PR from the Beach

2012 - Work it from Anywhere

2012-01-10T13:11:21+13:00

If you are looking for the latest technology developments to dazzle your friends - or yourself - then look no further than the International Consumer Electronics Show which has just kicked off in Vegas. One thing's for sure - the interconnectedness of the technologies now available means that we have...

Sorry state of Facebook news shares

2011-11-30T14:20:40+13:00

Facebook published its 'top 40 list of most shared stories today - and what interesting reading it made. Dominating the shares were stories via CNN and the list, unsurprisingly, has a heavy US bias. It will be interesting to see how this Facebook list has changed in November 2012 when...

Returning to the Beach...

2011-11-28T13:19:09+13:00

I have to confess I have sadly neglected this blog over recent weeks, simply because there has been a lot to do offline and, I have to confess, I do spend more time on Twitter than I should when I get round to blogging. Probably not the best approach, as...

Mount Ruapehu Timelapse

2011-09-05T17:25:51+12:00

Brilliant timelapse photography from Jared Brandon. No comment to make on it - just absolutely worth sharing and watching. Stunning. Mt Ruapehu Timelapse from Jared Brandon Productions on Vimeo.

Air New Zealand talk social media on social media

2011-07-14T21:40:28+12:00

Couple of good clips from Air New Zealand this week. Firs one below takes a quick look at their use of social media. The second is Rob Fyfe talking about how the stories, the channels and the way they intersect change approaches and engagement. It's long, but worth sticking with....

A Tweetview of #PRINZ11 - PR: Art or Science

2011-05-30T20:40:42+12:00

[View the story "PRINZ 11 - PR: Art or Science?" on Storify]

We need more than Kiwi ingenuity to be ready for kick off

2011-04-26T15:44:17+12:00

I know there are huge life-and-death concerns in the world right now but, at a local level, I find myself worrying more and more as to whether or not we will be ready for kick-off come the Rugby World Cup on September 9 this year. I love New Zealand, I...

Cri-du-coeur for real communication as Cloud outage crashes confidence

2011-04-26T14:58:10+12:00

Last week - and this weekend - saw major outages at Amazon and Sony. Gamers hoping to get down to some serious wins over Easter were struck by the fail - highlighted here on the Playstation blog, while Amazon's super fail affected sites far and wide, most notably, Quora, Hootsuite...

Earthquake changes communications landscape

2011-03-24T10:08:26+13:00

If there is an organisation left in New Zealand that has, post-February 22 - failed to appreciate the power and potential of online and social media then seriously - we need to talk. The ferocity and scale of the second Christchurch earthquake meant that organisations were forced to leave 'old'...

More Power to the Neighbourhood

2011-03-21T10:27:13+13:00

We should never underestimate the power of the neighbourhood and how simple community actions can change disaster to hope, dictatorship to democracy, isolation to engagement. These last few weeks we have seen the power of local action resonate around the world but it has to be said that for many...

Christchurch gathers in consolation

2011-03-19T16:34:25+13:00

Yesterday's Christchurch Memorial Service saw the end of an indescribably long three weeks, punctuated by unbelievable tragedy, devastation and destruction. Many have remarked on the resilience of the human spirit and taken great comfort from the selfless humanitarian actions of others. At this very minute, that selflessness is in evidence...

Today's Storify - Dust and Courage in Christchurch

2011-03-02T15:22:46+13:00

Kia Kaha Christchurch

2011-02-28T23:00:54+13:00

February has been bracketed by disaster. I started the month writing about Tropical Cyclone Yasi and I'm ending it with a post about the devastating earthquake that has shaken the beautiful city of Christchurch to its knees. But amid the sorrow and tragic loss of life, the human spirit has...

Top communications as Queensland braces for #TCYasi

2011-02-02T16:35:33+13:00

As I write, Northern Queensland is braced to bear the worst tropical cyclone Australia has ever experienced. In 1974, Cyclone Tracy caused utter devastation in Darwin but was smaller than the system that is steaming into Townsville and environs at the moment. What the outcome will be we have no...

#2010 - A Year in Hashtags

2011-01-10T13:21:00+13:00

Back at work and wading through remaining relics of last year, I realised 2010 was the year in which hashtags finally made it as the early 21st century headline. As I've been explaining them to people for years, it was great to see this breakthrough point. Whatever was going on,...