There seems to be a real push at the moment for people and organisations looking for ways to demonstrate the status of their online profile in a quantifiable way. For those of us using Twitter it has been about our Klout score, but now there’s a new kid on the block.

The Peer Index appears to pull more of your profile to build a richer calculation of your online profile. It takes into account your activity, authority and audience across multiple social networking sites. The results are also presented in a engaging way, almost a version of your own personal infographic.

However there are questions over how reliable these stats are and whether the database of information being used is mature enough to give accurate results. From my personal perspective they got it spot on. My score and profile can be viewed through the site itself. A score of 37 is only really a number, but my interest areas and online sources, including Wired, Mashable, technology, lifestyle and business certainly supports the online profile I want to build.

Measurement is a key factor in the progress of online comms and specifically with social media. We see on a daily basis that data is readily available, how this is packaged up and used can be just as important to individuals as it is to big business.

Are the Royals making a come back? There’s certainly been plenty in the press recently about them. We have a Royal wedding to look forward to with William and Kate, then there’s the film that has now won virtually every award going; The Kings Speech. But are they ready to engage with the people when it comes to new media channels?

I’ll admit now that when I went along to my local cinema with friends I didn’t have high expectations for a film that was based on a monarch making speeches for 3 hours. I was obviously very wrong, the film was fantastic, well written, well acted and I certainly haven’t been so engrossed in a film for a long time.

What I found really interesting was the emphasis on radio being such a massive culture game changer. Speaking to the masses via the radio was such seen as a massive step forward in the way the King of England had to present himself. The radio, something in today’s world can be easily over shadowed by TV(3D or not) and the internet. Now if we look at the role of our future King, I’m hedging my bets on William by the way, how will he take to the new media channels and ensure that he  reaches ‘the people’?

The sign’s so far are positive. William has managed the press well, with organised photo shoots and TV interviews. The very fact that there was a behind the scenes documentary during his time at university was probably a sign of things to come. It’s also been refreshing to see the Monarchy on Facebook, opening up and allowing us all to see and understand the lives of the royal family. What is even more impressive is their measured approach, so no signs of Harry tweeting the latest events from a night out.

So it’s certainly a Like from me on Facebook and long may it continue, I’m definitely a fan.

Only the second week back at work in 2011 but already there’s plenty good things to report on. The numerous reports attempting to predict 2011 have helped to promote many new trends and tools available. I’m writing this post to bring together just a few of the great and the good that I have seen this week.

3 is the magic number
Actually numbers in general seem to be the magic in marketing at the moment. Data and the presentation of stats is as popular as ever. The use of infographics certainly makes it enjoyable to look at numbers. One of my favourites was posted on the Mashable site, looking at Facebook vs Twitter. In fact infographics seem to be coming fast and furiously and in many shapes and sizes. Again a quick search on Mashable and they have their own post pulling together some of the best from 2010. My personal favourite is an oldie but a goodie – number 3, the web trend map.

A picture speakers a thousand words
Another creative review of 2010 can be found from Getty with the 27letters. A great use of imagery to define the stories of 2010. I could write more but as the subtitle suggests, the images speak for themselves.

Remember to take your tablets
At the CES event in Las Vegas there were  plenty of new products on show from all the major players. But as you would expect after the launch of the iPad, tablets were the talk of the town. From the conversations I’ve had at work this week it certainly seems that the ipad will have some serious competition. The Blackberry PlayBook and the Motorola Xoom are just two that stand out but a quick search and the online conversations seem to suggest that the consensus is in support of Apple, who are still ahead of the pack and setting the standards for the others.

Well fingers crossed next week will bring just as many interest topics and conversations. Now to enjoy the weekend!

Multimedia overload is common place when working at a brand and digital agency. But it really hit home when I read an article on Open Forum, a community for small businesses. The article was called Doing One Thing and Doing it well. In it, the author basically talks about the benefits of concentrating on doing one part of business real well, better than anyone else. But is this the answer for how to consume media? Should we just utlise every last tweet? upload and share every picture through Flickr or video through YouTube? Well in many ways yes.

It’s incredibly difficult to keep all the bases covered as an individual, and many corporates struggle to build deliver a rounded and consistent brand message. So my advice would be to concentrate on one channel, watch and learn, then spread your wings at a time that is appropriate. Personally it’s my blog and twitter that fit my needs and so they are the channels you’ll find me in most.

I was reading an article on e-consultancy’s blog, written by their Director of Innovation, Chris Lake, about writing for the web. It’s a really informative piece and he certainly follows his 23 useful rules. Personal favorites include ‘The am I a dickhead rule’ and one that hurts me most on a daily basis – ‘The plain English rule’.

It got me thinking about the content that I read on a regular basis and the amount of content that I can consume during the day. I almost said working day but my iphones and laptop pretty much allows me to cover the full 24 hours. With so much to read the style and quality of content has become key to finding trustworthy content.

These days everyones a writer, unfortunately that doesn’t mean everyones a good writer.

This fact is made even more obviously through the different formats you can find online. To tweet is a true art-form and certainly follows the adage that it’s harder to write less but say more. However those that can capture your interest, make you laugh or stop and think, have a true talent. Once we find these people we know them as trusted authors and this is a rare thing online.

Wikipedia are the most obvious example of power to the people regarding copy-writing. The belief, and mostly the practice, is that the community self regulates itself. However even this institution has fallen foul of those trying to undermine the content, even if it is for humourous effect and at the cost of Thierry Henry’s reputation.

So how do we find trustworthy authors? These are a few ideas that seem to work for me;

1) Knowing me, knowing you
Referrals and word of mouth have long been the most powerful forms of marketing and they can help here. Look at who your friends, contacts and colleagues are following, linked to or chuckle at on a Monday morning while reading their latest RSS feed.

2) Use the big guns
Every industry has a set of orgnisations that are highly regarded (Mine include – E-consultancy, DBA, BIMA, Mashable) for their content and the people that create it. Follow the organisation and individually follow their employees, then repeat point 1.

3) Don’t miss what’s under your nose
While it seems interesting and exotic to follow people online that you’ve never met before, you shouldn’t forget those around you. If you find someone funny, interesting or even both, in the real world then check them out online.

4) Get stuck in.
You have got to give a bit to get something out. Make sure you add to the community with you own thoughts and opinions. By creating your own content you will be drawing similar people towards you, so you won’t even need to search them out.

There’s plenty of other tips and tricks for finding and trusting content online – feel free to let me know your thoughts.

It’s been a strong year for John Lewis Partnership. They’re advert from the summer of 2010 was widely acclaimed by the ad world and general public alike. They’ve also developed a strong presence with their social media, through the use of apps and networking sites (you can even view the making of the advert on Youtube – even last night a quick tweet from a specialised Waitrose wine account (@waitrosewine) had a positive effect on my purchasing behaviour. At this rate 2011 looks to show the continual brand excellence of the John Lewis Partnership.

Finally I am back on my blog – this post alone is probably more for myself than anyone reading it. It’s a call to arms. Social media is a great thing, see I’ve said it and I truly believe, but now is the time to use it properly.

I’m not going to ramble here about the who, what, where and why of social media – I’ve got far too many other posts to work through for that. But I will give you a starter for what I’ve liked most over the past week.

Hootsuite – using the free or the paid version, both worth their while if you have the need. I use mine mostly on my iphone and it looks and works just as well as it does on my laptop. Give it a go.

Google instant search – I think the possibilities for Google with instant search are numerous – and far too detailed to talk about in this post, but for the time being it’s certainly made my life easier.

Twitter – I’m a little late blogging about this one but the new design of Twitter is working out brilliantly – so much easier to keep up to date and chat across streams.

Anyway that was just a quick update – finally I am back in the swing of things so my updates should be quicker and more fun.

I think I finally had the lightbulb moment. Social Media is the perfect business tool because it’s actually using very old fashioned techniques to allow people to communicate with one another. Sounds simple but add a couple of big branded social media names in to the conversation and everyone gets in a bit of a tizz.

Social networking or digital networking as a colleague of mine re-named it, is about people with a need talking to other people with a solution, service or product. Its an easier, faster and more effective way of being able to open the lines of communication.  Through Twitter I can see what 10 of my competitors are doing while arranging to meet a new prospective client or keeping up to date with the latest news across the industry.

The only problem at the moment is that many people are still too afraid to enter conversations through social media, they are frightened to network, so at best they broadcast, then wonder why no one wants to listen.

We’ll all get there eventually, maybe we will still need email, maybe Facebook and Twitter will dissolve into history, but the techniques will remain the same, even if the tools evolve.

Federer, Woods and Henry, for a couple of years now to promote their shaving range. It’s almost ironic that they were the perfect ‘clean shaven’ celebrities and after a succession of misdemeanors they have become anything but.

First off Thierry Henry was caught cheating, although as yet not punished. Then Tiger Woods opened a can of worms with a car crash and a number of women that aren’t friends of the family. Is Federer next? Highly unlikely, but Gillette must certainly be reviewing their own position.

Maybe their next ad campaign will be based on a darker side of their celebs, under the slogan of;

 ’Everybody likes a bit of rough from time to time’