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	<title>Emily Leary - Thinking Comms</title>
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	<link>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk</link>
	<description>Thoughts on public relations, social media, marketing</description>
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		<title>27 stunning visual ads for creative inspiration</title>
		<link>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/08/27-stunning-visual-ads-for-creative-inspiration/</link>
		<comments>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/08/27-stunning-visual-ads-for-creative-inspiration/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Aug 2011 11:39:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Leary</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ads]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[creative]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[funny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[visuals]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/?p=3926</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I've got a weakness for really good visual advertisements - the kind that make you gasp, smile or stare in wonderment. Here are 27 of my favourite pieces of creative inspiration.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>I&#8217;ve got a weakness for really good visual advertisements &#8211; the kind that make you gasp, smile or stare in wonderment. Here are 27 of my favourite pieces of creative inspiration. Click each image to view it full size.</strong></p>
<table cellpadding="30" width="720">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/01.-pilot-lego-men.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3961 aligncenter" title="01. pilot lego men" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/01.-pilot-lego-men-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>01. Pilot markets its fine-line pen by micro-tattooing a series of LEGO men</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/02.-Zaini-kissing-chocolate.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3960 aligncenter" title="02. Zaini kissing chocolate" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/02.-Zaini-kissing-chocolate-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>02. Zaini promotes it&#8217;s smooth milk chocolate with a perfectly fluid kiss</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/03.-coca-cola-billboard.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3959 aligncenter" title="03. coca cola billboard" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/03.-coca-cola-billboard-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>03. Coca Cola erect a &#8216;living billboard&#8217; that absorbs air pollutants</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/04.-martor-razor-blades.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3958 aligncenter" title="04. martor razor blades" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/04.-martor-razor-blades-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>04. Martor goes gory to comic effect with this billboard ad for razorblades</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/05.-Economist-lightbulb.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3957 aligncenter" title="05. Economist lightbulb" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/05.-Economist-lightbulb-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>05. The Economist promises big ideas with a bulb that lights as you pass underneath</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/06.-Aarhus-microscopic-brochure.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3956 aligncenter" title="06. Aarhus microscopic brochure" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/06.-Aarhus-microscopic-brochure-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>06. The University of Aarhus reaches out to science students with a microscopic brochure</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/07.-Audi-rust.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3955 aligncenter" title="07. Audi rust" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/07.-Audi-rust-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>07. Audi erects a metallic billboard where part rusts, revealing the ad over time</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/08.-Montana-meth-project.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3954 aligncenter" title="08. Montana meth project" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/08.-Montana-meth-project-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>08. Montana Meth Project releases a striking illustration of the dangers of meth use.</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/09.-Extra-big.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3953 aligncenter" title="09. Extra big" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/09.-Extra-big-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>09. PampaVerde uses makeup to great effect to promote the size of its Extra Big Burger</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/10.-Pepsi-light-load.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3952 aligncenter" title="10. Pepsi light load" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/10.-Pepsi-light-load-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>10. Pepsi leaves us in no doubt about just how light its diet soda is</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/11.-Sony-Microvault-USB.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3951 aligncenter" title="11. Sony Microvault USB" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/11.-Sony-Microvault-USB-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>11. Sony goes retro to promote the capacity of its Microvault USB memory stick</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/12.-Beau-Rivage-Resort-Casino.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3950 aligncenter" title="12. Beau Rivage Resort &amp; Casino" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/12.-Beau-Rivage-Resort-Casino-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>12. Beau Rivage Resort &amp; Casino creates an unusually inviting luggage belt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/13.-GITAM-BBDO-spice.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3949 aligncenter" title="13. GITAM BBDO spice" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/13.-GITAM-BBDO-spice-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>13. GITAM BBDO gets noticed with spicy promotional business cards</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/14.-Sensodyne.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3948 aligncenter" title="14. Sensodyne" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/14.-Sensodyne-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>14. Sensodyne goes minimalist with a double-take ad for toothpaste</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/15.-dentist-pulling-teeth.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3965 aligncenter" title="15. dentist pulling teeth" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/15.-dentist-pulling-teeth-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>15. A dentist launches a street campaign that&#8217;s a bit like pulling teeth</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/16.-Swedish-horror.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3947 aligncenter" title="16. Swedish horror" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/16.-Swedish-horror-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>16. A Swedish horror  festival breaks from tradition to pull in the press</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/17.-Environmental-business-card.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3964 aligncenter" title="17. Environmental business card" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/17.-Environmental-business-card-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>17. An environmental consultant puts his stamp on waste with this alternative to the business card</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/18.-The-Shoe-Hospital.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3946 aligncenter" title="18. The Shoe Hospital" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/18.-The-Shoe-Hospital-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>18. The Shoe Hospital treats footwear as patients, if this ad is to be believed</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/19.-Amnesty-domestic-violence.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3945 aligncenter" title="19. Amnesty domestic violence" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/19.-Amnesty-domestic-violence-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>19. Amnesty launches domestic violence ad that responds to being looked at</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/20.-Payphone-domestic-violence.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3963 aligncenter" title="20. Payphone domestic violence" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/20.-Payphone-domestic-violence-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>20. A Romanian ad forces payphone users to face domestic violence</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/21.-Stopn-Grow.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3944 aligncenter" title="21. Stop'n Grow" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/21.-Stopn-Grow-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>21. Stop&#8217;n Grow circulates a shopping bag that puts you right off nailbiting</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/22.-shark-finning.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3943 aligncenter" title="22. shark finning" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/22.-shark-finning-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>22. A direct mail campaign against shark finning puts the damage in your hands</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/23.-Alzheimers-New-Zealand.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3942 aligncenter" title="23. Alzheimer's New Zealand" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/23.-Alzheimers-New-Zealand-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>23. Alzheimer&#8217;s New Zealand creates eraser-like USB sticks to highlight memory loss</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/24.-Superette.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3941 aligncenter" title="24. Superette" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/24.-Superette-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>24. Superette promotes its &#8216;short shorts&#8217; with a bench ad that prints right on users legs</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/25.-Nivea-cellulite-sofa.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3962 aligncenter" title="25. Nivea cellulite sofa" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/25.-Nivea-cellulite-sofa-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>25. Nivea makes bold claims about the power of its cellulite cream with this sofa</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/26.-Graco-mattress.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3940 aligncenter" title="26. Graco mattress" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/26.-Graco-mattress-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>26. Graco uses flawless photo manipulation to promote its mattresses</td>
<td width="240" valign="top"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/27.-wwf.jpg" rel="lightbox[3926]"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3939 aligncenter" title="27. wwf" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/27.-wwf-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>27. WWF uses minimalist materials and a familiar cloud to highlight water pollution</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Want more? <a href="http://emleary.posterous.com/">Follow me on Posterous</a> for daily doses of creative inspiration. </strong></p>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>I&#8217;ve joined the Social Media Week Global Editorial Team</title>
		<link>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/07/ive-joined-the-social-media-week-global-editorial-team/</link>
		<comments>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/07/ive-joined-the-social-media-week-global-editorial-team/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:40:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Leary</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[editorial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/?p=3906</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I've joined the Global Editorial Team for Social Media Week (SMW) - “a global platform that connects people, content, and conversation around emerging trends in social and mobile media.” ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/social-media-week.png" rel="lightbox[3906]"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3912" style="border: 0pt none;" title="social-media-week" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/social-media-week.png" alt="" width="170" height="170" /></a>I&#8217;m pleased to announce that I&#8217;ve joined the Global Editorial Team for <a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/about/">Social Media Week (SMW)</a> &#8211; “a global platform that connects people, content, and conversation around emerging trends in social and mobile media.” </strong></p>
<p>Here&#8217;s a bit more about the Social Media Week initiative, in the words of the organisers, <a href="http://crowdcentric.net">Crowd Centric</a>:<br />
<strong><em><br />
</em></strong><em>&#8220;Social Media Week&#8217;s mission is to explore how local and regional societies, cultures, and economies are becoming more integrated &amp; empowered through a global network of communication.</em><em> Delivered primarily through a network of internationally hosted biannual conferences and online through social and mobile media, Social Media Week brings hundreds of thousands of people together every year through learning experiences that aim to advance our understanding of social media’s role in society.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>The next SMW is due to take place September 19 &#8211; 23 2011 in:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/beirut/get-involved/">BEIRUT</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/berlin/get-involved/">BERLIN</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/bogota/get-involved/">BOGOTA</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/buenosaires/get-involved/">BUENOS AIRES</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/chicago/get-involved/">CHICAGO</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/glasgow/get-involved/">GLASGOW</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/losangeles/get-involved/">LOS ANGELES</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/milan/get-involved/">MILAN</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/moscow/get-involved/">MOSCOW</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/riodejaneiro/get-involved/">RIO DE JANEIRO</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/saopaulo/get-involved/">SAO PAULO</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/vancouver/get-involved/">VANCOUVER</a></li>
</ul>
<p>You can <a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2011/07/25/meet-our-global-editorial-team-part-6/">read more about the editorial team here</a> &#8211; and look out for my first blog post, coming soon.</p>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The five most useful Google+ write-ups from comms pros</title>
		<link>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/07/the-five-most-useful-google-write-ups-from-comms-pros/</link>
		<comments>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/07/the-five-most-useful-google-write-ups-from-comms-pros/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:09:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Leary</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[comms professionals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google plus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pr]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/?p=3835</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There have been tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of words written about Google+ already, but as the new social network takes its first tentative steps in beta, the industry is asking: what does this new platform mean for PR, marketing and other comms professionals?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/googleplus.png" rel="lightbox[3835]"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3856" title="googleplus" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/googleplus.png" alt="" width="170" height="170" /></a><strong>There have been tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of words written about <a target="_blank" href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/+/demo/">Google+</a> already, but as the new social network takes its first tentative steps in beta, the industry is asking&#8230;</p>
<p><em>What does this new platform mean for PR, marketing and other comms professionals?</em></strong></p>
<p>It&#8217;s not an easy one to answer, but here are five articles that helped me get to the heart of the matter:<strong><br />
</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><strong><a target="_blank" href="http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/8808.aspx">The PR and marketing implications of Google+</a> by Shel Holtz.</strong> This is about as thorough as you can get right now. Shel hasn&#8217;t churned out a Google+ 101 post, he&#8217;s written an article with the <em>uses</em> for comms pros in mind. Read it.</li>
<li><strong><a target="_blank" href="http://www.theredrocket.co.uk/blog/?p=1635">Should PR and social media people be getting excited by Google+?</a> by Phil Szomszor.</strong> Should we all be leaping on board and putting our campaign budgets into Google+ right now? Phil has sensible answers.</li>
<li><strong><a target="_blank" href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/conversations-matter-in-google/">Conversations matter in Google+</a> by Chris Brogan.</strong> I have to agree with Chris&#8217;s simple but crucial observation here. The quality of conversations and responses in my stream, right now, is blowing Twitter and Facebook out of the water. If that continues, it&#8217;s a big deal for brands (particularly when the door opens to them).</li>
<li><strong><a target="_blank" href="http://socialmediatoday.com/jasonbaer/313225/why-google-has-hammer-make-businesses-use-google-plus">Why Google Has the Hammer To Make Businesses Use Google Plus</a> by Jay Baer.</strong> This is a comparatively complex article (make a cup of tea before you start reading) but it takes a really good stab at mapping the evolution of search, SEO, social, where Google+ fits in, and where it&#8217;s going. Useful stuff.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at_azOmh69A">Google+, Businesses and Beyond</a> by Christian Oestlien.</strong> In a video rather than a written post, Christian, a product manager on Google+ explains why it&#8217;s not quite ready for businesses yet, and gives some hints on where it might be going. Watch it below:</li>
</ol>
<div align="center"><iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/at_azOmh69A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p><strong>So, when it comes to Google+, what are your predictions, observations hopes and concerns for the comms industry?</strong></p>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Listing my essential social media tools</title>
		<link>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/07/listing-my-essential-social-media-tools/</link>
		<comments>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/07/listing-my-essential-social-media-tools/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:55:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Leary</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CommsChat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[toolbox]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/?p=3756</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tonight’s #CommsChat (the weekly Twitter-based chat for comms professionals) will aim to identify the best tools out there for monitoring and evaluating social media activity. Here’s my summary of the tools I use every day. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/tools.png" rel="lightbox[3756]"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3822" title="tools" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/tools.png" alt="" width="170" height="170" /></a>Tonight’s <a href="http://www.commschat.com">#CommsChat</a> (the weekly Twitter-based chat for comms professionals) will aim to identify the best tools out there for monitoring and evaluating social media activity. Here&#8217;s my summary of the tools I use every day. </strong></p>
<p>The blurb for tonight&#8217;s chat reads: &#8220;There’s a huge array of free, freemium and paid-for choices out there – so which ones do you invest your time and money on and why? What are the lesser known tips, tricks or features you’ve found, and which tools don’t cut the mustard?&#8221;</p>
<p>So, here are the questions to be posed on the night, along with my top tips.</p>
<h3>What are your top social media tools – and why?</h3>
<ul>
<li>For getting a one window view of all the activity on every Twitter profile and Facebook Page I manage, <a href="http://hootsuite.com">Hootsuite</a></li>
<li>For spreading the great stuff I read in the morning out across the day on Twitter, you can&#8217;t beat <a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/06/how-to-be-consistent-on-twitter-buffer/">Buffer</a> which lets me stack up quality content to go out at pre-set intervals</li>
<li>For identifying the hottest trends in my Twitter stream, <a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/06/whats-trending-in-your-twitter-network-strawberryj-am-has-the-answer/">StrawberrJ.am</a> is a must</li>
<li>For filtering out a hashtag or keyword if I really don&#8217;t want to know the tennis result, <a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/06/how-to-be-consistent-on-twitter-buffer/">Proxlet</a></li>
<li>For putting some quick (but debatably fallible) numbers to influence on social networks, <a href="http://klout.com">Klout</a> and <a href="http://www.peerindex.net">Peer Index</a></li>
<li>For figuring out the behaviour and trends around a particular Twitter user, <a href="http://tweetstats.com">TweetStats</a> (see also <a href="http://www.hashtracking.com">Hashtracking</a>)</li>
<li>For assessing the reach of a hashtag, tweet or even @username, <a href="http://tweetreach.com">TweetReach</a>.</li>
<li>For getting a quick, free overview of the reach and sentiment of an idea / campaign on the social web, <a href="http://www.socialmention.com">SocialMention.com</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Which ones are more hype that happening?</h3>
<ul>
<li>Not keen on <a href="http://corp.klout.com/blog/2011/06/influence-is-topical/">Klout&#8217;s +K</a> as a measure of &#8216;expertise&#8217; in certain topics. It measures &#8216;vote for me!&#8217; popularity rather than true influence and is easily gamed</li>
<li><a href="http://paper.li/">Paper.li</a> drives me crazy. Billed as a tool to bring you the best of your stream in paper form, it does work, but it&#8217;s being overused in a spammy way. Turn off those auto-tweets, people!</li>
</ul>
<h3>From dashboard to dashing about – best tips for tablets and mobiles</h3>
<ul>
<li>For sheer simplicity, you can really beat <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/download">Twitter&#8217;s official mobile app</a></li>
<li>For managing multiple accounts, and checking on your scheduled updates, <a href="http://hootsuite.com/iphone">HootSuite for iPhone</a> and <a href="http://hootsuite.com/android">HootSuite for Android</a> are top quality</li>
</ul>
<h3>Freemium to premium – which upgrades are worth it?</h3>
<ul>
<li>If you have more than one <a href="http://hootsuite.com">Hootsuite</a> user in the office accessing the same Twitter profiles, you&#8217;ll need to upgrade, but it also cuts out the ads and gives you full access to an Outlook-like scheduling calendar, so it&#8217;s well worth it</li>
<li><a href="http://bufferapp.com/pricing">Buffer premium </a>brings you the usual scheduling goodness, plus the option to have multiple admins and unlimited tweets and Twitter accounts</li>
<li><a href="http://tweetreach.com/products">TweetReach</a> only analyses the last 50 tweets it finds in Twitter search, so if you&#8217;re looking at a very busy hashtag, it&#8217;s worth paying the $20 for a full snapshot</li>
</ul>
<h3>How are these tools helping you with strategy?</h3>
<ul>
<li>Managing multiple feeds is time-consuming. The better the tools, the more time you can devote to actually engaging</li>
<li>Knowledge is power. The more data you can get on how you&#8217;re performing, the better honed your strategy becomes</li>
</ul>
<h3>Should tools focus around ‘search’ or around ‘social’?</h3>
<ul>
<li>I guess this is asking, should we look at a) numbers &#8211; followers, number of RTs etc, or b) engagement &#8211; depth of conversation, sentiment, reach etc?</li>
<li>My answer is a little of (a), a little of (b), but ultimately you&#8217;re going to have to get your hands dirty and remember that tools are just tools &#8211; nothing automated is going to tell you everything you need to know, or do everything you need to do, that&#8217;s what comms professionals are for <img src='http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /> </li>
</ul>
<p>The chat takes place tonight (Monday 4th July) 8-9pm UK time. Talk to you there?</p>
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		<title>Back to agency life&#8230;and over to Lava PR</title>
		<link>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/07/back-to-agency-life-and-over-to-lava-pr/</link>
		<comments>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/07/back-to-agency-life-and-over-to-lava-pr/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Leary</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/?p=3788</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So last month, I completed my contract at BT, where I was working as BT.com&#8217;s Senior Digital Content and SEO Manager. This month, it&#8217;s all change as I&#8217;ve taken up my place as Head of Digital at East Midlands-based communications agency, Lava PR. Fear not, readers, I&#8217;ll be keeping up the blogging over here, but [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/lava.jpg" rel="lightbox[3788]"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3790" title="Lava PR" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/lava.jpg" alt="" width="170" height="170" /></a><strong>So last month, I completed my contract at BT, where I was working as BT.com&#8217;s Senior Digital Content and SEO Manager. This month, it&#8217;s all change as I&#8217;ve taken up my place as Head of Digital at East Midlands-based communications agency, Lava PR. </strong></p>
<p>Fear not, readers, I&#8217;ll be keeping up the blogging over here, but also expect to see lots of activity over on <a href="http://lavapr.co.uk">Lava&#8217;s website, LavaPR.co.uk</a> as well as increased digital activity across Lava&#8217;s portfolio. Exciting times lie ahead!</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re interested in knowing more about what I&#8217;ll be doing, here&#8217;s the official announcement:</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Leary Appointment Strengthens Lava’s Social Media Offering</strong></p>
<p>Lava has strengthened its social media and digital offering with the appointment of former BT.com’s Senior Digital Content &amp; SEO Manager, Emily Leary.</p>
<p>Emily joined the Midlands’ integrated agency this month as head of digital, reporting to managing director Matt Hammerton.</p>
<p>“We’ve been offering social media services and digital activity to clients as part of blended campaigns quite successfully but the insight, skills, experience and knowhow Emily possesses will take us to another level,” says Matt. “Emily and I have known each other for some time but the circumstances have never been right to work together. However, they are now and we’re delighted to welcome her to Lava.”</p>
<p>Emily will be offering social media consultancy and digital activity to Lava’s current clients base, which includes SO Festival, East Lindsey District Council, The Orders of St John Care Trust, The Real Cupcake Company and the Centre of Applied Positive Psychology, as well as building the consultancy’s social media division.</p>
<p>“I enjoyed my ten months at BT, which saw unique visitors to BT Life, the BT consumer blog, rise from 10,000 to 100,000 visitors each week, but I was keen to remain based in the Midlands,” explains Emily. “Matt and I presented at a social media event recently and things developed rapidly after that. I am really pleased to have joined an agency which has such strong foundations, incredible ambition and a great team. I am looking forward to developing Lava’s social media and digital offering, helping our current clients capitalise on opportunities as well as attracting new clients.”</p>
<p>Lava was established in 2006 and has grown rapidly. The Lincoln consultancy was among the Midlands’ top five most awarded agency in 2010, a finalist in the RAR Awards Best Small PR Consultancy and was crowned Outstanding Small Consultancy in last year’s Yorkshire &amp; Lincolnshire CIPR PRide Awards.</p>
<p>Prior to moving in-house communications consultant and blogger, Emily, ran her own consultancy and co-founded #commschat, the weekly tweetchat based community.</p></blockquote>
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		<title>How to be consistent on Twitter: Buffer</title>
		<link>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/06/how-to-be-consistent-on-twitter-buffer/</link>
		<comments>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/06/how-to-be-consistent-on-twitter-buffer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Jun 2011 07:35:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Leary</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[app]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[buffer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[convenience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/?p=3704</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you ever worry that your activity on Twitter seems too sporadic? You're quiet for half the day/week, then jump on and post a handful of great links/thoughts, have a quick chat, then disappear off again? A new service called Buffer has the answer, and I caught up with one of its founders, Leo Widrich, to find out more.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Buffer-logo2.jpg" rel="lightbox[3704]"><img src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Buffer-logo2.jpg" alt="" title="Buffer-logo2" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3712" /></a><strong>Do you ever worry that your activity on Twitter seems too sporadic? You&#8217;re quiet for half the day/week, then jump on and post a handful of great links/thoughts, have a quick chat, then disappear off again? A new service called Buffer has the answer, and I caught up with one of its founders, Leo Widrich, to find out more.</strong></p>
<h3>Let me tell you a story&#8230;</h3>
<p>About 2.5 years ago, I was just starting out with a new consultancy. As such, I hadn&#8217;t filled my client roster, and had some free time to network, learn, and promote myself and my business. So I joined Twitter. I monitored it all day, chatted, posted regularly, and manually made sure I was consistent throughout the day. </p>
<p>But of course, as I got busier, this became more and more of a challenge. I began finding the articles I wanted to share during my &#8216;free&#8217; time, either at the weekends, late evenings, or very early mornings. These are great time to catch up on reading, but probably not the best times to start a work conversation. </p>
<h3>So what is Buffer?</h3>
<div id="attachment_3707" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Buffer-Leo.jpg" rel="lightbox[3704]"><img src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Buffer-Leo.jpg" alt="" title="Buffer-Leo" width="150" height="150" class="size-full wp-image-3707" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Leo from Buffer</p></div>
<p>Buffer isn&#8217;t the first app to offer scheduled tweeting, but it is the smartest solution I&#8217;ve come across so far. </p>
<p>Instead of having to manually decide what time each tweet will go out (a la <a href="http://hootsuite.com">Hootsuite</a>), you just preset some times each day that you&#8217;d like to tweet (e.g. 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm) and then drop all the cool stuff you find into your Buffer, where it queues up and posts out throughout the day. </p>
<p>Add more goodies than can fit it in a day &#8211; it&#8217;ll buffer over into the next day. Decide you want them in a different order &#8211; it&#8217;s a simple case of drag and drop.</p>
<p>During the day, you&#8217;re then free to use what free time you do have to indulge in what Twitter (and all social media) is really all about &#8211; conversation. </p>
<p>In Leo&#8217;s own words:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Buffer is a tool that helps you to tweet consistently every day without flooding your followers. It was an idea that came out of Joel’s use of Twitter [ed: Joel Gascoigne is co-creator of Buffer and an experienced developer with an MSc Computer Science]. He wanted to share more of the great articles he was reading, but without all these tweets in a row. Having a &#8216;Buffer&#8217; which spreads out these tweets seemed to be the optimal solution.</p>
<p>&#8220;The heart of Buffer are the browser extensions. Whichever article you are reading on the web, just give it one click on the Buffer icon and add it to your Buffer. What we found is that many people tweet one article and add the rest to their Buffer. This spreads them out and never floods their stream.&#8221;
</p></blockquote>
<h3>Why might you need Buffer?</h3>
<p>Generally speaking, you might like Buffer if a) you don&#8217;t use Twitter much, or b) you use Twitter all the time. </p>
<p>Here&#8217;s why:</p>
<blockquote><p>Leo: &#8220;We are seeing 2 groups of people using Buffer heavily at the moment. The first one is Twitter new comers. People told us they are overwhelmed with Twitter at first and with Buffer they come to gradually use it more and more in a piecemeal process.</p>
<p>&#8220;Of course another large percentage of Buffer users are Twitter Pros. So people who are very heavily involved in Twitter and also have a business interest. What many seem to appreciate is that they can save time and be more efficient by Buffering, yet still remain a genuine personality and not turn into an auto-bot.</p>
<p>&#8220;What I found for myself is that it is often hard to tweet consistently. Yet, only a consistent appearance, similar to blogging, can build trust and help you stand out from the rest.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h3>Are the spammers circling?</h3>
<p>Just as I asked <a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/01/proxlet-founders-interview-can-it-really-fight-twitter-noise/">Proxlet</a> and <a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/06/whats-trending-in-your-twitter-network-strawberryj-am-has-the-answer/">StrawberryJ.am</a>, I had to ask Buffer if they see the app being used for spamming, and what they&#8217;re doing about it:</p>
<blockquote><p>Leo: &#8220;We try to fiercely work against that. Our tagline is “Be Awesome On Twitter” and we aim to help everyone to flood users less.</p>
<p>So we basically try to optimize instead of automate. This means we try not to implement things such as pulling RSS feeds in or tweeting the same tweet multiple times.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h3>Get the very best from Buffer</h3>
<p>I asked Leo what his top tips would be to get the best from the app. For him, it&#8217;s all about convenience:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Bring Buffer to you</strong>: &#8220;With our browser extension, you can go to Twitter.com and Buffer Retweets from your native Twitter stream.&#8221;
</li>
<li><strong>Know the shortcuts</strong>: &#8220;Press “alt+b” to bring up the Buffer box (again, needs the browser extension)&#8221;
</li>
<li><strong>Get jamming</strong>: &#8220;You can Buffer tweets from inside <a href="http://strawberryj.am">StrawberryJ.am</a>, a Trend based Tweet aggregator&#8221;
</li>
<li><strong>Grab text for tweets</strong>: &#8220;Highlight some text and then click the Buffer icon and it will be turned into a tweet.&#8221;
</li>
</ul>
<p>For me, the ability to add multiple accounts (if you have a pro subscription) and set different times for each is a god send. So what feature is are other users loving the most?</p>
<blockquote><p>Leo: &#8220;What a lot of our professional users are thankful for are the analytics we are providing for all Tweets that are Buffered. [ed: you can link your <a href="http://bit.ly">Bit.ly</a> account into Buffer] It helps a lot to understand about how well your tweets are doing and if you should change your patterns.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h3>Plans for the future of the app? </h3>
<p>Just like any new app, Buffer is promising, but could be more useful. I&#8217;d like to see it go truely mobile, for example, and then extend out to LinkedIn and Facebook. So what&#8217;s in the pipeline?</p>
<blockquote><p>Leo: &#8220;We really want to built it out further in the future. One main goal is to allow people to Buffer from anywhere they are. We are currently in talks with many different reader and mobile apps as well as Twitter clients. The integration with Strawberryj.am was fantastic and definitely the route we want to pursue in the future.</p>
<p>An iPhone app is high up on our list and Joel is working away on it as we speak.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h3>A game changer</h3>
<p>At the moment, I use Buffer for about five tweets a day per account, usually buffered up that morning. But overall, Buffer is only <em>one</em> of the ways I access and manage Twitter, along with Hootsuite, Twitter for Mac, Twitter for iPhone, Twitter.com and Bit.ly, according to my needs. Of course, Buffer isn&#8217;t intended to do everything those clients do, but if it keeps on the promising development path it&#8217;s on, that list could reduce.</p>
<p><strong>So, have you tried Buffer? Is it working for you? What improvements would you make?</strong></p>
<p><small>(Hat tip to <a href="http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/buffer-app-something-useful/">Sarah Arrow</a> for first making me aware of Buffer.)</small></p>
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		<title>Two months, one experiment, zero search engines</title>
		<link>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/06/two-months-one-experiment-zero-search-engines/</link>
		<comments>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/06/two-months-one-experiment-zero-search-engines/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jun 2011 07:17:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Leary</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Guest posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[experiment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[network]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[search engine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yahoo]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/?p=3692</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A friend and well-respected comms pro, Paul Sutton, recently embarked on an experiment to see if he can survive two full months without using a search engine. I asked him to share what he’s learned so far. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/paulsutton.jpg" rel="lightbox[3692]"><img src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/paulsutton.jpg" alt="" title="paul sutton" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3693" /></a><strong>A friend and well-respected comms pro, Paul Sutton, recently embarked on an experiment to see if he can survive two full months without using a search engine. I asked him to share what he&#8217;s learned so far.</strong></p>
<p>Ask yourself a question: how long do you think you could go without using an internet search engine? I did some research among my friends, colleagues and networks, and two thirds of the people I asked said that, on average, they use a search engine more than ten times per day. They don’t think about it, they just do it.</p>
<p>It was while I was on a train heading into London that the idea of #NoSearch came to me. Looking around my carriage, about three quarters of the passengers had their heads buried in HTCs, iPads and laptops. And it struck me that all of these people – my friends, my contacts, me, you – we’re all totally reliant on what Google tells us. In fact, more than that, we have 100% trust and, arguably, blind faith in the results that we get back when we click the search button. This gives search engines immense power over us and the way we perceive the world. So I decided to give up Yahoo! and Bing for two entire months; to go Google cold turkey.</p>
<h3>Is search behaviour changing?</h3>
<p>The #NoSearch project was borne from a desire to investigate just how vital search engines have become to our everyday lives and whether it’s even possible to function without them.  I’m intrigued by the impact that the web is having on society, and I wanted to see whether social media is empowering collective intelligence as much as it’s purported to be doing; whether a social network can act as a ‘personal search engine’. So during June and July I intend to find out whether I can get by online by forgoing search engines in favour of my online networks.</p>
<p>Two weeks in and it’s already throwing up some really interesting areas for further thought and investigation. Google Instant (the feature that auto-suggests websites as you type a search term) quickly became my nemesis, to the point where I had to disable it. I’m not stopping myself visiting URLs that I already know, but typing them into the browser was proving a nightmare as I was effectively performing a search every time I did so. It highlighted to me how much search has changed from ‘pulling’ information from the web to having information ‘pushed’ to us via search engines, and is further evidence of Google’s power and influence. But do you ever question the results Google gives you? How often to you go beyond page one of the SERPS? Think about it&#8230;</p>
<h3>The power of social networks </h3>
<p>From a social media perspective, Twitter quickly became my lifeline. Facebook just doesn’t cut it when you need information in any sort of speed, and Twitter beats it hands down for expediency. And the people who use Twitter are also different; they’re more clued up, more reactive, more socially-savvy. Maybe there’s a learning there for social marketers?</p>
<p>I’ve also started to see great value in social bookmarking, an area I’ve never previously engaged with very heavily. Delicious, Diigo and Stumbleupon hold such a wealth of valuable information, and while they can’t compete with Google for finding a website URL, they’re good for information.</p>
<h3>Time as a commodity</h3>
<p>One word sums up my #NoSearch experience so far, however: frustrating. Living without search engines is, believe it or not, not that difficult if you have a network of any moderate size and a bunch of reliable and bookmarked web resources. But the time it takes me to find anything is starting to drive me nuts. With search engines you can be on a relevant website on any given topic within a few seconds. Without them it takes minutes at a time to dig out information. And when you’re as busy as I am that’s a lot of wasted time. You don’t realise how valuable time is until you don’t have any because it’s taken up with things you know you could do a lot quicker.</p>
<p>So have I been tempted to quit already? You bet! But in actuality, that’s more through impatience than a real need for Google. So I’m going to stick with it. I suspect that first search in August will be a delicious moment and I’ll probably start dreaming about it soon, but hopefully I’ll have a learned a hell of a lot about online behaviour and social media by the time that comes around.</p>
<p><em>You can follow the #NoSearch project on <a href="http://nosearch.posterous.com/">Posterous</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/no_search">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://audioboo.fm/ThePaulSutton">Audioboo</a>. Paul Sutton is Head of Social Communications at <a href="http://www.bottlepr.co.uk/">BOTTLE</a>, blogs at <a href="http://www.thesocialweb.co.uk">www.thesocialweb.co.uk</a> </em><em>and can be found on Twitter as </em><em><a href="http://twitter.com/thepaulsutton">@ThePaulSutton</a></em></p>
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		<title>What&#8217;s trending in your Twitter network? StrawberryJ.am has the answer</title>
		<link>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/06/whats-trending-in-your-twitter-network-strawberryj-am-has-the-answer/</link>
		<comments>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/06/whats-trending-in-your-twitter-network-strawberryj-am-has-the-answer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:22:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Leary</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/?p=3659</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[StrawberryJ.am is a new app that promises to help you identify 'friend-based trends'. I caught up with co-founder Dennis Hettema to find out more.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/jam.jpg" rel="lightbox[3659]"><img src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/jam.jpg" alt="" title="jam" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3680" /></a><strong>Every now and then, the green shoots of a really promising new Twitter app surface. One such app is <a href="http://strawberryj.am">StrawberryJ.am</a> &#8211; a simple way to find out what&#8217;s hot among your Twitter friends. This week, I had a chat with one of the founders, Dennis Hettema about the value of &#8216;friend-based trends&#8217;.<br />
</strong></p>
<h3>What is StrawberryJ.am?</h3>
<p>Still in beta and currently open only to those with invites, StrawberryJ.am connects up with your Twitter account and then sifts through your friend&#8217;s recent posts to figure out what&#8217;s been particularly hot in the last 24, 16 or 8 hours..</p>
<p>Dennis, an experienced developer, seasoned dotcom-er and one half of <a href="http://hettemabergsten.com/">Hettema &#038; Bergsten</a>, explains: </p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;We are all about showing the best links shared within your own network on Twitter. We trend the links for your @account, Twitter lists, #tags and searches. The results are Reddit-like lists that are specific for your social network.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h3>The value of friend-based trends?</h3>
<p>The beauty of the Strawberryj.am concept is that it&#8217;s not about filtering out the noise, more about making sure you don&#8217;t miss out of the really good stuff. </p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I was always a highly infrequent Twitter-user as I could never really handle keeping up with the stream. Whenever I did decide to take a peek at my timeline, I virtually always found interesting links,&#8221; explains Denni. &#8220;So Strawberryj.am started with the question: &#8216;what were the most popular links that I missed today?&#8217;&#8221; </p>
<p>&#8220;For me, and I might be a little biased, it has completely changed the way I look at twitter. I check my strawberry stream in the morning and evening and use the daily email as a backup. It gives me a sense of calm because I know that anything that becomes popular will not be missed by me. I now use Twitter every day.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>So for Twitter users that don&#8217;t watch their streams 24/7, it&#8217;s a way to pick up on good stuff they&#8217;d otherwise miss. And for comms pros / those with particular topics they want to investigate in detail? That&#8217;s where the ability to see what&#8217;s hot within a Twitter list or hashtag comes in. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s early days for the app, and functionality is relatively limited, but I can see it blossoming into something really useful. </p>
<h3> A friend or foe to spammers?</h3>
<p>Often, a tool that makes Twitter better for bona fide users also has the unintended side-effect of giving spammers a leg up. Is this the case with StrawberryJ.am?</p>
<blockquote><p>It is virtually impossible for spammers to dirty up your @account trends as these are links by people whom you actively choose to follow. Twitter lists are also fairly spam insensitive as they are (or at least should be) curated.</p>
<p>Search and #tags do tend to get spammy, though as spammers are learning how to hook in to Twitter trends. We are working on introducing silencing functions and would love to get in touch with the <a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/01/proxlet-founders-interview-can-it-really-fight-twitter-noise/">Proxlet</a> guys to see if we can team up. </p></blockquote>
<p>And what of those people who &#8211; legitemately &#8211; run several accounts. Could they skew the results? Yes, according to Dennis, but they&#8217;re working on ways to even this out, without penalising users.</p>
<h3>Top tips to get the most out of StrawberryJ.am</h3>
<p>I asked Dennis what users could do to make sure they get the best out of the new app. </p>
<p>Here are his tips:</p>
<ul>
<li>Be particular about who you follow. Automated systems can be gamed. &#8220;I created an account called @chicagofoodtest to see if I could be on top of Chicago food related news in my @account stream and&#8230; well&#8230; Need to know anything about that scene? Ask me!&#8221;</li>
<li>Experiment and refine. &#8220;Set up some list &#038; #hashtag trends and experiment with good combinations (my favourites at the moment: @scobleizer/most-influential-in-tech, #design, #recipe).&#8221;</li>
<li>Set up your daily email &#8220;so you never, ever miss out.&#8221;</li>
<li>Used timed retweets to reach the maximum audience. &#8220;Retweet from within the timeline using <a href="http://twitter.com/bufferapp">Bufferapp</a> for maximum exposure.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
<h3>Ready for launch?</h3>
<p>With StrawberryJ.am functioning pretty well, and the buzz on Twitter looking positive, I asked Dennis when we can expect them to open their doors to the public.</p>
<blockquote><p>First of all, thanks to everybody for your amazing feedback! Up to now virtually everyone has been very positive about the product which is the best motivator I can imagine. Thanks <img src='http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>We would love to release the product to the public as most of the interface is quite stable, the reason why the doors are still closed is the immense load that this little system produces. </p>
<p>A week ago we had about 250 active testers who generated over 75.000 links per day. The numbers get very big very quickly. We’ve got some pretty awesome server people working on this though so as soon as we feel we can handle it, we will rip the training wheels right off!</p>
<p>We also have a mobile version in alpha, as soon as our server structure is optimized we will start work on making it launch ready. To be honest, I can’t wait!&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h3>Want to try StrawberryJ.am right now?</h3>
<p><div id="attachment_3677" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/beeta.jpg" rel="lightbox[3659]"><img src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/beeta.jpg" alt="" title="beeta" width="150" height="150" class="size-full wp-image-3677" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">It&#039;s invite-only, but I&#039;ve got 50 &#039;beeta&#039; invites</p></div> If you want to try StrawberryJ.am before its official launch &#8211; and be part of the first group of users to provide feedback that shapes the future of the app &#8211; you&#8217;re in luck!</p>
<p>The lovely founders have been kind enough to give me 50 beta invites to share with readers. </p>
<p>Want one? Just head to <a href="http://beta.strawberryj.am/">http://beta.strawberryj.am/</a> and use the invitation code <strong>COMMS</strong> when you complete the sign up form. </p>
<p>Any problems, you can also tweet <a href="http://twitter.com/strawberryapp">@StrawberryApp</a>.</p>
<p><strong>What do you think of StrawberryJ.am? Just another app, or the start of something really useful? Let me know your thoughts.</strong></p>
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		<title>Creating conversation-worthy content</title>
		<link>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/02/creating-conversation-worthy-content/</link>
		<comments>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/02/creating-conversation-worthy-content/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:30:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Leary</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conversation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[engagement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[listening]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reactive]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[talking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/?p=3189</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What makes content 'sharable'? What turns a site visitor from passive reader to active participant in a conversation around your brand? Here's my take on the key requirements for conversation-worthy content.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/content-conversation.jpg" rel="lightbox[3189]"><img src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/content-conversation.jpg" alt="" title="content-conversation" width="150" height="150" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3644" /></a><strong>I originally posted this one six months ago, but it&#8217;s so relevant to recent online discussions around &#8216;content for content&#8217;s sake&#8217;, I thought I&#8217;d push it back to the fore. </strong></p>
<p>In this age of social media, companies are slowly waking up to the fact that it is no longer enough to &#8216;broadcast&#8217; a message to an &#8216;audience&#8217;. Today, a successful web presence is all about engaging people in dynamic, multi-way dialogue; driving and contributing to key conversations; influencing, participating and responding to the buzz around emerging trends.</p>
<p>So what makes content &#8216;sharable&#8217;? What turns a site visitor from passive reader to active participant in a conversation around your brand?</p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s my take on the key requirements for conversation-worthy content.</strong></p>
<h3>Offer value</h3>
<p>It hardly needs saying that sharing is a big part of social networking. If the average user sees something interesting, controversial, enlightening or funny on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.twitter.com/emilycagle" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, the chances are they&#8217;ll want to re-tweet it, or perhaps <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/EmilyCagle/" target="_blank">Stumble</a> or <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.facebook.com/emily.cagle" target="_blank">&#8216;Like&#8217;</a> it. Even more so if they feel that it&#8217;s something their friends/followers will like, too. </p>
<p>Conversation-worthy content is often that which amuses, breaks news, surprises, or sheds light on a known but otherwise complex subject.</p>
<p><strong>What are you doing to ensure your content brings a benefit to your audience, well beyond simply learning more about your brand?</strong></p>
<h3>Create investment</h3>
<p>We know by now that user generated content isn&#8217;t just a way to keep copywriting overheads down &#8211; where users have a vested interest in the content on a site, they are more likely to return, more likely to engage, and more likely to share that content with others.</p>
<p>From relatively simple site additions such as guest blog posts or caption competitions, to more technical or time consuming additions such as user forums or content that crowd-sources advice or opinions from customers, the more a user feels they have contributed to content in some way, the more invested they are likely to feel, and therefore the more likely to continue, and indeed share the conversation.</p>
<p><strong>What are you doing to encourage user contributions to your content base?<br />
</strong></p>
<h3>Track and monitor</h3>
<p><strong>When visitors hit your site, where do they come from? And where do they land? Once they&#8217;re there, what do they do next? Which types of content are the most &#8216;sticky&#8217;, holding attention for the longest? Which content drives the most &#8216;shares&#8217; on social media? </strong></p>
<p>Whether you&#8217;re part of a large company with the funds to purchase highly detailed analytics software such as <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.omniture.com/en/" target="_blank">Omniture</a> or a small company with access only to a free tools such as <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.google.com/analytics/" target="_blank">Google Analytics</a>, tracking and analysing user response is essential and not to be overlooked.</p>
<p><strong>At any time, you need to be able to confidently answer the questions: What does your customer base respond best to? And what generates the highest level of engagement?</strong></p>
<h3>Listen; gather feedback</h3>
<p>Of course, key information isn&#8217;t only to be gleaned from visitor behaviour. The real action is probably happening far beyond your blog post, news update or shiny new home page; it&#8217;s happening on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Again, whether you have deep enough pockets for an all singing all dancing social mention tool such as <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.radian6.com/" target="_blank">Radian 6</a> or <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.meltwater.com/products/meltwater-buzz/" target="_blank">Meltwater Buzz</a>, or whether you are sticking firmly with free tools such as <a href="http://www.SocialMention.com">SocialMention.com</a>, the big questions here are:</p>
<p><strong>What content is being shared, and how? What are people saying about your brand? What are you learning from the conversation? And what are you doing to drive it forward, positively, by being visible and responsive where appropriate?</strong></p>
<h3>Stay relevant</h3>
<p>Clearly, social media monitoring has applications far beyond collating mentions for your own brand. By tracking key words and phrases, you can answer a whole raft of questions that will help keep your conversation relevant to your readership. </p>
<p>What is interesting to your target markets right now? What questions, concerns or excitement is growing around your industry? </p>
<p><strong>And, most importantly, what are you doing to track, analyse and predict these emerging trends, so that they can be reflected in your own content?</strong></p>
<p>I&#8217;ll leave you with a final point to note. The answers to all of the above questions will rarely remain static for long. It could be weeks, days, hours or even minutes before the conversation shifts, turns or otherwise develops, throwing a whole new light on your content strategy.</p>
<p>The conversation is ongoing, dynamic and exciting. Your content strategy must be, too.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Social Media Week &#8211; are you getting involved?</title>
		<link>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/02/social-media-week-are-you-getting-involved/</link>
		<comments>http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/2011/02/social-media-week-are-you-getting-involved/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:49:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Leary</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media week]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/?p=3592</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So it&#8217;s Social Media Week (SMW) &#8211; &#8220;a global platform that connects people, content, and conversation around emerging trends in social and mobile media.&#8221; Some brands and agencies are leaping in head first to celebrate this most fashionable of communication channels, while others are watching from the sidelines with concerns about bandwagon jumping and hot [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/social-media-week.jpg" rel="lightbox[3592]"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3593" title="social media week" src="http://www.emilycagle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/social-media-week.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="100" /></a></p>
<p>So it&#8217;s <a href="http://socialmediaweek.org/about/">Social Media Week (SMW)</a> &#8211; &#8220;a global platform that connects people, content, and conversation  around emerging trends in social and mobile media.&#8221; </p>
<p>Some brands and agencies are leaping in head first to celebrate this most fashionable of communication channels, while others are watching from the sidelines with concerns about bandwagon jumping and hot air.</p>
<p>Over on <a href="http://commschat.com">#CommsChat</a> tonight (7 Feb 8-9pm UK time), we&#8217;ll be discussing the week long set of events, and asking: does the rise of Social Media Week reflect a turning point in the acceptance of social media as part of the marketing toolkit, or only that social media is currently  fashionable?</p>
<p><strong>So what do you think? Are you taking part? Are you skeptical? Tune in at 8pm tonight &#8211; we&#8217;d love to hear your views.</strong></p>
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