Don’t Go Mad

Staying Sane in the Digital World
 

Joining in the inaugaration

I've resisted for 24 hours- but no more, I'm going to join in. So here's a quick comment on the inaugaration. Normally we just watch these kind of events on TV. Recently we've been able to read about them on the internet as well-- but it's all been relatively passive. Yes, you can call a talk-radio show or write in to a newspaper, or even post a comment online. But it really feels like this event was one we could all participate in -- Twittering, uploading photos, chatting with people thousands of miles away, interacting with video, blogging... The big difference is that we can now participate and take part in an event, rather than just sit back and let it filter down to us. I might not have been in Washington but I've still joined in.

Posted January 21, 2009
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Holy web 2.0

No, that's not a line from Batman, it's a reference to the Vatican's online activities -- the latest news is that the Pope is starting up a YouTube channel. The last Pope was a bit of a digital evangelist, something I learned in the 18 months I spent (on and off) producing his obituary while I was at Sky News. Slightly morbid perhaps but they even have a webcam feed from his tomb. .

And there's an immense amount of religious digital buzz around sites like Facebook with groups of people who become fans of religious figures and saints. There's even an app with daily prayers.
What I find interesting is the way people are sometimes so surprised to find out all this is going on. I guess religions are about like-minded communities forming bigger communities and spreading the word peer-to-peer. 'Send-to-a-friend' is just a modern version of the missionary idea. Plenty of people are offering opinions about how Obama is using the internet to 'spread the word' - it'll be interesting to see how the Pope grows his digital strategy. Perhaps a Twitter confessional is next on the development list? [I use this Pope example simply because it's in the news today and and it made me think about how communities are using the web to communicate. Plenty of other religions/religious communities are using the internet to communicate as well and offer equally interesting examples.]

Posted January 19, 2009
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Brandjacking and (perhaps) unexpected advocacy

Last month I was thinking about brandjacking and linked over to a very interesting article on Jeremiah's blog. Meanwhile, back at the start of January things went a little crazy on Twitter with not only news that brand/personality accounts were being hacked but also that people were apparently registering accounts under famous names they had no connection with - a variation on cybersquatting, I guess. And there were all kinds of inappropriate things being said...

What's more, how do you know if @alansugar is the real Sir Alan of Apprentice fame or someone having what they think is a laugh? It's another example of where online and offline go hand in hand. The (perhaps unlikely) White Knight advocate seems to be Jonathan Ross who's started phoning round his mates asking them if they genuinely are on Twitter.
You have to provide an offline solution (ie a phone call) to establish the reality. You have to issue an offline rebuttal (in Britney's case, for example) to explain the situation. For me these example show: (1) Your online and offline people need to be working together. Reputation issues know no boundaries. You need to be monitoring and understanding the digital space because there are people talking already about you there-- or even pretending to be you. Is it harmless or do you need to act? (2) The power of advocacy - Wossy is a Twitter advocate (and an advocate for his mates) and is generating a positive story. It's much more compelling that he's doing it. He seems to have been converted to being a Twitter advocate by Stephen Fry-- that's the power of peer-to-peer recommendations. (3) You have to rely on the security of the services you use but it's a good idea also to use strong passwords and change them regularly.

Posted January 13, 2009
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Now cats are going mad

Someone needs to tell this fella that cats are supp0sed to chase rats, not the other way round...

Posted January 8, 2009
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Brides: Don't Go Mad!

Every so often there's an eye catching web advert and I stumbled across one this morning. It was an MPU for the film Bride Wars which I'm afraid I won't be going to see-- but I did appreciate the ad. Managed to snapshot a few frames of it which catch the gist: [gallery] It was a nice example of how video can be used to tell a story quickly and concisely. A film is, after all, a series of moving images, so why not use video to promote it? Use costume (ie bridal wear) to make it obvious who the participants are. Involve stars of the film. Presumably the film is about fighting and making up-- so they do this in 2 seconds. Call to action is the release date. Entire ad ran about 5 seconds. Job done. Not rocket science, you're thinking. I couldn't agree more. Desperately simple. So why aren't we using video more? It's dynamic and often so much more visually interesting and effective than static text/graphics. Maybe it is ok sometimes to go a bit mad.

Posted January 7, 2009
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Panto: age old social media?

There probably weren't that many people who'd even heard of Twitter at the start of 2008 -- now that's certainly all changed. Microblogging has given its long-form big brother a run for its money, filling a bit of a gap between stream of consciousness and full length writing. It's a new kind of social network which can connect you with other people (and brands) without you even realising it. So what better way to end the year here on DGM with news of the Twitter Panto "TwitPanto" which is in full swing this afternoon.

Being social media it's a collaborative effort with all the audience participation you'd expect. You can even heckle to your heart's content. Genius. From news organisations to corporates - millions of people are discovering that Twitter is a way to keep in touch with your audience/customers and engage them directly in real time. Social media is no longer niche, it's mainstream; digital communication is not just for early adopters, it's for everyone. All this brings me back to panto. My first job after leaving university was in panto-- Jack and the Beanstalk in York, if you must know. Many of the audience told me that they didn't go to the theatre during the year but always went to the panto. Why? Because it was social, populist and they could get involved. Crucially they enjoyed the show and told their friends about it-- retweeted, if you like. Could it be that the panto spirit sums up what two-way communication (ie the social bit) is all about?

Posted December 23, 2008
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Gunther -- the world's richest (digital) pet

I'm a bit late seeing this gem from The Times but couldn't resist. Gunther the dog appears to preside over a fortune of £90m although doesn't seem to have splashed out much of this on the design of his website. There's some suggestion this may be a hoax, but it's all good fun whatever.

Also of note is Tinker the cat at £450,000 and the late Queen Mum's sheep.

Posted December 18, 2008
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Feeling festive part 2

Avid readers of Don't Go Mad (go on, admit it, you know you want to) will recall my post from a couple of weeks ago about the official start of Christmas. The gist was that there are two "conditions" to know that Christmas has officially started. (1) Receiving Christmas song videos on email and (2) the Sky channel changing music goes all sleighbell. Well I'm pleased to confirm that condition 2 has also now been satisfied - so you're in business, Santa.

Posted December 17, 2008
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Cats: Digital Lifetime Achievement Award

I couldn't resist blogging about this one-- cats have been given a digital lifetime achievement award. Long overdue recognition, I'd say.

Videos of cats, pictures of cats, text about cats... it's never ending out there on the internet and millions upon millions of us human are lapping up cat content. (Of the digital kind, not eating Whiskas.) Thing is, the internet brings together niche communities in a way that's logistically difficult if not impossible offline. Surely if you're trying to reach people as part of a campaign with cat-related elements then digital has to be the way forward because there's a ready-made community to engage. Extrapolate this and the internet is going to offer you a community (or the chance to build a community) around every niche imaginable. Miss digital and you risk missing-out on engaging a passionate, ready-made, like-minded audience who are already sharing catty content. Congratulations, cats, on your award! [Disclaimer: I like cats and am trying to persuade my wife to let me get one]

Posted December 17, 2008
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Talking turkey

Nice and simple (=great) bit of brand utility doing the rounds on email. Love it. Try defrosting a 20kg turkey.

Posted December 15, 2008
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