danleach.co.uk

I get a little bit of stick in the office for being a self-confessed techy but more and more I am finding an array of software, websites, gadgets and tools that allow me to stay one step ahead in the fast-paced world of PR

I thought I would compile a selection of things I kit myself out with to make me a little more PR 2.0:

1. Firefox & add-ons: I took the plunge with Firefox earlier this year and have never looked back. Aside from the speed, stability and usability it provides it also allows you to install add-ons and plug-ins to tailor the software. Pertinent to this post include:

• LinkedIn Companion: Allows me to keep access and my business network at the click of a button (Disclaimer: LinkedIn is an H&K client)
• Foxmarks: Invaluable for working between the office and home. Synchronises your bookmarks across computers so you never have to find that obscure news article you saved during some late night surfing
• Googlepedia: Displays a Wikipedia article next to your Google searches. Excellent resource and time-saver when doing desk research
• Cooliris: Fantastic tool for some one-man creative thinking. Turn your PC into a mood-board in seconds
• TwitterFox: I can’t remember the last time I visited Twitter.com. Tweet and access your feeds from the comfort of your toolbar
• Brief RSS Reader: I know a lot of people like Google Reader but I actually prefer this reader. It’s quick, intuitive and allows me track my 70+ feeds easily

2. Google Alerts: An absolute must for any PR worth their salt. Say goodbye to emails from clients that start, “Did you not see this article?”

3. Factiva Alerts: If you do have access to Factiva you’ll know it provides a useful if not limited service. People tend to overlook its alert service though, which I have found very good. I have it setup to send me an overview email of relevant news articles every morning at 8am. A good indication of what’s on your clients’ agendas that day

4. Mobile Internet / TV: I check the news on a regular basis either through Orange’s WAP site or via Sky News through Orange’s 3G mobile TV service (£5 per month). Increasingly useful as the meetings tot up in my calendar.

5. SpinVox: We all know what it’s like. Leave a 2 hour meeting, turn your phone on…”you have 15 new voicemail messages”. Streamline your voicemail by using SpinVox, a service that turns your voicemails into SMS texts. You’ll no longer be fumbling around for a pen on the 12:05 from Weybridge

6. The Web: Couldn’t really leave it out. But, whilst 99% of it is useless there are some gems in there that every (tech/consumer) PR should have in his or hers bookmarks:

• BBC News Online
• Digg.com
• Mashable!
• Techmeme
• Getty Images
• Wikipedia
• TheWebList.net
• PR Week UK

Follow me, be a geek and amaze your colleagues and clients with your knowledge, speed and creativeness. Just don’t tell anyone that without the web we’d be nothing!

Have I missed any? Let me know!

BT, Virgin, Orange, Tiscali, BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse have all signed up to a new deal with the music industry in a bid to tackle piracy online. For now this means that thousands of ISP customers suspected of sharing music will receive letters asking them to stop.

A small step in the right direction but in reality telling people to stop sharing music does nothing. People don’t do it because they don’t know it’s wrong – they do it because the music industry has seen fit to charge consumers extortionate amount of money for music over the past 25 years!

I refuse to pay for albums and singles but get around it by using the very good Napster (flat fee for unlimited listening). And with the likes of Pandora and Last.fm becoming more mainstream the music industry is fighting a losing battle.

The solution is not to wag the finger at consumers or switch their internet connection off, which is what the music industry is pushing for. The crux of the issue is that the music industry has not adapted to changing consumer needs. Why pay £15 for an album when that same amount will give me to listen to unlimited music and put it on my MP3 player. Until the music industry realise the world is very different from that of over two decade ago and change the fundamental elements of how they conduct business, people will share music.

The answer is simple: labels – make your catalogue available online and charge a flat fee to listen to it. Split a cut of the revenue amongst the artists based on whose music is being played, you can keep the rest!

See what Kid Rock has to say on the matter: