Frank and Brown

Social media in the workplace? It is a no brainer to people who use it, blog and that make sharing information their raison d’etre. But to people on the front line, those leading teams, hearing people swapping banal gossip as well as managing projects and delivering service solutions it is not as straightforward. The answer is that social media, especially Twitter, is for today’s workplace what email was around 10-15 years ago. (more…)

Last Friday, 26 February, I attended Likeminds, a social media conference that opened my eyes and confirmed my instinct that social media has to be included in marketing, PR and all communications strategies.

As some one said on the day, it is like the web ten or fifteen years ago. At the time people were asking “does my business need a web site?” The answer then was yes; and now every organisation has a web site. The world is in the same place now with social media. It can be Twitter, Facebook or whatever you choose – but social media is here to stay. It needs to be learned about, understood, then embraced and then pursued and developed vigorously. (more…)

Likeminds, the social media event in Exeter tomorrow (26 February) is going to be an exciting event for anyone wanting to learn about how social media can help their business.  For me it going to be a watch and learn exercise, because as Chris Hall says in his blog from a few weeks ago, I am still in my social media teenage years. (more…)

Did you see the story about Merseyside Police being investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)?  It is a brilliant and funny example of how there is a communications angle to everything we do. 

Whilst trumpeting the “eye in the sky” arrest of a teenager who had fled from a presumed stolen Renault Clio, senior officers succeeded in alerting the CAA, which regulates UK airspace, to the fact that they had been using a remote-controlled flying robot equipped with thermal imaging cameras – without the correct authorisation.

So, what would have been a great story and PR coup backfired after it emerged the force itself could face prosecution because officers flew the surveillance aircraft without permission – a criminal offence. (more…)

Football is like PR. That might seem an odd idea, but stick with it for a while. Holland, in the 1960s and 1970s emerged as a footballing nation and introduced a new way of playing. It was called total football.

The concept was that each player possessed sufficient technical skill and awareness on the pitch to play in any position. The method was embraced throughout network of the country’s football clubs and its strength was its simplicity. Any child joining any club in Holland was brought up to play football in such a way – they would think nothing of being asked to play at full back, midfield or attack on different occasions. (more…)