Prompt Communications
Technology Newsletter
24th August 2007
WelcomeIt's been a busy week at Prompt Communications and we've got a few changes to tell you about. Hopefully you'll have noticed that our email newsletter has got a sparkling new design, and that's not the only thing - we've redesigned our website too, why not pop over and take a look. Also this week we're proud to unveil the newest version of our Blog Monitor service which provides our clients with a powerful but easy to use tool for tracking what bloggers are writing about their brands. You can check out a live demonstration of the new service at the Prompt Blog Monitor website. We'll be adding some great new features soon, so keep watching. Finally, congratulations to Prompt Communication's own Elissa Fry, who was promoted to Senior Account Executive this week in recognition of her hard work across several accounts. For any feedback on our newsletter, or to discuss how we can help you with your technology PR, marketing, social media and blogging consultancy, copywriting or surveys, please email me at hbutters@prompt-communications.com. We are always delighted to hear from you. Best regards, |
US Media News
To celebrate its 25th year in print, PC World has been revamped with a new look and a new logo. The magazine also has several new or expanded editorial sections, including Forward, which features technology and product trends; Business Center, which is focused on running small and medium technology businesses; and Security Alert. Elizabeth Corcoran will replace Peter Kafka as channel editor for Forbes.com in September. Most recently, Corcoran contributed to the print version of Forbes. Corcoran is an award-winning journalist who has covered technology since 1985. Almar Latour is the new managing editor of The Wall Street Journal Online. Latour has held several roles at the WSJ, where he started his career as an intern in 1995. Most recently, he has served as a bureau chief. Latour will begin his new job on September 4th. Further changes at the WSJ include the launch of a technology podcast on the paper's website. Andy Jordan's Tech Diary was created by Andy Jordan, technology reporter for the Wall Street Journal Online. The podcast chronicles stories about people and technology use and is one of nine other podcast available free of charge on the website. UK Media News
There have been several recent editorial changes at The Daily Telegraphin a range of departments. Aside from two editorial staff members leaving the paper, there were several internal moves, a handful of new hires, and the creation of a new digital reporting team at the paper. Former general reporter Nicole Martin has been promoted to digital and media correspondent and will be responsible for print and online coverage for the new digital reporting team. Technology correspondent Josephine Moulds and digital channel manager Claudine Beaumont will join Martin in reporting on the digital world. Sara Yirrell has been promoted to deputy editor at Incisive Media's CRN. Yirrell has worked at CRN for seven years in a number of roles, most recently as news editor for the publication. Men's magazine Esquire is being revamped and relaunched for, as editor Jeremy Langmead puts it, "men who mean business". Aside from a new size and format, the magazine now includes a wine page, a Youth Culture box, a critics section, and business pages. |
Enterprise Technology NewsMonster.com monstered by virusA very bad week for the high profile job website Monster.com. The site was hit by organised criminals who infected one of its servers with a piece of spyware that sent them the personal details of hundreds of thousands of job-seekers who had posted their resumes online. A researcher at security firm Symantec says he believes the criminals behind the attack are using these details to send personalised phishing spam to the victims, in an attempt to trick them into handing over their bank details. The convincing looking email apparently offers recipients a job which will allow them to work from home and promises a $500 bonus if they accept the position. Needless to say, all Monster.com users are being asked to treat such emails with a healthy dose of caution. | |
Pay attention to open source licensesOrganisations which make use of open source software have been warned that they need to be more careful about the way they manage its use. Analyst group Saugatuck Technology recommends that businesses review and audit their open source license agreements, and implement formal policies for managing the use of open source software. Saugatuck says there are over 1000 different open source licenses currently in use, and with the likelihood of more being introduced, it's important for businesses to ensure they are in compliance to avoid future problems. The use of open source software is booming in business, but with so many different types of license in use many are unclear on what their rights and responsibilities are concerning the software. | |
Consumer Technology NewsBy Dave Wilby and Sean McManus Just begun, the format wars haveJust when you thought you thought you couldn't stomach yet another tired old VHS vs Betamax reference, it seems the high definition movie disc wars are back with a vengeance. After Blockbuster announced, earlier this year, that it would only carry Blu-Ray discs in the majority of its stores, everybody assumed Sony had won the day. But this week two of Hollywood's leading studios, DreamWorks Animation and Paramount Pictures, planted their flags firmly in Toshiba's HD DVD camp, and now everybody's started shouting at each other again. As the Economist article points out, currently both of these formats are playback only and thus the whole argument is a bit silly really because in theory they should both soon be replaced by a recordable solution. However, the current DVD format became dominant, and will probably remain widely used for many years, long before a recordable DVD format became available, so we're not entirely convinced that's much of a problem. iPhone users killing the planetAT&T came in for some flak this week after sending iPhone customers printed bills which were so full of pointless detail that they filled more pages than a typical novel and had to be delivered in cardboard boxes. Although the problem seems to be quite widespread, it was largely ignored by the media until an attractive young blonde woman complained about her 300 page iPhone bill in a YouTube video, at which point everybody suddenly became quite interested in the story. In response to the sudden rush of interest in the issue, AT&T told all of its iPhone customers that it would start sending them summarised bills instead. | |
Web 2.0 WatchBy Fiona Blamey AuthorBarbara Ehrenreich believes that depression originated in the 17th century, partly as a result of the growing use of mirrors. Seeing ourselves as others see us made us feel self-conscious and unsure of our role in society, leading to a massive crisis of self-confidence. While as individuals we've had a few hundred years to get used to being freaked out by our own reflection, for the media it's a new feeling. Television and print journalism have historically been uncontested cultural arbiters and information providers. As predominantly one-way media, they've had little opportunity to see how they are perceived by their audience, other than through controlled focus groups and spatterings of letters to editors. That changed with the arrival of Web 2.0. Bloggers seized the opportunity to hold a mirror up to the media, picking apart newspaper articles (a practice known as 'fisking') and writing scathing critiques of television programming. Broadcasters ostensibly have good reason to be paranoid about the participatory internet. Not only does it give viewers a public outlet for scrutinising and criticising television, it also seems to be luring them away from the box altogether. The latest Ofcom report shows that Britons watch less television than they did in 2002, while the time they spend on the internet has increased by 158%. While findings like these don't necessarily mean that TV viewing is declining - people may well be watching televisual content online rather than on a television set - they still have broadcasters rattled. The instinctive reaction has been to attempt to win back younger viewers by presenting them with 'targeted' content that reflects their own lives. At a recent BBC writers' workshop, channel executives anxiously asked the attending young writers whether they felt they were sufficiently represented in television programming. Astonishingly for the executives, the young people said they didn't care about being represented, they just wanted to see better television. And with BBC controller Mark Thompson and ITV boss Michael Grade both now saying they plan to make fewer, higher-quality programmes, it looks like television might be regaining its confidence - at least for the moment. Web 2.0 may hold a mirror up to the media, but it doesn't mean the media always has to fret about its reflection. Sometimes it's better to be comfortable with who you are. | |
Website of the WeekBy Fiona Blamey WikiscannerIf you're thinking of editing your company's Wikipedia entry, you might want to think twice. Wikiscanner reveals the edits made to Wikipedia entries by interested parties, and makes for fascinating reading. My favourite so far is the BBC employee who removed a reference to the Corporation 'self-censoring subjects that [it] finds unpalatable.' You can use wikiscanner to search for edits made from a specific company's computers - and if you work in PR we recommend you do this for your own company or clients regularly, as the media are extremely interested knowing what your company wants to hide - or keep up with the scandalous highlights at http://wired.reddit.com/wikidgame. | |
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