BBC News release 80 iconic and memorable news clips
Posted Thursday, December 15, 2005 at 1:21am in Blogging, Media | Leave a Comment
The BBC says: “For the first time in its history BBC News is opening its archives to the UK public for a trial period. You can download nearly 80 news reports covering iconic events of the past 50 years including the fall of the Berlin Wall, crowds ejecting soldiers from Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and behind-the-scenes footage of the England team prior to their victory over West Germany in 1966.
All of these clips are under the Beeb’s Creative Archive Licence where you can download them, watch them or create something unique with them. What’s amusing is they’ve classed it as a beta phase. Are they jumping on the Cool Beta Bandwagon?
I’ve just downloaded the London poll tax riots. Heavy stuff!
Update
Watch the Tiananmen Square news report by by BBC reporter and Sunderland native Kate Adie. Again, very interesting indeed.
Technorati tags:
bbc, creative+archive+licence
Attack of the spam
Posted Wednesday, December 14, 2005 at 9:07pm in Blogging | 4 Comments
I had 77 spam comments waiting in the moderation panel today!
Global languages for a global PR
Posted at 12:37am in PR General | 3 Comments
There is no doubt that the Internet is making the world and the PR profession a smaller place. Small businesses can now compete on a global market compared to some years ago where location laid constraints on dealings.
New opportunities have been created thanks to the Internet and in my very humble opinion, it has given the small man a much larger voice. Take a look at English Cut for an example.
Before the Internet, Thomas Mahon could never have provided his services on the global scale as he does now. He may have generated a few sales through word of mouth among the wealthy jet-set type, but in terms of his current business model, there is no comparison.
Look at the huge auction site, eBay. A phenomenal amount of sales and transactions take place every day on each individual country site. This is the little man making money in the global market. Sellers are not only trading in their own country, but are making sales throughout the world.
So what has this got to do with language I hear you ask. Well, if the predictions are correct and in 10 years time the Internet owns a large part of the pie for all business deals, will geographical location matter as much? I don’t think so.
What will matter are the skills you possess to complete a successful job and one of these skills playing a more predominant role in the future of PR will be the language you can speak.
Obviously, I am from the UK and speak English, but to be honest, I’m a little embarrassed. Well, you see, I don’t speak any other language - just the one.
As a typical English speaking chap, I’ve never felt the need to learn another language. Purely from the fact that each country I’ve visited, the natives tend to speak English. Call me arrogant and ignorant - I know I deserve it.
Although, since working in Greece and Cyprus, I have picked up a little of the Greek language, but nothing worth boasting about. The ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’, ‘thank you’ ‘how are you’ and of course the swear words. Learning a foreign language has always been up at the top on my ‘To Do’ list. In fact I tried to learn Spanish as one of my optional modules this year, but alas, I couldn’t.
On my drive to uni this morning, I listened to yesterday’s For Immediate Release podcast and heard Shel Holtz sarcastically saying he doesn’t speak another language because he’s from the US. Although he was joking, his comment rang bells!
So my question is this:
In future, will speaking a foreign language be a necessity rather than a bonus? Of course, it is already a great advantage and skill to have, but are we going to see it classed as importantly as qualifications or experience?
I keep hearing how the Chinese market is growing and how it will create new opportunities and avenues for business. Along with Internet adaptation, will being competent in a foreign language be another skill PR practitioners and students have to become accustomed to?
Technorati tags:
global+pr, stephen+davies
Durham Cathedral
Posted Tuesday, December 13, 2005 at 4:11pm in Blogging | 2 Comments
The historic and majestic Durham Cathedral located in the city. Burial place of St. Bede.
Video blog test
Posted Monday, December 12, 2005 at 10:54pm in Blogging | 1 Comment
This is a video blog test using the free YouTube. The video was took with my camera phone and stars my nephew, Jay. Clearly a journalist in the making. Look at the way he grabs that newspaper.
I’ve been trying to upload the video to my own server and stream it from there for testing purposes, but as of yet, I can’t do it! If anyone does know how, could they please point me in the right direction? Do I need a particular WordPress plugin? I’ve converted the file to correct settings but still having no joy.
On a side note: This is a great site. Unlike most free video blog sites, you can view the video straight from your blog. Not bad at all. I haven’t checked the video size restrictions but it’s ideal for someone who’s not very techie….like myself!
Technorati tags:
yourtube