PubSub or SubPar?
I can't say that I'm extremely impressed by the accuracy in PubSub's LinkRank. A quick check for the last week shows that PubSub is pretty far from being correct. White cells are PubSub stats for my blog, pink cells are Technorati links and actual numbers.
In me we trust
According to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2006, global opinion leaders say their most credible source of information about a company is now "a person like me".
In the U.S., trust in "a person like me" increased from 20% in 2003 to 68% today. Opinion leaders also consider rank-and-file employees more credible spokespersons than corporate CEOs (42% vs. 28% in the U.S.).
Also interesting is that trust in government is low in the U.S. (38%) but high in China (83%, up from 63% in ’05).
In the U.S., trust in "a person like me" increased from 20% in 2003 to 68% today. Opinion leaders also consider rank-and-file employees more credible spokespersons than corporate CEOs (42% vs. 28% in the U.S.).
Also interesting is that trust in government is low in the U.S. (38%) but high in China (83%, up from 63% in ’05).
Jyllands-Posten apologizes
Last September, the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten published 12 drawings of the Prophet Mohammed, which sparked anger among Muslims in Denmark and abroad. The degrading caricatures were later reprinted in a Norwegian magazine (in defense of free speech), causing a boycott of Danish and Norwegian products in the Arab world. The Danish-Swedish dairy producer Arla even paid for an ad in Saudi Arabian newspapers, in order to "stop the boycott from escalating". As of yesterday, Arla products were off the shelves in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait and many other nations.
Late last night Jyllands-Posten issued an apology, not for publishing the drawings, but for the fact that the drawings offended Muslims! It's a hazardous strategy, not to apologize for you own actions, but apologize for the reactions of the offended part. I guess the reason is that an apology for the actual publication would be seen as caving in to external pressure and in the long run a threat to the freedom of speech.
"They were not intended to be offensive, nor were they at variance with Danish law, but they have indisputably offended many Muslims for which we apologize."
The same strategy was used in Norway:
In Norway, a foreign ministry spokesman denied media reports that the government had asked its diplomats to apologize to Muslim countries.
"We have not asked our diplomats to apologize for the publication of these cartoons, but to apologize for the agitation they have created," she said, according to Norway's NTB news agency.
It will be interesting to see if this apology will be enough to make this issue go away.
(By the way, maybe a pop-up for a net survey shouldn't be what greets readers that click on the link to the apology.)
Late last night Jyllands-Posten issued an apology, not for publishing the drawings, but for the fact that the drawings offended Muslims! It's a hazardous strategy, not to apologize for you own actions, but apologize for the reactions of the offended part. I guess the reason is that an apology for the actual publication would be seen as caving in to external pressure and in the long run a threat to the freedom of speech.
"They were not intended to be offensive, nor were they at variance with Danish law, but they have indisputably offended many Muslims for which we apologize."
The same strategy was used in Norway:
In Norway, a foreign ministry spokesman denied media reports that the government had asked its diplomats to apologize to Muslim countries.
"We have not asked our diplomats to apologize for the publication of these cartoons, but to apologize for the agitation they have created," she said, according to Norway's NTB news agency.
It will be interesting to see if this apology will be enough to make this issue go away.
(By the way, maybe a pop-up for a net survey shouldn't be what greets readers that click on the link to the apology.)
Committee blogs about integration
In September 2005 the Swedish government formed a parliamentary committee to do a review of integration politics in Sweden. Now the committee has started a blog about its task and the blog will be active until 1 June, 2007.
What is quite interesting is that the blog is hosted on Blogspot. That's probably ok, but not the most obvious choice. I wouldn't expect an American committee to host its blog on a Swedish server.
The blog also uses Sitemeter for site statistics. Kind of fun to see the adverts for Spongebob Squarepants screen savers on the stat page of a parliamentary committee.
What is quite interesting is that the blog is hosted on Blogspot. That's probably ok, but not the most obvious choice. I wouldn't expect an American committee to host its blog on a Swedish server.
The blog also uses Sitemeter for site statistics. Kind of fun to see the adverts for Spongebob Squarepants screen savers on the stat page of a parliamentary committee.
That's a wrap, folks
Forget about global warming, famine and poverty. Today is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. That's right, your chance to pay tribute to air trapped in plastic is back by 'pop'ular demand. How good it is to be in PR. (Thanks Tess.)
For or against blog ads?
"Du Bist Deutschland"
The odd phrase "Du Bist Deutschland" has for some mysterious reason been a top search on Technorati for some time. It turns out that it is a slogan from a German PR campaign with the intent to "tell everyone in Germany that you can achieve something, that you shouldn’t complain and be lazy". The campaign has set the German blogsphere on fire when someone found an old photo from a 1935 public Nazi convention using the same phrase.
It didn't get any better when the head of the agency that created the campaign spilled his guts over bloggers in an email. He was quoted saying:
"Weblogs, the bathroom walls of the internet. What gives every PC user the right to exude [or excrete] their opinions? Most bloggers simply exude."
Way to go, sucking up to a bunch of annoyed bloggers. Nicht.
It didn't get any better when the head of the agency that created the campaign spilled his guts over bloggers in an email. He was quoted saying:
"Weblogs, the bathroom walls of the internet. What gives every PC user the right to exude [or excrete] their opinions? Most bloggers simply exude."
Way to go, sucking up to a bunch of annoyed bloggers. Nicht.
Social networks go online
I was recently approached by a journalist who wished to test a theory that kids and teenagers spend time online to build and maintain relationships but adults primarily go online in search of information. My take was that if there ever was a difference, it has disappeared the last few years and adults connect to communities almost to the same extent as young people. The new study "The Strength of Internet Ties" from the Pew Internet and American Life Project seems to suggest I might be on to something.
From the report, about the fears that social relationships are fading away in America:
"Instead of disappearing, people’s communities are transforming: The traditional human orientation to neighborhood- and village-based groups is moving towards communities that are oriented around geographically dispersed social networks. People communicate and maneuver in these networks rather than being bound up in one solidary community. Yet people’s networks continue to have substantial numbers of relatives and neighbors — the traditional bases of community — as well as friends and
workmates."
"With the help of the internet, people are able to maintain active contact with sizable social networks, even though many of the people in those networks do not live nearby."
In my survey of blog readers last year, I found that a large portion of Swedish bloggers are anonymous (6 out of 10 women), which could suggest that many people are able to maintain parts of their social network online even without revealing their true identity.
From the report, about the fears that social relationships are fading away in America:
"Instead of disappearing, people’s communities are transforming: The traditional human orientation to neighborhood- and village-based groups is moving towards communities that are oriented around geographically dispersed social networks. People communicate and maneuver in these networks rather than being bound up in one solidary community. Yet people’s networks continue to have substantial numbers of relatives and neighbors — the traditional bases of community — as well as friends and
workmates."
"With the help of the internet, people are able to maintain active contact with sizable social networks, even though many of the people in those networks do not live nearby."
In my survey of blog readers last year, I found that a large portion of Swedish bloggers are anonymous (6 out of 10 women), which could suggest that many people are able to maintain parts of their social network online even without revealing their true identity.
Diego's blog attracts readers
Dagens Industri's magazine Diego has had a blog since October and have now revealed some stats for January 1-23.
- 30,000 unique visitors
- 78,000 page visits
- 43,000 visitors
- an average of 1,813 visits per day during 2006
The numbers are quite good, but Diego is still way behind top blogs like Adland which is reported to have about 30,000 visitors per day. And site visits are not the only measure of a blog's success, for example, Diego has 4 subscribers to its feed in Bloglines, I am closing in on 200 (Atom + Feedburner feeds), and since I publish the full post in my feeds, one could guess that I have many readers who never enter my site.
- 30,000 unique visitors
- 78,000 page visits
- 43,000 visitors
- an average of 1,813 visits per day during 2006
The numbers are quite good, but Diego is still way behind top blogs like Adland which is reported to have about 30,000 visitors per day. And site visits are not the only measure of a blog's success, for example, Diego has 4 subscribers to its feed in Bloglines, I am closing in on 200 (Atom + Feedburner feeds), and since I publish the full post in my feeds, one could guess that I have many readers who never enter my site.
Ronaldinho is blogging
As I mentioned earlier, several leading footballers are blogging on MSN's "Road to the World Cup" page. Via itsmorelikejustadance I notice that the world's greatest player, Ronaldinho, also is blogging. His first post was published on Tuesday this week.
Funny though that there is a link to Real Madrid's web page in the sidebar, and not to Barca.
Technorati tags: Worldcup, World Cup, football, Ronaldinho.
Funny though that there is a link to Real Madrid's web page in the sidebar, and not to Barca.
Technorati tags: Worldcup, World Cup, football, Ronaldinho.
Three strikes and you're out
Oh, the sweet irony. The delegation of Danish SAS pilots on an unlawful strike were delayed to a negotiation meeting with SAS in Stockholm because (drums please) the flights had been cancelled due to their own strike! They had to wait for a flight with Swedish non-striking pilots and arrived in Stockholm two hours late. (Via DN, not online).
Online papers may get subsidies
Swedish newspapers that are distributed electronically may be eligible for press subsidies according to a final report that has been presented to the Minister for Education, Research and Culture, Leif Pagrotsky.
Buffon and Owen are blogging
Gianluigi Buffon, Michael Owen, Edgar Davids, Claude Makelele, Kevin Kuranyi and Xabi Alonso have all launched blogs on MSN's "Road to the World Cup" web site. Perhaps Kuranyi will have to stop once the World Cup starts. The German Football Federation recently announced that their players couldn't blog during the tournament.
Via Niall Kennedy. Technorati tags: Worldcup, World Cup, football, Germany06.
Via Niall Kennedy. Technorati tags: Worldcup, World Cup, football, Germany06.
PR pros as obstacles?
Jack Shafer, media critic for Slate, is interviewed by PRWeek. His repsonse to the question "How do you feel about PR pros?" is a poor grade for PR practitioners:
Via New Media Musings. Technorati tags: PR, public relations.
"Well, I have found, with only rare exceptions, that PR officers are impediments to journalism. They are the people who man the barricades, who salt the earth before you can get to it to plant your story. The number of times in my career that I have responded to somebody doing outreach PR, trying to convince me to do a story, and turned that overture into a story, you might be able to count on two fingers."I've read reviews like this many times and they should serve as a wake up call. Sure, I can understand that if you are the head of corporate communications at a company listed on NYSE, there's just no room for mistakes. I've worked with people who acted like that, and they had good reasons. But command/control PR is not the future of our industry and every PR blogger and corporate blog out there serves as good examples of how we can move on to a more conversational model of corporate communications.
Via New Media Musings. Technorati tags: PR, public relations.
Ungrateful England kicks out fab coach
The FA fires England's coach Sven-Göran Ericsson and "Svennis" will quit after this summer's World Cup in Germany. In what can only be described as a furious media campaign to get Sven out of the country, English media finally reached their goal. 
Well maybe England doesn't deserve a coach like Sven. Sven-Göran Ericsson happens to be the most successful coach ever to head the English team. Eriksson achieved the most successful start of any England coach, including the legendary 5-1 victory away against Germany when England's hopes of qualifying to the 2002 World Cup were close to nil.
Sven has the highest number of points per competetive game (2.30) and no other coach has managed to get 23 wins. He only needs four more points to get ahead of Bobby Robson who currently has most total points, but in 10 more games than Sven.
OK, who's voting for a comeback for Kevin Keegan?
(Three points awarded for a win, one for a draw. Matches decided on a penalty shoot out are counted as a draw. PPG: Points Per Game. It is possible that Sven should have one more point for the penalty shoot out against Portugal in Euro 2004.)
Source: The FA 1 and 2.
Well maybe England doesn't deserve a coach like Sven. Sven-Göran Ericsson happens to be the most successful coach ever to head the English team. Eriksson achieved the most successful start of any England coach, including the legendary 5-1 victory away against Germany when England's hopes of qualifying to the 2002 World Cup were close to nil.
Sven has the highest number of points per competetive game (2.30) and no other coach has managed to get 23 wins. He only needs four more points to get ahead of Bobby Robson who currently has most total points, but in 10 more games than Sven.
OK, who's voting for a comeback for Kevin Keegan?
(Three points awarded for a win, one for a draw. Matches decided on a penalty shoot out are counted as a draw. PPG: Points Per Game. It is possible that Sven should have one more point for the penalty shoot out against Portugal in Euro 2004.)
Source: The FA 1 and 2.
Bonnier buys 8 blogs
In September, the Swedish daily Sydsvenskan became the first media company in the country to purchase a blog when it acquired the fasion blog Manolo. Today the Swedish media conglomerate Bonnier buys 8 theme blogs from founders Roger Åberg and Andreas "Wille" Wilhelmsson who runs a number of "fever" blogs (feber in Swedish is fever).
Bonnier Newspapers which owns Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, Sydsvenskan and Stockholm City, purchases Prylfeber (gadgets), Macfeber, Ipodfeber, Spelfeber (games), Bilfeber (cars), Hojfeber (bikes), Reklamfeber (advertising) and Videofeber.
None of the blogs have had any major income from advertising according to Roger Åberg. Both founders will continue to work with the blogs which will co-operate with Bonnier's dailies.
No financial numbers were revealed.
Technorati tags: media, blogs.
Bonnier Newspapers which owns Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, Sydsvenskan and Stockholm City, purchases Prylfeber (gadgets), Macfeber, Ipodfeber, Spelfeber (games), Bilfeber (cars), Hojfeber (bikes), Reklamfeber (advertising) and Videofeber.
None of the blogs have had any major income from advertising according to Roger Åberg. Both founders will continue to work with the blogs which will co-operate with Bonnier's dailies.
No financial numbers were revealed.
Technorati tags: media, blogs.
Battle of the ad blogs
Adland has put together a competition called "Battle of the ad blogs" and I'm honoured to be nominated in the first category. Go on and cast your votes, I'd really like to get my hands on one of those neat Pixies CDs.Winners will be announced on Feb 10.
Almega starts blogging about services
Almega, an organisation supporting service companies in Sweden has just launched a new blog called Tjänstebloggen ("the services blog"). The blog will cover such subjects as economic policy, the election and contract negotiations. Almega's President Jonas Milton will be blogging along with Ulf Lindberg, who is responsible for economic policy at Almega.
Metro takes off in 17 new cities
Metro International today starts distribution in 17 new Swedish cities, reports Resumé. Metro will now have a circulation of 740,000 copies and be distributed in 67 cities in Sweden.
- From today we can finally reach the whole of Sweden with our distribution, Metro's Managing Director Martin Gellerstedt said in a press release.
The new cities are Kalmar, Karlshamn, Karlskrona, Växjö, Falkenberg, Halmstad, Varberg, Luleå, Piteå, Skellefteå, Sundsvall, Umeå, Örnsköldsvik, Borlänge, Falun, Gävle and Sandviken.
- From today we can finally reach the whole of Sweden with our distribution, Metro's Managing Director Martin Gellerstedt said in a press release.
The new cities are Kalmar, Karlshamn, Karlskrona, Växjö, Falkenberg, Halmstad, Varberg, Luleå, Piteå, Skellefteå, Sundsvall, Umeå, Örnsköldsvik, Borlänge, Falun, Gävle and Sandviken.
European survey of blogs in PR
A European survey of blogs in PR and communications management will be published tomorrow by Euprera. The survey Euroblog 2006 shows that 68% of PR professionals read or write blogs, but only 36% do it regularly each week. 42% are planning to start a blog within a year, while 32% do not. The survey suggests there is a divide between "converts and sceptics".
According to the survey, the primary reasons to use blogs are
- to be regarded as being cutting edge in terms of using new technologies;
- that the blog is a cheap and simple communication platform; and
- that it creates commitment among employees.
The most important factors limiting the use of weblogs are the inablity to control the communication content, integrating blogs into communication strategy and creating content.
587 PR professionals from 33 countries participated in the survey. Full results will be online tomorrow.
Sources: SPRA, Mediations.
Technorati tags: research, blogs, PR, Public Relations, marketing.
"It reveals a clear divergence between enthusiasts who see wide-ranging benefits from weblogs, from tracking competitors and monitoring industry trends to communicating their own messages directly, bypassing journalists, and "anti-bloggers" who fail to see benefits for their companies or clients."The most enthusiastic users came from Austria, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Germany.
According to the survey, the primary reasons to use blogs are
- to be regarded as being cutting edge in terms of using new technologies;
- that the blog is a cheap and simple communication platform; and
- that it creates commitment among employees.
The most important factors limiting the use of weblogs are the inablity to control the communication content, integrating blogs into communication strategy and creating content.
587 PR professionals from 33 countries participated in the survey. Full results will be online tomorrow.
Sources: SPRA, Mediations.
Technorati tags: research, blogs, PR, Public Relations, marketing.
Off to Barcelona
I'm off to Barcelona for a few days so there won't be much time for blogging, but I'll try to grab a few photos and send to Flickr. You will be able to check them out in the right sidebar of this blog.
Better search charts from Technorati
Technorati has made some improvements to their charting feature. It is now possible to post continously updated charts to your blog. If you click on the chart below you can see the actual posts.
Posts that contain "Media Culpa" per day for the last 30 days.
Get your own chart!
Via Micropersuasion.
Posts that contain "Media Culpa" per day for the last 30 days.
Get your own chart!
Via Micropersuasion.
Swedish grassroots paper planned
Stockholms Fria is planning a "grassroots paper", a weekly paper in the spirit of OhmyNews, reports Pressens Tidning. The planning is in the initial stages and the paper is searching for people who want to work with the project.
Stockholms Fria says in a newsletter that "journalism is too important to be left to journalists".
Technorati tags: citizen journalism, media, newspapers.
Stockholms Fria says in a newsletter that "journalism is too important to be left to journalists".
Technorati tags: citizen journalism, media, newspapers.
Northern Ireland has 100% broadband coverage
Northern Ireland has become the first region in Europe to have 100% access to high speed internet, reports BBC.
Metro goes online, and north
During 2006, international daily Metro will start online editions in most of the 19 countries in which it is being distributed, according to Resumé. The first online edition will be launched in Sweden later this spring and three people will be hired to run it.
- The web will be completely different from the paper, says Sakari Pitkänen, editor in chief of Metro Sweden.
Metro will also launch new paper editions in at least 7 cities in the north of Sweden, starting January 23rd, reports Journalisten. A recruitment company have advertised for 10 distributors in Piteå and 20 in Luleå. Piteå-Tidningen reports that Metro also will be distributed in Gävle, Skellefteå, Sundsvall, Umeå and Örnsköldsvik, but Pitkänen refuses to comment on the paper's expansion plans.
Technorati tags: Metro, media, newspapers.
- The web will be completely different from the paper, says Sakari Pitkänen, editor in chief of Metro Sweden.
Metro will also launch new paper editions in at least 7 cities in the north of Sweden, starting January 23rd, reports Journalisten. A recruitment company have advertised for 10 distributors in Piteå and 20 in Luleå. Piteå-Tidningen reports that Metro also will be distributed in Gävle, Skellefteå, Sundsvall, Umeå and Örnsköldsvik, but Pitkänen refuses to comment on the paper's expansion plans.
Technorati tags: Metro, media, newspapers.
Burying bad news on Friday afternoon
Core Issues on why burying bad corporate news on Friday afternoons might not be such a good idea after all.
"Many experienced financial journalists, and savvy analysts and investors, have long known that some of the juiciest morsels of information cross the PR newswires and the SEC’s Edgar repository starting around 4:00 p.m. Eastern on Fridays."
Via Media Orchard.
"Many experienced financial journalists, and savvy analysts and investors, have long known that some of the juiciest morsels of information cross the PR newswires and the SEC’s Edgar repository starting around 4:00 p.m. Eastern on Fridays."
Via Media Orchard.
A fabulous example of good blog PR
This is a neat example of how to get positive blog coverage for your company. PralinHuset is a purveyor of chocolates and noticed that one of Sweden's more popular bloggers had a craving for chocolate, and decided to send her a present, a box of pralines, when she was sick. Of course, all companies can't send gifts to every influential blogger (just send them to me, thanks) but this was done with consideration and had a connection to the targeted blogger. Simply fabulous.
Technorati tags: pr, blog pr, public relations, blog relations.
Technorati tags: pr, blog pr, public relations, blog relations.
Gawker about FreyGate
I thought this was kind of funny. Gawker writes about the James Frey controversy and illustrates the article with the book cover - in Swedish!
The file seems to be taken from here (http://www.bonnierfakta.se/bilder/nyheter/nyheter_frey.gif), considering its name.
The file seems to be taken from here (http://www.bonnierfakta.se/bilder/nyheter/nyheter_frey.gif), considering its name.
Swedish TV4 launches sports blog/vlog
Resumé reports this morning that TV4 will launch a tv blog on Monday at TV4.se, featuring its sports reporter and chronicler Patrick Ekwall. The blog will include both text and video files and the premiere will coincide with Sweden's football team's tour in the Middle East next week.
Technorati tags: tv, journalism, video blog, vlog.
Technorati tags: tv, journalism, video blog, vlog.
Blocket's turnover, a new corporate myth
Blocket is a leading online marketplace, a "Swedish eBay" if you will. In an interview in August last year, the Managing Director of Blocket said that "This year products for 100 billion kronor will be advertised at Blocket."
This quote has turned into a corporate myth interpreted so that products worth 100 billion kronor were sold at Blocket. N24 writes that "products worth 100 million kronor are sold at Blocket each year". DagensPS writes that "Blocket has a turnover of 100 milllion kronor", and bloggers comment along the same lines. But that is not the case. I can put my summer house up for sale at Blocket for 1 million kronor, but if no-one buys it it will not add to Blocket's turnover any more than if I had advertised my left sock, which no-one bought.
The myth is now back in the news, starting yesterday with N24 (they get it right later on in the article) and followed by bloggers here. As N24 notes, Blocket's competitor Tradera actually sold goods worth 1 billion kronor last year, and it is very unlikely that Blocket is 100 times bigger.
To compare, H&M are aiming at a turnover of 100 billion kronor in the near future.
This quote has turned into a corporate myth interpreted so that products worth 100 billion kronor were sold at Blocket. N24 writes that "products worth 100 million kronor are sold at Blocket each year". DagensPS writes that "Blocket has a turnover of 100 milllion kronor", and bloggers comment along the same lines. But that is not the case. I can put my summer house up for sale at Blocket for 1 million kronor, but if no-one buys it it will not add to Blocket's turnover any more than if I had advertised my left sock, which no-one bought.
The myth is now back in the news, starting yesterday with N24 (they get it right later on in the article) and followed by bloggers here. As N24 notes, Blocket's competitor Tradera actually sold goods worth 1 billion kronor last year, and it is very unlikely that Blocket is 100 times bigger.
To compare, H&M are aiming at a turnover of 100 billion kronor in the near future.
Swedish daily launches the first video blog - and invites readers
The local daily Örnsköldsviks Allehanda is the first Swedish newspaper with a video blog, or vlog. Yesterday one of its reporters, 21-year old Liva Sandra Sverker who is currently working at ÖA's printing house, launched the very first video blog at the paper's web site.
- I think my video blog will be about anything. Everything that makes me mad, happy, sad or surprised will get a spot on my screen, she tells the paper.
But that's not all. The paper invites readers to register for a space of their own, either for a regular blog or a video blog. And it's all for free.
Swedish newspapers have not been as quick to introduce citizen journalism initiatives as for example their Norwegian counterparts. In fact, apart from Norrbottens-Kuriren, most of the initiatives have been about starting journalist blogs, but this is clearly a sign in the right direction.
Technorati tags: citizen journalism, participatory journalism, video blog, vlog.
- I think my video blog will be about anything. Everything that makes me mad, happy, sad or surprised will get a spot on my screen, she tells the paper.
But that's not all. The paper invites readers to register for a space of their own, either for a regular blog or a video blog. And it's all for free.
Swedish newspapers have not been as quick to introduce citizen journalism initiatives as for example their Norwegian counterparts. In fact, apart from Norrbottens-Kuriren, most of the initiatives have been about starting journalist blogs, but this is clearly a sign in the right direction.
Technorati tags: citizen journalism, participatory journalism, video blog, vlog.
Podcasting a success for Swedish Radio
SR, Swedish public service radio, launched a series of podcasts , or "podradio", in May 2005 and the shows have since been downloaded a total of 1.3 million times. Last summer, the show fittingly named Sommar (Summer) was downloaded about half a million times in June, July and August. SR now offer 28 different shows as podradio, the most popular show currently being science show Vetenskapsradion (Science radio) with 40,000 downloads.
For copyright reasons, all podcasts are without music and no solution seems to be close at hand.
Source: Dagens Media.
Technorati tags: podcast, radio
For copyright reasons, all podcasts are without music and no solution seems to be close at hand.
Source: Dagens Media.
Technorati tags: podcast, radio
Last day for Bloggies nominations
Today is the last day for sending in your nominations for Bloggies 2006, the sixth annual blog awards. Click here to go to the nomination page, and if you like this blog, please consider putting it in as one candidate in for example Best European Blog (excluding UK and Ireland).
Devilish logo a cheap trick
The Swedish jeans brand Cheap Monday comes with an attitude and a logo with a skull, wearing a cross turned upside down on its forehead. The devilish logo is now making rounds in the press in the US, something I strongly suspect was the point all along.Chicago Tribune writes that in spite of, or because of, its logo, the jeans are flying off the shelves:
The jeans' makers say it's more of a joke, but the logo's designer said there's a deeper message.
"It is an active statement against Christianity," Bjorn Atldax said. "I'm not a Satanist myself but I have a great dislike for organized religion."
Google AdSense hijacked by Trojan
Many bloggers have ads on their blogs from Google's AdSense. Now Techworld reports that "Google has confirmed it is investigating a Trojan horse that replaces its AdSense advertisements with fake ones hawking pornography and gambling sites, among others".
Technorati tags: AdSense, Google, advertising.
Technorati tags: AdSense, Google, advertising.
"Blogs will change they way you make soup"
Brandweek is making predictions for 2006 and blogs will continue to transform everything, even soup!
Blogs will change everything. For consumers, blogs will change the way you make soup, the way you de-worm your dog and the way you look at your reflection in a store window. You name it. For marketers, the blogosphere in 2006 will prompt them to think very seriously and then somewhat less seriously and finally to think even more seriously than the first time about their business models. Eventually, blogs will force marketers to realign their prejudices and ways of doing business until they are doing the exact same thing, except they'll be spending more time reading blogs.
WSJ.com to launch legal blog
Mediaweek reports "that the Wall Street Journal will expand its coverage of the legal world through the launch of a law-dedicated Web page on WSJ.com along with a new law-centric blog".
Peter Lattman, a former reporter at Forbes magazine, will run the blog.
Technorati tag: blawg, media
Peter Lattman, a former reporter at Forbes magazine, will run the blog.
Technorati tag: blawg, media
Narnia walks out on WTO negotiations
A fake press release stating that the land of Narnia had walked out of WTO negotiations got picked up by financial news agency AFX and was published on several papers' web sites. And you say that bloggers are bad at fact checking ;-)
"HONG KONG (AFX) - The independent state of Narnia has walked out of trade negotiations here, citing pressure from the European Union and the US to enforce liberalization of its garment-related sector.Via Johan Norberg.
Narnian spokeswoman Susan Aslan said in a statement that delegates "were tired of bullying by EU and US delegations and would be returning immediately to their state capital at Cair Parvel."
"If this brings the Hong Kong talks to the knees we will be delighted. Many other delegates told us they are sick of the eternal Lamy winter and are longing for a new trade spring," Aslan said.
The walkout was a first in this round of talks, and follows a similar move by some developing country delegates at the Cancun summit two years ago, the statement said."
2005 in review
Many thanks to all my readers and a Happy New Year to all of you. Here are a few curiosities from the year that passed.
Headline of the year:
"Bottom falls out of thong market" - The Sunday Times, UK
Headline of the year #2:
"Headline here that reflects a story about Chirac, de Villepin and that man Sarkozy" - Financial Times prints dummy page.
Letter of the year:
Tony Blair to Göran Persson - "And thank you for Sven"
"Those were the days" of the year:
Internetworld presents Sweden's 50 most popular blogs, and not a single tabloid journalist is on the list.
Racist of the year:
The ice cream Nogger Black (irony intended)
Ignorant media quote of the year:
"I can't name one single non-journalist with a blog" - Belinda Olsson, Aftonbladet
Most "no comments" in one interview:
Klas Åhlund of Teddybears STHLM in Aftonbladet
Most "gagged" blogger:
Journalist Per Gudmundson was stopped from blogging for the second time in July.
Overall quote of the year:
"I know that I have said what they say I've said" - Oisin Cantwell, Aftonbladet
"Mikael Persbrandt might disagree"-quote of the year:
"It is not a punishment to be seen in Expressen" - Niclas Rislund, Expressen
Photo gallery of the year:
Lothar and love - Lothar Matthäus' website
PR quote of the year:
"She felt that the press wasn’t respectful enough," says a pal, "I mean, Rob’s a publicist, not a magician." - Paris Hilton dropped her publicist Rob Shuter because she was not pleased with his performance.
Top blog referers (2004-2005) to my blog:
1. Bilfeber
2. Adland
3. Mymarkup
4. Reklamfeber
5. Johan Norberg
6. Newsdesigner
7. LA Observed
8. We Make Money Not Art
9. Nya Ordlekar
10. Dick Erixon
Most clicked post:
"Reporters Without Borders announce blog award"
Highest number of visitors per month:
10,953 - January 2005
Weirdest month:
November 2005 - my blog was under an attack from bandwidth stealing referal spammers and suddenly got thousands of page views per day (topping at 4,553 page visits on Nov 17).
Award of the year:
I got an honorable mention in MarketingSherpa's 2005 Best Blog Awards
My 10 most played songs in 2005 according to Audioscrobbler (my profile here):
1 Doves - Black And White Town
2 Tegan and Sara - Walking With A Ghost
3 Kent - Palace & Main
3 Kent - Den Döda Vinkeln
5 Raphael Saadiq - Detroit Girl
5 The House of Love - Gotta Be That Way
5 Death Cab for Cutie - Your Heart Is An Empty Room
8 John Legend - Live It Up
8 Kent - Max 500
10 Teddybears STHLM - Cobrastyle
10 U2 - All Because of You
10 Annie - My Heartbeat
10 John Legend - Let's Get Lifted
10 R. Kelly - Weatherman
10 Raphael Saadiq - Chic Like You featuring Allie Baba
Top 10 played artists in 2005:
1 Coldplay
2 Kent
2 Raphael Saadiq
4 Doves
5 John Mayer
6 U2
6 John Legend
8 Cocteau Twins
9 Anna Ternheim
10 Death Cab for Cutie
Concert of the year:
Raphael Saadiq at Berns, Stockholm.
Reunion of the year:The House of Love
Technorati tags: 2005, best of, blog, review, top 10
Headline of the year:
"Bottom falls out of thong market" - The Sunday Times, UK
Headline of the year #2:
"Headline here that reflects a story about Chirac, de Villepin and that man Sarkozy" - Financial Times prints dummy page.
Letter of the year:
Tony Blair to Göran Persson - "And thank you for Sven"
"Those were the days" of the year:
Internetworld presents Sweden's 50 most popular blogs, and not a single tabloid journalist is on the list.
Racist of the year:
The ice cream Nogger Black (irony intended)
Ignorant media quote of the year:
"I can't name one single non-journalist with a blog" - Belinda Olsson, Aftonbladet
Most "no comments" in one interview:
Klas Åhlund of Teddybears STHLM in Aftonbladet
Most "gagged" blogger:
Journalist Per Gudmundson was stopped from blogging for the second time in July.
Overall quote of the year:
"I know that I have said what they say I've said" - Oisin Cantwell, Aftonbladet
"Mikael Persbrandt might disagree"-quote of the year:
"It is not a punishment to be seen in Expressen" - Niclas Rislund, Expressen
Photo gallery of the year:
Lothar and love - Lothar Matthäus' website
PR quote of the year:
"She felt that the press wasn’t respectful enough," says a pal, "I mean, Rob’s a publicist, not a magician." - Paris Hilton dropped her publicist Rob Shuter because she was not pleased with his performance.
Top blog referers (2004-2005) to my blog:
1. Bilfeber
2. Adland
3. Mymarkup
4. Reklamfeber
5. Johan Norberg
6. Newsdesigner
7. LA Observed
8. We Make Money Not Art
9. Nya Ordlekar
10. Dick Erixon
Most clicked post:
"Reporters Without Borders announce blog award"
Highest number of visitors per month:
10,953 - January 2005
Weirdest month:
November 2005 - my blog was under an attack from bandwidth stealing referal spammers and suddenly got thousands of page views per day (topping at 4,553 page visits on Nov 17).
Award of the year:
I got an honorable mention in MarketingSherpa's 2005 Best Blog Awards
My 10 most played songs in 2005 according to Audioscrobbler (my profile here):
1 Doves - Black And White Town
2 Tegan and Sara - Walking With A Ghost
3 Kent - Palace & Main
3 Kent - Den Döda Vinkeln
5 Raphael Saadiq - Detroit Girl
5 The House of Love - Gotta Be That Way
5 Death Cab for Cutie - Your Heart Is An Empty Room
8 John Legend - Live It Up
8 Kent - Max 500
10 Teddybears STHLM - Cobrastyle
10 U2 - All Because of You
10 Annie - My Heartbeat
10 John Legend - Let's Get Lifted
10 R. Kelly - Weatherman
10 Raphael Saadiq - Chic Like You featuring Allie Baba
Top 10 played artists in 2005:
1 Coldplay
2 Kent
2 Raphael Saadiq
4 Doves
5 John Mayer
6 U2
6 John Legend
8 Cocteau Twins
9 Anna Ternheim
10 Death Cab for Cutie
Concert of the year:
Raphael Saadiq at Berns, Stockholm.
Reunion of the year:The House of Love
Technorati tags: 2005, best of, blog, review, top 10
Are bloggers "public figures"?
Wired writes:
"Can being mentioned on the net turn an ordinary citizen into a public figure with severely limited abilities to fight libel and defamation lawsuits? According to a Florida judge's ruling -- perhaps the first of its kind in the United States -- the answer is yes."
The story is about a woman, Eliza Thomas, who claimed that two TV stations defamed her.
"Judges often will look at media coverage to see if someone fits the criteria to be a public figure. But in the Thomas case, there hadn't been any traditional media coverage; only internet denizens had been involved."
But according to a law professor and media law specialist it was a bad decision "because Thomas didn't act to inject herself into a public controversy -- one of the criteria for determining a public figure".
Question is how this applies to bloggers who actively participate in the online debate.
"Can being mentioned on the net turn an ordinary citizen into a public figure with severely limited abilities to fight libel and defamation lawsuits? According to a Florida judge's ruling -- perhaps the first of its kind in the United States -- the answer is yes."
The story is about a woman, Eliza Thomas, who claimed that two TV stations defamed her.
"Judges often will look at media coverage to see if someone fits the criteria to be a public figure. But in the Thomas case, there hadn't been any traditional media coverage; only internet denizens had been involved."
But according to a law professor and media law specialist it was a bad decision "because Thomas didn't act to inject herself into a public controversy -- one of the criteria for determining a public figure".
Question is how this applies to bloggers who actively participate in the online debate.
145 new Swedish publications in 2005
Sydsvenskan today writes about the media year 2005 and the balkanization of media. Apparently as many as 145 publications were launched in Sweden in 2005, among them five (!) sudoku publications. Since 2002, almost 400 new publications have been introduced in the Swedish market.
von Holstein is blogging
"Sanningen enligt mig" (The truth according to me) is a new blog by IT guru Johan Staël von Holstein who has been the entrepreneur behind for example Icon Medialab and Letsbuyit.com. Glad to see that I'm almost two years ahead of him this time ;-)
