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Technology Newsletter |
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WelcomeThis week we take a look at Facebook going open source, the social networking site’s role in an Underground drinking frenzy, the progress of Google’s Android, and how children’s books are being used for marketing. We also examine broadband speeds, while Microsoft examines us. Plus, with summer truly underway, Zach takes a look at the ways technology can improve your golf game. If you enjoy reading this newsletter, why not take a look at
our blog? Technology NewsWho watches the watchers? Here’s a comforting thought. Microsoft is busy creating new ways for our GPS phones and other gadgets to not only send out information about where we are, but also how we got there. In this way it hopes to learn what we are doing, and whether or not that thing is good. MS researchers based in Beijing claim that analysing what transport we are using and how much time we spend each day conducting various activities could help us improve our own lifestyles. A six month trial for Microsoft's experimental Geolife web platform produced an accurate method for automatically guessing a person's mode of transport from their GPS trace. The idea is to enable users to replay trips, view photos by location and store information like personal traffic congestion hotspots. However, Michael Peterson, chair of the International Cartographic Association Commission on Maps and the Internet has concerns about the privacy implications of such methods. He told New Scientist: "The problem is that there are more sinister applications of this technology. As it becomes easier to track and share our movements, the concept of ‘locational privacy’, controlling who can access our location records, becomes more important.” It seems Microsoft isn’t the only one interested in the movement of mobile phone users. Check out this feature in the latest issue of journal Nature. Android close to completion According to Physorg.com, Google is near to completing its new mobile software system, Android. The open source platform developed in collaboration with the Open Hand Alliance (OHA) will enhance mobile device web browsing. In its annual developer conference in the US last week, Google unveiled key features of the new technology, which include password entry via touchscreen, integration of Google Street View and Google Earth, and facilities to bookmark favourite pages and zoom in on web content. To raise the profile of Android, expected to launch in around six months, Google has brought on board a number of leading handset producers including Samsung Electronics. Android's main competition will come from existing MontaVista and Symbian mobile web platforms. Apprentice UK Quote of the Week“It’s very unusual to find that, in your CV, somebody who was born in England actually puts down as one of his skills: English – fluency.” Interviewer Claude Littner questions whether Alex Wotherspoon’s first language can honestly be considered a ‘key skill’. |
US Media News
Riva Richmond will be stepping down as the internet reporter for Dow Jones Newswires on June 6, according to Navigator.com. She will be continuing her career as a freelance journalist. Richmond covered internet companies and wrote about ISPs, publicly traded computer-security companies' stocks, industry trends, virus outbreaks, security and hacker incidents. Navigator.com has informed us that IT World Canada. has named Shane Schick as senior editor of its Enterprise Group. Shane previously served as the editor of Computer World Canada. He will now oversee the publication as well as IT Business Report, CIO Canada and CIO Government Review, among others. Brian Dolan is the new editor of Mobile Internet Trends and WiMAX. Dolan most recently served as an editor for FierceWireless. He will also be a senior analyst for The Yankee Group, a global leader in technology research and consulting. Mobile Internet Trends covers the next generation of mobile internet while WiMAX Trends focuses on telecommunications companies, service providers, wireless broadband companies, cable companies and the entertainment industry. UK Media News
The Guardian reports that Karen Dempsey is stepping down as the editor of the Times Education Supplement after just six months. Karen was brought in late last year as a replacement for Judith Judd. Karen has been replaced by Gerald Kelly who was the editor of the sister title Times Higher Education. Ann Wollenberg has become a freelance journalist. Previously working with BT Vision, Ann will now go it alone. She confirmed to FeaturesExec that she will still be working on the BT Vision website. Wollenberg highlighted her most memorable work with a lighthearted tale of being profusely thanked and hugged by Johnny Depp. I imagine that would be a highlight for any woman. Bauer Consumer Media (BCM) has announced Andia Widler as its new chief marketing officer for its radio, TV and magazine brands. Vidler joined BCM, in June 2005 and most recently was managing Magic 105.4 and was responsible for putting magazine brands such as Heat, Closer and Q on digital radio. In her new position, Andria Vidler will be in charge of all BCM brands across magazines, radio, online, mobile and TV. Paul Keenan, BCM’s chief executive, said that he was “delighted” that Vidler had taken on the role. “She has done an amazing job with the transformation of Magic 105.4 and the development of our digital radio portfolio, working collaboratively across the BCM editorial and commercial portfolio.” Tech Totals20% 200% 5.5hrs |
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Speedy broadband is a capital idea According to a new survey commissioned by the BBC and conducted by Thinkbroadband.com, London's broadband users connect at average speeds nearly twice those of customers in Wales and Northern Ireland. Users in the capital are achieving average speeds of 4.5Mbps compared to a national average of 3.2Mbps and a regional low of 2.3Mbps. Despite telecoms watchdog Ofcom’s recent assertion that the geographical digital divide had closed after its own research discovered homes in rural areas were more likely to have broadband than those in towns, this latest survey once again suggests rural areas generally fared poorly, with telephone line length and access the main issues. Have your say and take part in testing, if you have enough spare bandwidth. The UK government is still in the process of reviewing plans for next-generation broadband, which it is hoped will eventually lead to copper wires finally being ripped out universally in favour of fibre-optic cables. Someone just needs to stump up and pay for it, that’s all. Facebook goes open source Facebook announced this week that a significant portion of its platform will now be open source. Faced with the threat that other open source platforms, such as Google’s OpenSocial, pose to its formerly closed developer platform, Facebook has opened up. The company said that it is only the first step, and developers will see open source in most of the code the Facebook Platform runs on, and many of the most used methods and tags. Facebook remarked that it is going open source because developers requested it. It makes sense because developers want to be able to use their applications on both Google’s OpenSocial network (comprising MySpace, Bebo, Orkut and smaller social networks) and Facebook. This announcement means that it will be easy to port the applications from one environment to the other. With the rise of open platforms, a company can no longer expect to compete in social networking without paying more than just lip-service to openness. Social networks are growing, both in their number and in the volume of people using them. The trend has been towards niche networks, and as more of them rise, people will want more data portability and interactions between all the networks they belong to. Open source is the engine that will allow that, and it is a great move by Facebook. Facebook responsible for Underground drinking party? Facebook has been in the headlines for less positive reasons this week. The social networking site has been criticised for its involvement in the booze fuelled party that took place on London Underground’s Circle line last weekend. A number of groups were created on the site inviting people to join the party and mark the last day of drinking on the underground. ‘Let’s get hammered on the Tube day’ and ‘One final Tube booze party’ were just some of the groups created for the event. The party took place the night before an alcohol ban on London’s transport network came into effect, with many of those opposing the new ban ensuring their last night of drinking on the underground was memorable. The party ended with a trail of broken glass and vomit, 17 arrests and six closed stations. Unsurprisingly, the event will probably be better remembered by those of us who had to travel on the tube the next day. For more on this story, visit Prompt’s blog. An interesting mashup - tech products and children's fairy tales
Tech startups are producing children's books as part of their PR campaigns – does that sound a bit odd? Surprisingly, it's one of the latest mini trends in PR campaigns. The less a company has to do with children's products or services the more opportunity there seems for using a child-like approach to deliver messaging. It's the juxtaposition that works and provides a creative, simplified way to deliver core messages in a unique format that will get recognised by the media. The June 2008 issue of Inc. Magazine highlighted this new trend with examples of how companies, large and small, have successfully used children’s books to launch a new product or the entire company. Microsoft, for example, created the book "Mommy, Why is there a server in the house?" to unveil its Windows Home Server. The book was used to promote the entire product line online and actually garnered coverage in The New York Times. Fresh, quirky ideas that offer a unique way to tell a tech company's story help spark media attention. No matter if it's in the form of a children's short story or a clever pitch that mirrors a classic fairy tale - the bottom line is to stay fresh and creative. I am not completely sold on this latest trend, though. People working in media have so much to read every day, that I doubt they need to be talked down to by a children's book. What do you think? Comment on Prompt’s blog. Use the web for a better golf season
The first Prompt newsletter of June is the perfect opportunity to write an article on my favourite summer activity: golf. But as classic and traditional as golf might be, as a technology enthusiast I think it can really be improved by modern internet advancements. For example, golfers worldwide can visit Golf-Finder.net, an interactive map that helps you find courses, lodging, and even golf partners based on location. Managing scores online has never been easier with the oobGolf that tracks your scores straight from your cell phone (not that you should have a cell phone on a golf course). Or if you want to socially network with other golfers, all while improving your swing and learning more about the game, join GolfLink. Lastly, if you want to play and also save money, check out GolfNow, a site which provides discount pricing for reserved tee times (select US only, for now). Website of the WeekBy Sean McManus What can you do with all those books you’ve read that are cluttering up the house? How about exchanging them for new books you’d like to read next? This website provides a mechanism for people to swap their books with each other. It works like this: you list the books you have available to swap, and then you seek out someone with a book you’d like to read. You then request a swap, and the owner of the book you’d like decides which of your books he or she wants in return. If you’ve got nothing they want, they can decline the swap. In this economy, all books have equal value and you each pay your own postage costs. I’ve already had one successful swap on here but one thing bothers me: is it cheating to offer up those books I never got round to reading? 
We hope you find the Prompt Communications newsletter an interesting read. For any feedback on our newsletter, or to discuss how we can help you with your technology PR, marketing, social media/blogging initiatives, copywriting or surveys, please contact us using the details below. We are always delighted to hear from you. |
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UK Tel: +44 208 996 1653 | US Tel: +1 617 576 5763 | UK Fax: +44 (0) 20 8996 1655 UK Address: Prompt Communications Ltd, The Barley Mow Centre, 10 Barley Mow Passage, London, W4 4PH, U.K. US Address: Prompt Communications LLC, 124 Mount Auburn St, Cambridge MA 02138, United States. Copyright Prompt Communications Ltd 2007. All Rights Reserved. |
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