Social Media Scotland Podcast Quiet News Day, QND, Episode 7

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Quiet News Day hosts Scott Douglas and Shaun Milne open episode seven with a startling admission – they are often baffled by technology.

However, before long the pair are soon discussing the news, PR and social media issues of the day – from the launch of Google’s iPhone rival to the rise of Twitter search in Google.

They also discuss the rise to dominance of digital-enabled journalists in what would once have been considered ‘traditional newsrooms’.

Changes in the PR world also come under scrutiny – with Scott exploring the rise of the ‘social media release’ and Shaun asking the difficult question about whether it means PR clients will have to pay more.

While regular “Gamechanger” contributor Craig McGill is absent for a second consecutive week, his first Social Media Dinner also comes up for discussion.

In a change to the usual format, the weekly guest interview slot is instead taken up with thumbcast chats with four people who attended the event.

Eddie Pearson of the hugely successful Celtic Underground podcast shares a few tips; Maxine Finlay, the PR for two of Scotland’s biggest tourist attractions (Royal Zoological Society of Scotland) extols the benefits of Twitter; digital start-up entrepreneur Murray Cox tells why he’s launching Digital Mud, a social media monitoring and evaluation business; and journalist Victoria Raimes – feted as a trailblazer in bringing new media nous to the newsroom – explains how social media is helping her reporting career.

SHOWNOTES AND LINKS

Launch of the Google Device to Rival the iPhone
Opening with news that Google’s new phone is now a reality:
http://mashable.com/2009/12/12/google-phone-iphone/

Scott admits he’s been outsmarted in the search for a ‘smart phone’ and isn’t technically savvy enough to navigate through the huge and baffling amounts of information surrounding such devices.

Survey Shows Tech Reliant Brits Are Still Technophobic
Rather thoughtfully Shaun throws Scott a crumb of consolation in the shape of survey which shows the majority of Brits are still technophobic.
http://mintelmarketing.cmail4.com/T/ViewEmail/y/BB29D8BE53E8C2DC/77B0D1284E8785500F8C96E86323F7F9

Twitter Results in Google Search
Live during the discussion Scott and Shaun get sidetracked by the shiny new toy that is Google’s new offering which brings up most recent tweets related to a users search terms. Despite their technical shortcomings, Scott and Shaun like this!
http://topnews.us/content/28851-google-adds-real-time-twitter-results-search-appliance

Guardian Launches iPhone App
With much online chat among Guardianistas around its new iPhone app, Shaun bought it to test. After sharing his (rather lovely) iPhone with envious Scott, the pair declare the app a hit – intuitive, easy to use and easy to navigate.
The pair shrug off those critics who say the Guardian is wrong to charge for news that it is elsewhere offering for free.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/insideguardian/2009/dec/10/guardian-iphone-app-launched#start-of-comments
http://themediablog.typepad.com/the-media-blog/journalism/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iphone

Trinity Mirror’s New Head of Content
Shaun highlights that Trinity Mirror Nationals division has appointed Matt Kelly to the new position of digital content director. He’ll be responsible for the creation and development of the division’s digital sites -Shaun flagged up the impressive difference Kelly has already made to the Mirror’s 3am.co.uk and its online football site.
http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2009/12/09/12179-kelly-appointed-digital-content-director-for-trinity-mirror-nationals

When Will A Web Editor Lead a Major Newsroom
Discussion gets lively over a lengthy article in a renowned US trade journal dedicated to journalism.
The article probes how long it will take for a major traditional news outlet to appoint a leader whose career has never involved print journalism.
Scott and Shaun discuss why some print journalists are slow to embrace the move to digital – insisting it brings nothing but opportunity.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004052594

The Media Release Evolves
To follow the journalistic led content, Scott switches the conversation to public relations – referencing a recent post by renowned online commentator Dan York. The US writer and blogger has taken the concept of the “social media release” to another level.
He claims that PR practitioners who now accept the traditional paper media release is dead are also having to embrace a new way of issuing material across a longer timeframe and across multiple channels.
He also says this will require the information to be written and packaged in a wide variety of ways and formats – christening his theory, The Attention Wave:
http://www.disruptiveconversations.com/2009/09/creating-an-attention-wave—building-a-package-around-your-news-release.html#comment-6a00d8341bfc6e53ef0128764f5ae8970c

Social Media News Release
http://www.pr-squared.com/2006/05/the_social_media_press_release.html

Die, press release, die
http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2006/02/die_press_relea.php

SOCIAL MEDIA DINNER
Scott gives Shaun a brief report on the recent Social Media Dinner held in Glasgow (the first in a planned series of events) and introduces a series of interviews with people who attended:

Second Life Graduation for Edinburgh University’s Virtual Students
Podcast hosts wind up the show by discussing innovative use of Second Life by one of Scotland’s most venerable institutions – Edinburgh University.
For distance learning students who miss out on the usual graduation ceremony, the varsity laid on a virtual graduation, where student’s avatars could mix and mingle with fellow students.
Typically, Shaun asked whether it was possible to get drunk and have a “night of shame” in Second Life.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8378291.stm

ENDS