UK trade magazine adopts Social Media interaction as editorial policy – is this the future?

A major b2b title in the UK has become the first to employ Social Media directly in the production of its print-edition editorial. Control Engineering magazine under the editorial direction of David Greenfield has only been an active participant in the business networking site LinkedIn since May 2009, but has already built a strong following of around 3,500 users. LinkedIn allows users to organise themselves into groups based on interests or professions. Each group offers its members an interactive discussion board facility that allows them to debate the various themes and topics they are interested in. By following and participating in these discussions on its LinkedIn and Facebook pages, Control Engineering’s editor has been able to tap into a rich seam of lively debate and informed comment from which to create highly-topical editorial. You can read the first article developed in this way here.

In a publishing world that has for so long simply regurgitated print editorial in online form, this is a very interesting development. Closing the loop between traditional and modern media makes a lot of sense from an editorial point of view; comment is easily obtained, it’s dynamic, fresh and completely democratic. Anyone has a chance to have their voice heard, not just those with big PR budgets and advertising spends.

For PR companies, it provides the clearest signpost yet that the role is changing. Clearly, it is no longer enough just to be writing and sending out press releases when editorial policy is being built in such a dynamic way; PR companies now have to take an active role in monitoring and engaging in forums such as Linked In and Facebook or risk having their messages left behind. It’s like the editors are stepping down from their ivory towers into a vibrant, thronging marketplace filled with colour and distraction. The challenge for PR people is to ensure they maintain an influential position in this melee; if you like, a guiding hand to lead an editor gently but firmly to their client’s stall. We can only do that by being there and staying connected.

Birmingham-based Industry Forum’s ‘learn from the best’ visit to Japan

 Sep 7 2009 by John Cranage, Birmingham Post

Industrialists and engineers from all over the UK are being invited to take advantage of a chance to learn the secrets of Japanese manufacturing first hand in a “learn from the best” initiative run by the Birmingham-based Industry Forum.

The visit to Japan from November 21 to December 5 will be the ninth in a programme of Best Practice visits. Delegates – industry executives from a wide range of sectors – will visit some of Japan’s top manufacturing companies.

In the five years that visits have been running delegates from the automotive, aerospace, pharmaceutical, food processing, white goods and other sectors have been given unprecedented access to manufacturing processes which are the envy of the world and rarely duplicated outside Japan with total effectiveness.

The ground-breaking visit has been made possible by contacts made by Industry Forum director Arthur David, who formerly worked for Nissan and General Motors, and Industry Forum executive co-ordinator Koji Wanaka, who was a senior official at Honda.

The visit will include detailed briefings by senior management at Nissan, Honda and Toyota and their major suppliers, as well as non-automotive companies.

Delegates will also attend detailed lectures from world-renowned Japanese experts on quality and total productive maintenance, as well as a presentation and reception at the British Embassy in Tokyo. Delegates on last year’s visit said it was a real eye-opener. Chris Taylor, lean change manager at Siemens, said: “This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see world-class production really taking place.”

Peter Jones, specialist manufacturing adviser at the West Midlands Manufacturing Advisory Service, said: “Seeing and touching has put all the theory into real perspective and is the greatest motivational experience possible.”

The cost of the programme is £7,800 plus VAT which includes accommodation at a Tokyo hotel, flights, internal transport, all visits, interpreters and support from Industry Forum staff.

Mr David said previous visits had a “life-changing effect” on some delegates.

“The Japanese never stay still in business and all of the latest thinking in terms of lean manufacturing, quality, waste elimination, cost, efficiency and delivery originates in Japan,” he said. “There’s no better way than learning first hand from the best in the world.

“It is often claimed in the UK and western Europe that we can’t compete with Far Eastern countries because our labour costs are high.

“But Japan has some of the highest labour costs in the world and still leads the way in manufacturing efficiency.

“Japanese industry has spent decades refining their approach to manufacturing process control and people productivity and has deservedly gained worldwide recognition.

“This programme allows delegates to experience first hand what Japanese companies are doing and how they are maintaining their international reputation. In the past the Japanese have been protective of their secrets so opportunities like this are very rare indeed.”

The Industry Forum – based at Birmingham Business Park – was set up in 1996 by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to improve competitiveness in the UK-based vehicle and components industry. Its practical programmes have led to major improvements by automotive suppliers across the UK and are being used in other industry sectors including aerospace, food processing and the construction equipment industry.

For further details of the Japanese visit call Arthur David at the SMMT Industry Forum on 0121 717 6613.

Birmingham Post – Business – Business News – Automotive Business – Birmingham-based Industry Forum’s ‘learn from the best’ visit to Japan

ISE Exhibitors: Don’t Fall for This Trick

Written by Bob Snyder and published originally on rAVe Europe

Monday, 10 November 2008

You remember this one from the days of telex directories. It comes in the mail, looking very official. It seems to be your official listing in the ISE catalogue as it mentions ISE and headlines "Exhibitors Directory in the Expo-Guide." The letter (with your name and address pilfered from a previous ISE catalogue or a web site) says “The update of your pre-registered listing in our exhibitors directory is essential…” So fill in any changes in your details and send it back. Right….

Expo-Guide is not an official ISE publication. It may not even be a publication. The company behind this sleight-of-hand marketing seems to be from Mexico, but who knows? The campaign is so similar to a notorious German company and the bank named is in Spain.

You need to read the letter (not the form which people tend to grab first) before you see it is NOT affiliated with ISE. You also have to read it carefully to understand if you fill in and send back the form in the envelope provided (how kind), you will get a bill. It cautions you in the letter that the only FREE update is on-line. Except there’s no link provided and if you Google search “Expo-Guide,” you get links to other industries and other shows all complaining about these folks.

Exhibitors: Watch for an orange "EXPO GUIDE" logo. Read any form very carefully before signing. What can you do if you already filled this in, thinking it was official? Ah, thanks to the internet it is now easier for consumers to defend themselves from evil, misleading tactics.

Go STOP ECG.org

http://ftp-sgpartners.net/proAV/administrator/ – ISE Exhibitors: Don’t Fall for This Trick

Hesitant signs of recovery for Japanese economy

According to some commentators, the Japanese economy is showing signs of turning the corner of recession. The Nikkei 225 stock index recently broke the 10,000 barrier for the first time in eight months, with steelmakers and financial stocks leading the trading.

News of the Nikkei breaching the “ichiman” mark comes after further news reports appear to show signs of recovery beginning. Earlier this month, the country revised its GDP forecast from a 4 per cent contraction to 3.8 per cent. Corporate capital spending in the first quarter fell by a smaller-than-expected 25.3 per cent while bankruptcies dropped last month for the first time in a year.

Data released earlier indicated that Japanese industrial production rose 5.2 per cent in April from the previous month, the fastest rise in more than half a century. The drop in exports also eased in April, falling 40.6 per cent year-on-year compared with a 46.5 per cent decline in March.

But despite the encouraging signs, trading remains difficult. Japanese machinery orders – a key indicator of manufacturing confidence – are still fluctuating, falling unexpectedly in April as manufacturers delay expansion plans because of continuing tough trading outside of Japan. News from China last week showed a larger-than-expected drop in May imports and exports.

The signs are positive, and while the economy still has a very long way to go, there is very real optimism that we are at least on the road to recovery. New technologies – and in particular, “Green” technologies – are looking to become very important contributors to the “new” Japanese economy and we are already seeing Japanese companies like Mitsubishi Electric achieving considerable international success in this field.

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Further information can be found here

FT.com / Markets / Asia-Pacific – Nikkei breaches 10,000 level

China economic figures show further signs of recovery

By Myra P. Saefong & Chris Oliver, MarketWatch

TOKYO (MarketWatch) — Chinese economic data released Friday reinforced the growing perception of an economy picking up steam, with retail sales and industrial production for the month of May coming in stronger than expected, while new bank lending continued at a torrid clip.

Friday’s data capped a week of relatively robust news that dispelled some of the scepticism surrounding China’s recovery, with the world’s third-largest economy now on track to meet its growth targets this year, analysts said.

"Most likely industrial production growth will trend upward, supporting our 8% gross domestic product growth call for 2009," wrote Merrill Lynch economist Ting Lu in a research note Friday.

In March, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also said the country would expand its economy 8% this year, although it’s not clear that a formal growth target has been set.

Industry reviving

Industrial output climbed 8.9% in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday. The result was above expectations for a 7.8% rise, as reported by Dow Jones Newswires, but it matched exactly forecasts by the 21st Century Business Herald and Ming Pao newspapers, whose projections Merrill Lynch said appeared to be "whispered" leaks of the data. See full story on so-called ‘whispered numbers.’

The more upbeat figures follow a fall of 26.4% in China’s exports in May from a year earlier and an import decline of 25.2%, according to Statistics Bureau data released Thursday. Both figures marked their seventh-straight on-year decline. See story on Chinese trade.

"While improving this month, China’s industrial production growth data has been in contrast with expansion in the Purchasing Managers Index," said J.P. Morgan’s China equities chief, Jing Ulrich.

"China’s May PMI of 53.1 represented a third-successive month of expansion in the manufacturing sector, suggesting that managers are cautiously optimistic in their outlook," he said.

The Statistics Bureau also reported Friday that retail sales were up 15.2% in May, compared to a 14.8% rise in April.

Bank lending up

Separately, data from the People’s Bank of China reported that new yuan-denominated bank lending in China totalled 664.5 billion yuan ($97.2 billion) in May compared to 591.8 billion yuan in April.

Money supply, as measured by M2, climbed 25.74% at the end of May from a year earlier, roughly in line with a 25.9% rise anticipated by analysts as reported by Dow Jones Newswires.

"The stabilization in money supply is as expected, considering the record rate of growth at the beginning of the year," said Ulrich. "The rapid pace of credit creation in recent months has had a stirring impact on China’s corporate sector, housing and stock markets."

Myra P. Saefong is MarketWatch’s assistant global markets editor, based in Tokyo. Chris Oliver is MarketWatch’s Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong

China data show further signs of recovery – MarketWatch

Intel helps shape Japan’s WiMax future

From Businessweek

A Japanese company is planning to launch the world’s fastest wireless broadband services using WiMax technology. On June 7, Intel Capital said it plans to invest $43 million in Tokyo-based UQ Communications, which also has financial backing from Japan’s second-largest wireless operator, KDDI.

In recent months, UQ Communications has been building a network of WiMax transmitters in Tokyo and neighbouring cities of Kawasaki and Yokohama and aims to reach 90% of Japan’s population by 2012. Today, UQ and KDDI formally announced plans to start offering WiMax services to businesses from July 1.

The promise of WiMax isn’t that it offers another phone network for voice calls. Rather the network is expected make wireless e-mail and Internet-surfing available from more places. WiMax resembles Wi-Fi but WiMax can reach up to 30 miles compared to Wi-Fi’s far more limited range of a few hundred of feet. That means anyone with a laptop computer or other portable gizmo that comes with WiMax technology can tap into the Net wirelessly over a zippy wireless network without a Wi-Fi router or a cable connection. (Calls made over online telephony outfits such as Skype are possible but it’s still unclear whether UQ and other WiMax service providers will try to steer users to their own packaged services.)

UQ enters Japan’s market for wireless data-transmission services as manufacturers unleash an array of wireless gizmos: everything from touch-screen mobile phones resembling Apple’s iPhone to netbooks which are smaller than laptops but can tap cellular networks to do e-mail and Web searches. UQ Communications applied 18 months ago for a license to offer WiMax services.

The company won’t have the WiMax sector all to itself. Japan’s number one wireless carrier, NTT DoCoMo, will begin offering similar services—albeit at much slower speeds than UQ’s–in the coming months. UQ will also have to compete against a crop of other companies known as mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs, that lease the major cellular networks to offer tailored data and voice services targeting specific kinds of users.

The first WiMax-enabled gizmos will be laptops. Three manufacturers–Toshiba, Panasonic and Onkyo—showed off laptops today that will run on Intel chips with WiMax capability when UQ’s services start. WiMax download speeds in Japan will be as fast as 40 Mbps, comparable to Wi-Fi connections already in use and faster than broadband Internet connections over a land-based line in most other countries. (Upload speeds are slower at 10 Mbps.)

Besides Intel and KDDI, other big-name supporters are behind UQ: Kyocera, railway operator JR East, Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank and Daiwa Securities. That should help in landing deals with businesses and perhaps even give UQ a chance to test new services in conjunction with JR East, which runs commuter and bullet trains from Tokyo to major Japanese cities.

Intel Helps Shape Japan’s WiMax Future – BusinessWeek

RFID tags link French magazine to internet

A French magazine is pioneering a new approach to linking its traditional print-format publication with its online edition. The latest issue of Amusement magazine has a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag embedded within it that allows it to be used to access exclusive online content.

Readers of the influential lifestyle and technology magazine can thumb through the pages of the print edition as normal. However, when the issue is placed near an RFID-equipped PC, the unique identification information coded within it launches online content. RFID tags and printed media are no strangers; having been used by libraries for many years as a means to track inventory. But this is believed to be the first time RFID technology has been used to provide media content.

RFID tags are widely used in retail and industry to identify products, aid stock control and prevent theft. Passive versions use radio frequency energy generated by the reader to power a miniature onboard IC containing the identification data. Because they require no battery, they have a virtually unlimited shelf-life making them ideal for this kind of application.

According to Labels & Labelling magazine, the latest issue of Amusement is the result of a joint effort between French high-tech company Violet and GS1 France. NFC tags (size 15×15 mm) from UPM Raflatac are fixed in the middle of the first double page of Amusement’s fourth issue. The NFC tag is designed to work with Violet’s new ‘Mir:ror’ RFID interrogator, which plugs into a computer’s USB port. When the magazine’s RFID-tagged page is brought near the interrogator, the tag’s unique ID number is scanned and exclusive online content launched.

‘We consider this latest issue of Amusement to be an excellent door-opener for connecting traditional and new media using minute RFID tags. As part of UPM, a leading manufacturer of magazine papers, we view this as a highly attractive, real-life field of application,’ said Mikko Nikkanen, business development director, RFID, UPM Raflatac.

‘These publicly-available applications are shining examples of the latest ways in which we can use RFID technology – ways that have already been tested and approved in the BtoB world. As the cost of RFID components has already come down significantly, we see opportunities for totally new industry take-offs based on innovative and value increasing services for the consumer,’ said Pierre Georget, CEO of GS1 France.

RFID tags from UPM Raflatac connect French magazine to internet – Labels and Labelling – Latest News

Language difficulties preventing export success for Japanese SMEs, says expert

Language difficulties are hampering the efforts of Japanese SMEs to promote themselves overseas, claims a leading commentator on Japanese business affairs. In his weekly newsletter, Terrie Lloyd observes that many Japanese start-ups find it difficult to connect to buyers in the global markets. Lloyd comments: “90% of this equation is a simple lack of English-language confidence, coupled with the historic domination of profitable export business segments by the major trading companies.

“SMEs definitely need help to reach out to the global markets”

The recession has changed the face of international business, especially for Japanese companies that are traditionally heavily reliant on exports. But establishing links with new markets can prove problematic because of unfamiliarity with local business customs and language.

Terrie Lloyd comments, “If a small company with world-class technology or products gets a call from a potential foreign customer, they do in fact get scared and hide under a shell. Usually they will either take ages to come back with a quote, or they go find an aged (retired) consultant to help them with English and export issues. As a result, the potential customer reads the lack of
immediate response as lack of interest, and they go elsewhere.”

EIDO Public Relations was established to help plug that gap and provide an effective interface between Japan and the English-speaking business world. Visit our international services page to find out more or click here to contact us with a specific enquiry.

Intrusive video: The future for web advertising?

A report on the Adweek website brings a – frankly – chilling insight into the way advertising online might be headed.

According to Adweek, a US company called ShortTail Media…

…wants to radically alter what online ads look like and how they get sold. And he’s recruiting some of Web publishing’s heavy hitters to help in his cause: the creation of a new standard video ad unit for the Internet that can be sold much like TV. This summer ShortTail Media, will initiate a beta test of what it’s calling the Digital 30 (D30), a full-page, deliberately intrusive placement built to showcase traditional 15- and 30-second TV spots. But unlike most Web video ads, the D30 loads between Web pages much like an interstitial.

In plain English, that means your web browsing will be interrupted by full page, tv commercials between page loads. Personally, I can’t think of anything more likely to enrage the target audience and create precisely the wrong perception of your brand. Let’s hope that – if not the company – then media buyers see sense and consign this one to the dustbin.

AJ

Mitsubishi Electric Projector’s Green Initiative

As reported on the Projector People blog May 18th 2009

Mitsubishi recently announced a new green initiative in their popular projector line. They outline some of the efforts they are taking to reduce their impact on the environment in an announcement below.

In order to lessen our impact on the environment and conserve natural resources, Mitsubishi Electric is committed to being socially responsible. Over the last few years, we have incorporated numerous environmentally friendly features into our products. In an effort to Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle the finite resources of our planet—the following are some eco-friendly initiatives we have implemented in the design and production of our projectors:

• Energy-efficient, long-life lamps
• Lead free solder on all Printed Circuit Boards
• Our newest models consume less than 1W on standby mode
• Use of recycled paper products for user reference guide and carton box
• Projector cabinets are not painted, and conductive coating is not used
• User manual has been converted from paper to a digital format (CD)
• Compliant with both California and European RoHS standards

Guided by our commitment to make positive contributions to the Earth and its people through
technology and action, we will help bring about a sustainable society through our business activities
by promoting a wide range of distinctive, advanced technologies and proactive, ongoing
actions by our employees. We truly are making changes for the better.

The release also indicated that they are working on a recycling program in the near future. You can expect to see other projector manufacturers following suit – and others those that have been working on green efforts may begin touting their efforts.

Projector People News » Blog Archive » Mitsubishi Projectors Green Initiative