A weekly roundup of talking points, sans effort

Worth the paper it’s printed on?

Last week’s light news success stories included…
… Russell Brand and Katy Perry preparing to divorce, and claiming 34 headlines in the process, significantly more than the ten dedicated to renewed bird flu fears that emerged after a bus driver from the Chinese city of Shenzhen died from the virus…
…Sinead O’Connor’s fourth marriage coming to an end- news that featured in 24 articles, whereas Chinese activist Chen Xi was imprisoned for ten years and appeared in just 14…
…and finally, opera singer Katherine Jenkins and TV presenter Gethin Jones are also set to split, with eleven articles running on the fact they made the announcement via Twitter, exactly the same number that were published following Portia Simpson winning the Jamaican election to become the country’s first female Prime Minister.
(Source: Journalisted)

Weekly high

German manufacturer Edding have found a novel way to keep highlighters in the public’s digital minds with this little app. Click here to access the website, and from there you can simply drag and drop the icon into your Internet browser’s toolbar. Then with one click you can highlight web text, and share via social media, making this little concept our favourite marketing idea of the last week.

Weekly low

OK, so it’s not necessarily the beginning of the end of the world, as the Mayan civilisation predicted 2012 would bring about, though there’s still plenty of time left in the year yet. But we still couldn’t help feeling sentimental at the thought of the BBC World Service running adverts on some websites and radio stations. The end of a very long era no less.

Battle of the tweets: Manchester vs London vs Leeds

Top Manchester #tags (seven days to 4/1/2012)

#mufc #mcfc

#lfc #eastenders

#describeyoursexlifewithamovietitle #nufc

#happynewyear #manchester

#thingsihatethemost #2011in3words

The trend describeyoursexlifewithamovietitle is certainly a challenge with just 106 characters left, while we also enjoyed seeing the creativiy at work in responses to 2011’s three words. Elsewhere, Newcastle United just beat Manchester United, which is also the talk of this town.

One to watch: footballagentpm (Peter Morrison- Football agent, ex-Bolton player; 25,477 followers / 4,877 updates)
Top London #tags (seven days to 4/1/2012)

#eastenders #lfc

#mufc #arsenal

#nufc #happynewyear

#stephenlawrence #describeyoursexlifewithamovietitle

#sherlock #afc

The murder of Stephen Lawrence is sadly back in the news again, with a review of the sentencing handed out and the Metropolitan Police homicide teams being reduced in size. There’s also plenty of tweets about Arsenal and, of course, Happy New Year.
One to watch: mirrorfootball (Mirror Football– It’s all fun and games… until we make a gag about YOUR team; 81,045 followers / 51,418 updates)
Top Leeds #tags (seven days to 4/1/2012)

#lufc #nufc

#eastenders #lfc

#mufc #describeyoursexlifewithamovietitle

#sherlock #darts

#2011in3words #thingsihatethemost

If one team outside the Premiership rejoices when Man United lose it’s Leeds across the Pennines, so it’s no surprise Newcastle’s #nufc features in this list. Away from sport BBC One’s new series of Sherlock just began, which people in Leeds seem to love.
One to watch: leedsguide (Leeds Guide– Leeds food, drink, shopping, nightlife, music and culture; 10,751 followers / 4,247 updates)
That was The Blagger’s Blog, a selection of statements, statistics and noteworthy newsies from across the media and social world, amalgamated, allowing the time-starved professional to start a conversation from thin air.
If there is a success story, blunder, or tweeting town you’d like to see included email [email protected] or tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!