Why Social Media is critical for the Conservatives

David Cameron’s speech this afternoon left us all in no doubt that the Conservatives are confident about a win at the next General Election.

So confident, that already I’ve heard him referred to as ‘the next Prime Minister’ in several blogs.

But the margins aren’t that different and we’ve seen bigger turnarounds before. Party chairman Eric Pickles himself told the conference just a few days ago that, “it’s not in the bag yet”, or words to that effect. He was right.

We were all confident of Hillary Clinton’s victory for months, but it turned in the favour of Barack Obama. Why? Well, he was speaking to voters in a different way. He was engaging them individually through social media, giving them the power to spread the word and allowing everyone to get involved on the issues that mattered to them (instead of just those who’d signed up for coffee mornings and leafletting).

The Conservatives need to address this now. More precisely, MPs and PPCs need to address this now. Candidates need to get on Twitter, Facebook (if not already) and make sure their presence on the web ties everything together.

This video, about social media websites for Conservatives, neatly explains it all…

US Department of Homeland Security to destroy people with swine flu symptoms

 

Apparently, the US Department of Homeland Security is to destroy people with swine 'flu symptoms

 This is a screen-grab from the US Department of Homeland Security’s website.

Read the last paragraph.

Let’s not, repeat not, move to the United States of America!

Source: The official DHS website

Daily Telegraph: “Gordon Brown is a Cunt” – website blooper

Someone at the Telegraph will almost certainly lose their job over this…

Soon after it appeared, the URL had been changed to something more appropriate (see URL – the body of the webpage isn’t quite as interesting!)

 

Who at the Daily Telegraph uploaded this page to telegraph.co.uk?

Chimp Attack in the USA – Who’s to Blame?

That chimp attack in Connecticut? Startling, upsetting story, to say the least.

A 200-pound pet chimpanzee in Stamford, Connecticut has severely mauled a woman. From listening to the owner’s 911 call, it seems the chimp ‘ripped her face off’. Thinking her friend was dead, the owner stabbed the chimp and hit him with a spade, but failed to stop the attack. A policeman finally shot him dead.

The media was quick to report the chimp’s ‘celebrity’ status – he’d been in several TV adverts (Gap and Old Navy) , had been raised like a child, watched TV, used the Internet, bathed himself and even used crockery.

There really is no need to sensationalise this story – it’s not pleasant at all.

But who’s to blame for the death? Depsite its human-like attributes, this was a wild animal, led around with a metal chain for a lead.

Many are calling for the owner to be prosecuted. That would happen if we were talking about a child, wouldn’t it?

13 Year Old Father – Alfie Patten – Is It Legal?

The British media is full of stories concerning Alfie Patten, the 13 year old boy whose girlfriend Chantelle Steadman (15) gave birth to their baby 4 days ago.

Alfie may be 13, but his voice has yet to break and at just 4 feet tall, he looks more like 8.

In an interview with the Sun newspaper, he says, “When my mum found out, I thought I was going to get in trouble.

“We wanted to have the baby but were worried how people would react.”

This boy’s life is ruined – how will he ever be able to concentrate on homework? Is anyone actually expecting him to be a responsible father?

Where does the law stand on this? Should the parents, who allowed the kids to sleep together, be taken to court?

More on this story at The Sun.

You just lost The Game

Came across The Game last night.

The aim is to beat the Prime Minister or the President of the US.

And the sole objective is not the think about The Game.

You just lost The Game

Steve Jobs Countdown to Death Website

If you’re reading this and you haven’t seen it, then please don’t go onto Google and look for it, but somebody has put a website together with an Apple ‘countdown to iPhone’-style timer to Steve Jobs’ supposed death.

I know it takes all types to make the world go round, but seriously, was that really necessary?

Steve Jobs has revolutionised the world of personal computing, as well as online and offline music and most recently mobile communications. His retirement is sad enough.

I can only imagine how I would feel if someone did something like that to me.

Google Analytics, Googlemail (Gmail) and Web Statistics

Google Analytics needs a Gmail account

Several months ago a colleague added Google Analytics code to a website and set me up as a user. A warning came from him though: “You’ll need a Gmail account to view reports. It’s a new thing and it says so on the ‘Add Users’ page.”

So signing up to Gmail and linking my existing Yahoo account to it, on which my other Analytics accounts are hooked, I wasn’t expecting to…

1. see none of the new reports
2. receive no useful help from the Help tool
3. find nothing in forums and blogspace

After months of trying to work it out, I have found out today that if you signed up to Google Analytics before the change-over, then you still need to use your previous account details.

This kind of reverse logic is a real-life barrier to development on the web.

Google – sort it out!