Substantialist http://stedavies.com Stephen Davies Sun, 20 May 2012 15:39:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://feeds.feedburner.com/PrBlogger?format=skinhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/PrBloggerhttp://feedburner.google.comThis is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site. Create a heatmap from your Foursquare check-ins http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PrBlogger/~3/vlvfuPH7OcY/ http://stedavies.com/2012/05/create-a-heatmap-from-your-foursquare-check-ins/#comments Sun, 20 May 2012 13:43:05 +0000 Stephen http://stedavies.com/?p=4500 I’m using Foursquare more and more these days. It’s great for tracking where you’ve been through the week (or month/whatever), competing with other Foursquare users for mayorships and leader board places and also to stalk friends to see where they are and what they’re up to.

I’ve just stumbled across this web app called Where Do You Go that allows you to visualize your Foursquare check-ins in a beautiful way. Below is my London check-ins where the whiter the heat means the more times I’ve checked in to a certain place. I work in Farringdon and I’m the proud Foursquare mayor of Exmouth Market there.

Below that I’ve widened the map to show NYC check-ins from when I was visiting late last year and also wider UK check-ins. As you can see by the first image it works better when zoomed in.

]]> http://stedavies.com/2012/05/create-a-heatmap-from-your-foursquare-check-ins/feed/ 0 http://stedavies.com/2012/05/create-a-heatmap-from-your-foursquare-check-ins/ Mapping your LinkedIn networks http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PrBlogger/~3/jfCJxW7svWU/ http://stedavies.com/2012/05/mapping-your-linkedin-networks/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 16:01:16 +0000 Stephen http://stedavies.com/?p=4494 Here’s a great app by LinkedIn called InMaps which analyses your professional contacts and how they’re each connected. It then clusters them together and colour-codes each one and you simply click on the names in a cluster to see the association.

The large blue cluster is, not surprisingly, people I know who have a focus – or are very active in – social media which explains its large size. Natural connectors, you see? The orange cluster at the top is people I know from the North East, who obviously know each other too.

 

 

]]> http://stedavies.com/2012/05/mapping-your-linkedin-networks/feed/ 0 http://stedavies.com/2012/05/mapping-your-linkedin-networks/ Mapping my happiness with Mappiness http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PrBlogger/~3/ZOQsAxbqfJ4/ http://stedavies.com/2012/05/mapping-my-happiness-with-mappiness/#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 15:40:45 +0000 Stephen http://stedavies.com/?p=4471 Self Quantification, also known as Personal Informatics, also known as Self Hacking (my preference) is going to shake up how we as individuals live our lives. Quite a profound statement, yes, but one I believe in. Technology has broken down another barrier and democratized what was once only attainable by the likes of top athletes with lots of cash to spend on high-end tech and equipment.

Smartphones, tablets and their accompanying apps are the new tools to allow us to not only track but to measure and quantify anything about ourselves. Be it our mood, stress levels, how much sleep we get each night, how far we walk each day, our blood pressure or how much time we spend writing emails each day.

Anything we want to track we can quite easily and we can also make correlations between multiple measures. For example, if you’re measuring both your mood and your carbohydrate intake, perhaps the reason you’re feeling a little low on Tuesday is because you had a low carb day the day before and your body is having to replenish the missing nutrients.

The example above is basic but the crux of self tracking from a health and well-being point-of-view is to record how our bodies are performing which gives us the information we need to make adjustments because the narrative is in the data.

For the last 50 days I’ve been testing an iPhone app developed by the London School of Economics called Mappiness. You can download the Mappiness app here or on your iPhone. Twice a day I’m prompted by the app to let it know how stressed, awake and happy I’m feeling at that moment. It then asks me where I am, who I’m with and what I’m doing. The app’s been designed to prompt you at random times of the day for (needed) inconsistency.

Over time the app builds a picture of your general mood through the week. I’ve responded to the app 100 times which I think is adequate enough to look at the data.

Which days am I happiest?

No surprise that I’m happiest on a Saturday. Interestingly I’m just as happy on a Wednesday than I am on a Friday. I’ve never particularly liked Sundays. Or Mondays for that matter.

What time am I happiest?

It seems 3 o’clock in the afternoon is my happiness sweet spot. I’m usually a night owl so the peaks around 9 and 10 o’clock explain that. And, yeah, I’m not a happy bunny at 6am.

Where am I happiest?

I like that this chart is fairly even. It illustrates that I’m consistently happy wherever I am. There are no peaks and troughs based on my location. The signs of a level head (I hope).

With whom am I happiest?

Again, a fairly level graph in terms of with whom I’m with when I’m happiest. I’m a bit surprised that I’m slightly happier alone than I am with friends or colleagues. Thinking about it, however, I spent three and a half years working pretty much on my own so perhaps it’s not that surprising I like my own company.

Mappiness is tracking thousands of people from around the UK who, like myself, have opted in to provide their data. There’s a map of the UK that you can use as a barometer of the country’s happiness levels. Granted there are limitations because it’s only available on the iPhone so you only receive a certain demographic’s data. However, using it personally is a good indication of your own happiness.

And I’m quite ‘happy’ with the result.

]]> http://stedavies.com/2012/05/mapping-my-happiness-with-mappiness/feed/ 0 http://stedavies.com/2012/05/mapping-my-happiness-with-mappiness/ FT Digital Media Conference 2012 – Storified http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PrBlogger/~3/fYC3PHjzYf0/ http://stedavies.com/2012/03/ft-digital-media-conference-2012-storified/#comments Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:35:48 +0000 Stephen http://stedavies.com/?p=3809 On Wednesday I attended the first day of the FT Digital Media Conference 2012 on behalf of 33 Digital to help out with the social media initiatives. The caliber of speakers was phenomenal so as you can imagine it was a terric event.

Here’s the Storify from day 1:

]]> http://stedavies.com/2012/03/ft-digital-media-conference-2012-storified/feed/ 0 http://stedavies.com/2012/03/ft-digital-media-conference-2012-storified/ The Economist says the future of media’s in tablet form http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PrBlogger/~3/8Wx9INQCnPk/ http://stedavies.com/2012/02/the-economist-says-the-future-of-medias-in-tablet-form/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:19:12 +0000 Stephen http://stedavies.com/?p=3796 Here is a great presentation via Piaras Kelly delivered (I assume) by the Economist’s CEO, Andrew Rashbass, in November last year on how media consumption habits are changing from print to PC to tablet form. The presentation focuses predominantly on how the Economist is adapting to tablet (iPad) use and has defined this phenomenon as ‘lean back media.’

Some interesting take-aways:

  • A Conde Nast survey in 2010 found that print users spend an average of 45 minutes with an issue each month. Readers using an iPhone or iPad users spent 160 minutes.
  • Around 70% of respondents to an Economist research piece with Pew use their tablets while watching TV. Around 58% use it while in bed.
  • Tablet sales are forecast to reach 326m by 2015 and 104m at the end of 2012
  • Over 50% of the Economist’s US readers own a tablet or e-reader or intend on buying one in the next 12 month
The Economist is quite clearly heavily invested in the tablet. A recent interview with its editor, John Micklethwait, in the London Evening Standard illustrates this where he says it’s a “game-changer.”

 

Lean back media: the shock of the old

View more presentations from emmaturner

For additional reading my Slideshare presentation on why the Economist is bloody brilliant.

Ten reasons why the Economist is bloody brilliant
View more PowerPoint from Stephen Davies

]]> http://stedavies.com/2012/02/the-economist-says-the-future-of-medias-in-tablet-form/feed/ 0 http://stedavies.com/2012/02/the-economist-says-the-future-of-medias-in-tablet-form/ An introduction to Pinterest http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PrBlogger/~3/asp76TrHKi8/ http://stedavies.com/2012/02/an-introduction-to-pinterest/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:47:48 +0000 Stephen http://stedavies.com/?p=3776 Pinterest is no doubt on the radar of most people working in digital at the moment. And rightly so. The headlines it’s generated thus far leads us to think it’s going to be the next big thing in online sharing and consumption, and recent news today shows that it has been generating revenue from day one. A claim that even the most popular social networks can not make. With this in mind I’ve put together an introductory presentation on what Pinterest is and how it’s being used.

An Interest In Pinterest
View more presentations from Stephen Davies

]]> http://stedavies.com/2012/02/an-introduction-to-pinterest/feed/ 3 http://stedavies.com/2012/02/an-introduction-to-pinterest/ Getting in to photography http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PrBlogger/~3/ry02osg26os/ http://stedavies.com/2012/01/getting-in-to-photography/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:18:35 +0000 Stephen http://stedavies.com/?p=3764 Any tips and/or advice welcome…

 

]]> http://stedavies.com/2012/01/getting-in-to-photography/feed/ 3 http://stedavies.com/2012/01/getting-in-to-photography/ New York PR Pros on Twitter http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PrBlogger/~3/Y-cd2zUF9L0/ http://stedavies.com/2011/10/new-york-pr-pros-on-twitter/#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:22:27 +0000 Stephen http://www.prblogger.com/?p=1798

I’ve been researching the New York PR market and I figured the best way to get a deeper understanding of it is through social media. Listed below you’ll see Twitter handles for NY PR professionals from a number of agencies and a sprinkle of in-house departments. It is by no means exhaustive and if you would like adding to the list you can send me an @reply on Twitter, let me know in the comments of this post or send me an email here. Likewise if you want removing from the list please do the same.

I’ve also added the handles to a PeerIndex group (which you can find embedded below) to gauge an understanding of which profiles PeerIndex deems popular. Due to a high proportion of these profiles unregistered with PeerIndex take these results with a pinch of salt as registered profiles give a more accurate reading.

 

5WPR

Ronn Torossian – http://twitter.com/RTorossian5wpr
Chloe Gallo – http://twitter.com/Chloegallo
Alex Garvey – http://twitter.com/Alex_Garvey
Kristin Connor – http://twitter.com/KristinConnor
Jen Litt – http://twitter.com/JenLitt
Aileen Brody – http://twitter.com/Aileen5W

Access PR

Sapana Shende – http://twitter.com/sapanashende
Patty Youngclaus – http://twitter.com/pyoungclaus
Meagan McCrystle – http://twitter.com/meaganm

Burson-Marsteller

Mollie Leiser – http://twitter.com/mollieleiser
Ezra N. Rich – http://twitter.com/ezrarich
Brigid Milligan – http://twitter.com/Measure4What
Lauren Papp – http://twitter.com/#!/LPapp
Seine Kim – http://twitter.com/skimsogood
David H Rosen – http://twitter.com/davidhrosen
Caitrin O’Sullivan – http://twitter.com/caitrino
Patrick Ford – http://twitter.com/#!/fordpat
Stacie Sherer – http://twitter.com/#!/spsherer
Mollie Leiser – http://twitter.com/#!/mollieleiser
Marquise McCoy – http://twitter.com/#!/MarquiseMcCoy
Caitlin McCusker – http://twitter.com/#!/CaitlinMcCusker
Peter Sergel – http://twitter.com/#!/Sergel_P

CJP Communications

Jennifer Prosek – http://twitter.com/#!/Jprosek
Aimee Baxter – http://twitter.com/#!/Baxter21
Jill Greenwood – http://twitter.com/#!/GreenwoodJ
Lauren Carmody – http://twitter.com/#!/llcarmody
Josh Passman – http://twitter.com/#!/jpassman
Chris Brown – http://twitter.com/#!/dchrisbrown
Emilie Lehan – http://twitter.com/#!/emlehan
Brian Schaffer – http://twitter.com/#!/bhschaffer
Josh Passman – http://twitter.com/#!/jpassman
Emily Sackett – http://twitter.com/#!/emilyksackett
Mark Kollar – http://twitter.com/#!/mpknyc
Josette Robinson – http://twitter.com/#!/JoseyRobi
Wilson Cleveland – http://twitter.com/#!/WilsonCleveland

Cohn & Wolfe

Chad Latz – http://twitter.com/chadlatz
Tyler Pennock – http://twitter.com/typennock
Amelia Denson – http://twitter.com/AmeliaDenson
Francesco Paciocco – http://twitter.com/fpaciocco
Katey Kelley – http://twitter.com/katykelley
Christianna Giordano – http://twitter.com/ChristiannaG

Cooper Katz

Anne Green – http://twitter.com/anneegreen
Matthew Panichas – http://twitter.com/#!/mattpanichas
Kathleen Reynolds – http://twitter.com/KRey729

Devries PR

Adrianna Giuliani – http://twitter.com/adriannagiuls
Stephanie Smirnov – http://twitter.com/ssmirnov
Cassie Boorn – http://twitter.com/cassieboorn
Michael DeCicco – http://twitter.com/glutenfreemike
Andrew Amendola – http://twitter.com/AndrewAmendola
Tom Goodwin – http://twitter.com/tomfgoodwin
Amy Schoenberger – http://twitter.com/AmySho
Jess Grecco – http://twitter.com/jessicagreco
Ashley Lewis – http://twitter.com/Ajanelewis
Stephanie Ofreneo – http://twitter.com/StephaniOfreneo
Lisa Sepulveda – http://twitter.com/lisamseps
Clare Brown – http://twitter.com/clarabellecwb

Dukas Public Relations

Richard Dukas – http://twitter.com/rdukas
Rosemarie Esposito – http://twitter.com/RosemarieE
Daniel Diaz – http://twitter.com/danieldiaz
Sean Dougherty – http://twitter.com/DoughertySean
Zach Kouwe – http://twitter.com/zkouwe

Edelman

Richard Edelman – http://twitter.com/richardwedelman
Lisa Kovitz – http://twitter.com/lisakovitz
Kevin King – http://twitter.com/kingkevin
Elizabeth Pigg – http://twitter.com/libbypigg
Lee Williams – http://twitter.com/leewilliams
Amanda Goh – http://twitter.com/amanda_goh
Liz Lee – http://twitter.com/lizlee
Steve Rubel – http://twitter.com/steverubel
Will O’Connor – http://twitter.com/willoconnor
Courtney Kessler – http://twitter.com/PRcbk
Kira Halevy – http://twitter.com/kira_halevy
Chris Lee – http://twitter.com/orangechris
Jacob Wilson – http://twitter.com/jakebwil
Renee Edelman – http://twitter.com/ReneeEdel
Dorothy Jean – http://twitter.com/Dorothy_Jean
Brian Reich – http://twitter.com/BrianReich
Corey Sherwood – http://twitter.com/CSherwood14
Genevieve Grdina -http://twitter.com/GenevieveGrdina
Michael Holland – http://twitter.com/Michael_Holland
Megan Caiola – http://twitter.com/Meggo8
Kevin DeStefan – http://twitter.com/kevo_destefan
Kimberly Lustig – http://twitter.com/klustig86
Chris Contompasis = http://twitter.com/ChrisC021
Shannon Chiger – http://twitter.com/Schiger
Jenny Altman – http://twitter.com/JenElizA84
Lindsay McKinley – http://twitter.com/lmckinley
Krystyna Hall – http://twitter.com/AkagenoAnn
Darius Razgaitis – http://twitter.com/mrdarius
Julia Butler – http://twitter.com/julia1028
Fred Shank – http://twitter.com/FredShank
Kerry McCauley – http://twitter.com/kerry17mc
Theresa Pantazopoulos – http://twitter.com/tesspantaz
Caitlin Allen – http://twitter.com/caitnd
Kate Barbera – http://twitter.com/katebarbera
Mechal Weiss – http://twitter.com/mechalw1
Jennifer McClellan – http://twitter.com/jenmcclellan
Bjorn – http://twitter.com/BjornOn
Melle Hock – http://twitter.com/mellehnyc
Mike Kuczkowski – http://twitter.com/Mikekuczkowski
Andy Marks – http://twitter.com/drewby3
Ming Yee – http://twitter.com/mingyee
Casey Penney – http://twitter.com/caseypenney
Mara Mazzoni – http://twitter.com/MaraMazzoni
Ashley A. Cox – http://twitter.com/ashleyacox
Andrew Foote – http://twitter.com/andrewfoote
Julia Hui – http://twitter.com/JuliaWaiyan
Katarina Wong – http://twitter.com/katarinawong
Lauren Hatch – http://twitter.com/laurenelizhatch
Lisa Magnino – http://twitter.com/lisamagnino
Reema Mitra – http://twitter.com/rmitty
Tai Green – http://twitter.com/tgreen81
Meagan Fish – http://twitter.com/meaganfish

Euro RSCG

Marian Salzman - http://twitter.com/mariansalzman
Alexandra Covington – http://twitter.com/ACovEuro
Ana Cano Nennig – http://twitter.com/canoana

Factory PR

Mark Mason Silver – http://twitter.com/MarkMasonSilver
Rose Swarbrick – https://twitter.com/RoseSwarbrick

Fleishman-Hillard

Jackie Vettorino – http://twitter.com/jvettorino
Ron Guirguis – http://twitter.com/Ron_Guirguis
Jennifer Kohanim – http://twitter.com/jennko
Beatriz Garcia – http://twitter.com/BeatrizGGarcia

Steve Hardwick – http://twitter.com/StevenMHardwick
Rachel Borg – http://twitter.com/gunsmoke415
Brett Cummings – http://twitter.com/BrettLC
Paul Dalessio – http://twitter.com/pauldalessio
Tyler Morgan – http://twitter.com/TylerCMorgan
Nick Childs – http://twitter.com/NickChilds
Bob Hallman – http://twitter.com/bobhnyc
Sushma Dwivedi – http://twitter.com/sushmadwivedi
Libby Taggart – http://twitter.com/LibbyTaggart
Peter Verrengia – http://twitter.com/pverrengia

Golin Harris

James Kelly – http://twitter.com/Jamesdotkelly
Jen Cohan – http://twitter.com/jencohan
Alissa Green – http://twitter.com/AlissaGreen
Rich Gallagher – http://twitter.com/Gallagher_Rich
Jim Dowd – http://twitter.com/jamesmdowd
Dan Mazei – http://twitter.com/danmazei
Meredith Klein – http://twitter.com/MereditheKlein

Goldin Solutions

Nadin Naumann – http://twitter.com/NadinNaumann
Rose Levy – http://twitter.com/aroundtherosie

Hill & Knowlton

Julie Atherton – http://twitter.com/julieatherton
Ryan La Rosa – http://twitter.com/ryanlarosa
Ben Trounson – http://twitter.com/btrounson
Meg Wheeler – http://twitter.com/MegWheel

The Horn Group

Sabrina Horn – http://twitter.com/sabrinahorn
Ben Billingsley – http://twitter.com/bnbllngsly
Karl Pawlewicz – http://twitter.com/karlpawlewicz
Monica Afanador – http://twitter.com/maafanador
Todd Cadley – http://twitter.com/toddcadley
Erica McDonald – http://twitter.com/EricaMcDonald
Joseph Ferrary – http://twitter.com/jferrary
Michael Mancuso – http://twitter.com/techvictim
Haley Cook – http://twitter.com/HKCook6
Brynn Moynihan – http://twitter.com/Brynnderella

Hunter PR

Jenna Galloway – http://twitter.com/#!/Jenna_Galloway
Maya Zisbrod – http://twitter.com/#!/MayaZisbrod
Valerie Kulbersh – http://twitter.com/#!/valeriejk
Laura Trani – http://twitter.com/#!/lauratrani
Alex Conway – http://twitter.com/#!/conwayconway
Jen Moore – http://twitter.com/#!/janosmoore
Kelly LP – http://twitter.com/#!/kellygene

Kaplow

Liz Kaplow – http://twitter.com/LizKaplow
Chaim Haas – http://twitter.com/chaimhaas
Brian Goldberg – http://twitter.com/BGoldberg712
David Richeson – http://twitter.com/dricheson
Bea Asavajaru – http://twitter.com/BeaSocial
Dana Cohen – http://twitter.com/dana_cohen

Ketchum

S Gariballdi – http://twitter.com/SGaribaldi
Sean Flynn – http://twitter.com/Sean_Flynn
Joe Becker – http://twitter.com/jnbblues
Jeff Lewonczyk – http://twitter.com/jeffisawesome
Ryan Shell – http://twitter.com/RyanShell
Diana Garrett – http://twitter.com/dianagarrett
Adam Kornblum – http://twitter.com/adamkornblum
Jordan Drake – http://twitter.com/vocalgeekery
Jaime Schwartz – http://twitter.com/JaimeSchwartzRD
Alan Danzis – http://twitter.com/adanzis
Jonathan Kopp – http://twitter.com/jonathankopp
Stephanie Miller – http://twitter.com/StephaniePaige
Jen Parsons – http://twitter.com/jen_parsons
Jess Defilippo – http://twitter.com/JessDefilippo
Patrick Brady – http://twitter.com/PBrady
Kate Wilson – http://twitter.com/KateWilsonRD
Erika Lam – http://twitter.com/erikakaylam
Barri Raferty - http://twitter.com/rafferb1
Jason Bellinger – http://twitter.com/jbellinger
Bhvana Singh – http://twitter.com/thithali
Greg Dauphin - http://twitter.com/gregdauphin
Annie Cauthren – http://twitter.com/mrscauthren
Megan Malley – http://twitter.com/meganmalley13
Sylvia M. O’Hagan – http://twitter.com/PRSyl
Kimberley Assalone – http://twitter.com/kimassalone
Anne Marie Kearns – http://twitter.com/lovetheack
Jacly Schmader – http://twitter.com/schmaderj
Debra Forman – http://twitter.com/debraforman

Lou Hammond & Assocs.

Katie Thelen – http://twitter.com/ktthelen
Terry Gallagher – http://twitter.com/Trent63

Makovsky + Company

Ken Makovsky – http://twitter.com/3centsmak
Gil Bashe – http://twitter.com/Gil_Bashe
Steve Seeman – http://twitter.com/SteveSeeman
Gene Marbach – http://twitter.com/GeneMarbach
Isabelle Brenton – http://twitter.com/IsabelleBrenton
Annie Tasker – http://twitter.com/annietasker
Jacqueline Broder – http://twitter.com/JacqBroder
Dan Scholz – http://twitter.com/danscholz
Janet Yoo - http://twitter.com/janetyoo
Laney Cohen – http://twitter.com/lanes0220
Erin Hershkowitz – http://twitter.com/erinhershkowitz
Robbin Goodman – http://twitter.com/rgoodman417
Tom Jones – http://twitter.com/TomCalvinJones

M Booth & Associates

Josh Rosenberg – http://twitter.com/jzrosenberg
Rob Longert – http://twitter.com/RobLongert
Jessica Slevin – http://twitter.com/JessSlevin
Rich Goldblatt – http://twitter.com/RichPRGuy
Lauren Arthur – http://twitter.com/LaurenArthur
Jennifer Tamayo – http://twitter.com/jentamayo
Ana Livia Coelho – http://twitter.com/AnaLiviaCoelho

MSLGroup

Arielle Himy – http://twitter.com/ArielleH
Lisa Bain – http://twitter.com/LisaBain
Michelle Hsu – http://twitter.com/michelle_hsu
Steve Gilmore – http://twitter.com/stevegilmore1
Courtney Pischke – http://twitter.com/CourtneyPischke
Michael Presson – http://twitter.com/mikepresson
Mike Huckman – http://twitter.com/MikeHuckman
Renee Wilson – http://twitter.com/reneew
Steve Marino – http://twitter.com/marinos
Mike Bush – http://twitter.com/michbush
Brian Williams – http://twitter.com/bwilliamspr
John Ratcliffe-Lee – http://twitter.com/jratlee
Graham Gunn – http://twitter.com/gee2

MWW Group

Robin Theis – http://twitter.com/robinlkell
Ari J. Greenberg – http://twitter.com/agreenberg
Greg Tedesco – http://twitter.com/GregTedesco
Ruth Sarfaty – http://twitter.com/ruthsarfaty
Tara B. Naughton – http://twitter.com/TaraBNYC
Saurabh Wahi – http://twitter.com/swahi

Ogilvy

Siobhan Alders – http://twitter.com/siobhana
Sam Zises – http://twitter.com/SamZises
Jennifer Seelin – http://twitter.com/Jennifer_Seelin
Ryan Aynes – http://twitter.com/#!/RyanAynes
Nando Rodriguez – http://twitter.com/#!/NandoRecruit
Rachel Foltz Ufer – http://twitter.com/#!/rachelufer
Max Kelerstein – http://twitter.com/#!/TheMaxK
Rachel Rees – http://twitter.com/#!/rachaellrees
Mary Coyle – http://twitter.com/#!/MCoyle9
Michael DiSalvo – http://twitter.com/#!/mdisalvo
Samantha Allen – http://twitter.com/#!/SamanthaAllenNY

Peppercom

Heather Dueitt – http://twitter.com/hdueitt
Mikinzie Stuart – http://twitter.com/Mikinzie
Richard Ouyang – http://twitter.com/richardouyang
Ellie Jesse – http://twitter.com/EllieH_Jesse
Brooke Winebrenner – http://twitter.com/brookie4321

Porter Novelli

Meghan Lockhart – http://twitter.com/mlockhart
Alyson Campbell – http://twitter.com/acampfashion
Israel Mirsky – http://twitter.com/IsraelMirsky
Maria Sekar – http://twitter.com/m_sekar
Ilene Smith – http://twitter.com/Ilene_Smith
Emily Zanovich – http://twitter.com/EZANO
Benjamin Stein – http://twitter.com/iambenstein
Anthony Viceroy – http://twitter.com/AnthonyViceroy
Sonia Sroka – http://twitter.com/soniasroka
Meaghan Jones – http://twitter.com/MegJonesPNNY
Sabrina Michaeli – http://twitter.com/SabrinaMichaeli
John Gillooly – http://twitter.com/J_Gillooly
Sandra Sokoloff – http://twitter.com/PNMediaMaven
Jesse Caputo – http://twitter.com/JCap04
Sheryl Kornfeld – http://twitter.com/sherk555
Gennifer – http://twitter.com/Gennifer
Caroline Nussbaun – http://twitter.com/Caroline_PN
Lianne – http://twitter.com/LiannePN
Mike Schiener – http://twitter.com/mikescheiner
Kayla O’Brien – http://twitter.com/kayla_obrien
Sherry Goldberg – http://twitter.com/Gatorgirl2
Nicole D’Alonzo – http://twitter.com/nikisnotes

RF|Binder

Robert D. Ferris – http://twitter.com/#!/RobertFerris
Nada Arnot – http://twitter.com/#!/nada_arnot
Frank Walton – http://twitter.com/#!/franklinwalton

Rubenstein Communications

Heather Resnicoff – http://twitter.com/hlsilver
Nina Spezzaferro – http://twitter.com/NinaSpezz
Bennie Sham – http://twitter.com/beesham
Nataliya Yakushev – http://twitter.com/verysocial
Chip Garner – http://twitter.com/chippygee

Ruder Finn

Andrew Worob – http://twitter.com/Worob
Noah Finn – http://twitter.com/theark40
Kevin Silverman – http://twitter.com/kbs200
Alexandra Kirsch – http://twitter.com/alexandrakirsch
Rachel Zabinski – http://twitter.com/rzabinski
Ronald Mina – http://twitter.com/RonaldMina
Claire Sojda – http://twitter.com/CSojda
Laura Daunis – http://twitter.com/LKD123
Mary Beth Lickteig – http://twitter.com/themerbster
Pat Burek – http://twitter.com/pburek

Susan Magrino Agency

Annie Taplin – http://twitter.com/annietaplin
Matthew Frappier – http://twitter.com/MFrappier
Alex Schrecengost – http://twitter.com/#!/AlexandraSchrec
Willie Norkin – http://twitter.com/willieln
Alex Schrecengost – http://twitter.com/AlexandraSchrec

Text 100

Aedhmar Hynes – http://twitter.com/#!/Aedhmar
Erin E. Burke – http://twitter.com/#!/Erin_E_Burke
Peter Sadler – http://twitter.com/psadler
Alsion K – http://twitter.com/#!/alisonkNYC
Erin Lehr – http://twitter.com/elehr
Colby Jones – http://twitter.com/Cojo100
Mike Kytoski – http://twitter.com/#!/mikekytoski
James Baussmann – http://twitter.com/#!/boz1200
Bob W. Gohn – http://twitter.com/#!/bwgohn
Kevin Turner – http://twitter.com/#!/kbturner
Barbara DeContoRuane – http://twitter.com/#!/BarbaraRuane
Kristin D’Ambrosio – http://twitter.com/#!/KristinInNY
Kathryn Zbikowski – http://twitter.com/#!/KathrynZb

Waggener Edstrom

John Bentz – http://twitter.com/JBentz
Amy D. Stephenson – http://twitter.com/amydstephenson
Nadina Guglielmetti – http://twitter.com/nadinag
Adam Emery – http://twitter.com/adamemery
Lyndsey Day Hoffman – http://twitter.com/lindseydhoffman
Suzanne van deRaadt – http://twitter.com/suzara
Jason Moriber – http://twitter.com/jasonmoriber

Weber Shandwick

Leslie Gaines-Ross – http://twitter.com/ReputationRx
Erin Bryam – http://twitter.com/ErinBNYC
Ashley Schlag – http://twitter.com/ashleyschlag
Chris Morse- http://twitter.com/ChrisMorse4
Joe Gallo- http://twitter.com/JGallo02
Caty Bennett- http://twitter.com/catybennett
Charlie Hart – http://twitter.com/charlie_hart
Ken Kerrigan – http://twitter.com/KenAKerrigan
Garland Harwood – http://twitter.com/gharwood
Josh Gilbert – http://twitter.com/jlgilbert
Julia Graham – http://twitter.com/JuliaGraham
Rachel Manfredo – http://twitter.com/RachelManfredo
Stephanie Agresta – http://twitter.com/stephagresta
Chris Perry – http://twitter.com/cperry248
Jack Leslie – http://twitter.com/jackleslie
Jill Surdyka – http://twitter.com/JilleSur#
Barb Iverson – http://twitter.com/Barb_Iverson
Amy Juaristi – http://twitter.com/ajuaristi
Gabby Gugliocciello – http://twitter.com/gabbyguglio
Jenna Moran – http://twitter.com/brklyngirl
Masen Ewald – http://twitter.com/M4SEN
Jackie Danicki – http://twitter.com/jackiedanicki
Meg Martin – http://twitter.com/megmartin1
Xiaochang Li – http://twitter.com/xiaochang
Chad Boettcher – http://twitter.com/chadboettcher
Jason Wellcome – http://twitter.com/JWellcome
Lauren Brander – http://twitter.com/bexyb
Alex Aizenberg – http://twitter.com/alexaizenberg
Meghan Ackerson – http://twitter.com/Megs_A
Gillian Kushner – http://twitter.com/GillianK
Michael Lane – http://twitter.com/laneml
Damien Ragsdale – http://twitter.com/damienragsdale
Priscilla White – http://twitter.com/PriscillaWhite

Other

Joe Ciarallo – http://twitter.com/joeciarallo (Buddy Media)
Peter Shankman – http://twitter.com/petershankman
Jennifer Weber – http://twitter.com/JenWeberNYC (Starbucks)
Lara Cohn – http://twitter.com/LBC15 (The Halo Group)
Allison Braley – http://twitter.com/allisonbraley (ZocDoc)
Shannon Paulk – http://twitter.com/ShannonPaulk (VisiTech PR)
Shawna Seldon – http://twitter.com/shawnaseldon (The Rosen Group)
Robert H. Christie – http://twitter.com/NYTPRGUY (NY Times PR)
Ashley Wallace – http://twitter.com/ashleymwallace (Malone & Fox)
Katherine Barna – http://twitter.com/kathbarna (Tumblr)
DKNY PR Girl – http://twitter.com/dkny (DKNY)
Adam Grossberg – http://twitter.com/agrossberg (Bausch + Lomb)
Cynthia Patnode – http://twitter.com/cynthia_patnode (Maloney & Fox)
Arial Hyatt – http://twitter.com/cyberpr (Ariel Publicity & Cyber PR)
Laura Barganier – http://twitter.com/laurakb (Brew PR)
Chris Faile – http://twitter.com/ChrisFaile (Deloitte)
Maryann Watson – http://twitter.com/MaryannWatson (PepsiCo)
Steve Hamm – http://twitter.com/stevehamm31 (IBM)
OscarPRGirl - http://twitter.com/OscarPRGirl (Oscar de la Renta)
Lauren Kinelski – http://twitter.com/LKinelski (Remy Contrieu)
Alona Cherkassky – http://twitter.com/AlonaCherkassky ( Booz Allen Hamilton)
Erin Kaplan – http://twitter.com/erinkaplan (Teen Vogue)
Jessica Goon – http://twitter.com/jessgoon (Avon Products)
Pierce Mattie – http://twitter.com/PierceMattiePR (Pierce Mattie PR)
Vera Newhouse – http://twitter.com/vera_newhouse (Bloomberg)
Aly Gibson – http://twitter.com/alygibson (Google)
Todd Barrish – http://twitter.com/toddbarrish (Indicate Media)
Sara Knee – http://twitter.com/saratara (G2 Worldwide)
Mallory Kule – http://twitter.com/MalloryJK (ASPCA)
Sade Council – http://twitter.com/MissSadeC (360i)
Jordana Bruner – http://twitter.com/clutch_22 (Taylor)
Rebecca Bellush – http://twitter.com/rehobothrebohka (WCG)
Nelson Fernandez – http://twitter.com/#!/NJFernandez (APCO Worldwide)
Mike Schroeder – http://twitter.com/MikeSchroeder (Launch Squad)
Jackie DiBella – http://twitter.com/Jackie_DiBella
Stephanie Dressler – http://twitter.com/stephdress (Montieth and Company)
Alyson Campbell – http://twitter.com/AlyAMP3 (AMP3 PR)
Jennifer Fader – http://twitter.com/jayfader
Molly McGaughan – http://twitter.com/marymolls (Bite)
Sakita Holley – http://www.twitter.com/MissSuccess (House of Success)
Jim Green – http://twitter.com/JimPR – Brookhaven National Laboratory
Julian McBride – http://twitter.com/julianmcbride (Digitas)

]]> http://stedavies.com/2011/10/new-york-pr-pros-on-twitter/feed/ 7 http://stedavies.com/2011/10/new-york-pr-pros-on-twitter/ How to be a successful independent consultant http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PrBlogger/~3/xP2n8CnrydE/ http://stedavies.com/2011/09/how-to-be-a-successful-independent-consultant/#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:21:34 +0000 Stephen http://stedavies.com/?p=3644 Earlier this month was a milestone in my career as on 1st September I celebrated my third year working as an independent consultant. It’s been quite a ride so far and a massive learning experience from both a professional and personal point-of-view. You learn a lot about yourself when the onus is on you and only you to win business, retain the business and, ultimately, make money. You might even say the rewards are sweeter when every penny of the money you invoice comes directly back to you, excluding HMRC‘s share, of course.

Working for yourself is not for everyone. Some people prefer the safety net (and, quite frankly, a better working social life) of having an employer and I can understand that. For those that are contemplating becoming a gun for hire, these pointers are for you.

1. Know your value. Remember, your job is to help a client improve its current situation by using your skills, knowledge and experience. Your value shouldn’t be judged (and thus costed) on how many hours you are prepared to work but on the outcomes of the work you’re doing. If you don’t think you can bring anything new to the table then you are nothing more than a commodity doing a job that thousand of others can do. You had the balls to go off and do it alone so value yourself appropriately.

2. Pick and choose your work. Unless you’re intending on building an agency around you there will only ever be one of you. Your time is limited so try to pick the work that is A. More lucrative B. Beneficial to your career or C. Interesting to work on. This can be hard to do in the beginning as more than likely you’re grateful for any work you can get but, over time, as your work pipeline, network (see point 3) and confidence each grow you’ll be able to pick and choose work that’s more suitable to you. Something you can’t do when working for someone else.

3. Build your network. Coupled with a reputation of producing stellar work, having a strong network will be the lifeblood to winning new business. In my first year alone almost 50% of the money I earned came through a referral from someone else and, likewise, over the years I’ve been able to pay my debt to karma and refer work to other consultants. Build a network of people whom you have mutual interests with as there could be times when they’re too stacked with client obligations to take on that new exciting piece of work that’s come their way.

4. Hire a good accountant. A good accountant can save you thousands. No, really, they can. Hire one that allows you email or phone access in case you have any niggling questions that need an immediate answer. Trust me you’ll need it at some point.

5. Don’t take anything personally. This has probably been the most difficult one for me to get used to. People will waste your time and mess you around. They’ll ask you to attend two, three, four meetings on the promise of giving you paid work. They’ll call or email you asking for free advice on the basis that, once they get clearance from their boss, the work is yours. Often nothing materialises, however, and you’re left with the frustration of wasted time, money or effort. Although tempting to let them know how you feel, don’t bother as it doesn’t serve you as a professional and although it will feel good at the time it won’t serve you in the long-run. Simply make a mental note of the situation and move on. If they come back to you again either state you want an imminent payment or say you simply don’t have enough capacity to fit them in. See Point 2. The choice is yours remember!

6. Remember that everything’s down to YOU. If you’re working for yourself you are essentially everything: the MD, account manager, secretary, finance department, tea boy (or girl) and office cleaner. If an invoice is late in being paid it is you who has to chase it up. If you run out of printer paper it is you who has to pop to the shop to buy some. There is no delegation and the responsibility is all yours. Working for yourself can be quite a solitary experience and those that don’t like their own company need not apply. Luckily I don’t mind my own company but I do miss working in a team. Increasingly more so as time goes by.

Contemplating how long to wait before I chase that invoice

7. Take advantage of your flexibility. Everyone will have their own different reason why they want to work independently. Those with children may want to fit their working hours around school time. Those with a love of open spaces may want to get out of the city and work virtually. Whatever the reason it essentially boils down to having flexibility with your schedule. In 2010 I spent almost ten weeks on holiday. Eight of these weeks were spent in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam) with the remaining (almost) two weeks in New York City. As well as this I also found the time to train for my first Olympic triathlon. Now, it wasn’t because I simply didn’t work and thus used all my time to go on holiday and train but instead I chose different times of the week to complete my work. I worked a lot of evenings and weekends which set me up to allocate time to do other things. Let me tell you, there’s nothing more satisfying than invoicing a client from your beach-side apartment in the south of Thailand. ;)

From Russia with Love. Me in Red Square while doing a spot of work in Moscow

8. Gain international experience. You don’t need me to tell you that the world is changing. We read and hear in the media that the balance of power is shifting West to East and the rise of emerging economies is threatening Western supremacy. Or, to put it another way, think of how many new international opportunities you could be presented with! In three years I’ve been lucky to travel to around 13 countries with work. As the world becomes increasingly tangled and global, international experience is a must.  My next aim is to gain more long-term international experience. Watch this space.

Finally

Unless you’re operating in a niche high-value area, chances are you’re not going to be earning a seven figure salary through independent consulting. After all, there is only one of you and you alone only have so many hours in the day. However, you are only responsible only for you. You don’t have responsibility for other people and their screw ups; you don’t need to deal with HR and admin issues of others and, deadlines permitting, you can work whenever it suits you. You are free.

Being independent is a lifestyle choice and like most choices we make in life it has its pros and cons. If it’s something you’ve contemplated then bite the bullet and go for it. It doesn’t have to be forever (what job is these days?) but it may allow you to achieve those other things in life you’ve wanted to do but couldn’t due to the restrictions of your 9-to-5 job. Good luck!

 

]]> http://stedavies.com/2011/09/how-to-be-a-successful-independent-consultant/feed/ 15 http://stedavies.com/2011/09/how-to-be-a-successful-independent-consultant/ Social media is still a specialism http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PrBlogger/~3/0a8c1RUnVc0/ http://stedavies.com/2011/06/social-media-is-still-a-specialism/#comments Sun, 05 Jun 2011 23:14:43 +0000 Stephen http://stedavies.com/?p=3577 Steve Rubel says it’s the “end of the road for social media gurus” and I disagree. I think there’s a long way to go before people stop earning a wage from specialising in social media. It reminds me of the whole “PR is dead and blogging killed it” meme from 2006.

These are the reasons I wrote in the comment section:

  • As someone has already alluded to, in early adopter sectors (e.g. tech) this may be the case but in numerous other sectors it is not. In the last two weeks I’ve spoke with people from different sectors (charity, housing and retail to name a few) and they are way off. 
  • Social media is not *just* about PR and marketing. A social media specialist by definition should be working with the HR department, the customer services department and, to some extent, the legal team, as well as PR and marketing.
  • I don’t need to tell Steve Rubel the rate of change in social media is phenomenal. No more than five years ago there were huge two-day conferences dedicated to just blogging. Because five years ago blogging *was* social media. Look at it now. It’s so advanced from that (in hindsight) primitive state that no doubt in another five years time we’ll look back on today and laugh at our naivety. Regular nine-to-fivers find it difficult to keep up and there will always be a need for that person on the bleeding edge who eats, sleeps and breathes social media.
  • If Steve Rubel and Chris Pirillo believe something expect it to become mainstream in a minimum of five years. Steve you were talking about lifestreaming circa three years ago and even now we’re not totally there yet (although you were bang on the money with your prediction).
  • How much of the US PR industry is using Twitter in either a personal or professional capacity? To be generous I’ll say 40% max. That’s still 60% who are still not even on Twitter yet. Obviously this is not scientific but if they aren’t using Twitter either in a professional or personal capacity one could assume they’re behind the curve in terms of their knowledge and understanding of social media.
  • What about social media specialists who have operated in and understand multinational markets? Given their deep knowledge of social media in international markets are they irrelevant too?

The social media specialist/guru/geek/whatever will still be around in the foreseeable future.

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