Daljit Bhurji is Managing Director of Diffusion, a PR & communications consultancy built with Social Media & Search at its core.
He specialises in helping organisations to recognise the opportunities presented by the profound changes taking place today in media consumption and creation.
He began his career in PR during the first .com boom and always a sucker for punishment has been in love with the online world ever since. Daljit has directed campaigns for some of the coolest companies in the tech space including Tiscali, NetNames, Atlas, Pitch Mobile and Tamar as well as 'Web 2.0' start-ups including Idiomag and RawFlow.
The views expressed on this blog are Daljit's own and not necessarily those of Diffusion.
I would highly recommend a look at Alastair Campbell’s Cudlipp Lectureon the state of the modern media. Reading his arguments on how technology has created more media space but at the expense of quality and the herd mentality of news outlets over stories such as Madeliene McCann, I found myself nodding in agreement. There is also a rather sceptical section on citizen journalism – as follows:
“The internet gives access to news, information and consumer choices unimaginable before. On the other hand, it has further contributed to the general shortening of our attention spans. And in civic or citizen’s journalism, which sounds so benign there can surely be nothing wrong with it, it has become home to a form of journalism in which there are things constantly said and written which in old media would lead to papers and radio stations being shut down.
Working out where news and views are coming from, and what weight to attach to them, at a time when a new blog is created every second of every day, is now an essential part of the media consumer’s toolkit. It has meant an acceptance that certain basic journalistic standards which used to be taken for granted have been eroded. News can be news simply for the fact that someone reports something, regardless of veracity. Anyone can be a journalist. Anyone can be a cameraman. A rumour can be launched on a message board and find its way quickly, if interesting enough, into the US presidential election debate. It is a new landscape. I would love to know where it is all heading.”
The Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA UK) has announced the short-list for its 2008 net Heroes and Villains award.Even by the usual standards of ISPA it’s a pretty random list. Villains include BT (surprise, surprise), French President Nicolas Sarkozy for his plan to tax internet and mobile access (sacrebleu!) and most bizarrely of all David Cameron for “for buddying up with the music industry and trying to appeal to a younger audience.” Not quite sure how that makes him an Internet villain?
Perhaps I will be accused of taking what is a light-hearted award too seriously, but I think there is a very strong case for Yahoo to be on the Villains short-list. Its continued collusion with the Chinese authorities in identifying ‘dissident bloggers’ many of whom have subsequently been imprisoned was arguably the most villainous act on the net in 2007.Yes, it would be a controversial move but it would also be an opportunity for the UK’s leading online companies to send a very clear and for once, meaningful message on the importance we place on Internet freedoms.
I’ve already predicted that all things video will be big this year, so very interesting to see a new application called Zannel which is billing itself as the first ‘Instant Media Messaging’ service. The programme allows you to send photos and videos taken with your mobile via sms to appear on your Facebook page as near real-time updates on what you’re up to. There are companies offering elements of this already and a number of start-ups trying to create a platform agnostic Video Twitter. All Facebookhas some more detail and highlights the applications ease of use, always the holy grail with any mobile software. Definitely one to watch…
I missed the controversy just before Christmas over Here Comes Another Bubble by the Richter Scales. The video was sent to me by a rather sceptical reader who took offence to this blog’s generally optimistic outlook. Well you can’t please everyone! In any case if you’ve not seen it already it’s simply genius…
Was I the only person on the Thameslink tonight reading about the newiTaser in the London Paper and thinking “I want one of those?” It’s the perfect gadget for the busy young Londoner, an MP3 player and a stunning (geddit!) solution to the problem of those bastards who refuse to “move down the carriage”. Now, if someone could incorporate all of that into a BlackBerry…
Hillary Clinton’s lack of appeal with young voters is quickly emerging as her Achilles heel and a look at each of the candidate’s popularity on Facebook provides further evidence. Barack Obama has attracted almost 200,000 supporters compared to just 60,000 for Clinton. Last night saw the first of the ABC/Facebook debates and the accompanying US Politics Group - from where the chart below is taken - is well worth a look. The most striking feature for me is the contrast in Facebook support between the Democrats and Republicans overall. There are no shortage of young Republicans on Facebook but it appears the GOP candidates either don’t know how to attract them or bizarrely, simply don’t care.
Happy New Year dear readers. I’ve been tagged by James at 77 PR as part of Ged’sMy Week in Media meme which looks at what you’ve been watching, reading, surfing and listening to. Many of the blogging great and the good have already responded. See Iain Dale, Stephen Waddington, Stuart Bruce and Stephen Davies. It’s not been a typical week but here you go…
In terms of reading things you actually hold, it’s been Seth Godin’s The Dip, on the train between London and Leamington Spa – highly recommend it, especially if your contemplating a new year change of career.
What I’ve listened to I have to admit to growing out of radio since leaving University, where a self imposed ban on TV in my second year (in an effort to do some work) led to a temporary addiction to Chris Moyles and Radio 4. Few things are as amusing as David Starkey on the Moral Maze. So listening to stuff has been a case of wading through my massive backlog of podcasts on my iPod, a mixture of work and pleasure with the brilliant Hobson and Holtz and the iconic Terry Tibbs – Talk to me!
