a date with the easter bunny

by Darren Caveney

I’d lay a bet with you all right now: You work longer hours now that you did five and 10 years ago (and for our older followers I double guarantee than you work more hours now than you did 20 years ago)

Some of you will recall the very real process of ‘winding down’ at work before going on holiday (and I was working in the private sector at the time, before anyone pipes up about the cushy public sector)

Did you ever have to produce lengthy ‘handover’ notes for colleagues to pick up your projects whilst away?

And at the risk of sounding like a martyr, how many of you regularly take a proper lunch break? (a rushed sandwich at your PC whilst clearing your email inbox doesn’t count)

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in defence of fun

By Gillian Hudson

Like me, you probably spend 99% of your job communicating about really serious issues. Thinking back over the last week or so, I’ve worked on a projects on dementia, fostering and youth unemployment. But sometimes, just sometimes, I work on projects that are a bit lighter. You might even call them ‘fun’.

A case in point is the first anniversary of our Downing Street cat, Larry, arriving here to catch mice. 

Now if I’ve learned anything during my communications career, it’s that celebs and pets go down well. You’ve only got to look at the popularity of Pop Bitch to know that. So I worked on a little digital communications plan for Larry’s first birthday here. There were pictures taken by a colleague, a couple of tweets and best of all, a Storify of his time with us so far.

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communications: WD40 for organisations.

by Darren Caveney

So, spring well and truly sprang over this weekend.

Temperatures soared to a balmy 17 degrees in my back garden, inspiring me to dig out the trusty old lawnmower from the back of the garden shed.

An old petrol model, battered and bruised from some less than gentle handling, it’s now rusty with age.  But it can still be relied upon to tame my urban jungle of a lawn.

With the sun out, it was time for the first cut of the year.  Four hours preparation, clipping hedges and edges and weeding borders then the main event.  The glory job.  Can you imagine the sense of anti-climax when the thing wouldn’t start?

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in defence of communication ethics

by Sarah Williams

In a report in PR Week this week, Lord Bell, chairman of Chime Communications, the group that owns Bell Pottinger, claimed that questions about the conduct of the company’s PR division have had no effect on trading.

Bell Pottinger were last year subject to a sting operation, carried out by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and published by the Independent, in which senior members of the firm were alleged to have boasted about their influence in Westminster.
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it started with a tweet...

by Matt Bond

At Cornwall Council we were gently nudged into using social media by some forward thinking Members and keen amateurs in the comms team.

Step forward @CllrAWallis, @CllrJeremyRowe, @RobNolanTruro, @SteveDouble and @alexfolkes, Cornwall Council’s self-styled ‘twitter gang’. When they first started tweeting from meetings, it’s fair to say that its potential as a groundbreaking communication channel between the Council and the public took us by surprise.

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managing your own reputation online

by Sarah Williams

Employers are increasingly turning to social media as part of the recruitment process. Whether you view this as a gross invasion of privacy or just a sign of the times, it is fast becoming the norm, so how far should you take this into consideration in your online life?

Nowadays, it isn't enough to simply be present on social media, you also need to be active, but exactly how much sharing should you do? More and more employers are looking at online profiles as part of the recruitment process, as this BBC news programme confirms, so do you play it safe and look after your reputation or throw caution to the wind and let everything 'hang out' online?

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turning tides

by Hannah Rees

We’re a bit different down in Cornwall. We’re not the sleepy backwater people might have once believed us to be. Since Cornwall Council was formed almost three years ago, things have changed significantly. New leadership, new Members and a new vision has revolutionised the way we do business.  For the comms team, it’s been a gift.
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future leaders network

by Kim Neville

LGcommunications has nominated 16 communications specialists from local authorities across the UK to take part in a new leadership programme. The LGC Future Leaders Network, aims to support up and coming officers, connecting them with peers and some of today’s local government luminaries to help them shape their thinking and forge relationships for the future.

What does the next generation of local government chief communications officers look like? I may have had a glimpse into the future yesterday when I joined the first gathering of LGcommunications Future Leaders’ Network in Westminster.

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social media and the council mag

by Ross Wigham

Council magazines may seem like a strange topic for discussion given the amount of time and effort we now spend on social media (see my previous post) but I just wonder if we’re now discarding a tool that’s still got so much to offer in the internet age.

Whatever the format, people still love reading stories that build a narrative about where they live and what interests them.

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