Facebook users say yes to changes
According to this BBC article, Facebook users have voted to back changes which give them control over data and content they post on the site.
Early results suggest 75% of those who voted support the proposals.
The vote was triggered by changes Facebook made to its terms and conditions in February.
The move drew fire because it appeared to hand the social network site ownership of images, videos and data that users posted on profile pages.
To read the rest of the article click right here.
Posted in: General
New show from Public Sector HR Podcast on Apprenticeships
Public Sector HR Podcast show #017 was released recently with a focus on Apprenticeships.
This month’s show looks at apprenticeships from a number of different perspectives. We hear from the Government department responsible for apprenticeships, the newly set up National Apprenticeship Service, an employer who has recruited over 100 apprentices in 100 days and two ‘Apprentices of the Year’.
My first guest is Ian Watmore, who is currently the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and he talks to me about why the Government is focusing heavily on apprenticeships and his plans for recruiting more apprentices into the Civil Service.
Next up is David Way from the National Apprenticeship Service, which came into being on 1st April this year. David tells me why the service was set up and what support they are able to offer.
Following David, Sue Williams from Knowsley Council shares some of the secrets of their highly successful apprenticeship scheme, as well as giving some tips how to recruit and retain the best calibre apprentices.
Finally, we hear from two apprentices who have both achieved the accolade of ‘Apprentice of the Year’. Kirsten Taylor is an apprentice with North West Employers Organisation and Warrington Council’s ’Apprentice of the Year’ and Amy Eddleston is an apprentice with Bramall Construction and is Women in Construction ‘Apprentice of the Year’. They both talk about what prompted them to join their organisations, what they like best about their schemes and their plans for the future.
To listen to the show click here and to check out previous shows visit www.publicsectorhrpodcast.co.uk
Posted in: General
US Podcast Audience up 22% since last year
Edison Research today released their annual joint study, with Arbitron, of Americans’ radio consumption habits – and it shows that podcasting continues its steady, unrelenting growth.
According to the report, the podcast audience has grown by 22% since last year, expanding from 18% of all Americans in 2008 to 22% in 2009.
Edison’s study, “The Infinite Dial 2009” (pdf) details how we listen (and, with online video, how we watch) to online radio offerings, including podcasts.
Among the study’s findings:
- Social Networking: Listeners to online radio are more likely to have a profile on a social networking site (like MySpace, Facebook, or even LinkedIn), 54%, than the general population, of whom 34% have a social network presence.
- Internet Video: As you probably expected, Internet video consumption exploded last year, with approximately 69 million, or 27% of people, watching online video sometime in the past week. That figure is up from 18% in 2008.
- Portable Media Players: More than four in ten people (42%) own an iPod, iPhone, or other kind of portable media/mp3 player, and among the 12 – 44 year-old crowd, that percentage jumps to above 50 percent. The “key radio demographic” of 35-to 54-year-olds are becoming more frequent online radio listeners.
- Podcast Audience: Forty-three percent of Americans are aware of podcasts, up from 37% last year. Twenty-two percent of Americans have ever listened to a podcast (up from 18% in 2008), and approximately 27 million (or 11%) have listened to one in the past month (up from 9% last year).
Posted in: General
European Podcast Awards – and the Winners are…
The winners of the first European Podcast Awards have been announced.
Choosing from ten participating countries across Europe and over 750 nominations, a panel of judges awarded the inaugural European Podcast Awards to five winners from Germany, England and Spain.
The European podcasts of the year 2008/2009 are:
- Schlaflos in München [Sleepless in Munich] / Germany
- The Naked Scientists / United Kingdom
- Comunicando Podcast [Communicating Podcast] / Spain
- CoffeBreak Spanish / United Kingdom
- ComputerClub 2 / Germany
David Prest, BBC producer and the English member of the panel of judges, says: “The award does a much needed job all over Europe in recognising excellence in podcasting. These podcasts are clever, creative, imaginative and extremely valuable programmes with high production values.”
About the European Podcast Awards:
More than 750 nominated podcasts from 10 countries were judged by a combination of online voting and an international jury in four categories. Entries were evaluated on the basis of consistently defined criteria and awarded up to 625 points. Point totals were then used to determine national winners and the leading European entries. Jury members hail from all represented countries and include radio producers, journalists and podcasters.
Posted in: General
Is Flutter the new Twitter?
There’s much debate across the web about whether Flutter, the new nano-blogging website, will be the new Twitter or merely a poor imitation?
With posts or ‘flaps’ (rather than tweets) limited to 26 characters, will it really catch on?
Posted in: General
