Jon Silk | PR Geek

Is this another brilliant idea ruined by fake people?

2013-05-17T15:11:00.001+01:00

Are these actors or am I just being paranoid? What about this recent classic...

Seems fake to me. All their actions look choreographed.

And why are they all so pretty?!

Are you a good friend or an awful friend?

2013-05-15T13:55:00.002+01:00

I just finished speaking at the latest empty13 event, organised by Bite but attended by lots of brands, agencies and generally excellent people.

This time we were arguing for and against the hypothesis that, despite brands being able to contact people in very personal ways via social media, "customers do not want to be their friend".

ITV's Fru Hazlitt argued that they do, but you can't avoid the haters. Philippa Snare from Microsoft said they don't, and that brands should be bold, be clear, and be gone. John Bartleson from Telefonica explained that consumer habits change faster than even the most agile organisation. Spotify's Chris Maples told us not to try and fake it.

My brief was to talk 'around' the motion, so compared real friendship with brand friendship, with the suggestion that if you're a good friend then you'll be a good social marketer. And nobody wants an awful friend.

My tips were - for real friendship or brand friendship:

Keep secrets. (Brand translation: Don't sell my data.)
Don’t boast. (Stop bugging me all the time.)
Give people respect. (Don't post to my wall without permission.)
Be a good listener. (Listen to my feedback.)
Be generous. (Don't try to fleece me for cash.)

I then asked people in the audience to tweet something nice to a friend, just to see how it felt. And it worked well - people were reaching out to friends they hadn't seen in ages, just to say how fun it would be to see each other, or that they liked their shoes. The conference's Twitter wall was aglow with good vibes.

And so, as my service to you, I'm asking you to do the same. Tweet something now to a friend or colleague, and say something nice. Use the #empty13 hashtag if you like, just so we can see it. Or don't - it doesn't matter.

Let's make the internet a friendlier place today.

I want to live like a celebrity. Who's with me?

2013-05-09T21:51:00.001+01:00

I'm a huge advocate of celebrities using their status to raise awareness of charitable causes. I'm also a fan of gimmicky social experiments, so the Live Below the Line campaign, where you try to live on £1 a day for a week, really appeals to me. I'll definitely be taking part before June 30th (and you can thank Ben Affleck for bringing it to my attention).

But did anyone see E! presenter Alicia Quarles' attempt at living below the line? To quote her, she "took it to the next level" by aiming to spend nothing! But she didn't do it for a week, oh no. She did it for a day!

Yes. A day... That's some next-level-taking-things-to right there!

If you can't be bothered to read her report, let me summarise her day for you:

1. Someone drove her to a morning meeting.
2. Someone gave her breakfast at the meeting.
3. Someone drove her to lunch.
4. Someone gave her lunch.
5. Someone drove her to an evening meeting.
6. Her evening meeting was a 'red carpet event', where someone gave her food and drink.
7. At some point during the day, she bought a banana. Oops! Fail! LOL!

I'm starting to lose faith in the effectiveness of her endorsement.

To make myself feel less queasy, I'm going to watch this video of Beyonce taking the subway ten times in a row ("I felt amazing, just like everybody else").

OK, I feel better now. So... Who wants to join me and support Unicef by *actually* living below the line for a week?

Shin pads out the Galaxy

2013-03-22T11:17:00.000Z

This is a guest post by Slice of Barnes.

Courtesy retronaut.com

Well hello! Isn't this lovely?

A quick intro: I’m Slice and I like baking but I’ve always suspected I might have a gift for this technology jive. There’s less washing up for starters. This is my guest post for PR Geek.

First off, let me reassure you regular readers of this fine blog: don’t worry about a thing. Sit back, relax and enjoy the journey we’re about to embark on. I don’t know how much you know already, so we’ll take it gently and you can scream if you want to go faster.

Let’s buckle our seatbelts, stick on some suitable music, slide into first gear… and we’re off.

I thought we’d have a look at the new Galaxy S4 phone - I’ve got a Galaxy phone (an Ace 2, I believe) so it’s a subject I feel qualified to comment on.

I find it quite swirly and swipey, whereas my previous phone (a Blackberry) was just tappy. Jon Silk may scoff at my inability to answer the iPhone, but I couldn’t answer my Galaxy for a while either. Why? Well, someone calls, there’s a red and green button on the display right? Now wouldn’t you think you’d tap the green one to answer? No. Turns out you have to swipe it. Melon- twister.

Also, when you have a new message, it can’t flash a light to let you know. It even has what looks like a blinky thing on it but it doesn’t blink. It doesn’t do anything far as I can see.

As for typing stuff… well that’s all swirly. You swirl over the keyboard and it guesses what you want to write. Now, if you do a lot of baking, you really don’t want it replacing chocolate with cocksure. The cake club would have had a collective seizure if I hadn’t had my readers on.

According to Samsung’s Mobile Chief, Mr Shin, this new Galaxy S4 phone is meant to be, and I quote, a ‘life companion’. It gets funnier. Mr Shin says that this phone can help you achieve a “richer, simpler, more full life”. Jon Silk always says you shouldn’t swear on Twitter and blogs and that. I won’t lie to you, this is testing me.

Oh hang on though. I’m reading a bit more (and I may have to strap my ribs up soon) but get this. One of the reasons this phone is going to enhance your life is that you can work it with your eyes. Well for one, they’re missing out on a huge untapped pirate market. Secondly, you’re on the tube and your eyes are going mental scanning the Evening Standard. Now what happens with a normal paper? The person behind you reads it over your shoulder. So how will this life companion deal with two pairs of mince pies?

Courtesy retronaut.com

Let’s have a run through the main features of this life changing piece of kit:

S Voice is just like that Siri jive Silk is always banging on about. It’s witchcraft and no good will come of it.

This new Galaxy lets you take a photo and put yourself in it. Now not one of my mates would buy into this. I look mildly deranged in photos so I am always the designated picture taker. This is not a good feature. The camera is a 13 megapixel one apparently and it seems this is a good thing *shrugs*.

The BBC says this about the video thing: "But on the video side, for a live chat where it's compositing you and your image to show both you and what you're seeing - that's not a gimmick." I’d agree. It’s not a gimmick. It’s dangerous. You’d be so disorientated, you could fall over.

It can translate stuff. You just point it at something, say a menu all in French and it magics it into English. Sorcery.

You can hook a few of them together into a surround sound system by synching the music. I’m having that. Unless it’s Mumford and Sons.

And finally, you get a 5in full HD super AMOLED screen and a Jelly Bean operating system. I have to admit here, I'm none the wiser.

All them bells and whistles and no mention of a blinky message thing, mind.

By the by, it appears that Samsung are the numero uno honcho when it comes to smart phones, and the likes of HTC and Nokia are gagging for a bigger slice of the action, so this caught my eye. Apparently, at Mr Shin’s spangly launch, the queuing media were treated to this:

“ Women dressed in HTC garb handed out bottles of water and cans of Pringles with labels promoting the HTC One phone”

While I like their brass neck for attempting a hijack, if I was HTC, I’d chuck a bit of money at it. I mean, a can of Pringles? Pickled Onion Monster Munch and some Mullers Fruit Corners at the very least would be my advice. Up your game HTC.

Any road up, you’re all busy people so I’ll sum up in a cakey way: Samsung have come up with a fancy looking cupcake, when what they should have done is knock up a belting Victoria Sponge.

Had I the influence, I would pen this:

Memo to Mr Shin: Despite your splendid Bond villain name, I am not convinced. Please just make me a more tappy phone that can spell chocolate and flash a small light when there’s a new message.

If you insist on getting all fancy pants, well make my phone tell me if there’s milk in the fridge at home when I’m in the supermarket.

If you really want to give me a richer, simpler, more full life, please make me a jet pack.

Furthermore, bonsai animals would be preferable as possible lifetime companions, or – and you could seriously clean up with this one – clone David Beckham and supply him with a range of holographic pants.

And there ends our journey into the new Samsung phone. I like to think we’re all a bit further on.

It only remains for me to thank you for reading and to my esteemed host, Jon Silk, for accepting this challenge. Sadly, I doubt this will EVER be allowed to happen again but I’ve had a top time.

We will now de-blog so please make sure you take all your belongings with you.

All change please.

OK, Slice of Barnes. I give in.

2013-03-14T21:48:00.001Z

I love a blog challenge. Remember that time I started a blog about Reggae Reggae Sauce and got an email from Peter Jones telling me my blog was "great"? Or the time I spent living in 1998 because Orange couldn't provide mobile data in Central London?

But recently, someone sent me a new challenge. And it really takes the cake.

In summary, a friend and cake blogger called Slice of Barnes has publicly asked, as a gift to her, that we swap blogs just for one post. I have to bake a cake (and get it rated by a group of independent witnesses, like she does every week) and, in return, she will write a post on technology for this blog.

Now, let me tell you about Slice and how she is with technology. I'll do this through a recent anecdote of hers...

A few weeks ago, she found an iPhone in the street. Someone had clearly lost it, so she did the decent thing and picked it up. Then it rang. And rang. And rang. Slice couldn't work out how to answer it. Apparently, having seen me use Siri in the past, she even shouted "ANSWER!" at it. Nothing worked.

So what did she do? She phoned me to ask how to answer an iPhone.

She saw my iPad once, and announced that it was "witchcraft". Lord knows what would happen if she ever got hold of my Pebble watch. This, dear reader, is the person who is about to guest post on this blog.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

So, Slice of Barnes, in answer to your post (and tweets, and texts, and phone calls, and visits to my home), I hereby accept your challenge.

This weekend, I will bake a cake that is worthy of being featured on your wonderful cake blog.

And next week, we will be waiting to see what you have to say.

How about Google Reading Glasses? Pretty please?

2013-03-14T09:26:00.002Z

So Google is retiring Google Reader. This is a blow for a lot of people (including me) who rely on it for keeping up with selected websites, and then sharing the news with one click.

Google has been slowly strangling it for a while - it removed some of the features, meaning we had to find ways around its sharing features to make sure our IFTTT pipes don't get blocked.

But now, as of July 1, it's gone. In my view, this means one of two things...

A. Google is so focused on the future that it thinks ridiculous glasses that Google stuff when you look at it is more important than the internet.

B. RSS has had its day, and anyone still using Google Reader deserves to join it in the scrap heap alongside CompuServe, Netscape and WAP sites.

I'm not sure which one it is.

Seen in a bar in Canada: Bacon-infused cocktail

2013-02-19T17:19:00.000Z

That is all.

Sometimes, just sometimes, an actual social network is better than a virtual one.

2013-02-05T12:00:00.000Z

On Thursday night 100 technology PR people will be standing in a pub, socially networking with each other.

Many of them will be Facebook friends, or follow each other on Twitter, or be Linked In.

But being in the same room as someone, sharing a joke about your boss or the latest pitch anecdote, can be liberating.

(So can belting out Cher songs, but that's a whole other story.)

If you're in London on Thursday, and work agency-side in technology PR (whatever that means nowadays), pop in and have a beer with us. Email me for the address.

As usual, it's DWPub's round. Every round.

Facebook gets its shears out, cuts off Vine

2013-01-25T13:17:00.000Z

Vine, Twitter's video sharing app, isn't really working for me yet. Aside from the fact that posting with sound is surprisingly stressful, I don't have any friends to share with yet.

I just read that Facebook has cut off the Twitter-owned Vine from allowing people to quickly add people from their Facebook friend list. I got that error last night and - because it looks like a bug - it put me off straight away.

To be clear, I think social video sharing is a great idea. But many have tried and none have succeeded so far.

Do you think it'll blow up? What would you change about Vine?

The new journalism: Why delivery matters

2013-01-17T23:18:00.004Z

Matter was Kickstarter funded, journalist founded, and champions long-form feature writing. For those reasons I was pretty happy to bung it a few quid before it launched in exchange for some free articles and a rather nice t-shirt.

I funded it so long ago, I can't remember how many articles I get, or how much it costs. I don't even remember how much I invested, but I do know that I really enjoyed the first issue. It wasn't much better than something you might read in a 'serious' news magazine, but it was good.

The fact that it was just a well-written article - not really life-changing in any way - got me wondering what the fuss was all about. Why was I excited to be reading it, over an article I might read in The Economist or New Scientist?

Then I went to read the second issue and realised that it was the Matter experience, rather than the content itself, that got me excited.

First, reading Matter makes you feel like you're part of a club. I'm sure a lot of readers are Kickstarter backers, which gives you a great sense of being part of a movement. (I cannot wait to get my Pebble and then see the first person wearing one.)

Second, Matter looks modern. It has huge, colourful pictures and gigantic fonts which look brilliant on a tablet. It pushes the boundaries.

Third, it works really well. I logged in on my iPad, touched a button and the article appeared on my Kindle. No fuss, unlike most sites or apps built by traditional publishers.

This is why projects like Matter herald the future of journalism. It's not the writing. Great writing is great writing, whether that's delivered on paper or screen. Today, delivery is everything. Tailoring content to delivery and matching the delivery mechanism to the audience is the future. I love science and technology and iPads and Kindles and great design, and Matter nails it on every level for me.

Once every 'traditional' media outlet works this out and designs the delivery with the audience in mind - dumping their old-fashioned site, prison-like paywall or unfathomable app in the process - we will have saved journalism.

#techprdrinks. February 7th. Be there.

2013-01-11T13:56:00.000Z

Taking part in Dry January this year? Yes, me too. Well done, and all power to you. Positive health choices are a good thing.

But so is having a few friendly beers (or wines, or mineral waters) with your respected industry peers in a pub. Anyone who has been to #techprdrinks before will agree. Go on, ask them.

So put Thursday, February 7th in the diary right now.

As usual, we've got limited space in our central London venue, so if you're a technology PR person that works in an agency and fancy coming along, drop me a line at drinks@jonsilk.com to put your name on the list.

DWPub will be buying your drinks, so be nice to Daryl Willcox and the crew when you see them there.

In an amazing turn of events, we've also got Lucky Voice involved, who will be popping in with prizes and vouchers for their bars. There are also rumours of an afterparty...

See you there!

#techprdrinks is brought to you by...

Notice anything different?

2013-01-02T16:34:00.000Z

New year, new Twitter handle. Happy New Year!

The internet in 2013: Annoying, sneaky, elitist, expensive, and gorgeous

2012-12-31T10:34:00.001Z

What's that? You want to know my digital predictions for 2013? Alright then.

Prediction #1: Apps will start to annoy you

When I hit five pages of apps on my phone, I realised I didn't need seven apps to add a grainy filter to a photo, particurly as I spent more time updating them than using them. After some spring cleaning, I'm now down to two pages and am happy with my choices. I use Path, Evernote, Facebook, Tweetbot, Kindle, Sky+, Skype, Fitbit, Google Maps and DocScanner regularly. Everything else is rarely used or a luxury. With the mobile web getting faster and designers getting more skilled at creating sites that look good on phones it's likely that, rather than download an app for every different task we want to do with our phones, we'll start bookmarking sites that do the same job.

Prediction #2: Your stuff will spy on you

Terms like 'the internet of things' and 'the semantic web' get used a lot, and I'm still not really that sure what they mean. What I do know is that there is a little device in my pocket that is tracking my every move, and telling my phone, which is then telling the internet. I also know that my phone knows where I am, and uses the internet to tell me things based on my geographical location. Plus, the internet knows the sites I've visited and the things I've bought and subscribe to. Once the internet gets its act together and realises the power of all the real-time data about me floating about, things are going to get interesting. (By the way, check out my friend's app Passcloud for an exciting first step.)

Prediction #3: An internet class system will emerge

Instagram's attempt at monetising its free service by stealing everyone's photos and selling them didn't go down well with users. But how come we expect a service that doesn't carry advertising to stay free forever? We already pay a bit more for a Kindle without advertising, and are happy to upgrade our iPhone apps to remove those annoying ads for dating services, so why shouldn't Instagram try to make money somehow? I'd happily pay a few quid a month for a social network I really need. In fact, I'd happily pay a few quid a month for Facebook if it stopped filling my newsfeed with sponsored stories and let me see all my friends' updates in chronological order. I bet more and more sites realise they need money and start to charge for enhanced use, creating 'business' and 'economy' style classes.

Prediction #4: The web will take all your money

Having been involved in a retail project for almost a year (my in-laws' dog clothes shop) I've been particularly switched on to the tech that you can use in a shop nowadays. Aside from Passcloud (which lets retailers push vouchers to iPhones as people walk past the shop), it looks like Square, GoPayment and iZettle (which let anyone take credit card payments using only an iPhone) are finally taking off. Contactless payments are also becoming the norm, via new-style bankcards and NFC-equipped phones. The bottom line? In 2013, you will no longer need money on you to spend money. Oh, and the internet knows what you like to spend money on (see point 3).

Prediction #5: All this will result in amazing design

When you combine all the above, there is going to be a need for amazing-looking mobile websites that are worth paying for, and have deep and secure technical integration with other web services behind the scenes. That means we're going to need our creative people to understand graphic, user-centred, industrial and interaction design across a lot of different platforms, and have the knowledge to bring it all to life. The internet is not just about seeing any more, it's about doing. With mobile hitting the mainstream and so much of our time and money flowing onto the web, a new breed of web person will be needed to weave everything together and make it work.

Every meme you should know from 2012 in one Christmas song...

2012-12-25T00:20:00.002Z

Merry Christmas!

Is it me, or is Instagram blaming us?

2012-12-21T10:52:00.001Z

To paraphrase their blog post:

"We introduced new, clearer terms that you didn't understand. You got confused. We need to explain advertising to you again. We're proud of you for being brave enough to speak up. By the way, why did you never read our privacy policy before?"

Such a poor choice of words in their statement. I'm speechless.

Kim Wilde just saved Christmas forever. WE'RE BACK ON, PEOPLE.

2012-12-14T17:58:00.000Z

This might be the best Christmas video since Die Hard.

This post is an event. Interact with it NOW. UPDATE: Now with LIVE kittens

2012-12-10T13:10:00.000Z

"An unprecedented three-day television event, following music's most enigmatic star," said Voiceover Guy as he introduced a Nicki Minaj fly-on-the-wall documentary screened on E! recently.

Aside from Voiceover Guy being wrong at least twice in that sentence, I did enjoy the use of the word 'event'. And then this happened...

"Casting Creme Gloss from L'Oreal. Join us on YouTube for our live hair colour event on December 18th," said Voiceover Lady at the end of an ad for hair dye.

OK. So I'm watching an unprecedented event and being invited to an event? Wow, I'm excited! Then I remember the email I got from Apple a couple of weeks ago...

"The one-day Apple shopping event is Friday 23 November. Get ready to give. We'll help you make the most of the day, no matter how you shop," said the flyer.

Another event? I love events! It makes me feel part of something real, in real time. There's nothing as good as experiencing a feeling while lots of other people feel the same thing at the same time. Do you feel the same?

All these events got me thinking. There is definitely a trend for events at the moment. And I think it's coming from a lack of shared experience. Think about it - how often do we all experience moments and emotions at the same time?

On-demand, time-shifted TV has killed the excitement we all used to feel about the big shows. Twitter is bringing a bit of that back, but a fun night hammering a hashtag is the exception rather than the rule.

At the same time, 'viral' video is not simultaneous. Yes, Gangnam Style went viral (and then memetic) very quickly, but we didn't all the see the video at the same time. Passalong was quick, but it still happened as a chain reaction.

Even shopping isn't done in the same way, thanks to e-commerce. I gawped with horror at the Black Friday craziness, but am pretty confident that most of us just sat on our sofa and ordered from Amazon.

Our ability to consume content at any time and on any device has taken away a dimension from viewing - we might be watching Doctor Who? on the bus, or catching up on I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! in the middle of the night, but we're doing it on our time and nobody else's.

Which is why events are so hot right now. Just like the rise of the cinemas at the start of the 20th Century, which gave people the thrill of seeing a film at the same time, the human desire for shared experience is pushing us back towards *scheduled* moments.

It's up to you whether those moments contain a rapper swearing about random things, someone dying their hair live on YouTube, or a visit to your friendly local Apple store.

Whatever your preference, sharing is even better in real time. And my prediction for 2013 is that events are only going to get hotter.

See you there?

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John ruin Christmas forever

2012-12-08T14:41:00.001Z

Seriously. What just happened?

Pitching for PR via Twitter... A challenge.

2012-12-05T18:44:00.000Z

I first pitched for a PR account via Twitter in 2006, when it was new and exciting. We ended up getting through the first few rounds, and got down to the final two. We didn't win (it was a total punt and not even in our agency's area of expertise) but we learnt a lot and met some cool people along the way, some of whom I'm still in touch with.

So I've been watching Aloft Hotels' invitation to pitch for its PR business - via a dedicated microsite and hashtag no less - with a raised eyebrow. The process has been intense, with agencies quizzed via Twitter over a four-week 'RFTweet' process, multiple phases and the obligatory use of the hashtag.

I feel a bit weird about this. On the face of it, I can see that the campaign is creating loads of noise. It's also promoting the Aloft brand to a hell of a lot of potential customers (ie. PR people with money to stay in 'hip' hotels).

But at the same time I find the process a bit demeaning. Turning a strategic process into a 'PR's got talent' show won't necessarily find the best agency for the job. As we all know (I hope), the sexiest pitch isn't always from the agency that understands the business problem and has the tools to solve them. Also, all that noise is pretty annoying.

In order to solve this, I'm going to do something to benefit the entire PR industry. Ready?

If you want us to work on your account, Aloft Hotels, we all want free weekends in one of your hotels.

In order for us to find out your business problems and how your customers interact with your brand, we need to spend time getting under your skin. And, in this instance, by brand we mean room service. And by skin we mean bed linen.

To be honest, I've never stayed in an Aloft hotel, so I have no idea if I'd want to do your PR. You may have inferior toiletries or lumpy beds for all I know. (In fact, all I know is that your London hotel is near the ExCel conference centre, and that anyone who knows London knows that isn't actually in London.)

So, Aloft Hotels, pick a city and send us there for a weekend. We'll blog / tweet / instafrickingram the entire experience using the hashtag #PitchGeek, and let you know when we get back whether you've been successful in getting through to the next round.

Please retweet this and use the hashtag #PitchGeek to ensure you are eligible to enter. Not valid with any other offer. The judges' decision is final.

... And I'm unemployed. But what have I learnt in the last eight years?

2012-11-30T13:53:00.000Z

As of lunchtime today, I'm officially between agencies. At least until Monday morning, when I turn up for work as the 'new boy'.

I've now been in PR for longer than I was in journalism, and think I'm finally getting used to it. I've been lucky enough to have worked with some AMAZING people doing really cool stuff. It's been a blast.

So what have I learnt about agency life in the last eight years?

You should... Keep hold of the good people.

I've been fortunate to work with some of the same colleagues and clients across two different agencies. When you find people that you gel with and whose work is brilliant, you're going to want to do everything you can to work with them as much as possible.

You should... Respect people because it's a small, small world.

People move agencies. Journalists join agencies. Agency people go in house. Clients join agencies. You're going to see everyone again in some capacity, even if it's just at an industry event. The way you treat people will be paid back to you 10 times over.

You should... Deal with it if things get intense. This is normal.

We underestimate the pressure we're under every day, because we got used to it ages ago. Long hours, short deadlines, multiple different relationships to manage, and fast-moving trends are going to take their toll. Sometimes things are awful. Tomorrow they will be brilliant.

You should... Ask questions (if they're stupid, even better).

I cannot think of one instance where people aren't going to appreciate being asked a question, even if you think it's a stupid one. Questions mean you give a toss, and want to improve. Nobody knows everything and we're all in this together, so let's share some of that knowledge, OK?

You should... Have fun.

This is the most important rule. If you're enjoying your work, you'll be doing your best work. Agencies sell their people, and people having no fun have a lot less value than those that are. Mess about in the office. Be noisy if everyone is quiet. It's not slacking, it's *business critical*.

See you on the other side.

The three best digital agency names

2012-11-22T12:02:00.002Z

In third place, Bacon Social Media. Who doesn't love bacon?

Slipping one place to second, WeMakeAwesomeSh.it. And they do.

New entry in first place - Italian comms specialists FuckinBros. Amazing.

Any more for any more?

Need the toilet? Watch this video first.

2012-11-19T12:04:00.000Z

Now go sign the pledge.

Harvey Nicks, Foursquare, and Amex try location-based social media marketing

2012-11-16T12:12:00.000Z

I'm not sure how to link my Foursquare account to my credit card, but this Christmas deal by Harvey Nichols seems like a great idea. Basically, it's 25 quid for free just for a bit of fiddling about on the internet.

They're also doing some fun stuff for Amex users over Christmas, albeit more traditionally. Anyone using their British Airways Amercian Express at the checkout is invited to pick a card, which will offer between 15% and 50% off the total bill.

Christmas is all about the giving, right? More of this, please.

High-street electricals aren't dying - they're just a bit broken (like your Walmart iPad)

2012-11-11T18:32:00.001Z

Neither the disappearance of Dixons nor the demise of Comet spell the end of electrical goods being sold on the high street. Apple seems to be doing OK, doesn't it?

What we're seeing is an age where informed consumers are choosing where to take their business. I buy a lot of electrical goods, but used to hate the purchasing experience. Going into a Comet meant you had to endure a grimy warehouse with nylon carpet and endless queues. Dixons used to mean being pounced on by a gang of sales 'assistants' trying to flog you a four-year guarantee that cost the same as the product.

(One instance of upselling of anti-virus software I once overheard in PC World - for a computer that already had it bundled and installed - forced me to call over a manager to complain on behalf of the elderly stranger on the wrong end of the con.)

According to friends I have that worked in Apple stores, the devices are treated with as much respect as the customers. When a device launches they arrive at the store the day before but stay in sealed creates before the staff are allowed to open them on launch day. Every time I've bought something from an Apple store I've had a great time, and the employee serving me seemed genuinely thrilled. (This might just be training, but I don't care.)

High-street shops need to realise that the internet isn't a threat to their sales - it's creating a generation of consumers who already know what they want before they walk through the door. But they are still going to walk through the door.

Learning to respect both the devices and the new consumer will keep those doors from having to be shut for good.

(Rant over.)

John Lewis Christmas ad - believe the hype

2012-11-09T12:40:00.001Z

Most of the comments I've seen in the last day about John Lewis' Christmas TV advert have been along the lines of "Why does it get so much attention?"

I didn't bother watching it, but I just did. And I challenge anyone to say it isn't fantastic.