy badges with me. If you want to meet up, you know how to get me.

● Fluffy Links – Friday January 18th 2008

Friday, January 18th, 2008

Fluffy

Today sees the final few hours left to nominate blogs for the blog Awards. Not that you’ve not been warned! We still need judges so put up the lámh there and apply. Also, just one category is left to sponsor, which is fantastic.

As Conn points out, the start of March is unofficially Irish Blogging Week.

Seán is looking for a job. I can highly recommend him.

No, I am not behind Fanny Waters’ Blog and no I am not behind the Fake Twink blog, why not get some agony aunt advice from Barbie’s Granny? Yes I am considering creating a Best Fake Blog category for the Blog Awards.

Via Eric Irish entrepreneurs in the New York Times.

Via Mick, of course. You won’t find this on Buy and Sell. The Vagina couch.

Rob hates spam. In more than the Monty Python way.

Red Mum has a nice summary of 2007 with great photos.

The BBC and the death of news.

For all budding writers out there, a nice quick guide to getting that book out.

Free photos via the Library of Congress.

I love trailers for books and this is no exception. The pirates dilemma.

Been on a godfather binge this week, the trailer and then Slash playing the theme tune:

More on Fanny Waters – Dance songs and recordings

Thursday, January 17th, 2008

Check out the dance remix. This has got to go to number 1. Maybe Downloadmusic.ie will sell it online for us all?

Here’s the latest from him when he was on yesterday.

● Fluffy Links – Thursday January 17th 2008

Thursday, January 17th, 2008

Fluffy

Via Danger The Irish Cancer Society have a new initiative called Care to Drive where volunteers will drive for cancer patients who are unable to drive themselve to treatments. Great idea.

Someone buy this t-shirt for Zaniac.

Richard’s back and talking Hilary.

Check out Rosemarie’s Wedding Planner blog. I taught her! 🙂

As per Conor there is now a last call for applicants for the Female Entrepreneurship in Ireland and Wales intensive tailored 6 month programme to aid women in business in the South East. Website.

Value Ireland, I mention it now and then but it’s worth subscribing to.

Forget not the Fanny Waters blog.

And they mocked us when Guinness got robbed. Robbing banks? easier than ever.

Having a pair of balls will now be illegal, on your car that is.

Yay Josie, nice rebuttal of that Facebook article.

Alice Cooper – Only Women Bleed