140 and then some

And the animals went in two by two..

2011-11-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a popular weekend for Christenings it appears. I know of at least 4 that took place amongst my family and friends alone. I consider this popular.

I was very honoured to be asked by a friend at Church to make the cakes for her son's Christening. We decided on a Noah's Ark theme and although I don't have photos of cakes on the day nicely displayed on a tower cake stand as I was at another Christening we did manage to get a few snaps at home.

Next week look out for some Snowflake themed cupcakes as I start my new job with Snowflake Software. I have the sprinkles in the baking cupboard (yes I have a whole cupboard for fun baking things) just waiting to be used.

Smelling like Christmas - Mincemeat Flapjacks

2011-11-22T08:07:00.000-08:00

My little house is awash with the sounds and smells of Christmas this afternoon. Don't worry, I haven't decorated just yet but with the first Sunday in advent only days away I'm making a start with my preparations and digging out the all important advent wreath for the dining table this week.

Now I mentioned earlier today on Twitter about Mincemeat Flapjacks and got lots of requests for the recipe. They're in the oven as I type and boy, does my house smell festive! As promised, here is the recipe. I already know I am going to be making batches of the stuff and may even forego mince pies entirely for this oaty alternative!

Mincement Flapjacks

Ingredients:

4oz butter

2oz Demerara sugar

2 tablespoons golden syrup

5 generous table spoons of mincemeat (equivalent to one small jar about 411g)

small tub of glace cherries (optional)

5oz rolled oats

Oven - 160'C, GM 3 or 325'F

Line a baking tin with non stick baking paper/parchment or grease well.

1. Melt your butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan on a low heat and then add the mincemeat and warm through. Add your glace cherries at this point if you want to make your flapjacks even more festive!

2. Take off the heat and stir in your oats.

3. Pour into your baking tin and spread out evenly. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 mins and until golden brown.

4. Allow to cool in the tin for 15 mins before cutting into squares or finger slices. Store in a airtight container or biscuit tin - if you have any left to store!

I'll update with an image once mine are out of the oven and sliced up, with a review from Mr 140andthensome! If you do make these yourselves please do leave me a comment and let me know how they turned out and any variations you try (like the cherries!).

Enjoy!

*Update: Don't they look scrummy? Mr 140andthensome had one in his packed lunch today and said it was delicious.

Why should Apple be like a traditional music label?

2011-11-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

This week The Who guitarist Pete Townshend branded Apple a ‘digital vampire’ akin to ‘Nothern Rock’ in the banking industry. His reasoning by that Apple should act like a traditional music label rather than a music distributor. Amid some amusing quotes, quite possibly taken out of context by the newspapers, such as “...just because iTunes exists in the wild west internet land of Facebook and Twitter..” which made Mr Townshend appear a little behind on youth culture and technology I feel that the musician still rather missed the point if iTunes and Apple.

iTunes isn’t a music label. The iTunes Store is just that, a store. It distributes music in a digital format to play through iTunes on a PC or Mac, or on one of Apple’s portable music devices (iPod, iPhone, iPad...). When Townshend said that iTunes was a "fantastic piece of software" but offered only distribution and royalties to the singers and bands whose work it sold he kinda hit the nail on the head. iTunes is a music distributor – not a music label. Apple sells digital products, including music, and such radical diversification into managing artists.... well it may dilute Apple’s core values and product offering.

But, I do like the idea of Apple setting up some sort of music foundation with support and grants and advice for ‘undiscovered talent’ and who knows maybe that’s in their business plan, After all, Steve Jobs kinda understood about developing and support talent and knew that music was something that brings us together in community.

Let’s not forget though all the smaller artists who have benefitted by having their music used in Apple ads or featured in keynote addresses. What about @songadaymann Jonathan Mann who’s ‘iPhone4’ song opened the antenna-gate press conference and propelled him to internet stardom? You don’t have to turn yourself into a ‘traditional’ music label to support new talent.

It’ll be interesting to see how iTunes develops over the next few years with Tim Cook now at the helm of the good ship Apple. There’s loads of avenues they could go down but I kinda like it just as the place I can buy all sorts of music without complications.

My Kindle’s on Fire...

2011-09-29T05:21:00.000-07:00

With Apple already working on the 3^rd iteration of its iPad, the device that finally made tablet devices cool and mainstream, the rest of the industry finally caught up in 2011. We’ve had the Samsung Galaxy Tablet, the Blackberry Playbook, the Acer Iconia Tab (pronounced “t -ar-b” apparently) and now Amazon has launched its colour ebook reader – the Kindle Fire.

In a keynote address to rival the polish of Apple, Amazon CEO and 37 Signals Advisor Jeff Bezos proudly walked the stage with the new device in hand. Yes it runs on the Android OS, yes it is light and yes, at first glance the price point is very attractive at £130 – for a colour screen ebook reader.

But that’s what it is. It’s still really just an ebook reader in a very competitive tablet market.

With a small 7” IPS display screen the device is small compared to the larger 10” screens favoured by other manufactures. It may have kept the price point low, and at that size the Kindle Fire certainly slips comfortably into a handbag but for me personally, it’s too small and why would I want two devices?

Yes. Two devices. I already have two mobile phones which is a pain to cart around during a working week so why would I want to cart around an ebook reader AND a tablet device? I can get my digital magazines, music and books all on my tablet with the added benefit of my email, my files, the internet and bespoke apps and games.

And if I were to buy a Kindle, why would I buy the new one for £130? In a move that may or may not affect Fire sales, Amazon has announced it will slash the prices of its black and white ebook readers. Picking up one of those for £89 or less is more attractive than the Fire when I already have the added extra functionality of colour screen, music and movies/TV shows AND MORE on my tablet and mobile phone.

Maybe it’s just me and I don’t get the Kindle. I’d like to get up close to one when they ship in the UK to see what the fuss is about but I really feel that there’s anything really new or innovative to set the Fire apart from everything else out there.

Prove me wrong Amazon – please.

Does your company blog position you as knowledgeable in your sector?

2011-09-19T03:31:00.000-07:00

There are lots of different types of blog and blogging. There’s personal blogs that read a lot like diaries, blogs that comment on a mix of current affairs, insightful blogs that teach us something... I could go on. But all blogs have something in common – they pretty much stick to a theme or a purpose. This blog is themed around the stuff I stick up on Twitter or read on Twitter which I can’t contain to 140 characters which is why it has a lot of stuff about marketing, digital marketing, employment law and the digital age and cake baking. Why that weird mix? Well, it’s a pretty good snapshot of who I follow on Twitter and what I talk about. However, the company blog I manage for Silver Lining talks about unified communications, cloud computing, business continuity and telephony issues. Why? Because that’s what the company does and wants to position itself as knowledgeable in.

There are some great company blogs out there which mix the company’s personality with informative, insightful, current and industry specific commentary. For example SimplyZesty – their whole agency website is pretty much a blog. It’s not just a small section or page on the website it truly is the website. It’s not overtly salesy – it’s “info rich” and that makes me trust them. They don’t go off piste – they keep all the zaney personality, office banter and games stuff to their Facebook page instead.

Another company blog I like is the one from Propellernet. Now this is a really funky, fun, young agency in Brighton and it really shines through in their blog. Literally as it’s dominated by sunshine yellow. All the posts are geared to news and advice, industry insights, latest shows and exhibitions etc much like SimplyZesty but there is perhaps a little more of a sales pitch in there and a pinch more zing with those wacky/fun profile pictures! It’s a great blog and one I regularly refer to.

Finally, my other top industry blog that I read regularly is that off Koozai’s. Again its remit is well defined, informative and doesn’t stray from its path (often). They mix in a few news stories about awards the company has won but mostly they promote what they believe in – great SEO and PPC marketing. Funnily enough this is what the company also wins awards for. Posts about free tools, black and white hat techniques, local marketing shows and exhibitions... Can you see a running theme here?

SimplyZesty, Propellernet and Koozai are all businesses – marketing agencies looking for new clients and positioning themselves as really really knowledgeable. They’re all award winning. And I bet they don’t have any problem finding new clients and business. I’d happily visit the blogs of these companies than say Mashable, TechCrunch and Marketing Donut for all the news and latest industry insights I need because for these guys it’s not media churn – they have to be at the top of their game and the most knowledgeable to get results for their customers.

So, next time you look at your company blog and write a post have a think:

Does my blog/post talk about my company’s services/products/industry?
Does my blog/post position my company as knowledgeable/expert in my industry sector?
Do these posts help my clients or future clients?
Can people outside of my organisation engage with my posts? Do they understand the in jokes and colloquialisms?
Has my blog/post turned into an internal staff message board?

Who put 2011 on fast forward?

2011-09-09T05:02:00.001-07:00

So I’ve been pretty bad at updating my blog recently and it’s not because I don’t have the desire to – I’ve just not had the spare time to do it justice. Having started a new job at Silver Lining 7 months ago I’ve totally changed my work schedule, taken on the running of a second Brownie Unit in my local area and even managed to go on my first proper holiday in 3 years! But before I realised it September had arrived and I know I’m not the only one to feel this way this year.

2011 seems to have whizzed past and just look at all the things that sparked conversation on Twitter and around the world so far:

Widespread protests in Egypt and Libya.

Major earthquake in Japan resulting in deadly tsunami and damage to nuclear power plant.

Major earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand resulting in collapse of cathedral tower, businesses and homes.

Attempted assassination of Congresswoman Giffords.

The deaths of Pete Postlehwaite, Elizabeth Taylor, Randy Savage, Lucian Freud, Amy Winehouse, Bubba Smith.

Royal wedding of Prince William to Catherine (Kate) Middleton.

The world’s first artificial organ transplant.

Traveller Paddy Doherty wins Celebrity Big Brother.

NASA’s space shuttle program concludes as Atlantis completes its final mission.

US President Obama releases his birth certificate confirming his birth in the USA.

Terrorist attacks in Norway resulting in the deaths of 76 people.

The 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Disappointment, shock and elation following 2012 Olympics ticket allocation in the UK.

Possible photographic evidence of liquid water captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Riots spread across major cities in the UK over 5 days resulting in looting, violence and arson attacks.

The start of the Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand.

And we still have 4 months to go till the end of the year! A quick stawpoll of my Twitter followers confirms that many of you out there are less than impressed with this year being on fast forward and that perhaps it’s time to put on the brakes!

How to (ad)dress an elephant

2011-02-20T10:44:00.000-08:00

We've all been in the situation where something has everyone feeling awkward, everyone is trying to ignore it but the "thing" or issue has gone so far that it is just too hard to avoid, although everyone continues to try.

Enter the proverbial elephant.

"Elephant in the room" is an English idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss.

It is based on the idea that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook; thus, people in the room who pretend the elephant is not there have chosen to concern themselves with tangential or small and irrelevant issues rather than deal with the looming big one. - Wikipedia

So how do you deal with the elephant in your midst?

If the situation centres around yourself and continued avoidence by those around you is creating such an unconfortable atmosphere that your social group or working environment is unplesant then my recommendation is to tackle that elephant head on. Everyone knows it's there but are just unwilling to look right in its eyes. Now, anyone who has been face to face with a wild elephant knows that the first thing you want to do is run from it, but this could really p*ss it off. Instead, acknowdleging you are facing an elephant and watching it calmly can often diffuse a very dangerous situation.

You may want to be tactful to start with but if thats not getting through to people then push them right in front of that elephant:

"Finally, whilst we're all here, does anyone want to discuss the huge pink elephant tap dancing in the middle of the board room?"

OK. So your elephant may be the plain old grey type, you may be brave enough to name it Dumbo, or like me you may want to make people laugh and relax enough to open up and discuss the situation with a line like the above. However you do it, do it. Don't let something that could be solved by forcing people to talk about it get you down.

Social media lets us share when we can't be there

2011-02-10T03:51:00.000-08:00

My best friend from primary school is getting married in 6 weeks and I am so happy for her. After we went to different secondary schools and she moved further into the city we stopped seeing so much of each other, and then we didn’t see each other at all. It’s a sad fact of life that these things happen. But! We found each other again on Facebook and now I get to read her excited posts about planning for the wedding, practicing her new signature and breaking in her wedding shoes in the office.

I’ve even linked with her sister and Mom so know that the whole family is really excited, which makes me excited too. I won’t be at the wedding but I get to enjoy hearing about my friend living out our childhood fantasies. Her father is a Vicar so church services were often in our imaginary play box of tricks. But like most little girls we loved to play weddings in the vicarage garden. My friend’s sister would often play the vicar and, with my sister there, we would take turns to be bride, bridesmaid and groom (if no suitable Ken doll was available!), often with some net curtain as a veil.

I can’t wait to see pictures of the wedding and that is the beauty of social media. It brings people together and allows them to share in moments, like weddings, which they might not otherwise be able to attend. It’s not practical to invite everyone to your wedding, 60^th birthday party, christening or child’s birth and not everyone invited will be able to attend either. But social media allows us to involve more people and be more integrated.

So for my best friend from Emmer Green Primary I share a few memories:

Sleepovers at her house having movie marathons, camped out on the floor of the living room.

The PURPLE girls society.

Fancy dress parties for my birthday including Alice in Wonderland and the Ugly Bug Ball.

The Waltons.

Social media and employment: do you have a right to freedom of speech?

2011-02-08T05:35:00.001-08:00

There’s a lot of conversation going on regarding employee/employer rights regarding social media, what you can and can’t say privately and publically online and how employers should react. Many see this as covering several issues including free speech, privacy rights, discrimination and harassment.

Different countries have different guidelines depending on the law. In the US the National Labour Relations Act states (reference Maggie McGary’s blog):

While employers are permitted to lay out policies as to what employees may blog about in relation to work, employers cannot fashion policies that have the effect of chilling an employee's exercise of his or her Section 7 rights, nor can employers discipline employees for blogging about "wages, hours, or terms or conditions of employment," such as the company's pay scale or vacation policy. See Timekeeping Sys., Inc., 323 N.L.R.B. 244 (1997).

Essentially, an employer cannot stop you from exercising your right to free speech. However, and this applies to the UK, if an employee makes derogatory remarks about an employer or thecompany on their blog or social media profile, libel proceedings can be brought against the employee. If these comments were damaging to the employer or company, the employer could discipline and dismiss the employee regardless of the contract of employment as all employees have implied terms of trust and confidence. This is often covered and clarified in the employers Company Handbook available to all employees.

Equally, if harassment or bullying of employees is occurring online through social media then employers should have a harassment policy that clearly covers this in the Company Handbook.

So, if you resign and your company asks you not to discuss your resignation or new job on your social media profiles until you have served your notice period to avoid clients finding out unofficially and to maintain moral in the office do you have to comply?

No.

Would you want to comply?

Maybe, especially if it makes the transition process easier and less awkward.

But think:

Is your social media site of choice public (Twitter) or as private as you can make it (Facebook with all the highest privacy settings)? It’s probably not best to broadcast your news on Twitter which will show up in search engine listings unless you really don’t care what the effect may be.

Are you linked to any clients, shareholders, colleagues on your profile? Chances are with FB you only link with friends and family. If any of those friends are colleagues you would hope they know about your new job and are happy for you. They possible relish the idea of being able to congratulate you on FB rather than in the office where not everyone may be happy you are departing.

Finally, what if a non work friend posts on your profile? Your employer cannot restrict your freedom of speech or censor you so equally they cannot restrict your friends. Only if comments are libel or defamatory can your employer take things further.

Use common sense though. If you’ve signed an NDA or contract don’t say anything that you know you shouldn’t. If you get a funny feeling when you about to post and submit and start doubting yourself, chances are you shouldn’t make that post. And never burn your bridges, you never know what the future holds and may regret slagging off your employer over Twitter.

You have a choice but so does your employer in how they react to social media commentary.

NB. I am not a lawyer but there is plenty of legal advice out there around this issue. Just search Google and you will find a wealth of legal advice and HR information.

New advertising campaign by the ASA alerts consumers and businesses to online marketing regulation changes

2011-01-24T02:58:00.000-08:00

As the radio flicked on at the weekend I was awoken not by the dulcet tones of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, more popular than ever with the release of Black Swan in the cinemas, but by an advertisement announcing the extension of the digital remit of the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency). The phrase “It’s online, we can say what we like” startled me awake with a jump.

In a bid to inform both consumers and businesses of changes coming into force from 1st March this year, the ASA is running an advertising campaign across all media channels. It is hoped that since the initial announcement back in September 2010, businesses have been proactive enough to address advertisements, advertising messages and other marketing communications on their own website or in other non-paid for space online under their control. The ASA goes further to clarify this statement in confirming these messages must be “directly connected with the supply or transfer of goods, services, opportunities and gifts, or which consist of direct solicitations of donations as part of their own fund-raising activities.”

Essentially, all marketing messages on a company’s website whether B2C or B2B now fall under regulation by the ASA. Even more importantly, marketing messages on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, where content is under the control of the business, are also subject to ASA regulation.

So. No excuses. It might be online but you can no longer say what you like. Take a look at your company’s website today and make sure you are compliant. From 2008-2009, the ASA rejected approximately 3,500 complaints relating to the content of organisations’ own websites because they fell outside of the CAP code. From the 1st March however these complaints will be taken seriously.

For more information on the ASA and CAP changes visit http://www.cap.org.uk/Media-Centre/2010/Extending-the-Digital-remit-of-the-CAP-Code.aspx

Get your head around copyright basics

2010-11-11T01:16:00.000-08:00

Get your head around copyright basics or pay the price with litigation

In light of some interesting tweeting recently around the hashtag #cooksource I though I'd brush up my knowledge and understanding of copyright law.

Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. Copyright owners have the exclusive statutory right to exercise control over copying and other exploitation of the works for a specific period of time, after which the work is said to enter the public domain.

Plagiarism is defined as "the wrongful appropriation, close imitation, or purloining and publication, of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions, and the representation of them as one's own original work.”

Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which property rights are recognized and their corresponding fields of law. Tangible assets include musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets in some jurisdictions.

The copyright law of the United Kingdom governs the legally enforceable rights to creative and artistic works under the laws of the United Kingdom. The primary purpose of copyright is to protect authors' rights. Authors have a pre-existing common law copyright over their work which is upheld by statutory law.

Copyright law forbids the use, reproduction and/or reprinting of copy without the express consent of the author/originator or holder of the copyright. “Copy” includes images, sound, any printed materials (books, recipes, poems, stories, articles etc) and similar online material including blog posts. Material posted online is NOT in the public domain and is NOT free for reproduction without consent, it is still covered by copyright law unless otherwise stated by the author.

Thankfully, with today’s technology it is incredibly easy for authors to Google their own work and discover copyright infringements. Unfortunately, because of today’s technology and social channels it is also incredibly easy for breaches of copyright to become public knowledge – potentially creating a negative social media storm and legal minefield.

Refer to the case of Gaudio vs Griggs/Cooks Source ( see K E Gill's timeline for a variety of links relating to this case). This is a case of copyright infringement of Monica Gaudio’s article on the history of the humble apple pie. The article is Ms Gaudio’s intellectual property and as author, Ms Gaudio has copyright over its reproduction and distribution (clearly stated on her blog with the use of a copyright statement). By lifting Ms Gaudio’s article from the internet and reproducing it in print, Cooks Source is in breach of copyright. Although Cooks Source attribute the article to Ms Gaudio with a by-line and as a result do not technically commit plagiarism it is evident that at no point did Ms Gaudio provide consent for the reproduction of her work and the publication infringes upon her copyright. The social media backlash in response to Ms Gaudio’s treatment by Cooks Source has resulted in the magazine loosing advertisers, pulling their website and essentially going underground until things “quieten down”.

(Please do correct any errors by posting your comments - its better to be right than wrong!)

Definition sources: Wikipedia

Date my Avatar

2009-08-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

To pre-launch season 3 of @TheGuild, @FeliciaDay and fellow cast members have produced the most awesome music video ever. I may even go as far to say that, to a role play gamer, this music video is sheer genius.

Entitled "Do you want to date my Avatar?", the track and video features the cast of the hit internet TV show dressed as their online role play characters with lyracist Day, as Codex, taking lead vocals.

Incredibly funny, this video is a must see for anyone, regardless of whether you RP, LARP, WoW or just like to dress up in doublets, corsets and carry a fake plastic sword.

Check it our on YouTube and then get the track in the charts by supporting #datemyavatar on iTunes.

iPhone 3GS and O2

2009-06-10T06:21:00.001-07:00

I was going to blog about the new iPhone 3GS, announced this week at the Apple WWDC, and the ensuing "to-do" raised on Twitter over the lack of a suitable O2 upgrade structure for existing iPhone customers but then i read the following on WIRED.

WIRED have summed it all up better than I could so go read their article, it really is a good read.

I’m not a couch potato. I engage in social broadcasting.

2009-05-26T05:59:00.000-07:00

How do you make the act of sitting on your sofa every night of the week, with your eyes glued to a box streaming colourful moving images, a social activity? Well you set up a second box nearby which streams comments from people all over the country, indeed, from across the globe and you stare at this box as well as the cathode ray/plasma/LED screen in the corner.

OK, so perhaps I paint a poor image of what is emerging as social broadcasting and honestly speaking I didn’t get it to start with. Why would you want to watch two screens and miss half the programme whilst you tweet you comments and views? That was until Eurovision.

Eurovision changed everything. Or perhaps Twitter changed Eurovision? Either way, this year, Eurovision became an exciting rollercoaster of musicality, costumes and hashtags. Finally I had a group, a very large group at that, of EuroTrash enthusiasts with whom I could chat about the competition.

And it’s not programmes that for years have been cringe worthy or you really should be ashamed to enjoy that have evolved due to social networking and Twitter. Channel 4’s “experiment” of televising live surgery has had people flooding to Twitter, not just to follow what other people think but to directly ask the studio, presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy @krishgm and surgeons their questions. And when Channel 4 can’t cope with the influx of questions, Tweeters are helping each other out.

Roo Reynolds has blogged often about social broadcasting with his unique insight working for the BBC, and shows how The Apprentice has fans login on and voting each week for who they think will be on the receiving end of the shows iconic catchphrase from Sir Alan in the Board Room.

Instead of sitting every night like a couch potato staring at the TV, I now like to stare at the TV and Twitterfon on my iPod and debate the finer points of international singing competitions (#eurovision), talent shows (#bgt) and open heart surgery (#slive). It is certainly more exciting watching TV with "friends".

New sports car!

2009-05-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd show off my latest cake achievement.

Everest - Top Banana!

2009-04-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

Really excited as the final cut of "Everest - Top Banana!" is nearly ready.

Fellow Everest expeditionist Mike Crawley has been working on the film since we returned from Nepal at the end of Novemeber 2008 and has announced that he is working on the final edits with producer Ellen Crawley.

I'm going to encourage Mike to make the film available on YouTube and hope to then link to it here at "140 and then some".

Mike trekked to Everest Base Camp as part of an organised trekking group, of which I was part of. Whilst I was bored and looking for a different kind of vacation, Mike used his trek to raise money for EACH (East Anglia's Children's Hospices).

I have included my travel diary from the trek to give an idea of what we experienced:

Day 1 – Arrival in Kathmandu
After a long day of travelling our senses were assaulted by many different sights, sounds and smells as we arrived in bustling Kathmandu. We were quite thankful for a free evening at the hotel to catch up on lost sleep and refresh before meeting with Prakash, our guide, and the rest of the group for more details on our trek. It’s not quite sunk in what we are here to do yet.

Day 2 – Kathamandu city tour
Woke very early this morning (2am) due to jet lag but luckily we both managed to drop off to sleep again. Prakash took us all on a city tour today, visiting 4 key historical/cultural centres in and around Kathmandu. We visited Monkey Temple/Swayambhunath Stupa, The Ghats at Pashupatinath, The Royal Palace at Pratan and the Boudha Stupa. The heady mix of Buddhist and Hindu culture at these sites, interspersed with the hectic traffic and advertising bill boards makes Kathmandu an intriguing city.

Day 3 – Lukla and Phakding (2800m)
Today we left the city for the mountains. The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla is certainly an experience we will never forget, the views are unbelievable as you weave in between the mountains before coming in to land at the short, uphill airstrip at Lukla. Prakash eased us in slowly today with a gentle two hour downhill walk to the village of Phakding and at 2800m we can definitely feel a difference in the air.

Day 4 – Climb to Namche (3600m)
Slept very well last night and extremely glad as today was very very tough going. We climbed roughly 800m up some pretty steep and rocky paths. The air is getting a lot thinner and we found ourselves taking frequent breaks just to catch our breath. So proud to make it to Namache, despite the aching feet and sore thighs from all the climbing.

Day 5 – Acclimatising
We spent today acclimatising in Namche, but it wasn’t a rest day. Prakash took us up to the Sagamartha Park museum by the army base, and then up further to the helicopter landing strip. All in all we climbed another 400m before heading back down into Namche, a very vibrant place, busy with lots of trekkers and stores selling everything from pain killers and toilet paper to mars bars and souvenirs. Had our first sighting of Everest this evening from the museum plateau, peaking enticingly over the Nuptse wall as the sun began to set. Suddenly realised where we were heading.

Day 6 – Thyanboche (4000m)
Climbed anothe 400m today. Saw some amazing views of the Khumbu valley, Ama Dablam, Nuptse and of course Everest just peaking over the Nuptse wall before reaching the Thyanboche monastery where we are staying tonight. We had a chance to go into the Buddhist monastery and watch/listen to the monks chant. The wall paintings and tankas decorating the chamber were beautiful, bright reds, greens, blues and highlighted with gold leaf. Stunning.

Day 7 – Dingboche (4400m)
Several of the team were feeling pretty unwell today due to undercooked pastries for desert last night. Everyone battled through and took it slow, making it to Dingboche by the afternoon. We’re all feeling the thinness of the air and struggling to catch our breaths but the path only climbs gently from now on. It’s also getting a lot colder in the evenings the higher up we go. Although warm in the sunshine, as soon as the sun goes down the temperature plummets.

Day 8 – Acclimatising
Staying in Dingboche today to acclimatise. Prakash took us up to roughly 4700m today and it hurt. Could barely catch my breath and felt shaky on the way down the path. By the time we got back to the tea house I was exhausted and had a head ache. Pain killers and a nap later, Dan and I took a walk around the village and appreciated a little quality time together.

Day 9 – Loboche (4800m)
Today we climbed to the final stage before “Everest Day”. Loboche is very cold and basic. There is very little to do but have dinner and head to bed to keep warm. We have an extremely early start tomorrow morning (5am) and at this altitude a couple hours sleep is the best we can hope for.

Day 10 – Gorak Shep and Base Camp (5456m)
After breakfasting on mars bars we started our long day to base camp. Whereas most of the previous days were only about 5 hours of walking today we maxed out at 10 hours. Our first stop after roughly 3 hours of following the Khumbu glacier was Gorak Shep. After an hour’s break we set out for base camp, another 3 hours away. The path to base camp crosses into the glacier itself and the eerie silence is mirrored in the twisted formations of rock and ice. At 5400m the altitude really got to me and I considered heading back down, although only 10 minutes away from my goal. But we made it together thanks to the encouragement of our team of guides. Whilst I wrapped up warm at base camp, Dan headed down to the edge of the treacherous Kumbu icefall. Un-acclimatised at such thin air and to make it back to Gorak Shep before dark we could spend little more than 15 minutes at base camp before heading back down to the village.

Day 11 – Decent to Oshey
Whilst some members of our team braved the freezing morning temperatures to summit Kala Pathar for further views of Everest, the majority of our group began our decent. Having acclimatised to the high altitude, heading down was a breeze! We also had the chance to take in more of the scenery and pause for photographs which we were too tired to take on the way up. We also had more breath to chat and get to know the members of our group even better.

Day 12 – Back to Namche
Back in Namche and a chance to celebrate with Everest beers. Moving the party from the Tea house to the highest pool bar in the world we went to bed the latest we had for two weeks, 11pm!

Day 13 –Phakding again
Another night in Phakding and we met a group at our Tea house who were about to start their trek the next day. They were clean and nervously excited about their trip to base camp. We on the other hand were now dirty, smelly, and had gotten to know the other members of our group extremely well.

Day 14 – Final night in the mountains, Lukla
We made it! All the way there and all the way back again. Celebratory hugs all-round as we passed back under the gate arch as we returned to Lukla. For our final night with our guides and porters we all had dinner together and enjoyed some traditional Nepalese music and dancing before another pool competition.

Day 15 – Kathmandu and a shower
Flying out of Lukla was like a rollercoaster ride and as we circled back round to Kathmandu we saw our last views of Everest, Nuptse and Lotse. From the solitude and simplicity of the Himalaya’s we were once again assaulted with the sounds of car horns and street sellers and smells of spices, rubbish and pollution in the city. Following a much awaited shower and nap we joined the group for dinner at the famous Rum Doodle restaurant, decorated with the signatures of all those who have summited Everest.

Day 16 – Last supper in Kathmandu
For our last day in Kathmandu we headed over to the Thamel district, frequented by tourists and full of souvenir shops of puppets, hats, pashminas, tea and spices amongst a whole manner of other goods. Sad to be leaving the Himalaya’s and Nepal we all joined again for dinner to say goodbye to our guide, Prakash, before re-packing our bags for our early flight in the morning.

Day 17 – Home
On reflection we miss the Himalaya’s, the simplicity of life and the fantastic Nepalese people we met during our trip. Although tough at times there isn’t a single thing we would change about our trip. The expertise of our guides reassured us that we would make it to base camp and that as long as we took their advice, we would get there in one piece. Our photographs could never do the scenery justice and there are no words to describe the sheer beauty of the Himalaya’s, they are a truly natural wonder of the world.

Doomsday - really?

2009-04-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

I’ve been hearing a lot of cynicism, excitement and concern over the direction in which Twitter is taking recently in regards to marketing and advertising. It’s true that in the last 6 months the marketing profession as a whole has really hopped in to the Twitter nest and is exploring all the possible ways they can exploit, monitize and convert to sales. Naturally, the “Originals”, the established Tweeters who relished in this new, geeky, media are now foretelling that the end of Twitter is neigh. But is it?

Twitter is evolving. Just like Facebook which evolved from a bunch of college mates to social groups worldwide, Twitter is evolving from a micro-blogging platform for the geek elite to a mainstream social media platform. Where Facebook app developers paved the way, Twitter is now giving birth to the next generation of social applications and plugins. By its very nature, Twitter is being moulded and shaped by the very community that uses it. And when the Original geek elite move on to the next shiny toy, Twitter will continue its evolution.

Check out Twitter - the Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning? For an interesting insight.

Is evolution real that bad?

A recipe for Owl Cake

2009-04-02T02:24:00.000-07:00

I have had lots of response today to the Owl Cake that was discussed at the @tuesdaytweetup and mentioned in my previous blog entry.

Please let me clarify - this is an Owl Cake. Not a cake made of owls but a cake of an owl. Simples.

One of our Brownie Brown Owls was retiring from our District last night and I was tasked with baking The Cake. A sticky, gooey, chocolate fest of an Owl Cake. It turned out pretty well.

Thanks all for your lovely comments on Twitter. As a special treat, here's a naughty way to have homemade cake whenever you want:

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE!!

4 tablespoons self raising flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract and your favourite tipple
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to your largest mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using), vanilla extract and a drop or two of your favourite tipple, then mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high).
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

EAT and enjoy! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

The TuesdayTweetUp

2009-04-01T02:52:00.000-07:00

Last night a flock of tweeters gathered in a basement bar in central Southamtpon to meet, share ideas and generally have a good night. As media, marketeers, developers, students, educators and entrepreneurs mingled and networked, the first Tuesday Tweet Up was born.

The Southampton Tuesday Tweet Up was the brain child of @tuesdaytweetup (real name Lisa) who, with the help of partner @spindrwoody, spent a month working the Twitter machine to raise interest in a local networking event. Many of us assumed @tuesdaytweetup had a background in PR/Marketing or Event Management, but as a project manager from a large insurance firm “Tuesday” (as Lisa became affectionately termed around the TweetUp) had only started on Twitter as a personal hobby. Speaking to me at the event, Lisa seemed pleasantly surprised at the power Twitter had, that over a month she was able gather 125 followers and arrange a meeting where at least 50 unique Twitter users showed up (95% of whom where total strangers to her).

For myself, I had a great time at the TweetUp. I had the chance to meet with users I had been following for almost a year as well as re-connect with an old uni friend from halls (@cminion). The TweetUp gave everyone a forum to not only discuss Twitter but also their businesses, interests, and aspirations. This is what social networking is about, making connections online that carry through to the “real world”.

The night really was varied, from about 7pm to when I left at 10.20pm the following topics were amongst those discussed at the TweetUp (there were more I am sure):

Twitter – Ok that’s a given but people discussed its use as a personal medium, news aggregator, within business, and for PR and marketing

Ghost tweeters

3D printing

Solent Uni vs Southampton Uni

Virtual worlds

The ultimate set top box

Owl cakes – not made of owls but looking like an owl

Unique business cards – best of the night was from @RAndyVee. Each card had a different photograph on the back which had a story to it. First time I’ve been given a business card with a padded cell on the back!

Children using social networks and internet safety

Healthcare on Twitter (and chickenpox)

I didn’t get a chance to meet everyone in the room and I really wish I had, which is why I am excited that @tuesdaytweetup is planning on making this a regular event. As Lisa explained, there are a lot of events/tweetups/conferences/un-conferences happening in London but nothing locally. A regular networking event for likeminded people is just what Southampton is after. Check out www.tuesdaytweetup.com for more pictures, video footage and information about the TweetUp and to vote on how often you think they should run. @TheRoryJackson and @mynameisbainsy also knidly interviewed attendees and recorded footage of the event which will be available on www.tuesdaytweetup.com and YouTube shortly. I'll blog and tweet when it's available.

If you attended the TweetUp please leave a comment below and tell me what you thought, who you met and what you talked about. Better yet, leave a comment or email @tuesdaytweetup!

Google Street View - really a threat to national security?

2009-03-24T02:45:00.001-07:00

I received the following press release this morning through Technology4Media:

------------------

Google Street View Poses Threat To UK's National Security

Infosecurity Europe Says Google Street View Poses threat To UK's National Security.

The organisers of the Infosecurity Europe, Europe’s No. 1 information security event, say that they are expecting a storm of controversy to erupt over the introduction of the Google Street View facility in the UK.

"The introduction of this service in the UK, which has already attracted vociferous criticism in the US, is regarded by many as a voyeuristic intrusion of privacy. But the invasion of personal privacy is nothing compared to threat this service poses to the national security of the United Kingdom," said Tamar Beck, Group Event Director, Infosecurity Europe.

"I find it deeply disturbing that critical sites such as police stations and army facilities are accessible on the service, thus posing a serious threat to national security, since terrorists now have the electronic equivalent of a dummies' guide to 25 of the UK's major cities," she added.

According to Tamar Beck, whilst Google Maps' satellite view option has previously provided some degree of information to would-be terrorists on the Internet, the viewing angles are sufficiently limited to be of little use to a potential terrorist.

With Google Street View, she says, all the limitations go out of the window, giving terrorists instant - and anonymous - access to major UK cities on a street-by-street basis, where they can pick and choose terror targets from their training camps in Afghanistan, Iran and other volatile areas of the world.

It is to be hoped, she went on to say, that the UK Authorities take action to opt sites such as police stations and army barracks out of the Street View service, so as to make life more difficult for anyone involved with threats to UK national security.

"Not only is Street View a gross invasion of privacy, it's also a major threat to national security. This is something that will be a hot topic at next's months Infosecurity Europe event," she said.

"The world has changed immeasurably due to the Internet and not the changes it engenders are positive. The next few weeks and months could be crucial in the way the Google's UK Street View service evolves,"
she added.

--------------------

And in response I posted a comment on Twitter:

Is Google Street View a threat to UK national security? Just received a press release adamant that it is.

I was intrigued to see what other people's views were on this statement and it wasn't long before tweets came in:

@CatStormont More or less, the twitter could be a threat to national security - doesn't it show the movement/daily agenda of PM? :)

@CatStormont more so than leaving data on the train? Or having confidential documents in see through carriers? Pff!

It's true, how can Google compromise national security when the UK government very openly publicises the movements of the PM and other foreign dignitories. Recent tweets from DowningStreet demonstrate:

DowningStreet: No10 admin waits in car for PM and Nicolas Sarkozy to emerge and head to EU Council in Brussels. Stiff breeze, Tricolore flys full above us.

DowningStreet: The PM will deliver a speech on nuclear proliferation in London from around 11:00 GMT. Watch live via http://www.number10.gov.uk

I won't get into the matter of confidential documents being left on trains, or flash drives being "lost", or computers still holding data being removed from facilities, or more confidential documents being openly walked through the streets of the City in clear plastic wallets. But if anything, it appears the security of the UK was perhaps compromised long before Google Street View went live.

NB. Thank you to all who tweeted a reply. In the interest of security I have chosen not to publish your Twitter names.

Click Here

2009-03-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

I saw this article on TechCrunch (Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet) ping up in a tweet by @guyweston of @CoolPink and was intrigued. I fully intended on reading the article, honestly I did but I was drawn in by the banner ads on the right hand side. Ironic when you consider the title of the article!

With print advertising becoming more and more expensive, and with more and more people using the internet as an information resource, I am completely behind Internet advertising – as long as it is done well. And in this day and age where demonstrating ROI in extremely important you can’t just stick up a banner ad with masses of text and with a click through to your corporate homepage. The banner ads on the right hand side of the TechCrunch article effectively demonstrate how you need to direct and encourage the viewer to take action.

Click here
Learn more
Register now
Get this here
Go here now

Pschologically, we follow these types of instructions. We are so used in life to following directions on maps, from our SatNav, in buildings, at the supermarket, it is only natural that when we are told to “Click here” on a website we innately want to follow the instruction.

And when we “Click here” where do we go? Hopefully not to a non-specific home page. We want information, to sign up to something, to download something. Send us to a dedicated page. Take our details and populate your database. We’ve gone to the trouble to “Click here” so we obviously want something, we’re interested, you have our attention.

Your ROI for a web banner should be measurable from an increase in unique page impressions and leads captured from your landing page, whether that is from an enquiry form or specific subscription form.

SEO SPAMMERS - we hate them but can we learn from them?

2009-03-20T02:40:00.000-07:00

I received the most informative, helpful and insightful email this morning from Tracey at clearpathtraffic.com, it read:

--------------------------------------
We can put your site at the top of a search engines listings. If this is something you might be interested in, send me a reply with the web addresses you want to promote and the best way to contact you with some options.

Sincerely,

Tracy Phillips

--------------------------------------

On searching for clearpathtraffic.com I was surprised to see that that the domain was unrecognised. How unfortunate – and stupid – to send out SPAM marketing and not have an operating website.

Please note the hint of sarcasm in this blog post.

Indeed on investigation, the only references on the web to clearpathtraffic.com was the following blog:

“Hey Jason Adams, Mike Lewis, Paula Reynolds of Keyword Placement Inc and Key Placement SEO - Please Stop Sending SPAM” – Jill Olkoski

And this server blacklist:
Legacy Mail

Check out the Cedar Hill Community blog to see the name iterations that Keyword Placement Inc, PowerPoint SEO, Placement Technologies, Placement Auditors have been using.

The thing that really annoys me about this is that, other than being spammed, these people are really really bad at what they are trying to do! But perhaps we can learn from them. Lets count some of their ridiculous mistakes:

1. The email I got had no contact details for clearpathtraffic.com. No registered company name and address and no legal disclaimer.

2. There was no personalization. The email just jumped right in there telling me what they could do, but with no mention of my name as the web administrator or of the company I work for, or even our web address.

3. They had done NO research other than data mining our email addresses. If they had they would have realized that, in fact we rank very well thank you very much within our niche market area.

So, whether you are a large corporation or a small business/one man band, do not get suckered in by these SEO twerps (yes, I used the word "twerp"). If you can’t verify who they are on the web how the heck are they going to “put your site at the top of a search engines listings”. If you want to improve your organic search rankings you can do it yourself, there is plenty of FREE advice out there on blogs and Twitter or you can learn what to do with support on a course like that by Business Marketing Online.

5 reasons for being un-followed

2009-03-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

Wondering why you are losing Twitter followers? Ever posted something and seen your followers immediately start to drop off? Below are 5 common reason why people un-follow.

1. Tweet flooding – There are two types of tweet flooding that spring to mind here, number one being those who tweet every second of the day and number two, those who post all their tweets during their daily allotted hour for Twitter. Now, people one and two may be tweeting informative, useful stuff but if it makes it difficult for people to read their tweet stream, you’re high on the decapitation list. Take a break, step away from Twitter for a while if you tweet all the time or, if you only have a short time dedicated to Twitter, leave more time between tweets. It’s as simple as that.

2. Essay tweets – If you can’t say what you want to say in 140 characters you should be writing a blog. Try not to run over into several tweets – it’s called MICRO-blogging for a reason. @HenryFordNews can get away with this when tweeting live surgery but an essay broken into 8 tweets explaining why you shouldn’t have eaten that cookie requires a blog. Try blogspot.com.

3. @ Spam – Spam is a bit of an oxymoron on Twitter however @ Spam messages are those direct, intrusive messages such as “@CatStormont Why don’t you join our team and distribute our new health food? DM me for details.” It’s like junk mail through the letter box, or cold calls from insurance/market research companies. My answer to these? In the bin or hang up.

4. Irrelevancy – Know your community. If you’re posting about things that are irrelevant to your audience they’re going to drop out. It’s the sifting mechanism for most people on Twitter. I have one person I follow who insists on posting about lunch and dinner but because I like his cynical dark humour I haven’t un-followed @jasonfry. This is the only person I follow who tweets about his lunch though, I prefer tweets of substance and that engage me.

5. Playing the numbers game – People who are just concerned about numbers on Twitter and not conversation are no fun. Ever been followed by someone looking to be followed back, and then been un-followed yourself once they have their numbers bumped up? If you’ve been doing this and your starting to lose followers – you’ve been rumbled.

What is it that makes you un-follow someone on Twitter?

Issuing a retraction – I hate WordPress

2009-03-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

At TFM&A I made a statement to @jakeisonline that I now wish to retract. It’s something I’ve been saying for over a year now due to a bad experience. Chatting to Jake, I mentioned that I found WordPress frustrating and I have been known to say around the office that in fact I hate WordPress. A pretty strong statement you’ll agree. However I am wrong. This weekend, after some education, I have learnt that I do not hate WordPress. In fact, I am starting to appreciate WordPress’ capabilities. It is however badly thought out and designed WordPress websites that I do indeed hate.

“Why?” you might ask, for I am hoping you are confused as to what horrible experience with WordPress should lead me to such a conclusion. Well in answer, I have been working with a website which has been built using WordPress CMS for almost a year now and have regularly felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall at the limitations to the design. As this was my first experience of WordPress I assumed, wrongly, that this was typical of WordPress in general. The templates, navigation and secondary navigation of this website felt fundamentally at odds, restrictive and clunky. Wanting to figure out how, or rather if, I could improve the general flow of this website and add additional functionality with WordPress plugins I showed the site to @danshilcock.

@danshilcock had shown me a site he had been working on, in WordPress, which made me think that there was something very wrong with the site I was working with. The simple logic of the navigation and page relationships that Dan was showing me was something I needed. Now WordPress seemed simple, intuitive, and based on sound logic. So what was wrong with my site?

Fundamentally, the site I was working with had not taken advantage of the intuitive nature of WordPress when it was built. The designers had hardcoded the navigation into the homepage template, as well as a box of secondary navigation as a list further down the page. The flexible use of categories and blog rolls within WordPress had been lost. If I want to increase the functionality of the website I am unable to fully utilise the WordPress CMS due to the restrictive design imposed upon the site from conception.

I don’t hate WordPress, I just wish the website I have taken on was designed in such a way that it could take advantage of what WordPress has to offer.

If any web developers out there want to get in touch about improving a WordPress site please feel free!

No pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

2009-03-05T02:22:00.000-08:00

Ever since Tuesday March 3rd this subject has been blogged about and discussed effusively. So now it’s my turn to throw my own golden coin into the pot at the end of the rainbow. In a strike of momentary genius, the confectionary giant Skittles switched its homepage to a Twitter search feed for “Skittles” conversations. Genius!

Of course, it was only momentary. For the social media savvy Twitter community quickly realised that there were no Skittles or Mars representative’s behind the Twitter campaign, that Skittles was not contributing to the community conversation, and quite possibly that there were “paid for” Twitter users trying to boost the positive comments rolling into the feed. Negative comments spread like wild fire on Twitter and before they knew what was happening, Skittles found their feed riddled with negative comments, unrelated content and profanity.

It was the confectionary Gods versus the social media Gods, and we all know who won out. Skittles pulled the plug on the Twitter feed and instead the homepage now displays…. the Skittles Wikipeadia entry!

Although the whole exercise went horribly wrong for Skittles with no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, they did get A LOT of people talking and A LOT of media buzz. I really hope Skittles learn from their first sour experience of social media, put some crisis management in place, and re-enter the community to rebuild the relationships that may have been damaged at their first outing on Twitter. At best I hope they hold their hands up and admit “Yup, we got it wrong.”

My child has over 900 "friends" - but does she know them?

2009-03-01T15:04:00.000-08:00

I was at a party at the weekend with a group of my parents friends when Facebook came up in the conversation. Now I’m pretty impressed that my parents are on Facebook, though not particularly surprised that they are not active users. But the majority of parents at the party, although novice users of the site themselves, had children who were very active on Facebook.

As the conversation developed it was interesting to hear the difference in “friend” numbers between parents and their children, or more generally adults and those under 18. I was interested to hear that with sites like Facebook, Bebo and MySpace there are competitions between kids as to how many “friends” they have. The concern on the faces of the parents I was talking to was evident, how many of these 900+ “friends” did their child actually know?

Evidently, children rate their popularity these days by how many online “friends” they can link to on their social networking site, or sites, of choice. This desire to quantify their popularity in such a way encourages kids to accept friendship invitations from anyone who offers, opening up a whole host of issues (something too involved for this post).

Used appropriately, such sites as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace are perfectly safe for both adults and kids. But who is teaching our children how to use these sites appropriately?

As a result I ended up giving out some advice to the worried parents at the party:

1. If you are worried about your child’s use of social networking sites, sit down and talk to them.

2. Go through your child’s “friends” list with them and get them to tell you from where and how they know people. If they can’t give you an answer better than “a friend of a friend of a friend” then talk to your child about what they know about that person, and consider removing them from the list. Do they really have over 900 “real” friends?

3. Discuss with your child what is appropriate information to display and give out over the internet. As adults we generally recognise that we don’t post our address, phone number, passwords, and full itinerary etc over the internet but do our children know this? Has someone sat down and explained it to them?

4. If you are still worried, encourage your child to use the internet in a shared area of the house such as the lounge, study or kitchen. A lot of kids have their own laptops and mobiles these days from a young age (many of my Brownies that I look after do and they are only 7 years old) and hideaway in their bedrooms. Know what sites your child is visiting.

5. Reassure your child that they don’t need to have a huge number of online friends to be popular.

I’d love to hear people’s ideas on this subject as it is a topic I want to cover with my Brownies. Is anyone a parent who has successfully tackled this issue with their children? Do you have any additional advice to give to parents? How young is too young for children to be using social networking sites? Has anyone’s school discussed the use of the internet with children?

Is handwriting a dying art?

2009-02-26T04:52:00.000-08:00

How often do you pick up a pen and write something, by hand? A quickly scribbled phone message whilst your boss is in a meeting, brief notes on your timesheet, your signature at the bottom of an invoice? Now take a look at the last thing you wrote down, is it legible?

The article on the BBC New Magazine, “The slow death of handwriting” highlights how something we all used to toil over at school is now slowly becoming extinct, at least in an adult working world.

Now, I’m a little removed from primary and secondary education and I have no children of my own to draw reference from but remembering my own school days we used to have a lesson a day that was purely focused on handwriting practice. When my primary school switched to teaching the cursive form, us kids would have to perfectly form each letter over and over again until each character was uniform. I used to be very proud of my handwriting. I’m more proud of my handwriting when I was in my early teens than I am of it now. Why? Because now I’m a touch typist and the keyboard is my fountain pen.

At the top end of “generation Y” I started using computers at school from about the age of 10, firstly for educational games at primary school and home (anyone else have a Sinclair ZX Spectrum?) and then in IT classes at secondary school. At university, everything was done on the computer.

It’s a shame because I used to really like taking the time out and writing things by hand. When I do take the time my handwriting can be quite legible. But generally I don’t and it’s like a pigeon has jumped in an ink well and scratched it’s pesky feet over the page. Don’t believe me? Take a look at my attempts at the pengram “How quickly daft jumping zebras vex” on TwitPic. Can you tell which one I took a little more time over?

Which department manages Twitter?

2009-02-25T08:16:00.000-08:00

I had an interesting conversation on Tuesday with Jonathon Markwell, one of the guys behind @TweetPower. A Twitter app developer, Jonathon was interested in my opinion on corporate use of Twitter, especially in regards to which departments should be using Twitter – sales/customer service or marketing?

I’ll warn you now, I don’t think I really came to a conclusion either way thanks to one fundamental problem. Although Twitter is an excellent tool for both departments, if neither department is talking to the other, the benefits of Twitter engagement or exposure cannot be reaped. Some companies have been progressive and made Twitter work from them; @O2UKOfficial for example manage to promote their products as well as respond to replies, questions, direct messages and flippant comments, but many companies are still trying to get their heads around blogging let alone micro-blogging.

Working for a small, niche market PR and Marcomms agency I’m in a fairly unique position. I am both marketing department and sales team. I took a fairy brave step a year ago and set up our company Twitter without permission. At first I just pushed out client press releases but as my colleagues, and more importantly superiors began to understand Twitter better I’ve been able to not only get my colleagues tweeting but also our company Twitter has evolved to be more engaging. It was initially just a PR and Marketing tool, but now I am engaging with people in our industry sector – just like a sales team.

So to wrap this all up neatly – sales and marketing departments both need to be on board with any corporate Twitter. Whoever initially manages the account really needs to be speaking to the other department to pass on leads, questions and ideas. As one of my favourite books at the moment explains, there are new rules to marketing and PR but I think you need to add sales and customer service into that list too.

Let me know what you think, do you run a corporate Twitter? Do you feed tweets through to departments other than your own? Maybe you totally disagree with me, let me know.

140 and then some explained

2009-02-25T06:17:00.000-08:00

So I’ve been toying with this idea for a while and it wasn’t until I went to TFM&A and met some really interesting people at the Tweet Up that I realised that 140 characters isn’t always enough. Don’t get me wrong, I love Twitter. I’ve been using it for a year both personally (@CatStormont) and professionally (@AltoMarketing) and am finally engaging with the community of followers I’ve managed to acquire. I must be doing something right but there are times I wish I wasn’t constrained by that crucial figure of 140.

As a result I’ve gone and done it, I’ve started “140 and then some” in an attempt to expand on and perhaps even discuss some of those conversations occurring on Twitter, the wider web, and heaven forbid even real life.

You have the fantastic people who went to the first TFM&A Tweet Up to thank for inspiring me to finally do this; @jakeisonline @denisecox @TweetPower @robenslin @tamaragielen and Mark Gooding, as well as those who couldn’t make it but who I did manage to meet and TwitPic at the show; @acapelaTV @webjam_official @PVR352 and Jan Siemaszko.