When quality should overcome quantity

January 4, 2009 | 5 Comments

Like any other blogger who likes having conversations, I have Google alerts set up for my blog name so I can see who is saying what and take the opportunity to engage with them.  I received an alert last week which initially confused me somewhat.  It led me to a spread sheet containing the URL’s of 62 likeminded blogs similar to mine.  Now, i’m guessing this probably wasn’t meant for public use however, it was good to see that I was in good company (Helen Jaz and James).  The list was categorised by ID, blog URL, date of most recent post, date of first post and number of posts in December.  Given that this appears to be a blogger hitlist, I assume it was probably compiled by a PR agency.

As you all know I like to see bloggers being engaged by brands as it encourages a two-way conversation so I think it’s great that more and more PR companies are approaching bloggers and involving them in product launches so I don’t have any problem at all from this list.  What I would ask from reading this list however, is what the profile of the blogger they are looking for is.  As you will see from my previous post, I am blogging less and less because I am finding that I am now using a variety of outlets to post my thoughts as opposed to just my blog, that combined with actually having more in-depth real life conversations, an observation that I know a lot of you share.  So bearing this in mind, maybe the focus of selecting bloggers shouldn’t actually be “number of posts in December” or “Date of most recent post” but rather trying to look at the potential influence a blog has, an outcome neither of these fields will provide.  I could write 50 posts in one month but if no one reads my blog then it’s pointless in wanting me to write about a brand launch.  How about looking at how many people read the blog, then look at how many people leave comments to posts to see how engaged the readers are with the author.  Looking at other online spaces where the author posts, would also enable you to get a better understanding of they talk to.

The company who can measure influence enabling targeting messages to a handful of people and avoid spamming the masses  will be one of the big success stories of 2009.  After talking to many companies who “offer” this I am yet to find one that fills me with confidence, but will be keeping fingers crossed.

Posted by Jamie Coomber | Filed Under Blog, Community, Marketing 

Why I haven’t been blogging

January 2, 2009 | 3 Comments

I have had some of you ask why I haven’t been blogging as much recently which hasn’t completely been a conscious decision, but more of a natural change in behaviour.  Those of you who know me well will know that I tweet…..a lot.  When I see something that I really like and want to share,  I post it in 140 characters to Twitter.  Because i’ve already shared it with my community (my quicker community) I don’t always feel the need to then write another 200 words to back up my tweet.  Another reason I have gone quiet is that in the run up to Christmas, I started attending more evening events such as Malcom Gladwell, Adam Curtis at 176, Amplified08, Primal Scream, Chinwag Digital Futures, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Webbys, Us Now film launch, The Future of Music, One Dot Zero, Open 2gether, INQ launch, various Tipped events amongst other Twitter/Blogger meet ups.  At these events, I have met some great people and have been able to develop deeper connections with them quicker through face to face meetings.  I will start to blog more frequently now the holidays are over, but as 2008 became my year of Twitter, I think 2009 will see me do a 360 and go back offline to build more personal relationships.

Posted by Jamie Coomber | Filed Under Blog, Community, Events, Experiential 

I feel London

December 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment

This is a really nice idea from Andy Whitlock at Poke.  I Feel London allows people to tag places in London that reflect what they are feeling at the time like Naughty, Hungover, Energetic, Romantic, Sophisticated, Chilled, Girly, Manly or Broke.  I particularly like the cheeky short cut in tube station tip off, thanks.

Posted by Jamie Coomber | Filed Under Blog, Community, Tagging 

How to win me over

October 24, 2008 | 2 Comments

best-friends-forever

I was chatting with Charles at last night’s Glug event, comparing grievances we’ve both felt when approached to blog about new products, services or events etc. so I have decided to lay down some basic rules to help those who want to win me over:

1. Make it relevant.  If you have contacted me through this blog, you will see that it is targeted at wonderfully inquisative people, who have a passion for creativity/new technologies/engagement/all of the above.  If you are writing to me asking me to publish an article about something that falls out of these very broad boundaries, don’t be miffed if I ignore it.

2. Do research your audience.  If you click on my `About’ page or even conduct a Google image search for my name you will see that despite having the name Jamie, I am in fact female.  When you send me an email and refer to me as Sir or Mr, you loose me at “Hello” and as this is a particular pet hate of mine, it takes some doing to get back on my good side.

3. Take the time to get to know your `influencers’.  We may have met at a networking event or a conference and had a conversation once about the future of marketing.  Good, I love meeting new people and the chances are, we probably had a really interesting chat.  If we then have no communication whatsoever and out of the blue, you send me details of your new campaign for me to publish, that’s just bad manners.

4. Rewards don’t have to come in physical form.  A conversation can be more rewarding than a Beta invite.  If you dish out Beta invites without actually engaging your audience, then you are not going to help them become interested in your project.  If you pick up the phone or write a warm up email, then you are opening up the communication channels between us, and I am more likely to want to find out more about you.

Posted by Jamie Coomber | Filed Under Blog, Community, Thought pieces 

Conversations, they are a changing

October 23, 2008 | 3 Comments

lastminutecom_new_branding_bigger

Let’s face it, those who have been on Twitter for over a year or so would have seen that it has changed dramatically.  I started to recognise this shift when I no longer felt I should openly voice my opinion on someones stupidity, or comment on the brand who will never in a million years actually care what I am saying about them.  I used to think of it as my club; a place where I felt safe and could play with my little community.  As the year has progressed I have found myself having to mind my p’s and q’s, something that I can barely muster the energy for on the annual trip to my see my parents (”Hi Dad”, I know you read this).

I’m not complaining about this shift but what’s changed?  Firstly, the advertising world have started to recognise that there are actually some pretty influential people here, and these people could be used to start talking about a new produce or service (”Hello, and thank you for acting like humans on Twitter”).  Secondly, the clever PR people have realised that this is a new medium where people can actually influence opinion and so, they have come to join the party (”chin chin, and could some of you please try to keep the self promotion down a bit, we’re trying to concentrate”).  Lastly though and by far my favourite of the changes, the brands themselves have joined in the party.  Now, some of them have embraced the experience like Lastminute.com, who after falling to initial criticism from the Twitter community for being faceless, admitted the service is being manned by people within their marketing department, and that personal profiles were being created as we speak.  Nice, I like your approach and haven’t you got some wonderful product development suggestions from the community?  From the best practice post you would have seen my distaste for the brands who have read about Twitter and have ploughed their way into the service before actually observing how the community use the service.  Anyone who observes Twitter, will see that it is built around community.  A community who shares, inspires and befriends one another based on similar industries or interests through 140 character conversations.  I would really like to see more brands take note of Lastminute’s approach and actually engage with their audience.

Posted by Jamie Coomber | Filed Under Blog, Community, Social Interaction, Thought pieces 

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