Kicking off the New Year with a Mobile Bang

Claire Thompson, Waves PR: January 5, 1010

So here I am, officially still taking time off, but at my desk to clear down emails and catch up. So here it is: an official Happy New Year!

Christmas hat removed, I have reviewed my social profiles to see where I placed such seasonal jolliness, now looking as stale as the turkey carcass. My first prediction of 2010 is that I’ll miss at least one.

Which leads me nicely into: what will 2010 bring Waves?

For a long time, mobile has been an exciting space, and 2010 looks set for a big bang with a Google press conference scheduled with T-Mobile for tomorrow setting tongues wagging. The word on the street is that they are launching the NexusOne, invitation only smartphone. As this falls on the eve of CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) I expect excitement and innovation in the gadgets space, particularly mobile, over the coming year. And am working towards at least one launch in the next few months.

The thupr events, which started as a   over a cup of coffee, are growing by the minute, and merit some serious time and attention, which they will duly be given.  The first is on the 22nd of January, and focuses on a traditional area of concern – contact databases and wire services. The second, on February 5, is on social media monitoring & measurement, and has already attracted lots of attention. The challenge is going to be how to keep these meetups conversational, but I’m determined that won’t become conferences. The third event has already been suggested: watch this space!

After the disappointment of Copenhagen in December, where officials failed to move forward with any kind of answers, humanity may be looking at different ways of sustaining our lifestyles rather than expecting people to change to prevent climate change. At the ClimateCamp event in early December, I pledged to start up a blog focussing on the positive things that are happening to help with the environmental challenges ahead. Watch this space for details, but what it means in the short term is that Waves PR will be focussing mainly on technology and telecoms, with my private passion for all things environmental passed to the new blog.  Watch this space for details.

With the new year come personal resolutions. One of mine is to put my family first. Over the past year I have afforded myself the luxury of being able to afford to get involved with, and support, several high profile campaigns. But over the coming year, I will have to take a tougher line with myself. Whilst I am happy to offer the odd Twitter retweet for things I’m happy to support, please don’t ask me for free support.

That doesn’t mean I plan to become an evil, moneymaking Shylock. My chosen charity support will go through Twestival to Concern Worldwide. I loved acting as a regional co-ordinator (UK) for Twestival Local in 2009 and hope to do so again in 2010, if they’ll have me.  There was lots of talk about ROI on social media in 2009. Twestival just about sums it up for me: the numbers of people mobilised, the money raised for charities, the excellent contacts made (some of whom have become firm friends), the imagination and creativity stirred. Registration for roles will be opened up next Monday. I urge you to get involved – you won’t regret it.

I have also accepted that my colleague Emma (Owen) won’t be coming back to Waves for the foreseeable future. I would always be very happy to work with her again. She, along with the majority of the team, at the consultancy I founded and ran for several years, Zed PR (the UK’s first ethical PR consultancy), is a terrific consultant. She has a permanent placement, and I hope you’ll join me in wishing her a wonderful 2010.

So with information sources widening, becoming more profuse by the minute, my world is, necessarily,  shrinking and becoming more specialised. Which is, I think, what we’ll all be doing. professionally at least for 2010.

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