Do all blogs go to heaven?

When it comes to social media, it turns out I'm not so skeptical after all so this blog has run its course.

Sorry folks but illustrations are now by request only but you'll find  from me on Twitter @PRgirl85 or at http://blog.emlwildfire.com/ 

Twitter - a platform for flattery and fakery

Ah Twitter... great for breaking news isn't it? Apart from when international news outlet pick up a hastily written tweet and reports that the wrong person was killed. Such lazy journalism.

We'll forgive the overexcited journos for just a moment (here's looking at you, CNN) but another bizzare story to come out of the whole debacle is the misquoting of Martin Luther King Jr, or Mark Twain depending on what Twitter feed you are following.

While people thought they were quoting an established public figure, allegedly they were quoting Jessica Dovey who claims that she was the person who started the trend, saying that the lines got blurred between her words and Martin Luther King Jrs.

Social media - where quotation marks don't count and you can pretend to be whoever you want to be. At least until those social media libel laws kick in...

Ain't no spat like a Celeb Twitter spat....

Back when I was in school bullying was a dead arm or a Chinese burn but these days kids have all kind of new cruel and unusual punishments for one another. It's not just actual kids at it though, apparently those with the mental age of children are also engaged in cyber bullying.

Footballer Rio Ferdinand apparently got into a lot of trouble for attempting to get  #piershasmoobs trending on Twitter. The good folk at Twitter apparently didn't like that at all. Perhaps Piers Morgan complained.



Only two hours into this celebrity spat (which I'm sure will get much more interesting) but Piers has already got his mum involved. She told Rio to pick on someone his own size and Piers to pick on someone his own pay grade. Probably.

(Check @rioferdy5 and @piersmorgan for more... there ain't no spat like a Celebrity Twitter Spat).

Oversharing on social media - who, what, where, when, why?

One of the main issues I have with location based social media apps is that to use them, you must publicly tell the world where you are and what you are doing.

Some of my Facebook friends have a subtle way of sharing using Facebook Places so you get an update to say they're checked in at a train station or the airport so I know they're officially off on their holidays. I think that's sweet, but I don't like the fact that everyone else 'checked in' also knows that, or that they come up as a recent check in when you run a search on the venue.

Why is it that when it comes to social media there is no such thing as too much information? I really don't want to know what you had for dinner or every time you go somewhere. So stop clogging up my twitter feed.

Viral campaign by Tourism Ireland is just plain vile

I'm a proud Dublin girl who spent many a childhood holiday, weekend away and road trips in Ireland's various hot spots (no pun intended - the hot spots are just as rainy as the not so hot spots).

While I'm more than willing to do my bit to encourage tourism to my home country I'm a bit worried about Tourism Ireland's latest venture, a Facebook game in the style of FarmVille called Ireland Town - see for yourself here http://www.facebook.com/#!/DiscoverIreland. How much was some self proclaimed expert paid to come up with the name 'Ireland Town'? I shudder to think.

Tourism Ireland had their hearts in the right place but anyone who is persuaded to visit Ireland on the basis of this cliche ridden game will be sorely, sorely disappointed. You won't find the thatched cottage idyll of Ireland Town in a weekend to Dublin, I can tell you that for nothing. The game perpetuates so many cringy and outdated stereotypes of Ireland that it makes Disney's Darby O'Gill and The Little People look like a realistic representation of The Emerald Isle, even with Scottish Sean Connery and his dodgy accent.

If you want some actual travel advice for Ireland feel free to contact me on Twitter @PRgirl85 - I can tell you where to enjoy some real Irish craic but be warned, there will be no leprechauns whatsoever.

Customer service? We're too busy on Facebook....

It's sad but true - about half of my wardrobe comes from just one high street retailer. Thinking it was about time I got with the 21st century, I ordered a significant shop online. Big mistake. Me and this particular retailer are now not speaking...

A week and a half later and despite a dent in my bank balance there was no sign of the clothes.To the internet! No customer services number and the order tracking number I was given was getting me nowhere on the courier website.

I turned to Facebook to vent my frustration and got quite a quick response from someone with the authority to tell Customer Services to get their rear in gear and give me a call. We had plenty of issues to sort out but the end result is no clothes but at least I've been refunded. Not exactly a WIN in terms of customer satisfaction - I still have no clothes.

What really disappoints me is the fact I got a lot better service going through Facebook than I would have going to the local branch. I know from years of working as a shop assistant back in my student days that it would take a lot longer for a customer complaint to make it that far up the food chain but as we speak, my lost delivery gripe is probably being pored over in this week's social media report.

Since when did social media become more important than selling clothes?

Puppy profiles - the new trend in social media

Ah, men and puppies... nobody can resist that combo right? Well, not so much the case when the man we're talking about is Mark Zuckerberg and the puppy in question is a Puli with the ironic moniker Beast, who comes with a Facebook profile.

It's sad to think that an innocent little animal is part of a cynical PR strategy. Will this be the start of a trend for puppy profiles on Twitter? Will people check their pets into the park? Will dogs tag pictures of their pals from down the doggie park? I hope not... dogs can't type, so that'll never work! Duh....

Inappropriate times to use Facebook Part 2

Calling your child Facebook is wrong. Even when it's to mark the role the social media giant played in overthrowing your government. Still wrong. How long before little Facebook is asking a judge to change her name by deed poll?

Will 3D mobile change how we use social media?

One of the big trends at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week was 3D mobile. I admit it was the trend I was most intrested in as I was at the event with Movidius, a 3D multimedia coprocessor company.

LG were the talk of the show with their Optimus 3D demos also of interest was the fact that YouTube made a joint announcement with LG about the launch of YouTube 3D, due to be launched alongside the mobile handset to ensure there's a catalogue of 3D content available for users once the handset hits the market. Both companies had the foresight to see that for 3D capture and playback to take off, users need to have an outlet to share 3D user generated content.

There was also a lot of talk around 3D being an incentive for users to share their 3D video and images with their friends through social media. This is not a new message for the mobile industry. Mobile networks are of course keen to push social media and the sharing of UGC as it drives billable traffic - 3D even more so.

Looking at the end user - will 3D mobile change how we use social media? The answer is not until social media can support 3D content generated on 3D enabled mobile devices. 3D content could be a creative new platform for UGC so it sounds like YouTube is on the right track aligning with LG and kickstarting this new wave of purpose filmed 3D content.

Must see at MWC - social media for mobiles

I'm off to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week with work. This is the Big Daddy of mobile events and a great barometer of what's happening in the mobile industry. While I'm there providing PR support for Movidius, the company driving cool new 3D multimedia features in mobile devices, I'll also be keeping an eye out for interesting developments related to mobile and social media.

 

I've never been a heavy Facebook user but having a smartphone has really changed that in recent months. Being able to upload photos and links to Facebook on the go makes it a much more convenient and real time tool and I doubt I'd be using Twitter so much if I couldn't use it any time, anywhere. Who wants to log in from a desktop once or twice a day and catch up on hundreds (or thousands) of tweets?

 

 

 

At Mobile World Congress, I'll be keeping an eye out for any announcements about social media apps for portable devices. A whole list of social media companies are on the list of attendees and the press list is padded out with both traditional media and Twitter savvy bloggers. I'm also hoping to hear more about improvements to positioning technologies and improved multimedia features which I believe will have a huge impact on the effectiveness of Facebook Places, Facebook deals and other location based social media apps such as FourSquare, Gowalla et al.

 

Everyone tells me MWC is a great show so I'm very excited to go along and see it for myself. Oh, and Barcelona's not bad either... Bring on La Fira!