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Friday 17 July 2015

Social media mishaps and tips on how to avoid them

“Twitter hashtags, Facebook comments and Yelp reviews are a powerful marketing tool, but they’re also a quagmire of potential faux-pas.”

So true.  I have been caught out myself this very day on Twitter.

Click here to read the article in the Guardian




In the article, Thomas Brown, Director of Strategy and Marketing at The Chartered Institute of Marketing, suggests taking the ‘bull by the horns’ and admitting fault, acting swiftly and not running away and hiding are the best responses to bad publicity:

·         Ignoring a problem doesn’t mean it will go away – social media is a real-time channel and demands responsiveness.
·         Failing to admit fault or taking a dispute with a customer on to social media only casts your business in a more negative light.
·         Complaints on social media don’t always stay on social media – local or national press can pick up a story, worsening the reputational challenge facing the business.
·         Closing down a social media account or pages doesn’t make the problem go away – it can be seen as an acknowledgment of fault or a disdain for customer feedback.


As for my own experience today, I responded swiftly and apologetically to the tweet in question, I followed up with an email with further apologies and did what I had been asked to do and I hope that I have rectified the issue on the website which was partly responsible / which I could blame for the error immediately.    

There are certainly lessons to learn – the main one being think before you blog, tweet or facebook and don't make promises and then fail to fulfill them.

A friendly journalist did remind me recently that there is no such thing as bad publicity – and that in her opinion Oscar Wilde’s words are true: “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

Does this still ring true in this savage media age?
  
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urban-archaeology.blogspot.co.uk

 Looks like an interesting blog – worth a look:



"Chiz Harward (Urban Archaeology) has worked within the UK archaeological industry for over twenty years.  Currently based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, Chiz works across the UK and can offer a flexible presence on and off site.

Chiz specialises in the excavation and analysis of deeply stratified urban sequences commonly found in Roman and medieval London and other historic towns. Chiz is also an experienced archaeological illustrator and has been developing training materials for several years."

With an article on the blog about cold weather working, this is clearly a man who knows his stuff!

Click here to find out what do to keep yourself fit for work on site in cold weather.







A recent blog points to the pop up museum – today – at the 100 Minories site:


The 100 Minories site is also worth a look – a groovy looking website, if a little confusing to navigate:  http://100minories.lparchaeology.com/about/


“100 Minories is a captivating multi-period excavation in the heart of London with an archaeological legacy spanning from Roman times right through to the modern era. Nestled between the Roman and Medieval City wall and the Medieval street of the Minories, the site is surrounded by important archaeological sites: the Roman eastern cemetery, medieval monasteries and the Tower of London…….”

The excavation by LP: Archaeology and Urban Archaeology appears to be over now, but the pop up museum display is today!!


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Thursday 16 July 2015

Oxford Westgate dig: Medieval leather shoes found


50 medieval leather shoes and a bag rare and exciting" leather and wooden objects 700 years old have been found  in Westgate Shopping Centre excavations in Oxford.  (Might that be 25 pairs of shoes I wonder?) Experts have also uncovered a wooden bowl and timber posts at the site. 

Project Director Ben Ford said: "These finds are as rare as gold and often as informative.  They tell us about the everyday people, their lives, the objects they made and the clothes they wore. It's amazing to think these shoes were worn by people who walked the streets of medieval Oxford.  Only a handful of sites will have that level of preservation.  What makes it special is the sheer volume of the material, we have only been on site four or five weeks and already have 100 objects."

The site of the shopping centre, which is being redeveloped, housed a friary for the Greyfriars religious order and was just outside the Oxford city walls at the time.
 
An open day is taking place this weekend for the public to visit the excavations as part of the National Festival of Archaeology.  Click here for details.

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Wednesday 15 July 2015

Festival of Archaeology 2015 – July 11 to 26…what’s on? Registration still open…

Co-ordinated by the Council for British Archaeology, the 2014 Festival offered over 1,000 events nationwide, organised by museums, heritage organisations, national and country parks, universities, local societies, and community archaeologists.


The 2015, 25th Festival of Archaeology is now upon us -  11th - 26th July 2015 and registration is still open!

Click here to register

Click here to find events in your area

Go to the Festival’s twitter feed to find out more: https://twitter.com/FestivalofArch

http://www.archaeologyfestival.org.uk/whatson

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To Pluto and Beyond….NASA New Horizons Pluto fly past

 While not exactly archaeology, at least the New Horizons craft is still generating data about our history.  The dwarf planet and the Kuiper Belt which lies beyond are a relics of solar system’s formation.   From these we will learn a great deal more about the early stages of our own plant’s existence – and thus, our own.


Amazingly, the New Horizons craft was launched on Jan 19, 2006.  It swung past Jupiter at more than 50,000 mph and received a ‘gravity boost’ in February 2007, passing close by Pluto on Tuesday of this week – a mere 60km closer to the planet than had been planned – not a bad margin for a 9 year mission!  


Messages take 4 hours and 25 minutes to reach earth and apparently it is going to take up to 16 months for all of the data captured in the ‘Pluto fly past’ to be downloaded to computers here on earth!

Operations manager Alice Bowman confirmed that New Horizons' solid state recorder should be full of data.  "The expected number of segments on that recorder had been used. That tells us that that data has been collected on the spacecraft," she explained.

Click here for a great clip showing the excitement at mission control.
 Click here for more info can be found at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory dedicated site.

You can see some great stuff from NASA if you click here

So, what have we learned so far?  
Well, that first that we can get a spacecraft to out reaches of the solar system!  Secondly we have learned that Pluto appears more topographically diverse than was previously thought, though I have seen no suggestions of why – apart from a vague indication of underlying plate techtonics.  Thirdly Pluto is red rather than blue.  Fourthly, Pluto is apparently larger than was previously thought.  Fifthly, Pluto’s surface is covered with large areas of nitrogen ice.

Click here to “Meet the other red planet”

Photos from the approach:


 ….and finally….


It is too easy to take this stuff for granted!!  WOW!

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Monday 13 July 2015

Isle of Wight Roman Villas celebrate Festival of Archaeology

Have your local finds identified by expert Frank Basford on 18th and 25th

The 25th Festival of Archaeology will take place between the 11th – 26th July 2015 at venues across the UK.

Click here to find out more about Frank Basford 

Co-ordinated by the Council for British Archaeology, the 2015 Festival is offering over 1,000 events nationwide, organised by museums, heritage organisations, national and country parks, universities, local societies, and community archaeologists.

A celebration of our incredible history
This Festival is a huge celebration of our incredible history here in the UK, and you don’t have to be an archaeologist to join in.

It’s a chance for everyone to explore and uncover the past, see archaeology in action, and bring the history on your doorstep to life.

Activities include talks or lectures, finds identification or archaeological skills, re-enactments or demonstrations, exhibitions or displays and guided walks or tours.

History periods covered include Prehistory, the Romans, Saxons and Vikings through the Medieval period to the Tudors, Stuarts, Georgians and Victorians to the 20th and 21st Century.

Wight Roman villas
As part of the national scheme, the local Finds Liaison Officer from the Portable Antiquities Scheme, Frank Basford (pictured), will be identifying objects found by the public at Brading Roman Villa on the 18th July (11am-3pm) and Newport Roman Villa on the 25th (10.30am-4pm).

Frank will also have on show the Handling Collection which will enable members of the public to identify items from the past.


Click here to read the original article 

At Newport Roman Villa on Saturday 25 July there will be craft activities and a treasure hunt for families as well as the finds on show.


 
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