Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian’s omnipotent media editor, said in his leader column earlier this week that Twitter is just the place to break news that won’t hold for long, making the point that it cannot compete with traditional media, such as newspapers and broadcast channels, when it comes to proper in-depth reporting.  Apercu, this is true. 140 characters allows for nothing more than a quick announcement and the immediacy of Twitter gives the potential of billions of eyeballs on your story. In contrast, the page space and analytical prowess of the likes of the nationals and BBC, not to mention rolling news channels such as Sky News (who incidentally told their reporters NOT to break news or re-tweet news on Twitter), allows for much quality and quantity of commentary to be dispensed.

 However, this view of the role of Twitter is a bit short-sighted. The social media platform is not simply a tool to say something short and sharp in 140 letters – it is about sharing information and stimulating conversations across a wide cross-section of people. As a result it cannot be badged so easily. It can, for instance, act as the vehicle to in-depth analysis, or to further enlightenment on a given subject quite simply by linking via it. 42% of all tweets contain links to content – that’s almost half of the people who are tweeting providing some sort of further information beyond their quota of 140 characters. Who is to say that a tweet containing a link to a Youtube video is not more insightful than a news in brief in a newspaper, for instance? Sure, that video may not be providing analytical news but can certainly deeper the understanding of someone’s knowledge beyond what can be said on Twitter. With 90% of internet traffic predicted (by Robert Kyncl of Google) to be comprised of video content within a few years, that is a lot of potential to inform beyond Twitter’s word cap.

Furthermore, Twitter has been specifically designed to allow analysis of topics beyond isolated tweets. The hashtag allows for several conversations to be monitored at once, with multiple commentators conveying multiple points of view, all on one screen. This allows for a balanced analysis of a news event and an instant testing ground for points of view – something that should be classed as ‘instant analysis’ and that only Twitter can do.
 
Hacks shouldn’t be overly concerned at this ability of Twitter to provide analysis though – it is part of the same problem of media having gone digital and of print circulations decreasing. There will alwaya be a place for print media of some form, just not on the unsustainable model of several daily newspapers competing for the same diminishing market. Consumers will always like the fold and textile nature of a newspaper in print, the smudge of ink and the crackle of a creased paper, but it must take its place amongst the new media order where news, insight and the canvassing of public opinion are shared, not held by one medium.

It might be the coldest and (for some) the most depressing time of year, (lack of sun, Christmas holidays long forgotten and for the singles amongst us, the dreaded Valentine’s Day!) however, the first few months of this year has also brought one of the most hotly anticipated and popular exhibitions to London’s Royal Academy; ‘David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture’. Branded ‘Britain’s greatest living painter’, Hockney’s blockbuster exhibition of new landscape works on show from 21st January to 9th April has roused mass public interest to the extent that all pre-booked tickets sold out within weeks of it opening.

Cue a JCPR Cultural Outing! So last Friday, armed with our art connoisseur hats on, Ryan Whelan and I hot-footed it down to Piccadilly’s Royal Academy to see what all the fuss is about.

Hockney presents his depiction of landscape on a variety of media – from the more traditional canvas and sketchbooks to a patchwork of photo collages, film and even iPads mounted on the walls. After a 40 minute wait in the cold, we entered Hockney’s world of colourful landscape, created either on location in his native Yorkshire or from memory in his workshop in Los Angeles. Hockney’s preoccupation with manipulating perspective and space by piecing together images runs throughout the exhibit; be it the hundreds of photos joined to create a photo collage of the Grand Canyon, the jigsaw of canvases to create large-scale paintings or his film work using nine cameras attached to the bonnet of a Jeep and presented across eighteen screens to show differing points of perspective when viewing a landscape.

Fortunately for me, I was accompanied by an art critic, so was treated to insights from ‘I coulda done that myself’ to ‘that one looks dreamy’, and as we walked round the exhibit. However, it became clear that a) This impressive collection needs to be seen (from a distance) to be appreciated, and b) Ryan couldn’t in fact have drawn them himself!

Perhaps the most surprising part of the exhibition was ‘The Arrival of Spring’ series. Why? Because in here you find yourself in a room full of framed prints which are taken from the 75-year-old’s sketches on his iPad. It’s impressive that Hockney not only created these compositions armed with just a stylus on a regular iPad with the scale of a canvas in mind, but also managed to create the prints to the same effect and colourful vibrance as his watercolours. But it does pose the question of how much future artists might rely on the intelligence of their tablets and less on their traditional craftsmanship.

Luckily for Hockney, his more than 50 years’ experience as an artist and gallery-full of works from landscape watercolours to gargantuan 32-canvas paintings secures our faith in his talent. And if that weren’t enough, the very fact that the Royal Academy is rumoured to open 24 hours a day in its last week to give the public a chance to see his exhibition speaks volumes of his colourful, innovative and impressive artworks. Our verdict: definitely worth a visit.

Think back to your journey into work this morning. Did someone smile at you, wish you a good morning, give up their seat to you on the train or give you the 20p you so desperately needed for the coffee that’s going to keep you going through the day?! No, not ringing any bells? When you think back it’s hard to recall the last time someone acted out of kindness towards you, isn’t it? This is not the case for a small coffee house in Bluffton, South Carolina according to an article we spotted here.

In true ‘Pay It Forward’ style, when you enter the Corner Perk coffee shop you are greeted with a smile and a free coffee! I know what you are thinking, they must have gone bust or maybe there’s something wrong with the coffee, but it’s absolutely fine.

So how can they give out coffee for free? Let’s go back to two years ago when a woman went into Corner Perk, ordered her usual drink, paid her bill and left an extra $100. She told the barista that she wanted to pay for the drinks for the people behind her in the queue until the $100 ran out. News soon spread across the town of Bluffton about this woman who would come in to the coffee shop every two months to make large donations to pay for perfect strangers to get their daily cup of coffee. Over time this one woman’s act of kindness influenced and encouraged more people to come into the coffee shop, even people who weren’t planning to buy anything, but who wanted to brighten someone’s day. 

It just goes to show that you don’t need to spend a fortune to do a good turn. Maybe after you’ve read this turn to the person next to you and ask them how they are and make them a nice cuppa! Mine’s a milk no sugar.

Guest post by Alex E.

So, four months ago I became a dad for the first time. And let’s be clear – it’s awesome. I love it.

But why should you care about that? Well, mostly, you shouldn’t. But indulge me and keep reading for a moment because one thing that might be of interest, even if you haven’t got kids, is the whole new world that parenthood has opened up to me.

And I’m not talking about a world where sleep comes in hourly rather than nightly chunks, or where watching The Killing on a Friday night instead of Would I Lie to You? is considered pushing the boat out. I’m not even talking about the weird and wonderful world of mummy and daddy blogging. Not entirely, anyway.

What I’m talking about is a world where empathy is the key currency. Where trust is defined by experience. It’s why I’ll be watching with interest when the Edelman Trust Barometer is officially unveiled later this month. Because when it comes to parenthood, I’m beginning to realise that the rule is simple: if you’ve done it, people believe you when you talk about it.

Let me give you an example.

My son has recently decided that 3am is a fun time for a conversation. It’s not. Well, not unless you’ve got a bellyful of lager and are munching on a Doner kebab (see my earlier comment about Would I Lie to You? for why this isn’t the case for me).

But here’s the interesting [sic] part.

When my wife started looking online for a reason why our boy may have come to this conclusion or for help with convincing him that 3am is a time for sleep not extended vowel sounds – it’s amazing how loud a-goo can sound in the middle of the night – she didn’t bother with the so-called experts.

She went straight to her fellow mums. And she got her answer.

So at the risk of speaking for all parents (another annoying trait that I’ve noticed in a certain section of mums and dads recently), it seems fair to say that we live in a world where the opinion of  Jane from Croydon who has two kids far outweighs the view of Dr Paul Sachs from the University of Liverpool.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that if my son breaks his leg my wife and I will visit Yahoo! Answers and ask a parent in Exeter to help us. We’d go to the doctor. Of course we would. Probably in a blind, teary panic.

But the point is, on the everyday things, the normal stuff like waking up in the middle of the night, we wanted to talk to someone who’d been through it too. Someone’s who’d suffered in the same way we were. Someone who was drawing on experience. Someone who wasn’t quoting a theory or a textbook to answer.

Someone who could empathise.

So what does this mean for PR types like ourselves? Probably nothing that most of you don’t know already but it’s worth re-iterating anyway.

So here goes.

When we’re considering talking to parents about a brand or an idea or a product launch, we first need to give serious thought to who they actually listen to. Who they believe. Who they trust. That way we can speak to them on their own terms and in the right way.

And if you do that, the chances are that, you’ll land on a campaign not built around Gordon Ramsey or Lady Gaga, but around someone who is, well, just like the people with whom you are trying to talk.

A fellow parent.

The kind of person who has also got up at 5 in the morning and Googled “how can something only 60cm long unleash so much poo”.

It sounds simple but it’s worth remembering. Especially the next time your client asks you to ‘tap into the mummy audience’ or ‘activate dads’.

Plus, in its own way, it’s a pretty exciting prospect too. Particularly for parents themselves.

People who call a trip to Mothercare a day out and go to bed at a sensible time.

People like me.

Oh, and by the way, Dylan’s sleeping through again now.

Thanks Jane.

Phew! It’s Wednesday January 17th, which means that, by the mere fact you are reading this, you have made it past the supposed ‘most depressing day of the year’. This is the third Monday in January when reality really hits home – Christmas is a distant memory, the nights are long, dark and cold and consumers everywhere feel the financial burn from a combination of unchecked spending and one month since the last pay cheque. Is this an unfortunate truth or, as some news sources suggest, a made-up calendar date to allow marketeers to create some welcome media buzz for their clients at a time of consumer spending hibernation? My money is on the latter, but either way, its existence is now engrained in the media and PR’s psyche.  

One example of how this was used to good effect this week was a shrewd guerilla move by creative agency/ publishing house Church of London (the team behind ace fashion/skate/surf mag HUCK), who produced The Good Times, a free ‘good news’ newspaper which was distributed across London on Blue Monday, filled with good news stories and messages of encouragement. Containing interviews with social entrepreneurs and some lovely artwork and photo’s, the initiative was designed to spread joy and banish the January blues.

A nice idea which ticked the checklist for producing good content. It was free, sharable, spread good news or made people laugh AND it was original – taking a well-known media folly and effectively turning it on its head. The association and new traffic to Church of London’s portfolio of magazines wouldn’t have hurt either.

The creative team behind it may (or may not) have been rubbing their hands at their timely co-ordination with other events in the media. On the other side of town from the chouette East london offices of CoL, the Leveson inquiry proceeded apace at the Royal Courts of Justice – a sad spotlight on the declining power and influence of the print newspaper establishment. As The Good News splashed happiness and joy, court 73 of the RCJ spilt the blood of the old guard – the untouchables of print business. An uneasy and unintended parallel, but one that perfectly exemplifies the fluctuating fortunes of traditional print media versus the new king – content.