This is my first post in a long time and it is being done on a mobile device. The Mobile and Social Media landscape has changed so much since I started this blog. Now we have more visual sites Pinterest and Instagram rising in popularity. Google, Facebook and Apple are still fighting for the next paradigm with others joining the fray.

The mobile space has grown greatly and this is something I have found very interesting. Its democratising influence along with Social Media is revolutionising the way the world communicates. The growth in cloud based collaborative tools is enabling people to collaborate across the world.
For me this continues to be a road that I want to explore further.... though maybe with a more visual twist!

This is my second blog of the year! Unfortunately, I have just been so busy with various projects (bad excuse I know). However, those who follow me on Twitter know I am very much still out-and-about. As mentioned in the last post I have started a new job and am pushing the boundaries with more challenging campaigns.

In the last few months one thing has become clear to me. The people that governments and large corporates used to regard as 'little' are not so 'little' any more.

Since the beginning of the year we have seen revolutionary changes sweeping through the Arabic world starting with Egypt. These changes were started by the desire of the 'little people'. What is different is that they were able to mobilise themselves in common purpose with the use of Social Media tools. We haven't seen people organise themselves and take action like this in a long time (maybe not ever).

When I think back to the student protests in London last year it was the same spirit that was shown. The recent union protests in London are yet another example of this. After the terrible Earthquake in Japan, charity fund-raisers were organised around the world using Social Media.

I saw this same spirit on my doorstep last month on 25th March at the Bristol Twestival event (see previous post for details). In spite of some complications the event was a success raising almost £1000 for the Rainbow Centre. There were some great live-acts there. The beatboxers and Dub Mafia went down very well as you can see from the photos below:

It makes me think that if this is possible then we really can make a difference if we all put our minds to together and collaborate. Social Media has definitely levelled the playing field and democratised information exchange and communication. Larger entities are struggling with this change as they are not used to the engaging in dialogue in this way. Anyway for our part in Bristol I would say we have a many more Twestival-like events in us for the future.

I would like to take this opportunity to shout out the other Bristol Twestival organisers.

Also I would like to give a big shout to Danny Maddocks @babycalendars for getting up on the mike with Dub Mafia! See video below:

A while back I wrote a blog on WikiLeaks talking about the changing media landscape and the implication of information activism. A lot has happened since then with the release of the cables and the arrest of Julian Assange.

It seems to me that governments around the world have not woken up to the fact that media landscape has changed. WikiLeaks is an example of this shifting landscape.

It is seems the powers that be have done everything they could to prevent these stories coming out but to no avail. As predicted the charges against Julian Assange have been resurrected and he has now been arrested in London.

All the authorities have succeeded in doing is fanning the fire and most probably make things worse for themselves. With Julian Assange arrested there is now a real cause to fight for and a symbol of the oppression of free speech. The reality is that whatever they may do they cannot stop evolution and people's growing curiosity about these affairs.

The nature of the internet and Social Media means that information can find its way into the public domain very quickly. This is not something that is likely to change whatever happens to WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. The only option is that governments get used to the new world where more people have a voice and better still embrace it.

On this day two years ago NiteGlow came into existence. I remember the day vividly as it was a cold autumn evening and I had just returned from work. I sat at the computer and thought 'let me create something'...

I could see how many progressions there were in the Social Media and the Online world I wanted to be a part of it and explore the new possibilities. I knew the journey I was going to take might be a rocky one and would certainly be a step into the unknown. It all started off with Twitter and this Blog. In fact this was my first tweet! Lol!

The story started here with my first blog post. The blog looked a little different then to what it looks like now. A year and a half later I redesigned the blog (no social media backlashes ensued!). This year has seen a lot new additions to the NiteGlow presence and there are more on the way too. In May of this year I launched a Soundcloud page to showcase my Drum'n'Bass and Dubstep demos. Most recently I have launched NiteGlow Sphere which amalgamates all the NiteGlow presences in one place.

Since the blog's creation there has been the ups and downs but I've met some great people along the way and had some great conversations online and in person. I doubt I would have come into contact with these people without Social Media and Blogging.

It's been an eventful couple of years and we have seen empires rise and fall in the new evolving media landscape. The start of the economic crisis brought hard times for all but the evolution of new media during this time has challenged the older traditional mindsets. It's been very uncomfortable for many in the media industry especially journalists and PRs.

We have also witnessed some incredible and harrowing things from aftermath of the Mumbai attacks (I went to India not long afterwards) to the news of Barack Obama's presidential victory in US. How could we forget the scandal of the #iranelection and the role Social Media played in telling that story?

The pot-shots between Apple, Google and Microsoft go on. Facebook continues to grow in popularity to the size of a small country. Many news stories break on Twitter first before anywhere else.

It's a crazy world out there but I always look to the future and new people I will meet on the way....

Peace out!

I have not written in a blog post in a while so I thought I would get back into the swing of things. Rest assured I have still been busy. Sometimes it is good to take a step back once in a while. If you follow me Twitter you may have noticed that I now have over 1000 followers. This is quite an important milestone but I always like to keep things in perspective.

I remember several years ago on MySpace how people would try and just get as many friends as possible thinking that was the way to get popular and recognised but it soon devalued the whole experience. I think many have learned from the mistakes of the past and times have changed a lot since then. I definitely believe in quality over quantity.

When the blog and the Twitter page came into existence a couple of years back I could not of predicted exactly where it would lead. Along the way I have been able to explore the online social space and evolve with it. I have also met some really interesting people in real-life too! So it isn't just about talking online.

As far as this blog goes I am looking to continue to approach different issues and perspectives as well as engage with others. I am planning to expand the online social presence further but that is the subject for another post. If you haven't already, please feel free to check out some of my tunes on my SoundCloud page. Even if you're not into Drum'n'bass or Dubstep you should still give them a listen... :)

One thing I would really like to encourage is comments on my blog too. I really value your input and I look as the blog posts I write as just the starting point to more discussion. At the end of the day everything that is going on is a big learning curve for everyone...

The internet is often described as not just a network but a network of networks. Over the last 10 years we have seen it change and evolve at an incredible rate. Alongside this a new internet culture has emerged and there is increasing melding of it with more mainstream culture.

The catalyst for this is, of course, (surprise, surprise!) social media! While online communities have existed for a long time on the internet, they had an almost silo-like existence with limited contact with other communities.

With social media those online communities or cultures are more easily able to communicate with each other crossing national, social, political and other boundaries. This is creating a new culture of cultures in which more cross-fertilisation of people and ideas occurs. Social media is also impacting the way news is reported and consumed. The online social media communities are all potential publishers and news gatherers. Interesting and engaging news can be shared within communities and across communities with ease in real-time.

Ideas and news are generated and evolve at a lightening quick pace. They are shared between individuals, communities and wider communities of communities. It is even possible now to observe social graphs of connnections for yet more insight. Of course there are some closed communities and countries that may not like this new openness (think about the trouble Google has had in China and the recent blocking of Facebook in Pakistan). However, they may find it increasingly difficult to maintain a 'walled-garden' approach in the future. When you get on to the global stage the shear number of people and connections are staggering. It is not possible for one government or other entity to completely control the internet for their own interests.

In my eyes, this new emerging global culture of cultures is the quite possibly the next stage in our evolution but it is currently still in an embryonic stage. As communities and cultures increase their interaction with each other maybe we might actually realise and more greatly appreciate that we all have one fundamental thing in common - we are all human..

Prominent digital thinker Jonathan Akwue described a great analogy in his keynote speech at the Likeminds conference in Exeter a couple of months back. What is going on social media is very similar to the formation of the Hip hop culture of the 80s onwards.

He talked about social media as a sort of remix culture where content from many different places is combined and distributed.

It also potentially gives people who were previously voiceless a voice. He also made the point that when such people are given a voice we need to be ready to hear what they have to say and we might not like it!

I wanted to take this analogy further as I see a lot of similarities. For instance, take the issue of 'so-called self appointed social media gurus'; these are the equivalent of 'wack mcs' who jack other people's lyrics to make a quick buck. There is an unwritten rule in social media which is similar to hiphop and it goes a l'tle sumthin' like this:

"Keep it real! Aint no room for fake mcs!"

The social media story for someone starting out can often seem like a classic 'rag-to-riches' story where you go from nothing to making it big. Many a Hip hop video has been known to have MCs sporting jewellry, other bling-bling, women and talking about they became ghetto superstars! It all sounds a bit like Notorious BIG's tune 'Juicy'. How true this reality is always a matter of debate though.

Then there are the 'haters'. These are people who's main agenda is to rip your reputation to shreds and show you the maximum disrepect possible. These people may be jealous competitors or people who just do not like you. The internet and social media has many playa haters who hate seeing others with talent rise and shine brite. Whether it is hating on individual or company brand. They love stir things up and get a attention!

Eminem dealt with a MC playa hater very well in his battle rap at the end of 8 Mile by disarming the other MC 'disses' before he had a chance to use them. (if you are easily offended by explicit language please do not click link and watch video). Eminem knows the other MC will try and bring up his background. Eminem shrewdly disarms this and shows up the other MC and his crew.

When it came to the other MC's turn to take centre stage with his rap he has absolutely nothing to say. You often have to be as sharp-witted as Eminem is when protecting a companies online reputation or just generally dealing with haters online in real-time!

Ultimately good social media and Hip hop is definitely about 'being fresh', keeping it real', 'coming with your own style' and 'not biting other people's rhymes'! These are all things the late rapper Guru from Gang Starr always did very well! Social media could learn a lot from him...

RIP Guru....

Last week Facebook unveiled it's new Open Graph API. What this means is that other websites will gain the ability to customise your web experience more easily using your data from Facebook.

For instance, if you have logged into Facebook and then went to another website which used the new Graph API you would find the website more customised and personalised to your tastes. This is the next stage in Facebook's plan is to 'socialise' the web. Facebook aims to be the first port of call when you open your browser and they also want the websites you visit afterwards to have customised content based your usage of Facebook.

Is this a good or bad thing for users?

The jury is still out on that one! Facebook has been transparent in their explanation of what is happening and their plan for a Social Graph. However, do people or even Facebook themselves or other companies involved really understand the consequences of such an action?

Facebook's rise to dominance has seen its user-base grow to over 400 million. It is now in a unique position to attempt such a bold feat as 'socialising' the web. Thanks to its continued popularity Facebook has a massive amount of user data which up till now has been used for social adverts and applications within Facebook.

I am sure other companies have been dying to harness the power of this. Not least of these is Microsoft now who want to offer their Office Software as social web apps. This means you might soon be logging into Facebook in order to use Word or Excel online!

However, there are privacy issues that go along with this. Lots of people have trusted Facebook with private and personal data and to be seen as exploiting this could be disasterous.

From a user's perspective Facebook will argue that this will enhance your experience of the web and make it more personalised. Of course we will have the chance to opt of this new development but how many people will understand the intricacies what the social graph could mean for them. We should ask ourselves is this something we really want and are we willing to be just swept along with the tide? Are we happy about other companies using our data for their research? Facebook can certainly see the benefits and will shout to the hills about it but can we?

Maybe you have all the information and customisation you need right now and do not need anything else....

It's official then! Facebook is bigger than Google now in the US. The lead is miniscule at the moment but the trend of Facebook's growth over the last couple of months seems to be an undeniable indicator of a further movement in this direction.

But what does this all mean for us? There is a now a battle on between Google and Facebook. Both sites want to be your starting point for the experience of the web. While Google provides a highly efficient way of searching the net more are turning to social recommendations on Facebook. Social media can also put you in more direct contact with experts online where you can gain the information you require

Early guises of the internet were of static sites that did not change but this evolved into more dynamic web-content. It is now going one step further towards a continuous social streams of information. Facebook is currently capitalising on this while Google seems to be still coming up with ideas. Google's first proper venture into Social Networking, Buzz, was met with lots of privacy concerns which they are still trying to iron out.

For us digital life will be case of surfing and manoeuring around the online social slipstream which no-one person can really control or regulate entirely. While this is good for sharing information it can lead to a state of information overload. People may walk around with a smartphone in one hand and iPad in the other in a permanently distracted state. One big problem about all this is that you cannot easily switch off or disconnect easily especially with mobile web. Another is the issue of a growing digital divide between people who can afford the internet and take it for granted and those who do not have access. There may be many that are left behind while others rush ahead.

On the positive side, however, the possiblity for creating new communities that span the globe is immense though this must be handled with responsibility and care. It has implications for all parts of society from politics, to media, to business, to interpersonal relationships. Authenticity, transparency and trust are becoming vital commodities that hold all of this together.

For my part I hope that the sharing and collaborative aspects of online communities will far outweigh any downsides and we are moving from the darkness to a brite new world.

Social communities and the slipstream will be what we make it so we should strive to make it as positive and inclusive as possible.

@Chrisbrogan's speech at Likeminds last friday was very insightful to have witnessed in person (please see previous blog post for more on my trip to Likeminds). However, I have just watched the video of it again on his blog only to gain yet more insight.

It is strange the aspects you may miss the first time round but the second time I really tried to understand what Chris was trying to communicate about running successful social media campaigns.

In my mind it was all about being a human being and making others feel special. If you do not have this all the marketing, IT, online, social media knowledge in the world will not be enough to compensate for it.

Being human is not something you learn or have to study to be but it is something you have. It is amazing the amount of people in business and society at large have lost touch with this. Often people buy into the social role they play and think that is all they are.

In fact maybe you do not have to be human. My friend has a dog and she is a little over-enthusiastic to say the least! What she does do very well however, is pick up on people's emotions around here very well. She is very responsive to these and because of this she makes the people around her feel special.

I had a really wacky thought! If it was possible to train a dog to do social media campaigns she would probably be quite good at them!

Anyway going back to Chris Brogan... It is great to have high-profile people like him to remind us of the basic fact of human connectedness. We definitely need more of it!

I am always fascinated with wide diverse sets of people I seem to be meeting from Twitter. Each has their own passions, interests and reasons for using it. You never quite know what you are going to get!

It is very weird meeting people you have been used to seeing as avatar bouncing down your screen. This was certainly the case recently in the Likeminds event I went to in Exeter on last Friday which featured some high profile social media speakers and bloggers.

Twitter was the main weapon of choice there and I found it to be a very good leveller between lots of different types of people. Often in the case of such events you almost feel a barrier between the audience and the speakers. Each attendee was even provided a sticker of their Twitter avatar instead of name badge.

I realised this event was very different as I met @chrisbrogan (a President of the US company New Marketing Labs and Influential Blogger) outside the venue. I had been reading his blog for a while as he is very much a social media thought-leader at the moment. It was really something to meet him in person and I soon realised how down-to-earth he was. In true British style I asked him how he was finding the cold weather and he told me it was much worse in Chicago where he had flown from!

The event itself featured a multitude of speakers from right across the spectrum of social media. Chris Brogan was the headline speaker for the event and the one everyone was eargerly anticipating. He did not disappoint though I wished he could have been on for longer. While others focused on specific strategies and tactics Chris focused on the underlying aspect of human connection and making people feel special.

One of my other favourite speakers was Olivier Blanchard @thebrandbuilder. He spoke and on how to intergrate social media into businesses and the challenges on the way. I was lucky enough to talk to him at the end of the event too. He seemed to have an answer for every question I had even the toughies!

I ended up staying the after party too even though I was supposed to come back to good old Bristol. I am very glad I did. I meet some very interesting people from PR people, to bloggers, to enthusiasts, to journalists, to business owners as well as having a beer with Olivier and Chris!

Gone are the days when social networking was just sitting at a computer sending messages. As we move into a real-time environment online communities are soon becoming real-world communities.

This has been quite clearly brought home to me when attending a regular social media event in Bristol called Brrism. What interested me about the event is that it is all organised through social media and is all about social media. I have met some very interesting people there and had some great discussions. What I realised is that coming from an Online PR/Social Media work environment I had a certain way that I viewed and used social media both for myself and my clients. I soon realised that that my methods for using social media were not the only ones. Customisability means everyone uses social media to meet their own specific needs and hence they have completely different perceptions of it.

However, one common theme that keeps coming up is the concept of sharing ideas and community. It is interesting to see how Brrism has developed since its inception last year. There is still a long way to go and I often feel that we are like kids again trying to establish ourselves in a group. New community formation takes time and I know there will be more challenges along the way.

Social media has also been powerful tool for charities. Since the Haiti earthquake charities have successfully utilised social media in getting messages out and forming supportive online communities.

I have mentioned Twestival on this blog before in reference to this as it is an excellent example. Following a successful event last year there is an event on 25 March 2010. The Twestival event will be is global affair where events are to take place in big cities around the world. This year it will be in aid of Concern which is looking to rebuild the education infrastructure in Haiti.

The entire event is organised using social media (namely Twitter) and online communities. It has created real-world impact though these channels.

It is obvious to me that charities are an area where the community and sharing ethos of social media can really come into its element.


If you are in the Bristol area definitely check out Bristwestival which is Bristol's offering. It features live music, a raffle, goodie bags and other wonderful things all in aid of charity. It takes place on 25 March at the Tunnels and tickets cost £5. See below for more details and book tickets here.

From the outset this blog is about shining light on the issues of the moment and one of these is the subject of bullying.

A lot of people have faced this whether it was at school, work or now online. Often bullies are individuals who have some shortfall or insecurity about themselves and want to take this out on someone else. Social media sites have given bullies another way to do this.

This may take the form of a relentless campaign of intimidation by the bully. Some of the behaviour and may be direct whereas some of the behaviour may be undermining behaviour. It can be difficult to deal with a bully if you share a workplace or university course with them. The key thing to remember is they are trying to make you feel bad for their own insecurities and mishaps that have happened in the past. They are often cowards who probably need a hug from mummy!

It is not your fault that they have had a rough ride and you should not be made a scape-goat for the fact that they cannot take responsibility for what has happened in their own life.

If you have a special talent too you will encounter the 'haters'. These are people who feel they have missed out and are jealous of the fact you are doing well. They may mock your talent and try and make you feel ashamed of it but do not let them. It is not your fault they cannot do what you can do or are not smart enough. Build yourself up, invest in your talent and screw the playa haters.

The best way to be bully/hater proof is to first of be proud of who you are no matter what and create a network of likeminded people who you trust and value you for what you do. Wherever possible give the bully absolutely no attention (as this is what the bully ultimately desires). Make sure you get advice from others and do not bottle things up inside. Some people find it productive to write things down. You could even take up boxing or Martial art and give the bullies a run for their money like on MTV's Bully Beatdown! The internet is also a place where you can find information and meet others in the same situation as you.

Whatever happens.......Stay Strong And Keep Shining! You might think you are alone but you are not the only one. Take 'em down champ!! It's your time! ;)

As an enthusiast of all aspects spiritual it occured to me while sitting under a tree last week in Spain that Twitter could actually be used to understand Zen Philosophy.

I know this sounds a little crazy but anyone who has gone through their old status updates may understand. Isn't it weird to see what you were up to and thinking a week or month ago? Who were you talking to and what about? Normally we would forget a lot of this but if you are on Twitter you have a snapshot into your past reality.

It is also interesting to observe how much situations and emotions change. Much of Zen Philosophy is living in the present moment without attachments to opinions or judgements. On Twitter we see how circumstances evolve sometimes in unexpected directions. What is true at one moment is often not true a second later when some new information is available or our state changes.

All this happened anyway but with Twitter we can see this on a large scale with ourselves and other people. Is this useful? I think so as quite often we can get consumed in the emotion of the present moment. We may write a status update like .....'I am really pissed off!' On reading the same update the next day we may wonder why we were so pissed off and whether it was worth it...

With the advancement of any new media many get swept up by it but there are always those who want to dampen the spirits and rain on people's parades.

I recently read a an article on USA Today about how Twitter haters see no point in Tweeting. It is nice that they are able to have their views discussed online and shared on social media. ;)

Apparently most of what is discussed on Twitter is pointless babble but hang on a minute.... most of what is discussed offline is pointless babble too! Sensationalist tabloid journalism and reality TV shows could also be seen as pointless gossip but people still like it. One of the arguments that keeps coming up over and over is that Twitter and social media are making people lose human contact.

I find it strange that many of the people who hold these views have never even bothered to go on Twitter and experience it for themselves. In spite of this they will quite happily give judgements on what society should or should not be doing based on little or no information. Maybe it is a case of sour grapes at not being invited to the party.

Far from limiting human contact social media actually gives people different ways of communicating with others across the world. Twitter has been a great way for people to organise meetings in person or Tweetups. Such meetings with diverse sets of people would not have been possible in the past.

Online tools are great for start up businesses on a budget who quickly want to make a name for themselves. They have also been successfully used to inform people of political issues from the Obama campaign to US Healthcare/NHS debate. I am not saying social media world is all rosey and there are issues to deal with, however, change is never easy. Social media should be looked as tool to facilitate and enhance human communication and not a limiting factor.

Whenever something new comes along there are always 'haters'. In Hiphop they are always talking 'dealing with playa haters' and this is no different. When something gets popular there always people who want to take shots and have rant about how bad life is. Just because these people do not understand something does not mean they should hate on it. If they want to actually do some research and come back some sound arguments then great. In the meantime they should not try and spoil it for everyone else who is benefiting from social media. It they don't like it they don't have to join but...

Don't Drink The Hatorade!

As many know on the net a US healthcare reform debate yesterday sparked shockwaves when they criticised our very own NHS. It was at yesterday afternoon I notice a flurry of NHS related tweets. Within a matter of hours the hashtag #welovetheNHS became a top trending topic on Twitter. The debate still continues on US blogs and now even Gordon Brown has joined the Twitter furore over the NHS.

While there are many who are debating the topic this post focuses on how the debate seems to have erupted at an incredible rate on the internet.

An issue like this really demonstrates how quickly opinions can be formed online and how it is shaping a healthcare debate on both sides of the pond. The massive response online has lead to the debate being covered in the conventional media TV, Radio and National newspapers. If anyone has any doubts about how powerful social media can be they should put them to bed now.

While the battle still rages on multiple media channels, I feel it can only be a positive that so many people are taking part and actively contributing to an important political issue.

It also shows that the way people get news and engage in debate is changing. It seems like if you turn your head for one second you might miss something. Then again I suppose you always do a search and catch up pretty quickly! In Online PR and Social Media Strategies we always look for an 'engagement factor' when implementing a campaign and with this particular online debate you could safely say that engagement was off the chart. The potential for an online debate like this to inform people and create better politics is incredible.

As I write this Twitter has been shut down and Facebook is experiencing problems as Twitter users log on there instead. Social media world has been brought to a temporary stand-still and it is interesting to see what effect this is having online. This got me thinking on the world we are now moving into.

While people may criticise social media for 'dehumanising' our interaction I would argue it opens many doors for people across the world to communicate with each other in ways that we never could have dreamed of before. However, this assumes that people know and understand how to use these online tools properly and also understand the consequences of their actions.

Recently in the UK, we have heard about the new phenomenon of 'sexting' where people send each other naked photos of each other with no regard for the fact this may quite literally 'bite them on the ass' later on. Sour grapes and jealousy from ex-partners can be a potent force and can quite easily lead to compromising photos being shared online or posted on websites. The key thing is to remember that what happens in online world has repercussions in the offline world.

So powerful is this force that countries like Iran and China have are trying to impose strict limits on internet activity. Businesses are desperately trying to control and charge for access to certain parts of the web. However, the internet and the open source philosophy is not about 'walled-gardens' whether it is in business or between nations. It is about sharing information and ideas which crosses international boundaries, cultures, age, and social backgrounds and creating something new we can all benefit from.

For my part, I love the fact I can talk to people from all over the world and learn about them. The old order does not like change but then it never has looking back through history.

Much of the predjudice in the world stems from ignorance so having more information readily available is most likely a more positive than negative thing.

I guess what I am trying to say is simple: wE aRe hErE, wE aRe gLoBaL!

While many of us in Online PR and Media make a big noise about strategies and content we often forget the people who made this possible in the first place

Many people know of the Mark Zuckerbergs or Brin and Pages of this world, however, there are many unknown software/online tool developers who offer their expertise online for free or little cost. These people are largely forgotten when people in the media make a big noise. It is only right that their efforts be noticed and valued.

With the rise of social media we have seen the all sorts of online applications pop up performing a giant multitude of tasks. Facebook, for example, has a variety of third party applications which have been by designed by developers around the world. Its continued success is certainly in part dependent on external application developers.

In Twitter's case such external applications seem to be even more important. From your Tweetdecks, to your Hootsuites, to your Twininfluences, to your Tweetlaters all offer a free service (at least initially) for businesses and individuals. This is all thanks to some clever software developers and coders.

Much of this is born of the 'open source' philosophy where developers create software for convenience before profit and can be modified by any other developer to meet their own needs. The open-source software licence does credit the original author, however, the software can distributed or copied with no restriction. People around the world from different countries and cultures come together and collaborate on fantastic projects which lead to browsers like Firefox and operating systems like Ubuntu.

Inspite of the contribution of these developers are still often looked upon with ridicule and contempt by many for being 'sad geeks'. I had a friend that worked at a Tech agency a while back (which will remain nameless) and he was very surprised at the snobbery they exhibited for technology and their own clients some of which were software developers! Their lack of knowledge of IT/Online processes was astounding. Unfortunately, it seems that this kind of attitude is still quite prevalent from certain people in the media industry even though their future business will be reliant on these very same IT/Online processes.

It is very unfortunate that the developers do not get the kudos they deserve especially as people are currently trying to make money from these tools. Content is, of course, important but it would not be accessible without the creativity and expertise of developers.

Whether it is the #Iran Election or your local newspaper it is becoming clear that Social Networking is changing the way people interact. We are now more interconnected than ever but can this have a positive effect?

The internet has lead to an environment where information and stories are freely accessible and it is difficult for large inflexible corporations to control the information flow as they have been accustomed to in the past with conventional media.

Whether it is tips on how fix your car or how a Tokyo street looks like the information is now there at click of a button. Social media has created connections between people and events that never existed before. I hope that this will mean that people will come to understand each other a little better. For businesses it is a new opportunity to understand their market or create a communication structure. For individuals it is about discovering new information and talking to new people they would never had the opportunity to before.

Large Institutions are coming under closer scrutiny as a consequence, either direct or indirect, of social media and new technology. The policing of the G20 in London has widely been criticised as a consequence of footage from mobile phone cameras among other factors. Even the MPs expense fiasco shows that the Government is not immune from such scrutiny. Most recently the unfolding events in Iran have displayed the effectiveness of social media tools in exchanging information.

For charities and other social movements, it is now easier to communicate their message to large numbers of people on a more personal level. High profile campaigns such as Twestival have borne successful results.

There are some who will talk about the darker sides. It is true that there are extremist groups who will use these online tools as a way to recruit and organise themselves. Paedophiles and other deviants will use it to exchange illegal and obscene content.

There is a problem though as such groups generally rely on the fact that their members having a limited view and perception of the world which they control and is not subject to question. This is not the nature of the internet as everything is questioned and is constantly moving all the time.It may be much harder to sell lies to people especially when you are using the internet to do it.

Ultimately internet entities, be they individuals or businesses or even governments, should act authentically and with integrity if they want to succeed. If this is the case the positives effects will be massive and the negative ones neglible.

I hope that these new tools enable us to understand our humanity and get along a little better.

With the rise of new social media channels and other online tools many people have been talking about the decline or even death of the conventional media. This could be one explanation though I feel it could be seen more as an evolution of media.

Unfortunately this evolution is happening very fast and leaving some people in its wake. As Matthew quite rightly put in his comment on my previous post this process is also being quickened by the recession. For instance in Bristol, regional newspapers such as the Western Daily Press, have made large redundancies to their staff. Bristol’s radio scene seems to have shrunk as well with the relocation and redundancies. I think there must be similar trends throughout the UK.

Across the pond in States papers like the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (one of the oldest in Seattle) rolls out its last newspaper today and becomes a totally online entity. They follow in the footsteps of many other US publications to the online realm. Around the world people are utilising media in new ways.

However, I am not sure that journalists and conventional PR people should get too fearful of the new online world. What is needed is an understanding of how their skills could be best used within the online realm. Social media allows obtaining feedback and interaction with an audience which simply was not possible in previous media channels. While this may involve learning a totally new IT skill-set it is preferable than being left on the sidelines as more social media tools appear.

That being said, the instincts for clear communications and stories that conventional PR, Journalists and other people in the media have developed over years of experience are still greatly needed especially in a confusing online world. While web wizardry and social media can dress things up very nice you always need something with substance to begin with.