hackbash

I have no idea whether Unite’s claims about M&S are true. Neither do I wish to be glib about the serious subject matter of workers’ conditions. But I suspect that the union is selling its campaign very short with this sorry press release. Apparently the union has launched “a virtual and actual campaign”. I beg [...]

Read Full Post »

Right at the beginning of this year we became a two-Tamsin family, as Charlie, me and copywriter Tamsin Mac were joined by Tamsin H, our new content strategist. Since then, things have evolved much faster and better, and in more ways than we’d have managed on our own. We’ve even hired two new journalists, which [...]

Read Full Post »

Marks & Spencer has a lot to answer for. I don’t mean because it contributes 400 million carrier bags to the 13 billion apparently handed out by British retailers each year, or even because of the “widespread discrimination” that Unite alleges at the store’s meat suppliers. But because of that fucking “These are not just…” [...]

Read Full Post »

Kind of a note-to-self: editorial process is a Good Thing. And although blogging is all conversational and flexible and 2.0, it’s sometimes handy to ask a friend (or, what the hell, journalistic colleague) to cast their eagle eye over your draft. Especially when you’re planning to post at the end of the day. So, Handolio: [...]

Read Full Post »

Simon just passed this on. Genius.

Read Full Post »

I’m still not using BigNews, are you? If the answer is “What?” you’re probably not alone. BigNews is Ask.com’s answer to Google or Yahoo’s news services, launched earlier this month. I wrote about the launch for iCrossing, observing at the time that an Ask search for “BigNews” didn’t return a link to the site. Still [...]

Read Full Post »

You know, Charlie and I have spent a lot of time thinking about, and talking about whether what we’re doing at iCrossing is journalism. After a conversation I had at the weekend, I’ve decided to stop worrying about it. The discussion in question was with a best friend of some 24 years; a journalist for [...]

Read Full Post »

Web 2.0 is great. No, really. Here’s the kind of awkward PR run-in that I’m sure has been happening for donkey’s years. Off-message Channel 4 News reporter Ben Cohen dares ask an iTunes question on an iPhone day, and Apple’s PRs move in for the kill. Admittedly we don’t see the context, and the Apple [...]

Read Full Post »

Not every day can be great. Work today was up and down, ending with a surprise sucker punch. When stuff goes wrong – and I mean everyday, non-life changing stuff – it’s easy to mope about it. I frequently do – there are plenty of toys around my pram. I’d recommend picking up the nearest [...]

Read Full Post »

I know, I know: nothing for three weeks and I come back with a cheap shot, but really. In a candidate for Bad Science, the Mail has it that temperatures at the weekend were TWICE their seasonal average of 8 degrees Celsius. Science pedants the world over will tell you that’s unlikely, as it equates [...]

Read Full Post »