Blogging Services for Public Relations from Montage Communications

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Our five Montage PR Bloggers are:

"Blog eat Blog" - Kevin covers topical news stories, PR dos and dont's in the media, with a touch of Victor Meldrew thrown in.
"Geek Boy Blog"- Matt talks about the latest in media technology, blogging and podcasts.
"What's Hot and What's Not?!"- Sophie keeps us oldies up to date with social media and celebrity worship.
"Politik Blog"- Hannah Roberts keeps us informed on the legal aspects of the media, politics, censorship and freedom of speech.
"Baby news!" - Aime is on maternity leave.
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Is Facebook Fatigue Setting In?

25.02.2008

The number of UK Facebook users has dropped for the first time, falling 5% from 8.9 million in December to 8.5 million in January.

So what’s going on? According to Nic Howell, deputy editor of industry mag, New Media Age, Facebook is losing its core audience of young people, and he puts this down to brand devaluation caused by the increasing popularity of the site with businesses and politicians.

In online comments in response to this news, the decline in user-numbers is being attributed to businesses wising up and blocking access to the site in workplaces, and users realising the potential for employers to get the inside skinny on applicants when considering them for positions.

Whatever the reason, it’s a bit early to start forecasting the site’s demise, but an interesting footnote is that sites such as BBC Communities and Friends Reunited saw a rise in popularity in January - surely that’s not where the Facebook users went?!

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Online Laundry

18.02.2008

There can’t be many businesses and high-profile individuals nowadays who are unaware of the importance of managing their reputations online as assiduously as they do offline, and increasing numbers of them are using online launderers to do so. Going to the cleaners has taken on a whole new meaning.

For a (not insubstantial) fee, the new generation of cleaners will scrub, rinse and starch your online reputation. Although adverse comments or publicity cannot be deleted from the web, use of their services ensures that only positive entries head up the results whenever your name or your business is researched online.

Kate Moss is apparently one celebrity that has had the online life laundry treatment – her brushes with the law have been pushed back on to the second page of search results on Google – but I thought I’d have a look at an example I discussed previously here. Interestingly, entering “BT” into Google’s search bar brings up pages of innocuous sites before the Angry Customer makes an appearance on the third page – is this a reflection of actual internet searches, or of careful cleaning of an online reputation?

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Plans To Tackle Piracy

13.02.2008

A draft consultation document which has been leaked to The Times reveals that the government is considering plans to cut the internet access of UK-based users who illegally download music and films.

How will these plans be achieved? How will they know what’s being exchanged on the internet without having a speculative nose about in all our file sharing activities? And what an onerous task as well, if, as it is reckoned, there are six million people illegally downloading files in the UK each year. According to OFCOM, 90% of music is downloaded. Naturally, the record industry is welcoming the proposals, maintaining that they lose millions each year through illegal downloads, but the ISPs (internet service providers) will have a huge task on their hands if they’re going to be expected to monitor and police traffic to that extent. They are unlikely to be willing to take it on, especially with the privacy issues it raises.

I don't condone illegal activities, but I’m inclined to think that illegal downloading and file sharing is something that the music industry et al will eventually just have to deal with, by looking at ways of developing alternative revenue streams from it. The music industry has benefited from years of inflated prices over here, with CDs costing twice the amount in the UK than in the US, but bubbles burst eventually, and they aren’t going to be able to remain frozen in time, using ever more draconian methods in an attempt to maintain the status quo.

Instead, they need to think more creatively about the way internet usage is developing and make the most of the opportunities available. Consumers are sending out clear signals about the direction in which they are moving; it could be that the music industry and others impacted by illegal downloading need to start travelling down the same path.

Still, although it is government policy not to comment on leaked documents, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has said that it has developed a comprehensive plan to encourage the UK’s creative industries. Good. It’ll be interesting to see what it has come up with when the Green Paper is launched next week.

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ITV West Country Coverage

08.02.2008

Oh, to find a lotto ticket worth almost £7Million down the back of the sofa! Well, if you live in Devon, it could be you.

Click on this link to see our coverage on ITV West Country (13mins in).

In the meantime, here is a picture that we set up on Ness Cove Shaldon beach, a famous smugglers cove in Devon - looking for £6.9M Euromillions ticket!

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Can Social Networking Damage Your Career?

06.02.2008

Top recruitment firm Badenoch & Clark has issued a warning to social network users to be careful with the content of their profile, saying that it could seriously damage their prospects of getting a job.

Apparently, the majority of British executives are now signed up to the likes of Facebook and MySpace, and have no hesitation in using the sites as an additional resource when it comes to recruitment.

They are using the information gleaned from the sites to make decisions on potential candidates. A separate survey by Viadeo found that one in five employers admitted to using the site to dig up information on applicants, with two thirds saying the information gained influenced their decision and a quarter admitting to deciding not to hire on the basis of the information online.

Few employers are going to pass up the golden opportunity to get a better idea of the person behind the CV by browsing through Facebook. Obviously applicants can adjust their privacy settings, but I think there’s an opportunity here – the canny candidate will use employer nosiness to their advantage and effectively market themselves through their profile.

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