North Korea joins the social media revolution

Social media might be old news to the Western world but in North Korea the revolution is only just beginning. This week a bureau chief for the Associated Press in Pyongyang posted the country’s first ever photos via Instagram. The images showed everyday scenes including commuters on their way to work, propaganda posters and the city skyline. This is a giant leap for the secretive country that has only one 3G mobile operator, jointly run by a State-owned businesses.

Thanks to the smart phone and tablet generation, record numbers are choosing to visit newspapers online over print. In January alone the Mail Online reported an 11% increase in monthly unique users, reaching the dizzy heights of 126,753,431 browsers. Similarly, The Guardian attracted a digital audience of over 77 million, an increase of 14% year-on-year.

There’s nothing more frustrating than spending your hard earned cash on what you think is a great deal, only to find the price drops the next day. Travel is an expensive experience – so finding the best deal on a hotel is key. Tingo aims to prevent this infuriating predicament by checking hotel prices and automatically sending you a refund if the price drops. Instead of making that angry complaint, you’ll get free room upgrades and extra cash to reallocate on your trip without even so much as a phone call. This situation seems to arise on a number of occasions, a quick Tingo search shows that in just 30 days, 237 hotels in NYC saw prices drop! In such cases, the clever bods at Tingo automatically rebooks your reservation time and refunds the difference on your credit card. There have been questions raised as to the sustainability & viability of the business model – will it last? We at Siren Communications certainly hope so, we’re always on the lookout for the best holiday deal!

Twitter users will be prosecuted after images supposedly showing James Bulger killer, Jon Venables, who was released from jail on license with a new identity, appeared on the social networking site. Although the images were deleted swiftly after the posts appeared, charges will be bought for contempt of court against users who were involved, marking a new era for social media usage and the legal system.

Employee social media mishaps make the headlines on a regular basis however, increasing interaction on Twitter and other social media platforms aren’t just a way to get fired but a way to get hired too. According to American company, Enterasys, employers are no longer considering candidates on the basis of their CV but are turning to social media giant, Twitter. Tweets from personal accounts demonstrate originality, understanding and restraint. With just 140 characters available to ‘sell yourself’, is it time to tweak your Twitter r-©sum-©?