Know this or fail.

Before I dig my own grave here, there is just a few things I need to address and confirm that I am most aware of, and perhaps should pertain to more regularly;

1 - Blogs are invaluable for creating connections with customers, peers, general public.

2 - You can get your mitts on some SEO goodness.

3 - Accessibly showcase your chosen talent, skill or opinion.

4 - Millions of other previously over-blogged reasons.

These well-rounded points are not my 'beef' with blogs. With far too often proclaims of being bogged down with work and promises of regular posts, I'm guilty of neglecting my wee blog pal. It's not the blogs that rattle me it's the bloggers, the constant to-do and not-to-do lists of things you MUST abide by to be a successful and valid creative, of any means or field.

Rants are beautiful things but here mine ends, as to anyone who reads this will nod in silent agreement. For me it's simple, Yes, I do need to blog more, and yes, I do know why and what to do, but I also know how to naturally communicate with folk. Whether I want to talk about recent inspirations, projects or simply my experimentation with a new brand of teabag, these things are ok to talk about through any medium.

So to one and all, use what you need to when you want to. Pop on Twitter, Foursquare it or get KILTR-ed up, just talk like a person who loves what they do and folk will respond and enjoy.

COMING SOON - New blog posts.

D.

A change is gonna come...

Yep, yep, It's all change here at Distil. I'm pleased to announce the launch of our NEW site and blog will be taking place on Monday 24th September! A swish, wordy wonderland redesigned and built by the fantastic LiamR.

Our site will be home, not just to a new look, but to a new 'Works' section, showcasing some of the copywriting and creative concepts we've produced for our exciting clients.

A brand spanking new blog will feature on the site too which will be the hub of all our chat, inspirations, news and project updates. Coinciding with the launch of the blog is Social Media Week Glasgow, 24th-28th September, where I will be taking part as a volunteer. To celebrate I will be christening the Distil blog with a week long coverage of the events and experiences of the week. Some sweet timing has also meant that the site launch will be swiftly followed by some exciting announcements about our involvement in recent projects, all very hush hush and exciting. Keep your eyes and ears peeled!

Before the madness strikes we are kept busy with our work for Outback Gallery, Port Mor and the David Dale Gallery. Our Twitter will be a blaze with updates and news so be kept in the loop @distilco.

D.

Social Shinanigans

It's been almost a year since I volunteered in any capacity. The time had arrived again...

This was my first Social Media Week experience, this time last year I was mastermining my Distil Copywriting plan and things have been manic. Comfortable in my wordy accomplishments and workings to date I thought I'd use my week's holiday to network, learn and, as thanks to my role as a volunteer, receive free tea and cake.

Day 1

It didn't take long before I realised how much I miss volunteering. Meeting fellow enthusiasts and throwing youself into the nervous, excited chat. The SMW team are a great bunch of students, professionals and lovers of all things social media. The Skypark Social Media Lounge was home to not only a breathtaking view of our stunning Glasgow but to some tasty Where the Monkey sleeps tea and cake. Even more exciting was the presence of Glasgow roasted coffee company Dear Green.

The schedule for SMWGla is brimming with talks, discussions and meet-ups, too much to choose from really.

So first up was a talk delivered by the Glasgow Business School - Sentimental Analysis. I knew little of this subject when I entered the room and I'd be lying if I knew any more when I left. The enthusiasm of the speakers was admirable but the whizzing through the basics and foundations of it's relation to data analysis quickly lost my interest, and most of the other listeners'. Essentially the search for emotional content and the techniques implemented to derive patterns and conclusions from copious amounts of data underlined the talk. Software packages such as R, BrandWatch and GATE were discussed but I feel I lacked an understanding of their difference to one another, leading to no further investigation by me.

Monitoring social networks and the discovery of emotional content interested me the most.

Branded Content

When registration opened for Social Media Week Glasgow, Innerear Uk's 'Social Advertising Innovation' event was the first I signed up for.

Panelists Dougal Perman and Anny Deery of Innerear Uk were joined by Peter Sigrist of 33 Digital, via the wonders of technology. The discussion revolved around the changing landscape of advertising and marketing and the nature of social campaigns and their levels of engagement. This evolving marketplace of user-generated content illustrated how this social media content can develop and strengthen brand image and identity.

Dougal highlighted that this was a 'transition phase', a rush of experimentation with the effective use of social means and how individuals and communities interact with various brands, and further this engagement via active sharing. However, this freedom and phase of excitement is underlined with the red tape and restrictions that need to hover in the background, as for every genuine 'fan' will be an abuser of this freedom. Examples of this included Skittles' infamous site, completely user-generated content that was victim to vulgar, offensive postings via the skittles hashtag.

Despite this, Peter believed that the overall success of this campaign meant that the risk was worth taking to create an original stream of user content. It opened up new channels for engagement, and illustrated how even an initial disaster isn't always intergral to the bigger picture success, e.g Boris Johnston.

Another interesting point made by Peter was the idea of the 'Fan', the hardcore sharers and creators of relevant content, they are not prone to circulation bribes but do it for the love of the brand, quanity over quality springs to mind. Getting to the right people rules over numbers.

To link in nicely with my first Social Media Week blog post is the presence of Dear Green, Glasgow coffee company. Doug spoke of their Facebook interaction with 'friends' and how they advertise their everyday routines such as roasting. When a new batch of beans is ready for roasting, Dear Green invite folk over to watch. This is infact, a pretty slow, uninteresting process but the idea of announcing and actively including people in this process is simple engagement. Also, while you're there you inevitably treat yourself to a wee coffee and cake.

Looks like we have to roll with the times and get stuck in. As long as people engage, share and respond then the shelf life of any brand can be extended.