learning, learning, always learning

By Darren Caveney

I was lucky enough to be asked to talk to a group of final year PR students at Manchester Metropolitan University recently about PR careers in the public sector.

I was invited by Sarah Williams, senior PR lecturer at the University, and it was great to see the excellent work she and her colleagues are delivering to prepare the next batch of comms and PR folk for the world of paid employment.

Of course, it took me straight back to starting out in my own career, full of that heady, excited anticipation of where a sparkly new career may take me – somewhere glamorous, working for an exciting brand and maybe travelling around the world and back in the process.

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is comms getting too obsessed with social media?

by Dan Slee

Golden bullets are great: shiny and powerful, they make you feel like you're bang in the middle of a James Bond film. The downside is, like 007 himself, they don't really exist no matter how much you really want them to.

So, here's a bit of digital iconoclasm. I don't think social media is a golden bullet. Not only that but pretending it is doesn't help anyone, least of all those pressing for change.

Social media is an increasingly powerful channel. Right now, not everyone is at home using it. People since the 1870s have had to get used to the telephone and we're still not really there.

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how to improve public sector social media impact

by John Fellows

I recently wrote about the use of social media by local authorities, which painted at best a patchy picture of how councils in Scotland are utilising social media tools in their communications work.

The truth is, however, that there is some excellent practice out there for organisations to examine and adopt, but for this to happen, some things need to change.

So here are my top tips for public bodies to begin to  improve the impact of their social media work.

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Charlie says here's a history lesson to open up innovation in your organisation

by Dan Slee

Generally it takes a cartoon cat and a rave track for good quality public information to stay in my head.

Charlie says don't knock around with strangers is priceless advice from the 1970s.

Nice of the Prodigy to update this advice with their track 'Charlie' but they really didn't have to.

One such effective point of public information I find myself referring to is from Tom Watson MP. 

In 2009 he came to talk at the short-lived Black Country Social Media Cafe. Tom has a reputation for taking on Rupert Murdoch in the phone hacking scandal but back then he was already well regarded by the internet community for his role as a blogger, advancing the cause of open data and opening up the civil service. Much of his talk has stayed with me.

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10 things I learned from the facebook for the public sector conference

by Dan Slee and Dawn Groundsell

Despite everything the Public Sector has some brilliant people doing some inspiring work.

That was in plenty of evidence at the rather brilliant Facebook for the Public Sector event in Birmingham earlier this year.

If you missed the event you missed out. Part traditional conference and part unconference the event gathered some of the best thinking in local government.

We're a bit excited that we're joining forces again with Public Sector Forums to stage Facebook for the Public Sector in Scotland in Glasgow on Thursday June 21. 

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hands up if you're using twitter ...

by John Fellows

On the face of it, local authorities are ideally placed to effectively utilise the full potential of social media. They’re not just customer focussed organisations.  They take their authority from the public, directly, as we’ve just seen across the UK last week.  An effective council should be a listening organisation acting on the needs and wishes of its public, not just broadcasting to them.

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How Twitter has transformed fire service comms

by Sam Thomas

Social media has fundamentally changed the way Fire Services communicate.

Communications teams have had to learn to react directly and quickly to public feedback. Gone are the days when there was the luxury of having time to compile holding statements ready for expected Press reaction.

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can a freelance comms person save your life?

by Jayne Howarth

When the recession began to bite, many organisations started to do the same thing. Cut back on their PR and marketing budget and hoped the subsequent saving would see them through.

Of course, as anyone in marketing and PR would tell them – this is a bad idea. (Well, what else would they say?)

OK, so cuts may have to be made, but in the simplest terms maintaining the PR budget gives a company or organisation a competitive edge in bad times and allows it to preserve its image and safeguard its reputation.

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charging to pitch...

by Sarah Williams

We may have gone back into recession but I was shocked to read last week that BAA was charging PR agencies to pitch for its business.  It is most certainly exploitation, as Francis Ingham noted in his statement to PR Week, but it is also arrogant behaviour.  

They may well incur overheads as a result of the pitching process but so do agencies. 

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on digital comms for listening

by Jon King

Here’s a little story about holding your nerve.

Cornwall Council recently launched a comms campaign to support the adoption of a new, unified waste disposal contract.

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what should the blogger - press officer relationship look like?

by Dan Slee

So what should the press officer vs blogger relationship look like in 2012? Feisty? Full of bile? Or just a bit more mature?

In 2009 at the stormy Talk About Local's TAL09 in Stoke-on-Trent I couldn't finish a sentence in a room full of hyperlocal bloggers without a barrage of hostility.

In 2010, at Hyper WM in Walsall it kicked off when the topic was tackled at a packed session. But some beginings of common understanding emerged.

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how social media has changed the press officer - journalist relationship

by David Elks

If there’s one thing I’ve found in my career in journalism is that the conversation is king.

I’ve found my best stories, either in print or online, have been based on relationships with people - e.g. press officers - who trust the journalist to provide the inside line on stories for readers.

But how do journalists and press officers react in an age when it’s often faster to send a 140-character Tweet than wait for a couple of minutes to go through switchboard?

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how social media fits into higher education comms

by Hannah Hiles

If ever there was a job that requires being all things to all people, the university communications officer must surely be high on the list.

The Vice-Chancellor wants to tell staff about changes to the University strategy. An academic wants to share her research findings with the media.

A member of the local community wants to know when the observatory is open to the public. A graduate wants to update their details on the alumni database. A current student wants to know where their exam is being held. A prospective student wants to know about sports facilities on campus.

These are all typical scenarios that come through our office, especially now that social media allows people to get answers quickly, easily and informally.

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qr codes and big signs to stop cars driving into the sea

By Lindsay Green

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne, just off the North East coast is beautiful.  

It has been the setting for movies, TV shows and is a major religious destination for thousands of tourists heading to Northumberland every summer.  

It has also been causing the council a huge headache for some time.

Why?  Well, it seems that many people don’t associate the word 'island' with a piece of land surrounded by water, and instead try to drive straight into the North Sea without thinking about the consequences.  

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once upon a time...

by Phil Jewitt

About 18 months ago I was invited to a meeting (and I have a history with meeting invites!) Just a little project to replace Leeds City Council’s intranet and website! There were over 20 people sat round a conference table. We all gave our names and roles and then I thought I heard someone say “and I’m the Scrum master”

“Course you are pal” I thought, “and I’m the Gate Keeper and this is Ghostbusters 4, now let’s crack on cos I’m a busy man”.

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