Which brain are you?
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 at 7:35pm in Blogging, PR General | 3 Comments
A link I got from Neville Hobson’s blog. It’s a test that determines what type of thinker you are. Left sided or right sided. Now, I’ve been told that there are two different types of PR people: there’s the guy who’s the creative type, a bit wacky and his/her desk will replicate a bomb site. Then there’s the organised guy, very orderly, no mess, everything written down in lists. All in perfect harmony.
I’ve always thought I was the latter. I hate disorganisation and I like to know what’s going on. But the results of this test show otherwise. Perhaps I’m a bit of both?
Results:
Right Brain |||||||||||| 44%
Left Brain |||||||||||| 46%
And it goes on to say:
“Overall you appear to have fairly Equal Hemispheres.”
Not sure if this is a good thing or not? Which sided thinker are you?
Using RSS to shop
Posted at 2:17pm in Blogging | 1 Comment
The Marketing Studies blog is reporting on the shopping comparison website, NexTag which offers RSS feeds for any product search. So if I was looking for a Kodak camera priced from $120 to $300 I would be given a specific feed for that search. There is also a UK NexTag site, but that is currently not offering any RSS feeds.
The Marketing Studies blog rightly points out, that although they have spent money and time implementing this facility, they do not highlight it. Instead they hide the RSS button at the bottom of the page. Why?
I think it’s a good idea. I’m looking for a second hand car at the moment and I’m constantly trawling the AutoTrader website looking for new entries, and quite frankly, it’s a bit of a pain. Imagine if I could type in a make, model, engine size and price range in a search that would give me a feed. Think of the time it would save.
Technorati tags:
rss, nextag, autotrader
PR Blogger goes mobile
Posted Friday, October 28, 2005 at 12:08pm in Blogging, Technology | 1 Comment
Just found this site which lets you syndicate a blog’s feed so posts are compatible with PDAs and Smartphones.
All you do is give it a name, subscribe your RSS feed and you’re given a unique URL which you can give out to mobile Internet users.
Here’s mine:
http://winksite.com/prblogger/mobile
Not sure if you’re better off subscribing to a mobile aggregator like Newsgator or Bloglines but I think it’s pretty cool. If it’s good enough for BoingBoing it’s good enough for me.
Perso-professional PR bloggers
Posted Thursday, October 27, 2005 at 10:41pm in Blogging | 2 Comments
I was reading Phil Gomes’ post from last week on how he says more PR bloggers should use their blogs for more “none-industry-related self-expression” and I am inclined to agree.
Why shouldn’t you show some personality on your blog? Why shouldn’t you write about things that interest you outside the PR profession? After all, it is YOUR blog. Can you imagine if you only ever talked to your colleagues about work-related issues? The Christmas party would be terrible!
I like to see personality and individuality on a blog. It gives me an idea of what type of person he/she is and what interests them.
And if it’s something that interests me then cool. If not I won’t read it.
Maybe it’s just the nosey inquisitive person in me. 
per·son·al·i·ty
n. pl. per·son·al·i·ties
Distinctive qualities of a person, especially those distinguishing personal characteristics that make one socially appealing
in·di·vid·u·al·i·ty
n. pl. in·di·vid·u·al·i·ties
the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity
The power of a speech
Posted at 9:46pm in PR General | 3 Comments
I recently attended a lecture at university on speeches and speech writing, and we were asked what are the most memorable speech(es) we could remember.
For me personally there were three: Winston Churchill’swe shall fight on the beaches, Martin Luther King’s I have a dream and Muhammad Ali’s rant at everyone who ever doubted him after knocking-out George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire.
Although Ali’s wasn’t a prepared speech, or even something intended to be a speech it still made an impact.
Then only last night I heard another speech which again will be at the formidable forefront of my most memorable speeches. I attended a football dinner in honour of a Hartlepool United footballer who was celebrating his testimonial (10 years) at the club. Normally at these type of events a keynote speaker will be there congratulating the player and talking about his/her time in the sport.
Last night’s keynote was pretty special. It was Sir Bobby Robson, who in my opinion is one of the greatest football managers that has ever graced the sport. This man has done just about everything in football management. He led England to the semi-finals of the World Cup, won FA and European silverware, managed the team he has supported since childhood - Newcastle United, managed top clubs abroad and has been voted European manager of the year.
Not to mention his record on the field and a personal battle with cancer.
The man is a pure gentleman. His speech lasted around the one hour mark and it pretty much encapsulated his professional life. The ups and the downs, the wins and the losses and the little anecdotes he managed to fit in between.
And although he had achieved all of the above in his 72 years, he still kept the modesty of the average Joe. Needless to say the audience was captivated (even the Sunderland fans) and when he had finished he was met with a standing ovation.
It’s incredible to see how much people can react to another person talking. What they say and how they say it can change or influence attitudes. Consider David Cameron, the Conservative MP who is running for the Tory leadership. The ex-PR guy who conducts his speeches without notes is clearly the favourite in the running. This is due to his strong speaking capabilities and PR skills and this is why he will be the next Conservative leader. Even rumours of him drug taking at university hasn’t dampened his support. The once favourite David Davis cannot conduct himself and doesn’t have the same young and fresh presence as Cameron.
Speaking and speech writing is an art and something that will take a long time to perfect. Some people would probably say you’ve got it or you haven’t. But the difference a good speaker or speech can make to an audience - be it a room full of football fanatics or the entire membership of a political party is one not to be underestimated.