Danielle Dalkie's blog

My name is Danielle Dalkie, and I am working as a freelance consultant in London and Rome.

I studied PR, Journalism and Theatre, and I also read a lot!

I blog at http://www.networkmilan.com/ as well about social, digital and payments related topics.

Using Social and Mobile in Retail

social network

Social networks existed long before Facebook and Twitter. Originally it was just as the organic ties between organisations or individuals; today it’s the same structure, the same dynamics but super-charged by virtue of the digital technology now available!

What Messrs. Zuckerberg & Co. brought to the party are the tools, metrics and case studies necessary to understand how social leaders influence each other within these social and professional networks, and how these relationships can be used to disrupt conventional attitudes and behaviour.

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Social Media is more than just "LIKES"

bagels

Social Media is more than just "LIKES" - for companies in particular it should be an online encounter where they can have valuable conversations with their customers.  Social media can be such a valuable tool for business both big and small, for customer interaction and acquiring new customers as well.

I believe that companies can enjoy real benefits of social media without splashing their increasingly limited cash on relatively expensive ads such as those sold by Facebook as part of its much-touted advertising service.  And whilst you might not get 3000 new "followers" in a month, you can still strengthen your brand’s profile among the people who actually matter: new and existing customers.

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The Social Networking Wars

Tug of War

So Google and Facebook really seem to be going head to head.  Google does not send people to Facebook and vice versa.

I am sure we remember that back in May, Facebook was discovered to be guilty of hiring a PR firm principally to tar Google’s reputation in regards to their privacy policies.  However, Facebook themselves really aren't any better!  They have been caught red-handed using personal data in inappropriate ways.  All you need to do is read their Terms to find out how blasé they are with some of our most personal information. 

Here are some of the more interesting ones I found –

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Help Save the Books

Book Shelves

I am not sure if it is because I am a ‘geek’ or just because I am lazy, but I love gadgets that make
my life easier, faster, and BETTER – gadgets, which 6 months ago, I didn’t even know I needed! But
there’s one I just cannot get on board with ...electronic reading devices.
I will never buy one!
I have lived in 3 countries in as many years and have very few possessions that I haul around with
me; honestly nothing of value. The one thing I do take with me everywhere is my books (even when
I am limited to only 20kg of luggage). Backpacking around Europe with the complete works of Jane
Austen and Crime and Punishment would not have been the same if I merely had a Kindle.
I just do not see how they can replace the joy of buying and owning a book. But we have all seen
what happened to the record store and CDs with MP3s and music downloads. This did not bother
me, and I do think storing thousands of songs on one small device offers value to the user. I also
thought the changing marketplace was a good thing for the music industry and consumers of music.
Making music more accessible to a wider market, and yes you can say the same for books. But I just
don’t see the benefits of devices like the Kindle; books have been around for centuries. It was the
first form of commercial and readily available media; it has been used for escapism since the bible.
Books are already accessible to large target markets.
I am sure what happened in the music industry foreshadows the fate of the book.
But the next generation will miss out on so much if they don’t experience the joy of books. Already
modern parents are entertaining their children with their iPad. In contrast my mum gave me her
nearly complete collection of The Baby-Sitters Club.
I love the relationship I have with books, and I will not aid and abet the growth of digital books in any
way, shape or form, when to me they fail to capture or enhance the experience of a paperback

I am not sure if it is because I am a ‘geek’ or just because I am lazy, but I love gadgets that make my life easier, faster, and BETTER – gadgets, which 6 months ago, I didn’t even know I needed!  But there’s one I just cannot get on board with ...electronic reading devices.

I will never buy one!

I have lived in 3 countries in as many years and have very few possessions that I haul around with me; honestly nothing of value.

The one thing I do take with me everywhere is my books (even when I am limited to only 20kg of luggage). Backpacking around Europe with the complete works of Jane Austen and Crime and Punishment would not have been the same if I merely had a Kindle.

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Fighting for (web) Freedom!

Freedom by The unamed

Funnily enough, I was reading the Metro this morning on my way to work and I came across a very interesting article.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the web, has gone on record saying that Facebook, other social networking sites and large corporations are threatening the freedom of the internet.

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Waspit's Digital Mission: The Buzz of the Big Apple

Cabs

Waspit has just spent the last week in New York for the Digital Mission with Chinwag and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).

It was one of the busiest weeks I have had, running up and down town for meetings, participating in the Ad:Tech event with over 260 US companies, functions every night and 12 hour days!

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