The dangers of sexy surveys

Rory Cellen-Jones didn't think much of the news today (we think from uSwitch) that Granny's like Gaming.

The debate has also worked its way on to twitter with a few journo's slating flaky surveys - they've even slating the PR for trying to light-heartedly defend the survey - ooh er!

Not that I blame them. Yes, surveys have been the source of many a successful campaign for us (like this lovely one for a client) and, let's be honest, there is always a certain level of assumption with the stats as you are looking at a portion of the population, not the whole of the population. However, there is a fine line and in order to maintain credibility it is important that we don't cross it.

Note to self - no sexed up surveys!

misTweeting an embargo?

Last week I was mildly amused to watch two well known and respected journalists slate a PR story that - thankfully - wasn't mine on Twitter. "New leader in rubbish PR stunt of 08. Firm gets psychologist to "identify" new net deprivation syndrome they call "discomgoogolation" announced ruskin147 (aka Rory Cellen-Jones - BBC). "@ruskin147 oh, is discomg... a Sunday for Monday? No doubt." replied charlesarthur (Guardian)

What I didn't realise was that this same story actually only broke this morning. You can note also that ruskin147 wasn't impressed with this coverage "cannot believe that even Reuters fell for "discomgoogolation". For shame! Only goes to show how smart PR people are…"

Embargoes are never 100 per cent reliable but Twitterers were reading about this news, albeit in brief, five days before it launched. Although 118118, sponsors of the survey, won't be too upset as they've still secured thirty plus pieces of coverage to date, this could have been potentially damaging if the journalists had been discussing a story of financial bearing.

I'm not a great advocate of placing rules and regulations on things like Twitter, which are intended to be informal social networking arenas, but I think it is something PR's need to be taking into account and addressing when pre-selling news to journalists who are active in this sphere.

eRead This

Over the bank holiday weekend I popped into town to get a book on gambling. I'm off to Vegas in October you see, and I want to be able to try my hand at more than roulette and stand a chance at winning. There have been a couple of opportunities in my tech PR career where Las Vegas was a press tour destination but while I've sent many willing journalists on their way, I've never managed to tag along. Anyway, as I was paying for my purchase in Borders, Brit's Guide to Las Vegas 2008-2009 I noticed a sign behind the counter announcing time to launch for the Sony eReader in store - 12 days and counting (as of Sunday).

This made me curious. I enjoy my gadgets - I'm still holding out for our leader, Louise, to sign off on us getting the iPhone as our new work toy - and I also enjoy reading. I'm currently working my way through The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton before I embark on my mission to relive the Jane Austen books. Since I spend a good hour and a half commuting each day, I enjoy passing the time by reading (provided I'm not so tired that I fall asleep). As a result of being stored in my bag each day, however, my books are often a little dog-eared, so in theory the eReader could be a good investment. Having said that, I'm a bit stuck in my ways - Okay I hate change - and I like picking up my book and physically working my way through it - seeing how far I've got and how many pages are left etc. My Twitter friend @lawyermunich concurs.

All that and I haven't even started on the collection of books I have at home. Most people only read one or maybe two books at once and then either give them to charity, lend to a friend or put them on their book shelves for later enjoyment. I fall into the latter category. I often pass books to my friends to enjoy, but they always come back to be put with pride on my book shelves. I like to think I've got a pretty eclectic collection thanks to a degree in English and American literature and the variety of books that lead me to read, and I wouldn't give it up for the world. I also collect antique books and my ideal home would have a whole room as a library - and a walk in wardrobe, but that’s another matter.

So, to the horror of my husband who swiftly shuffled away, I asked the nice man behind the counter what his thoughts were on the eReader and if he thought it would be a big seller. He responded that they had, indeed, had a couple of orders for the device, though he wasn't sure it would be a great seller. In fact, he told me, that they had only pre-ordered four of them!

While this could be a great convenience device for people who commute and want to read hefty books, without having to cart them around, true book enthusiasts are unlikely to embrace this as the sole replacement for physical books.

Policitally Correct?

When I saw June Sarpong was heading up a new website it didn't inspire me to have a look. But then Darren Waters "tweeted" about it and I thought, ok I'll have a look. Politics and The City has apparently been created to enable women to be more "included" in the world of politics. Sounds interesting…

Personally I think it’s a patronising pile of *@#?

Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather get my political/news information from a source that engages me in a tone that doesn’t suggest my interests can be swayed by some pretty lipstick and vacuous ramblings.

True - politics can be a little inaccessible and news sources do hold political sway. But anyone who is interested can afford 10 minutes to compare sources such as Sky News and The Daily Telegraph to get a rounded view.
False - not all women want to know the latest fashion trend/celebrity gossip all the time

Now I'm not a raging feminist, I shan't be protesting and burning my bra over this, but I just can't understand the thought process that went into thinking this would be a good political sounding board for women.

The future is Tweet for PR in the Blogosphere

My colleague returned from her morning jaunt to KMP’s Future of PR Technology Seminar Twittering about blogs and all things Web 2.0. Sounds like I missed a treat. I’m looking forward to getting the full low down from her.

There were keynotes from
- Bill Daring of KMP on PR 2.0 and the social media release
- Paul Fabretti of KMP on corporate blogging
- Stuart Bruce of Wolfstar on the growth of social media with the realms of PR

It sounds like they spoke the truth - the way we consume media is changing and as a part of that, the way we create, disseminate and digest news is as well. Like it or not, as a PR, I'm going to have to change too!

It sounds like the key message really was use it or lose it. PR agencies, especially in the tech sector, can no longer afford to be blasé about the role of social media in PR. It must be seen as an integral part of the programme. Those who aren’t willing to take the plunge are likely to suffer the consequences, especially in this belt-tightening economic climate.

Ye have been warned!