Being sociable online

Only in the past couple of months have I been at all serious about using social networking tools. I have a page (with only a few contacts) on Facebook which I find quite intuitive and clearly signed for use. There are a few things I find confusing although this might be because I have never been a myspace/bebo person.

But just recently this has become a rather more complicated area for PR professionals with sector specific offerings being launched by Ragan Communications and Melcrum. The thing I have been trying to find out about these sites is their real value. There is obvious value to having a community of contemporaries in the same industry as an avenue to building relationships, learning and exploring new ideas. Sure, but do these new PR focused networks deliver?

At the moment I am not sure. Could there be a feeling of networking fatigue and do people need a little time to catch-up; consider whats available and come to terms with the impact of new media on the rest of PR?

My aim is to try and find out - to investigate how they can help those in PR. I will report back soon.

Extraordinary display of natures might

They said we might get a storm last night and boy they were not wrong. Here on the Kent coast we were lucky enough not to loose power and unlike parts nearby there was no flooding, althought the back yard did start to look a bit like a lake at one point. No, the amazing thing was the light show and the accompanying thunder. Standing on the doorstep for ten minutes and at no point were we without the sound of thunder and the lightning was more 'on than off'. Quite amazing and certainly one of the most violent diplays of what nature can do as I have seen.

Corporate social responsibility and prostitution

Curious item in the FT this morning about business leaders low prioritisation of climate change. The YouGov survey for KPMG said only 14% had a clear strategy for climate change. Far more urgent were said to be brand issues, marketing strategies and corporate social responsibility. Strange as, if climate change is not a part of corporate social responsibility, then what is?

I really think that this is the point which so many leaders seem to miss about CSR. To be effective it needs to be all encompassing and all consuming. If you adopt a CSR programme you are standing up to be counted on your social and environmental credentials. I really don’t know how organisations can pick and chose which parts of their organisation they wish highlight for CSR purposes – it just sounds like hypocrisy. I really don’t get why BAT, the cigarette manufacturer has a CSR programme – why bother. Or Honda’s Formula1 team promoting their environmental credentials. It just seems a bit like a tart going to church on a Sunday!