An unfriendly Facebook user gives the thumbs down to Facebook Chat

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There I was, checking my friend requests and reading my private messages when all of a sudden I was bombarded with several instant messages from my ‘Facebook-friends’. I’m not sure I am a fan of the social networking sites new upgrade. Facebook have just launched a new instant messaging facility, where you can chat to your online friends. For a week or so now I have been quickly exiting Facebook as soon as one of my ‘foreign-friends’ (who I have never met but still, for some reason unbeknown to me, wanted to add me) starts talking to me. Luckily Beth has informed me that there is the option to set myself ‘offline’ if I am feeling un-friendly. Although my Facebook account has become more essential to me than my mobile phone, I can’t help but feel that my privacy is slowly slipping further and further away…

In hindsight though, I guess the new facility is another useful communication tool, which most people (me included) have for many years now, looked to MSN Messenger for. Personally I think the visuals of the Facebook Chat facility leave a lot to be desired and it’s really annoying that if you leave Facebook, your chat automatically ends. I still much prefer MSN’s version of instant messenger, but as so many young people nowadays spend hours a day on Facebook, perhaps MSN will see a decline in the usage?

Recently, the BBC’s technology program ‘Click’ found a potential flaw in Facebook’s security. After creating a malicious program, masquerading as a harmless application, they were able to steal personal data, without the users knowing. I am constantly receiving applications which is a huge down side to the site in my opinion. ‘How Barbie are you?” and “Which Hollyoaks  character are you?” are just two which have been sent to me today and which I have automatically deleted, as I always do. However, it is obvious that some people actually enjoy downloading these applications and it is now apparent that they need to take caution. These applications are run on third-party servers, not Facebook but maybe it’s time Facebook took back control and started to decrease them?

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Up and coming bands should benefit from social media

As part of my public relations degree, I have to put together a portfolio of work to be submitted in a couple of months. My sister’s boyfriend is in a band called ‘Billy the Kid’ and they are doing really well at the moment, they’ve just been signed by Oasis’ management ‘Ignition’. As they are just starting to get their feet in the door of success, they haven’t yet had any real public relations work done for the band. Therefore I got really excited at the thought of doing some work for them and started brainstorming some ideas. I really wanted to do a stunt of some sort; something different and exciting, but then I became stuck. What sort of stunt could I do that was unique and completely free? Celebrities such as Paris Hilton get caught drink driving (arguably a PR stunt) which excites the press, but surely it’s a bit too extreme to ask the lads in the band to risk their lives in order for some coverage. They might be eager to promote themselves but they’re not that desperate!

So this got me thinking, my target audience is people aged between 17-35, what sort of PR works best for them? I believe the answer lies mainly in social media.

They already have their own Myspace page where friends can listen to their songs and so on which is a start. Young people nowadays want to be able to talk to each other about their favourite bands, share in discussion and swap information about them which is why I think creating a blog would be really beneficial for them.

Technology such as ‘Technorati’ (a blog search engine) also makes it so much easier to find the blog you want to be part of. Other methods of social media I could use would be to create a bespoke YouTube channel for them and upload videos of the band and creating groups and profiles in the social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo.

It will be interesting to see if the boys do gain anymore popularity (however small) after I take advantage of the huge audience these sites have to offer. This would again prove the potential the world of social media has to offer.

Some other cool up and coming bands from the North East are:

· The Cutters (indie)

· Twisted Wheel (indie)

· We Start Fires (punk/electro)

Google announced as world’s number one brand

Yesterday Google was announced by ‘Superbrands‘, as the UK’s number one  business brand beating off giants such as the BBC. This has made me appreciate just how big this company really is. I myself use the search engine ‘Yahoo’, simply because that was the first engine my Dad introduced me to years ago. Interestingly, all my friends find it bizarre that I don’t use Google, as if the organisation owns a monopoly over searching on the internet. But of course they don’t and there are probably thousands of other search engines on the net, so why has Google gone on to rule the net, winning the crown for the brand with the best reputation?

Speaking of Yahoo, the business recently rejected a bid made by Microsoft for a ‘friendly takeover’. According to The Lang Report, Yahoo has just announced 1000 job cuts, its largest ever amount since the dot-com crash. Perhaps this due to the effects of Google’s growth in this sector. I believe in forthcoming years, the fate of companies such as Yahoo will be unsure, as Google continues to reign.

My university tutor suggested that the popularity of Google could be thanks to the idea of WOMM (word of mouth marketing). This is an interesting thought and I think he is right, especially when you think of the phrase ‘Google-it’.  It has become synonymous with internet searching and it is very common to hear people in work, the press and even teachers at school using the phrase to their pupils. I am told it actually makes an appearance in the dictionary now too!

Leave Britney Spears Alone! Another YouTube Phenomena

Whilst on YouTube a couple of days ago, I discovered a very humorous yet at the same time slightly disturbing video by a man named Chris Crocker . Apparently the video is huge across the world with millions of viewings. The video is of Chris under what appears to be a bed sheet, hysterically crying over the media’s negative portrayal of his favourite pop star, Britney Spears. If you haven’t already seen this video, you must watch it, if not for comedy then for its sheer craziness. I actually believed that Chris was a Christina for the entire video as the openly gay man has a bleach blonde bob and a mascara stained face from crying…

What I find fascinating about this is that the video only lasts for 2 minutes and yet Chris became so popular with YouTube fans that he was actually given his own American TV show. The ability to broadcast yourself using YouTube meant that Chris’ (freakishly unhealthy) obsession with Britney Spears and his hatred for the press was exclaimed to more than 4 million viewers in only two days. This is just another example of how powerful social networking sites are becoming as well as their stars, the public.

5 Ways Social Media Could Benefit Your Business

In recent years there has been a social media revolution and businesses should now start to sit up and embrace this to use it to their competitive advantage. A lot of traditional communication methods between businesses and their audience have become exhausted and consumers are now using social media to make their own opinions on a company or brand.

Customers are becoming much less responsive to corporate information and its influence. If a company is ignorant to the strength and persuasion which can be created by clever ideas and opinions published everyday on social media sites - that company could find it financially disastrous. For example, an unhappy student created a Facebook group about overdraft fees charged by his bank HSBC

. This group was quickly joined by 2,500 more angry students and the amount of negative public relations created meant the bank had to formally apologise in a national newspaper. This shows exactly how one average Joe’s opinion can now be made hugely significant thanks to the social media phenomenon.

I have created a list of five ways in which social media could/can benefit a business:

1) Blogging is a great way of building up your online presence. They help the business engage with the audience and with blogging comes the opportunity to ‘comment’, where readers can actually speak back to the business, giving their opinions and input: free market research.

2) Responding to your audience’s opinions makes for a stronger relationship, gaining your customer’s trust and understanding. If people say good things about you, say thanks. This shows that they are genuinely being considered and their opinion matters.

3) Managers should welcome social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo, Linkedin and Myspace into the workplace. Not only are they tools for colleagues to interact and build relationships with each other but having them viewable by the public, makes the company seem more approachable and engaging. Many companies are now using these sites already to recruit new members of staff, search for new business or to induct new team members.

4) Advanced search facilities allow people of all interests and niches to be found and targeted quick and easily. New and evolving audiences can be identified and reached without spending a penny.

5) If you create media that people enjoy and find useful in some way, they are likely to pass it on. Therefore, it is worthwhile seriously thinking about how social media could be incorporated into your business. The beauty of the concept is that through processes such as word of mouth, making a success of social media means sooner or later your audience will start to do the work for you. 

Public relations - is it really a profession?

The Oxford Dictionary describes the noun ‘profession’ as: a paid occupation, especially one involving training and a formal qualification. So why then is there  so much debate as to whether public relations really is a profession?

It is well known that PR has somewhat of a negative image in today’s society, and this could be partially blamed on the industry’s roots in the press agentrys and the use of propaganda in the 16^th centuries. Nowadays, many people regard public relations as ‘spin’, ‘gloss’ and sometimes even lies.

Television programs such as ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ have given fictional perceptions of the industry and the fact that strategic, professional public relations can require considerable training and specialised study, is often overlooked. In the past, PR companies would often employ people without any relative qualifications in the subject. However, as public relations degrees in universities are becoming more popular, employers are now starting to choose graduates which bring more academic skills to the industry. To broaden the argument more, some people argue that public relations cannot be taught, it’s a skill certain people have naturally.

Originally an example of a profession would be a lawyer or a doctor; this would be due to the body of knowledge which they function around, laws, facts, scientific truths and the like. However, in the case of PR, there is no black and white approach to addressing an issue and different types of companies believe and implement different styles of working methods.

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has attempted to ‘clean up’ PR’s reputation by creating and trying to implement a Code of Conduct which all it’s members must adhere to.

My opinion is that whether or not PR really is a profession is neither here nor there. It is the reputation of the industry that should be observed and guarded to stop it’s image deteriorating. The public’s trust and confidence needs to be gained, something which is paramount in order for mutual communication between the PR company and the public to take place.

The crazy world of Facebook

When I first created my Facebook account three months ago I wasn’t that impressed. For the last year I had always been a devoted fan of Myspace and Facebook seemed a bit too complicated for me with all this talk of networks and groups. However, after three months as a student in the city of Leeds, I honestly don’t know where I’d be without Facebook.

I have built up a great ‘community’ of friends on my account, most of which are residents at the halls where I live. Everyone regularly updates their status (a sentence user’s change to describe their mood or what they are doing for example), so I always know what everyone is up to. Also, as I am part of the Leeds network, I get sent invitations from promotions companies advertising special events and club nights, so I never miss out! And of course there is also the function to send private and non private messages to my friends, just in case their mobile phone is switched off!

I think Facebook is a fantastic way of meeting new people; not only foreign strangers who you will never meet in the flesh but real people who live in your area or study your course. For example, before I even started uni I had already found two of my flat mates through Facebook and as one of them was especially interested in heavy metal music, I had time to prepare myself…

I really think everyone of all ages and interests can benefit from using social networking sites, especially Facebook. Whether you’re a granny wanting to join the ‘Knitting Club’ or a rock music fan interested in joining the ‘Marilyn Manson Club’, there’s something for you.

Here are just several bizarre groups I found whilst searching through the site:

The Elastic Band Ball Trust (for those who love elastic band balls)

I hate life! (for those who believe the glass is half empty..)

I Love Mullets (for those of you who are fans of 80’s hair styles)

Claire Thomas joins Wolfstar…..

Hey! I’m Claire Thomas and it’s my first day of work experience here at Wolfstar. I am currently in the third month of my first year as a Public Relations student at Leeds Metropolitan University and I have got to say it’s been the best three months of my life. 

I originally come from a small town called Stockton-on-Tees near Middlesbrough so moving to a busy city like Leeds was scary at first but definitely the best decision of my life. Everything here is so different: shopping, traffic, cultures and of course the nightlife! Let’s just say, Middlesbrough’s nightlife leaves a lot to be desired!

I have known for a couple of years now that I wanted a career in PR when I left university, and I chose Leeds as my first choice because I knew there would be very few PR jobs available in Middlesbrough. I felt moving to a city would give me the best chance of gaining a job when I graduated and also giving me the exciting experiences that city life has to offer.

So how do I know at such a young age, that I want a career in PR? Well, I have always been a creative person and when I took up Media Studies in school, I knew straight away that I had a natural interest and enthusiasm in this subject. I loved analysing how companies appealed to their audiences using different techniques and mediums in order to sell their product. So, when I continued my Media Studies in college, I started to think about which course I wanted to do at uni; considering these aspects of the media which I found most interesting. I knew that I would definitely take up a subject connected to the media industry and after researching through pages and pages of prospectuses I chose Public Relations as my final choice.

So far the course has been great, although I have to admit: my heart and soul hasn’t completely gone into attending all my lectures. Fresher’s week seems to have gone on for a few more weeks that originally intended, or months…

However, with the prospect of me needing to open an overdraft looming, and exam dates set, I have decided to settle down (a bit) and start learning more about a subject I am greatly interested in.

So that’s where I am today, here at Wolfstar. I am really excited about completing work experience here because the company deals a lot with social media and like most other eighteen year olds, I have a lot of experience in these! Work experience is vital to my course and I know that I will gain knowledge and skills here which I will remember for the rest of my life.

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