Great news for creators of social media: the threat of libel has dropped again. Users of social media “read” its content in a casual way and did not pause to reflect. This new ruling of the Supreme Court says that dictionary definitions of words and elaborate analysis cannot be applied to social media. A new Read More
Posts by Richard Sharpe
Stunning RoI for elearning
I’ve got a simple, solid argument that training professional and managerial staff provides a good return on investment (RoI). Put more in and you get more out. That’s a controversial statement. Even more controversial is my claim that you need only a 0.33% increase in productivity to justify buying some elearning courses. There are hundreds of ways Read More
Win one, lose one in social media libel ruling by the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has made two important rulings covering twitter, Facebook and libel. They affect how large a group of viewers needs to be and what words mean on twitter. One is good for the claimant: the other is good for the defence. A woman published a tweet to her ex-husband’s new partner that he Read More
3 tips on how to work with centralised content generation
Centralised generation of any content creates opportunities and problems. Here are three tips to help overcome the problems. Train Train the centralised content generators in what the specific voice of the brand is and what its key words are. This is done by the brand “owners” so that the content generators can keep the brands unique. Read More
Question of the week: who owns the copyright? Answer: your employer!
Gasps of dismay this week from delegates at my copyright course. It always gets them talking when I say that their employer owns the copyright in their work. Even when they do the same work as at work but in their own time and at home. Photographer forced to destroy images There’s a famous case Read More
Fun and frolicks from The Times
Make your communications humorous, visual and to the point, many gurus of communications would rightly say. And here is an excellent example: The Times advertising video on politics. Using animals in their many forms for politicians is witty and yet informative. The whole video has a narrative line to it which links directly to the Read More
Take control of your development with “My CPD”
Give something a three-latter acronym and it sounds important and powerful: HMG, USD, CID, and JCB. Then there’s CPD: not the carbon disclosure project but Continuing Professional Development. In reality, training while in employment. Many professional bodies have CPD requirements for their members: they have to keep their noses to the grind stone by keeping their knowledge and Read More
Use mind maps as a tool in corporate communications
There is a tool in the tool kit of corporate communications which is not used enough: the mind map. Also known as the spider diagram. They are not for everybody, but they help those who see more value and information in pictures than in lists. They enforce a discipline about the subject. One thing has Read More
3 tips for a better CV
CVs are selling documents: they are selling you to an employer. And they can be so bland and boring that they soon end up in the waste-paper basket. Here’s 3 tips to make your CV stand out: 1. Make sure that at the top you have a personal statement that really says something. I call Read More
WH Smith breaks the four golden rules of communications
WH Smith needs to buck up its corporate communications. It has been hit by two mini scandals: It is charging up to 50% more for the same goods in its WH Smith hospital shops than on the high street; and It is not refunding vat at it airport shops and pocketing about £10 a year Read More