PR, marcomms, recruitment and all the bits in between

Blogging law

According to new research conducted by YouGov, the majority of bloggers are unsure of the law surrounding their blogs. Apparently only 33% of us read the terms and conditions and guidelines, even though 28% of blog writers have had content removed in the past. Only a quarter of bloggers believed that they should be subject to the same rules as journalists, but the fact remains that any content in the public domain will be treated in the same way. Avoiding writing offensive, stolen or unlawful comment seems to be the main rule to stick to – bloggers take note!

Sewer broadband

You may soon be reading this blog from an internet connection brought to you via your sewage system - that’s if you live in Bournemouth. Over the next six months the seaside town will become the first in the UK to have the new super fast broadband service, the cables for which are being laid through the town’s sewer system. Residents and businesses will be able to benefit from broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps and the scheme is cheaper and more eco friendly than digging up roads to lay the cables. I can picture vital emails getting lost as a result of a rat chewing through the cables…let’s just hope they’ve got that covered…

Spring clean your keyboard

Feeling under the weather at your desk? Research this week shows that your keyboard could be to blame. Which? Computing magazine examined 33 keyboards and found a variety of bacteria which can make you ill – one keyboard even had to be removed from the office as it was five times dirtier than a toilet seat. As well as dust and poor personal hygiene, the main culprit was people eating at their desks. So if you want to keep on fighting fit it might be an idea to give your computer a clean – and save your sandwiches until you’ve finished writing that email.

Partners keep salaries secret

With more people turning to the convenience of internet and telephone banking, couples will find that they are less likely to know their other half’s salary figures. With one in 10 people currently keeping their salary from their partner, it is believed that this figure is soon to rise.

According to the Century of Savings report by the Future Foundation of National Savings and Investments soon one in four people will be keeping their wages to themselves as there becomes less and less reason to share this information.

This kind of secrecy has not been around since the 1950’s, but with the growth of modern technology it is no longer compulsory to be so open about what you earn, even with those you love.

Playing with language slows dictionary definitions team

With modern language changing by the day and teenagers adding to our ‘trendy’ vocabulary by the day, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) definitions have had to speed up the rate at which it is revised in order to keep up with the rate at which language is changing.

With only four letters of the alphabet managing to be complete in the last decade, staff are being encouraged to change their old methods in order to concentrate on words whose meanings are changing the fastest.

Words including “sick” and “book” which describe the term “cool”, are amongst many that are being included in the revised edition. John Simpson, the chief editor of the OED said: “Our team has become more and more experienced as we go along, in what is the first complete revision of the dictionary since it was first published in 1928”.

With the introduction of the internet and its world wide connection, the rate of language change has accelerated. “There are dozens of websites that celebrate new language” says Tony Thorne, of Kings College London. “They are encouraging people to play with it and we are therefore required to keep up with this”.

Another reason to be wary of Facebook…

We’re always hearing about how blogging, Facebook and the internet in general can land you in trouble. It was recently revealed that Proctors at Oxford University have fined graduating students more than £10,000 for post exam celebrations, by collecting photographic evidence from their Facebook profiles. Oxford’s student union called it an in intrusion into student privacy.

This also applies to the world of work though - yes an employer or potential employer looking at your Facebook page may be invading your privacy but it’s a risk you take if you put information about yourself in the public domain. Always be aware that someone can get their hands on that embarrassing picture of you – if you don’t want to suffer the potential consequences it may be worth removing it swiftly!

Gossiping is making us generous

We all do it and we all know it is done. But apparently gossiping is making us care more about what other people think and leading us to become caring, generous people.

According to experiments carried out by Queens University in Belfast, people who knew that their actions were going to be discussed would act differently to those who didn’t. The study, published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour, concluded “It would appear that the threat of gossip only serves to promote generous behaviour when people are given the opportunity to enhance their reputation”.

As an unavoidable part of life, gossiping has followed us from the playground to the office, but let’s hope our paranoia pays off and we are all able to become a kind and thoughtful nation.

Is your job under threat from technology?

A few weeks ago we heard that experts were working on creating a robot that can learn, think and talk. The ‘iCub’ can crawl, see and hear and the next step is to teach it English. Now we’re reading about a new restaurant in Germany that has replaced its waiters with technology. Diners use touch-screen computers on their tables to place their orders, which are then transported to them via a rail system. With all this new technology being developed, it seems that it has already replaced the need for staff in the case of the German restaurant. Could we see many a job being phased out in years to come because of progressions in science? Maybe so, but I think we’re safe for a while yet. Until they make a robot that can give a friendly smile, smooth over problems with awkward clients and dream up clever new ideas, the PR and marketing world will just have to carry on employing people like us!

Stress busting

If you find yourself stressed from putting in all those hours in the office, then we have the solution - housework! According to the Scottish Health Survey based on information from 20,000 people, 20 minutes of some kind of physical activity once a week is effective in lowering anxiety. Activities like hoovering, gardening and cleaning are all beneficial, reducing stress levels by up to 20%. There’s no excuse for putting off the DIY now, it just might cheer you up!

Web harassment

Another warning, fellow bloggers. A man has recently had to pay £119,000 in compensation after anonymously posting offensive comments online about a housing group and its chief exec, which included false allegations of sexual misconduct and corruption. The defence called it a “malicious, unpleasant and relentless campaign of libel and harassment” that the rival businessman had conducted. Media lawyers say that this record payment should provide a warning to anyone doing the same.