I am just writing a light one today as its a Friday afternoon and the sun is shining so to be completely honest I want to get my tan on while this lovely (brief) "summer" is still here.
So here goes...
Blogs have been around for many years now, around twenty years if we want to be precise. The first blogs are recongnised to be those of Jerry Pournelle and Dave Winer who were created in 1994, and were mainly used for personal use. As many people still do today. But over the years they have become popular for enhancing a brands image, increasing publicity and just generally getting some recognition and feed back from our publics.
At first blogging did not really take off, which is strange to believe now as most people within a profession, especially within the Media Industry tend to now have one. And what a brilliant tool it has become.
I personally only started my blog a week ago, but its something i have been interested in and meaning to do for some time now as i feel its vital when starting your career in the Media Indusrty to show you have an opinion and hopefully get some recognition as a result of that. And even if you do not get any recognition at least you are showing you have an interest, whatever interest that may be, it can only look good to a future employee. Saying that, if we are going to use our blogs as a personal diary and wish to divelge our personal lives through social networking sites, blogging may not be the right channel if you want to get noticed for career prospects...
As a student I recognise blogging can give alot of power to those in higher education. It enables us to be heard as individuals and possibly communicate with people in our chosen profession, if we get noticed through publishing our work via Social Media sites.
Not only is Blogging a great networking tool its also extremely fun. By publishing blogs via sites such as twitter and linkedin, you are giving yourself an opportunity that you have full control off. If someone within your industry spots you and likes what they see you could be lucky enough to land yourself a job as a result, and if not a job you have the ability to get responses and feedback from a possible very reputable source.
As the current economic state stands, finding a job is hard enough. So why not help ourselves out a bit, show some initiative and take control to improve our chances of getting noticed? Or even better, employed.
Happy blogging people and have a good weekend!
Friday, 30 September 2011
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
The News is just not News anymore...
Remember the days when we would grab our morning papers to see the latest front page story. Or eagerly await our next copy of Heat magazine to see what hideous outfit Jordan has been recently snapped in?
Await no more.
I dont think there is a day that goes by anymore where i DONT know what the front page of the following days paper is going to be or the latest celeb gossip. And that is all thanks to New Media.
I love that i am now able to access immediate news via my mobile phone by either looking on news sites or simply just following the newspapers via Twitter, but i do wonder the longterm impact this may be having on the good old fashioned Newspapers. Does it make me more determined to go and buy tomorows paper when i get a snippet the night before online? Or do I wonder whether I will be paying for old news?
Obviously demographics is a bit part of this debate, as there will remain to be a wide group of people that will purchase hard copies of the news because they do not avidly use the internet. But in terms of the younger generation and particularly students who cannot afford to buy a daily Newspaper & Professionals who lead a very busy lifestyle, checking online news is a very convenient option.
As an example of how powerful online news can become, just recently we saw the riots in the UK get extreme publicity way before they made the front page of the papers - and that was all down to the dominoe effect of Twitter. As people Tweet, the news obviously spreads. In this particular circumstance we saw the massive impact this had. People were effectively using this site to encourage one another to impair more damage.
It appears to be the way forward in terms of spreading stories whether they be good or bad. And newspapers will need to embrace this if they wish to have breaking news on the front page the following day.
I am obviously not insinuating that i believe the sales of Newspapers and Magazines is in massive jeopardy and will suddenly plummet because everyone will start getting their news online - of course not.
Newspapers will still serve a purpose, as you just cant beat a good old copy of your daily Sun. But i do believe that in time Newspapers may become less effective as people will be able to receive the news quicker and easier elsewhere.
It all boils down to moving with the times, and if in such a short space of time sites such as Twitter can play such a huge part in breaking news stories to the world, who knows what the situation could be in another five years? Everything is becoming electronic and i think it would be naive to ignore that this could be the future in terms of how we receive our news.
Await no more.
I dont think there is a day that goes by anymore where i DONT know what the front page of the following days paper is going to be or the latest celeb gossip. And that is all thanks to New Media.
I love that i am now able to access immediate news via my mobile phone by either looking on news sites or simply just following the newspapers via Twitter, but i do wonder the longterm impact this may be having on the good old fashioned Newspapers. Does it make me more determined to go and buy tomorows paper when i get a snippet the night before online? Or do I wonder whether I will be paying for old news?
Obviously demographics is a bit part of this debate, as there will remain to be a wide group of people that will purchase hard copies of the news because they do not avidly use the internet. But in terms of the younger generation and particularly students who cannot afford to buy a daily Newspaper & Professionals who lead a very busy lifestyle, checking online news is a very convenient option.
As an example of how powerful online news can become, just recently we saw the riots in the UK get extreme publicity way before they made the front page of the papers - and that was all down to the dominoe effect of Twitter. As people Tweet, the news obviously spreads. In this particular circumstance we saw the massive impact this had. People were effectively using this site to encourage one another to impair more damage.
It appears to be the way forward in terms of spreading stories whether they be good or bad. And newspapers will need to embrace this if they wish to have breaking news on the front page the following day.
I am obviously not insinuating that i believe the sales of Newspapers and Magazines is in massive jeopardy and will suddenly plummet because everyone will start getting their news online - of course not.
Newspapers will still serve a purpose, as you just cant beat a good old copy of your daily Sun. But i do believe that in time Newspapers may become less effective as people will be able to receive the news quicker and easier elsewhere.
It all boils down to moving with the times, and if in such a short space of time sites such as Twitter can play such a huge part in breaking news stories to the world, who knows what the situation could be in another five years? Everything is becoming electronic and i think it would be naive to ignore that this could be the future in terms of how we receive our news.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
The "Reality" of Reality TV
It is something that has been around for years, but recently I have noticed the hype around Reality TV has become pretty big in the UK again.
In the past year seen shows such as The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE), Made in Chelsea (MIC) and Geordie Shore have taken the country by storm. But why? What is the big fascination with these "Real life" people? Or is it that exactly? I personally switch over to these shows because it gives me an escape from the routine day to day lives most of us lead and allows me to sink into a world of glitz, glamour and parties...or if you are living in Essex Fake Tans, Vajazzles and Marg.
Obviously we are going to get the synics, but anyone with a remote sense of humour will be taking these shows with a pinch of salt and accepting them for what they are. And why not? Its so refreshing to have a couple of hours a week when you can get stupidly excited to see whether Caggie and Spencer will finally get it together or will Mark and Lauren break up again?!
But why have these shows suddenly become so popular? Was there a huge gap in the market that was desperately craving Reality TV? Probably. Especially with that gaping hole in all our hearts following the loss of Big Brother on C4...But would these shows have been half as successful without the help of online sites such as Twitter and Facebook? And again i come back to the power of Social Media.
We now have the ability as the public to communicate with the celebs, stars and get immediate access to the latest news. Which is something we could have only dreamed of ten years ago. But not only does this brilliant invention allow the public to feel connected with the rich and famous, it also allows the producers of these Reality Shows to have immediate responses from its viewers. Something that can only give more power and control to give their publics what they know they want. Leading to bigger hype, bigger viewings and bigger publicity.
In terms of the PR around Reality TV, the control the industry has on these shows is massive. The fact we can now reach our target audience through Social Media also makes the job alot easier.
The hype surrounding Reality TV can be immediately analysed and controlled, allowing us to know what to give our publics as soon as they want it. This factor makes it easier to enhance the publicity surrounding these shows, because we know what our publics think and want.
It also shows how the public themselves have massive control over the fate of these shows thanks to Social Media, as we effectively decide their success with our open views and public opinions, leading to either success or failure. Essentially resulting in much more conversation and publicity than could ever have come from a tabloid or magazine article...
In the past year seen shows such as The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE), Made in Chelsea (MIC) and Geordie Shore have taken the country by storm. But why? What is the big fascination with these "Real life" people? Or is it that exactly? I personally switch over to these shows because it gives me an escape from the routine day to day lives most of us lead and allows me to sink into a world of glitz, glamour and parties...or if you are living in Essex Fake Tans, Vajazzles and Marg.
Obviously we are going to get the synics, but anyone with a remote sense of humour will be taking these shows with a pinch of salt and accepting them for what they are. And why not? Its so refreshing to have a couple of hours a week when you can get stupidly excited to see whether Caggie and Spencer will finally get it together or will Mark and Lauren break up again?!
But why have these shows suddenly become so popular? Was there a huge gap in the market that was desperately craving Reality TV? Probably. Especially with that gaping hole in all our hearts following the loss of Big Brother on C4...But would these shows have been half as successful without the help of online sites such as Twitter and Facebook? And again i come back to the power of Social Media.
We now have the ability as the public to communicate with the celebs, stars and get immediate access to the latest news. Which is something we could have only dreamed of ten years ago. But not only does this brilliant invention allow the public to feel connected with the rich and famous, it also allows the producers of these Reality Shows to have immediate responses from its viewers. Something that can only give more power and control to give their publics what they know they want. Leading to bigger hype, bigger viewings and bigger publicity.
In terms of the PR around Reality TV, the control the industry has on these shows is massive. The fact we can now reach our target audience through Social Media also makes the job alot easier.
The hype surrounding Reality TV can be immediately analysed and controlled, allowing us to know what to give our publics as soon as they want it. This factor makes it easier to enhance the publicity surrounding these shows, because we know what our publics think and want.
It also shows how the public themselves have massive control over the fate of these shows thanks to Social Media, as we effectively decide their success with our open views and public opinions, leading to either success or failure. Essentially resulting in much more conversation and publicity than could ever have come from a tabloid or magazine article...
Monday, 26 September 2011
The effects of Social Media...
Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin... the list is endless and its something no one can escape from anymore because it has literally taken over the world! I will openly admit I am addicted to Social Media. I cant even go ten minutes without checking my Twitter account at least fifty times (and im not exaggerating) to see the latest TOWIE v MIC updates.
It has become very apparent to me recently that Social Media can serve a purpose to almost anyone. Whether it be for business or pleasure these sites are becoming extremely powerful in the outcome they are able to produce. And with such a mass audience its no wonder really.
Not only can these social networking sites be used to tell our public what we may have for breakfast, lunch and dinner today, but are also able to provide a brilliant tool to the industry by allowing us to reach our target audiences and commuicate with them at such ease, having a massive impact on Reality TV, Businesses and the Media as a whole.
So what has happened to us all? Have we all become so socially retarded that we now find it easier to express ourselves through our glass screens to hundreds of random followers rather than just have a good old fashioned face to face conversation? Or is it just that modern society has become even lazier than we already feared?
Im really interested to hear what people views are on this topic as its something i'm going to be researching much more deeply over the next few months. Do we think Social Media is having a postive effect on PR? Is something that can be used as tool to enhance our knowledge or could it actually weaken the effects of PR and in longterm make the industry useless?
Please let me know what you think. Im going to be discussing the relationship between Reality TV and PR tomorrow and the effects Social Media is having on this new TV...
It has become very apparent to me recently that Social Media can serve a purpose to almost anyone. Whether it be for business or pleasure these sites are becoming extremely powerful in the outcome they are able to produce. And with such a mass audience its no wonder really.
Not only can these social networking sites be used to tell our public what we may have for breakfast, lunch and dinner today, but are also able to provide a brilliant tool to the industry by allowing us to reach our target audiences and commuicate with them at such ease, having a massive impact on Reality TV, Businesses and the Media as a whole.
So what has happened to us all? Have we all become so socially retarded that we now find it easier to express ourselves through our glass screens to hundreds of random followers rather than just have a good old fashioned face to face conversation? Or is it just that modern society has become even lazier than we already feared?
Im really interested to hear what people views are on this topic as its something i'm going to be researching much more deeply over the next few months. Do we think Social Media is having a postive effect on PR? Is something that can be used as tool to enhance our knowledge or could it actually weaken the effects of PR and in longterm make the industry useless?
Please let me know what you think. Im going to be discussing the relationship between Reality TV and PR tomorrow and the effects Social Media is having on this new TV...
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