What’s your online personality?

According to research commissioned by First Direct, social media can change our personalities as well as our behaviours. Do you recognise yourself in any or all of the new social media ‘types’ outlined below?  According to the researchers, most people display a range of personality types and may change their behaviour in different channels. So I’m not sure how that helps First Direct to improve their customer service …. maybe it was all about the publicity?!

 

The Ultras                    

Fanatically obsessed with Facebook or Twitter. Check their feeds dozens of times a day – even when at work.

The Deniers                     

Claim social media doesn’t control their lives, but if they cannot access their favourite network they can become anxious and feel ‘isolated’.

The Dippers  

‘Dippers’ access their pages infrequently, often going days – or even weeks – without tweeting or posting an update.

The Virgins                      

New people who sign up to social networks may struggle initially to get to grips with the workings of Facebook and Twitter, but they may go on to become Ultras!

The Lurkers                     

Hiding in the shadows of cyberspace, they rarely participate in social media conversations – often because they worry about having nothing interesting to say.

The Peacocks            

They love to show everyone how popular they are. They compete with friends for followers or fans, or how many ‘likes’ or re-tweets they get.

The Ranters                     

Meek and mild in face-to-face conversation, they are highly opinionated online. Social media allows them to have strong opinions without worrying how others will react. 

The Ghosts                      

Some in social media are worried about giving out personal information to strangers, so they create usernames to stay anonymous or have noticeably sparse profiles and timelines.

The Changelings                                         

For some people, being anonymous isn’t enough. They also adopt very different personalities, confident in the knowledge that no-one knows their real identity.

The Quizzers                   

‘Quizzers’ like to ask questions on Facebook and Twitter in order to start conversations and avoid the risk of being left out.

The Informers                 

Information is currency in social media. Being the first to spot something interesting and share it earns kudos and – just as importantly –  more followers and fans. 

The Approval-seekers    

They worry about how many likes/comments/re-tweets they get, constantly checking their feeds and timelines, because they link endorsement to popularity.

 

 

 

 

In the public interest vs of interest to the public?!

As a PR professional, I am troubled by the definition of ‘the public interest’. It strikes me that all too often, when people talk about something being in the public interest, what they actually mean is being of (lascivious) interest to the public. Is it ‘in the public interest’ to see a pregnant Kate Middleton topless? Clearly not. Is it ‘of interest’ to a public  obsessed by a cult of celebrity? Apparently.

Bring that down to a local level and individuals who hold roles in the public domain seem unable to live a private life in private. That appalls and sickens me. If someone is discharging their public duties  to the best of their ability, with integrity and commitment, then in my view they are doing a great job.

Should they be free to live a life out of the public eye? Yes. Should their private life be the subject of rumour and gossip? No. Is it? Yes.

This is what the BBC editorial guidelines say about legitimate public interest:

 The Public Interest

Private behaviour, information, correspondence and conversation should not be brought into the public domain unless there is a public interest that outweighs the expectation of privacy.  There is no single definition of public interest.  It includes but is not confined to:

• exposing or detecting crime
• exposing significantly anti-social behaviour
• exposing corruption or injustice
• disclosing significant incompetence or negligence
• protecting people’s health and safety
• preventing people from being misled by some statement or action of an individual or organisation
• disclosing information that assists people to better comprehend or make decisions on matters of public importance.

There is also a public interest in freedom of expression itself. 

When considering what is in the public interest we also need to take account of information already in the public domain or about to become available to the public. 

When using the public interest to justify an intrusion, consideration should be given to proportionality; the greater the intrusion, the greater the public interest required to justify it.

I question whether much of what is reported as ‘news’ in the public interest meets these standards.

At this Easter time, it seems appropriate to quote the words of Jesus, when being asked to condemn an adulterer. He said: ‘let him who is without sin cast the first stone’.

I can tell you, that won’t be me!

Can we trust our online endorsements?

Reputations are built gradually – and destroyed quickly – on the basis of trust. My professional reputation is important to me, and I think carefully about how I connect online and with whom. How many of us have broken the golden rule of only connecting on LinkedIn with people we genuinely know? I always think carefully before I accept an invitation to join a network. And I double the care I take when I’m endorsing someone.

I have to confess that I haven’t been as proactive as I could be about endorsing those people whose skills and abilities I know well and value.

And I will only endorse those skills that I can vouch for. You may say you’re a top-notch cordon bleu chef, but unless I’ve been a guest at your table, I’ll reserve my judgement!  If I have connected with you on LinkedIn following a networking session, we’re only  in the early stages of our business relationship and it might be months or years before I can vouch for your professional capability. If I refer you and you don’t deliver, my reputation is tarnished as well as yours.

I must therefore admit to being surprised by some of the endorsements I’ve received: they’re very generous, and of course I think they’re well-founded ….after all, I have already attributed those skillsets to myself. But I honestly believe that some of the people endorsing me don’t know me well enough to comment. It feels rude not to reciprocate but, with our reputations on the line, I think the stakes are too high.

 

Caring for our NHS

Since November I have been spending much of my week working for a Devon hospital. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to count myself amongst the communicators serving the NHS. It feels, in a way, like coming home after two previous periods of NHS service. Some things haven’t changed: the constant battle to make limited resources go further, the professionalism, goodwill and compassion of so many different staff providing 24/7 healthcare. And yet so much has changed too: patient demographics are changing (we’re all living longer with more complex health problems); technology has moved on apace, bringing not just new medicines and treatments but new methods of communicating too.

Like most of my colleagues, I found the Francis Report painful reading. It doesn’t chime with my own experience on the ground: the staff I meet are passionate about their work and their patients. So how can a system built on care have gone so badly wrong? Some of the answers must lie with politicians: the NHS has been subject to almost constant re-organisation,with never a moment to catch up and take stock. Just as one quango bites the dust, another is born. Targets have been too financially driven, with systems based around ‘purchasers’ and ‘providers’ and the patient little more than a number on a waiting list.

I hope that Francis will provide a turning point for the NHS  by throwing the focus right back on people rather than numbers.

Inspirational Plymouth

What a fantastic day to be working in Plymouth. I started the day at the ‘City Conversations’ event run by the Chamber of Commerce and hosted by Foot Anstey. The autumn sunshine made it a treat to be by the sea. But what really struck me about this morning’s event was how many inspirational projects and people there are in Plymouth and around. Whether it’s planning new wetlands, inspiring young people to take part in the business life of the city, or providing live data on piracy incidents, there’s someone doing it in our city. And the fantastic thing about working in PR is that you get to help tell some of these wonderful stories.  After another networking event – this time, lunch overlooking Plymouth Sound, I spent part of the   the celebrations of a local SME whose owner has worked phenomenally hard over many months to gain ISO 9001 registration.  Plymouth is a great city in which to live and work.

View from the Hoe

Going for Gold!

Wiggo on the London 2012 Time Trial. Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0

Like many, I’m in awe of Bradley Wiggins. Just finishing the Tour de France would be a dream for me – let alone winning it, and then going on to win Olympic Gold in a 27-mile time trial. Watching his BBC interview after the Olympic win, I thought he was being harsh when he commented that the gold medal was the only one worth having. What about all those amazing sportsmen and women who have won silver and bronze? We can’t all be winners all the time.

Then I thought about my recent experience in pitching for new business. I was advised by colleagues, when I first launched 150PR, not to enter competitive pitches, as the most valuable work is that which you win through word of mouth. Whilst word of mouth has been the main route for new business for me, I want to be able to compete for new business too. And as a sole trader it’s tough:

• I don’t have three years of accounts yet
• I have to deliver resilience through a network of associates rather than a salaried, in-house team
• There’s only me to work on tender documents – no-one to brainstorm ideas with or proof-read documents
• Each pitch can take a week or more and there’s no-one to carry on with the day-to-day business.

I have so far taken part in just three pitches. I ‘ll only compete where my skillset is right and I could do a good job. They’re all contracts I’ve really wanted and I’ve worked hard to deliver my best. For my first effort, I won ‘silver’ …. and second place really does count for nothing: only the winner gets the business. For my second effort, I was up against competition from bigger players from all over the country. This time, I failed to qualify. But just going through the experience was worthwhile and taught me a lot. And, like Bradley Wiggins, I’m staying committed and focussed on my next event. I really want to win gold this time!

 

CIPR gets creative

I only joined the Chartered Institute of Public Relations  (CIPR)  when I left the corporate world for a freelance life. I couldn’t see how I’d get value for money from my membership fee: most training events take place in London and regional events rarely take place further West than Bristol. I know that view is shared by many PR people living in the South West. I’ve been quick to criticise – privately rather than publicly – so now I’ll be quick to praise.

The CIPR has just launched a creativity toolkit. I’ve downloaded all four volumes, watched the video introduction and taken a quick flick through the contents. And I have to say, it looks as though it could be really useful to me now as a sole trader. I miss being part of a team and having colleagues around to share and develop ideas with. I’ve been working on a couple of ‘pitches’ recently, and sometimes the creative juices are a bit slow to get going. I guess it’s the equivalent of writer’s block. Well now I have no excuse – the CIPR has put together a toolkit specifically for this situation. I just have to make the time to use it ….. which means my admin and tax return slip further down the to do list. (I can feel a time management course coming on too!)

Happy 1st Birthday 150PR!

As far as the taxman is concerned, 150PR is today celebrating its 1st birthday. I say that because I was still employed with Plymouth University this time last year, and then took much of the summer off with my daughter, so I didn’t actually invoice any work until September.  Summer 2011 was a very special time: no frantic juggling to ‘cover’ the school holidays. I was able to just enjoy being a parent. I can’t help thinking that as a society we have got something very wrong when both parents are expected to work full-time, with the government and taxpayers subsidising childcare support to make it possible. I had my only child late in life and she is very precious. I am astounded at how quickly the years have flown since she arrived, and I am delighted that 150PR allows me the flexibility to spend a bit more time with her than full-time salaried employment would have done.

So, how has the first year been?  I have coped much better with uncertainty and insecurity than I would have anticipated. Whilst it’s a bit hairy not knowing where the next pound is coming from, it’s also really exciting to receive an email or phone call that holds the promise of future work. I have met and worked with some inspirational people, and there’s real job satisfaction in leading people and organisations into, what is for them, uncharted territory. It’s also heartwarming when people say ‘thank you’ – in the latter years of my corporate life, that was an all too rare an experience.

On the downside, I’m responsible for my own admin (and don’t seem to have got any better at it!), my office is rather small and cold in winter, and there’s no-one to gossip with at the water cooler. Let’s be honest, there is no water cooler! I have no holiday or sick pay, and no-one is paying any pension contributions for me (not even me!).  But there’s also no office politics, no bitching or bullying and no-one emailing me after hours on Friday demanding a piece of work for Monday morning. My workload, my future and my success are all entirely in my own hands and that’s hugely empowering.

I chose to take redundancy and set out in business on my own. For many, now facing compulsory redundancy, there may not be a choice. But there is huge opportunity if you are prepared to take risks and work hard. 150PR has had a very happy first year  – here’s hoping the next ten are just as fruitful!

City conversations …

I met the new Herald Editor, Ian Wood, at the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce City Conversations event this morning. He’s only been in post a week, so it was great to see him there – already picking up on key issues for the city and his readers, and engaging with the local business community. I was really heartened, too, that Ian has enough confidence in both our city and its local paper to stake his own future in joining the Herald from the well respected Manchester Evening News.

I’d love to see Ian make improvements to the Herald’s online news offering, if that’s within his control. But, even more than that, I hope he can carry on where Bill Martin left off, and sustain the Herald as a viable daily newspaper. I’m sure it’s because I’m the wrong generation, but getting your news via a twitter feed or online just isn’t the same as sitting down with a cup of tea to read the paper!

2012 Charity of the Year Awards

I have recently been doing some PR with the Harbour Centre, Plymouth – a drug and alcohol awareness and treatment charity.

Working with their staff and clients on a local media campaign to raise awareness of the harm alcohol abuse can cause, I also confronted some of my own prejudices.  It’s very easy to give someone a label – alcoholic; druggie; criminal; loser …. and a lot more difficult to connect with the person behind the label, help them understand what has got them to that place and move away from it, back towards social integration.

I am full of admiration for the work that Harbour staff do every day. And I was humbled by the stories that their clients had to tell. They had suffered loss, pain and harm –  and in their vulnerability, they turned to alcohol for solutions.  They all had different stories to tell about their descendence into drug and alcohol dependency. But there was a common thread to their stories of recovery: as soon as someone showed some belief in them, they started to regain a little self-esteem and start their journeys to wellbeing.

Beating addiction is a tough journey – but with the help of Harbour staff, thousands of people in Plymouth have succeeded. They do a  fantastic job, in what is often seen as a ‘Cinderella’ service. That’s why I wanted to enter Harbour for the national charity awards for 2012. I’m delighted that the judges shared my view and have shortlisted Harbour. The awards evening is in London on 14 June and I’m keeping everything crossed until then!