Hello all, it’s Kate Bentham here looking after Weekly Blog Club for week 16, I hope you’re all well and looking forward to finding out about the amazing 15 blogs we’ve had submitted this week. Big thanks to all our bloggers this week, and a special hats off, high fives and extra cake for 3 of our regular bloggers who all submitted 2 blogs each this week. Fantastic.
We’ve had a few comms/pr blogs this week. First is a great blog from Kelly Quigley-Hicks which looks at how simple comms messages can get lost in jargon and gobbledegook. Kelly reminds us what a barrier jargon can be and how the use of plain language will help our audience understand our intended message. The blog also includes a video of a song called Prisencolinensinainciusol with a very rough translation to Freezing cold and ants and I tools old. Alright? which illustrates Kelly’s point perfectly, and comes with an earworm warning.
Kelly also blogs about having recently attended a regional Chartered Institute of Public Relations conference, which brought together high calibre speakers with PR professionals from a wide range of agencies and organisations. In The reinvention of PR – ten thoughts blog Kelly shares with us her thoughts on the day and discusses issues relating to data, relationships and storytelling. An insightful read.
In Welcome to Easy Street the first of two blogs this week from Carolyne Mitchell we look at some of the teaching of Dan Arielys and his course Beginners Guide to Irrationality. The blogs focuses on decision making, and how people rely on contextual information to make judgements. Carolyne discusses how comms professional might be looking for a behaviour change from their audience but they need to be aware that audiences are likely to take the easy option when making a decisions. Carolyne takes this thinking further in Paris or Rome? Where she discusses how the choices we make are not only linked to our emotions from choices we’ve made in the past but how we are often given weighted choices
Our third blogger with two posts this week is Janet Davis who blogs about Hatton Gallery drawing session 7 and Hatton Gallery drawing session 8. In session 7 the theme was Marilyn Monroe, and Janet shares with us the image she created from the exhibition of photographs. Janet draws a reflection of an image of this iconic woman. Janet also reflects on the life Marilyn had in front of the camera and ponders Marilyn’s own views on how she was portrayed.In session 8 Janet writes about the work she did on collage. Janet explains that the inspiration for this session came from Eduardo Paolozzi’s Bunk! exhibition and pop art. Janet also looks at the glamour associated to popular American culture of the 1950s and 1960s and how that differs to the culture of Britain at the time.
Karen Hart writes about Angel Community Garden, Tonbridge which is a project initiated by the local community to transform the featureless edge of a shopping centre car park. Karen talks to one of the many volunteers to celebrate the pride and joy residents have for their community, and rather than complain about a unsightly space have now made a very positive contribution to change it. I am sure we can all learn something from this attitude.
In Half life: The old Box Brownie and the phantom plastic bag we hear from Diane Sims who shares two photos, one of Diane from a local newsletter, and one of her mother from the local newspaper. The photos are taken 64 years apart and although there’s no mention of Diane and her Mother in connection to the photos, her Mothers detective skills show that it is definitely them. Also sharing a photograph is Richard Overy, in Smethwick Street Party 1953 we see a wonderful old photo of a street party to celebrate the Queen’s Coronation in 1953. The photo shows a whole host of interesting faces and clothes, allowing us a glimpse into the past. Wonderful.
I always enjoy reading blogs from Mark Braggins as he tends to introduce me to something new in the technology world, and I learn loads from reading them. This blog is no different as Mark discusses Drones – opportunity or threat. In a few years we might all have our own drone, and be streaming images of events across the world. The use of drones is a possible session pitch at Blue Light Camp next month and Mark shares information on how to get involved.
In our healthcare section we start with a bit of SKY DIVINGby Shelagh Creegan. Shelagh reflects on her guest host of the @WeNurses chat site and introduces me to the term Sky Divers, which refers to other social media enthusiasts Shelagh also blogs about SoMe leadership, communication, learning and outcome based performance – something which she is striving to implement across health and social care organisations. I cant help feeling it’s the start of something exciting for all involved.
On the Dumfries and Galloway Health blog this week we hear from Consultant Midwife Karen King. Karen blogs about promoting women to have a normal birth and the crucial role midwives have in supporting this. The emphasis in Karen’s blogs is to achieve the best birthing experience for women and not necessarily about the type of birth or the medicalisation of birth. Karen reminds us that Pizzas are delivered……
On the Ayrshire Health Blog this week Brian McCulloch shares with us his experience of the care and treatment he received during a surgical procedure. Brian writes about a couple of disappointments along the way, but praises the communication skills of the nurses and doctors and the explanations given. The wheels on the bus are still turning.
Football supporter Peter Olding has been inconvenienced when travelling to home games because of months of Network Rail engineering works, causing him to catch the replacement bus service to see his beloved AFC Bournemouth play. South West Trains posted a tweet recently apologising to Southampton Fans for the inconvenience, but not to all other football fans. In South West Trains and Engineering work. Peter reminds us that it’s important to think of all customers not just those which might generate the biggest publicity.
Our last but not least post comes from Karl S Green who has been counting down his favourite video games over the last few weeks, and this week we reach number 1. In My Number 1 Favourite Video Game of All TimeKarl announces th winner is Soul Blazer, a game which Karl discovered when he was 11 years old, and continues to enjoy playing now. In this post Karl explains the plot of the game, and why it made the number 1 position.
So that’s your mighty fine lot. They are all worth a read, a like, a share or a comment. If you want to have a go a writing a blog for week 17, then you can find out how on our About page.
I’m going to set you an [entirely optional] theme this week on how you like to relax or de-stress; when everything just seems a little bit too frantic, how do you look after yourself? Do you go on a long walk, enjoy a good book, time with family or friends, cooking.
If you want to have a go at being the Weekly Blog Club host and curator for a week, and let’s face it, why wouldn’t you, there’s an easy step by step guide on how to on our Admin info page. Go on, give it a go.
Until next time, take care of yourself and keep blogging
Kate x
Summary of week 16 posts
- My Number 1 Favourite Video Game of All Time by Karl S Green
- Smethwick Street Party 1953 by Richard Overy
- The wheels on the bus by Brian McCulloch on the Ayrshire Health blog
- Half life: The old Box Brownie and the phantom plastic bag by Diane Sims
- The reinvention of PR – ten thoughts by Kelly Quigley-Hicks
- Freezing cold and ants and I tools old. Alright? by Kelly Quigley-Hicks
- Welcome to Easy Street by Carolyne Mitchell
- Paris or Rome? by Carolyne Mitchell
- Angel Community Garden, Tonbridge by Karen Hart
- Hatton Gallery drawing session 7 by Janet Davis
- Hatton Gallery drawing session 8 by Janet Davis
- Pizzas are delivered…… by Karen King on the Dumfries and Galloway Health blog
- South West Trains and Engineering work. by Peter Olding
- SKY DIVING by Shelagh Creegan
- Drones – opportunity or threat? by Mark Braggins
Working in local gov, managing a frontline service for families. I love Shropshire, love family and love information and blog about all three. There is also the occasional mention of cake and caek.
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