In praise of the iPhone

The iPhone is the first piece of Apple kit I've ever owned which failed to live up to expectations, and failed to work straight out of the box. It reminded me much too much of using Windows, back in the day.

But now I'm more acquainted with it, I'm a massive fan. (Though, I hasten to add, not a fanboy)

Mobile me - tremenduous FAIL. Totally monstrous.
Apple's communications about mobile me - an even more monstrous FAIL.
Battery life - very poor.
And why oh why did they make the thing NOT fit old chargers and cradles. There is NO reason to do so apart from a desire to force people to buy new ones. Come on Apple - that's not your style. That's Microsoft's.

BUT - the interface is ace. So intuitive, and so easy to use.
The extra apps are a joy - Beatmaker in particular adds a sampling drum machine to a phone. A phone for God's sake.
And being able to access YouTube/iPlayer on such a screen is revolutionary. It really is.
As is the locator. Very nice indeed.


So - all in all, I'm a fan. But I do wish that Apple had got their systems sorted first of all. Maybe next time...

The future of PR in a connected digital online world

10 points to David Cushman for starting a great discussion going about whether we'll soon see a new job in PR (or P2PR as he calls it) which is populated by experts in communicating with people in networks, and across networks. I didn't mean to comment in quite such detail on the post - but I did. So go there for the full story.

But the long and the short of my views: Good PRs should be as comfortable communicating with Facebook users as they are with FT readers. They should know how networks work, and know how to work with networks.

It might be that some PRs develop expertise in digital networks, and do become P2PRs, but I think that all PRs should understand how to do their job - even if they choose not to.

So there.

Two enterntaining ripped-off brands

Two different re-interpretations of world-famous brands caught my eye today, which further illustrate how big brands are no longer in control of their own self-image. This "spoof" Guinness ad (very saucy - according to Marketing Week they're trying to get it taken off YouTube)



And this series of cartoons (sorry, can't remember who tweeted this today) which show the "real" genesis of the Chinese Olympic logo. Sick, but effective.