One of my favourite images from a Shiny moblogging competition we ran

I am a huge fan of Moblog and they’ve had a proper Gok-style revamp; losing UK from their name, updating the site, and shifting to a new URL.

I can’t tell you how many times I present Moblog to agencies and brands jumping up and down with excitement and trying to demonstrate the potential to use for brand activity, particularly when they want an interactive UGC element to it.

Highlights of the new Moblog include:

• Audio Blogging: (courtesy of other demo fave, SpinVox)
• Domains: run your moblog from your own URL
• Maps: every Moblog user now has their own map which they can add their posts to either manually, or if you use a geotagging handset, automatically

Some of my fave moblogs:

• Shoegaga: an old Shiny Media blog partnership which was so good it runs itself long after the campaign finished
• Stopped Clocks Foundation: Founder Alfie’s personal crusade get the people of Britain to catalogue and repair public clocks that are stopped in the UK. The media attention this has received is unreal
• Just Jack: I love the way they are always using this in clever ways to engage with people
• Shiny Media: No night out or minor event went undocumented on the Shiny team moblog. How many PRs know that their products & freebies get such lovely, happy praise here?
• Katie Lee: from the woman who got me into moblogs, showing us how it’s done

Simon Collister wrote a good response post which is closer to what i think. He also raises a great point that it’s probably a matter of personal perspective as well.

What’s your perspective?

Mine isn’t about a “naive” dedication to The Cluetrain Manifesto (I haven’t read it) but probably from spending time with bloggers who were early pioneers with the platform and passionate about it as a new communication medium, not just another channel for the same old corporate comms. I’m also realistic about the commercialisation of blogs  – I had to be working for Shiny Media.

Anyway, let’s face it, when you work in PR, most people think you went over to ”the dark side” long ago, whether your approach is traditional or “noo medja”.