It easy to not keep up a blog. But there must be a fair amount to say as I have got better at keeping this one up as time has gone on.

Anyway, despite the amazing achievement of wiping off some of my early posts, the blog is nearing 100 entries and to celebrate Artisan is offering a free press release. It is open worldwide! as long as the release is for UK distribution.

To enter simply leave your contact details in the comments section (including e-mail)

The Manchester Evening News is setting up a media hub - MEN Media. The MEN controls over 20 titles, Channel M and Manchester Online. The hub will converge these different interests. Instead of a journalist simply working on one title they will work between titles, working with the best medium for their story. The convergence of these mediums will also entail moving into a state of the art media centre.

The move to work across different outlets so seamlessly mirrors the convergence and continuing convergence of all media channels. The effect on PR will obviously be tremendous. Watch this blog.

After being bought out by Google for £865m, You Tube immediately faced the threat of legal action for copyright. But they did not expect a lawsuit from a small engineering company in Perrysburg Ohio: Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment Corporation.

The 17-man company has experienced 68 million hits in August as the world’s illiteracy amongst the online population was cruelly exposed. The Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment Corporation has the website address www.utube.com. The mix up of identities and surfers’ atrocious spelling has brought the website down a number of times and forced the “victims” to move to a bigger server.

Now Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment Corporation wishes to sue You Tube. It could be the best marketing they ever get – why complain? Anyone want to rename their social networking site Artisan? Please.

The Liverpool Daily Post has “followed” the MEN in distributing free papers.

From this week the Post is giving out 6,000 papers in Liverpool City Centre. Talking to a contact at the Post today I asked if this had any relation to the MEN’s decision to give out free copies or was it designed to boost “sales” so advertising rates could be maintained or bettered.

The answer is “no.”

The reason is to ensure that the Post continues to stand out as the business paper of Liverpool. Several hundred copies will be given directly to top business professionals in the city and in so doing the perception of the Post will be maintained. It is not a wholesale giveaway but has very specific aims.

I will let you know how they get on.

I went to my usual networking event at Holmes Place and although enjoyable I did not pick up any leads.

One of the reasons I go Holmes Place is that they said I could use the swimming pool afterwards.

I did not make it to the swimming pool. I made the mistake of going in the jacuzzi and being so pleasant I could not face going in the cold pool. But I did meet a former colleague who was relaxing in the jacuzzi. He has set up his own company and by coincidence wants PR.

So the misplaced idealism of doing some exercise might pay off. Networking can be very effective informally as it can be formally.