theEweekly wrap: LimeWire, Tesco and the MySpace revamp

LimeWire story turns sour

A four-year legal battle came to a head this week as filesharing site LimeWire was shut down by the US government. The free peer-to-peer site was ordered to 'stop distributing and supporting its file-sharing software' under a federal court-ordered injunction. LimeWire had 50 million monthly users, and enabled the sharing of innumerable files. The site was found liable for copyright infringement in May, after a long court wrangle with the Recording Industry Association of America. Lime Group, and founder Mark Gorton, will be ordered to pay damages in January. The amount is yet to be decided.

Instant results

Research from US software company Marin has revealed the positive effects of Google Instant for advertisers. Despite now using a 'three-second rule', PPC impressions rose by 9.31 per cent, and click-throughs by 5.63 per cent. Meanwhile, average cost-per-click decreased due to more opportunity for 'exact match' ads. Google too saw revenues climb by 2 per cent in the fortnight following Instant's release, with advertiser spending rising 1.96 per cent in the same period. IABUK commented, "advertisers are getting more value for their money", while SearchEngineWatch.com concluded, "users are more engaged with search results than before".

Myspace makeover

Social network MySpace is set to unveil a redesign, hitting the US this week and coming to the UK in November. MD Rebekah Horne told the Guardian that the new look and layout are "music-first", with new customisation tools, and improved 'share' options. The strapline "A place for friends" has also been removed. Myspace accounts can also now synchronise with Facebook and Twitter, in an apparent attempt to establish some distance from other social networks. Marketing Week reported the site would be embarking on a marketing push to attract users and advertisers.

Techy Tesco

Tesco has made another giant technological leap ahead of other supermarkets this week with the introduction of barcodes which shoppers can scan with their smartphones. Currently, a barcode is being trialled in press adverts for Call of Duty Black Ops. Scanning the barcode on the advert will navigate to the Tesco Groceries iPhone app, where shoppers can pre-order the game. The barcode scanner can also be used in conjunction with the app to add to the shopper's home delivery order. The scanner recognises the barcodes of any products stocked by Tesco, including those on empty packaging, or products on the shelves of another supermarket.

2010's worst PR blunders and how you can avoid the same mistakes

• Wayne Rooney and the public contract spat
  
  What happened: Wayne Rooney shocked the football world by formally announcing that he would not be signing a new contract at Manchester United. That was the cue for a torrent of abuse on social media, fan pickets of his Prestbury mansion and even a few death threats. Just two days later, he dumbfounded everybody by signing a new five-year contract. It'll take a lot longer to rebuild relations with the fans.
  
  Lesson: Never go public with private disputes. It will backfire.


• Gordon Brown and the Gillian Duffy clanger
  
  What happened: Just a week before the general election, the Gordon Brown campaign was in full swing in Rochdale. Everything was going well for the then prime minister until he got cornered by a 65-year-old pensioner called Gillian Duffy. After politely discussing immigration policy with her, Mr Brown made his excuses and climbed into the waiting car but, crucially, forgot to switch off his microphone. As the car sped away, he told an aide that the meeting was a "disaster", adding: "She's just a bigoted woman that said she used to be Labour." David Cameron won the election.
  
  Lesson: Never switch off. You don't know who's still paying attention.


• Steve Jobs and the sluggish iPhone 4 response
  
  What happened: The iPhone 4 was released on 24 June but, within a matter of days, complaints were flooding in about wild fluctuations in signal strength. Apple chief executive Steve Jobs began by denying the problem, saying: "We don't think we have a problem. There is no Antennagate." Then he changed tack and admitted there was a problem if your hand covered the lower left-hand corner. Then he tried to suggest that all phones suffer some loss of antenna performance anyway. With the public still not satisfied, he eventually relented and promised to give a free iPhone 4 case to every owner to fix the signal problem. That was a full three weeks after the phone launched.
  
  Lesson: Never drag your heels. In a PR crisis, it's always best to take the initiative.


• Michael Gove and the Building Schools for the Future backtrack
  
  What happened: Following the axing of the Building Schools for the Future program, the Department for Education published a definitive list outlining which projects would be scrapped. Unfortunately, somebody forgot to check the details first. It emerged that there were a staggering 25 mistakes in the list – and at least nine schools were mistakenly told that their projects were safe. Education secretary Michael Gove then had to make a rather embarrassing speech in the House of Commons, apologising "unreservedly" for what he described as a "regrettable error".
  
  Lesson: Never publish unchecked data. If you don't spot the mistakes, someone else will.


• Tony Hayward and the Deepwater Horizon blame game
  
  What happened: In April, an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig caused a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The then BP chief executive Tony Hayward initially tried to deflect blame by criticising rig owners Transocean. He told the BBC: "This was not our accident...this was not our rig. This was not our equipment. It was not our people, our systems, our processes. This was Transocean's rig." That didn't wash with environmental campaigners, US senators or Barack Obama though - if anything, it just provided more ammunition for his enemies. Finally, in July, BP bowed to the inevitable and announced that Tony Hayward was to resign from the company.
  
  Lesson: Never try and pass the buck. The public will see straight through it.

Richard Frost

The pros and cons of WordPress as a CMS

WordPress was released in 2003, originally intended for use as a blogging platform. Thanks largely to its intuitive template and plug-in systems, the site quickly found another use as one of the most popular Content Management Systems.

The platform, which is based on PHP and MySQL, is free to download and depending on your requirements could provide you with everything you need to have a basic, SEO-friendly website online within a matter of just a few hours.

WordPress could well be the most easy-to-use CMS not just for end users but also developers and designers alike. Websites such as Techcrunch and Kara Swish's Wall Street Journal spin-off All Things Digital have made the best out of this simple, easy (and free) to use CMS.

I have been using WordPress for three years and at first was very reluctant to use an open source 'blogging' platform to develop sites, but after using it for a while, it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. Once you get the hang of it, you quickly realise it is a fantastic solution for basic website builds.

Benefits of using WordPress

• Low-cost website development


• Easy-to-use for beginners and experts


• Scalable – it works just as well for a 2 or 2000-page website


• Highly customisable


• Quick turnaround on development


• Regularly updated and maintained


• Secure code maintained by a community of thousands of developers


• Thousands of themes and plug-ins freely available

Potential drawbacks of using WordPress

• The platform is fine for basic websites, but not great for bespoke functionality


• The CMS is set up for a blog system and can be difficult to customise at first

theEweekly wrap: M-Commerce, data gathering and the $13million domain

Data and defence

The Home Office confirmed this week that the latest strategic defence and security review would include legislation on data gathering. This will allow "security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies to obtain communication data and to intercept communications", meaning internet providers and phone networks must keep records of every call, email and page visit. Police and security forces will have access to these records if they can demonstrate the data will be useful in a counterterrorism or "serious organised crime" investigation. The plan, or Interception Modernisation Programme, was first proposed under Labour, and criticised by the Liberal Democrats in the run-up to the election.

Upwardly Mobile

The Internet Advertising Bureau has released research revealing the true extent – and the failings – of m-commerce in the UK. 51 per cent of mobile owners, or 23 million people, use their mobile to "make payments, redeem coupons or research products and services". The research concluded that the average customer is spontaneous and likes trying new things, while the average spend was £12.20. Unfortunately, the survey pointed to a large section of the market that is being left behind. Of those who did not engage in m-commerce, 35 per cent could not use the mobile internet on their handset. Smartphone users were 63 per cent more likely to buy, and those who find the process 'easy' were 16 per cent more likely.

Trouble.com

The most expensive domain name in history was sold this week for $13 million (£8.2 million). Sex.com was purchased by Escom LLC in 2006 for between $12 and $14 million, who subsequently went bankrupt. However, the site has a history of causing bad luck: original owner Gary Kremen was involved in a 12-year court battle with conman Stephen Cohen who hijacked it in 1994. New owner Clover Holdings Ltd is based in the Caribbean, but otherwise remains a mystery. Earlier this year, the new adult domain .xxx was given the go-ahead, with M&C Saatchi beating four other ad agencies to win the marketing contract. The second most expensive domain, Porn.com, was sold for $9 million (£5.7 million) in 2007.

Writers blocked

The Washington Post has barred its journalists from posting on Twitter after they attempted to engage with an enraged gay activist group. GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) members were horrified to read a guest blog on the Washington Post website that suggested homosexuality was a form of mental illness. The group made their outrage known via Twitter, and the message was retweeted dozens of times. Journalists from the Post attempted to placate GLAAD, and defended their website's right to free speech. However, within a few days the Post had issued a memo to all staff banning them from interacting with critics via the Post's official Twitter account. Tweeting from personal accounts is still permissible, but the memo called the debacle "equivalent to allowing a reader to write a letter to the editor - and then publishing a rebuttal by the reporter".

Win 2 tickets to the Manchester SEO Mini Conference!

The inaugural Manchester SEO Mini Conference is sold out but we have two free tickets to give away.

The Manchester SEO Mini Conference

On Friday, October 29th 2010, some of the brightest minds in the industry will come together to talk about the future of search. The following speakers have already been confirmed:

• Nichola Stott (co-founder of theMediaFlow, blogger on Econsultancy, Search Engine Watch and State of Search)


• Neil Walker (former Just Search head of operations)


• Barry Adams (online marketing specialist at Visual Script and blogger on State of Search)


• Kevin Newman (organiser of Brighton SEO and creative director at Site Visibility)

The Manchester SEO Mini Conference takes place from 2pm to 5:30pm at The Hive on Lever Street (M1 1FN):


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Tickets sold out long ago but we have two guest passes to give away to one lucky person. To enter, all you need to do is follow theEword on Twitter and retweet our #win tweet. The competition launches today and closes next Monday at noon – the winner will be chosen at random and announced later that day.

The Manchester SEO Mini Conference after-event

Even if you don't win the tickets, you can still meet many of the delegates afterwards courtesy of theEword. We are sponsoring the official Manchester SEO Mini Conference after-event drinks on Friday, October 29th from 5:30pm at Walrus Bar on the High Street (M4 1ES):


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This informal session is open both to delegates and to anybody that didn't attend but would simply like to learn more about SEO. It is completely free and there is no need to book in advance. Several members of theEword will also be on hand at Walrus Bar. Feel free to say hello!

Richard Frost

theEweekly Wrap: Google, BBC advertising and AdWords court case

Coalition Transmission

The BBC may be about to embark on the "unthinkable", as talks open regarding the possibility of showing government adverts for free. Francis Maude, the driving force behind Whitehall's austerity measures, said that Labour spent £450 million on advertising during their last year in government. The idea has met with indignation from other television providers as well as advocates of the BBC's long-standing "no advertising" rule and independence from government. Meanwhile, the BBC revised editorial guidelines on product prominence, and apologised for the "cumulative effect" of product prominence in 2009's 'Harry Potter Day'.

War of the Roses

Interflora has taken Marks & Spencer to court over their use of Google AdWords. Earlier this year saw Google make the decision to let marketers buy brand names as keywords for PPC campaigns, in theory to allow retailers to advertise which brands they stock. However, M&S is the latest brand accused of trying to 'piggy-back' on another company's reputation. Allegedly, they have purchased 'Interflora' as a keyword so that a sponsored link for the M&S Flowers shop appears in the same box as the link for the 180-year-old florist. M&S described the purchase of branded keywords as "industry wide practice" and "not unlawful".

Google domination

Google are continuing to change the world with a string of innovations and investments. This week saw the testing of a self-driving car, as well as the launch of Sony's Google TV hardware. A Blu-ray player and a 24-inch LCD HDTV will set you back $1,000 (£620), whilst the remote control features around 80 buttons. This week also saw Google making a major investment in wind power company Atlantic Wind Connection, currently building a 6,000-strong network of offshore turbines stretching from New Jersey to Virginia. Another exciting product on the horizon is the automatically-translating telephone, which was discussed by Eric Schmidt at the TechCrunch conference in September, and given a demo (in English-German only) at IFA by Product Management Director Hugo Barra.

Dangerous.ly

URL shortener vb.ly was seized last week by the Libyan authorities, who operate the .ly domain. The Libyan domain registry NIC.ly clarified that the landing page image of vb.ly founder Violet Blue bare-armed and drinking beer was considered too offensive to be hosted by the country's domain, but most importantly, vb.ly was a self-proclaimed 'sex-positive' site. Although they hosted no adult or risqué material, the decision to be open and non-discriminatory about gender and sexuality was deemed inappropriate. Sexless domain users such as bit.ly and ow.ly can therefore breathe a sigh of relief, although they will have to be careful with what content they host in future to avoid falling foul of the same moral code. Of course, the recently-launched goo.gl URL shortener could soon dominate the market anyway, and it's unlikely that Greenland will be easily offended.

The 5 key qualities you need to be a successful Press Officer

It has been nearly a year since I became the Press Officer at theEword. During that time, there have been plenty of highs and lows (hopefully, more of the former than the latter!). Some press releases failed to set the world on fire, while others got theEword and its clients talked about everywhere from How-Do and The Drum to North West Business Insider and The Wall. On the social side, meanwhile, we enjoyed an unbelievable response to the publication of our landmark Manchester Twitter Report in July 2010.

Now seems as good a time as any to reflect on what it is that makes a good Press Officer. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I honestly don't believe anyone can achieve great results without having these 5 qualities:

1. A network of contacts - The old adage 'it's not what you know, it's who you know' certainly rings true in the PR world. A good Press Officer needs to be constantly on the lookout for ways to interact with influential journalists and bloggers. This may be through formal networking events, informal social gatherings or even, increasingly, on Twitter. Oh and if you're not on Twitter yet – what are you waiting for?!


2. People skills - Press Officers have to be able to deal with people in a variety of situations. You must be polite with clients but also confident enough in your own abilities to know when a different approach would work better. You also need to have a likeable manner and a real knack for persuasion when it comes to selling in press releases. The odd Jedi Mind Trick wouldn't go amiss either.


3. Creativity - Of course, you can't just rely on people skills to get by; you also need to come up with ideas and angles that will really capture the imagination. Even the best work will sink without trace unless you can sum it up in a single killer line that gets journalists and readers hooked. Get your pitch sorted and it's all plain sailing from there.


4. A head for figures - PR may attract creative types but don't be fooled into thinking Press Officers spend all day with their heads in the clouds. The best Press Officers combine blue-sky thinking with a solid grounding in numbers, tables and spreadsheets. After all, you have to be able to prove to clients that your ideas are delivering measurable results day in, day out. And to do that, you'll need to be able to find your way around Google Analytics, TweetStats and – whisper it – Excel.


5. Luck - This one speaks for itself really. You can put in all the preparation in the world but, ultimately, you're still at the mercy of time-pressed editors with a million other things on their mind. Get used to it!

That's what I think – I'll leave it to others to decide how well I measure up to my own checklist! If you spot anything I've missed or even if you disagree totally, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what qualities make a successful Press Officer. Although you may need to join Twitter first!

Richard Frost

An Introduction to Time Lapse Photography

Time lapse photography occurs when photographs are taken at a slow rate, and then merged together afterward to create a faster paced video. The idea behind most time lapse photography is to show an action or event quicker than you would normally see it. This means taking a series of photographs with small (or large!) intervals between each shot. These photos are then merged together, placed one after the other, to create a video. This creates a fast-paced video of the event or action you photographed.

You may not realise it, but time lapse photography is quite frequently used in many media forms today. Common examples of time lapse photography include a sunset, clouds moving quickly in the sky and many more. Have you ever noticed a scene in a television programme or film where the sun sets rather quickly? This will have been achieved using time lapse photography.

So what makes time lapse photography popular? In today's society, everybody wants to see something as quickly as they can. The average internet user won't have much patience to watch a video through, particularly if it is hours long. However, there seems to be some sort of fascination with watching videos that show a sped-up version of our world. To me, time lapse videos also give you a chance to notice things you otherwise wouldn't. For example, take a look at the Thunderstorm video below – that time lapse video allows us to see details such as the lightning-lit clouds for longer than we may normally see them.

I've included my all time favourite time lapse photography videos below. Take a look and let me know if you find any other great videos!

Aurora (Northern Lights)



Thunderstorm



Painted Lady Butterflies Develop, Emerge in Time Lapse



Time Lapse Video of Guy Driving Across the Country



Hayaku: A Time Lapse Journey Through Japan from Brad Kremer on Vimeo.

theEweekly Wrap: Apple, Firefox and Street View

Firefox goes Bing

The upcoming build of Firefox 4 for PC and Mac will feature Microsoft search engine Bing as a default search option. Mozilla's open-source browser is the second most popular in the world, and has a long history of co-operation with Google. Firefox currently boasts 31.5 per cent of the browser market share, with current versions featuring Google as the default search engine. Internet Explorer, which in version 9 automatically uses Bing through the combined search and address bar, dropped just below 50 per cent market share this week, for the first time since records began.

Apple in patents row

Apple is currently involved in two copyright lawsuits that could see the software giant coughing up over $600 million (£390 million). Mirror Worlds alleged that Apple has infringed four of its patents, and on October 1st a US jury found Apple guilty in three of these cases. If Apple pays the $208.5 million (£1.3 million) in damages per patent, it will be one of the biggest fines in US legal history. Motorola Mobility is also taking Apple to court over a total of 18 mobile technology patents. This is the latest in a string of copyright lawsuits this year, such as Apple suing HTC, and Microsoft taking Motorola to court.

Online ads boom

There was good news for digital marketing agencies everywhere this week as the IAB revealed a 10 per cent increase in the UK's online adspend. The amount spent on online ads between January and June 2010 was £2 billion, almost a quarter of the UK's total marketing spend of £8.1 billion. Factors contributing to the growth include a boom in social media marketing and viral video ads. Paid search advertising such as PPC made up almost 60% of the figure, whilst classifieds and lead generation contributed another 20%. Display ads such as banners were responsible for the last 20%, but of the £381 million spent, just 13% was spent on social media display ads.

Street View censored

Just a week after Google Street View launched coverage of Brazil, it has had to remove some gruesome images. Complaints were received when users discovered an image of a dead body covered by black plastic and surrounded by police on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, whilst another apparently lay on the side of the road with no bystanders or covering. Two examples of men pulling 'moonies' in Ireland were also censored, whilst Google have received several complaints from people who can be seen in states of undress, or under the influence. More bizarre moments captured on the service include a house fire in Arkansas, two Norwegians in scuba gear chasing the photography car, and the infamous Horse Boy.

The Growing Trend of the Infographic

Take a look around today and you'll be sure to find infographics all around. If you look on the web, they're an almost daily occurrence. But infographics aren't limited to the internet – they're also all around us; on television adverts, on billboards and even in space.

So what is an infographic? In simple terms, an infographic is a visual way of representing data. This way, data can be displayed in a much more presentable and exciting way. It also means that the data or information you want to present is much more likely to be noticed – you've got to admit, unless there's an absolute necessity, you skip over the boring-looking tables of information, don't you?

Whilst infographics have been used in the past, and they are nothing new, recently there's been quite a big "infographic boom". Everywhere you look, whether it's online or at your local bus station, infographics are appearing more and more.

What makes a good infographic? The most important thing about infographic displays is that the information doesn't get lost behind the pretty graphics. That isn't to say that there should be fewer graphics or less use of imagery, but don't let the graphics detract from the real star: the information. Once you have the information displayed in as near to perfect form as you can, use imagery, lighting and texture to enhance the information. Use the graphics to bring out the information you want highlighting and to take the focus off the data you might think less important.

Now you know what an infographic is and how to use them to good effect, why not take a look at a few of my favourite examples below?

A Guide to Buying Your Own Island by iglucruise.com



The Colors of the Web by COLOURlovers



Learn how Google Works: in Gory Detail by PPCBlog.com



The Boom of Social Sites by focus.com



Do You Need a New Logo? by Design By Watermark



The 2010 Social Networking Map by Flowtown



How Much Do We Really Recycle on The Infographics Showcase

theEweekly Wrap: TechCrunch, WordPress and Skype

TechCrunch sold

Technology blog TechCrunch was purchased this week by AOL for a tidy sum, estimated at $25-$30 million (£16-£19 million). Notoriously abrasive editor and founder Michael Arrington will stay on; he signed the deal live on stage at a TechCrunch conference, but is bound by a confidentiality clause to keep quiet about the price tag. TechCrunch has always been committed to giving outspoken and honest views on the industry. It now joins Engadget and Switched as AOL's third technology blog, giving them control over a large chunk of media output. However, Arrington reassured readers that "we feel free to criticize AOL when we think they deserve it".

FaceSkype

Reports emerged this week that calling and video chat service Skype would be tightly integrated with Facebook in version 5.0. Users will now be able to sign into Skype through Facebook, or call Facebook friends through Skype. It's a partnership that should be mutually beneficial, increasing engagement with both sites and turning Skype into a form of social media. Skype has a total of 560 million registered users, although only 124 million use the site on a monthly basis. The recent move to sync Facebook with Windows Live Messenger saw impressive growth in the latter's daily users, perhaps due to featuring within a site that so many people check or use on a daily basis.

WordPress Windfall

Microsoft abandoned its Live Spaces blogging site this week, and passed all 7 million users to open-source rival WordPress. Describing the cast-off as an 'upgrade' for customers, Live Spaces will be encouraging bloggers to migrate over the next six months, and then deleting any remaining blogs. Interestingly, Live Spaces will also be handing over its ad revenues with no quarrel. Currently powering 8.5 per cent of the internet by acting as a simple and spam-safe content management system, WordPress has potential for lucrative marketing space. Its main competition is the Google-powered Blogger.com, which created this very post.

Changes to AdWords

Google announced changed to AdWords this week that could affect PPC campaigns. The Keyword Tool now allows marketers to buy 'negative keywords', in an attempt to negate irrelevant adverts. The Product Extensions tool was also released, almost a year after the US launch. Product Extensions allows PPC campaigns to include pictures of their products in an extendable plus box below their main ad. There is no charge if users expand the box without clicking through, ensuring better value for money for PPC campaigns. According to the AdWords blog, Sonystyle.com reported a 9% increase in conversion thanks to the product extension ad on the right.