It’s been a long, but stimulating day, and I shall feel guilty if I don’t write up 
on the Blogging4 Business conference as others who went have already produced live blogging reports, like Rob Andrews, Guillaume du Gardier, Lloyd Davies and Robin Hamman.
I always enjoy checking out the delegates list at these events, and it included a fascinating mix, such as The Welsh Whiskey Company and River Island Clothing, as well as the Camelot Group and Cheapflights Ltd. Oh, and Playboy too, they also have a blog and podcast.
I was particularly interested to learn more about the social network sites from Michael Stecker, of Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions. Robin has it fully covered, so I plan to spend time soon exploring Facebook, Bebo and MySpace.
I also enjoyed being reminded about the power of blogging and how Reutuers was rumbled by a blogger for unwittingly publishing a fake pic last summer from the war in the Middle East, but how they had turned that negative into a positive and blogged about it, discussing the boundaries for acceptable pic editing.
I bumped into Damian Collins, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Folkstone and Hythe, and bloggers Hot Ginger and Dynamite Ginger and Proud and Adam Timworth who writes One Man and His Blog. I’ve just noticed Adam has also written up on the conference, at which he spoke about social software in business. It was also a pleasure to meet Ged Carroll and hear him speak too about how PR is adapting to consumers who talk back. Hugh MacLeod dropped by at the end and is very excited about a huge new project he is working on, due to be announced any day on his blog.
I had the feeling that there are still many PR practitioners who are clueless about blogging, who do not write a blog themselves, and are stuck when businesses seek their advice on this. Some I spoke to said they didn’t have time for it, but those who do know that it pays dividends and is beneficial for their clients, PR guys like Guillaume and Ged.
I’m afraid it’s a short, but sweet, post on the conference, it’s been a long day. The pic is of my new Polish friend Kasia Poltorak of PR News Wire, courtesy of Rob Andrews. And I’ve posted pics of some of the people I met on my rogue’s gallery at the top of the page, can you guess which one is from Playboy?
Adam Tinworth. But close enough. 🙂
Thanks for the mention, and good to meet you yesterday.
Hi Adam, It was great to meet you too. I did notice re the name and thought I had changed it, it was late in the day.
“…there are still many PR practitioners who are clueless about blogging,”
Hi Elle, I think that reflects that most who people blog, blog about things other than work, and not that those who are in PR say, do not understand the potential of blogging.
Blogging has its limits, how wide an audience are you going to reach blogging about ‘cleaning products’ or ‘making omelettes’ – and half the blogs, blog about another little ‘kitty’ or pretty ‘pussy’
And of course most Marketing & PR works by creating a glossy image about a product and product placement – not looking too deep under the surface, which would not survive intense Scrutiny.
Imagine if you are blogging about pension funds or plastic surgery (or dentistry), and you repeatedly refuse to answer “incisive” questions.
So who in your Rogue’s gallery is from Playboy
I’m unable to hazard a guess – lol!
Q9, Anyone can blog about any subject if it is important to them, but they have to feel passionate about it and do it in a way that is interactive. I do feel any PR person who wants to promote the social media on a professional basis should be writing their own blog first so they know what it involves.
Regarding Playboy, I will tell you at the end of the day, let’s see if anyone else can guess.
Hi Ellee – good to meet you yesterday too. Haven’t got round to updating my blog yet, but will do. (On your post, I think you were referring to me, but link to hot ginger and dynamite instead). While you’re nosing around facebook, do send me a friend request. In the meantime do check out my “ginger and proud” blog, at http://www.chrisandlin.com.
Chris
Thanks Chris, I just remembered your blog as being ginger and something, I’m going to correct it now.
Hi, Ellee. What a lot of interesting people you met there! Do tell – which is the one from Playboy?
I was trying to guess the one from Playboy, but couldn’t!
OK, The Playboy guy is third from the left, no wonder he has a permenant smile. 😉
[…] The end of a blogging day […]
Hi Ellee. I can heartily recommend Facebook over MySpace and Bebo. I’ve been playing around with it lately and it does ebverything I want from a social networking space – photos; networks/groups; forthcoming events… I can even import my blog’s RSS feed into the ‘Notes’ section making it a content aggregator of sorts.
How’s the assignment going? I’m trying to get into the spirit of finishing it off a mere day after getting back from honeymoon! I’m struggling…
Simon, How can you face the assignment after returning from honeymoon? I thought you had finished before you went.
I must say I’m really pleased with with my project, but it remains to be seen if I approached it the right way to meet the examiner’s criteria, there are so many other distractions in the day. Of course, I included social media and proposed YouTube as a tactic to engage ethnic publics and use this as a platform for dialogue.
Just realised in time that I added my CIPR membership number instead of my student number as a footnote and am now reprinting, hope to get to Staples before 5.30pm, but am not hopeful. Am relying on the next day postal delivery to stand my what it says!
Hi Ellee,
I hope you are well since the event.
It was good to meet you and thank you for the mention and the photo! 🙂
See you soon I am sure.