So finally got to new blood, setup went well and the opening night was really good. I've made a few good contacts already, for those of you who took my details, I hope to talk to you soon and if I took yours again I will be in touch asap!

Two shout outs or rather three to: Adam & Dan for picking up a new blood award for their portfolio and also for Rob from Nonsense London for taking the time out to come and talk to us and give us some brilliant feedback and advice, great guy :)

Right off to day two now!

Sent from my BlackBerry®

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I got my results today, ended up with a 2:1, so now I'm officially a graduate. It's been a good 3 years, ups, downs and plenty of good times. I have learnt an awful lot during my time at uni, not only about advertising but also about myself, I've developed a lot of my core skills and definitely improved as a person. However as one door closes another opens...bring on the world of work!

New blood is next week so if anyone is attending please come say hi, I'm at stands 4-5 with some of the good looking people you see in the image below ;)

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Im loving the marketing behind the new transformers movie thats coming out! Online blogs have been set up where the writers of the blogs post videos/photos of recent transformer sightings! The amatuerish films really make it appealing, great stuff. Its creating a lot of hype around the movie with thousands of people viewing the blogs.

Its a great way to interact with the fans, with many fans interacting with the writers of the blogs by writing their own theories and stories, a simple idea executed well, good work!

The blogs are:

http://www.gianteffingrobots.com/

http://www.therealeffingdeal.com/

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A masseur who specialises in rubbing down models would prefer a nice boring desk job.

Created for internet provider UOL, this viral has been second only to Susan Boyle in views recently.

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My late chipshop awards entry :D

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I am at stands 4 and 5 - to the left of the main entrance at new blood! If your attending make sure you come say hi, will be free food at the stand too ;)

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Much like my "video of the week" posts im going to be posting what Im reading at the current point in time, once finished I'll give it my professional verdict :D

So lets get the ball rolling, the first entry is:

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So...its nearly that time in my life when I should be smiling and be looking forward to getting into the world of work, my graduation is scheduled for next month. However having met some of the graduates from last year earlier this week, the world of work (or lack of) seems a bit bleak!

Many are still going from placement to placement, others have changing career paths and a few have landed a job. It s a hard time to be coming into the world of work, competition is not only coming from this year’s graduates but also last year’s graduates and people who may have lost their jobs!

Now is the time to shine thought, persistence is the key, hard work and dedication has never been so important. So to everyone graduating this year, good luck, we are all in the same boat! Don't give up and I might even bump into some of you at an interview in the future ;)

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2009 is going to be a big year for all brand communications, the recession is here to stay for a long time, customers are less trusting and brands are dying left right and centre. However on the bright side (if there is one) more and more brands are beginning to become more transparent to their target audiences using social media networks.

One of the recent examples has been the integration of twitter into mainstream media, such as TV. The Conservative leader David Cameron recently used twitter to field questions from the general public and is planning to use YouTube to update the public regarding legislations and changes in the law. Another example of public services using it has been the Boston police, updating their twitter feeds to show the kind of work they do on a regular basis – at the time writing they had 4,419 followers which goes to show people do care! This isn’t just restricted to non profit organisations though, MTV are looking to bring out “a talk show format show inspired in part by late-night programming, with topics ranging from movies and music to the latest YouTube sensations to to see if their singing, dancing, or other oddball talents are for real. And there will be no screaming crowds in Times Square. Instead, there will be tweets."

Mainstream media is starting to become influenced by social media, from creating stars over night (Susan Boyle) to keeping the public up to date with the latest laws. Now is the time for all brands to embrace social media and use it to gain a deeper connection with its audience. There are millions of opportunities out there, restaurants can advertise their latest deals, suppliers communicate in real time with their clients, and game companies can show off their latest products or why not go one step further? Use social media to advertise a publicity stunt for a brand, Lucozade are planning to get a lucky (or not so lucky hmmm?) individual to carry out some of the toughest physical challenges around the globe and tweet/blog/YouTube their experiences. A simple idea, which if executed well will create a lot of exposure for the brand.

As a creative and forward thinking industry it is time to embrace cross media integration and really communicate brands in a way that appeals to consumers and embraces the social media culture, so....what are you waiting for?! Get the ideas flowing 

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