i'm from public relations, do you hate me?

since there are only a couple of us here in singapore who are practicing public relations and are also active in new media or social media (links on the right under the header public relations), i see it as a sort of corporate responsibility to talk about the topic of where public relations fits in the grand scheme of all things new and social media.

as a public relations practitioner, we cannot blindly charge into this new space with six-shooters blazing without a plan. when you engage a blogger, or a participant in this new social space, you cannot just treat them as professional journalists, nor can we just infiltrate and saturate the space with crappy public relations practices that might also explain the current mindset people draw when the public thinks of public relations. if you're a public relations practitioner, or a blogger approached by a public relations representative, or a communications student, i hope this post is for you.

many times, society has been burned by the more 'shadowy' tactics of public relations. while i know must of us practice with a high level of professionalism, all it takes is a few bad eggs to make a lasting negative impression. so now that we are all trying ways and means to come up with best practices for this new media, can we avoid the mistakes others have done? i hope so. for starters, i won't claim to be an expert or have all the answers, but i hope that i can keep to my integrity both personally and professionally, and i hope the same goes for you too.

some of our counterparts have come up with the term pr 2.0. now we have to be clear that this does not just mean practicing public relations using new technology. what brian solis stresses is that because of the new publishing power bestowed onto everyone now, and not just people in the media and publishing industries, user-generated content is a force to be reckoned with. so remember, its not just about blogs, rss feeds, video and audio podcasts, it is ultimately about the people. that is pr 2.0, valuing the people, and the communities that people form, both virtually and in real life.

so if i could put down in point form, what i've learnt so far while working as part of ogilvy public relation's digital influence team, interacting with some bloggers and my own challenges when walking through a digital strategy with clients, it would be this:

1. engage and understand the space by reading blogs, forums, online magazines, watch youtube, chat on msn, use facebook

2. when you find that you have too much to read and consume, start looking to RSS and starting an online reader like google reader and start syncing feeds to your reader and watch how it magically updates so you don't have two millions tabs or windows open.

3. now, you've got tonnes of individuals updating you about what's going on in their lives, their areas of expertise and their industries, what you need to do now is identify the communities that are forming.

- for singaporeans, i recommend these wonderful aggregation sites that help sieve blogs for us, and actually some have formed their own little communities within them as well.

tomorrow.sg
ping.sg
sgblogger
singapore daily

4. finally, if you're up to it, start engaging! by this i mean, start your own blog, lifestreams, social bookmarks, youtube accounts, podcasts, upload pictures, get your own facebook accounts.. and with RSS, you can sync everything to one another.

and just to show off a 'lil bit, you can find me on all of these, if you know what i'm talking about, add me to your community or network, and you can be sure you'll receive only the best of what my clients can give you. in the end, you have information and i have information, let's tell more people and have a ball. that's one way of looking at public relations -)

my jaiku lifestream is found here: http://litford.jaiku.com

it syncs my flickr stream, blog, del.icio.us tags and latest music from last.fm to it and my twitter feed

most of these streams are linked to my facebook account as well. so add me on facebook from the side panel.

if you're on other social networks, i'm still on friendster and myspace

you can also watch my youtube videos here.

and contact me thru regular, old skool email at shamutheworld@yahoo.com or litford@gmail.com

so as a recap:
blog
flickr
youtube
del.icio.us
twitter
jaiku
last.fm
ping.sg
friendster
myspace
facebook
yahoo mail
gmail

and there you have it, times are changing quickly.. but remember, it ain't about the tech, it's about the people.

Lemon Barley Drink

I think yesterday's cold bukkake udon affected me more than i'd like to admit

Cold Bukkake Udon

WTF?!?

Hailing all future aliens

It's going to happen, news feeds are going to populate our busy metropolis with real time breaking stories to keep us forever connected to technology and information.

why blogs matter, even when everyone's doing it

this blog is not a diary. it is a publication that reaches out to the potential 6 billion people out there who can chance upon this space, with a computer, internet connection and a relatively good command of english.

while i exaggerate, the potential is there, not just for me, but for anybody who doesn't lock up his or her posts, and basically what we have here, is a virtual publication that is accessible via the use of the net.

extrapolate the future, worldwide wifi coverage, mobile devices subscribing to this blog's RSS feed, and you can receive real-time updates everytime i update, put new videos, pictures, audio, links and basically any sort of virtual content, anywhere, anytime and on the go.

mark my words, this is the future of digital communications.

although i'm sure you've heard it all before, which is why if you're reading this with interest, pay attention to these developments.

1. mobile devices
2. wifi
3. RSS
4. social bookmarking
5. lifestreams
6. convergence of services
7. simplicity in design

so if you're asking what this means for you, if everyone's doing the same thing, how will anyone get noticed?

8. aggregation <-- as more people link or direct to the source, that will raise the profile of a particular piece of content.

pay attention to the categories on the right hand side, with special emphasis on "theory" and "communication" if you like what you read in this post.

in the meantime, to demonstrate the power of linking or mixed media on a single blog post, check this video by cajun dance party below:



this song is definitely making it to my 2007 compilation.

when you think about it, i've linked media from youtube to my blog using an embedding code that displays a flash player on this blog post. when you think even further, google has acquired youtube, and that means a convergence in services.. and might we be too hasty to conclude that since blogger is owned by google, video-blogging is going to become even more common place in the future?

the virtualisation of our content is paramount to the future of digital communications. digitisation of analog content made it easier to share between peers. virtualisation allows all users to view, interact and share content using any browser connected to the net, independent of software. software and code exists in browsers, not your hard drives anymore.

things are always changing

i was going thru my old posts when i came across this one. i was about a month into my final week in uni and i asked myself these questions:

should i go back to singapore or seek life elsewhere?

i know i'm going to be in singapore for the the next three years of my life, or at least not in australia

what ministry should i join or will God put me into?

im helping out with the youth worship ministry, and people still remember that i play bass or made videos.

will i buy an lc-a?

i bought an lc-a

will i buy a mac?

i didn't buy a mac. i plan to at the end of the year.

will that mac be a powerbook or powermac?

i'm deciding between a blackbook or a macbook pro

should i be getting a satalite PC instead?

home got itself a desktop in the end.

what about portable music, an iriver or an ipod?

i bought a black 80gig ipod

what sorta music will i be playing when i go back to singapore?

i'm still playing in leeson, joined one point brilliance, and helping another side project out

do i start any new projects?

project rsvp, amongst other things

what sort of job will i hold in the future?

i'm working in ogilvy public relations

what sort of position will i get?

i started where everybody starts it

will i be respected by society and my peers?

nobody seems to hate me..

will i ever have a relationship with anyone?

not yet.

will whatever job i find myself into pave the way for something else, something greater?

it does seem that way, but only time will tell

how can i be a better musician?

by playing more often

how can i be a better christian?

obedience, faith, discipline

how can i be a better friend?

you stand by them

how can i be a better son?

you don't shirk from your responsibilities and you respect your parents

will i have enough for the future?

not yet.

what sort of hobbies will see me past my prime?

bass playing, reading

how will i age or grow old?

by asking questions

how will i bring up my kids?

maybe i won't have any..

what sort of values will i learn today that will serve me well into my years?

tonnes, i guess that's why i'm still alive..

will i ever direct my own production?

no. but i was a cinematographer on a project last year.

will i be a leading expert in my field?

not quite there yet. but i'm in an exciting place.

will all these things matter if i surrender everything to God?

i think they would still matter.

should i even be concerned about these things?

i don't see why not.. it's amazing how many questions have been answered in a year..

listen up and listen close

i'm typing in this space again, and it's been a pretty massive week that almost daily for the past week, i've been coming home brain dead.

i turned 25 over the weekend, learned a massive load from our american express party, which you can see some awesome pictures taken by one of the bloggers we invited here. he goes by the handle, tetanus and i'm glad i met him and some others as part of work and play -)

can't believe i actually hit 25, that's two more years to get the rockstar career going on and pass on from a massive overdose or a grand fireball by the time i hit 27. tales of grandeur, but just trying to put some life and perspective in an otherwise docile singaporean existence. but i exaggerate, it isn't all that bad, and i'm glad have a chance to do what i'm doing.

brain's pretty fried, i don't know why.. but hopefully i'll be more coherent by the next post. gonna get some shut eye. sleep tight and right folks.

The bright lights of the city

In a club girls with the shortest skirts, longest hair and show the most skin, it's a jiving girl in tshirt and jeans that seems to get me going on. Some people are rare to come by, so value them when you have the chance to

Tar

For some reason, coke looks really disgusting like some foul black tar from an abyss