Your Light Switch is your Vote

This December the Global Climate Change Conference is taking place in Copenhagen. The forum has been choosen as the place to present to the leaders of the world our feeling on glogal warming. So this Saturday, March 28th at 8.30pm Earth Hour is calling on all citizens of the world to switch off their lights. Switching off your lights will be your vote, and your call for our leaders to do something to combat global warming.

Earth Hour wants 1 billion people to vote. 1 billion people of all ages, nationalities, race and background. These 1 billion votes will be presented to the conference in Copenhagen and used as a sign that the world wants change.

The Earth Hour site is packed full of information about what different people are doing and how you can help spread the message. Their download section is packed full of resources; from posters to blog banners, social network badges and media widgets. In fact pretty much anything you could want.

Earth Hour started off in 2007 in Sydney when 2 million homes and businesses decided to switch off their lights for 1 hour. Following this huge success, the 2008 Earth Hour went global and 50 million people switched off their lights. The event was not limited to homes and small business however. In a landmark event, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Colosseum in Rome, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all turned off their lights.

This is a call to action. This is a real grass roots movement that needs your help. Don't be confused, no one thinks that we can go without power or that it is inately bad, this is about how we generate that power. There are ways and means currently at our disposal to generate clean safe energy. We just need to do it. Pay the price, make the changes and safe our planet.

All you have to do is switch off your lights for 1 hour.

Do it!


There is a wealth of information also available over on the Google Blog.

Social Media 101

I was talking to two friends the other evening about the modularisation of university programmes and the various pro’s and con’s associated with it. We got on to talking about the education systems as a whole; concluding that the Irish and English systems are pretty good. Though one small area of disagreement cropped up regarding Primary School and what children are taught.

I for one think that every child should study History, Geography and Science. I see the basic information that is revealed to you then as essential everyday knowledge that is necessary for life. People should know their history and the workings of the world around them. IMHO.

All that may be changing though, for the English at least. As reported by the Guardian, there is a proposal in place for a major redevelopment of the Primary education system in the UK to require children to learn about Twitter and Wikipedia and Blogging! This would be the biggest change that the education system has undergone in at least 10 years.

I think this is incredible news. Having posted yesterday about Queen Renia’s progressive political use of YouTube, this is an even bigger revelation. Social Media is part of life. It’s something people have always done, but now it’s found digital incarnations. Why would you not teach children about them? You teach them about the printing press, why not teach them about Tweeting and Poking?

Sure it's Thursday, but tomorrow's Friday!

Online PR for Royals

As most of you are probably aware, it's not a new thing to have celebrities posting their own YouTube content. It's not even new to see a royal face or two, consider that The Royal Family (UK) has their own YouTube Channel. What is interesting is to take a look at the more innovative and progressive political uses of YouTube by these people.

Don't worry, while I am a fan of Mr. Obama I'm not going to talk about him. In my opinion the most progressive political use of YouTube that I have seen lately is from the Middle East. In fact, from a woman in the Middle East. I accept that that may sound odd to some people, considering the general western perception is of a region where leaders are not interested in freedom of speech and women don't appear publicly in politics. So when I say that the most progressive political use of YouTube I have seen to date is a young Arab female, I'd forgive you for being surprised.

Queen Rania is etting the trend and opening barriers for women and men alike, throughout the Middle East. She not only has her own YouTube channel on YouTube that promotes open dialogue and freedom of expression, but she is actively striving to breakdown the stereotypes that exist about Arabs and Muslims.

Her activities have even won her the Visionary Award on YouTube Live '08.

Bad News, Bad Taste

via the good work over at Assistant to the Brand Manager

This almost turned my stomach. You go to do a photoshoot for the Belfast Telegraph. You realise that the coverstory is not something that will promote good feelings (I really hope they noticed!). So what do you do? Call someone and get them to mock up something that could be stuck over the front cover? Get yesterday's cover? No, if you're the Belfast Telegraph you just push ahead.

Bad move guys. Very bad move.