Monday, January 26, 2015

Review of CMAD by Cath Jenkin


Being a community manager can sometimes feel like a lonely job. When you’re dealing with client queries, feedback requirements, complaints, compliments and trying to get that beloved escalation matrix well, escalating…some days can feel like a train ride with no tracks.

But then along comes the 24-hour CMAD celebrations and the webcasts we participated in, and that reminds all of us that, despite feeling lonely some days, we’re actually on the steam train together.

Perhaps the best part of participating in the webcast with Nazareen Ebrahim, Kirsty Bisset, Samantha Perry and Fred Felton (link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O9S_4ZUn5A&index=1&list=LLKnh-tz4OO6JLP5A6llKL3w) was the reminders that we’ve all got our tickets for this train ride and, so often, the challenges faced by us in our daily work, are faced by all of us, across the globe.

As we discussed the definitions and strategies for coping with a social media crisis, it’s evident that the importance of a crisis communications strategy is unparalleled. As Kirsty Bisset said, it’s important to go through the “What ifs” before they happen, so that internal response and action plans are well coordinated long before a crisis hits. As Samantha Perry pointed out too, within a crisis situation, it’s important that the right people are vested with the ability to speak on behalf of a company or brand and the importance of having a CEO or company leader come to the fore in times of crisis is a reassuring mechanism that helps to calm a client panic or outrage. Nazareen Ebrahim related a few poignant examples of how this has come into play, citing Tony Fernandez’ online responses when the AirAsia aeroplane went down in late 2014.

I’m certain that lessons learnt and shared during our session were well received and, judging by the tweets we read and online comments, it’s great to know that our webcast proved useful for Community Managers out there! Thanks to MyCommunityManager for having us!

Cath Jenkin
@cathjenkin

Thursday, January 22, 2015

How do you handle a social media crisis?


That seems to be the question that everyone is asking.  Just how do you handle it?  What do you do? Where do you start? 

Well on 26 January 2015 at 1pm SA Time we will be unpacking this tough topic.   Some of the top experts in South Africa will be looking at some of the worst social media disasters and how companies and brands dealt with them.

Our experts will also be providing some valuable insight into what it takes to handle a crisis.
  
Join freelance journalist Samantha Perry, Cath Jenkin from ContentCandy and DigiKids, Nazareen Ebrahim from Socially Acceptable and Kirsty Bisset the Big Spoon at Stir.

They will be sharing their experiences and advice.

This is all part of Community Manager’s Appreciation Day on 26 January 2015 #CMAD

Find out more here: www.cmad.co

Direct link to more info on this google hangout:


Hope to see you there



Fred Felton – Host of the Social Media Crisis Segment for CMAD
Creative Director – Falconscove

Twitter @fredfelton

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Wearable Tech Meets Fashion and Style




This year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has set the stage for 2015’s predicted technological trends. According to top analysts from Gartner, IDC and Forrester, one of the trends is the technological devices that marry fashion and style with the ability to integrate into your daily living. Wearable technology gives us the ability to quantify ourselves, document our lives, create new realities and express ourselves in new and exciting ways.

(The LG G Watch R) 

Ben Hammersley, a British technologist, journalist and author, sums up the future of wearable technology better than most, saying: “Wearables are truly upon us…from the basements of the 70s, to the desks of the 80s, the laps of the 90s, the front rooms of the noughties and the pockets of the twenty-teens. The next stop in this constant progression: if not in, then definitely on the body.”   

Wearable technology is not a new concept but it is one that has gained a lot of traction and is rumoured to see some of the more traditional forms of technology losing ground. Designed to interact with the user without much effort, wearable technology looks to incorporate style, fashion and the ability to track every aspect of your life.


LG has been ahead of the curve and the results are evident in their G Watch R, which is the world’s first watch-style wearable device to feature a full-circle Plastic OLED (P-OLED) display that utilises 100% of its display. With Android Wear at its core, the G Watch R delivers essential information through voice recognition notifications. Coupled with the LG Health and fitness apps, users have their health stats at their fingertips and won’t miss a beat with important reminders of missed calls and messages, upcoming meetings, events, and local weather forecasts. 




Tuesday, January 6, 2015

LG ushers in a new Era and see the UK's first mobile call



LG Ushers in New Year with 'Innovation For A Better Life'


Dr Ahn of LG explaining the Internet of Things at CES 2015.

He explained that IoT is transforming the way consumers live, work and play.
At CES 2015 he unveiled the webOS 2.0 upgraded smart TV platform.

LG is also expanding IoT into cars as well with V2X technologies.

Find out more here: www.LGnewsroom.com/ces2015

(Source - LG)

Blast From The Past



Sir Ernest Harrison is shown low res below, answering the phone at his Surrey home during a New Year’s party, to receive the UK’s first mobile call on

1st January 1985:







1 January marked the 30th anniversary of the first mobile call in the UK. 

The first mobile handset, a Vodafone VT1 Transportable, was originally sold for £1,650 – equivalent to R75,000 today with inflation. (10 hours charge time, 30 mins talk time).

Watch this - http://youtu.be/jcw_ZFxAR6g for a video of children reviewing these 1980s cellphones.


(Source - Vodacom)