So the dreaded deadlines are over, the exam is complete, and I’m feeling strangely free (and no I’m not thinking about my rather enormous dissertation to be done – minor detail at this point).

It’s nice to have some free time on my hands, and some lounging around at home time, it has also been different to spend some time on my computer which doesn’t involve frantic checking of word counts every 2 minutes or commiserating on facebook with classmates about work!

So, I thought this week I would peruse the magnificent web for some undiscovered fun, but I found it strangely boring! Being on my computer just seems to give me sore shoulders (and ‘mouse-arm’) these days! And sad to say my internet routine remains fairly predictable, my homepage is BBC news so I run through the headlines there, then I head over to facebook (of course), then I check my email, and Spotify will be already up and running by this time.

I suppose I’m one of those hard to reach audiences, I really don’t seek out new stuff online, I’d rather wait for someone to send me a link or suggest something to me, I’m what ‘word of mouth’ was invented for! But I’m not the only one out there, so savvy PR practitioners and marketers have to come up with some pretty interesting and attention grabbing stunts to create some buzz. I and my other lazy web users won’t come looking for you; you have to come to us.

I’m sure we’ve all seen Blendtec’s ‘will it blend’, which is ridiculous yet vaguely compelling; it’s proved a pretty successful marketing campaign despite its silliness. Some organisations do these kinds of PR stunts really well; I found one that really tickled me. Science and technology website Scenta had commuters in uproar over a new Cloning Scenta which was really just an advertisement for the website but had some gullible people thinking that a human cloning centre was due to open.

These are the new rules of engagement for PROs and marketers, it’s their job to make apathetic people like me sit up and take notice of their organisation in a cluttered business and consumer environment.

Liam Donaldson has had a busy week. The UK’s chief medical officer has been appearing on television stations nationwide, giving lots of interviews and visiting Downing Street in an effort to reassure the public that the UK is well prepared for arrival of swine-flu. And in my opinion, he’s been doing a good job as a spokesperson.

Crisis management requires a swift response and the UK authorities have been prompt in their reassurance that drugs are stockpiled, vaccines are being prepared and facemasks are on order. I was particularly impressed with Donaldson’s BBC news interview as the severity of the outbreak became clear; he was calm, confident, concise, offered only facts and described the response and defence in an understandable way.

Crises, by their very nature, happen suddenly and unexpectedly, and allow little time for planning and research. It’s clear though, that the UK government are prepared for this and have been researching the possibilities for a number of years. In fact, although it wasn’t particularly reassuring, one commentator on Channel 4 news stated, “The world is overdue a flu pandemic.”

It has also been interesting to watch the technological responses to the crisis, in comparison to some of the distinctly practical responses. As scientists work overtime developing an effective vaccine, the government is preparing leaflets and facemasks. Who’d have thought, in this day and age of rapid and instant digital communication, leafleting every home in the country is still deemed the best way of reaching everybody?

Well after criticising Google a few weeks ago for thier Streetview tool…I’ve got to hand it to them. This week they’ve launched a couple of great new features. The Similar Images tool is a new way of searching for pictures, using images rather than words, and it works pretty well. There is also GoogleLabs, which offers users the chance to look at the thousands of new innovations the Google team are working on, and a chance to meet the developers.

GoogleTrends is also an entertaining way to spend a few minutes. You can look at what the top searches are in a number of different companies, by region and city and read news stories about each trend. There are also graphs showing the changing popularity of different trends and searches. GoogleTrends is genuinely useful for marketers and public relations practitioners looking for the next big thing.

But my favourite has to be GoogleTimeline. It chronologically orders and presents news already available in Google in a simple to use and appealing format. You can also select what type of news stories and features you want to search for. I think this is a genuinely useful tool, especially if you are researching something in particular. For example, search the timeline for the Iraq War and you get all the key dates and events laid out for you to examine. The timeline goes back to the 1400s, and even if you just want to look up things that happened on the day you were born, its great fun.

So after suffering a bit of a backlash over Streetview, Google have not been resting on their laurels and have come up with a couple of great new tools. Google’s mission statement is “…to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”, and I think they have really delivered on this time. After doing some research for a recent university project into organisational identity, image and reputation, I found too many companies who did not live their values or embody their mission. Google’s commitment to their mission statement is the reason why they are the most popular search engine in the world. It’s a lesson for practitioners and marketers, that delivering on your promises to your stakeholders should be a primary concern.

You know its serious when even donut companies realise the value of web strategy. A small item in this week’s PRWeek about the UK arm of American donut company Krispy Kreme tickled me when I read it. Krispy Kreme have engaged Edelman’s digital division to redevelop the Krispy Kreme website and monitor comments on social network sites.

One of Edelman’s key roles will be to aggregate comments from sites such as Facebook and Twitter onto the official Krispy Kreme homepage. The website already shows tweets by staff mentioning the brand and a fan page for customers to submit their best donut stories. Amazing. Donut stories.

Krispy Kreme are not alone however, Skittles recently re-launched its website to showcase all tweets and comments in which they are mentioned. I wonder though, does this mean that if I go on Twitter and say ‘Skittles are crap’, will it appear on their website?

It’s an interesting question, because brands and organisations opting for this strategy are exposing themselves to a good degree of risk. But with risk comes the opportunity for gain. Web 2.0 is all about engaging with and creating dialogue with your stakeholders; by highlighting their comments on your homepage, be they good or bad you are inviting their dialogue into your business.

So plaudits to the companies taking the risk in order to stand out. The organisations doing this are one step ahead of the crowd. So while I may laugh, it’s a win for the donuts, high fat food doesn’t get much love these days but I think they are doing a good job here!

Politics and digital media have been fighting something of a running battle this week. It’s been a case of Web 2.’Oh no’ for the Labour party, as they struggle to recover from a couple of blunders made in the ether which have come back to haunt them. And the Metropolitan Police force are having a torrid time fighting back against allegations of civil liberties infringements as more footage recorded by citizens makes its way onto youtube and into the public domain.

Paul Blanchard, a Labour Councillor, made some ill-advised remarks on facebook concerning the disappearance of missing chef Claudia Lawrence. An avowed atheist, Blanchard dismissed the calls for prayers for Lawrence’s safety, saying, “Of all the pointless things to do, praying wins the prize.” Whatever his personal beliefs, which he is entitled to hold, Blanchard should have exercised some discretion. As a public figure, and one representing a number of constituents, to post contentious comments on a sensitive subject on the world’s biggest social networking site ranks amongst the most stupid things a politician could do.

Gordon Brown and Damian McBride

And finally, the Metropolitan Police are suffering at the hands of two incidents, filmed by protesters at the recent G20 summit in London. Both pieces of footage appear to show some heavy handed tactics be police officers marshalling protesters. The first incident which came to light showed the apparent unprovoked attack on Ian Tomlinson, who was not even protesting that day, by a nearby officer, Tomlinson died from

Ian Tomlinson

In fact, this is the lesson for all of the politicians and public figures making stupid mistakes for all to see this week, remember we are watching!!!

Quick's blunder

So Bob Quick, Britain’s chief counter-terrorist officer, has had to make a swift exit in the wake of the security leak precipitated by his blunder this week. He was photographed getting out of a car, accidentally revealing a list of suspected terrorists and proposed raids.

The security slip meant the terror raids were brought forward at short notice. However the raids, in the North West of the country, were successful and 12 suspected terrorists were arrested. Quick readily apologised and acknowledged the error, he also apologised to colleagues for putting them under such pressure.

But despite the operations’ success, Quick has resigned under the scrutiny and criticism. Opposition politicians have been quick to agree that his resignation was the right outcome. But I’m not so sure. Obviously, it was a bad error; secret documents should be kept out of plain sight as a matter of course and Quick should’ve known better than to get out of the car with the documents under his arm. But I think this incident raises more questions about the behaviour of the press than it does of the counter-terrorist operations in this country.

We know journalists can be discrete, as they proved during the Prince Harry operation, which was successfully kept out of the media for an agreed period of time before a leak on American website, the Drudge Report. Harry’s involvement in Afghanistan was kept secret by the British press for ten weeks; they managed to keep their side of the bargain. The whole agreement turned out to be pretty successful for all involved, it was a major PR coup for the Royal Family and the press received much credit for keeping their silence., Chief of the general staff Richard Dannatt said at the time, “This is in stark contrast to the highly responsible attitude that the whole of the UK print and broadcast media, along with a small number overseas, who have entered into an understanding with us over the coverage of Prince Harry on operations.”

Surely journalists and photographers have a duty and responsibility to protect national security too. These photos should never have been released, and the greatest discretion should have been exercised. Journalists shouldn’t be photographing these documents (or releasing them) knowing the implications. I think the whole fallout has been a cheap opportunity to embarrass and attack counter-terrorist officials, who lest we forget, do a pretty good job of protecting the country.

Was anyone else watching and cringing when Gordon Brown and Barack Obama stood on the steps of 10 Downing Street this morning? It reminded me of when a really cool, popular person hangs out with an infinitely more boring, geekier person. (No prizes for guessing which is which here though…)

Seriously though, Gordon Brown? Our fearless leader is a bit embarrassing isn’t he? I mean standing there next to Barack and Roll, I just wanted someone to buy him a suit that fits and brush his hair.

While Obama flashed his movie star smile and casually waved to the crowds, his wife Michelle looked as cool and as elegant as ever on his arm. Whereas our premier couple? Words fail me, I’m just hoping a couple of Obama’s cool points rub off on Mr Brown.

Anyway, not to worry, Brown won’t be our fearless leader for much longer. So let’s look at the alternatives…

1.      David Cameron – quite possibly just as irritating as Brown. When he gets his Eton educated backside of his achingly-green bike saddle to splutter eloquently in the direction of ‘New’ Labour, he still bores me to tears.

2.      Nick Clegg – yes I’m struggling to remember what he looks like too. (At least Charles Kennedy was a bit entertaining)

3.      The Green Party – Caroline Lucas….I’m not even going there.

4.      There isn’t a number four…

So there we have it, an underwhelming choice really. Here in the UK, it’s truly dull, politics always seems a lot more fun internationally. Look at Sarah Palin, you just can’t buy that kind of comedy. In the Ukraine they do sneaky things like poison each other, Silvio Berlusconi abstains from sex on national TV, and Vladimir Putin is a one man entertainment show. Priceless.

Let’s hope the G20 summit restores some cool Britannia.

So Spotify thought the adverts (sorry, commercial messages) would annoy us so much we would all cave in and pay £9.99 a month to rid ourselves of them. Turns out they were wrong and we will subject ourselves to a bit of marketing for free music.

As a result, Spotify, the free music streaming service, are launching a paid download branch with 7digital, taking users out of the application if they want to purchase tracks. Spotify are also working on a function which will allow users to stay in Spotify while purchasing. The same sorts of deals have been struck with other streaming services such as lastfm and Imeem.

But who is going to be paying for the music? I won’t be. It’s free! I already have the music I want on my iPod, if I really really want to buy something I’ll probably just get it off the user friendly  iTunes, or super cheap from HMV. That’s the way it is for music now.

The people behind Spotify thought that listeners would be more willing to put their hands in their pockets. According to a BBC interview with analyst Mark Mulligan, “It [Spotify] went into this thinking it was going to be a premium subscription business,” he said. “The problem is what’s proven to be the successful part is the free bit.” The best things in life really are free. Why would we pay when an advert every 20 minutes is all you have to cope with? (That’s what the mute button is for right?)

Mulligan makes the point that Spotify are “…going through the process of relearning its business.” I think this quote is especially pertinent because it can be applied to so many organisations and businesses in this Web 2.0 age. We are all becoming familiar with the idea that consumers are becoming powerful citizens, and can demand the highest standards of service. We can also demand how those services operate, how they engage with us, and we can question and probe their methods and intentions.  

It is businesses and organisations who don’t communicate or engage with their stakeholders, or respond to their behaviours and demands who will suffer. At least Spotify are trying to do something about it.

Yes, believe it or not, there is something better than a bird’s eye view…Google’s new ‘Street View’ tool. The Street View facility has been launched today in the UK, it is already live in a number of other countries, and was launched in the US two years ago.

Now you can’t accuse me of being a Luddite and normally, I’m quite open and receptive to new technologies, but I seem to be missing the point here. Which is to say, what exactly is the point? Specially customised cars mounted with 360 degree cameras will patrol the streets of 25 UK cities, and relay the pictures back to Google maps so a user can view live 3D images of a street. 22,369 miles of street to be accurate.

Google assures us privacy laws are being observed and that passerby’s faces and license plates will be blurred using facial recognition software. But still I’m missing the point. Google street mapping is already a perfectly adequate tool if you are looking for an address, planning a journey, researching an area, you can even view satellite images of your street and house (along with multimap, MapQuest, Yahoo!Maps, streetmap etc). This is already creepy enough. So why do we feel the need to watch people walking around the streets? It smacks of technology for technology’s sake.

Granted, there are some funny sights to be seen, search for ‘street view funny’ on youtube or Google itself, and you will find literally hundreds of pictures and videos of people caught sitting in their underwear, kissing, running, falling. There are also some quite shocking images, car crashes, arguments, fights, crimes. So while this may be a diverting exercise if you have a few minutes to spare, I’m still not sure why it is necessary.

Boris Johnson seems to like it though, which is ringing endorsement.

“It is simply fascinating, even for a Londoner like me, to whiz over Westminster Bridge past the Houses of Parliament, soak up the majesty of Regent’s Park, take in the stupendous views from Primrose Hill or simply wander around the streets near where I live.”

But really Boris, are we that short of time that we can’t actually go and walk around the streets of the city where we live?  

Being caught on camera is not really a new phenomenon in this country though; the UK has one of the most comprehensive CCTV systems in the world with over 4m cameras. There is an oft-quoted figure that suggests the average UK citizen is caught on camera around 300 times a day. The accuracy of this statement is unknown, but this staggering statistic is often quoted by privacy campaigners. Significantly a recent House of Lords report from February 2009 has warned that the steady expansion of the “surveillance society” risks undermining fundamental freedoms including the right to privacy.

I think Google’s Street View is just another new tool for the digital age, there isn’t much point to it, but it will be superseded by something else in a few months and we will probably all just forget about it. But hey, if you don’t want to be caught on camera, don’t leave the house. Just sit at home on your laptop and watch everyone else instead….

Well, apparently you’re not the only one. A new term, ’snarking’, has entered our lexicon dedicated entirely to malicious internet gossip. Not a new phenomenon, but the fact it has its own name is a sign of its growth. David Denby, author of ‘Snark’ thinks its about time the reach snarking has is brought to our attention. The majority of internet users will be aware of chief snarking sites such as PerezHilton, Gawker and TMZ, in fact many of us have probably visited them and have a good laugh at the celebrities being mocked. A BBC news report this morning covered the campaign to halt online snarking and gave the very

Liskula Cohen

For PR practitioners and marketers the implications are clear; your company, organisation or client could well fall victim. Richard Stokoe, head of news at the Local Government Association (LGA), wrote a column in PR Week (06/03/09) detailing how the LGA had been the subject of ‘frittering’, or in plain English, fraudulent twittering. The fritterer was impersonating the LGA’s chief executive, using his picture, gaining followers (almost 500) and twittering frequently.

Stokoe and his media team discovered the identity impersonation by chance, and subsequently contacted Twitter urging it to remove the false profile. Three weeks later there is still no response from Twitter. Stokoe makes a compelling point in his column, “Web 2.0 has not only brought an entirely new way for organisations to communicate with people – it has also brought an entirely new way for people to damage the reputation of that very same organisation.”

Reputation management is also not a new concept, but with the advent of Web 2.0, a whole new industry dedicated to online reputation management and monitoring has been born. And its big business, with tools like Radian6, Sentiment Metrics and BuzzMonitor in wide use by vast numbers of organisation. Reputation is a vital yet intangible asset to an organisation or individual, it not only dictates how your stakeholders may feel about you or your organisation, but affects significant areas of business strategy. Projecting a strong brand image is essential, it can distinguish you from your competitors, help stakeholders recognise you in a crowded marketplace, cement repeat business, and attract positive media coverage. It is especially important during the current global recession as renowned American academics Fombrun and Van Riel have written, “Reputation is proving to be a resilient asset to some companies in a difficult marketplace.”

It seems an offensive strategy against snarking, frittering, and whatever other new term might appear in the next few weeks is the best way forward. Organisations and businesses may not recognise the business potential of social networking tools or internet engagement, but by staying out of the Web 2.0 sphere, they run the risk of being ignorant about what is being said concerning their business. And loss of reputation could sound the death knell for companies battling in this tough environment.