Ringing in the new decade with a commercial bang

With the New Year just days old, I can appreciate why many of us, sick of our austerity-ridden times, can’t wait to herald in a bright new, shiny decade of hopes, dreams and promises with a flurry of fireworks (even though we apparently haven’t decided what these ‘inbetween’ years will be called yet!)

While I’m not blinded by this starry-eyed thinking, I’m more than ready to look to this inspirational light in my professional life. I’d be deep in SBO territory(stating the bleeding obvious as my former ex-Fleet Street journalism tutor would quip) if I told you the only way small business owners, sole traders and freelancers like myself can survive this economic fall-out is to adapt and diversify our skills and services to the ever-changing business landscape.

On top of this more general trend, during 2009 I watched the media industry I’ve worked solidly in for 12 years morph again and again. The emergence of free newspapers, rising tide of online news & entertainment, citizen journalism, the blogorati, social networking….

None of these elements alone are new threats to the status and security of traditional print journalists. But once the strength and combined measure of this heady mix is stirred, will many one-trick hacks be left too shaken? For some, this communications cocktail could be too much to stomach, or even prove lethal.

So, spurred on by my survival instincts, this week I’m launching a new strand to my business.

From now on, I’ll wear two writing hats – one will remain in journalism and the other will supply copywriting, PR, marketing and media consultancy services to the corporate world.

After completing a brilliant commercial writing course in November, run by Linda Jones and Carol Garrington of Passionate Media, my metaphorical pen is primed, precise and brimming over with purpose.

Here’s to a successful 2010 for all!

Dancing the strictly minute waltz

Picture the scene. The venue’s a buzzing conference hall. A group of smartly-dressed strangers gradually gravitate towards each other, as they swap bemused looks and fiddle with their fat wad of business cards. Before long they’ve bunched together to form a straggly queue. Neat rows of chairs – lines of two facing in towards each other – are set out just a few feet away. Perky, efficient-looking women with clipboards flit around and start ushering bums onto seats.
Welcome to the world of speed networking. You might think the idea sounds slightly bonkers and smacks of tackiness. But whoever thought of transferring the runaway success of condensed romantic connections to the corporate world was on to something.
When I registered for my first taste of speed networking at the Business North West event at Manchester Central last week, bystanders were reaching for their cameras and I felt a palpable buzz in the air. As I collected my free soft drinks token (‘You’ll be parched when you’re done!’ winked my clipboard lady), part of me felt inspired to rise to the challenge of creating a 60-second ‘elevator speech’ to market my skills and services. The other half berated myself for being drawn to the idea.
Guess which half I listened to? With the ‘USP’ mantra buzzing around my head, I duly became an attentive bum on seat. Then, with an undeniable comedic edge to his voice, I suddenly heard a man’s voice breaking through the polite chitter-chatter, bellowing: ‘Alright, you lot! Come on, we haven’t got all day…’ Dressed in a mock-army jumper and beret, our speed networking guru was taking us by the short and curlies. Blimey, he meant business!
The rules are simple, we were told. When you hear the first blow of the whistle, you swap contact cards with the person sitting opposite you (‘No shaking hands! We don’t want any swine flu!)’ and row one starts their 60-second sell. ‘After the minute’s up, you’ll hear another whistle, like so!’ we were told, before hearing another shrill toot. For the next minute, row two was to pitch. Whistle blow three was everyone’s cue to obediently shuffle two seats down our line. Then, row one were to launch into their pitch again, with a fresh equally-dazzled partner. ‘Right, got it? Are you ready? Go!’
I spent the next adrenalin-charged hour of my life, firing out my pitch, intently absorbing an array of spirited sells (only one networker wimped out by just handing me a leaflet, saying, ‘It’s all there.’), hopping over tangled bag handles and scattering business cards in my wake. All the while, our mock military leader cut us no slack. ‘Come on quick, quick! Get a move on!’ he spluttered, parading up and down, like a Dad’s Army extra on heat. Then, before I knew it, our time was up. ‘That’s it! You have been speed networked!’ barked Mr Beret. ‘Tell everyone. And remember to make that call, and take that call!’
After surviving such an intense sparring experience, I felt like punching the air triumphantly or jerking my arms into a Jerry-Springer style dance. But then I remembered the dozens of business cards I was clutching. ‘What did you think?’ one networker asked, as we wandered off to rejoin the diluted world again. ‘I feel…. networked!’ I joked.
I’ve gained many useful contacts and two potentially-lucrative connections from that surreal, sales-charged 60 minutes. And if I ever get stuck in a lift, I certainly won’t be lost for words.

Small ripples are the new-splash

There was a radical shift in the course of the history of the British newspapers last Friday. But when I heard about London’s Evening Standard morphing into a free newspaper, there seemed to be little in the way of big fanfares or ‘where were you when…’ sentimental posturings running through the majority of reports and commentary.

Instead, the tone was practical and forward-thinking. The old tried-and-tested newspaper model, which relied on people buying news in hard copy format, was on its last ink-smudged legs. Your crystal ball is as accurate as mine, but I still believe there will be survivors once this cull has run its course, especially amongst local papers who tap into the essentially-human instinct to feel part of a community.

Despite this possible kiss of life, who wouldn’t argue the death of the printed news has been hastened by a new breed of free commuter-friendly papers? But it’s our ever-increasing love affair with the internet which threatens to consign the once mighty bastions of Fleet Street to history.

It’s a prospect I feel torn over. As a devourer of hard copy national and local broadsheets and tabloids, part of me can’t imagine a world without them. Then again, I have to confess I’m as smitten with clicking and sharing news online, as the rest of the country – make that the world – seem to be. Confession: Where did I first get wind of the Evening Standard story? Via an online news alert message, of course. The news is dead, long live the news.com!

Citizen journalism and the rise of blogging has created a world where everyone’s free to make their individual unique ripples vibrate through the great rising wave of online communication. This print-eroding tide is anything but virtual – it’s become ingrained in the beating hearts and real Wi-Fi habits of the nation.

In this ever-changing multi-media world, a good splash will always be a good splash…even if you can’t read all about it in the bath.

Where does that leave me? Well, I’m swimming with the tide. My own ripples began with the creation of this blog. And now, after cataloging a wide range of articles I’ve written over the last 12 years, for a variety of magazines and newspapers, I’m now focusing on posting them online.

Check out the first examples by clicking on the link Published Work. More to follow in future posts.

Change begins from the ground up

The old saying that no-one ever wanted to become a journalist for the money, still holds true today. Often we wouldn’t win any popularity contests in the eyes of the general public either. But I’ve always believed being a hack can be an immense force for good. We reach into people’s lives and reflect what ‘real’ people want, feel and think. Journalism is all about working from the ground up – finding the story behind a press release, talking to people on the streets, giving them a powerful voice.

With this spirit in mind, I recently had the pleasure of meeting Karen Sherwood, chief executive of ROAR(Rotherham Open Arts Renaissance). The aims of ROAR are: to provide support for artists living and/or working in Rotherham, to provide a ‘one stop shop’ for schools statutory bodies, community groups and businesses wanting to access and employ artists, as well as to establish a sustainable independent working arts centre in Rotherham.

As we toured around the city centre, there were clear signs of deprivation – but we also met others who share Karen’s drive and passion to provide the people of Rotherham with a positive future, through the power of creativity. Now that’s really something to ROAR about.