Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,200 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

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Pitching will get stronger

At Hatch (my work), we are constantly reviewing how we speak to journalists about our client’s stories, we must keep things new, fresh, news worthy and relevant to the current market. This is becoming more important than ever, as main stream media has seen many cuts to their publications from staffing to distribution, as exemplified by the Liverpool Post changing from a daily to a weekly publication. It’s very important for PR’s to keep up to date with all the changes in the media world.

Social media will increase in strength

It is already apparent how social media has changed the role of ‘influencers’, and how consumers now practice on a new platform to air their views, concerns and delights. This medium is fantastic for PR’s to utilise in their work for brands, however it is also a concern in terms of crisis management – as bad news travels even faster, therefore enhancing the need for brands to have PR support!

Who owns social media?

The debate surrounding who social media belongs to will continue to shine. It is predicted by the Hatchlings that social media and the world of online communications will become so vast that only professional communicators will know how to manage, intervene and create online communication. Technological skills are being picked up quickly by communication professionals, meaning specialist digital agencies may be left behind.

The role and understanding of PR will grow

The increasing understanding of the importance of online communications and the impact of vastly spreading messages will mean there will be a greater need for Public Relations professionals. We will bring our views on the changing media world, reputation management, crisis communication, internal communication, and community relations.

New news mediums and apps will grow

We can already see how news mediums are having to adapt their online viewing, how they interact with their readers and how they are used by their audiences. We have seen how the Guardian is working with Facebook to allow readers to view what other people are reading and share their stories, and the BBC has adapted their website for mobile/tablet viewing, and over in the States, the Washington Post is adapting the way it is viewed and shared. This is only the start. More and more news publications will need to be advancing and moving into more social ways of spreading their news and we believe 2012 will be the year for this.

How will we purchase in 2012?

It has already been tried and tested to buy things using your mobile phone, and websites can now hold your details, making purchasing easier.  2011 saw a dramatic increase in online shopping, as more savvy online shoppers are already using mobile coupons which are delivered directly to mobile phones, and group buying techniques are on the rise, for example, successful discount website, Groupon. Companies such as Innocent Smoothies have being testing the water by using Twitter as a way of offering group discounts depending on how many people click on a certain link – the more people that do, the more discount they offer. We can certainly say that 2012 will see a dramatic increase in social buying and online shopping – it will be exciting to see what new developments are occurring, and if Facebook develops more into this.

Overview

These are only a few pointers about how the role of communications and the day-to-day role of PR will be affected in 2012. This may sound daunting to some, but as long as you as agencies and PR professionals keep up-to-date with how the world is changing, they can advise their clients correctly. It will be interesting to see how 2012 will change the world we work in today.

Check out my company website Hatch: here

So we could see as much as ‘real’ India as possible, alongside having some chill out time in Goa we packed as much into our two week adventure as we could. Flying straight into Delhi we drove straight to Agra to visit to Taj Mahal, then visited Ranthambore National Park for a safari, and on our third day we traveled to the Holy village of Pushka for a three day stay. After our blessing in the Holy Lake and a vast amount of purchasing of elephant themed presents we took a taxi up to Jaipur to stay with our friend who owns a hotel in the city. He become our guide for our three day stay and took us around all the top sites and underground clubs. Jaipur flew by and our next destination was back up to Delhi on an India train (we had to choose 1st class!), to prepare for our flight down to South India’s hot spot – Goa. It was defiantly a well needed destination after all the action in North India – so chilling by the beach, pool and exploring the bays on our £1.50 per day scooter was a bliss.

Any who is interested in going to India – I would recommend it, but you need to be prepared for what awaits you before you go. If you are after an eye-opening adventure and a chance to increase your understanding of different cultures, places and people then this will be for you. One thing you notice immediately is the vast range between the very rich and the very poor. Their laid back culture means that somethings can’t always go to plan, so the best advice I can give is to chill out and think ‘TII – This is India’ and expect no more. It’s certainly a different experience to a normal holiday but one which I am glad to have added to my list of places I have visited.  Here are a few photos from our trip - TII – This is India!!

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

If I were to go travelling I would love to be able to create something like this!

Absolutely amazing!

“3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films…..

= a trip of a lifetime.”

(commissioned by STA Travel Australia)

It certainly is inspiring, and also makes me want to try out my creative skills when I head to India in October! We shall see…

A slightly worrying video made apparently by Microsoft to highlight how Google are invading people’s Gmail accounts and pulling out key words in order to target adverts on your web browser.

As the throng of cyclists pushed through the third stage, TV cameras revealed an incredible animated stunt by local farmers, reading: “the farmers of the 44th (regions are, according to the Frenchies in the office, recognised by numbers as well as names) are proud to feed you”. Take a look at the video below which better demonstrates just how impressive the effort was. (Courtesy of PR Moment)

Social media is playing a vital role in influencing the public, influencing the mainstream media alongside allowing audiences to publish their views and lobby on current topics. This was partly the case with recent advertisement pulls from large corporates from TNOW, as audiences voices online heightened and increased in pressure.

It became more and more of a hot topic on social media sites, especially Twitter. The Drum stated: “For Twitter, the closure of the News of the World was big business with around a quarter of a million tweets sent in connection to it, more than the super injunction story at its peak, which has around 80,000 tweets.”

The super-injunction news seems so small compared to the backlash the News of the World story has brought forward.

However, looking over all of this, I do believe that it’s sad that it does seem to be down to the public to make such a noise about what is wrong before anything gets done. Murdock knew about the hacking offenses before the news peaked, and this should have been when the situation was reviewed. It shouldn’t have been left to public outcries and advertisers withdrawing in order to get Murdock to react. But again, this shows the power of social media!

Interesting statistics from The Drum:

This experience has prompted me to write a post on factors to consider when executing a successful sporting event. There are many racing events around the country from triathlons, duathlons, cycling sportive, charity runs, the Bupa Great North Run, the Great Swim events and even Midnight walking events. Regardless of the particular event, whether it be cycling or a charity walk, all sporting events seek to raise money for charities, raise awareness of physical activity, promote the sport and make profit or raise charitable funds… and to enjoy the event of course!!

To make the event top notch, I believe you have to consider these following elements:

• Vibe on the day – Make sure you create a good vibe on the day. It is important to make it interesting for spectaors to watch, alongside creating excitment for those participating. Having a spoksperson is a great way to create this, as they can update you on the event alongside interviewing spectators and getting them involved.

• Well marshalled event – It is important to have marshalls all the way around your course route in order to make sure participants feel supported and looked after if they needed any help. Event managers don’t want paricipants to not enjoy the route and then not return the following year, so this is very important!

• Branding – Use your branding well. Make sure spectators and participants both know who organises the events and who their sponsors are. Make sure that people know what other events you hold and when they are. If they enjoy it on the day, they are more likely to sign-up for another of your events than anyone elses.

• Spectator activities – It’s great to involve spectators into the race / event. Spectators are important to gain support from as they in turn support the participants. So making sure there is somewhere to go if it rains, stalls to buy food and drinks, sponsors stalls, music etc are great ways to keep people happy whist the event is taking place.

• Photography – Is very important, participants, especially first timers are always keen to purchase good race photo’s! In addition, good photography of your events can be used for marketing and promotional material in order to make the event more successful the following year.

Any more tips are very welcome!

And another…

I have put together a little list tools and trends which I believe PR’s and those pulling communications strategies together need to be watching out for…

• Geolocation – Tools such as FourSqaure and Facebook Places have adapted to an increased usage of mobile internet which is now becoming more and more advanced every day. New tools keep appearing every day such as Bizzy, a check-out switch on the traditional FourSqaure idea. There are also many recent developments with Groupon, who have launched Groupon New, which is based on their ever so successful deals and special offers. You highlight your preference ‘hungry’ or ‘bored’ and based on your location Groupon will give you a range of activities or places to visit. (Image from www.socialmediaexaminer.com)

• Keep you eyes open for new developments and news on this ‘Geo-location’ based topic which could change ways brands can interact. This is especially interesting for the tourism industry’s point of view, as many are using this to rate places people visit e.g. restaurants, bars, museums etc. On the other hand, read the recent news regarding iPhone’s Tracking device… this privacy issue could cause problems to these types of apps in the future.

• Crowd Sourcing – Not a new idea, but one which is constantly been developed through the use of social media and online communications. Large brands such as Starbucks are engaging with customers through allowing customers to share their ideas and views, and therefore feeling apart of the brand. As people become more experienced online, this concept will be reachable to a larger audience and not just the social media experts.

• ‘Likeonomics‘ – Is a term used to describe the way the public interact with brands and push their options out into the open, this is done through ‘likes’ on Facebook and personal comments through Twitter. Consumers are constantly looking for personal recommendations and what our peers are commenting about, sharing and ‘liking’. Therefore if done well, brands can inspire ‘word of mouth’ through social media platforms and encourage further brand awareness and loyalty.

• Near Field Communication Technology – This advancement is said to lead to half a billion people worldwide using their mobile devices as travel tickets by 2015. This technology is already in use, but is a working development. Retail outlets such as McDonald’s are already in progress in using this technology to purchase products. Certainly one to watch out for!

• Quora – This site is a continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it. An important tool to consider key ‘influencers’.

• Scribblelive – I have added this little tool in as it’s a great tool for keeping up to date with the ‘culture’ of now. This tool enables real-time journalism and audience engagement without any delays. Brands can also publish live real-time content and reach internet consumers demands.

• Zipcast is a relatively new online meeting programme. This works through SlideShare, so you can not only just upload your presentation, but can now hold an online conference and speak through your presentation with your audience. This tool is a competitor to the previous Webex online meeting device.

• Bar code scanning is a development which could change the way we shop. You have probably already seen recent adverts on TV which highlight how iPhones can add products to an online shopping list. Apps can now compare in-store prices whist you are shopping. E.g. Tesco iPhone app: Again, these developments are taking on ‘recommendations’, so when you scan a product you are subject to a world of peer / consumer feedback. It’s these changes that brands need to be aware of, as consumer comments can be extremely powerful – you can see this through sites such as Tripadvisor.

This is just a little list of developments which I thought would be useful to highlight. Do comment or let me know about any more advancements which you feel should be included within this list. There will be those that I have missed as the internet and social media is changing vastly and quickly and keeping up with all changes is a challenge, but an extremely interesting one.