Social media is helping me to grieve

This is one of the hardest blog posts that I have composed. Writing this is part of my grieving process. But there is a serious message here of the value that social media really can bring to our lives, particularly in times of personal need or sorrow.

Yesterday one of my house rabbits very suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. He was only five years old and full of life until less than a day before he died. To many people who read this blog, and particularly those who know me personally, you'll understand how heartbreaking this is for me. My house rabbits are my family. They live and run freely in my house. They keep me company in the office when I am working (the photo below is of Herbie helping me to decorate the Pickle Jar office back in 2007 when I set up the business). I feed them, care for them and play with them every day. I love them like children.

Herbie was a rescue rabbit. He had been dumped in a cardboard box at a rabbit rescue centre with no note to even tell what his name was. He was a lively chap, clearly still a baby, and we're convinced that when we called in to visit the rescue centre four and a half years ago that he chose us. I think he knew he was on to a good thing - space to run around, fresh vegetables to eat every day, lots of hay, an abundance of toys, and two big sisters to keep him company.

On Wednesday evening we noticed he wasn't his usual self. He didn't come bounding over to the treat bowl, and just sat hunched up looking sad. So, on Thursday morning I booked him in to see the vet. I took him in that afternoon and she couldn't see anything obviously wrong with him. The only problem was that his back teeth were looking a little long and could have been causing him discomfort. So, I left him there for the afternoon so they could put him under a general anaesthetic and file down his teeth. The vet called at 3.30 to say he was absolutely fine, had woken up, and that we could pick him up at 6.30. We arrived on time and sat waiting to be called through looking forward to seeing our boy and hoping that he'd just be looking forward to having his treats that night.

The vet called us in. No Herbie. She had some bad news. As they were getting him ready for us to bring him home he collapsed. I didn't realise at first that she was saying he had died, but the news soon dawned on me. His teeth weren't the problem afterall, but we think some form of organ failure. He died very suddenly. We spent 20 minutes saying our farewells to the little fella, and headed home with an empty carry case in floods of tears. I haven't really stopped crying since.

The point of writing this post though is two-fold. Firstly, being able to publicly express my grief in this way is helpful to me. It gives me a place to record my thoughts and pour out my heart as I sit in an otherwise silent office. Secondly, though, is to make a point about social media. Despite our constant tears, both Nathan and I almost immediately tweeted about what had happened. We felt moved to update our facebook status, and we were able to chat to some understanding friends via instant messenger. Talking on the phone has been too hard, but at least typing is manageable. Losing a pet is not like losing a family member. There isn't really a system of people phoning each other people to share the news. That just isn't how it's done. But social media has given us a platform from which to share our grief and to receive back an enormous 'virtual' hug (we've had some real ones too of course, including with Scotch and Macy - our other two rabbits).

Social media comes under so much criticism for revealing so much about our lives in a public forum, and for voyeurism. Yet lately I have seen several friends share sad news through social media platforms and receive an overwhelming response. There are times when that sense of community, albeit a virtual community in some cases, is really needed. Right now, I'm no good for going outside and seeing lots of people, but through the power of social media, text messaging and instant messaging, lots of people have been able to come to me and offer their support. Nathan even had a tweet from the Times Higher Education - from someone he's never even met - offering their sympathies.

This is one of those times when, through all the concerns and negative press, social media has really come into its own.

This blog features as B2B Centre's case study on blogging

Colleagues at the National B2B Centre have kindly included the Pickle Jar Communications blog as a case study on blogging for business on their website. We're rather flattered to be profiled in this way, and thought we might follow that up with a little extra support of our own. So, if you've arrived at this blog because you've read about it through the B2B Centre's e-newsletter or website, you might also find our handy guide to corporate blogging slidecast useful if you're thinking of engaging with bloggers as part of your PR activity or thinking of setting up your own.

Rough and ready video can work

I do quite a lot of work with video, often overseeing video productions that cost upwards of four figure sums, resulting in beautifully crafted polished results. But we all know that there is a real thirst online for rough and ready video, generally speaking unedited or only roughly edited, and shot on someone's camcorder. YouTube has proven the point over and over again.

With this in mind, and for no other reason than the fact that I like to have a new techy toy to play with every so often, I bought a flipvideo handheld camcorder the other day. It cost about £90 or so, and is pocket sized so I can take it out and about with me. It'll record up to about an hour's worth of footage, and runs on bog standard batteries. The beauty of it though is that it's so quick to use. You whip it out of your bag, press the button on the side and in 2-3 seconds you're ready to record - fantastic for catching something that needs to be caught quick (though still not quick enough to catch footage of my snoozing rabbit laying stretched out on his side this other day, but then that's more testiment to my speed at grabbing the camera than the camera itself).

So, I'll be carrying this around with me from now on, grabbing the odd bit of footage here and there, and hopefully picking up some interesting interviews and think pieces. I'll start posting some examples soon - need to find some interesting people to speak with first - and keep reporting back on how I'm getting on.

An apology to my blog (look what I've been up to!)

I'm afraid I've been ignoring you, my beloved blog. It isn't that I've fallen out of love with you, it's just I've been a little distracted lately. I'm afraid, dear blog, that I have been playing away a little. At the beginning of this week I created a new social network on Ning for communications and marketing professionals working in the Higher Education sector. HE Comms has been so much more popular in its first week that I ever dreamt it would be, so I've been spending time building on it and further developing it in a bid to spread and retain that initial interest. And, yes, I have also been blogging on HE Comms. It's not the end of our relationship, my dearest lovely blog, but I just need to share my time equally and work out what I post here and what I post directly to HE Comms. You're part of HE Comms too, and feature on the 'other blogs' feed, so don't feel too left out. Who knows, perhaps even some of our new friends on HE Comms might come and spend some time with you my little blog. Keep heart, I haven't lost interest.

THE headline guided by student blogger

It's a rather miserable looking Saturday today so I'm sticking indoors for now, instead choosing to catch up on reading this week's Times Higher Education (THE). There's a great example here of new media influencing traditional media, and showing that what gets said on a blog - even just a passing comment - can influence one's reputation on a wider scale.

The article, introducing the new Chief Executive of the BBSRC, Professor Douglas Kell, is delightfully headlined 'New BBSRC chief "Olympic gold medallist" of research'. Great headline for the BBSRC and Professor Kell, hey? However, the really interesting thing from my point of view is that the headline was influenced by a simple statement on a student blog:

If research were an olympic sport, the new chief executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) would win gold for "weightlifting with citations", at least according to one online blogger.

The article goes on to mention how Professor Kell engaged with the discussions on the blog that ensued, thus showing him to be 'keen to engage with students, colleagues and the wider public'.

I think this says a lot about journalism when the source that influences their headline is a student blog, but it also speaks volumes about Professor Kell himself. Go Professor Kell! Let's hope more academic leaders can be celebrated for engaging with publics in this manner.

Blog rebuttal unit? You're asking for trouble!

I used the rare opportunity earlier this week while travelling on the train into London not to switch the laptop on (I did that on the way back to start writing this post) but instead to read last week’s issue of PR Week. It goes without saying that the word ‘blogosphere’ plastered on the front page aroused my interest. Interest, that is, and concern.

Now, it could well be the case that it’s all in the way it’s reported, and if that’s the case then perhaps PR Week need to develop their understanding of how social media is changing the way in which we must got about PR, but I couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath and inkling of disgust at the news that ‘the Labour Party is exploring plans for an online rapid rebuttal unit, designed to kill off damaging stories circulating in the blogosphere’. Rebuttal unit! Kill off! What kind of PR is this? Certainly not the kind that is conducive to successful engagement with bloggers.

I’m sensing the bloggers reactions now. The thing about the ‘blogosphere’ is that you can’t just kill stories off. This is the world of social media and communities and if a PR person steps in and makes any attempt at trying to ‘kill off’ a community contribution, then out roar will follow.

PR Week’s comparison of this new unit to ‘Labour’s famous Excalibur unit, which was successfully used to kill negative stories by Tory-supporting newspapers in the run-up to the 1997 general election’ verges on the absurd. The way in which we approach the press and approach bloggers and other online communities is not one and the same thing. The PR industry needs to know this otherwise negative stories in the blogosphere could be made even worse by PR intervention. I expect that Derek Draper, the former lobbyist allegedly appointed to lead on this initiative, already knows this, but here are a few thoughts on how they should approach negative online stories as a starter for ten:

• Be proactive, not reactive. If a political party wants a positive online image then engaging with online communities at an early stage is key. Become part of those communities and have online dialogue with them on an ongoing basis, don’t just ‘pop up’ when something negative is said.

• If ‘reacting’ to something said online, do so through a key figure in the party and not just through a spokesperson. Make sure that you are seen to engage in the conversation and not simply try to ‘rebut’ what is being said.

• Be human and personable in your responses and approach, not simply tolling the party line.

• Never EVER send a blogger a blanket press release. The nature of blogging is for people to write about what they want to write, not what you want them to write.

• Do your research with bloggers. Actually read their work and try to understand them before making any approach. Don't presume you understand them from reading one or two posts.

• Be wary of trying to ‘bribe’ bloggers with gifts and free lunches. Serious bloggers are sceptical people and probably more likely to expose your tricks to sway them towards your message, than actually write what you want them to write.

• Produce social media guidelines for party members. If any of them are prolific bloggers themselves, or engaging with online social communities, then you need to make sure they’re not saying anything or behaving in any way online that is likely to send out a negative message about the party. This doesn’t mean telling them what to say, but instead guides their behaviour online to make sure they’re not overly reactive to negative stories, potentially making the situation worse.

A great example of the power of new media

I'm working late tonight. Because I'm working late, I'm missing out on a trip to the Coventry Pizza Express with my fiance and a group of our friends. Sounds like a fairly run-of-the-mill Tuesday night, doesn't it? However, there is a story behind this trip to Pizza Express - one which - combined with tonight's activities (and bearing in mind that they are still probably sat in the restaurant as I write this blog post) really demonstrates the power and speed of new media communications.

The background, in a nutshell, is that between us we've all experienced some examples of pretty poor customer service from this restaurant lately, despite the food being great and it being one of only a few places in Coventry city centre that we like going to and that suits all of our tastes. So, my friend Ben wrote this blog post a few days ago as a bit of a whinge about their customer service.

The blog post did the rounds thanks to the power of google and twitter and ultimately resulted in Ben receiving a call from the manager of the restaurant yesterday assuring him of their committment to customer service. So, true to form, the gang have headed over there tonight while I sit here working away.

As I'm working, one of said-gang and an avid Twitterati has posted a message linking through to a video recorded on his phone as they arrived at the restaurant this evening. In less than an hour the video had already been viewed 22 times. In case you can't quite follow, the gist of this is that the operations manager said that we could request to sit upstairs anytime we wanted, but when they've tested this out tonight, they've yet again been denied using the space upstairs (a space which they rarely seem to use even when the restaurant is full, hence the earlier complaints about customer service).

And I've also just received another Tweet from my fiance this time telling me that they've been refused another drink (just to be clear - they won't be drunk or anything at this time - they're just a bunch a nice young professionals with money to spend wanting to have a quiet drink).

What a great example of the power of mobile, video, and social networking, hey? They haven't even left the restaurant and already probably upwards of 30 or 40 people (by time I have also tweeted about this blog post) will be aware of this.

Twitter update: 10 mins after posting this blog
Jake (our talented videographer) says that customer service from the girl that served them tonight has been good - I just thought I ought to add this update to keep it fair to the staff that do deliver good service!

Useful toys for the blog

I'm always looking for new and useful tools for the blog and by following Paul Bradshaw on Twitter (www.twitter.com/paulbradshaw) I have had introductions to some great resources this morning. Firstly, he linked through to the blog post 60 ridiculously useful tools for your blog or website.

If that wasn't enough, I then also spotted Paul's use of polldaddy.com on his Online Journalism Blog. Polldaddy looks like a rather neat little tool for embedding polls and short surveys (for free using the basic account) in blogs and websites. Certainly one that I'll be thinking of using in future.

Thanks Paul!

Pitching to bloggers

There has been a great deal of discussion recently about how to pitch to bloggers. Many bloggers are adding PR companies to spam filters in order to stop being pestered by pointless press releases.
I'm currently preparing a new media training session for a client and searching for useful resources to give them. I came across this really great discussion on Matt Haughey's blog about how to pitch to bloggers. Well worth a read.

New Pickle Jar Communications Website Launched

We're delighted to announce that we launched our new website this week. As with any successful website, we aim for it to be an ever evolving project, but we're happy with the results so far. New features include a Twitter feed (anyone reading this blog for a while will know what a big fan I am!), a feed directly from this blog and a 'handy guides' section where we will be providing guides and resources for communications projects. Our guide to preparing for a broadcast media interview is aready there, as is our video project planning sheet. Do visit the website, take a look around and let us know what you thing. www.picklejarcommunications.com

A real tweet for PROs

Just following on from my recent Twitter addiction, here's a great post today from Mashable on how to monitor 'tweets' and use them to manage your brand.

Let's consider the application of this, for example, for a university. Say a prospective student tweets that they're trying to find information on a particular course, or trying to find something out about your university. Perhaps that piece of information isn't readily available online, or it is available but well hidden. That university could then respond by either quickly putting the relevant piece of information up on their site, and provide a link back to the person who tweeted in the first place, or by supplying the link to that person. Surely this is just basic social media monitoring that all universities and similar organisations should be doing, but perhaps don't yet have the time and resources to manage.

A del.icio.us solution!

Really useful blog post here on how the Missouri University of Science and Technology are using del.icio.us to help them evaluate online coverage of their brand.

What a clog!

Julia Finch reports in today's Guardian of yesterday's drop in share prices at Tesco being largely the consequence of a little too much information provided in Simon Uwins' 'Fresh & Easy' blog. According to Finch, traders blamed yesterday's drop in share price by 11.25p on Uwins' blog post of 26 March, Pausing for Breath at Fresh & Easy. Tricky one from a communications point of view. Uwins is suggesting in his post that the reason they are slowing down the new openings of new stores (or 'taking a break') is to allow them time to listen to customer feedback and respond or make the relevant changes. Good PR practice on the one hand. In fact, excellent PR practice following the correct 2-way communications, feedback, revision, rollout cycle. Perhaps not such good PR practice from a business point of view though if his post genuinely did assist in the fall of the share price. What a lovely case study for a PR student somewhere to take a look at! Hint: there might be something slightly amiss at stage 3 of Cutlip, Center and Brooms' PR planning cycle in this case study.