By PromptBoston

December 29th, 2011

Who owns your Twitter content?

Who owns your Twitter content?

This week the Twitter community was faced with a dilemma—can a company claim ownership of an employee’s social media account? This dilemma, as faced by Noah Kravitz, is the sole question proposed by a lawsuit filed in July.

Kravitz, a former employee of mobile phone site, Phonedog.com, began tweeting for the company and attracted nearly 17,000 followers over his four years of employment.  After he left on good terms, he and the company agreed that he could keep his followers under a new Twitter handle as long as he tweeted about the company a few times a month.

After eight months of this agreement, Phonedog Media filed a lawsuit against Kravtiz seeking $340,000 in damages ($2.50 a month per follower for eight months).

While the lawsuit could have major personal and financial ramifications for Kravitz, the ruling could lay the precedent for online content ownership in company / employee relationships.

As legal opinion will undoubtedly differ on the subject, many agree that in the furture, it will become increasingly important to air on the side of caution—get explicit agreement from both employer and employee before pushing content out on social media.

Watch this space for updates on the case and future legal decisions.

By PromptBoston

December 23rd, 2011

Big Blue mirror on the wall…

Big Blue mirror on the wall…

Each year IBM offers up a gift of five technology predictions that it believes will make a big impact on our lives over the next five years. Call us festively sentimental if you like, but we’re prepared to listen to the musings of any technology company currently celebrating 100 years in the business.

Of course IBM is consciously using its crystal ball to shine light on the areas of technology it hopes to impress us with itself in that timeframe, but that’s a PR price we’re willing to pay. So without further ado, here are the five wishes that IBM thinks will come true before 2016 is out:

1. Human micro-generation of energy through motion which can be stored in batteries then used in gadgets
2. The abolition of passwords in favour of increasingly sophisticated but intuitive biometrics
3. The mental control of objects using thought pattern user interfaces
4. Powerful personal translation devices that break down all remaining language barriers
5. Intelligent, dynamic mobile search engines that do our thinking for us

I don’t know about you, but I’m way more interested in controlling objects with my mind than being served yet another sled of ‘tailored’ websites! I guess we’ll see how it all pans out very soon.

By PromptBoston

December 22nd, 2011

Media bytes: Channel 4 News appoints science editor

Media bytes: Channel 4 News appoints science editor

Tom Clarke has been appointed as the Science Editor for UK station, Channel 4 News. With a background in scientific reporting, Clarke is the first person to be appointed to this role, which was created to strengthen the programme’s specialist journalism.

By PromptBoston

December 9th, 2011

Voltage: Flavors to inspire the tastebuds (and press release writing)

Voltage: Flavors to inspire the tastebuds (and press release writing)

There are many reasons why Prompt Boston loves being at the Cambridge Innovation Center in Kendall Square: hundreds of innovators and early stage companies working in close proximity; the opportunity to host free tech marketing workshops and attend industry events; easy access to institutions such as MIT and NERD. As a high tech and green tech PR, copywriting and content strategy firm, there’s a wealth of ideas, things to do, and people to meet.

But there’s another reason: Voltage, a coffee shop with a difference. At first Voltage looks unassuming: white walls showcasing art pieces, wooden chairs, concrete floors. But the coffee, especially the flavored lattes, are nothing short of spectacular. Our current favorites are the ‘Paper Plane’ (cardamom and rosewater), and the ‘Atticus Finch’ (burnt sugar and vanilla). Though this morning’s fix was another hit – ‘Beyond the Sea’ – it’s made with homemade caramel and salt. The mixture of caffeine, fabulous flavors and a calming environment makes it an ideal location to write – whether it’s a press release on enterprise storage, an article on software testing or a newsletter article on iPhone games.

We’re also fans of Voltage’s background – it’s independent, founded by artist and businesswoman Lucy Valena, who secured a loan from Sam Adam’s ‘Brewing the American Dream’ fund. Coffee funded by beer – two of our favorite things working in harmony.

You don’t have to take our word for how great Voltage is – earlier this year Boston magazine named it Boston’s best coffee shop.

If you’re in the Kendall Square neighborhood and looking for a caffeine-adventure for your taste buds, we couldn’t recommend it highly enough. Look around – one of us may be near you, writing a news release whilst trying a new flavor.

By PromptBoston

December 2nd, 2011

The Pulitzer Prize makes some big changes

The Pulitzer Prize makes some big changes

The Pulitzer Prize has always been synonymous with journalism excellence. Although the definition of journalism has changed since the first awards were given out in 1917, there is something about the Pulitzer Prize that renders an image of when newspapers were printed by hand and when journalists didn’t libel public figures.

But, as times have changed, so have the categories in which Pulitzer prizes are awarded. Now, among the original categories such as public service, you can find categories such as online journalism. However, on November 30 in a press release, on November 30, the Pulitzer Prize Board changed the way we view (and they judge) journalism forever.

The first change is in the submission process —all entries in the 14 journalism categories must now be submitted electronically. This change, I can live with. Everything these days, from hair appointments to college final papers, can be submitted online. But the second change is where I get a little uncomfortable.

Board members have revised the description of the ‘breaking news’ category to emphasize the importance of real-time reporting. News outlets and journalism experts alike have been quick to say that this means we will see live, news tweeting win a Pulitzer Prize. Whether or not this actually happens, I have issues. Remember the guy who accidentally tweet the raid that ended in Osama Bin Laden’s death? Although millions around the world got their information this way, as a journalism purist (that was my college major) I can’t classify this example as such. While I can appreciate the real-time real journalism that does occur on Twitter, I think there is a slippery slope that comes with trying to interpret who and what journalism is supposed to look like on the site.

Before we jump into awarding Twitter users with a Pulitzer Prizes, I think there needs to be clear distinctions made between actual journalists and the man tweeting a live event. But until that happens, I’m happy leaving most of the prizes to the few print publications we have left.

By PromptBoston

December 1st, 2011

A Googol of Green Energy Found Underground

A Googol of Green Energy Found Underground

We’ve been particularly focused on researching Green Technology here at Prompt over the last few weeks, but we have to admit to unearthing nothing quite as impressive as the ‘Googol of Heat Beneath Our Feet‘ that Google has been busy mapping.

The company has funded and provided the technology to enable Southern Methodist University to release a new map of geothermal energy potential. Like all good maps, it points to treasure, revealing enough viable geothermal resources (a googol of heat, no less) in the top 6.5km of the US part of the earth’s crust, to provide ten times the power capacity currently provided by coal.

If you’d like to explore the new Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) maps in more depth (quite literally), you’ll need to download and install the latest release of Google Earth. The maps then reveal the ‘EGS Potential’ for depths from 3km to 6.5km (lower than that depth is currently regarded as ‘theoretical potential’).

Google is keen to point out that its calculations “exclude inaccessible zones such as National Parks and other protected lands.”

Open the EGS map in Google Earth today and let us know your thoughts on this untapped energy and whether we’re likely to see Green Technology relaise its potential in our lifetime.