Just returned from a lovely week in a gite near Cognac. Much sampling of the local fare carried out, with the highlight being the discovery of a truly drinkable Rose costing just €1,29 per bottle - bargain. The joy of having our car with us meant I could literally fill my boot with it before we left. The Remy-Martin distillery made for an excellent visit, and the seaside at Fouras was marvellous.
We also took in the "pointless" but very cute donkeys at the local "asinerie" - the Baudet du Poitou. No good for riding or working apparently and kept purely to be bred with the local horse breed to make useful mules - except that no one uses mules any more. Fortunately for the Baudet du Poitou the French are very hot on preserving their cultural heritage, so this state-run farm is devoted to preserving the breed.
Back to earth with a bump this week. Sadly for KMUK we're saying goodbye to our events manager Cassie King today. She's departing for pastures new courtesy of Devere venues - we'll miss you Cassie!
Tuesday 31 August 2010
Thursday 19 August 2010
Social ego-massaging
This post from the PC PRO newsletter has got me thinking this morning...
In short, Google's Eric Schmidt reckons today's teens will one day be so embarrassed or compromised by the TMI they've shared on facebook and twitter that they'll want to switch identities to prevent prospective employees from judging them on past indiscretions. This may be depressingly likely given the unguarded nature of many status updates, but it got me thinking about whether the opposite could also be true? With a little collusion from one's friends it might be possible to create a "perfect" alter ego on the web, highlighting skills and talents that could stand you in good stead for that plum role. Maybe we'll see a new age of personal marketing:
WALL
Amy: THNX for listening the other day, your incisive insight and constructive advice really helped me solve the problem...
or maybe not!
Then again, when you consider the corporate love-in that is LinkedIn, maybe we're already there.
In short, Google's Eric Schmidt reckons today's teens will one day be so embarrassed or compromised by the TMI they've shared on facebook and twitter that they'll want to switch identities to prevent prospective employees from judging them on past indiscretions. This may be depressingly likely given the unguarded nature of many status updates, but it got me thinking about whether the opposite could also be true? With a little collusion from one's friends it might be possible to create a "perfect" alter ego on the web, highlighting skills and talents that could stand you in good stead for that plum role. Maybe we'll see a new age of personal marketing:
WALL
Amy: THNX for listening the other day, your incisive insight and constructive advice really helped me solve the problem...
or maybe not!
Then again, when you consider the corporate love-in that is LinkedIn, maybe we're already there.
Wednesday 18 August 2010
Birthdays and new joiners
Today it's Steve's birthday. He announced the availability of the traditional office birthday cakes thusly:
If I was a tree
I'd have more rings than Saturn
I'll add another today
And Yep, my spirits are flattened
I've been shopping early
Saw a girl about pastries
She said she was a miss
I thought: "Right in both senses."
I've come back with cakes, biscuits and more.
Holy Sh*t, they're worth about a million on the weight watchers score
But what's the point of being healthy, of living by the rules?
....'cos healthy people get run over by crack heads in hot-rods
....or live long enough to lose their marbles and continence
....sorry, I seem to have forgotten to make those lines scan...
A truly Vogon effort by Steve - only the third worst poetry in the universe! Happy birthday old chum.
Also, today we're joined by Lucy, who will be taking on the events role from Cassie. So far we have discovered that Lucy lives in Finchampstead and likes Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. welcome to the team!
If I was a tree
I'd have more rings than Saturn
I'll add another today
And Yep, my spirits are flattened
I've been shopping early
Saw a girl about pastries
She said she was a miss
I thought: "Right in both senses."
I've come back with cakes, biscuits and more.
Holy Sh*t, they're worth about a million on the weight watchers score
But what's the point of being healthy, of living by the rules?
....'cos healthy people get run over by crack heads in hot-rods
....or live long enough to lose their marbles and continence
....sorry, I seem to have forgotten to make those lines scan...
A truly Vogon effort by Steve - only the third worst poetry in the universe! Happy birthday old chum.
Also, today we're joined by Lucy, who will be taking on the events role from Cassie. So far we have discovered that Lucy lives in Finchampstead and likes Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. welcome to the team!
Tuesday 17 August 2010
Tech haves and have nots...
My ITPRO daily newsletter has just arrived, and pointed me in the direction of this analysis piece on the haves and have nots of the technology world by the very insightful Eric Doyle.
Eric manages to compare the communication facilities available to parts of rural India with the dreaded connectivity blackspots that exist in rural UK without coming over as trite, which is an achievement in itself. He makes the very valid point that those in the UK who don't have access to broadband facilities or even mobile phone coverage are significantly digitally and societally disadvantaged compared with those of us living in more connected towns and cities. I'll leave you read the article to get the point that Eric makes far better than I, but it is certainly food for thought.
Having spent a week in North Yorkshire at the start of July, in an area with practically zero phone coverage, I felt the minor inconvenience of being unable to feed my web-addictions of facebook and twitter, but we were rarely truly troubled. We were fortunate in that no emergencies arose while we were in remote areas. But although I didn't get a mobile phone until I was 21, and didn't use a PC until I was 20, it's already hard for me to imagine life before I could access the benefits of the web at a decent speed. Not being able to do so would put my lifestyle back 12 years.
It's fair enough if you live in a remote rural area because you want to be disconnected, but we shouldn't be seeing the development of a two-speed society for those who happen to live beyond the reach of a broadband connection.
***
In other news, today the PR dept has mostly been drafting awards press releases thanks to the lovely people at www.bertl.com and www.buyerslab.com .
Plus, I'm thinking of changing our media database supplier...
And I've been reviewing some video content...
Eric manages to compare the communication facilities available to parts of rural India with the dreaded connectivity blackspots that exist in rural UK without coming over as trite, which is an achievement in itself. He makes the very valid point that those in the UK who don't have access to broadband facilities or even mobile phone coverage are significantly digitally and societally disadvantaged compared with those of us living in more connected towns and cities. I'll leave you read the article to get the point that Eric makes far better than I, but it is certainly food for thought.
Having spent a week in North Yorkshire at the start of July, in an area with practically zero phone coverage, I felt the minor inconvenience of being unable to feed my web-addictions of facebook and twitter, but we were rarely truly troubled. We were fortunate in that no emergencies arose while we were in remote areas. But although I didn't get a mobile phone until I was 21, and didn't use a PC until I was 20, it's already hard for me to imagine life before I could access the benefits of the web at a decent speed. Not being able to do so would put my lifestyle back 12 years.
It's fair enough if you live in a remote rural area because you want to be disconnected, but we shouldn't be seeing the development of a two-speed society for those who happen to live beyond the reach of a broadband connection.
***
In other news, today the PR dept has mostly been drafting awards press releases thanks to the lovely people at www.bertl.com and www.buyerslab.com .
Plus, I'm thinking of changing our media database supplier...
And I've been reviewing some video content...
Monday 16 August 2010
KMUK PR blog
I'm starting this blog to document the life and times of the PR/Marketing dept at KYOCERA MITA in Reading, UK. As it's my blog it'll be my personal take on what's going on and as such isn't an "official" statement from Kyocera. Maybe I should get a special hat to wear for when I am making official Kyocera statements...
So, to kick things off, today I have mostly been writing an entry for the Sustainable FM awards and loading stuff onto our corporate website.
Tomorrow the boss is taking part in a round table organised by the Carbon Trust on the topic of the switch to the low carbon economy. I'll be busy trying to sort things out in advance of my holiday to France next week.
Today my pedantry has been exercised by the use of the word "pre-prepared" in a draft press release which I was reviewing. Can something be "pre-prepared?" Surely prepared already implies that the thing is ready in advance? And on that truly tedious note I shall sign off for the evening!
So, to kick things off, today I have mostly been writing an entry for the Sustainable FM awards and loading stuff onto our corporate website.
Tomorrow the boss is taking part in a round table organised by the Carbon Trust on the topic of the switch to the low carbon economy. I'll be busy trying to sort things out in advance of my holiday to France next week.
Today my pedantry has been exercised by the use of the word "pre-prepared" in a draft press release which I was reviewing. Can something be "pre-prepared?" Surely prepared already implies that the thing is ready in advance? And on that truly tedious note I shall sign off for the evening!
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