WikiLeaks - Freedom of information or has it gone too far??

By now everyone is aware of the WikiLeaks scandal. Confidential government documents went global after they were put up on the wikileaks website recently and now governments worldwide are outraged. The founder of the site is being sought under criminal charges, governments (particularly the US government, as the documents were mostly from the US) are scrambling to maintain international relationships (many of the documents released private feelings on a variety of foreign dignitaries) and the people of the world are left questioning whether they should have a right to this information. Should everyone have access to these documents or did the site go too far and put too much at risk? I am really not sure of the answer but I think it does highlight an important issue. That the web has created a paradigm shift in power structures - people now have power and have the ability to influence and affect an international audience and governments can't stop this from happening.

Click here to find out more information on the WikiLeaks!

Site Diagrams

Before the creation of a site (through html code or programs such as dreamweaver, etc) it is important that a site diagram be constructed. This diagram is simply a basic outlay of the structure of the site. I found it very useful when designing my first website (coming soon!) as it helped me visualize how the user would navigate through the site and provided for a very easy breakdown of simple site elements. It only takes a minute and can save a lot of time in the long-run if you run into any confusion!

Here's an example of my site diagram (created using Word but you can also use any paint program or even do it by hand)!

Website Structures

Websites are constructed using three basic architectures:

1. Sequences - simplest way, only option is to proceed to 'next page'
2. Hierarchies - most common site structure, user starts at homepage and navigates throughout the site with a navigation bar
3. Web structures - few restrictions on movement through site, links highly common and move user throughout site

Example of a Sequence Design - Website Design Tutorial 

The bottom of each page has a selection option to bring user to the following page. This design is most often used in teaching or training sites.









Example of a Hierarchy Design - CIT Website

Users are brought to this homepage, where they have a clear selection of categories to browse in the navigation panels.









Example of a Web Design - Wikipedia

Wikipedia entries allow the user to navigate through the site as desired. Highlighted links to other information are highly common and can redirect the user to new information sources. Wikis are the most common users of the web structure.

Engagement Mania!

With the announcement of the 'Royal Engagement' media has been on an overload of all things royal. Most of the media attention is ignoring the Prince and focusing on the Princess-to-be. If you type in 'Prince William and Kate Middleton engagement' into google there is approximately 258,000,000 results. Considering their engagement was announced just over a week ago (November 16, 2010) that is unbelievable! The media attention is so great that Kate Middleton is being given her own security detail before the marriage, due to fears over her safety.

The truth is all forms of media, even formal newspapers, love this story not for its political importance but rather for gossip. News is focusing on the ring, comparisons to Diana, the potential dress, potential wedding dates and locations, the way the Prince proposed and not on the long-term impacts the engagement has to the political realm.

Media has sold out to the tabloid generation.

Website Design: An Example of Excellence

When designing a website there are four key factors to keep in mind:

1. Proximity
2. Alignment

3. Repitition

4. Contrast

The National Gallery of Art's website is designed to an excellent standard, fulfilling the four criteria of website design.

1. Proximity

The homepage has grouped related elements together (i.e. site navigations, header elements, footer elements, images) and all elements are close to one another.

2. Alignment

The text boxes, header, footer and image are aligned along hard vertical edges. Every item has a visual connection with something else, creating unity.

3. Repitition

External links are coloured identically, other text is in the main colour scheme, font is repeated throughout the homepage and connecting pages.

Other pages throughout the site replicate homepage elements: sidebar, font, colour, etc.

4. Contrast

The use of neutral format colouring allows images to be of focus on the page, important as the website is for the National Gallery of Art.

For more tips on good website design click here!

More Media Facts

Released in 2009, this video gives an update on how technology is changing the world. The facts would be more shocking today!

Irish Pub Owner Harnesses Power of Web 2.0

Neil Molloy, owner of the Hop Inn in Athenry, Co. Galway, has created a series of satirical videos to generate publicity for his pub. Molloy spoke at Content is King, a conference in Dublin, on Tuesday and confessed to his own technological inabilities. Joking to the crowd he talked about how until the day before he thought Powerpoint is where you plugged in a kettle. Molloy is a perfect example of how a low-cost viral campaign can help businesses, no matter the size, create value, especially in a recessionary climate. He blew the crowd of technology junkies away! He was definitely my favourite speaker, he perfectly combined a sense of humour with real business results.

Our class with Neil at Content is King!

View some of his videos below

To see more videos visit http://www.youtube.com/user/neileeen34.
Click here to go to the Hop Inn's website!

The use of social media for business purposes is an increasing trend in today's global corporate economy. Social media offers a low-cost approach to reaching target markets throughout the world.

However, if used incorrectly many businesses may be investing time in social networking mediums to no avail. Social media users expect different relationships with the company online; such as communications, problem-solving, brand interaction and customer feedback.

Recent studies have shown that different networking mediums are influential to different aspects of business operations.

Facebook is best for increasing levels of brand and product awareness. However, it is essential that companies invest time in the 'fans' it has instead of investing time trying to increasing number of fans. By investing time in maintaining fans companies can leverage their most loyal followers who are shown to take it upon themselves to further promote your message to their friends.

Twitter is the best social networking site to increase sales figures. The quick nature of sharing messages through Twitter is very effective in encouraging people to purchase products.

Here's a slideshow on using the social world as a business tactic:

Partnering in a Social World

View more presentations from CM Summit: Marketing in Real Time.

For more information visit this link!
For information on the risks of failing to adopt social media technologies, click here. 

5,000 Days of the WWW: A Reflection 2,897 Days Later

"5,000 Days of the WWW” is a video of a talk given by Kevin Kelly, Chief Editor of Wired Magazine, it showcases his reflection on the first 5,000 days in the life of the internet and his predictions for the next 5,000 days (watch the video below).

I was astounded at some of the information he presented, mostly with the sheer power of the internet. The release of the internet was a paradigm shift for humanity; in a mere 5,000 days the internet changed the way the world operates, had the complexity of one human brain, and had become the most reliable machine that was ever made. At one point in the video Kelly calculated that in 30 years the internet will have the complexity of 6 billion human brains and that by 2040 have a greater processing power than humanity! He talks about how every screen (cell phones, television, media outlets) will become a portal or window into one machine, that the internet is the machine.  Kelly labels this a McLuhan reversal, that humans will be an extension of the machine. Essentially we will become the web, and the web will have extended beyond a machine, it will be an organism that we interact with.

The web is 7,897 days old today. A little more than half way through the next 5,000 days many of Kelly's predictions have already come into effect (the use of social networks like Facebook, smart phones, internet recognition software, RSS feeds). The power of the internet is incomparable, humans are already an extension of this machine. The majority of world citizens use the web as a portal into the global world on a daily basis. The web contains all this information, information we access and propagate to others and to ourselves. Humans are internalizing the web, in an odd way this mechanical organism of data has influenced the way in which the human race is evolving on an intellectual level. It is hard to distinguish the machine from the populous already. The continued growth of the web is inevitable, unpredictable and seemingly endless. As Kelly stated, "the web will be something different" and we must "get good at believing in the impossible".

Using Social Media in a Business Environment: Twitter vs. Facebook

What many people labeled to be a fad just five years ago is changing the way business is conducted on a global scale. The importance of engaging in social media networks is vital in today’s social and business climate. In fact, the two climates are becoming more synonymous by the day. Social networks allow a business to raise global awareness, target specific demographics, track its target market and to predict changes through following trendsetters in online communities. 

Twitter and Facebook have emerged as the leading connections between organizations and the online world. Both networks enable companies to converse with their publics and to foster good relations to a global market in an economical manner. 

Twitter has been seen as a more dominant social network for business, allowing companies to track any post that contain the company, brand or product names. This perception is changing, Twitter is becoming a more B2B relevant tool and its effectiveness at reaching the mass consumer is questionable. 

Facebook is the emerging tool for businesses worldwide to conduct B2C exchanges. It allows companies to filter through different geographic, sociographic and demographic data, making it easy to hone in on target markets. Companies must adopt to using social networks to remain competitive and must be aware of the different benefits of each social network tool. Click here to view a more comprehensive comparison of the two social networks.

The Role of Media in Chilean Miner Rescue

The story of 33 trapped Chilean miners has captivated the minds and emotions of people worldwide. The rescue of these miners on Wednesday October 13, 2010 after 69 days nearly 2,300 feet underground was the biggest news event of the year. People worldwide were glued to their television sets and computer screens. The live coverage of the rescue of each miner extended through the night and was filtered to the populous continually live online and via television. The story will become a historical account of heroism and science.

The mass employment of social media during the rescue was astounding. News outlets were running minute‒to‒minute updates on Twitter; the president of Chile continuously updated his Twitter account throughout the day as well. Individuals worldwide were given a voice by social media, one that they used to express emotions of anticipation, joy and inspiration. People in China celebrated the rescue while campaigning for similar treatment for national mining disasters.

Mine deaths are not an unusual occurrence. Most are covered up and receive no media attention at all. In fact, there is no true statistic on global mining deaths, estimates however range around 12,000 yearly. The question must be asked, why did the Chilean mining tragedy, turned miracle, receive media attention worldwide? And, would the rescue have ever been attempted if the media interest weren’t present? The answer to the former rests in the type of coverage originally dedicated to the story. The media focused on the social interest aspect, instead of looking at it as a labour piece, playing into the emotional side of the story and drawing in an audience. Social media then propagated the story further. The answer to the latter perhaps will never be known, however if other similar circumstances are a good measure for judgment the answer is probably not, if there had been no media these men wouldn’t have been saved.

CNN: Social media reacts to Chile mine rescue

CNN: World reacts to Chile mine rescue



For additional information view the following links.
ABC News International
The Guardian

A Goodbye to the Traditional.

As a student studying public relations and new media I came across an article that was of particular interest to me. To read the article view the link: Social Media Will Overtake Traditional Media as PR Tool in the Next Two Years.

After reading this I realized that I am being educated at the very moment of a paradigm shift in the communications and public relations realm. The article explains that current levels of communications using social media stand at 30%, in the next year this is expected to increase to 42% (results based on surveys conducted in the United States). The growth is exponential and the trend showcases the move into a new age of communications.

Social media is not a fad, it is here to stay. Employing social media as a communication tactic is vital in the field of public relations and is being embraced by companies worldwide because it works.

All I can say is that I could not be more thankful that I am in a course that is ahead of the curve, I am embracing new media more than ever before and cannot wait to learn more!

Hello Web 2.0

Confession time. 

I have avoided professional networking sites until now, mostly due to a fear of the unknown and of being incompetent. A technological dummy I am not, but I dread the day when I show my age and, much like my grandma, cannot understand why the computer won’t work for me. Most importantly, I didn’t think that these sites were of use to me as a recent graduate and Master’s student.

Reality. 

I wish I had joined earlier, I was entirely unaware of the benefits these sites had to me! Note to Twitter, Linkedin and Xing, start marketing to my demographic, we are new to the workplace and need your help! Twitter connects me to people whom I admire and with updated news that I am interested in. Linkedin and Xing unveils a whole network of professional connections and job openings in my geographic and educational area. The accounts took no time to set up and have helped me feel more connected to the professional realm. Click below to see a quick Twitt-orial on using twitter for business!