blending the mix

Marta nails it - looks good AND factual!

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Something last week took me back to Steve’s post, and how PC design was turning the corner (despite IBM’s Thinkpad trying its best to bring back brick-based laptop design) and I decided to republish a post I wrote a year and a day ago regarding the “fad” that is Mac and why the battle Microsoft are facing is not with Apple’s software, but its hardware.

For some time now, I have underestimated the message behind the Mac versus PC ads.

Whilst the deeper message comes from largely listening to the audio - "macs are cool and easy to use and stunning and sexy and erm…well, just bloody better than the PC" (!!!) I think there is an greater meaning behind the actual look and appearance of the PC in the ads than is/has being/been discussed - and the issue is nothing to do with the OS.

When Apple talk about the PC, they actually mainly mean Windows - yet Windows has nothing to do with the design of the PC, so why are Apple knocking the PC? Is their OS actually so average that they have to knock something other than the Windows OS?! With Vista, Microsoft have brought themselves up to speed and have done a great job. It is more than a visual match for OS X Tiger and previews I have seen of Leopard does not seem to make much more dramatic steps ahead of Vista. But who also has control over how their product looks on the high street? Apple.

Microsoft’s biggest downfall, is losing/giving-up on/never having control of the dull, albeit improving presentation of the very machines in which their product is installed and as such, their OS gets tarred with the same brush. Even early Apple OS’s looked terrible, as did early Windows OS’s, but with design of the machine being so crucial to the Apple ethos, Apple have been able to control people’s perceptions of the software contained within - hence the dull, staid appearance of Mr. PC above. With good reason.

Would Ferrari be happy to put their engine in a Citroen C2? No.

Do Rolex package their unique mechanisms in a plastic case and strap? No.

Packaging is everything. And I am not talking about the box and wrapper!

With the Blue Monster representing a change in Microsoft’s approach to promoting itself as well as the market it serves, maybe it should also consider how the packaging of its product is seen too?

Tags: blue monster, microsoft, apple, mac, pc, vista, os x

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Image courtesy of Rebecca
The web is awash with the scandal of the frigging Viacom IP order.

I don’t think you’ll find anybody in the industry who won’t agree with Pete, but does the general public really care?

If Viacom was what I would call a direct, one brand business, like McDonalds (i.e. the public brand is the trading brand) then I have no doubt that they would see a shift in not only perception, but a direct impact on sales too. People would walk with their feet.

But with Viacom their shows and artists are the brands - the things people love. Are the audiences really going to punish Viacom by not watching their favourite shows? Not at all.

The only loser here is You Tube…because the same people who currently watch the odd show/movie/video on You Tube will simply revert back to watching the same show/movies/videos in their conventional ways - I don’t think You Tube is that far down the line that it has become a TV replacement so what has the average Joe lost? Not much at all.

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in Web 2.0 Blogs

I have to admit to not knowing any of the other blogs in the same category when the shortlist came out other than Mike’s Techcrunch. That alone makes me think I have some bloody stiff opposition, let alone now that I have seen the other nominees:

* Brian Kelly’s UK Web Focus: Reflections on the Web and Web 2.0
* Roo Reynolds - What’s Next?, “UK-based Metaverse Evangelist, blogger and geek”
* Eightbar from Hursley Park
* DRM blog by CapGemini’s Jude Umeh, from BCS
* Middledigit.net, by Jonathan Hopkins and covers Web 2.0, technology and marketing
* Broadstuff.com from Broadsight
* TechCrunch UK
* Blending the Mix: A look at the new world and new marketing and all it means…
* Paul Downey: Whatfettle, marras?
* User Pathways by James Kelway
* Ian White and Michael Pincher’s blog on collaborative technologies,

And I can’t go without encouraging you to vote for one of my two pals below (who unfortunately reside in the same category):

Steve from Microsoft and Stephen from Rainier PR. Both are really, really good blogs written by two very smart (and successful) guys to boot! If you have to vote - give each of these guys a vote!

Oh…and don’t forget to give the guys at Outside Line a vote too. IMHO, the LG Blog is the benchmark for blogger outreach (and that is no slight on the wonderful work that David et al. do either!).

Don’t get me wrong, these blogs are all good, but if you DON’T vote for me, I’ll get Viacom’s lawyers to force your ISP to give me your IP address…and I’ll come round with some little friends!

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Here is a clip of first 10 minutes of Neville’s presentation, discussing how Social Media is shaping the landscape for public relations:

Neville Hobson at KMP’s Marketing 2.0 seminar from paul Fabretti on Vimeo.

I have to say, I have long admired Neville’s blog and the stamina he has shown in producing over 350 editions of FIR. But the way with which he credibly explained much of the often bullshit terminology so often heard when discussing social media was a pleasure - and I am sure was as well received by all the attendees.

This second video is shorter and perhaps more useful to people wanting to get a quick “what do i do next” fix. In it, Neville gives out 8 pointers about how you SHOULD approach Social Media.

NOTE: YOU WILL NEED TO TURN THE SOUND UP!

Enjoy:

Neville Hobson - The 8 rules of social media engagement from paul Fabretti on Vimeo.

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There’s an element of the below to my Qik interview with Neville (below). There’s a definite “rabbit caught between the headlights” nature to my responses - don’t worry, I am not always like that:

There are a couple of snippets of useful information in it though:

UPDATE: It has also been brought to my attention by my wonderful colleagues Gez and Dave, that the content of my short interview may in fact lend itself more to the below. Nuff said.

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And here is a short Qik from Neville of Bill introducing the event and laying out the social media landscape:

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I am posting a series of Qik videos, kindly taken by Neville Hobson from this morning’s Marketing 2.0 Seminar.

This one is Ronnie Brown from Outside Line who created one of the best blogger engagement programs I have seen to date for LG when promoting the Viewty. As a direct recipient of the activity, I was delighted that they were able to explain in more detail, the strategy they developed.

Ronnie, Chris - thanks again.

Enjoy!

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It’s been a while since I contributed something of significance to the blog (many of you would argue that I have rarely done that, but that’s another story ) - I have been mad busy with client projects, client presentations, seminars and finally the launch of our Social Media release tool, PressRoom - all of which have made me realise that PR and communications, not technology are at the heart of what I actually do - and maybe this is what PR types need to realise too.

Don’t get me wrong, I am still a Client Services slave with commercial objectives, but the tools and projects I work on and conversations I have with clients are not about tech solutions, or marketing ones, but PR ones. Social media (I know, I know - whatever that means!) blogs, community management and blogger outreach for example, are not about the technology - they are nothing more than tools with which to build relationships. And who is best placed and most experienced to do this? PR people.

However, when presenting my now well-versed seminar on blogging and social media for business, it is very apparent that many PR types are struggling to come to terms with the fact that they already have the core skills to make a dramatic impact on the the “social media” space. The overriding observation is that the industry is scared to death of what they see as technological barriers to letting their skills go.

As a commentator said at the launch of our PressRoom tool (which was full of PR people) “As a PR person, I look at tools like the Social Media Press Release and marvel at the opportunity this presents. As a client looking for a PR agency, I am sat here wondering why on earth you are asking such basic questions (such as “What is Twitter”)”.

In the US, people like Brian Solis and Geoff Livingston are trying to de-mistify the whole technology thing for PR people, whilst in the UK well-respected names like Stuart Bruce, Stephen Waddington and Becky McMichael are just a few names following suit -showing that practicing what you preach is a perfect way to prove that Social Media is not about technology, it is about developing relationships - which is exactly what PR people do.

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As some of you know, we have launched a cool new Social Media Press Release tool - and what a lot of interest it is generating.

More soon, but for now, check out the video:

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