Cheltenham’s social media conference, the #AddMe conference, will play host to some of the country’s most prominent social media speakers.

The conference has been set up by me as part of my role as CIPR Student Representative for the University of Gloucestershire. Open to students and businesses alike the #AddMe Conference aims to tackle the key questions of how to create, manage and utilise relationships online. To highlight the significance of creating relationships online keeps the #AddMe Conference open to a wide range of topics.

The conference will highlight the significance of creating relationships online and will explain the continually adapting communication landscape for industries. The evening will begin with a talk from David Phillips who is an active PR practitioner, has been involved in the communications landscape for 20 years and is the author of three books about online public relations. He will be followed by Alex Sass, named “Best of British: Entrepreneur” by Attitude Magazine and currently heading up the digital team at Renegade Media. He will cover methods of digital PR, social media marketing and a warning to the industry.

The keynote speaker of the evening will be Aren Grimshaw. His roles include lead organiser of the Cornwall Twestival events, founder of Cornwall Social Media Cafe, marketing director of Tonick Media, publisher of Business Cornwall and consultant to a range of clients. He is a regular speaker on the subject of social media and its role within business.

The event will take place at the University of Gloucestershire, Park Campus on Wednesday 10^th March at 7.00pm until 10:30pm. Normal tickets cost £5 and student tickets cost £3 (using promo code STUDENTDISC). Refreshments will be available on the evening.

Further information and ticket sales can be found at: http://www.addme.mikewhite.co.uk/

You can also follow the event on Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/Addmeconf

Let us ponder upon a situation which you would not want to find yourself involved. Most of us at the University have witnesses what it is like living in halls. Some of the best and worst times of my life happened in those tall polystyrene buildings. Of course I didn’t realise it at the time, only in hindsight could I see I was lucky.

Moving into houses should have beaten the halls experience. Fair enough, there is more work in the second year but at the same time I enjoy working. Consider this short post as a piece of advice and a word of warning to anybody choosing their accommodation at the University.

DO NOT SIGN UP TO A JOINT TENANCY AGREEMENT

This is a really important point and I implore you to take this advice well. It is in my strictest belief that the University of Gloucestershire should warn students about this form of contract and make an effort to validate their housing lists accordingly.

To avoid any indecency I will not disclose the reason behind this post. Let me just assure you that signing up to a joint tenancy agreement is a bad idea. No manner of house is worth the risk of such a contract. You will find the University of Gloucestershire’s accommodation office impossible to deal with as they struggle to find a solution. If everyone were to sign up to a joint tenancy agreement then the University’s accommodation team would be out of a job.

When you sign up to a joint tenancy agreement the eyes of the law views your house as domestic. This is to mean that each person in the house is not seen as an individual but instead a single entity. That single entity being the address of your house.

If you sign up to a joint tenancy agreement:

1. If a housemate breaks rules in the contract then you are all evicted.
2. You will be given full responsibility over the finances and getting rent from your housemates.
3. Bills and rent

(…)

Who is the casual observer? A more pressing question, would you actually recognise him? What form should we assume that the casual observer should take? Perhaps a tall man, sophisticated but baring a style not too different from the ordinary? Could this observer be a woman? Forbid the anger of a lady who is not pleased with the world she finds in her midst. Is it the job of the casual observer to intervene with events or let life run its course?

These are all questions which I have asked myself. With regards to worldly events there are two sorts of people. They can be categorised as those who are the centre of attention (of which most people fall into category) and those who simply observe. Once I thought to myself that those who are the focus have the fun and receive the recognition.

What can easily be forgotten though is that silence also has beauty. Whilst music is certainly necessary to heat the heart and churn the soul, silence is also essential. Make no mistake, the introverts are the ones to watch out for. A simple gaze could symbolise a moment of mere distraction but it is the thought which counts. Introverts have the ability to gaze into themselves and see the world from outside of the ordinary.

The casual observer sees life as a series of steps leading to a goal that is yet recognised by himself. Instead of looking ahead at his path he looks inwards to himself. This journey is not one concerning career, a search for happiness but a solution to their question. Some might say that the observer is seeking God. If God indicates the source of their answer then they would be right but otherwise God serves no purpose other than to irrationally satisfy a masked desire. The observer is not searching for a truth but instead an answer.

I sometimes feel like this observer. If you want to know what it feels like to be the(…)

I have been naughty and published this article 2 days ahead of the main promotional period. Tickets are set to fly so if you want to come I highly recommend to jump the gun before the University starts promoting. Tickets can be purchased here.

For the last couple of months it has been in the making. On a few occasions I thought it would never happen… but now it is official!

Wednesday 10^th March 2010, 7pm – 11pm, marks the date of the #AddMe Conference. Founded by myself as part of my role as CIPR Student Representative for the University of Gloucestershire. The conference is associated with the CIPR and arranged as part of the CIPR West of England regional group.

“Open to students and businesses the #AddMe Conference aims to tackle the key questions of how to create, manage and utilise relationships online. To highlight the significance of creating relationships online keeps the #AddMe Conference open to a wide range of topics.”

The conference will include 3 prominent, highly acclaimed speakers on social media. These being Aren Grimshaw, Alex Sass and David Phillips. More details about the speakers and their talks with come out over the next few days on the #AddMe Conference Website.

The event is taking place at the University of Gloucestershire, Park Campus. Location and directions can be found here.

Tickets for the event are £5.00 each and student’s tickets are discounted to £3.00 with a promotional code. Considering the speakers; an affordable amount for an amazing social media conference. Tickets can only be purchased online on the #AddMe Conference’s website. The observant of you will notice the website is actually a sub-domain of this one.

No doubt the evening will partly play host to an embarrassingly long list of thanks to everybody who has helped me so far. There are a few people I would like to thank so far though. They would be:

• CIPR West of England group for always being there to help.
• Family friend, Richard Bratton,

(…)

We all know him as my faithful radio companion on Not Wireless Radio, the voice-over artist from the shire, the radio production student from @uniofglos and now he is dipping his toes into the water of charitable work.

On the 28^th March @ianpinnell will be abseiling 100ft down the Women’s Centre at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. In doing so Ian will be raising money for the Silver Star Society.

The Silver Star Society provides special medical care to pregnant mothers and their unborn babies who have serious or difficult problems. If it wasn’t for the Silver Star Society then Ian wouldn’t be with us today.

Ian aims to raise £100 for this worthy cause and every little bit helps. Please consider supporting Ian. Whilst abseiling for some might be considered a “walk in the park” I can reveal that Ian isn’t a great fan of heights. Have you seen the size of that building? Sheesh!

To donate visit Ian’s JustGiving page. Donating doesn’t take very long and will help the lives of many mothers and families.

If you are feeling especially kind and you are on Twitter then please retweet this post.

Thanks x

Goodbye teenage years. It was nice meeting you but I could have done without the spots, grease, tantrums, fluff on the upper lip and identity confusion.

There has been a rumour going around that today is actually my 50^th birthday. This is but a mere proposed mental age though. I have gone through life with people commenting that I act much older than I am. Not entirely sure if it is a ‘maturity thing’, more a side-effect caused by my introverted character that extravagantly extraverts itself online as if trying to find some plausible reason to why-I-think-the-way-I-do.

So far my life has stretched beyond several decades and after each year passes the next is to be presumed. For I am at that age when the body is young, mind remains sharp and it is easy to mistake yourself as invincible. Everything always moves too slowly. The moments in life take millennia to pass but should be savoured as a vintage wine.

It is the speed of youth that misses the colours of moments. Some people spend their whole lives missing the casual reasons and spend their life just as content as me who desires to know why life dealt a particular card.

At the turn of the millennium I honestly looked ahead 10 years I doubted I would make it. I was only 10 years old at the time but to live another 10 years, another lifetime, seemed utterly impossible. Yet, I have made it. Presuming no accident or illness occurs I can expect at least another 50 years. How scared that makes me feel. To think that my dreams must be accomplished before it is too late. That I have already lived 20 years and how I have changed during that time.

Whilst I think it is a giant leap to escape the teens and enter the eeeeees, at University I am one of the younger ones. People were forever bursting out in laughter when they learnt that I was a mere 19(…)

“The Shorty Awards are a worldwide effort to engage hundreds of thousands of Twitter users to identify the best people and organizations on Twitter.”

I am currently trying to get some votes in The Shorty Awards in the unofficial category of #publicrelations. Although feel free to nominate me for anything as The Shorty Awards are partly about how people view you on Twitter. Even getting one vote in The Shorty Awards would brighten up my day!

You can vote for me here

Or by posting on Twitter: I nominate @michaelwhite1 for a Shorty Award in #publicrelations because… (you need to provide a reason otherwise the vote won’t be counted.)

Any unofficial #categories you make will still be included and have the possibility of becoming official if there are enough votes.

If you don’t want to vote for me then you can always vote for me in the #egocentric category… which means I still get a vote!

I am really good at Scrabble. Seriously, I’m not joking. I even roughly know how many points each of the letters are worth. Instead of instinctively typing I can look at the keyboard and even within ‘qwerty’ can spot words such as; type, try, wet, re, et, ye. I don’t even need any human interaction. I can just sit with my iPhone and play… constantly.

Why? Why on Earth?! Why word fence with myself like this. It isn’t doing me any good. I keep confusing reality with the virtual reality and look for points in all the words I write. This mental break down makes perfect sense though. It does!

Since trying to give up smoking this is what has happened to me. Strange thing is I am absolutely helpless in the wake of this habit. It is so very strong, giving up recently has equated to a four day streak. Just four days? Just useless Michael, how useless you really are. The primary reason for my lack of will-power is that I LOVE smoking.

Oh yes, the smooth smell of tobacco. Even the fresh smell of cigarettes in the morning. Perhaps with a cup of coffee just before lectures. Nothing beats it. I would much rather be a smoker than an alcoholic. Let’s face it. With my addictive personality I could swing both ways (this is a joke…).

Scrabble offers me the protection from my busy head that demands to light up. Consequently trying to relax is hellish. One of the peculiar factors about smoking is that cigarette just before bed. Almost all smokers have it. A stimulant just as you are about to sleep. Curiously it is this last cigarette of the day which is hardest to beat. It demands attention and without it you can be guaranteed a night just thinking about it.

What is this utter nonsense which I am typing about though? Surely the cravings of this leaf show how pathetic I have become as a human. To demand this(…)

There is so much worry which is inflicted upon a young person’s mind. From those early years at school when you are required to read and write efficiently but also learn basic maths. Basic maths? Does such a mathematical arena really exist? The problem with schooling is that every pupil is classified into individual categories. Ranging from those who struggle, to the pupils who have brains like sponges. Something that is always forgotten about sponges though is that they are porous and full of holes. Those who are observant will evaluate that the majority of those ‘so called’ fast learners at school just stored all that knowledge into their short term memory.

The category system at school is simply misunderstood. Those in the lowest group were not dull, dim or disinterested but instead slower learners. The brain needs some extra time to grasp a comprehensive understanding but then would retain that learnt knowledge. What I am trying to get at is that those categories at primary schools stick in the subconscious. The good old British class system even extends into our Primary Schools teaching children from an early age that we are not all equal.

It will be of no surprise to you that we are not equal which would suggest the class system to hold some validity but let’s approach life as if we are all equal. There is no harm in that. So what if somebody answered a question incorrectly? At least they had thought about the question before providing their answer. That is the only important skill which schooling requires of us. It is to think independently. To walk through life as if we are the only focus and to maintain a public image unafraid of being open and honest.

It is amazing about how many details about our childhood may influence our older years. For this I am thankful for. I have had a good childhood, although I was not fully aware of it at the time. Of course(…)

Don’t be so surprised. Now that two blogs have become one I am forced to write mundane articles such as this. The build up to Christmas is not only readying everybody for a periodical anticlimax as Christmas day occurs and the rain fell just as it did the previous. For those of us who would rather just avoid the Christmas period altogether conversations occur with stunned strangers who cannot bear to believe that a single individual could ever not like Christmas. Personally I feel compelled to try and rethink my views each year concerning this holiday period but there is no solace. Just a winter solstice, which, by chance, started today. The Earth is on its tilt and unfortunately the Christmas decorations haven’t fallen into the dark abyss of space.

It isn’t like I don’t try. Yesterday I decided to attend the carol service at my local Church. It was good. Well… I didn’t like it when the pastor started talking about the love of Jesus. Apparently I was the only one in the Church who arrived just because I wanted to listen to the choir and sing some songs. Is this the desperate non-spiritual materialistic monster I have become?

In all honesty Christmas day is jolly good fun. Just look at me trying to dig myself out of this hole? Family, that’s right. Family is what is important about Christmas. There is a problem though. Call me lucky but I see my family quite often. I only saw them last week and now I’m going to see them again on Christmas day. Presents are good fun but saying thank you with that complacent smile makes me want to gag on my mince pie.

The most ridiculous plan was when my mother decided to hang mistletoe in the porch of our house. Not carefully thought through since the family were due to arrive the next day. Mistletoe is by far Christmas’ worst creation. I couldn’t care less about the history behind it, just please, for the love(…)