Top 20 web 2.0 sites revealed

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Hitwise US has released an interesting table listing the top 20 web 2.0 websites today. 

I’m quite surprised to see Myspace holds the number one title, with Facebook behind eBay in third position.  For me, (and I’m pretty sure I also speak for the majority of my generation) Myspace is a thing of the past and simply acted as a stepping stone from MSN Messenger to Facebook.  Does this mean the US are falling behind, or simply that we gave up too early on Myspace?

Intrigued by the results I decided to log on to Myspace for the first time in over a year and see what had changed.  Well I’ve got to say, it certainly has moved on! I can see why it is still popular. Myspace music and TV give the site an edge over other some of the other social networking sites.  Maybe it’s time Facebook stepped up it’s game, bringing the top spot. 

 

What has happened to honest blogging?

Good news for equality- female bloggers are on the rise. But after reading BBC News article “The power of female blogging”, I feel a little uneasy about just why that is.

Blogging is a way of expressing your thoughts and opinions on any subject you want; it gives people the ability to read these views at the click of a button, but according to BBC News this is no longer the only incentive to start a blog.

Blogher.com, an online community for women who blog, encourages it’s users to accept the request to display adverts on their pages. But just how ethical is this, and since when did blogging become the latest opportunity to get quick and easy cash?

People love blogging because it gives them the opportunity to shout to the world about anything that takes their fancy, with little or no censoring. But if advertising on blogs became the norm, just think what the result could be. What’s to say that the blogger wouldn’t accept a little more money to write whatever the advertiser wants them to? Products could be plugged and companies promoted, all under the veil of the bloggers views. The reader, none the wiser, could believe the subtle advertisements within the blog are genuine opinions and buy the product based on recommendation. Great news for the advertiser, awful news for genuine bloggers.

So just what are these women writing about that sparks the advertiser’s interest in the first place? Well, after checking out Blogher.com, I’ve got to say I’m not overly impressed. Most of the featured blogs are about fashion, TV or household chores (I kid you not, there’s a post about how to clean grout), surely female bloggers could be portrayed in a better way!

It’s about time female bloggers put their name on the map for the right reasons; scrap the ads and let’s have some straight talking, honest blogging!

Nat joins Wolfstar for work experience

Hiya! My name is Natalie Smith and today’s my first day of work experience here at Wolfstar. I’ve recently completed my first year on the BA(Hons) Public Relations course at Leeds Metropolitan University and am nervously anticipating exam results! (five days and counting, fingers crossed please guys!)

I’m originally from a nice little village in East Yorkshire called Swanland (No, I do NOT live in Hull, thank you!) which, contrary to the name, unfortunately no longer has any swans living in it!

I moved to Leeds in 2006 to begin a film production course at the Met, but after the first semester it became clear how badly run the course was, and how unmotivated I was to continue the course as a result. However, as my parents were kindly obliging to pay for my education, I agreed to finish the year to gain a certificate of higher education, so I guess it wasn’t a complete waste of a year!

I realised that although I am a creative person, I’m not cut out for the monotony of life behind a camera, or sat in an editing suite 18 hours a day. So why choose PR? Well the idea actually came from my mum, who’d secretly been researching other courses for me, apparently “just for fun”. My answer to this suggestion was quite honestly “But what exactly is PR?”

After researching companies and the course, I spent two days with the in house PR team at Arla Foods which convinced me that this was the route I wanted to take and showed me what PR was all about. I loved it and immediately sent off my application to start the transfer process!

After completing the first year of the course I really believe that I’ve made the right decision and that PR is perfectly suited to my personality. I’ve almost shocked myself by the amount of motivation I’ve had- my house mates still look confused to see me getting up in the morning for lectures! I’m really looking forward to starting my second year, although it’ll be weird not being a fresher for the third year!

Being a poor student (edging nearer to my overdraft limit by the second..) I’ve decided to stay put in Leeds for the summer as jobs are a bit scarce at home! So it’s a life of job hunting for me at the moment!

Working with the Wolfstar team is a great opportunity to help introduce me to the growing world of social media and WOM marketing, I can’t wait to get involved and see what it’s all about!