http://entrepreneurship.sbsblogs.co.uk Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:35:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 http://entrepreneurship.sbsblogs.co.uk/silicon-valley/the-growth-of-the-corporate-blog/ http://entrepreneurship.sbsblogs.co.uk/silicon-valley/the-growth-of-the-corporate-blog/#comments Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:45:13 +0000 Barbara http://entrepreneurship.sbsblogs.co.uk/?p=334 Blogs, Twitter feeds and even Facebook pages are increasingly featuring in the arsenal of PR strategies employed by large corporations and public institutions. This is not an idle choice: corporate blogs at both Google and Apple have at times, been the locus of intense media attention at times when new products have been announced or controversial decisions defended. Yet the use of such modes of communication raise peculiar challenges for companies willing to embrace new media, relating to the tensions between maintaining central control of information flows and the desire to react quickly when criticism arises in online networks or discussion groups. What do companies expect to gain from maintaining this sort of online presence and what are the implications of these trends for both the development of traditional PR strategy and business journalism? Why are so many firms embracing social media as part of their communication strategies? Is it about free PR and getting the message across or is it more about reacting to online criticism?

]]> http://entrepreneurship.sbsblogs.co.uk/silicon-valley/the-growth-of-the-corporate-blog/feed/ 0 http://entrepreneurship.sbsblogs.co.uk/authors/parties-campaigns-and-representation-the-political-impact-of-blogs-and-social-media/ http://entrepreneurship.sbsblogs.co.uk/authors/parties-campaigns-and-representation-the-political-impact-of-blogs-and-social-media/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:44:39 +0000 Barbara http://entrepreneurship.sbsblogs.co.uk/?p=337 The outcome of political careers and even campaigns is increasingly dependent on the successful mastery of new communication tools including social media. Many MPs and members of Congress are embracing the use of social networking tools to keep in touch with their constituents, whilst Facebook, YouTube and even Twitter have potentially changed the nature of election campaigns in reaching out directly to grass-roots supporters, with the recent US presidential campaign also showing how effective these tools might be in raising funds. At the same time, it is not clear whether these tools are likely to prove effective in engaging any voters except those who are already interested in politics, or whether their apparent ‘democratisation’ of traditional party structures is to be believed.  Do we yet have any evidence to suggest that social media has genuinely altered the nature of election campaigning?  Is there any evidence to suggest that traditional gate-keepers in the political communication process (political parties, press secretaries, political editors in mass media, etc.) are truely being bypassed? Or that traditional political institutions are being altered?

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