Role
The Deputy Editor is the linchpin of the website and bears the main responsibility for writing and creating new stories. You would share responsibility for making sure that the site is updated daily with high-quality, engaging editorial. You would also bear joint responsibility with the editor(s) for new story ideas and features. As Deputy Editor, you would also share responsibility for comment moderation, as required. You would also liaise with the client, obtaining information for the site, conducting interviews and attending events (occasionally involving foreign travel and anti-social hours).

Skills required for this role

• Excellent feature writing, subbing and proofing skills.
• Excellent research skills and a keen eye for a story.
• To be a primary liaison with the client representatives, requiring diplomacy and an ability to engage with senior managers.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Good interpersonal skills to include one to one, phone interviews, meeting chairperson, etc.
• Excellent and demonstrable written communication.

Role and responsibilities

• To take on the role of Deputy Editor at Republic Publishing with a direct aim to improve the performance of your allotted site.
• Implement the editorial schedule for the site as agreed with its editor(s)  – planning, writing, commissioning and editing editorial sufficient to exceed expectations in both quality and quantity.
• To develop new editorial elements and assist in other related projects as and when they happen.
• To help research, plan and develop new opportunities around the site and associated projects.
• Other duties as reasonably required by the Republic Publishing managers.

About Republic Publishing
Founded in 2007 by James Beechinor-Collins, Mike Cooper and Clive Swan, Republic Publishing works with technology brands to help them create and engage online communities. The company works with a number of major technology brands and also publishes the leading technology news and reviews website, Electricpig.co.uk.

To apply
Email your CV and a covering letter showing your suitability for the role and links to published articles to ian.delaney@republicpublishing.co.uk before 6.00pm August 31st. Use the email subject line ‘job application – deputy editor’.

I’m thrilled to report that we now have an audience of over 700,000 readers and our Facebook following has comfortably broken the 1,000 mark. Plus, I’m pleased to unveil our new Top 5 lists recommendation service.

Continuing to grow our audience is only half the story. In recent months we’ve begun to focus a great deal of our attention on facilitating our readers to engage more deeply with Electricpig wherever it may find them. It’s a challenge we’re relishing and one that will continue to evolve as we grow. We’re just at the beginning, so it’s an extremely exciting time. Stay tuned as I’ll be sharing updates on what we’ve done and how it’s working out over the coming months.

In related news, I’m delighted to announce our new Top 5 lists recommendation service. We’re constantly asked by readers, friends and family what’s the best smartphone or the best LCD TV, so we decided to create a fresh section addressing precisely those questions. And we’ve integrated our most recommended lists deeply into every article on Electricpig. There are now relevant product recommendations on every of the 10,000+ articles on the site. Our fledgling recommendation service will certainly mature over the coming months, with simplicity remaining at the heart and reader feedback key to its development. Have a look and let us know what you think.

Electricpig has continued to show stunning growth since its launch back in May 2008, with flocks of new readers getting stuck into our distinct blend of UK-focussed tech news and reviews.

Alongside building a highly engaged and influential readership of over 650,000 people, we have also recently witnessed a significant uplift in the number of readers joining our social media channels. Our Facebook page has seen a significant surge of around 200% in the past month with 901 fans now following Electricpig.

Stay tuned for more updates on Electricpig’s progress over the coming months.

Electricpig is already the UK’s most distinct tech publication. We’re authoritative and passionate about the best gadgets and technology, and now we’re looking for an equally dynamic and fresh-thinking Commercial Director. We only work with brands, services and products that interest and engage our readers.

You will be responsible for the continuing commercial development and success of the Electricpig business. Everything from delivering successful tailored brand solutions and affiliate opportunities to events and beyond. The successful candidate has the opportunity to build and evolve the most innovative and effective commercial team in UK tech publishing.

You must be self-motivated and entrepreneurial in your approach, coupled with notable experience in listening to and working closely with key tech brands whether via media agencies or direct.

Electricpig.co.uk is succeeding by delivering great value to our clients and compelling content to our readers. This is a rare chance to become part of that dedicated, innovative team.

Location: Anywhere in or around London (you’ll be working remotely)

Salary: £apply to find out + benefits

To apply send a covering note and your CV to mike@republicpublishing.co.uk.

First local edition of the official Nokia blog

Over the last two years, Republic Publishing has been working with the Nokia Social Media team to develop and run the official Nokia blog. Almost two years to the day since the launch of the global English language edition, we rolled out the Chinese edition in , together with the local team in Nokia China.

In the works for the last three months, the site mirrors the look and feel of the global edition, but is completely localised to make it easier for both readers and the team working on it. Although hosted in China, the site was built and is maintained by Republic Publishing.

To help get the site off the ground, and the local team up and running, JBC spent a week in Beijing working through the key functions of running an official corporate blog.

If you’re fluent in Chinese, then head over to Blog.Nokia.com.cn

This month we launched a series of engaging independent promotional guides and must-see videos highlighting the talents of the new Android-powered Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. Created by the Electricpig editors for Electricpig readers, each article and video was keenly tailored to engage their distinct tastes and core tech interests.

We’re offering our readers the chance to explore the X10 in real depth via an entirely fresh selection of standalone guides and enlightening easy-to-digest 60-second videos.

We wanted to illustrate the smartest things you can do with the X10 in a minute, and came up with a list of ten distinct scenarios where Sony Ericsson’s latest smartphone could help you out.

Visit our Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 campaign on Electricpig, or visit each of the 10 guides directly via the links below.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 in ten minutes:
What can you do in a minute?
Xperia X10: Throw the world’s fastest party
Xperia X10: Share your holiday snaps in seconds
Xperia X10: Catch up with friends in an instant
Xperia X10: Get off the tourist trail
Xperia X10: Become a pub quiz mastermind
Xperia X10: Make your mates smile
Xperia X10: Rock out to infinity
Xperia X10: Get the gossip, as it happens
Xperia X10: Learn new tricks with awesome apps
Xperia X10: Watch videos on the move

With a mixture of serious and not so serious topics, reader interaction from the blog and a spotlight on the latest apps and games, the official Nokia blog newsletter forms a weekly digest of the most important things to happen around Nokia.

The newsletter is the latest in a long line of additions made to the site since it launched in 2008.

Tim Whirldedge points out on his blog this campaign has created an interesting tone of voice for Dixons based on brutal honesty. Others like Ruth Mortimer at Marketing Week have been more sceptical of Dixons decision to undermine competitor brands. It’s a ballsy move, not every brand is prepared to sell itself on widely known values that haven’t always reflected positively.

I’ve written previously about how electrical retailers are embracing new forms of customer service. I admire this campaign for the distinct opportunity it has created for Dixons. Yes, in a recession hugely competitive price points are sustaining sales numbers but for how long will Dixons be able to ignore a customer service approach?

It’s no secret that Best Buy’s entrance in the UK is just around the corner. In the US they are renowned for their high levels of customer satisfaction and have built the brand around this. It will be interesting to see how consumers react to Dixons.

John Lewis have already publicly commented on this campaign. Rightly or wrongly this campaign has stimulated debate around the brands involved. Do you love or hate it? How does this make you feel about Dixons? Do you admire their pluckiness or are they making a mistake? Who makes the most of this and how they do it promises to be very interesting indeed.

Viral Video: ‘A video clip that gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing, typically through email or Instant messaging, blogs and other media sharing websites.’ Source: Wikipedia

There was a time when viral video campaigns felt organic and about community and the best ones still work on the principle of getting the message out there. However, the latest crop, to my mind at least, seem to be little more than adverts better suited to a cinema audience than the internet.

The problem seems to be that Ad agencies have gotten involved and that means every increasing budgets and higher expectations. The latest two videos that seem to have taken this approach are both about laptops. I like both, for quite different reasons, but neither strike me as anything other than advertising.

The MSI ‘guy catches laptop in butt’ video has that ’share’ appeal vital to virals as it’s simply a corny joke executed really really well. Everyone finds toilet humour funny on some level and this hits that chord nicely – I’m just not sure how many people will remember which notebook, or brand, it is that’s being advertised. Conversely, the latest Sony S.M.A.A campaign leaves its pay-off until the end – it’s not until you’ve sat through this mini-drama that we get to see it’s for a Sony VAIO after all!

Now, I’m not going to tell anyone how to spend their budgets but as community and sharing information is what we do daily on NokNok, there are far more cost-effective and informative ways to get that message out there. However, if viral video is a key part of getting that message out then one of the more successful, in my mind, of late has been setting the Nokia 3720 Classic in jelly! It’s quick, to the point and really has that viral appeal.

Viral marketing can work and works really well but it shouldn’t be the only part of a marketing campaign, it should compliment the other work you’re carrying out online on a daily basis – that’s the true benefit of community sites.

Nokia 3720 Classic:

Liane Dietrich, managing director of LinkShare, the affiliate network which conducted the research, said:

“Less than 10 per cent of our respondents are interacting with adverts across social networking sites…Online users are information shoppers – they are looking for buyer reviews – so adverts need relay more information to cater for this need”.

This serves as a good reminder to all that at its heart the internet is a service led business. The most successful sites are those that are consistently providing useful information to their customers.

This obviously is easier said than done and even Google can sometimes get it wrong. Recently I’ve been exploring their Ad-sense channel via YouTube and came across this particularly illuminating comment.

“Hey Google instead of these ads for your Google products how about you give instruction instead. That’s what people search YouTube for, not to see an ad”.

Wouldn’t it be great if more people actually searched for ads. Perhaps a good lesson for us all, remember advertising needs to be useful!