PR FROM THE BEACH

Pay-per-gaze from Google?

The web's abuzz with the news of a possible 'pay-per-gaze' patent filed by Google to work with Google Glass.  Certainly would make things very distracting for us all and one more step closer to the 'personal' ads we saw imagined in Minority Report. 

 

For now, I had to laugh at the video below - which is another potential way we'll use this sort of device.

 

Azonto's everywhere - but what's your 'work dance'?

I've been really enjoying the spread of Azonto these last few months - and you know something has reached critical mass when the BBC starts analysing a trend and getting its reporters into the swing. 

From a work perspective, I've been delighting in the fact that the dance blends fun and heaps of non-verbal communication. It started out as a means of communicating what you were doing, what you were working at and how you were spending your time, before evolving into the Azonto that's tipping off dancers as to those in the room who'd like their phone number.

Tweet thoughts from beyond the Grave

Over at Farmville, people are busy putting the finishing touches to their Haunted Houses ready for Halloween.  Me, I've been looking at digital footprints for one reason or another, and I have to say I've been struck by the number of organisations that have sprung up offering digital services for the dead.

I haven't had a proper play around with it yet, but must say that the Futuris.tk site is very intriguing - here you can send a message to loved ones, posted out when you are dead, or 'future-blog' your thoughts now 50 years ahead. Others like Entrustet, Legacy Locker and My Web Will all look to managing your digital assets once your big Switch Off has occurred and - if there is absolutely no chance of a reboot - your loved ones can activate all the 'deactivates' that will be necessary once your chips are finally down.  Facebook will enshrine your loved one's page for you, if you wish, but if, in real life, you have no close mates or family that can prove their relationship with you to Facebook then, rest assured, your party photos will live forever.

Spooky then, if you have diligently mashed your applications to auto-tweet during your living hours and a spam comment somewhere knocks it into action long after you've gone. Imagine the stick you'll get for not being a proper contributor to the conversation - it's bad enough now if you go quiet for a week or two!

My thought for the day on this one rests with those in the business community currently thrashing out digital strategies - and anyone else who has harnessed the power of their employees as brand advocates on their behalf. Imagine this. You have been asked to run a tweetstream talking about your place of work. You die. It doesn't. Who owns it? Who closes it down? And what if your digital footprint actually has financial value - in the same way as artists, writers, authors and other creative types have assets that increase in value after their demise, so too might the value of that Flickr stream you are so fond of. And if it does - who gets the cash?  If there's a digital will, then there will be a way.

For most, this probably won't seem like a particularly worrisome problem - a bit like cyber-security concerns seemed a few years ago - but believe me, as more advocates are born, so will they die. If I were to blog my thoughts today for use 50 years ahead, I guess it would include a brief sentence: "Remember I suggested you work out how to deal with the digital assets of the dead - bet you wish you had now!"

It has also got me thinking about the point at which people will - to put it bluntly - shut up. Are we going to experience a rash of 'death blogs' as one by one we shuffle off this mortal coil?  Unless they are really from beyond the grave and offer insight into a life beyond, then reflections of what dreams may come from the living - while they remain with us - will, I fear, simply be dead boring. Like the wonderful tombstone above, found here, there must be a time when we simply have nothing more to say.

PS: Would Vampires really want to engage with their Stakeholders?

Isn't it always the way...

Lovely clip of the reporter breaking the 'unbreakable' phone at a recent trade show.  The company CEO had the best reaction to the situation - three cheers for him.  I did have the clip live in here, but it kept on auto-playing on site load and got a bit annoying, so hit the link to see how plans often go wrong...

Media sharks miss out on a great bite

When I first came to New Zealand from the rough tabloid environment that rules the UK, I found the news reporting here rather charming. It was polite, sometimes bordering on the reverential and always, always, tied firmly to local affairs.  Even my sons remember the five minute slot awarded to a child's lost goldfish on the main TV news.

These days I find I am bemused by the mainstream media's news priorities, particularly on the broadcast side. Take yesterday. Great story on a shark at Kelly Tarlton's that performed an 'emergency c-section' on a female, releasing four baby sharks into the tank.  Alright, so it isn't earth shattering stuff, nor is it likely to change the world.  But it is interesting, diverting and, for New Zealand, most definitely of local interest. Was it covered on broadcast media here? No. Other mainstream? Barely.  Does this matter? In the great scheme of things, probably not. But I'd guarantee that online sources, NZPA and others reaped great rewards from their coverage of this diverting tale as the intrigued and curious searched for pictures of the newly-released newborns.  The world's a pretty grim place at the moment and to hear of a shark doing a good deed - well, it's a hopeful kind of thing. My unscientific poll today, covering about 350-ish fellow Kiwis indicated that at least 75% were wanting to know more and frustrated by the lack of coverage.

At present, the mainstream news agenda here seems over-punctuated by news from the US, but not the wider world. The focus is on the shallow, not the deep (yes, I know this shark tale is somewhat shallow, but they do live in the deep), the mundane rather than the extraordinary. Which is a shame, because with just 4.5m people to cater for, mainstream media has a potential for influence here greater than in many other places. Given that social media has revolutionised the news environment and given that all mainstream media outlets are in decline, one would have thought those in charge might capitalise on such potential advantage. Evidently not.

Shake it up guys - we expect more. Get your teeth into the news we want to hear and you might just be amazed at what you unleash.

A rose by any other name might just sound silly

Loved this week's story from BBC and others on the UK's most unfortunate names. During my years as a journalist I constantly encountered unusual, unfortunate and amusing names. This story prompted me to recall, among others, a young lady called Courtenay Fish and another child I once heard of who had been named Ikea. When we came to name our children we approached the task with caution, having realised that if our first child was a girl, we both liked Amy.  Which of course would be really silly teamed with our surname of Arrow.  Temptation was removed as our firstborn was a boy - and - rest assured, we steered clear of Bowen.

That said, yesterday's news that the most ancient English words had been unearthed led me to wonder does it matter anyway? Language changes so fast, particularly English, would these word associations simply evaporate over time?  Perhaps.  But I think there is still life and laughter to be found in unlikely nomenclature.

Even the simplest technology can get us in the end...

I laugh at failblog.org fairly frequently, but this clip with the mismanaged microphone had me chuckling all the way to work.  Sometimes, no matter how hard we try and prepare our clients and friends for their presentation, something still eludes them...

Nipping Naked Hikers in the Bud

I was about to write a thoughtful and insightful piece (yeah right) on the economy. Then I got completely distracted by the story about new laws to curb naked hikers in Switzerland. Apparently local government in the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden plan to introduce fines for anyone found walking in this scenic mountain region without any clothes - there has been an influx of back-to-naturist-lovers it would seem, mostly from Germany. The authorities feel that encountering naked walkers will frighten the children who play in this picturesque place.

Personally, I would have thought roaming through Switzerland in the buff would be a bit breezy; distinctly chilly in fact. In the words of that legendary naval saying, surely it would be cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey, so goodness knows what it might do to a naked hiker. Anyway, judging from the BBC pictures, technically they are not naked. It would appear they keep their socks and walking boots on at all times. Now that is scary.