The Original Sims

I could only stay for the first hour of picamp  on Wednesday. Picamp is an off shoot of Slugger O’Toole . While I wish I could have stayed longer, it looks as if this is the beginning rather than a one off.

And good to see Hearts and Minds there; it has aleays been the most forward looking of political programmes.

If you look hard at the video, you will see designer of www.davysims.co.uk @goodonpaper in the top left hand box at one point. Plus @alaninbelfast and @keithbelfast who gets a speaking role.

The video is here 

Some of us called him “Rockin’ Robbo”; he got that name when he was working in Downtown.  “The wee man with the glasses. “ had other names.  But he was more a jazzer than a rocker. A husband and father first, a journo and a drummer after that and a great figure in Northern Ireland broadcast news.  And he was buried today.

Paul Robinson started in Armagh as a trainee reporter before going to the Newsletter and the Belfast Telegraph.  We worked together in Downtown – he a news man, me a DJ.  Even though it was a small place, music and news were kept separate, but Robbo brought the two together doing music news on a programme Ivan Martin and I worked on.

But he was a serious and brave journalist. Davy Lynass – probably his friend for longer than anyone – spoke at the funeral and told a tale of Robbo being out on a story and his car being hi-jacked by the IRA.  Paul was left standing in a field with one of the IRA men and told to stand still and wait. After a few minutes fidgeting and hopping around from one foot to another he broke the science “Hey, mate – any chance I can have a fag?”
The coffin arrived at the church to the sound of an Irish lament played on Uillean pipes.  I can’t say how many people were in the church.  It probably held upwards of 400.  I arrived early, but not early enough and stood with at least 50 others outside in the cold Bangor sea wind.

This generation of senior broadcasters and journalists who have reported so much horror and seen so much change are a tight bunch.  Whether BBC, UTV or the news papers, we are a big tight family.  We all know each other – most of us have worked with each other at some time or another.  I was almost always on the non-news side – for a while I did both.  We are all friends.

People cried.  People who are house hold names, who verbally pummel politicians and leave them looking foolish and inadequate every day, walked away shaking with emotion.  And there were politicians there too, shaken and sad.

The service ended with to Don Henley’s IGY radiating from the speakers out side the church. Hundreds of people spilled out of the church, shaking hands, supporting each other, many laughing.  Which was right – apart from drumming on every surface, smoking a fag every chance he could Robbo laughed – he laughed a lot and we lauhed today with him.

Now the "it’s the internet wot won it" stories have started. (For younger readers: the reference is to a Sun headline "It’s the Sun wot won it").

How Obama’s Internet Campaign Changed Politics (use the HuffPo -

“Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not be president. Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee,” said Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of The Huffington Post. ),

and "Ten marketing lessons from the Barack Obama Presidential campaign" (use Twitter -

I found out on Twitter that Joe Biden was to be Obama’s running mate. Amazing. Obama told his fans first BEFORE mainstream media. (Of course, smart reporters were following his Twitter feed).)

Yes and — not completely.  Any politicial operative (politician or professional) is going to use every tool.  Aren’t they?  Even in hokey old Norn Irn?

I have a very old friend - known him for about 30 years.  He’s a very leading light in the politics of "our wee country".  The sort of person who came through the ranks - knows what it is to be a young activist.  He has a Facebook profile.  So far so good. A mutual friend introduced us on Facebook and I sent a message: "If you want a hand with any of this Web 2.0 Social Media stuff, let me know."

That was months ago - I’m still waiting.  There is another politician, this time in Stormont rather than Westminster who used Bebo to target young people in his constituancy during the last election.  All very well, but it was not universally welcomed.  Why?  Because he was using social networking like a mail shot.

The point of social networking is to build a network of social relationships as the name would suggest.

So here is mt free advice of the day to politicians who have seen the success of the Web in the US Presidential campaign: 1) build your network before you need to use it, and 2) optimise "opt in" rather than "mail shot".

But if you want to know "how" rather than "what", then I am available at a large fee (including my old friend who I offered a free service to - sorry mate.)