Thursday, November 26, 2009

A merry Kinetics Christmas















Our friends over at Media Connect wrote this great wrap-up of the Kinetics Christmas Party today:

Technology media celebrated a Mexican Fiesta Christmas party with Kinetics this week, also marking the agency's 13th anniversary.

According to CEO Jody Lennon, journalists from a variety of media outlets including technology, consumer, lifestyle and business attended the festivities, while longtime clients rubbed shoulders with those who signed up a few short weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the winner of the best costume price was Kinetics client Mathew Luu of Lexar, who wore "a very macho, silver-trimmed black sombrero that made him look like a bad hombre".

"Most journos present showed their support of the theme by consuming large quantities of Sol beer, frozen Margaritas and pina coladas... and we figure that’s what inspired Ty Pendlebury’s dance moves to the accompanying mariachi band!' said Lennon.

For more pics check out the @KineticsPR account on Twitter...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Thoughts on Google Sidewiki...with thanks to creo

Our fellow “Photon-ites” from across the ditch at creo communications wrote an excellent blog post  this week about a new widget from Google that might just have quite the impact on the PR industry: Sidewiki.

Creo said:

This month Google launched Sidewiki. It is effectively a 'micro-wiki' enabling users to comment and discuss any webpage, while browsing that page. The principal idea is noble...why, then, is it causing a stir in the communications business?

For the same reason that many companies, and the PR people that represent them, still struggle to grasp the basic concept of Social Media.

Surrendering control. Conversations between consumers about organisations and their reputations are taking place on any number of Social Media channels around the clock. The amount of influence PR professionals and their clients have over these conversations is limited. It's a case of power to the people.

The difference, and sticking point, this time though is that, unlike say Twitter or Facebook - where negative commentary is physically (and thus psychologically) separate from the brand being discussed - Google Sidewiki appears directly connected to, even floating on top of, a company's website.

There’s more detail to be had on the Creo site but they definitely make a valid point, and I’ll confess to being initially a little overwhelmed and terrified at the thought of that level of openness online between businesses and individuals. But on the other hand Sidewiki is really just a new way to have those conversations that are already going on, and perhaps a way for businesses to see more clearly and more quickly what the opinions out there are saying. And once again the principles of listening and getting involved will be key to success online. As Creo said, it is well worth watching, and I’ll add worth playing with too!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I really don't know where this year went, I'm sure it was just two days ago that I attended a raft of Christmas parties and worked myself into a right frenzy in order to get a mountain of stuff done that had to be completed in 2008 before the whole of the Australian nation went on hiatus for January 2009. But apparently that was 12 months ago, and now we're shaping up to do it all again! So what's on your to do list between now and the summer holiday break? You know there's only five weeks left don't you? And that a fair chunk of that time will be taken up with social activities - both during work hours and outside them? But never fear, it will all get done! Somehow it always does. The adrenalin and excitement of the season will see you through.

What really kicks off the silly season for me is the Kinetics Christmas Party, it's always a November occasion and often close to first cab off the rank for the tech PR and media communities. Not so this year, but it's still close, with the date all set for five days from now in the evening of Tuesday 24th November. Come join us if you're free for our Mexican fiesta - we'll be the one's in the sombreros! Email me 'polly at kinetics dot com dot au' if you want more details. Hola!


Wednesday, November 11, 2009