Disqus - Latest Comments for dannywhatmough

Re: PR lessons from the Netflix disaster

Danny Whatmough — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:45:57 -0000

Thanks guys. Yes there are two issues at the heart of this. Firstly, the business model is now quite clearly flawed. This alone is bad enough, but the PR strategy has merely highlighted these fundamental flaws in a rather sloppy way. Their Facebook integration could potentially be a saving grace for the company however, so it would be wrong to write them off yet....

Re: Does the PR industry need better leadership?

Danny Whatmough — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 08:27:54 -0000

Thanks Philip. Yes, I'm beginning to see some good things coming out of the CIPR which is encouraging (I haven't been able to attend any of the social summer events but have heard very positive things about them).

Nor am I trying to just get at the CIPR. It just saddens me that it's taken so long for some of this stuff to happen, when many of us in the industry have been talking and doing this stuff for years!

Onwards and upwards though! Hopefully the future's bright!

Re: Does the PR industry need better leadership?

Danny Whatmough — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 08:24:03 -0000

Thanks Paul :0

Re: Are promoted Twitter accounts the new SEO?

Danny Whatmough — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 09:11:49 -0000

Yes, I totally agree that comparing the benefits of SEO and social media is like chalk and cheese, but I think comparing the optimisation element is interesting...

Re: Why PR May Not Win The Social Media Agency Wars

Danny Whatmough — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:24:54 -0000

But surely you could say the same about other types of agencies that want to get into social? It's new for us all and, while we all have many positive skills we can bring, everyone is learning...

Re: Why PR May Not Win The Social Media Agency Wars

Danny Whatmough — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 04:50:24 -0000

Stephanie, I think you are slightly confusing 'ad agencies using social networks to help distribute traditional campaigns (e.g. Old Spice)' and real social media community building, engagement and strategy. The former is clearly going to be done by ad agencies and the like, the latter may well be handled better by PR agencies

Re: A missed opportunity for British Gas

Danny Whatmough — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:10:44 -0000

As someone that's just about to move house, I totally agree with you.

I fear the answer is probably that it's too costly and time consuming for them to implement... Hope I'm wrong...

Re: Paper.li adapts its auto-tweet

Danny Whatmough — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:11:49 -0000

I totally agree Graham. Paper.li may offer a shortcut to some extent, but without human involvement, its 'added value' will always been limited.

Re: Why paper.li and automated curation are doomed to fail

Danny Whatmough — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:50:35 -0000

I guess I don't really have a problem with the tool itself, just the way that some people use it to automatically spew vague content into Twitter streams. I can see the value in curating content you might have missed, but am not convinced that total automation is the way forward. I think we are very much in the early days still...

Re: Why paper.li and automated curation are doomed to fail

Danny Whatmough — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:48:13 -0000

I'm a big fan of follower culls, though, as mentioned, I've resorted more to using lists (culling vast numbers is actually quite tricky on Twitter) to ensure that some of my favourite followers get more prominence than my general stream, which is good for general overviews, but makes it easy to miss little gems. I guess its all personal preference at the end of the day....

Re: Why paper.li and automated curation are doomed to fail

Danny Whatmough — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:45:23 -0000

Agreed - thanks for the mention on the blog ;)

Re: Why paper.li and automated curation are doomed to fail

Danny Whatmough — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:44:29 -0000

Yes, I'd be very interested, thanks.

Re: Why paper.li and automated curation are doomed to fail

Danny Whatmough — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:44:03 -0000

Thanks for all the comments guys, glad the post has at least created some debate!

A few clarifications. I don't really have a problem with Paper.li itself. I guess it is more the way people use it. Personally I can't stand automated tweets, but I guess some of us will just have to agree to disagree here!

There is then a separate point here about automated curation. This is a fascinating subject area for me and I'm sure we'll hear more and more about it in due course. Ev Williams has some interesting things to say about information overload and Twitter this week too: http://gigaom.com/2010/09/0...

Finally, I think Sam makes a great point. In our social media bubble, it is easy to forget about the 'great unwashed' out there. Technologies like Paper.li are of course in their infancy so much of this is pure speculation, but the debate is thrilling so keep it coming :)

Re: Danny Whatmough on “Are brands actually using social media to be social?”

Danny Whatmough — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 05:31:49 -0000

Exactly! Brands out there 'are' doing it, so it can be done. Too few just don't get the differences inherent in this particular channel.

Re: Danny Whatmough on “Are brands actually using social media to be social?”

Danny Whatmough — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 05:31:03 -0000

Thanks Owain. Totally agree, there is a lack of education and knowledge and too many agencies and brands are rushing in with old mindsets. It just wont cut it!

Re: Guest post: Power to your employees! But do brands have the guts?

Danny Whatmough — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 07:19:51 -0000

Yes, good point. It's certainly not something that will happen overnight. It takes time, effort and, as you say, a mind shift from the company in question. But, as I said to Olivia above, we've seen some great examples of where some of the most unlikely people in a company have been the ones that really get stuck in when given the opportunity.

Thanks for your comment :)

Re: Guest post: Power to your employees! But do brands have the guts?

Danny Whatmough — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 07:17:54 -0000

Yes, I totally agree Olivia. We've had huge success with starting with those that are keen/interested in participation. But it is also interesting to work with those that are initially hesitant. Often, as soon as they are given the freedom and training, they are the ones that you can't stop!

Re: Danny Whatmough on “Are brands actually using social media to be social?”

Danny Whatmough — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:13:47 -0000

Thanks Jon, I totally agree. The 'mind shift' for companies on social media is huge. It's certainly possible though - as we've demonstrated with some of our own clients - and the benefits are there to be had. Overall, we weren't really surprised by what we found here, but simple aspects like just replying to tweets was quite shocking!

Re: Reputation Online social

Danny Whatmough — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:44:33 -0000

I'll be there :)

Re: Successful Customer Service on Social Media: A Practical Guide

Danny Whatmough — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:07:42 -0000

Thanks for the link Ben :)

Re: Is customer service via social media really the answer?

Danny Whatmough — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:47:25 -0000

Thanks for stopping by and commenting Ben. It's certainly an interesting area and it's not all black and white at the moment. Consumer take up of customer service via social media is another very interesting part of the debate. Time will tell...

Re: James Whatley on “Hyundai – a missed opportunity?”

Danny Whatmough — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:40:16 -0000

It's very similar to the previous incident that plagued ITV last year when a TicTac advert interrupted a goal at the end of a match. Tic Tac responded with a nice little viral - http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Re: Why PR just doesn’t need journalists anymore

Danny Whatmough — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 05:46:03 -0000

Thanks for the comment Kerry. The title is, of course, deliberately provocative ;)

I guess the point I'm really trying to make is that too many PR agencies etc. have been blinkered by media relations as their sole activity. That is now a shortsighted view. As you say though, it's not either/or.

Re: My PR Week letter

Danny Whatmough — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 04:03:27 -0000

test

Re: National Rail’s blog misses the point

Danny Whatmough — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:55:01 -0000

You're spot on - the blog as it stands isn't 'social'. It's one of my big bugbears - too many companies think that just because they broadcast information on a blog or Twitter they are 'doing' social media. They aren't! They are doing traditional media on channels that have the potential to be social!