In my last blog I mentioned that I had been really flattered to be asked to preview a book about Social Media and Online PR, written by a friend and would-be business associate. I believe it will be published very soon, but reading it made me stop and think hard about my own Social Media efforts

I currently have 4 social media accounts, plus a website and a blog. I would like to think they all have different purposes, but here’s the thing. When I pull them apart and try to separate them, where are the boundaries?

My website is easy. www.hargreavesandwebb.com is there to promote by freelance writing and consulting business. It is aimed squarely at IT companies needing PR, editorial and customer advocacy services and advice. Simple. Except every so often, recruiters and potential employers look at it to see what sort of freelance work I do.

My blog is also easy to define. It’s a space for me to publish my opinions (and I’ve got quite a few of those) where others can choose to look. If you don’t like them, don’t look is the philosophy. On the other hand, it is linked to my website, so has to some extent to reflect my business objectives and values. But I’ve also chosen to post blogs via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, so I need to think about those too.

Although not fashionable at the moment, and suffering from a major upgrade that really isn’t an improvement, MySpace is still a standard tool for musicians to show-off their acts to promoters, etc. My band’s MySpace, though currently in need of a tidy-up, does just that. Problem is, do a Google search on ‘Hargreaves and Webb’ and you are as likely to find a review of our CD Album as you are the home page of www.hargreavesandwebb.com. So, for someone looking for advice on steering a new software product through industry analysts and launching to the UK IT press, that search might be a bit off putting.

The other three social media sites aren’t much easier to manage. What about Twitter? I mostly follow recruitment consultants, but also people who find interesting source material about communications and ‘serious’ IT (B2B stuff like accountancy and business performance management). There’s also a smattering of ‘science’ Twitters, such as Jodrell Bank. But I have very little control over who follows me, and that ranges from former colleagues and friends, to random ‘Adult Film’ makers, to potential business partners (or competitors) to political parties in North America (why?). So what should I say to these people?

Facebook DEFINITELY started out as something to help stay in contact with family and friends. But then, I’ve got former employers on there, and I’ve found jobs on there too. And now, it is increasingly being used by music promoters, so I need to think about that use for it as well.

Perhaps the MOST confusing of all is LinkedIn. I have a strong opinion that LinkedIn is about finding work. I originally built-up my LinkedIn profile when I first started freelancing. However, much as I love what I’m currently doing, I am also very keen to hear Corporate Communications or PR jobs at big (or at least big in their market) companies. I like big brands and I work best when I can help them claim a leadership position. So what do I do with LinkedIn? Do I tune it to help find my dream job, or do I tweak it to help me expand my freelance work?

I think the lesson I’ve learned about social media in the last couple of weeks is this – our online presence is complicated. It is very hard to separate and compartmentalise how others see you online, and I’m inclined to think that you are foolish to try. If you are online, then you are online; and if you are online many times, then it’s still you.

I haven’t yet figured how I can promote my own business online without causing doubts in the mind of potential employers, and I haven’t decided if I can use social media tools to help a job search without undermining my current freelance work. If anyone can offer any advice (other than “Why on Earth did you write this blog?”) I would love to hear from you.

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Christopher Webb
Hargreaves & Webb Ltd
+44(0)1423 521952 /  +44 (0)7515 285 043
www.hargreavesandwebb.com
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I am fairly tall, I don’t do enough exercise, I have rubbish posture, and I spend most of my working life sat in front of a computer screen. As a result I get pains in the joints of my right arm and my neck caused by the continuous damage I inflict on my neural pathways due to these factors.

 I’ve just restarted using something I bought a couple of years ago – I only stopped because I broke it. It’s called an ‘Air02bic’ mouse. Basically, it’s a fairly standard optical mouse in a very non-standard casing. The shape puts my hand on its side, so relaxing the tension in the nerves of my right arm, and massively reducing the pains I get in my shoulder and neck. 

It wasn’t cheap to buy (£99 at the time – around £85 + vat today) but with decent physiotherapists charging £40 per hour it’s paid for itself several times over.

I have nothing to gain from this recommendation – just passing on a product that has really helped me.

Can you recommend anything similar? 

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Christopher Webb 
Hargreaves & Webb Ltd
+44(0)1423 521952 /  +44 (0)7515 285 043
www.hargreavesandwebb.com
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This weekend I went to a wedding. My wife and I were invited by a young man (and his bride-to-be) who I have known for about half of his life, and just under a quarter of mine. I met him when I was coaching at Trafford Athletics Club, and I worked with him for several years during which time he won championship medals at County, Regional, National Schools and AAA’s levels. He broke numerous records along the way, including school records set by Olympic medallist Darren Campbell.

I was delighted to receive the invitation, but I had no idea what to expect of the wedding – I think I had in mind a fairly large sort of thing. When we arrived and found we were part of a party of just 58 I was flattered. However, what I didn’t expect was that when introducing myself as “Steve’s former coach,” everyone seemed to know who I was.

I was flattered again to find some of our athletic adventures featured in the Best Man’s speech, and my friend’s mother told me how pleased she was that he had been able to stay with us after I found him a paid internship where I used to work.

Later in the evening, my friend came and talked to me for a few minutes. He told me that my guidance and mentoring as a coach and friendship in his professional life had been a major influence on his values and ambitions, and even on how he had dealt with his nerves of the marriage ceremony.

I was deeply moved. To me, I had done nothing more than I would do for anyone, and certainly nothing more than I had done for several other of my more talented and motivated athletes. However, it made me realise that everyday things we all do that seem natural to us can make a great difference to others – I guess that means good and bad. I’m pleased that in this case I was able to make such a positive difference to someone just through my own love of sport.

My thinking was reinforced later in the weekend when I received a request from a business friend – someone who I have wanted to work with for a long time, but it has just never come off. She is publishing a book about online PR and social media, and she wanted me to give an opinion. I have to say that I was absolutely delighted to do so. The boost to my previously flagging self-esteem I have received through these two kindnesses of recognition is hard to describe.

I think the point that I’m trying to make is that what goes around really does eventually come back around. I’ve been reminded that even when things seem a bit bleak, you should always be helpful towards others, and that you should never refrain from asking others for help. It is most definitely a two way street.

I learnt a lot from this weekend. Is there anyone else out there who has shared similar experiences of a boost coming from an unexpected source? I also learnt a lot from the book – more on that subject in a blog when said book is published.

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Christopher Webb

Hargreaves & Webb Ltd

+44(0)1423 521952 /  +44 (0)7515 285 043

www.hargreavesandwebb.com

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Well now. I’ve just posted my first proper website for my ‘spare time business,’ Hargreaves & WEBB Ltd. Though I used the business originally when I was freelancing as a PR consultant, this is now all about music and music promotion.

Along the way to building this site I’ve uncovered many mysteries and a good deal of ‘black magic and techno voodoo’ that have left me with two very clear conclusions:

1. Rather like playing the Saxophone, it’s not difficult to do something.
2. Rather like playing the Saxophone, it’s REALLY DIFFICULT to do something good that other people will enjoy.

I guess I’ll get there. Meantime, I’m happy enough with my first, self-taught effort. If you can see places where it can be improved, please let me know – SO LONG AS YOU ALSO TELL ME HOW TO DO IT !

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Christopher Webb

I found out yesterday that my cousin has died suddenly, aged 50. He was a career civil servant, working for the European Union in Brussels. A great man, with a career spent helping his country (and the rest of the member states) make the most of the opportunities presented to it by the European Union. We’re not sure what happened, but first indications are that he had a stroke, and given a family medical history of similar occurrences, he probably had high blood pressure exacerbated by stress.

So what was the point?

Well, his achievements were many. He also enjoyed a good lifestyle with his wife and children. But on the other hand, he’s been taken from us with many more things never completed that he could have achieved, and that’s why we are sad about the loss of our relative.

However, he has also reminded me about what I’m trying to achieve with my life.

I recently had a short spell at a PR agency in Manchester that I tried to convince myself was ‘the right career move’. It clearly wasn’t, but I felt it was important to ‘generalise’ and try new things – my heart wasn’t really in it. Prior to that, I’d worked in an interim position for a software house for six months, knowing full well that the CEO and I were never going to agree on the role of PR in his organisation. It’s difficult to get passionate about something you don’t believe in, and as I’d always enjoyed what my previous employers and clients did I felt less than happy at that company.

More recently, I had a meeting with a former employer that reminded me of an area of expertise that I had developed (customer advocacy), been successful and innovative in, and that I really enjoyed. I’ve worked on customer advocacy programmes for two very large software businesses, and a smaller services business, and I really enjoyed the work. It is actually uplifting to be able to find, write and talk about successes, and helpful to other people so that they too can understand the concept and relate to the solution.

I’m sat here thinking about how to develop my ‘business’ and I’ve realised that customer advocacy has always been at the centre of everything in PR that I’ve ever done. I love understanding how people use the products I represent to make their businesses better and more efficient. I love it even more when they relay their enthusiasm for my products to other people (directly or through the media). It is the reason I work in PR and something that helps me keep my stress levels manageable and my blood pressure under control.

Hargreaves & Webb Ltd will now be offering ‘Customer Advocacy’ programmes and consultancy as one of our lead services because we’re very good at it, and we simply LOVE doing it.

If, like me, you are a convert to Customer Advocacy, or if you want to find out more but don’t want to take my word for it, try following this guy on Twitter http://twitter.com/referencegeek - Robin Hamilton knows more about Customer Advocacy programmes than anyone else in the UK that I’ve ever met (except me maybe?)

Christopher Webb 

PR Consultant

Hargreaves & Webb Ltd

ps. I'm very pleased to say that my meeting resulted in a job offer, and I now work for the inEvidence team at Insight Marketing & Communications, part of Bell Pottinger PR.

I play guitar and bass in a band. My bass is an Aria Pro II SB R-60 – in its day (1982) one of the most sophisticated and expensive bass guitars on the market and a mile stone in Japanese musical instrument manufacturing. My guitars on the other hand are a Fender Stratocaster and a Telecaster. The craftsmanship that went into making those doesn’t even come close to that invested in the Aria.

Where as the Aria is made from exotic woods, carefully selected and laminated together to create a single sculptured item, smoothed and polished into a seamless thing of beauty, my Fenders are basically lumps of tree bolted together with big screws. The Aria feels like it was carved from a single piece of wood – the Fenders definitely were not.  Yet, while the Aria inspires me through its faultlessness, my Fenders inspire me because they are so full of flaws.

My Stratocaster was made in 1979, and is packed with ideas intended to update the design (25-years old at the time). It has extra adjustments at the neck joint. It has truss rod that can be tweaked without taking the whole thing apart. It has cheap, nasty pressed steel string trees and bridge components cast from melted down Dinky cars. And if you sneeze on it the whole thing goes out of alignment and it costs you £50 for someone who knows how to put it all back the way it should be so to do. The Telecaster was made in Mexico, and has been re-engineered to make it cheaper to build – and I think it’s better because of this - but it is so ‘basic.’

Despite the amazing deficiencies in build and design quality, my Fender guitars are a joy to play. Why is that? And it’s not just me that loves to play Fender guitars. Guitarists from Jimi Hendrix, to Jimmy Page, to Eric Clapton, to Robert Cray all love Fender’s simple, to the point guitars. They are like the Ford Capri of the guitar world, where as the Aria is more like a Nissan GTR.

The world has become obsessed with technology. My Aria was designed and made at the time when that obsession truly got into its stride, where as my Fender guitars were designed in the 1950s. However, technology doesn’t always deliver – sometimes what you need is a little soul.

Christopher Webb

PR Consultant

Hargreaves & Webb Ltd

I’ve worked in software companies with products we marketed to accountants – Hyperion Solutions, Coda Group and IRIS Software – so of course I loved accountants in those days.

As a freelance consultant, I’ve had to search the market to find an accountant for myself – and my wife’s start up business.

And I’m still left stunned at how bad accountants are at marketing themselves.  And content management on websites is making it even worse.

I started my search for an accountant with the governing body (in this case the ICAEW) to find out who I should be talking to. They had dozens of pages of free listings of their members in Yorkshire, so I started sifting through them. Believe it or not, of about 12 pages of accountancy businesses listed in West Yorkshire, nine or so pages had membership details only and absolutely no information on the business.  The businesses concerned simply hadn’t bothered to fill them in. What’s the matter with them?  It’s free!

So having figured that I was only interested in accountants that were interested in talking to customers, I then started to pick out those with a website – approximately 50% of the remainder. After a couple of other ‘filters’ my list for the whole of Yorkshire came to 58.

Then I started looking at the websites themselves, and, being a PR person, I wanted to know what the ‘news’ was about my prospective new accountants. So I looked on the news pages.  I was STUNNED.

58 accounting companies (well, 57 really as two were branches of the same national company) had bothered to invest time, effort and money in a website. And after thumbing through ‘The Bluffers Guide to Marketing’ they had decided to ‘differentiate’ their website from their competitors by ‘adding value’. And the method that 50% of them chose was to add a ‘News Feed’. Not only that but these feeds were universally buried away in the back of beyond (or at least several tabs back on the website). And not only THAT, but they were almost ALL using exactly the same news feeds from the same news aggregators.

AND THESE ARE PEOPLE YOU AND I GO TO FOR BUSINESS ADVICE? 

I can hear them; ‘Oh yes Mr. Webb. You are in a highly creative industry, so I recommend you do exactly the same thing with your website as all your competitors. Innovation is purely there for people who want to take risks and you don’t want to be doing that now, do you?’

Of the remainder, five made no attempt whatsoever to engage in or acknowledge the news agenda.  A few made attempts to create value-added commentary and analysis on legislation and regulation. And a very few recognised that they have something to say to the world.  They are creating proper, usable news stories and case studies that can be read by clients and also sent out into the world to spread the word about how good they are.

Now maybe I’m a bit critical over such things. I’m a PR person and therefore I’m probably more plugged into news and current affairs than the average person.  But I don’t think this is about that. I think this is common sense. After all, if I want news I’d go to the BBC, not to my accountant.

If you’re going to bother with a website and news feeds, do it right.  Invest properly or don’t do it at all.

When I was at Coda, we set up a comedy website www.extreme-accounting.com for accountants to take the mick out of themselves. You know what, the online marketing efforts of some of the accountants I’ve looked at over the last few days are an even bigger joke – and for small businesses looking for vital advice and guidance, that’s not funny at all.

Christopher Webb

PR Consultant

Hargreaves & Webb Ltd for Northern Lights PR

I thought Twitter was what brought us President Obama and ‘Yes We Can.’ Well it isn’t doing political change tonight.

I’ve just done a quick search of Twitter on #flotilla and #bgt, and you just know which I’m going to say had more hits – by a ratio of 5:1. 

The world turned its back on Palestine 60 years ago and it continues to ignore the people of the West Bank and Gaza. How much longer will it do so? Does Palestine have to wait until the end of Britain’s Got Talent before anyone notices what happened this weekend?

Israel will no doubt worm its way out of this latest disgraceful incident, but hopefully this will be the turning point. Right minded governments in Europe MUST soon start to question the wisdom of supporting or defending Israel. Maybe the Israeli Navy’s disproportionate aggression towards the peaceful aid flotilla heading for Gaza in international waters – aggression that has killed and injured people from all over Europe (including the UK) will have finally tipped the balance.

When I was a teenager, a boycott of South African fruit helped raise awareness of and bring an end to apartheid. Maybe a boycott of Israeli fruit might raise awareness of and bring about the end of Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people.

I’m sat here in Harrogate in my nice, safe PR consultancy career, a continent away from violence of Gaza. But even from here I can see how completely wrong the Israeli government is in its behaviour. I just hope that William Hague can see it too as he sits a couple of hundred miles closer in the foreign office. And even more important, I hope he does something that starts to change things for the better.

If you read this blog and agree with it, please stop buying Israeli fruit, and pass the message on about why you are doing so. Maybe it will get as far as Mr Hague. Maybe even as far as the Israeli government.

Christopher Webb

PR Consultant

Hargreaves & Webb Ltd

I am disgusted and appalled by the action of the Israeli Navy against the aid ships heading for Gaza. This wasn’t the ‘stop and check’ policing activity the Israeli government is trying to portray – this was an outright, full-on Naval attack carried out by armed ships, armed helicopters and armed marines in INTERNATIONAL WATERS against civilian shipping. If passengers onboard defended themselves (with sticks, bottles and knives) they had the right to as what the Israeli Navy did was no different to that done by a Somali gang off the coast of East Africa.

Shame on you Israel - shame on all Israeli people for allowing your out-of-control government to do this.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/10199480.stm

Christopher Webb

PR Consultant

www.hargreavesandwebb.com

I’ve never had much sympathy for so-called ‘cyber bullying.’ After all, sticks and stones and all that. And anyway, not only do mobile ‘phones and computers have On/Off switches, they also have delete keys.

Unfortunately, I’ve just been taught a lesson on the subject in a very forceful manner. My daughter has got caught up in a round of snippty-snipey nasty teenage girl nonsense that has really made me think about the power of text messaging and ‘social’ networks.

It’s one of those typical things that starts with ‘You can’t be friends with me if you’re going to be friends with her.’ You don’t need to know the ins and outs of it, and I’m sure that Lizzy isn’t blameless. But the whole thing has become very nasty and very intimidating.

Now it’s not the foul language or the threats of violence that she’s upset about. It’s the whole ‘asynchonicity’ of it. The fact that her ‘friends’ can send her a message but be selective in what messages they choose to receive back, acknowledge or respond to. It’s the whimpishness of it all. The frustration of not being able to respond, retort, rebuff or reply.

As soon as my wife and I took over her ‘phone and made it clear that we had done so and will be going to the school and the parents of the other girls involved, oh good grief how the tears of remorse did flow! “Please don’t tell the school. My Mum and Dad are furious with me already,” said one. “Sorry Lizzy. You know I’m your friend, but she said I couldn’t be friends with them if I was friends with you. I didn’t mean it,” said another.

I thought about this for a while and realised that people play these games all the time. People talk about you behind your back all the time and then hide by not answering calls etc. Is he any good at this? Why on Earth did he join that lot? They’ve taken on a real genius. You know the sort of thing.  Fortunately, I’ve not yet had a text message that scared me into walking home from work rather than catch the bus.

I think a lot of this stuff happens on ‘social networks’, though that’s okay because they are really only asynchronous versions of real networks. Right? I’m not sure. They have a reach and secrecy level that you can’t match in the real world. And I really don’t like the idea that ‘friends,’ colleagues, employers or customers can form an opinion based on one-sided hearsay – particularly as it really doesn’t need to be verified.

Perhaps a better example in the business world is they joy that is peer review. You know the sort of thing – you want to buy a new guitar so checkout the reviews. Let me tell you something – the only BAD reviews you will ever read for a £2,000 guitar will have been written by a competitor. No-one is going to slate their prized and very expensive new purchase, even if they hate it, because they are going to want to sell it for as much as they can get – and bad reviews don’t sell expensive guitars. Equally, good ones do …

In my opinion, the rise in review sites and social networks really doesn’t do much about getting closer to the truth. I used to work for a big hotel chain, and part of my job was to help handle complaints. I promise you that many of the bad reviews you see on review sites are totally unjustified. But the nature of the sites makes it very hard for the hotel to put its case, and virtually impossible to get a malicious complaint removed.

One of the over-riding principles in English law is that the accused has chance to face their accuser. The asynchronous nature of social networks, coupled with their ability to include and exclude who you want must surely make them a brilliant tool for validating someone’s capabilities and character. But they are equally capable at bending opinion away from someone, unjustly and undefended.

Christopher Webb – PR Consultant

Hargreaves & Webb Ltd

(Originally written for Tangerine PR)