theEweekly Wrap: Guitar Hero, social media protests and Black Friday

Sweet image rights o' mine

Axl Rose, founder and frontman of faded rock band Guns N' Roses, has filed a lawsuit for $20 million (£12.6 million) against the developers of Guitar Hero III. The game, which was launched in 2007, has a cartoon image of former GnR guitarist Slash on the cover. Because Slash left the band in 1996, Rose claims an agreement was made with developers, Activision Blizzard, to not use images of Slash in the game or promotional material. Rose's lawyer Skip Miller told Reuters the game is "reinforcing an association between Slash and Guns N' Roses and the band's song Welcome to the Jungle"; despite the fact that Slash (pictured) co-wrote and recorded the 1987 hit. A previous lawsuit against Guitar Hero – brought by guitar manufacturers Gibson, who claimed to own a patent for "technology to simulate a musical performance" – was thrown out of court.

Tweet against the machine

This week's student protests were organised via social networks, according to the media. The Guardian commented that "unlike student movements of the 1960s and 1970s, actions developed organically, with social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter, providing an ideal platform for grassroots organisation". Journalists have attempted to infiltrate these sites to expose ringleaders, but so far have not identified any individuals inciting violence. It is, however, thought that those who ran ahead of the march on Wednesday and began causing trouble at Whitehall were communicating, and the action was premeditated; should the police decide to seek out perpetrators, it could be only too easy. The marches, the violence and the media portrayal have all been both condoned and condemned on Twitter, using the hashtag #demo2010.

Micro journalism?

Unknowingly predicting the previous story, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone speculated on Monday about the potential news-sharing power of the site. Speaking to Reuters at a technology event in Oxford, he said: "I think a Twitter News Service would be something that would be very open and shared with many different news organizations around the world". Twitter's similarity to a real time news feed has already made it a favourite with reporters and researchers. TechCrunch clarified that there were no official plans for a "Twitter News Network", but commented on its power to change the way news is reported: "People would be there, on the ground, tweeting about it in real time. It made the traditional news outlets look like absolute dinosaurs". This could, one day, be the materialisation of other co-founder Evan Williams' wish that Twitter become "a force for good".

Backfire Friday

After days of anticipation, Amazon's 'Black Friday' deals turned out to be something of a letdown, spurring anger and complaints from consumers. Black Friday is a US tradition which aims to kick-start Christmas spending by offering deals at a loss to the retailer. To restrict their losses, Amazon introduced 'Lightning Deals', where a fixed number of a certain product would be released at a certain time of day with massive discounts. Customers began complaining when hyped deals – such as Take That's new album for £1, or kitchen appliances at half price – sold out in a fraction of a second, while some reported the site froze, preventing a quick enough click to be one of the lucky buyers. Less popular products meanwhile, such as PC security software, were half price for a full hour, leading some to claim the 'limited number' was unfeasibly low for the promoted deals. The Advertising Standards Authority is now set to become involved in the issue.

Why customer service is even more important in the Digital world

Customer service is an integral element for the success of a business. With so much choice, it is very easy for a client to leave a company if they feel they haven’t been given the best service. We all know that ensuring your clients are satisfied with the job you are doing for them is extremely important. But how has the way we offer customer service changed since doing most of our business online?

When you think of customer service, you ordinarily are thinking about brick and mortar businesses. But with the announcement by the IAB that there was a 10 percent increase in the UK’s online ad spend, it seems that digital is here to stay so businesses need to go the extra mile to ensuring high levels of customer service to their clients within a digital age. Dougherty and Murthy (2009), for the Harvard Business Review found that, "...alienated customers often disappear without the slightest warning". This is why, especially in a digital market, it is imperative that companies instill policies for ensuring clients are contacted regularly with status updates. This helps twofold: first, it gives the client the satisfaction that they are very important to the company, and secondly, if there are any issues with the clients’ account, the company is able to verbalize that they are aware of the issue and are working on combating it.

Within our SEO world where it is very easy to misinterpret the language of an email or phone call it is important to ensure that all your employees know best practices for writing emails and conducting telephone conversations with clients. Add up several misinterpretations and you could find yourself losing clients at the end of their contract.

So remember, contact and consistency ensure your clients stay happy and you keep client retention high.

Reference: Dougherty D. and Murthy, A (2009) Harvard Business Review on the Harvard Business Review website, extracted November 18, 2010

theEweekly Wrap: Boutiques, Twitter, and AOL's child safety service

Next step for Facebook

It didn't seem possible, but Facebook has become even more omnipotent this week. Monday's announcement of the @facebook.com messaging service, although categorically 'not email', was still called a 'Gmail Killer' by many analysts. Next, Mashable reported that a special announcement would be made soon concerning MySpace and Facebook platform development. In other news, Facebook announced that Facebook Credits, the virtual currency used for apps and games, would be available in the UK before Christmas. Facebook Credits will be sold as gift cards in outlets of Tesco and Game, and might be used on third-party sites thanks to Facebook Connect.

Net nanny

Parents can now monitor their children's online behaviour with AOL UK service SafeSocial. For £6.99 a month, SafeSocial will produce a report card of the child's social media interactions. Danger signs such as references to suicide, drugs or bullying will be picked up on, as will any new contacts from outside the child's usual social groups. Another feature is the opportunity to view – and edit – any photos of your offspring, and send alerts when the child befriends anyone whose date of birth indicates they are an adult. However, by removing the need to befriend or follow, and requiring the child's consent to produce reports, SafeSocial is a more sensible option than most.

Tweet dreams

Twitter is now in talks with Facebook over interoperation, although integrating the two social networks is still not on the cards. Even so, at the Web 2.0 conference in September, former CEO Evan Williams admitted the site had "a lot of money in the bank". Speculation abounds as to how this was achieved. Promoted Tweets, once thought to be launching in 2011, are already visible in most UK trending topics lists. The much-anticipated official Twitter Analytics also began to roll out this week, although we know a few tricks of the trade to help you keep up to date with what's happening on Twitter.

Window shopping

Wednesday saw the launch of a new Google service known as Boutiques. This website combines social media and shopping, in an e-commerce stroke of genius. Users can complete quizzes and pick favourite celebrity outfits, which the site collates to create a personalised style; garments and shops are then suggested, with one click redirecting the user to an online shop. This is all backed up with rich media and available on iPad and iPhone too. Celebrity bloggers also contribute to the site, including style icons Carey Mulligan, Kelly Osbourne, and Nicole Richie. Following these blogs, with status updates like a Twitter profile, allows access to the celebrity's recommendations and fashion tips. Currently only available for US shops and customers, the UK version – and a male shop – will be rolling out soon; at least we hope so!

Pitching your press release – a line-by-line email guide

Knowing how to pitch your press release by email is a vital skill for any press officer. Journalists can receive dozens of leads every day so it's important for you to do everything within your power to stand out from the crowd. In fact, for all the effort you've put in, it may only take them a couple of seconds to decide whether or not to run with your press release. Modern journalism is all about speed.

Next time you prepare to send press releases to the media, take a minute to ask whether the accompanying email is up to standard. Does your email highlight the most newsworthy parts of your press release? Is it too wordy? And does it do anything that might put off journalists?

To help you avoid the most common mistakes, I've created this line-by-line guide to pitching your press release. I hope it helps.

• To field - Send your press release to a specific person, but CC in other relevant email addresses such as the editor and the newsdesk. Bear in mind that your preferred journalist may not be in the office that day, or may just be too busy to read your press release properly.


• Subject heading - Try to be as concise as possible because most inboxes cut off longer messages. Also, never start your subject heading with 'Press release' or 'New press release' – this wastes valuable time and should be obvious anyway.


• Attachments - Attach a copy of the press release in Word – few journalists bother to open sluggish PDFs. Furthermore, remember to attach a company logo and/or a relevant image in .jpg format. Most publications are desperately short of visuals, so even the most lacklustre press release can get coverage on the back of a decent image.


• Paragraph 1 - Be sure to name the journalist and their publication directly. Be polite but don't be afraid to go less formal if you've built up a personal relationship. And make sure you mention the reason for the email in your opening as well.


• Paragraph 2 - Explain the topic of the press release but don't go into too much detail – one or two lines is enough. Draw their attention to the fact that you're including images as well.


• Paragraph 3 - Don't be afraid to state exactly what you'd like the journalist to do. Whether you want them to rewrite the press release, use it in an upcoming feature or even get involved directly, it's best to be clear about it to avoid any confusion. In addition, encourage them to get in touch. A journalist who is sitting on the fence may be more inclined to cover the story if they know you're keen to help.


• Paragraph 4 - A great tip is to always copy your press release into the main body of your email. Many journalists won't open attachments as a rule, but there's always the chance that you'll catch their eye by including the press release in your message.

I should add that many successful press officers take a very different approach to press release pitches. There is plenty of room for creativity - after all, your ultimate goal is catching a journalist's imagination and there are a million different ways of doing that.

So if you've got any other tips for pitching your press release, I'd love to hear them. Just post a message on the comments section or get in touch via theEword Twitter page.

Richard Frost

The very first Eworkshop

For many organisations, SEO has always been a bit of a grey area. It’s a practice that countless people would love to learn to utilise, and it draws a lot of questions whenever it's talked about. This is what inspired the SEO workshops: theEword saw a big question mark, and wanted to provide the answers to businesses looking to learn how to generate traffic to their websites.

With over 12 years of commercial SEO experience we felt we were expertly placed to deliver workshops where attendees could gain real insight. Our continued commitment to knowledge sharing and our open door policy as an agency made us want to invite businesses to come and learn.

This week we held our first ever session, appropriately placed within global entrepreneurship week. This week has been all about support and inspiration to help organisations to fulfil their entrepreneurial potential. Learning how to get visitors which you can then convert into sales is one of the most important parts of business development. The generation of income through SEO strategy is what sets us apart from other agencies.

The session included lots of information and useful tips on how organisations could go out there and start generating visitors to their sites. It also included activities to get attendees interacting and talking about SEO. For one of the activities, we chose an organisation in attendance and carried out a keyword thought shower to give them insight into targeting a potential new audience. Everyone in the group took part and we ended up with a great list of keywords, that the organisation took away to help them focus on building up a greater audience reach.

Another hit on the day was theEword pass the parcel SEO game, which as well as bringing back some childhood nostalgia, allowed open debate on link building within an SEO strategy. This game brought a lot of fun to the training sessions and gave some attendees a chance to play a game they have never tried before. With coffee and croissants to keep us going, everyone was really receptive and eager to get involved on the day. The feedback was brilliant – comments after the event described it as “great”, a “very good refresher” and even “genius”. The great atmosphere has inspired us to keep running these sessions throughout December.

theEword Academy - How to get answers on Twitter

Twitter isn't always the most intuitive of sites. This is particularly true of the search function, which often brings up so many tweets that extracting a specific piece of information can feel like Mission: Impossible. Anybody that spends serious amounts of time on Twitter soon learns that finding even the most basic stuff like who said what, when and where can be very frustrating indeed.

However, it doesn't have to be that way. Twitter comes with some extremely handy Twitter search operators that can extract a surprising amount of detail from the avalanche of tweets. Many of these are similar to the immensely popular Google search operators, but with the added bonus that you can limit searches to just what one friend is saying. This gives you the chance to keep track of conversations like never before.

Twitter FAQs

Below are a number of Twitter FAQs and what you need to type into the search bar on Twitter or Twitter Search to get the right answer.

Question: How do I see tweets containing the exact phrase Manchester United?
Answer: "Manchester United"

Question: How do I see tweets containing the exact phrase Manchester United or Manchester City?
Answer: "Manchester United" OR "Manchester City"

Question: How do I see tweets about Manchester, but not containing the word United?
Answer: Manchester –United

Question: How do I see positive tweets about Manchester?
Answer: Manchester :)

Question: How do I see negative tweets about Manchester?
Answer: Manchester :(

Question: How do I see if theEword has been mentioned in a tweet?
Answer: @theEword

Question: How do I see if theEword has sent a tweet?
Answer: from:theEword

Question: How do I see if theEword has been sent a reply?
Answer: to:theEword

Question: How do I see tweets originating in central Manchester?
Answer: near:Manchester within:5mi

Question: How do I see tweets with links?
Answer: filter:links

Question: How do I see tweets with the hashtag #mancseo?
Answer: #mancseo

One final point. You can use as many Twitter Search Operators as you want in a single search. So if you want to see if theEword has sent a tweet about Manchester, but not United, with a positive attitude and links, you would need to type: from:theEword manchester -united :) filter:links. And no, we haven't.

Richard Frost

Designing Mobile Websites

It's likely in this day and age that you'll be carrying a mobile phone around with you - and for one in five of us, this will be a smart phone. It's now the norm to use our mobile phones to access the web while we're out and about, as well as from the comfort of our own homes.

This growing trend means that we're increasingly more likely to access websites that are mobile friendly: ones that will load for optimised viewing on a mobile phone.

Many companies now realise the advantage of having a mobile version of their website - a lot of users are unhappy to load full web pages on their mobile phone, particularly when out and about as it can quickly use up your mobile data allowance. Also, a lot of the time mobile visitors aren't looking to use all of the features of a full website - they are likely to be looking for a specific feature to help them.

But mobile design isn't without its complications - due to the massive range of mobile devices available, including the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Windows mobile, it means that it is much more difficult to ensure the site displays correctly across each device.

There are a few key things to remember when designing mobile sites:

Keep it Simple Stupid
The KISS principle applies even more when it comes to mobile website design - due to the lack of usable space on mobile screens, it's important to make sure the site is simple and usable. This could mean cutting out images or extra content that isn't necessary on a mobile site - the bare minimum should be used.

Cut out the content
Though briefly touched upon previously, this is a really important point. A lot of websites contain bloated content, which would be unnecessary in a mobile version. The key to mobile sites is optimised content - that is to say, content that has been written specifically to capture a user's attention in just a few words.

Use fewer images
Although we now have faster internet connections for our computers, it's a slightly different story for mobile devices. Unless you're lucky enough to have a constant Wireless connection, it's likely you'll be using your mobile data allowance to access websites. This means that pages that are image heavy will take longer to fully load and will also use up much more of a user's allowance - something they won't want to do often.

Use lots of colour
Although we can't use lots of images, this isn't to say that mobile design for the web should be limited or boring. A good use of colour can make or break a mobile site - use bold colours to draw attention to particular areas of the site that you want noticed, or to make items such as links more obvious.

Consistency
It goes without saying that you should keep your pages similar and consistent - there is more flexibility on desktop websites for breaking the rules and creating beautiful sites with different layouts, but the main aim of your mobile website should be functionality. Using several different layout styles and grids in such a small space may only serve to confuse the user.

What are your favourite mobile websites? Are there any that stand out to you or any that fail to make the grade?

theEweekly Wrap: Kindle, Kinect, and government ads

Public information

Whitehall published department business models this week as part of a transparency drive, revealing plans for the future of government advertising. As previously reported in the Wrap, the government is confirmed to be seeking sources of free advertising as austerity measures take hold. The plans also seem to suggest the replacement of the Central Office of Information with a US-style Ad Council. The US council relies on donations of ad space – receiving contributions worth over $2 billion (£1.24 billion) in 2007-8 – and volunteers from the marketing sector. The UK version meanwhile will offer performance-related pay to agencies involved with government campaigns.

Sneak previews

The latest Google innovation slipped in unannounced this week after trials in October. Instant Preview, triggered by clicking the magnifying glass to the right of search results, opens a small page-view box in the same window, and highlights the most relevant paragraphs. The feature is currently only available on natural search results and is rolling out in 40 languages over the coming days. The official Google blog claims the change will "provide new ways to evaluate search results, making you more likely to find what you’re looking for on the pages you visit". Like Instant itself, the changes could have a positive outcome for marketers too; the click-through rate may be lower, but relevant clicks and conversions will improve due to a more engaged searcher.

Kinect kick-off

The launch of Microsoft's Xbox Kinect device has caused excitement across Europe. The motion-sensor add-on was available from midnight on November 10th 2010, for around £130. A completely hands-free gaming experience, Kinect promises to be a big hit with families and non-gamers in the run-up to Christmas. It will face stiff competition from the Playstation Move, but Kinect is already selling out across the UK. The Guardian reported that some of the biggest-selling games playable with Kinect include Dance Central, Sports Active, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and Kinectimals – which allows users to pet, speak to and play with a variety of virtual pets.

Slamazon

Amazon was criticised and boycotted by thousands when it emerged they were selling an e-book entitled "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure", by Phillip R. Greaves. The existence of this "how-to guide for pedophiles" was originally flagged by TechCrunch on the 10th, when it was the 158,221st biggest seller. Within hours, it had rocketed to #96. In response to the myriad complaints, threats to boycott, social media protest groups and pleas to remove the book, Amazon told TechCrunch: "it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable". As TechCrunch commented, "Middle America is about to find out about this thing and it’s not going to be pretty". At the time of writing, the product page for the book was 'not a functioning page'.

theEword Academy - 10 tips to boost your following on social media

Every organisation dabbles in social media marketing nowadays, or at least it feels that way. Companies have finally woken up to the value of web 2.0 and are rushing to set up blogs, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, LinkedIn profiles, YouTube channels and everything else they can think of.

However, most make little or no headway in the social space, with only a few dozen friends and employees to their name. Some don't even get that far. Time and again, companies find themselves asking the same question – how do I stand out? Hopefully, this blog will point you in the right direction.

My top 10 tips to boost your following on social media:

1. Focus on your key social media channels instead of flirting with the likes of social bookmarking and location-based games


2. Advertise social media accounts on your homepage and across your promotional literature


3. Always post links to your own content such as blogs, press releases, white papers, pictures and videos


4. Don't be afraid to post links to interesting content produced by others


5. Engage directly with social media opinion formers


6. Recommend the best social media accounts by mentioning them in updates and including them on Twitter lists


7. Go to networking events for people in your industry


8. Stage your own events to boost brand awareness


9. Create competitions to reward new followers and those who help raise the profile of your company


10. Have a sense of humour when things take an unexpected turn – social media isn't an exact science!

Richard Frost

theEweekly wrap: Stephen Fry, Facebook mobile, and al-Qaida videos

Bye bye Fry

Twitter wit Stephen Fry apparently quit the social media site in protest this week after 6,977 tweets. When the microblogging star was misquoted in an interview with Attitude magazine about female sexuality, he claimed he was being portrayed as the "antichrist". His final tweet on October 31st simply said "Bye bye", leaving the bio 'no longer in service'. Unsurprisingly, campaigns to reinstate him have already taken off. There is a Twitition to bring him back, created by GoldenTwits, who have nominated Fry for Best Celebrity Twitter for the second year running. Meanwhile, the probably-fake Mrs Stephen Fry has used Twitter and the Guardian to defend her husband, stating: "My Stephen is not the Antichrist - he's a very nice boy!".

Placebook

Social network Facebook has announced several changes to its mobile services. Search Engine Land reports the most significant of these is the introduction of Deals. Currently only available in the US, this scheme rewards Facebook mobile users who 'check in' to specified locations. The list currently includes companies such as Starbucks, McDonalds and Gap, all hoping to profit from the average person's love of freebies. Other changes include one-click sign-in, access to Groups, and upgrades to the iPhone and Android apps. The small print also reveals that the Facebook Places local data and activity stream will be made available to third parties, such as developers and mobile marketers.

Terror TV

YouTube has been asked by the British Government to remove hundreds of videos inciting violence by the British government. When 21-year-old student Roshonara Choudhry was convicted of attempting to murder Stephen Timms MP, the court heard how watching YouTube footage of extremist Islamic preachers was instrumental in her decision. The videos included sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki, who is currently wanted in the US in connection with several bomb plots. The Yemen-based preacher had over 5,000 clips on YouTube. Security minister Baroness Neville-Jones has asked the White House to intervene and remove the videos, as they could "incite cold-blooded murder".

Wales loses domain battle

The campaign to create a Welsh domain went back to the drawing board this week, when its intended .cym name was allocated to the Cayman Islands instead. The group responsible for the campaign, dotcym, was formed in 2006. It has since attracted support from the Welsh Assembly, Welsh businesses and organisations, and Facebook users. The .cym domain, short for Cymru, was intended to help identify and promote Welsh language websites. Now it is no longer available, the dotcym organisation is suggesting new ideas to its supporters, among them .cymru, .wales, and .cwl – short for Cymru Wales. The new name will be submitted to the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in 2011, but the BBC suggested that Wales will not be a top priority, as it is not recognised by the United Nations.