High Road Communications

There has been plenty of hand wringing and gnashing of teeth over the recent Facebook redesign. Well, not quite that extreme, but the mixed reaction over the refresh is such a telling statement for how social computing needs to constantly evolve and stay fresh and current with its audience – while retaining the familiar look and feel that attracted the audience in the first place.

First impressions obviously mean a lot, and the new design is one that some haven’t quite warmed to.  But even naysayers would have to admit that facebook pages were becoming a pain to navigate and scroll with all the application clutter that would accumulate. On closer inspection, privacy and security feature functionality have been dramatically ramped up (always a good thing). So has the way you navigate your page, access your favourite applications and test new ones before you fully install them (also good). And for now, you can still revert to the “classic” interface but the new look will soon be the only option available.

The refresh reasoning is clearly around easier navigation, less clutter and an improved user experience. But is it a change for the better? The community response will be the judge of that.

Moving forward, the biggest test for any social computing model often involves retaining (and extending) an audience once the newness and the excitement of it all wears off. Facebook’s aims for a clean, uncluttered site layout is one of the main reasons why so many have signed up. And as with any social network, making the transition to a widely used technology platform is the ultimate goal. 

As we become more comfortable migrating to cloud computing, accessing sensitive data and documents on their mobile device - and sharing increasing amounts of personally identifiable information across a number of different services, a potential party-pooper called identity theft has crashed the festivities.

Now, imagine if you could more easily and automatically encrypt all of your emails from now on. Founded in 2004, TrustMe Security provides a free API  for an encrypted and authenticated solution.  From the TrustMe website:

“TrustMe is a technology that allows you to create circles of trust online and incorporate them into your favorite applications and web sites. You can use TrustMe to allow friends and family as much or as little access to your life online as you’d like while easily making sure that strangers don’t know your credit card number or where you sleep.”

Check out this recent video to learn more about how it works:  

As online / identity fraud continues to climb, so too, will demand for services like the ones offered by TrustMe Security. One of the major differentiators that separate the TrustMe application from many of their competitors is how simple it is to deploy. They really do provide, as described on their website, “comfortable email security solution for the masses.“ Check out the TrustMe website, or their blog and their twitter stream.

As we all know, failing to plan is like planning to fail, and having a plan for keeping you and your data safe online is no different.

(Disclaimer: TrustMe is a client of High Road Communications)

Bell Canada’s recent new logo launch got me thinking. When businesses launch new brands, they often welcome the attention that the media pays the news – and why not?

After all, re-branding is all about attracting attention – getting people to look and see. And with well-crafted re-branding strategies, businesses attract interest in not only their new logos and themes, but also – they hope – their products and services.

Still, it’s surprising to see how well re-branding plays out in the media. Countless news stories and blog posts are being published about brands. People are quick to add their own comments to the debate. It’s clear that branding strikes a chord with many Canadians.

Setting aside arguments for or against the logos and taglines companies unveil, it’s interesting to note that the public is deeply engaged in this topic. People love monitoring and considering the messages that companies use.

This is informative for anyone considering a public relations strategy. Certainly companies seek to prime the media pump with press releases and pre-launch interviews, giving reporters and editors the opportunity to spread the word about new brand initiatives. This also gives the public the opportunity to consider the new brands within a rich context of expert opinions and industry insight.

All in all, it helps keep the public interested – and it helps companies become a part of the stories they’re trying to tell.

“A PR practitioner should always think like a journalist.”

Unless you’ve been a journalist, it can be hard to think like one. It involves rewiring a mindset steeped in PR principles and constantly asking “who cares?” and “so what?”

It’s a concept that all successful PR agencies and professionals know and follow, but it’s an abstraction that can be difficult for less experienced consultants to wrap their heads around.

Looking at this recent “Journalism vs PR” debate organized by the Media Standards Trust and the University of Westminster definitely posed some interesting questions, but more importantly hammered home the point that the traditional media landscape is changing. The successful PR pros will be the ones the best at injecting client messages within this brave new media world. At the end of the day, PR is platform-neutral and seamlessly shifting to collaborating with whoever the key influencers are is the ultimate goal.

And if PR is the process of influencing attitudes and behaviour, adopting a journalistic outlook takes it a step further – developing media materials that focus on telling a valuable and “headline-worthy” story first and foremost.