prandsocial. Katie Moffat - PR & Online Communications

Very happy to see that the lovely Mike Butcher had included me in 'Celebrating Women in Tech' post, in
commemoration of Ada Lovelace day.  I was very honoured to be listed among such talented, inspirational
women.

Hmmm, I have been seriously slack in blogging in the last couple of weeks.  Nine days out in Austin meant I was somewhat distracted (although lame of me not to blog I mean it's practically the law at SXSW).  Anyway, I'm pleased to report that it exceeded expectations, interesting talk, great people, lots of fun. OK so I know it was my first time and I probably sound a little giddy (maybe next year I'll sound more jaded) but now I really understand why it generates so much buzz.

So highlights and lowlights?
Well, it's best to have the bad news first right?

1. As the lovely Vero points out so eloquently, it became apparent pretty quickly that the organisers had screwed up by not making it clear what level the panels were aimed at and some were really pretty basic.
2. The venue is fine, huge and souless but hey, that's OK but they really need to sort the catering out- a rank wrap and coffee for $18 – yack.

Um, I can't think of anything else bad.  Now the good news.

1. Great speakers and a fanastic range of subjects mean that you have a huge choice of potential panels.
2. The people, the people, the people.  It's great to be with like minded folk who don't mind if you stand staring at your iphone for 10 mins instead of speaking to them.  Particularly big shout to the digital mission crew, a lovely bunch of folk.
3. Parties, free beer – what more can I say.
4. Speaker highlights: Kathy Sierra, Gary V (who was worth going to watch for the astounding hero worship he receives from his fans – GO GARY, you're AWESOME). And of course the British 'anti-panel' #kebab. It was juvenile and silly but hilarious and a refreshing change from all the earnest talk about social meeja.
5. And finally, wi-fi that worked despite the fact that thousands of people where blogging, twittering and probably uploading a gazillion gigabites of data per second.

But you know you've been bitten by the SXSW bug when you realise that there is just no way on earth
that you won't be there next year.

*pic by Kumar

1. The huge number of independent coffee shops with personality and attitude – the opposite of Starbucks.
2. Wholefoods, quite simply the best store ever.  Please open more in the UK.
3. Book People, quite simply the best book store ever.
4. Everything is automated.  The toilets flush by themselves, the paper towels come out on their own.  You need never do anything for yourself again!
5. Friendly people, in every store.  You get very used to the British attitude of aloofness/rudeness/"why are you bothering me by coming in my shop" and you forget that it's actually quite nice to be treated well.

ps.  however, the weather sucks (well at the moment anyway)

So on Wednesday I fly out to SXSW which I'm hugely excited about but I'm also feeling a little, well, overwhelmed.  I mean jesus, I can't believe how much there is going on.  I can just see myself wandering aimlessly from panel to party, dazed and confused and worried that I've just missed the most important/useful/fun bit, while I watch celeb bloggers get trashed.  But no, I am determined to get the  most out of it.  I'm most looking forward to a) some of the panels – oh I know it's supposed to be all about the parties and call me naive but there are some fantastic speakers so I don't care if that makes me square b) connecting with some great digital folk including lots of people from the UK who I know are making the trip out there.  Along the way I will try to blog, tweet and not lose my iphone or sanity.

Wish me luck.

Illness (tonsillitis) laid me low for a couple of days last week, so I'm still playing catch up.  I thought a good old list would do the job of helping me feel as though I am in control, so here goes – my resolutions for this week:

1. To be uber efficient and get through all my scheduled work before flying off to SXSWi next week.
2. To take a proper look at CoTweet which looks really interesting, allowing you to run multiple Twitter accounts simultaneously, (although I may have made a bit of a balls up by getting a beta invite and changing my twitter name afterwards – more on that later).
3. To not sink my time into arguments about Twitter lists – totally inconsequential in the scheme of things.
4. To try and look after myself, eat well, etc, last few months have taken their toll.
5. To write some rather more interesting blog posts – I'll be blogging for the fine folk at e-consultancy while I'm away and I expect they'll require a bit more than a lame list….

1. I've worked for myself for over seven years now and although generally I love it, sometimes it's very hard not to get distracted and waste time.  Particularly with time sinks like Twitter and FeedDemon.  Which is why this post on mashable; 7 Productivity Tips is particularly welcome.
2. A succint and useful post 8 Essential Free Social Media Monitoring Tools is a must read.
3. My second job in PR was at a fast paced agency in Manchester (what a baptism of fire that was) and from time to time you'd have the problem of a client falling out with the account handling team.  This post from Todd Defren makes a whole lot of sense and clients would do well to listen.
4. Finally, as the 12th of February and Twestival gets ever closer, a timely reminder from Scott Harrison, founder of Charity:Water, why it's fantastic that so many people are getting  involved.    

Scott Harrison, Founder of charity: water – Thanks the Twestival from Phil Thomas Di Giulio on Vimeo.

Very excited about Twestival and in awe of @amanda and the twestival team for co-ordinating it all. At the time of writing there are over 80 cities registered to hold Twestivals.  I'm helping organise the Manchester Twestival @MancTwester (do you see what we did there?) and although it's scary given the frightening deadline, it also feels like a genuinely inspiring thing to be involved with and for an amazing cause.  Everyone has been so keen to help, it's fantastic.  Will be blogging our progress. You can follow us on Twitter @MancTwester. 

Following on from things I'm loving this week, I am not feeling in quite so benevolent a mood today.  So here, in no particular order are things that are bugging me this week.

1. The instant negativity and cynicism that seemed to immediately grab hold of people following Barack Obama's fantastic win.  Faster than you could say, "the first ray of hope in years" there were mutterings that he won't be able to live up to the hype. GIVE THE MAN A CHANCE.
2. Email on my iPhone not working. Gah.
3. Clients who say they want to 'do' social media and online PR and make contact with networks online but, in the same breath, refuse to do anything that might mean others can 'question' their brand.

There, you see, after getting that off my chest, I'm feeling better already .

*photo courtesy of Scott Beale / Laughing Squid laughingsquid.com

1. The fantastic videos from Network Solutions video conference.  What I like about these are the soundbite format and the fact that they offer great, practical advice about how SMEs and smaller businesses can engage with customers online.
2. The online PR wallchart post from E-consultancy.  Neatly brings into focus the crossover between online PR and SEO.
3. My new iPhone – I know, I'm late to it but I do love it.
4. The ridiculous Ross/Brand debacle and what it tells us about a) our society and b) our news agenda.
5. The Cove 2, a thing of beauty and (in this weather) the best item I've ever bought.

Some excellent stuff to start off the week,

1. Shannon Paul's 'How would you teach social media?' I particularly like her comments about social media echo chamber.
2. "I can let you in but can you sort of crouch down"  an example of the fact that ridiculous notions to do with formal dress equating to a person's 'standing' are (unfortunately) alive and well.  Sally's writing had me laughing out loud here.
3. Even Britney's twittering now, except I have a teeny suspicion that it's not like actually her…
4. A couple of weeks ago I asked (via Twitter) fellow long commuters Wadds and Becky what kit they see as essential for journeying between office and home.  Interesting replies here and here.
5. And back on one of my favourite topics, I like this post from Rohit Bhargava called 'The softer side of social media measurement'.