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There's scores, aren't there? Scores of people getting saying stupid things on social media, isn't there? Actually, no. And yes, there is a common sense approach to take so you don't end up in trouble.
I was interested to read the story about the number of police officers who have been disciplined in relation to the misuse of social media.
We all have them. The scars from projects that don't quite go to plan... the zombies you need to avoid.
by Jon Matthias
The life-cycle of a comms project is fairly routine.
It either stems from a good idea to try out, or a problem that needs solving.
Ideas fly around.
A plan is made.
In a short space of time the mobile phone and the apps that go with it have become essential items for communications people. Here's 11 essential apps that one PR professional who works wth many public sector clients relies on when she is out and about in the South West.
by Mandy Pearse
Despite wifi and 3G being variable across the South West the ability to use my iphone out and about has become essential to delivering my day to day work.
Some moments are truly life changing. For one PR professional it was when he had cause to thank the NHS for his own life. He is passionate about PR in the service. He also believes that good PR is made by good people trying to make things happen better.
By Alan Taman
I died 9 years ago. It changes your view on things.
Well, that certainly touched a nerve. The post the Four Stages of Comms Facepalm sparked an explosion of comments from people who have had cause to put their hand to their head and go: 'DOH!' at a request from someone. Often senior.
by Kath Hughes
OK so we have all been there, that excruciating moment when you open the ‘poster’ that a well meaning person has spent a long time creating. It can’t possibly go out – its crammed with too many complicated words, multiple clip art speech bubbles, and a number of out of proportion logos. But it needs to go out NOW and you are the one preventing it.
So, what next? Try this three step guide to cope with moments like this and let me know if it works for you.
In a guest editor post we're taking a look at some good public sector digital communications from Scotland. You'll be surprised what you'll find if you look.
There are amazing things going on in Scotland’s public sector when it comes to digital communication and engagement but you might not know it.
We’re not as well organized collectively as our peers down south and we don’t really like to shout about the good work we do.
But I’d like to see that change and I want to raise awareness of some really cool stuff happening in Scotland. Here is a mere smattering of innovative, creative and useful work from Scottish public sector people with moxie.
In London in September there's a grasroots event for people who think trhat intranets are a key part of the comms landscape. If you are internal comms or want to learn more then jump on the last ticket release.By Wedge
Intranet Now is about real intranets in the present time. The hybrid format is experimental, part conference and part unconference.
In just a few short months, we’ve gone from concept to sell-out. Of course, nobody can judge our success until the day, but considering the heavyweight sponsors and speakers, it feels like Intranet Now is bound to be a major feature in the events calendar for years to come.
You're all maximising your use of YouTube, right? If not, this post is a must read...
by Matt Bond
In which I argue that for too long You Tube has been thought of as the ‘bolt on’ communications channel, that place where you chuck your films without a care and perhaps link via your ‘more popular’ Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Social media can be highly organised by campaigns people... but let's not forget that this is also about making the most of things that crop up unexpectedly.
by Rob Simmonds
Social media isn’t just about carefully planned campaigns, with scheduled posts and key messages. It’s also about seizing opportunities as and when they arise, without worrying about getting corporate sign-off or managerial clearance.
Here's a couple of ideas one London council tried out to get people talking about them... tweeting in Portuguese and then letting one person take over the council account.
by Karen Jeal
Here at Lambeth Council we recently tried a couple of new ideas to try and get more people in our community talking with us on Twitter. Here’s how they both went.
Our communities in Lambeth are diverse. So what better way to get to the heart of those different communities than to really speak their language and engage with them in a way they will understand.
You know the feeling, you're stacked with work and another big comms project lands. Imagine if that project was the Commonwealth Games...
Glasgow - whose citizens are not traditionally unaccustomed to the consequences of self-indulgent excess - has a monumental hangover.
As I write, the atmosphere in the city, four days after the end of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, is somehow slower, heavier, almost slow-motion. But at least this time it's because of the end of one of the most celebratory, joyous and magical periods in the city's history, a period which will live long in the memory.
It's dominating debate in Scotland and could have a siesmic effect on the rest of Britain. Here one public sector comms officer writes about their frustrations about not having a voice because they are politically restricted.
by Anonymous Communications Officer
So far the impending referendum hasn’t affected my work – it’s my personal channels of communication I’m finding tricky to navigate.
When we asked a pal to suggest a tune of the day for us, we didn't expect him to write a post too. But he did, all about his musical journey. Well not all of our posts have to be about comms, right?
by Tom Phillips
I can’t sing. I can’t really play a note. However, my life is ruled by music.
I’ve been accumulating my collection since I was about 14 (1968 if you’re interested), and the amalgamation that rules a complete room at home is the epitome of “eclectic”.
Can you help? Would you like to win a free afternoon of brainstorming thanks to a creative agency? You would? Brilliant! Have a read of this and fill in the survey.
by Alan Oram
We’ve got a cunning plan. We’re creating a valuable, practical tool to help internal comms folk find smart and effective ways to get organisations across the land working more creatively by sharing top tips, key trends, practical advice and cracking ideas… And we’d like a little help from our friends to cross the finish line.
The most terrifying thing about pestilence is its power to terrify. In reputational terms, any plague has a mighty PR punch that far exceeds the reach of the disease itself – and often brings out the worst in people. That demands responsibility on the part of PR professionals.
By GUEST EDITOR Alan Taman 
Case in point: ebola. A haemorrhagic fever with no vaccine or cure. Meaning if left untreated victims will rapidly dehydrate and die through organ failure, shedding the virus in their body fluids as they do so. Which will infect new victims through any mucous membrane or broken skin. But not, thankfully, via airborne droplets, as in flu, or via parasites, as with bubonic plague (which could also spread via droplets; ‘Atishoo, atishoo, we all fall down’ – grim, some nursery rhymes).
A discussion took place on Twitter shaped by predictions of worse to come for local government. But should we be downcast? Or fight back? Here the director of comms at the LGA urges for the fightback.
Local government is doing some remarkable things. If any major business continued to deliver services against a budget reduction of 40 per cent it would be rightly lauded as heroic.
Well, that’s exactly what local government has done.
At the same time, our reputation remains high and we are trusted by our residents to do the right thing. However, the scale of the financial challenges often means that we, in local government, are never able to pause for a moment to reflect on the scale of our achievements.
We know the media landscape is changing. But what's the perspective of the journalist? Here's a valuable insight.
Things have changed since I trained as a journalist. A lot. But for some people I think there's still this rather quaint view that the local newspaper's reporters are merrily tottering off to their patches to gather news for tomorrow's publication.
Not so! While I suspect this may be a more prevalent view in rural areas than cities and major towns, it certainly exists. I was aware that some of our councillors and officers needed an update on how the modern newsroom operates and the growing role social media plays in our world.
