The law catches up with Twitterers

Not a day goes by  now when some footballer doesn’t get into trouble for posting something they shouldn’t have on Twitter (or some other form of blogging platform). Sometimes it’s relatively harmeless such as Ryan Babel, other times it takes on a more sinister tone. Sheffield United’s Connor Brown and his alleged comments on Twitter over the Ched Evans conviction is the perfect case of footballers not really understanding the power of the publishing tools they possess. In fairness, to footballer it appears that many don’t understand the laws of the land when it comes to publishing. After the whole Giggs incident, it seems the law is finally getting a hand on policing the internet by arresting Twitter uses who named the victim as well as investigating Sky who accidentally amplified matters.

Maybe sites such as Twitter need users to download and read a code of ethics or idiots guide to publishing law before being allowed to sign up.

Suffering from app overload? There’s a Jag for that

Everyone’s getting into the application game it appears. Who can blame them? Apps, as they are fondly called now, have turned the humble phone into so much more than a device for just calling people. They are the main reason why sales of the iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and other smart phones have been nothing short of astronomical over last year.

However, at what point do apps move on from helping you with everyday tasks to defining who you are? According to Jaguar, an app isn’t about helping you with a specific task but more an extension of your lifestyle. From just looking at the company’s recently launched app called Driven Intelligence, Jaguar customers are avid cricket fans, interested in stocks and shares and read the Telegraph. Interestingly there’s no functionality within the app that you can’t get from other existing apps. The iPhone already comes preloaded with a stocks and shares app and there are hundreds of applications that provide news and sports updates.

But that isn’t the point. Driven Intelligence is a prime example of how media organisations are working with brands to ‘add value’ for readers. The app developed in association with the Telegraph is another way of getting content into the hands of readers but more importantly readers with financial clout. With the debate about how newspapers address declining readerships and advertising revenues, this model represents the future of how advertisers could collaborate with newspapers. And with the chance to win tickets to a cricket match for just downloading the app, they might just have a hit on their hands

About time

Well I finally decided it was time to set up a blog.

Hopefully this will be more of a fruitful exercise than when I last tried blogging about five years ago. That ended pretty quickly after I went through the rigmarole of setting up one only to realise I didn’t have a lot to say.

A lot of time has passed since then. I’m older and wiser, and the older I get the more I have to rant about. Most of my rants/pearls of wisdom will probably center around PR, corporate communications, technology and the media. There’ll probably be a bit of sport thrown in for good measure.

Wish me luck