Footballers Tweet No More...

I know I'm making more of an effort to blog this year, but even I still can't believe Iv'e reached as low as tweeting about Football...oh well!

Companies ban their employees from using social networking sites, we all know it happens…You get into work one day and suddenly realise can’t get on Facebook, but you don’t want to ask anyone about it because you know you shouldn’t be using it in the first place, so quiet rumours go around the office until somebody confirms that Facebook has definitely been blocked.
   

So there’s nothing unusual about Manchester United blocking social networking site for their players either.  Except that they’ve completely blocked the players from using social media in their own time (which, let’s be honest makes up most of their time!).

There is a definite logic behind this, looking back over the last year or so there’s been a couple of incidents with players venting their frustration at managers through the powers of Twitter, first there was Darren Bent prior to his move to Sunderland who went on a complete tirade, really showing his feelings.  More recently, Liverpool player Ryan Babel let his frustration show when Benitez didn’t play him.

The issue I see is, where in a player’s contract does it say they are not allowed to use social media?

It is completely understandable that there should be a clause saying something along the lines of “you must not slag off the club or any of its employees”, and that’s fine, but Man U are saying that their players can’t use social media under any circumstances.

In my opinion this is a big mistake.  With the correct restrictions in place (see above) Twitter can be a great way for fans to relate to their football idols, improving the relationship between player and fan.  It’s not different to a company using Twitter.  It’s about the relationship, the conversation, and footballers are a brand in their own rights.  That’s why sponsors pump so much money into them.

If I was a sponsor, I would want the footballer to be talking about our brand through any means possible, not just in pre-arranged press conferences.

So ultimately, although Man U have good reason to restrict what players say, I really don’t think it’s right to ban them completely. 

Red Card.

Who's Turning The Apple Rumour Mill?

I can't believe it.  It's the 19th January and I still haven't updated the blog this year.  It's a disgrace, and I need to make it right.  So here goes....

Apple.  Probably the most respected, most blogged, tweeted and talked about company going.  Everyday there is a new rumour about one of their products.  Whether it's the iPhone 4.0 or the iTablet/iSlate, everywhere you look there are rumours surrounding Apple.

I just can't work out where the rumours comes from.  We all know that car manufacturers leak images of upcoming vehicles or accidentally happen to tell car photographers where they might be testing the new heavily disguised bland-mobile, but is this what happens in the technology world as well?

I'm sure there is some truth to the rumours about new Apple products, but when Apple haven't even confirmed there's definitely going to be a Tablet-like product, where are the rumours coming from?  Where do videos like this iTablet Video come from?!


It would be naive to think that Apple's PR department doesn't have some sort of hand on the stirring spoon, but I believe there's more to be found out by looking at the overall branding.

Apple = passionate people


That's what the brand breathes. The customers know Apple put their all into their products, so they like to give their all back.  The high level of technology, classy simple design and ease of use mean that the Apple brand stands for everything that techy, classy and designer people want.  Therefore the public get excited about new product launches.  Obviously it's the people that want Apple products who are blogging, tweeting etc, and Apple appear to have realised this and seem to release small bits of information into the public domain, sit back and watch their customers do all their PR work for them, as it explodes into a full news story.

So Apple's success appears to balance between clever, guarded branding mixed with passionate and knowledgeable customers who want the newest technology now.

Clever, especially compared to their competition....By the way, how did your Windows 7 launch party go down? FAIL