February 3rd, 2010 by Abbie Waller

Twitter – what’s the f***ing point?

Sometimes those of us working in the communications industry can get a bit carried away with our own hype – shocking revelation I know. However, for me Twitter is an absolutely perfect example of this in action. A day does not go by when I’m not talking on or about Twitter and the media is always full of articles talking about how fast it is growing and how popular it is becoming. However, when I meet my friends outside the office, not a single one is on Twitter and I’m constantly being asked just what the point of it all is. Have we all become so carried away with our own hype that we’ve forgotten Twitter is still pretty much a niche tool whose column inches have allowed it to punch some way above its weight?

If Twitter is to achieve mainstream adoption, it still has one very important challenge to overcome – explaining to consumers just what exactly it is there for. Is it just a way to stalk celebrities and tell the world what you had for lunch or is there actually a valuable purpose lurking behind the hype? I’ll admit that it’s taken me some time to uncover what I believe the purpose to be (and I’ll happily admit this might not be the same for everyone) and move past my cynical beginnings.

For me, Twitter is all about knowledge. I can spend 10 minutes on Twitter in the morning and be completely up to date with all the news from around the world. I’ll often find out about breaking stories through Twitter and invariably I am the first one to share this with my friends. So, if you still don’t really understand why you should be on Twitter – just think about how intelligent you can look down the pub.

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January 28th, 2010 by Abbie Waller

Could targeted advertising save the media?

The Guardian’s editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger delivered his Cudlipp lecture this week in which he argued that putting editorial content behind paywalls would not deliver the golden bullet solution the media longs for. In fact, he argued that by setting up the firewalls, newspapers could risk losing up to 90% of their audience – an audience it seems he already has his eye on.

A bit of digging around on the internet and I came across an interesting article by NMA’s editor-in-chief Mike Nutley that got me thinking about how The Guardian could actually survive without a paywall. Could their saviour come in the form of sophisticated online advertising? Nutley has spent much time speaking with online publishers who argue that with even a slight increase in response rates, the value of online advertising would increase considerably and provide the revenue needed to keep newspapers afloat.

In theory it all sounds like a good idea. However, as Nutley rightly points out, consumer reaction to targeted advertising has in the past been somewhat sceptical to say the least. As a result, now more than ever, is the time for the targeting industry to step up and prove their critics wrong? If they can get the public on their side, maybe, just maybe, they could be the ones to save the online publishing industry.

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August 17th, 2009 by Abbie Waller

Social Workers bring in PR support to overcome media ignorance

Community Care's Stand Up Now for social work campaign

Community Care's Stand Up Now for social work campaign

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) is soon to appoint its first ever public relation manager which is good news for both the social work profession and the media. A recent survey conducted by Community Care as part of their Stand Up Now for Social Work campaign, exposed some serious misunderstandings about the profession by leading journalists. Fewer than half of journalists realised a social worker needed a degree to practice and 68% failed to understand the difference between a social worker and a care worker. If this is the level of misunderstanding about the profession by journalists who are responsible for communicating news to the wider community, it is not surprising that the public reputation of social workers is so low.

However the lack of balanced coverage of the profession in the media is by no means just the result of media misunderstanding. Social workers simply do not have the time to speak with the press and when they are dealing with several serious cases at any one time, do not prioritise doing so. If they stop talking to the press, pretty soon the press will stop asking them and their voice will be lost. With the appointment of a dedicated press liaison officer, social workers will have the opportunity to regain this voice. Offering positive stories and access to the views of social workers, will hopefully lead to a much more balanced and accurate media profile for this much undervalued public sector service. The best of luck to whoever takes on this new role.

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