The following text was just submitted to Sony Belgium. I post it here not because I think it will get me improved customer service, but to show the difference between the vision and the reality of “.eu-driven businesses” in Europe’s single market: [Update: so I finally heard from the right (i.e., Belgian) customer support team, [...]

Meanwhile, more provocation from the European Parliament’s lovely web team: “there are two kinds of people working in the public relations management milieu of European institutions: the ones that entertain romantic notions about the emancipatory potential of new media … and those that recognize Web 2.0 as yet another tool for managing and projecting the [...]

More than one social media observer has taken their time to react to the latest Edelman Trust Barometer’s statistic that “people like me” has taken a tumble. What does it mean for EU communications? For those confused by the first sentence, let me explain that for many people involved in the early days of social [...]

That’s right – curation. Now officially Web2.0-buzzword-of-the-month (not quite sure which one). And here was me thinking that curation was something knowledge workers have been doing ever since there was knowledge to work with. So stand by for a totally gratuitous use of the c-word later on in this post. Maybe even two. But first, [...]

So the debate about the Euroblogosphere, or the Eurosphere, or the European Public Sphere, or web2eu, or the European online public space, of whatever-we-call-it-next-week, has sparked again into life, like a Frankensteinian monster with dodgy spark plugs screwed into the base of its neck. The latest incarnation is over on the blog of Joe Litobarski, [...]

One of the topics I’ve been developing on this blog for quite some time came up at last week’s get-together organised by the Belgian IABC chapter: the need (or not) for social media guidelines for EU staff. I actually think such guidelines are needed not just for EU staff, but for everyone serious about using [...]

As we approach a new Commission, expect to see a lot of recommendations for them from all and sundry. Rather than add my voice to the cacophony by making up my own, I’ll content myself with picking over everyone else’s, using anything I find relevant to communications as a springboard for reflection. First off the [...]

A Twitter conversation between two much-followed EU-oriented bloggers over the weekend caught my eye. I won’t identify them as you need to follow them on Twitter to see their tweets. It started when one asked whether anyone out there “still thinks that blogging is in any way likely to have an impact … why should [...]

PR firm interns posting fake reviews about iPhone apps for their clients. Ghost blogging and tweeting by just about everyone, including thought-leaders in social media.  Bloggers not disclosing sponsorship. It’s just a matter of time before someone poisons the well for EU social media. Over the past few months I’ve integrated For Immediate Release, a [...]

Over on Nosemonkey’s blog, in yet another debate on the pros and cons of EU membership, Insideur is of the opinion that: IMHO there is a real gap in the market, that Open Europe has sought but failed to fill, for serious, informed, and therefore constructive criticism of the EU As he points out, the [...]