Whatever...

Can jail-mail boost prisoner morale?

By Eilidh Beaton

So, the home office is planning a pilot project to give inmates email access to enable them to keep in touch with loved-ones.

This announcement is bound to rile some folk in the outside world - particularly certain Daily Mail readers - but without wanting to sound all wishy-washy liberal, provided the emails and the addresses they are sent to are closely monitored, I think it’s a great idea.  After all, prisons aren't just about punishing people - they're also about preparing them for taking an active and honest role in society once they leave (or at least that's the theory). 

Having quality contact with family and friends whilst in the nick has proven benefits for boosting inmate morale, leaving them better prepared for effective rehabilitation - in particular, helping prisoner-spouse and parent-child relations.

Also, by increasing their IT confidence, inmates may also feel better equipped to get a job once they’ve served their time.  As well as the obvious technology skills they will acquire or strengthen, using the written word on a regular basis could also help to exercise their communication skills.

A strict email policy will obviously have to be implemented, with prisoners made aware that what they are writing will be monitored, and that inappropriate content will be detected and not be tolerated.   Inmates will also need to be educated on proper email etiquette and appropriate network security measures will need to be put in place. But provided these issues are fully addressed, this is not an unfeasibly difficult project to undertake.

Of course, a line may need to be drawn somewhere - certain members of prison society should arguably be refused this perk.  For instance, convicted hackers and online fraudsters should be among those denied email access I would have thought…

All I want for New Year... are some well prepared interviewees

By Flora Haslam

An estimated 48,000 people work in the UK PR industry today, and PR consistently ranks in the top three career choices of graduates.  But what continues to surprise - in what is clearly a competitive field - is how many candidates arrive at interviews completely unprepared.

We hire for entry-level PR positions all year around, and admittedly have a fairly rigorous recruitment process - but it never ceases to amaze me how many candidates fail to get through the initial round because they simply haven't thought about the interview before they turn up.

Just typing 'interview preparation' into Google brings up a host of resources including likely interview questions and ways of answering them.  But of course, it's also a good idea to ask yourself if this is a job you actually want to do.  For instance, 9/10 candidates say they want to do PR because they're a "people person" – unfortunately, this doesn't necessarily mean you'll be very good at it, or indeed that you'll enjoy it!

The key point that comes up again and again is research.  Anyone currently working in PR would hopefully appreciate the importance of research, but many more hopefuls could be more successful if they spent just 30 minutes on preparation.  At the very least, it'd be a good idea to have a look at the company website, find out what they do and the things they talk about. 

So, for those candidates who are doing some research and checking out our blog before coming for interview, I'll let you into a secret - here's some of the questions you're likely to be asked:

·          Why do you want to work with us? ("Because my recruitment company set up the interview" is not an appropriate response!)

·          Why do you want to work in PR? ("Because advertising is a really hot area" is not going to go down too well either!)

·          Give us some examples of good or bad PR in action.

Oh, and a couple of don'ts...

·          Getting the interviewer's name wrong (it might make you memorable, but for all the wrong reasons...)

·          Consistently saying "no, I can't think of an answer, normally I could, but my mind is blank" (Just say something, anything!  The answer itself isn’t as important as your ability to think on your feet)

And finally, show a bit of enthusiasm – please!  It'll go a long way to endear you to the jaded interviewer who has spent six hours listening to the same old thing.

Armchair shopping spree endangered by security fears

By Ingrid Daschner

For many of us, the pre-Christmas period brings the huge stress of trying to find the right presents. The streets are full of rushing, jostling humanity, while the shops are heaving with masses of gift hunters desperate to find anything even vaguely suitable for friends and family.

There are moments when even the most peaceable, Christmas-loving human being can be gripped with strong feelings of aggression!

No surprise then that many people prefer the comfort of shopping on the internet during this period. However, despite the massive growth in e-shopping over the past few years, it’s clear that a lot of us are still wary about exchanging financial information online.

According to a recent survey conducted by TNS Research on behalf of VeriSign, more than 60 percent of all e-shoppers in Europe have failed to complete their order because they did not trust the security of the webshop during the payment procedure.  In Germany, the percentage rate is even higher than the European average at 64 percent. 

Clearly, many online dealers are still not inspiring enough confidence in potential consumers, and are thus not maximising the potential of the internet marketplace – and that’s a lot of Christmas sales they’re missing out on!

Still, it’s not all bad news for online shopping.  For example, Forrester Research predicts that the volume of e-commerce business in Europe will grow to €263BN by 2011, which means that the number of Europeans who shop online should increase within the next five years from 100 million to 174 million.

Of course, if you haven’t got those last minute presents yet, the internet isn’t going to be much use to you now… And so in this spirit, I wish you a relaxing offline shopping adventure, happy holidays and a prosperous New Year 2007!

It’s the basic things in life…

By Lisa Talbott

Being the Office Manager at The European Technology Consultancy Of The Year 2006-2007 - and this is of course THOROUGHLY deserved and everyone here is absolutely brilliant at their job etc - I do sometimes wonder why certain people still have problems grasping the very basics of technology…

As a special Christmas treat, I’d like to share a few stories from the years I’ve been at JK (though obviously none of these relate to anyone currently at JK, oh no!!).

Now, you can ask my colleagues (sorry ex-colleagues) a question about any of their clients and they will be able to answer in full detail about the various ins and outs of products and technology sectors…  But you ask them why on earth they thought it was a good idea to clean their keyboard with water and you get the response, “Well, because it was dirty”.  Surely everyone knows that water and technology really do not go… err, no?

“Lisa, my keyboard isn’t working” - the moment these words are mentioned, I instantly know a drink has been involved.  But of course I like to give them the benefit of the doubt, and respond, “Oh dear, what were you doing before it stopped working?”  At this point, you would think they might mention there is enough water at the bottom of their keyboard for Nemo and chums to swim around in… Well sadly, you’d be thinking wrong.  You get the response “Nothing, it just stopped working”… 

You would then think they might spare me the hassle of getting down on my hands and knees trying to fix it, but no.  After replacing the keyboard, I hold it to my chest whilst standing at their desk asking lots of normal questions, to which I get the same response: “It just stopped working”, and have them looking at me as if I’m the mad one…  Okay, so I have failed to figure out the problem and go to walk away, then think, why on earth do I feel so wet…?  I pull the broken keyboard away from my chest and my top is absolutely SOAKING!  I then ask again, “Did you happen to spill any water on your keyboard”, to which they finally respond with “Oh yes, I might have spilt a drop…”

Still, credit where credit is due, sometimes the IT issues that arise can be very hard to work out for the non-technical minded, bless them.  I mean, when you are sitting at your desk and all power suddenly goes, I guess it seems perfectly normal to scream, “Ahhhhh Lisa, quick, I don’t know what’s happened, ALL POWER has just gone from my computer, LIIIISSSSAAAA!!!”… rather then taking a second to check that the thing you were just tap dancing on under your desk wasn't in fact the power board.  Or that you haven’t accidentally plugged it into a timer switch!

Similarly, it might also pay to look down at your keyboard when you are having problems with multiple items in Outlook being highlighted, just to check your porridge bowl isn’t actually pressing down the control key!!

Finally, it might be an idea when you lose network connection, to consider that five minutes ago when you were laughing your head off at someone (probably me) tripping over a wire, maybe it was your network cable they tripped over and you just need to plug it back into your PC.

So, my advice to everybody in the world of fast moving technology is sometimes things really aren’t as complicated as they might first appear.  If I am able to work them out, anyone can.  But to all those at JK, please just carry on asking for my help, as you really do make me laugh…

The green divide – technology Vs the planet

By Laura Mead

Last week, Greenpeace announced the second edition of its Green Electronics Ranking, which ‘ranks leading mobile and PC manufacturers on their global policies and practice on eliminating harmful chemicals and on taking responsibility for their products once they are discarded by consumers’.  Nokia sits at the top, but unfortunately, Apple has plummeted to last place, with Greenpeace stating that the iconic computer company has done little to change its environmental policies since the last ranking was released in August.

As an iMac/iPod/iTunes (you name it) loving owner, I find it quite disappointing that such a forward-thinking company isn’t leading the pack on the green front.  But this does raise the questions as to who exactly is responsible for driving greener technology, and where do you start? 

There are so many different facets of the IT industry that need to be addressed.  Take the office environment for example – according to The Carbon Trust, office computers and server equipment alone soak up 15% of total energy usage in the UK today, with figures expected to double to a whopping 30% by 2020 if we continue to consume at the current rate. 

What’s more, the internet itself is also causing environmental problems as it continues to grow at an exponential rate.  In particular, the interactive technologies and bandwidth-intensive applications of Web 2.0 are increasing the amount of energy we consume at an alarming pace.

At this rate, bigger and bigger data warehouses will need to be built to support the infrastructure that runs the internet, and eventually, they’ll need their own mini-power stations just to keep up with demand.  Is this eco-friendly, cost-effective or even practical?

We’re entering a crisis stage and something needs to be done quickly.  Legislation – whether from the EU or the UK government – needs to be put into place to help drive the green IT revolution and to start cleaning up the mess that we’re creating. 

Regulations can not only help with placing restrictions on certain technologies, but can also serve to help companies better understand what might be harmful, where to start with eliminating it, and what processes are best implemented in order to stamp out environmentally harmful actions.  We have already seen initiatives such as the WEEE Directive and RoHS starting to influence the way in which certain products are manufactured – but this still needs to be escalated before we start to see a major difference.

In the meantime though, it is the social responsibility of vendors – like Apple – to lead by example and to educate consumers on how we can collectively strive for cleaner, greener IT and ultimately a better future for us all. 

If nothing else, a green IT policy will help decrease everybody’s energy bills…

To MySpace or not to MySpace?

By Claire Gibson

OK, so I’m probably not in the right age group any more for ‘this sort of thing’, but…

I do have a MySpace page, which I set up mainly out of a combination of boredom and curiosity – however, I have no desire to make it my main form of communication between my friends (of whom in the MySpace world I seem to have pitifully few - aw shucks). This is in contrast to the ex-students of my best mate (who’s just given up teaching) - her profile is full of messages from 16-18 year olds, and a quick look at one of their pages reveals hundreds of ‘friends’, instant messaging each other constantly and posting in-jokes and kooky comments on each other's pages.

I suppose the equivalent for me growing up would have been the first AOL chatrooms that I had access to on my dad’s computer. They were quite fun… though thinking back on it now, one of the characters I met online turned out to be very shady indeed, which put me off pretty much from that moment onwards - yuck.

Taking all this into account - as well as the story earlier this week that MySpace has been hit by another security threat - I started seriously wondering what does keep people so hooked on it.

However, a story on the BBC about the International Telecommunications Union’s Youth Forum caught my eye today, and got me thinking about how social networking could mean a lot more for young people in other parts of the world.

The idea - described in the article - that someone working in a remote village, cut off from major cities and transportation and earning only a fifth of the average salary in the UK, could access a British university education over the internet is surely a compelling enough reason for people to keep pushing for quality internet access across the world.

The digital divide is slowly being bridged, with social networking starting to be used as a tool to allow cross-cultural dialogue and understanding as well as the promotion of tourism and product exportation.

It’s a far cry from the essentially frivolous activity it appears to be in Britain today – and as far as I’m concerned, it certainly beats yet another Friend Request from some dodgy ‘not-quite-porn’ MySpace user.  LOL…

Do I look like an estate agent?

By Mike King

The whole issue of payment by results for PR services never seems to go away.  Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t the biggest issue on my agenda every day, but it niggles away, irritatingly bubbling under the surface. 

In truth, the companies we talk to that raise this issue tend to be small ones (at least in marketing budget terms) that frankly are looking to get their PR on the cheap (or so they imagine).  By the same token, the few agencies that operate a payment by results model tend to be the ‘ambulance chasers’ of the industry, small and usually desperate for business. 

Well-established, professional consultancies sell services that are based on time and expertise - the emphasis is on providing strategic counsel as much as it is on tactical delivery.  Consultancies such as Johnson King earn their money and deliver genuine value by helping companies develop compelling positioning that sets them aside from their competitors, and devising hard-hitting communications programmes that deliver meaningful, business-aligned results. 

In other words, while quantity as well as quality of coverage is clearly important, it ain’t just a numbers game.

The payment by results model simply doesn’t support spending this kind of quality time, and instead drives activities straight to a low level, tactical approach with the emphasis on easy targets.  And let me tell you – ‘chuck enough crap out there and some of it is bound to stick’ isn’t much of a communications strategy. 

To do PR well, clients and agencies alike should be constantly striving for true partnerships; collaborative working relationships based on high quality work and expertise.  A partnerships of equals.  Clearly that doesn’t come from commoditising PR services down to a payment by results level.

When you consider how respected service-based businesses such as solicitors and accountants work, the whole concept of payment by results becomes tacky or even underhand.  And those professions where payment by results is the norm, such as estate agents or recruitment firms, are hardly regarded as being at the top of the service tree – that’s why you spend as little time as possible dealing with them!

Of course, I understand that clients are looking for reassurance that they are going to get a good return on their PR investment, and are under increasing pressure to justify this spend to the board.  But that comes from finding a creative and knowledgeable consultancy with a proven track record in your area - not from finding an agency so desperate for your business that they’ll do anything to get it, even if that means waiving a proper fee.

All work and no triple-play makes Tom an angry boy

By Tom Kirkham

ADSL Guide recently published a new survey containing some depressing statistics on broadband providers' customer service.  Particularly mortifying was the news that Telewest actually came out on top.  As a current customer of Telewest's, I have to ask: how can this be?  Has the world gone mad, or are other broadband providers going around beating up their customers and setting fire to their homes?

Perhaps these words are a little harsh - maybe for those subscribing solely to Telewest broadband, the standard of customer support is not so bad.  But what about those of us who thought triple-play was the way to go; that it would spell an end to being ripped off paying monthly line rental for a landline you barely use?  Well, having taken the triple-plunge, I now find that once a month all my services get cut off, despite the fact I never miss a payment.

Why? Well, the reason that Telewest keeps cutting off my broadband, phone and TV is due to a flaw in the billing system, which means that I automatically exceed the cap on my account every time I get billed.  Many hours have since been spent on the phone to the billing department making 'one-off' credit card payments, ultimately to no avail.

This problem has been compounded by Telewest's support team - does triple-play really have to mean your routine customer enquiry getting transferred across three different departments, as opposed to one? So much for convergence…

All of this suggests to me that the Telewest triple-play machine is missing several important cogs - while it can physically provide each part of the package, it can't properly bill for or support them.  And if a company ends up repeatedly cutting off paying customers as a consequence of these failings, then you have to ask whether it should be offering these services in the first place.

I dread to think what it's like for customers that have signed up to Telewest and Virgin's 'quad-play' service, now the focus of renewed attention given that the two companies are merging.  It'll be interesting to see whether the unholy mess that is the current billing system will be re-evaluated, or whether Richard Branson's assumption is that the relatively well-respected Virgin brand will be sufficient to gloss over these obvious failings. 

And for me?  Well, I'm either switching to Sky, or I'm switching off...

Vista to atone for past security sins?

By Claire Ayles

When Steve Ballmer comes jumping out of a cardboard cake on November 30th to herald the arrival of Microsoft Vista, will anyone actually care?

Well, if you ask most European businesses, the answer is 'not really'.  According to market analysts at Forrester Research, a minuscule 6% of European IT managers intend to ditch their existing operating systems in favour of Vista within the next six months. 

Why are European businesses so underwhelmed by Vista?

Maybe it just galls us to yet again line the pockets of a company which has a turnover that rivals the GDP of most countries - we'd rather make Microsoft sweat a bit before handing over our hard-earned cash.  But more likely it's because we need to be convinced of the benefits promised by Vista before making the switch.

Of all Vista's new bells and whistles, the most hyped relate to security.   Indeed, Microsoft has gone to great lengths to illustrate how Vista can keep networks safe and secured from hack and malware attacks. 

Until now, Microsoft and security have gone together like peaches and wasabi, so it's sensible that it wants to plug the holes and stop the worms that have been a constant menace to users of previous Microsoft operating systems ie. nearly all of us.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, it has absolutely no track record of developing secure platforms, and neither does it have a strong heritage of offering more specialist security services, such as anti-virus scanning.  In short, the folks in Seattle are asking us to take a massive leap of faith if we're to believe that Microsoft has suddenly become the guardian of business networks.

In the end, it's doubtful that Microsoft's new security features will make or break the ultimate success of Vista; eventually we'll all upgrade because we always do.  However, it's open to debate about whether businesses will rely on Vista's in-built security features to protect their networks. 

Microsoft faces a hell of a PR re-positioning task if we’re ever to believe it's up to the security job – still, it’s going to be interesting to see them try...

3 bites off more than it can chew once again

By Ryan Whelan

So, 3’s recently announced mobile internet tie up with Google and Skype is being mooted as a partnership that will change the mobile internet as we know it, with the ability to make free international calls and accessing your home PC or television from your handset. 

But is this latest announcement just a case of 3 once again having eyes bigger than its belly and biting off more than it can chew?

3 stormed into the UK mobile market five years ago with amazingly low cost, high-usage tariffs and the promise of video calls, e-mails and high quality internet.  But the reality has been somewhat different.

For instance, 3’s video calling service is still not fully accessible to all customers and remains at a premium price for those who can get it.  Wouldn’t it make more sense to try to amend the current problems with this service, rather than just move onto something new?

3 has also recently announced that it will open 120 new stores before Christmas to add to its current total of 20 stores.  This in itself seems like a mammoth task, without the added headache of launching a brand new service also within the same time frame.

Another fact that 3 seems to have overlooked is that about 95 per cent of mobile phone revenue is generated from voice calls and text messages.  As a result, by providing free calls through Skype both nationally and internationally, surely 3 are potentially cutting off their main revenue source? 

3 MUST get this service launch right, otherwise they’ll face yet another backlash from consumers, just like they did when they failed to deliver on their previous promises.  If it goes wrong, 3’s customer retention department will have to work harder than ever to keep unhappy customers tied to the network this time around. 

All things considered, this launch is either a very bold or very stupid move for a company that has ploughed £19bn of investment into its European division, but is yet to show a profit – 3 recorded losses of £815m in the first half of this year alone.

And if you’re still just a little bit excited about 3’s new service - read the small print.  The service will only be initially available on two handsets and has a ‘fair usage’ policy attached to it.  This may result in customers being stung by hidden charges once they exceed the ‘fair usage’ amount.  Perhaps this is where 3 will generate that much needed revenue…?