MarCom Professional

My latest Greenbang Grumpy Environmentalist column has just been posted. It describes efforts to manage the waste on my family’s renovation project and discovers how truly rubbish we are at recycling and reuse in the UK.

Here’s my interview with Vikki in full.

The action by The Times to block News Now and now Meltwater is another example of a publishers setting out the battlelines in the fight to challenge the business model of aggregators and online clipping agency. The move will inevitably hurt Meltwater. Clients rely on it to provide a comprehensive service and a fragmented monitoring service isn’t helpful if you are charged with managing the reputation of a business. More...

We’re delighted to welcome back the BMA, Custard, Lighthouse, Mantra, Rainier PR alumni to join us after work from 6.30pm at the office in Leicester Square.

It’s a very real application of social technologies. Here’s Phil Sheldrake in this week’s leader in Marcom Professional:

“I’ve had the pleasure in the last two weeks of working with a dozen of the finest Brits in PR, branding, digital / Web, public affairs and news distribution.

14 April – Social media and the media
Strategic Social Media London, Westminster

21 May – Anti-social media
Social Media in Business, Richmond/London

20 and 24 May – The great print debates
PIRA, Birmingham

Do give us a shout if you’re attending any of these events. It would be great to catch-up for a coffee or a beer.

• Speed’s creative director Chris McCrudden has tasked everyone in the business with unplugging from their networks at least once a month to explore some of London’s galleries and exhibitions.
• Marie Efthymiou wrote my favourite blog post of the week tackling the tricky issue of kissing and physical contact in business situations.
• Steve Earl has written a cracking series of post this week about the motivations (and management challenges) of Generation Y.
• Dan Howe reported on TEDxWarwick 2010 where he heard presentations on living buildings, molecular gastronomy and an inspiring speech Alex Wright, author of Glut:

“I started blogging in 2007 during my final year at Leeds Met. However, in Oct 2009 I wanted to change tact and produce something more social media orientated, in order to try and land a social media agency role. I’m a firm believer that having a sound grasp and recorded opinion on industry issues is a great way to differentiate yourself when job hunting.”

“I also wanted a fresh start using WordPress and to get away from the student angst posts e.g.

This is generation that has grown up with the technology and the tools that so many businesses have yet to embrace. They already have many of the skills that agencies and communication teams are striving to build.

But there is more that the current generation of PR graduates could do to kickstart their PR careers. Developing and demonstrating your digital communication skills will improve your employment prospects and may even enable you to demand a higher starting salary than your less digital savvy counterparts. More...

But traditional media is in turmoil: ad revenue is at an all time low thanks to the recession and the internet has reduced the cost of publication and distribution to almost zero.

The rise of social networks has led consumers to fundamentally change their media consumption habits. Consumers are becoming contributors.

The impact on the PR profession has been dramatic. Command and control media relations no longer works and increasing brands are building direct relationships with their audiences using compelling content and story telling. More...