Journalism Immediate Future

In a recent post, WhatsApp stated they are now launching proxy support to users all over the world. What does proxy support mean, I hear you ask? What this means is we’re putting the power into people’s hands to maintain access to WhatsApp if…

In the era of ‘FAKE NEWS’, Facebook has begun its rollout of ‘Facebook News’ for users based in the UK. This service will be a tailored choice of Facebook approved news sources that users can consume on the web or the official Facebook app in its very own tab. With many…

At IF we love all things social. So, we’re always interested in staying up to date with the latest happenings and bringing them to you in our weekly Social Snapshot! Read on to find out what’s been happening in the past week……

If the last week few weeks in the world of social media x politics have taught us anything, it’s that the public does “give a toss” about the cut and thrust of social – even if this politician doesn’t think so. In October 2019, Twitter announced they’d…

Rumour has it that due to the financial pickle Snap has found itself in, the company is toying with the idea of making public Snaps last much longer before disappearing, or *shock horror* even become permanent. Posts shared to the “Our Story” feed…

The battle of good over evil has been fought since the beginning of time. It’s a war that will continue, a never-ending arms race where one side gains dominance with a new weapon until the other side nullifies the advantage and turns the tide. While nefarious forces have been blamed…

How do you take your news? Rolling in the morning on BBC? Heading straight to your favourite news site? In your hands with the ink leaving smudges? The days of exclusively consuming your news from the TV or a newspaper are dwindling for all age groups, no matter the preference.

As the most romantic weekend of the year approaches, I am once again filled with joy as I get to spend it working with one of my favourite clients, working in a fast-paced, action-packed, real-time social media command centre. Social listening has become more than accepted by almost every business…

Sharing third party content is a major part of social media, as I’m sure you’re aware from the countless Buzzfeed lists of ‘things that only kids born in the 90s with Ninja Turtles as parents who watched Friends and grew up in a village will understand’ that appear on your…

Gone are the days when you would receive updates from politicians through a press conference or televised announcement. Instead, more and more state officials are opting to voice their policies and connect with their constituents through popular networks like Twitter and Facebook. According to Pew Research, 61%…

New services like Facebook’s Instant Articles and Snapchat’s Discover allow publishers to host and monetise content on third-party social media platforms, without the need for users to click through to their site. Media publishers are currently uploading content on social media platforms in the hope users will click back to…

As a community manager I get to see the back and front end of a lot of audience platforms. Seeing the content that resonates on a community feed and then ‘popping the hood’ to see how the content actually measures up against other posts and types of interactions. Simply gaining…

In the unlikely event you missed Tinder’s social meltdown last week, here’s a recap of what happened: Journalist Nancy Jo Sales published an article titled Tinder and the Dawn of the ‘Dating Apocalypse’ in this months’ Vanity Fair. Tinder reacted poorly to the article, publishing a barrage…

“What’s Twitter saying?” “What’s the hashtag?” So entwined is social to our world, that to get the latest news we often go there first – but are we right to look to Twitter and other social networks to gauge wider public opinion? A study in 2013 by Pew Research showed…

When news broke earlier this month that a former news executive on whose watch Britain’s phone hacking scandal occurred was joining the ranks of the social media universe, it raised a few eyebrows but also thrust attention on a nascent, high-risk but intriguing area: social media dictating the news. Rebekah…

Did anyone hear about Madonna’s fall last week? Well, yes I think the whole world did and they heard about it in the precise moment even if they weren’t watching the Brits. #BRITs2015 anyone? The power of social. By the time the newspapers had printed…

Some of the staff at Immediate Future are former journalists who have made a transition from traditional media to digital media and now to social media. Some try to forget they even used the humble manual typewriter with all that heavy industrial noise back in 1990. Seems a lifetime…

From success to scandal, Uber are never far from the headlines. Having announced today the latest $1.2 billion dollar cash injection they have received, you can’t help but ask…How have they created a $40 billion company in 5 years? From stereotypical Silicon Valley beginnings, Uber sprung onto…

In 2012, social media became a major source for breaking news. Before newspapers and other traditional methods of reporting had even heard of a story, everyday citizens were updating their Twitter and Facebook accounts to spread the word. Social media’s immediacy meant that it could always be…

You may notice that the internet is slightly quieter than you are used to tomorrow. This is due to numerous internet giants protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). Opponents to the bills state that if passed into…

In the last post we looked at figures from the twentieth century and the lessons that could be learned from their experiences when implementing brand social media training. In this post we’ll investigate some historical recommendations crowdsourced on Twitter over the…

Those looking to ensure staff are equipped to represent their brand across social media platforms could do worse than learn from some of history’s most famous and infamous historical figures. So what can your social media training learn from the past? “To be ignorant of what occurred before you…

This is a two-part series exploring online influencers and their role in social media marketing. Part I looks at the reasons why a brand should focus on wooing influencers over journalists; Part II defines ways of identifying and measuring their influence. Traditional PR vs social media marketing Traditional…

Online crisis phase 1 So, in case you’re not aware of it, the international fashion retailer is facing a bit of a brand crisis. In short, it has been accused by Stevie K of tru.che of copying a line of her jewellery. In the industry it appears that…

So the Royal Wedding quickly became old news. Wills and Kate’s wedding of the year was quickly overshadowed on Monday by the news that the world’s most wanted man has been killed. And while this was a significant day in history, it also became a significant day in the…

You may have heard that Google has changed its search algorithm and with that change, instilled the word Abuserank forever into the minds of SEO experts. According to Google they were spurred into action by the story of Clarabelle Rodriguez and the shocking (and by shocking I…

Having declared last week that it was not illegal to jailbreak iPhones the U.S. government effectively gave consumers the right to fiddle with their proprietary software, allowing them access to other providers or to use apps and music from sources other than…

Image via Wikipedia As I ponder England’s dispirited performance in the World Cup, or to be more honest, listen to my colleagues discuss it, I wonder about what makes us great. How can we be our best? Apparently, the…

Ask any PR or advertising professional about the value of having a story to bring a campaign to life and it’s recommended that you be seated comfortably, ready to listen, with a very sympathetic look on your face. Whereas authors and journalists have the pleasure of…

This ash cloud has been quite a strain, my wife and baby are still stuck in Dubai five days after they were due to fly home. The good thing is that they are staying with friends and have a great support network. What it has shown me is how great…

It’s taken a while but the fashion industry has finally woken up to the wonders of the World Wide Web! Online stores such as ASOS are booming, fashion designers are tweeting like there’s no tomorrow and the majority of high-street retailers now have some form of blog…

With Obama’s ‘masterful use of social media’ and the tweets of his 3 million Twitter fans sealing the election of the Democrats’ golden ticket, can our politicians and parties emulate this success and seduce the online masses and turn them into advocates? There’ll be…

Launching with four new categories, AOP publishing awards opens its doors for this year’s entrants. The new categories acknowledge that social media, is making a significant impact on the media business model. They include, use of video, best podcast,…

6.58pm – Broadcasting now on the goggle box is the BBC’s money programme – all about second life. But wait, if you are at a computer, you can see it in second life and if you miss that, you can see it again in second…

Well I am posting again on [tag]infographics[/tag] sooner than I first expected! Two separate initiatives have recently gone live on the BBC – showcasing great use of visual online tools. The first is a visual timeline allowing…

I’ve been finding myself using the word ‘[tag]infographic[/tag]’ more and more frequently recently. The online medium offers PR new tools and areas of creativity previously just not possible. Increasingly, we’ve been finding that the best solution to communicating complicated messages and concepts online has been…

A new corporate communications service has just launched, charging companies £300 a pop to respond to comment appearing online. By providing a ready, [tag]SEO[/tag]-friendly platform, [tag]newscounter[/tag] is hoping brands under fire will turn to them to get their message across. Unfortunately, I think it misses the point…

Anthony Lilly of Magic Lantern has a column in today’s Guardian looking at the explosion in online video. He suggests that the amount of content now online has resulted in us viewers not being able to find the balanced view: the facts. And that with no editorial…

Emily Bell has run an article in today’s Media Guardian commenting on the Guardian’s new look homepage that grabbed my attention. Most interesting is a point referenced to Jeff Jarvis, highlighting the recent drop in importance for the homepage. Visitors to…