Profile: Zath.co.uk

This month i’ve been lucky enough to speak with Simon Barker from Zath.co.uk. Zath.co.uk is a technology website that looks at general computing, mobile phones and gaming. Who wants to and has the time to waste on technology products and games which are just not worth your while?

Basic stats and facts:

How many uniques per month do you get? around 75,000

What’s the Zath demographic? No hard and fast information on this, but we’re targetting the site towards anyone who has an interest in Hi-Tech Gadgets, be it mobile phones, laptops, netbooks, digital cameras, gaming and other useful technology-based news/resources on the Internet.

What’s the best e-mail to send editorial information to? news@zath.co.uk

What’s the best e-mail to send advertising opportunities to? advertise@zath.co.uk

The Zath philosophy

When did Zath start publishing? We first started publishing as a blog in March 2007 and have progressed from there and now average over 2,500 people on the site everyday.

What can readers expect to find on Zath? Hi-Tech Gadgets, be it mobile phones, laptops, netbooks, digital cameras, gaming and other useful technology-based news/resources on the Internet.

How big is the editorial team? We currently have 6 people writing content for the site and are always open to recruiting new writers onto the team – Write For Zath

What’s your PR policy? for eg. are you open to approaches on Twitter? I prefer PR approaches via email in the first instance as I keep better track of that during the day, however I’m certainly also contactable via Twitter – @simonbarker

Where else on the web can we find Zath? A full list of Zath’s presence on the Internet can be found here – http://www.zath.co.uk/about/

At Seldom Seen Kid, it’s all about making the connection between journalists and PRs easier. This is a monthly profile piece that looks at different publications, be they offline or online. If you’d like to be considered for next month’s slot, please send the information you see below to matt[@]seldomseenkid.co.uk, or drop me a line for more details!

Mobile music revenues to reach $14.6bn by 2013 says Juniper Research

Juniper Research have revealed that:

A sharp fall in ringtone revenues will be more than offset by growth in full-track downloads, streamed music services and ringback tones, according to a new report from Juniper Research which forecasts that global revenues from mobile music services will reach nearly $14.6bn by 2013.

The report goes on to say:

Much of the recent interest in full-track downloads across the industry has been stimulated by the arrival of the iPhone and its successor, the iPhone 3G

The reportcomes on the same day that Broadband Genie released a report claiming that mobile broadband users need to make the most of the current cheap (!) rates while they last.

What these claim, is that there is a growing appetite for music to be listened to on mobiles. This is something Nokia have latched onto with their comes with music offering, with the 5800 being the latest and greatest handset to have the service embedded. The deal with INgrooves demonstrates their belief that this is a worthwhile opportunity to persue, and the new research shows they may be just be right.

Where the real opportunity now lies is for a mobile carier to sign up with a music streaming service such as Spotify or We7, and give users the opportunity to download the music they’re streaming for free, for a nominal fee such as iTunes’ 79p.

Will this happen?

With the huge amount of mobile games/app piracy in Asia, and the possibility of such a service being cracked, it is doubtful. But it shows that, despite the general pessimism in the music industry surrounding the mobile download future, the threat of people getting their hands on music for free is too great for the record labels to risk.

U2, Spotify and Richard Gibbs

Epic Irish rockers, U2, have teamed up with Spotify to give the service’s users an exclusive pre-release listen of the band’s next album, No Line On The Horizon, due out on March 1st. The Guardian have also got in on the act, with both U2 and Spotify featuring heavily in its online music section.

This comes at a time when online music piracy is bing scrutinised more heavily than ever. Eminem is suing his record label Universal, claiming over $1.6m in unpaid digital royalties for tracks that have been legally downloaded – heaven knows how much he would sue for if he knew just how much of his music is downloaded illegally, and going by 2008′s most illegally downloaded artists, he should be worried about the release of his forthcoming LP.

According to a Tiscali user survey, 46% have used a p2p file sharing network, with Limewire (34%) and BitTorrent (25%), the most popular. So, to combat this rise in music being allowed to flowly freely, Irish ISP Eircom has announced it will block all file sharing websites to help out the music industry.

Composer Richard Gibbs wants to launch a ‘Day of Sharing’, to highlight:

…the absurdity of people getting music free of charge on the Internet and urge lawmakers to make Internet service providers (ISPs, such as cable and telephone companies) financially responsible to creative artists.

I can understand Richard Gibbs’ view point. As a composer, he is primarily paid by selling his work for use in films or TV, and I imagine he very rarely showcases his work in concert. However, Mr. Gibbs lets you listen to his music streamed from his website – he should be aware that there are programs on t’interweb that let you record sound directly from the web, through your sound card. How else though, could he let people know about his work? A quick Last.fm search reveals he has music uploaded to the streaming site – good man.

So he’s aware of the ways of getting music to people – but is, of course, concerned about royalties and wnats to promote the notion that sharing music illegally is stealing. However, I would wager that in his youth, Mr. Gibbs would make mix tapes for friends, as we all have done. This is exactly the same as sharing an MP3, only not over a whole bunch of wires of course.

The sharing of music for free has been happening for years, and will continue to do so and there is nothing, at the moment, that artists and labels can do to prevent it. The challenge for the music industry then, is to find new revenue streams. What I will be looking out for, is the sales figures for U2′s latest LP, to see if Spotify, and free music streaming, helps or hinders sales – expect a follow up post in the near future on that one.

What do you think of Richard Gibbs’ suggestion, and what advice would you give him?

How To Get A Job in PR – Part 1

So, you’ve decided to get a job in PR, but you don’t know where to start. Getting onto the career ladder in the industry can be easy for some, tough for others. You might be a graduate looking for your first job, or you might be a seasoned journalist looking to cross to the other side. Either way, finding that first role can sometimes be very daunting.

Hopefully this two part guide will help to get you on your way.

What is PR?

Basic question, but depending on what you’ve been doing for the past three years, your definition will be different. For example if you’re a journalist it might be:

Those annoying people who call me at all hours of the day trying to sell in a story to me that i’m not interested about. They do seem to get paid better though…

Or if you’re a student/postgrad:

Communicating a set of key messages on behalf of a client to raise their awareness in the public domain

Both of these are true in their respective contexts. However, I like to define PR as (and i’m more than happy to debate this!):

Part of a brand’s overall communication and sales strategy, using a pull method, to engage with consumers

Whatever you wish to define PR as, make sure you know your reasons for thinking it is such so that you can explain with confidence what you believe PR to be. Remember, there is no right or wrong answer, as such, on this one.

Do I need a PR degree?

In short, no. Many PR professionals have come in to the industry through different methods. Former colleagues have been hoiked over from sponsorship and sales, and one particularly brilliant Acount Director worked her way up from a receptionist role to be a pivotal part of the agency’s team. Just because you don’t have an academic background, doesn’t mean you have to rule yourself out, it just means you have to work that little bit harder.

Having a degree of sorts will of course help – be it English, Journalism, Media, Marketing or Maths, Social Sciences or Psychology – if you can demonstrate that you are willing to learn, retain information and develop yourself, half the battle will be won there and then.

**UPDATED**

This is the power of social media you see… my friend and former colleague Jem Bahaijoub (follow her on Twitter here, it’s worth it, Jem’s knowledge of PR, and music PR in particular, is overwhelming!) lovingly pointed out that:

@geetarchurchy Great piece. Bear in mind that in the US, PR qualifications are highly regarded and sometimes a necessity for a job. x

…which I hadn’t taken into account! SO if you’re in the US, the answer to this question may very well be yes, yes you do!

**END OF UPDATE**

Where should I look?

For someone who is looking for a job in PR, actually finding one is quite easy, you just need to know where to look. The PR Week Job section would be the most obvious place to start. This has a multitude of employment opportunities from Intern roles, to Directorships, to CEO level positions. I’d recommend you stray away from CEO and Directorships for the time being…

What about being a bit 2.0 about the whole thing and look on Twitter or facebook? There are a few really good PR groups to join on our favourite social network, and a heck of a lot of PR people on Twitter itself.

Think about the current economic climate for a second. At the moment, the UK PR Industry is suffering from a lack of Account Managers (two steps or so above Account Executive). Many AM’s are going freelance, persuing other interests or going in-house. This means agencies are promoting from within to fill this mid-level role.

What does this mean for you? Well, it means that if Senior Acount Executives are being promoted to AM level, there should be budget within an agency to recruit a new AE or get an Intern on board. Now, an Intern is going to be cheaper to employ for 3 months than an AE, so why not look at getting some experience and look to make yourself indispensible whilst you’re there?

So the next step of course, is to find yourself that Intern or full time role to suit you.

In part 2 on Sunday, we’ll find that ideal role and look at what you need to do next.

Read Part 2 here
Read Part 3 here

Brands and the problem of people

Brands and people do not mix. The original pioneers of brands found that they could not sell their products if they were associated with ‘real’ people and marketing switched to introducing characters that consumers could aspire to be.

Of course this then drove the advertising boom in the 1950′s – 1980′s until consumerism reached it’s peak and people began to realise that they were being marketed to and wanted to begin a two way conversation.

What we have evolved into now is the complete two way conversation as social media takes a stronger and larger grip on the way that brands and their consumers converse. But, of course, when a consumer is having that all important conversation, they are speaking to someone who represents the brand and someone who has a set of key objectives that they are looking to get out of each conversation. This can be as simple as a key message, or resolving an issue that the consumer has raised.

This if course has been made a heck of a lot easier through Twitter. But, there are now a new set of challenges for companies to contend with when it comes to how they are represented on such platforms.

So what happens if the person representing the brand is a disgruntled employee, and uses the social networking service to make malign comments about the company that they work for?

This of course happened famously at the turn of this year, with Facebook’s own staff changing a page to have a dig at their employer’s use of advertising. Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s have also had to contend with unruly employees bad-mouthing working practices and customers, again on Facebook.

What can a brand do when this happens?

Don’t panic – if you over react, it’s bound to backfire on you sooner rather than later.

Identify who’s involved – and ask them about their concerns and what you can do to make their jobs easier

Re-evaluate your training programmes – are you teaching your employees how to deal with tricky situations well enough?

What do you think brands should do in this situation?

Anvil to rock Glastonbury, Download, Reading, Leeds…

The Internet is a wonderful thing. 1980′s rockers Anvil could play Glastonbury, Download, Reading and Leeds festivals following an online petition which found its way to Emily Eavis. Following the release of a film about the band by British director Sacha Gervasi, Anvil fans’s signatures have poured onto the e-petition and the once EMI labelled group could find themselves playing at Glastonbury in June.

Or, could it be that this is hype to boost the level of interest in Sacha Gervasi’s film?

Anvil have already played a one off show on the film’s launch night, and are reportedly working with (another 80′s rock band) Slayer’s manager to thrash out a deal.

This is another example of the power of the world wide web to boost the awareness of a cause, and it could just tie in nicely with Sacha’s film.

What better press could a film get than to be able to position itself a cult title that is making a real difference to the lives of four people, giving them another shot at fame and fortune, whilst causing a stir in the music industry and on the live circuit. Even Keanu Reeves is in on it.

This is undoubtedly great PR for both film and band and the festivals will enjoy being linked to the gathering re-emergence and success of the metallers. What will be interesting to follow is if the promise of live shows actually turn into firm bookings, and if the band manage to keep themselves together (both physically and mentally).

All the best to them – everybody deserves a second chance.

Top Ten: Blogs to Inspire the Design-minded

Where should you look if you want to design or build something that is quirky or chic? Do you need ideas or inspiration aesthetically? Take alook at the following and see if they get the brain bubbling…

1) Wallpaper.com
2) Trend Hunter
3) Yanko Design
4) Design Oberver
5) Designers Who Blog
6) We Heart Stuff
7) Un Cool Hunting
8) Wise Elephant
9) Dezeen

As ever, what have I missed off the list that you think should take spot number ten?

Video of the Week: The Simpsons – New Main Titles Sequence

To celebrate going HD, The Simpsons have a new main title sequence, and with 3 million views already, has flown around the Internet like a haggard brown sofa…

The Importance of being Reputable

One of the main functions of a PR, is reputation management – be that for your client, or for yourself, but which is the more important?

I overheard a conversation of an evening out recently where a PR said words to the effect of: “If this goes wrong, my repuation with (insert event organisers here) will be up in smoke”.

What staggered me about the arrogance of this comment, was that the PR was putting their reputation ahead of the client’s, with scant regard for how the brand that they are doing the PR for will be perceived because of an error at their end. This really set me thinking about brands reputations worldwide and PRs reputations in the PR/media world.

The recently released Edelman Trust Barometer looks at how much consumers trust business, which, it seems, is not that much. Only 38% of the US respondents said they trust business to do the right thing — a 20% fall from 2007. Indeed, In the U.K, France, and Germany, trust in business stayed at just 36% among the 35-64-year-olds who make up the audience, from last year.

Deon Binneman reflects:

As I tell audiences over and over, Reputation and trust goes hand in hand together. Violate trust, damage reputation.

And this goes for PRs just as much as it does their clients.

The previously linked post at Freelance Switch underlines the importance of being a brand in yourself in PR:

You aren’t Madonna. You aren’t Rembrant. You aren’t Dan Kennedy. You aren’t Steve Jobs. And let’s be realistic – right now, you’re a freelancer trying to earn a living. That’s what counts.

Of course, your brand can certainly help you earn that living. You can be successful, yes. It’s also very easy to develop a personal brand – you are who you are, right? No act, no show, no required ‘brand policies’, no fear of slipup. Personal brands are easy to create, easy to promote and easy to keep up over time.

A personal brand also helps you in other ways. The more popular and famous you are, the more opportunities come your way. You want and need those opportunities, so you do have to have an image working for you.

I’ll repeat that: You need an image working for you – because you don’t want to be working for you forever.

But, this shouldn’t get in the way of the work you do for a client, it should enhance the work you’re doing and prove to the client that this is why they’ve chosen to work with you, and subsequently further develop your reputation as a PR.

As a PR, your reputation should grow as the work you do gets better, but not to a point where you believe that you are a superstar PR in your own right and that the client should bend to your every whim. PRs should be consultants and advising clients on what to do – duh that’s the point – but not if the advice is purely for personal gain.

Non-existent government noise control

In November 2007 there was widespread outcry after it was leaked in Mixmag that the government were going to introduce a law that all bars, clubs and gig venues would be forced to control the amount of noise they emit. Several facebook groups popped up, with around 3,500 members split across several different groups protesting at the limiting of noise in venues in the UK. This afternoon the government announced that:

We are pleased to tell you that there is no truth in claims that the Government is planning to introduce a requirement for entertainment venues to fit noise control devices.

Each Local Authority Licensing Authority considers every live music application on its merits, and decisions are made entirely by them. However, the Licensing Act 2003 does not allow mandatory conditions for live music to be imposed across the board. It would not be possible to impose such a condition without a change in the law and such a change is not, and never has been, on the Government’s agenda.

There is also no legal requirement under health and safety legislation for entertainment venues to have noise control devices fitted, nor is there any proposal.

The Government is acutely aware of the contribution that music makes to our culture and we remain committed to a vibrant and flourishing creative sector, of which live music plays an essential part.

Which is of course great news, but there was to be no news in the first place. In fact, the story broke because of a report in Mixmag that broached the issue of protecting the hearing of club employees. All of a sudden, a Facebook group later, and an e-petition was winging it’s way to number ten.

This is the perfect example of how a small group of people, or even one person, can use the Internet and social networking to rally around a cause. It is also the perfect example of how, to be fully educated about an issue, you must read all the facts and get as much information about a topic as possible. Indeed, I signed the petition without doing this…

What it’s taught me is to be aware of the full nature of a cause before putting my name forward, penning a signature or thinking one way or another before jumping straight in. In the Internet Age we find it easier than ever to lend our voices to a cause by commenting on forums, adding ourselves to Facebook groups or Twittering. We must be careful not to let this easy access to badges demonstrating who we are, misguide others into thinking we’re something that we’re not, because of a few simple mouse clicks that we may later regret.

I, for the record, don’t regret signing this petition as I think listening to or making music, be it loud or quiet, is an important expression of our freedom to create and absorb.