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May 10th, 2011 by Sophie Hodgson

We need a new attitude

So much blog fodder from last night’s BCSEntrepreneurs Inagural Storm event that it’s hard to pick one thing really to focus on.

The role of government was much debated, but to my mind that panel wasn’t really taken to task. A lot of people talked how they could facilitate much needed connections but cultural change wasn’t really tackled.

A lot of attendees over tea and coffee stressed the importance of a change in terms how we tolerate failure, which is inevitable. Here in the UK if you fail, you’re doomed. But in the US entrepreneurs are championed and encouraged to try again. And it’s Chinese tenacity and tolerance of risk that has seen its economy rise to become a super power.

Both @evarley and @mikebutcher touched on this topic, but it would have been good to understand how tolerance of risk and failure is being addressed both by the Government and the likes of Cap Gemini.

Much is happening to help technology entrepreneurs but that can only bring limited change. As a nation we need to be OK with failure, be prepared to take risks and ultimately be braver if we’re to truly get ‘tech city’ off the ground and working across the country.

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May 6th, 2011 by Sophie Hodgson

The whole truth and… oh hang on

‘Let’s ensure that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet’ is a well-used cliché in PR. But an important one. To convey a message and ensure it is credible and trustworthy, consistency is key.

When you have multiple people with multiple accounts, things get messy and you find yourself getting tripped up with what can seem like small details. Just ask the US Government. It’s again changed its account of how Bin Laden was killed and the President and the CIA embarrassingly contradicted each other earlier this week about whether or not photos of a dead Bin Laden would be released.

Whilst the President is off attending well organised and emotional events at Ground Zero, the communication around Bin Laden’s death is becoming increasingly confused and contradictory. He’s in danger of looking like he wasn’t in possession of all the facts and that could be a problem later on down the line for his credibility, giving election rivals an open shot at a man who has put openness and honesty at the heart of his presidency.

If Obama is in any doubt about how quickly he needs to ensure everyone is telling the same story, he should perhaps give ol’ Tony Blair a call. Although I doubt TB’s tip ‘wear more make up on TV it gives them something else to talk about’ is going to be quite the golden nugget of advice that Obama is looking for. 

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April 15th, 2011 by Sophie Hodgson

Lessons in PR life

I was at a friend’s for dinner earlier in the week and she got me thinking. Ahead of turning 30 in June she’s compiled a list of key things she’s learnt. Not all are profound – see if a man has a strange name I will likely snog him as a reference point here – but they all capture her personality and spirit.

Whilst I’m the only one in my team staring down the barrell of the big 30, I decided to ask what were they key lessons they’ve learnt during their years in PR?

No matter how much planning you do, a news story could break that changes everything instantly

  • Over promise at your peril. You’ll just look like a twit when you don’t deliver
  • Never trust what you read in the newspaper…….
  • Running in heels – it’s a metaphor for learning to act quickly and efficiently, but with relative grace and composure at the same time. Tricky to master, this asset is a trait of any PR (good) person, who will also get this balance right, even after wine
  • If you’re pitching a rubbish story, it’s not the client’s fault – it’s yours. Great agencies aren’t full of ‘yes’ men
  • Don’t tweet when drunk…especially if you’re Twitter feed is integrated to your LinkedIn profile
  • Confidence. If you’re not, why should others put their trust in you?

What’s your biggest tip? Let us know by leaving a comment.

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March 15th, 2011 by Sophie Hodgson

What am I missing?

I think I’ve left my news radar in New York. Microsoft and HP have both made mundane and obvious announcements this week and they’re all over the news.

Don’t get me started on Microsoft and IE 9. With a fast declining market share, Microsoft needs a serious overhaul of its operating system, not a pretty update. And HP entering the cloud? Well d’oh.  It’s a massive software company; of course it’s going to enter the cloud. It doesn’t make it cool and it doesn’t make it clever. If anything it’s seriously late to the party.

Whilst it’s been biding its time, smaller and more creative companies have taken the initiative and stolen the march on the industry’s bigger players. Cloud doesn’t just offer business benefits; it has also spurred on entrepreneurs around the country to bring a different approach to IT that feels fresh and different.  And unlike the big boys, they know that the real market opportunity exists in the SME sector. That’s where they’ve pitched their wares and that’s where they’re winning.

It’s going to be interesting watching how more established companies tackle the questions that the younger and more creative cloud players have posed. Also I’m interested in seeing how big blue chip companies overcome their hesitation to move into the cloud because if they don’t, then it doesn’t matter what HP says now, cool it shall not be.

Or maybe I’m just grouchy because my alarm went off at 5.30am for the second morning in a row?

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March 14th, 2011 by Sophie Hodgson

A celebrity funded revolution

The Speed office is abuzz with excitement this week as we gear up for our first ever graduate day. The eight people who most impressed us with their witty prose or imaginative entries will be spending time doing some fun tasks to show off their skills.

In some ways it has never been a more exciting time for grads. The recession has forced companies to be more creative and dynamic – mundane is no longer good enough. But this is also what the media is terming ‘the lost generation’ with unemployment higher for under 24′s than any other age group. With student fees leaping up, experts predict that this pain will only deepen.

So yesterday it cheered me to read in The Sunday Times that celebrities aren’t all beer guzzling, lime light hogging exhibitionists (I can’t include a link as it’s locked behind the pay wall.) A group of cultural types that include the model Lilly Cole are apparently forming a fund called ‘Can’t pay your fees? We’ll pay your fines.’ The money will bail out students fined for protesting against an unprecedented hike in fees that threaten to make education a privilege for a few, rather than a right for many. Whatever your opinion on how students have protested, they undoubtedly have reason to be taking to streets – and now fine free! Just not if you’re a Prince chasing, bottle waving yob. Celebs still have standards daaaaarling.

February 11th, 2011 by Sophie Hodgson

MWC: Oh how the mighty have fallen

Right about now Mobile World Congress (MWC) is looking about as irrelevant as it possibly could. As I type, Nokia and Microsoft are in London announcing what they’re calling a ‘broad strategic partnership,’ which comes hot on the heels of HP flying anyone who is anyone out to San Francisco to announce its biggest mobile gamble ever. Gone are the days, it would seem, when MWC was the place to make waves and get the industry buzzing.

It’s not the first time Nokia has shunned MWC, but in all seriousness; has the show just become too big? The press list might be enormous but so is the price tag. It seems to me that the show has become a parody of itself and certainly not in a good way. With the big guns making announcements this week, what are we left to look forward to at the actual show? Some demos? Some girls in bikinis doing the can-can?

In my humble opinion, MWC has lost its way and is out of touch with how news is both reported and consumed. Everyone who is anyone might be heading to Barcelona, but it’s a bit like going to your in-laws – do you actually want to go or are you going because you feel you should?

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February 2nd, 2011 by Sophie Hodgson

A cloudy experiment

I’m off to Cloud Expo later on today and very excited I am about it to. Speed is conducting something of an experiment at the show. We’re looking at what topics the traditional media are compelled to write about compared with what is peaking the interest of the online community.

With such massive hype around cloud computing, understanding what really interests people that you want to influence is key. @RuthJones did a similar experiement at InfoSecurity and the results were something of an eye opener for the people we met with afterwards I can tell you!

We’ll be giving you a sneak peak at the top level results at the end of every day, courtsey of @mpwatson. But if you want the really juicy stuff you’ll have to meet up with us – bribery, moi? ;-)

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January 31st, 2011 by Sophie Hodgson

Log off and sit back – seriously, try it

Tim Weber’s article ‘Davos 2011:We’re all hyper-connect, now what?’ poses many interesting questions. I’m sure there is the potential here to be clever and pick up on the loss of control for brands etc., but what struck me was the pace of the article. Weber sounded rushed and as I read the article I to found myself becoming tense.

Undoubtedly we’re on the move, contactable and engaged 24/7. For businesses, mobile devices represent the biggest opportunity to do more, more, more than ever before. But for consumers it’s exhausting! We’re all so busy being ‘available’ that we’ve been fooled into thinking that tweets and messages on Facebook are productive and valuable signs of friendship. They might help connect us with a wider community and broaden our horizons – this is good – but if any friend thinks tweeting me (I refuse to join Facebook) for my big 30, or any birthday, is acceptable they can jog on.

My point isn’t that social media is bad, far from it, more that hyper-connectivity as Weber calls it, can mean we lose sight of what’s important. Some critics say the Internet is shutting us down, which if you ask me, is a load of old bollocks. But sometimes there is a lot to be said for putting down laptop/mac/iPad/smart phone, making a cup of tea, putting your feet up and disconnecting. And after reading the article on my iPhone, that’s exactly what I did. Bliss.

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January 30th, 2011 by Sophie Hodgson

Work requires a GSOH

Jenny McCartney poses an interesting question in today’s Sunday Telegraph. When it comes to office banter, are we losing our sense of humour? Much has been made of Andy Gray and Richard Keys’ comments and her article considers the line between banter and causing offence in the work place.

I can tell all the women out there burning their bras over the comments made by the presenters, that they’ll hear a lot worse in the average office. And thank the lord for that. I don’t want to work in an office where people watch what they say. As a group of people we regularly make fun of each other. I’m the worst driver in the world and refuse to go backwards (reversing is overrated). @browbare constantly points out the irony of this statement being made by a ‘woman diver.’ Am I offended? Erm, no.

When @wearebranded were looking for a temporary PA to cover two weeks holiday, without fail all of the applicants specifically said they didn’t want to work in a PC gone mad environment.  You’re at work for a minimum of 37.5 hours a week, who wants to take themselves too seriously?! When something goes wrong, I want someone to take the p**s and remind me that in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter.

So, Andy Gray and Richard Keys talked about women, sex and the offside rule. Who cares! Banter over a Speed lunch on Friday was far more offensive to population at large. As people person, is my inbox crammed with complaints? No. Did we all cry with laughter? Yes.

The quote my mother ‘the world’s gone mad.’ And when my mother’s right, well it really has gone loopy….

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January 27th, 2011 by Sophie Hodgson

Virgin Media Business and LGfL make waves

It’s very rare in PR that you get to work with a client on an event that genuinely inspires you. Yesterday the Speed team, headed up by @becdaniel, were on hand to help @vmbusiness and London Grid for Learning (LGfL) launch LondonPSN, a new dedicated, fibre optice network and buying framework that will change how public sector services are delivered across the capital.

An all day celebration, we held a press conference first followed by an event for teachers and LGfL’s other stakeholders. The focus yesterday was on how LondonPSN, powered by a network from Virgin Media Business, would give every child a head start in life through more engaging and stimulating classes. The resources that teachers can tap into through LGfL are astonishing. From podcasting through to interactive story telling and poem writing.

It’s wonderful when you can see how technology is benefitting not just businesses and our economy, but also the next generation. You can find out more about the project here: http://tinyurl.com/69xa4wj