Size is not always the deciding factor: the city of Zug, for example, has the most fans on Facebook, the city of Basel the most followers on Twitter, or the city of Geneva the most subscribers on its YouTube channel. On the web portal Socialswitzerland.ch this and a variety of other data can now be accessed, according to a statement. However, not all cantonal and municipal authorities use the possibilities of social media platforms - yet.

Always up to date

Using intuitive and simple controls, interested users can compare all Swiss cantons and capitals with each other - at least as far as their appearance on the social web is concerned. The results are displayed in clear pie charts and bar graphs. In addition to the total number of users of the individual channels, the figures can also be viewed in relation to the number of inhabitants of the cantons or cities. In addition, an interaction coefficient shows how much response the authorities' appearances on the various channels generate. According to Webguerillas, however, the web portal's greatest achievement is its automatic updating of data. On the one hand, this means that it is always possible to track the current state of the authorities' appearances on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and on the other hand, it is also possible to track the development of the individual profiles over a specific period of time.

"Unfortunately, my cross-media skills are lying idle at Swissprofessionalmedia because the publisher is not investing in a digital strategy. This is one of the main reasons for my departure," said former TV doctor Markus Meier in a press release.

Meier started his career over 17 years ago at Hasli TV, the first local private broadcaster. After completing his medical studies, he moved to Sat 1 Switzerland in 2000, where he played a key role in setting up the medical program "1x tägl.". In 2003, he joined the "Gesundheit Sprechstunde" media network as a TV and print editor, where he had a regular TV presence and was promoted to the management team as Medical Director in 2006. From 2007, he also became Head of Cooperations and Projects and was responsible for TV sponsoring as well as fundraising, planning and organizing public congresses and special issues. In 2008, he organized the "Health Ship" on the Mediterranean, among other things. From 2009 to 2011, he also took on the role of Head of Internet on an interim basis. In February 2011, he moved to Medical Tribune, a specialist newspaper for GPs and internists, as Editor-in-Chief and modernized it. At the same time, he was head of the specialist medical editorial team at Medical Tribune public, the health magazine published by Swissprofessionalmedia.
 

The first Euro projects have already been completed. The success rate worldwide is 68 percent, which is even higher in French-speaking Switzerland at 77 percent, according to a Wemakeit press release. Renowned cultural institutions, successful musicians and designers are also increasingly using Wemakeit as a platform for financing their projects; and it has been shown that music, design, film and book projects can be launched efficiently with a Wemakeit campaign and attract a large audience. The Platform is visited by more than 3,000 people every day. 15,000 have supported one or more projects.

There are currently 59 campaigns with an average duration of 45 days on the platform, 15 of which are from French-speaking Switzerland. The spectrum ranges from the 20th anniversary of the Hora Theater to the first African festival in Schwamendingen, from a global poetry festival in Berlin to a snowboard and ski tour atlas for the Swiss mountains. In addition to an online fashion platform for visually impaired and blind people (a ZHdK Master's thesis) and a photo book about the Federal Palace by the renowned Magnum photographer Fred Mayer, there is also a campaign for a music video by the band "My Heart belongs to Cecilia Winter", for a short film about the American writer James Baldwin in Leukerbad and for the 10th edition of the rock-paper-scissors competition in Lausanne.
 

This is eleven percent more than in the same period last year (EUR 17.7 million). The operating result EBITDA grew by eleven percent to 5.3 million euros (4.8 million euros). At 2.0 million euros, the net result was at the previous year's level, according to a press release.

Revenue from the "Premium Club" division, which mainly comprises business with premium customers and display advertising, is Xing's largest source of revenue. The Premium Club contributed 12.9 million euros to total revenue, which is four percent more than in the previous year (12.4 million euros). The "e-Recruiting" division (including company profiles) recorded the highest growth of all divisions: It grew by 32 percent compared to the previous year and generated 5.3 million euros (4.0 million euros). The "Events" business segment recorded an increase to 1.1 million euros (1.0 million euros).

Thomas Vollmoeller, CEO of Xing: "Xing continued its solid growth in the first quarter of this year. We were able to increase revenue in all business areas. In particular, our solutions for companies suffering from the skills shortage continue to see increasing demand. With our Talent Manager, they have access to the largest talent network in the German-speaking world." To date, Xing has sold more than 1,500 licenses of the product to HR departments and recruitment consultants. In the first quarter, the product, which was launched in September last year, once again exceeded its own expectations.

Growth in membership figures too: In the first quarter, Xing welcomed around 205,000 new members in German-speaking countries. Xing now has more than 6.3 million members there and almost 13.2 million worldwide. The number of Premium members paying subscriptions grew by around 3,000 to 786,000 in German-speaking countries in the first quarter (worldwide: 810,000 at the end of March 2013).

Xing was also on course for growth in terms of usage in the first quarter. The network exceeded a new record of unique users in the reporting period and broke the five million mark for the first time in January (source: AGOF). In order to further accommodate the increase in mobile Xing usage, which now accounts for around a third of total traffic, an iPad app has also been available to users since the end of March. This has already been downloaded around 70,000 times since then.

SRG pays 67.5 percent of the final salary in the defined benefit plan until the end of life. According to the NZZ am Sonntag, this level can hardly be found anywhere else. Now the defined benefit plan is to be changed to a defined contribution plan: No more fixed pensions, but a dependency on the contributions paid in. The more contributions, the higher the pension. However, the SRG apparently wants to maintain the high pension level.

This will be expensive - for employees and employers. The NZZ am Sonntag has received information that the employer's contributions in particular will be increased: up to 20.25 percent of the salary. With the employer's 9 to 12 percent, this amounts to 32.25 percent - in Switzerland, a maximum of 24 percent is usual.

The plan provides for employees aged 55 and over to remain insured under the defined benefit plan. According to pension fund specialist Werner C. Hug, these ten years are "incomprehensibly long". It is customary to maintain vested rights for a maximum of five years - in exceptional cases for seven years. For good reason: the employer must increase the retirement assets in the pension fund if an employee in the defined benefit plan receives a salary increase. In order to achieve the pension target of 67.5 percent of the last salary, a 55-year-old who receives an annual salary increase of CHF 10,000 will have to make additional payments totaling around CHF 250,000 until the end of his career. Five-sixths of this is borne by SRG.

However, Hug also considers other key points of the SRG pension fund restructuring to be "over-ripe" and speaks of the "most generous solution" he has ever seen in connection with a transition from defined benefits to defined contributions. Accordingly, 41 to 54-year-olds will receive 100 percent of the pension losses financed, while the age groups below this will receive 10 percent less per year of age - up to the 1973 age group.

However, the option of retiring at 62 with full pension, which has been the subject of heated media debate in recent weeks, will be abolished. Previously, around half of SRG employees made use of this option. The new system "penalizes" early retirement with pension losses - although this does not apply to employees remaining in the defined benefit plan.

The fulfillment of the SRG pension fund's pension promises depends on the return on the financial markets. A return on assets of 3.25 percent is apparently expected - at least one percent too high, says Werner C. Hug. If the expected return does not materialize, the fund will have to be restructured. This could be costly for SRG, as it intends to assume 60 percent of a possible restructuring plan by 2018. (hae/NZZaS)

Image: Keystone
 

As the NZZ am Sonntag writes, it is not only the SVP and FDP that are voicing opposition to the planned levy, which would have to be paid by every household - regardless of whether and which media are consumed. The Weko also has little sympathy for the idea. According to Weko Director Rafael Corazza, it would be an additional state intervention that would deprive citizens of their choice. The Federal Council would have to demonstrate that the economic benefits of the new system are so great that they justify the restriction of freedom of choice.

In general, the Weko questions the position of the SRG: The special status with a state mandate and reception fees is only justified if certain desired content does not reach the consumer without regulation, says Corazza. It is not clear where this market failure exists in the media market and which TV content is indispensable for the functioning of direct democracy. Therefore, it is also not possible to show where and how much state regulation is really necessary.

It is still uncertain whether the Federal Council will respond to the Weko's objections regarding the status of the SRG. Regarding the type of fee collection under discussion, the Federal Office of Communications told the NZZ am Sonntag that the household levy system was also supported by parliament. In addition, only two to three percent of the population that consumes neither radio nor TV would be negatively affected. (hae/NZZaS)
 

These are former employees of 20 Minuten Online, and the editorial team will be expanded at a later date. On Thursday, project work began in Zurich's Kreis 5, as the NZZ am Sonntag writes. According to Hansi Voigt, the new platform will be launched at the end of the year. The name will not be revealed until next week for domain acquisition reasons. Since an expansion into German-speaking countries is also planned, corresponding domains will be registered as well.

The main investor to date is AZ Media publisher Peter Wanner, with further investors to be found by the end of the year. Voigt believes in success and expects to strike a chord with the mobile end customer. In addition, the provision of regional and local online news, which has been neglected by the competition, is intended to open up a gap in the market. In addition to information, the portal will offer a lot of "pastime", according to Voigt. Detached from the old print logic, one could start without the ballast of an old editorial system - supported by the experience gained at Tamedia. Voigt's goal is to be among the largest platforms in Switzerland in three to four years, even if the risk of premature failure is high.

Central - as with all online media - will be the generation of revenues. According to Voigt, the new platform will be mainly ad-financed. But not with "off-the-shelf banner advertising. He believes in "smarter and more efficient forms of advertising" that could benefit from the "intelligence" of smartphones and tablets (or rather, the devices' detailed knowledge of their users). (hae/NZZaS)

Image: Keystone
 

To promote the cat treats, the DDB agency has created a whole "Work it Kitty!" website  in the pink 80s style. The centerpiece is the music video by Alex Gaudion featuring Taboo - "I Don't Wanna Dance". Nine years after Eric Prydz' "Call on Me", another aerobics video could cause a stir. The new edition features fewer feminine curves - but plenty of velvet paws. And exercises such as "toilet rolls" - known from numerous YouTube cat videos. (hae)
 

via Laughingsquid.com

Guest speaker Willi Burkhalter, Secretary General of the SRG Board of Directors, informed the Annual General Meeting about the project launched at the end of April for the future of the SRG Association, which is responsible for the SRG multimedia company. The aim of the project is to make the association fit for an effective and efficient dialog with the public and to anchor it more firmly in civil society. The SRG association has too few members and the average age of its members is too high. With its 12 regional organizations, the SRG association has around 20,000 members throughout Switzerland. Willi Burkhalter, who is stepping down as Secretary General in the fall, was given a big round of applause by the meeting. The Annual General Meeting then approved the statutory business (minutes of the 2012 AGM, annual report, annual financial statements) at a rapid pace. With an operating result of around CHF 58,000, the 2012 annual financial statements closed significantly better than budgeted. This was primarily because fewer activities were carried out in the area of public relations than originally planned.

Three new board members

The General Assembly elected Beat Hayoz (Düdingen), Christian Kräuchi (Lyss) and Mirjam Veglio (Zollikofen) as new members of the Board of Directors. Hayoz is a secondary school teacher in Fribourg and the new President of the Fribourg Radio and Television Company (FRF), Kräuchi is Head of Communications for the Canton of Berne and Veglio is Vice-Municipal President of Zollikofen. The three new Board members replace Nicolas Bürgisser (Giffers), Kathy Gerber Widmer (Kirchlindach) and Esther Kälin Plézer (Bern).

The traditional Q&A session focused on questions about SRF's information programs, which were expertly answered by the SRF executives present or passed on to the relevant editorial team. Cheerful faces and laughter dominated the end of the meeting: cabaret artist Michael Elsener drew a great deal of applause with his parodies of well-known television faces and radio voices and delighted the audience in the Grand Council Chamber of Bern City Hall.

 

According to SRF spokesperson Jonathan Engmann, the production was one of the more complex ones, as the entire technology had to be transported to an altitude of 2000 meters. The move is not part of a cost-cutting programme, but is due to the ongoing review of programmes for optimization potential.

The fact that Arosa Tourism is now paying for the production does not change anything for viewers. As the show will now be recorded in one day, the costs - a high five-figure sum according to the Sonntagszeitung - will be considerably cheaper than in the SRF days. According to Arosa tourism boss Pascal Jenny, the program will be made available "in an exciting overall package for both sides". He regrets the SRF decision, but emphasizes the continued good relationship between the two parties. (hae/soz)
 

According to the BVB press release, Appenzeller has a wealth of experience in communications. He has held management positions at ETH Zurich, SBB Cargo and, most recently, BLS. Appenzeller studied history and geography in Basel and trained as a federally certified PR consultant.

Appenzeller had already worked for BVB in the past. He was involved in the project management for the 100-year anniversary and wrote the transport company's anniversary book published in 1995. He was also a member of the BVB Board of Directors from 1997 to 2005. (SDA)

In the second half of April 2013, a total of 450 journalists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland took part in an online survey conducted by the Ecco agency network on the ideal form of media releases. The results show a relatively uniform picture across national borders, as detailed in a press release. Media representatives would like to receive the texts directly in the e-mail as plain text (no HTML formats) and also attached as a Word or PDF file. Media releases should be clearly marked as such in the subject line.

Telephone calls to remind people of media appointments are now taboo throughout the German-speaking world; media professionals want a short e-mail with the relevant key data for this purpose. Today, images and graphics are not only accepted as download links, but also as attachments by almost all editorial offices; for most media professionals, these attachments can be over two MB in size.

The study

450 media professionals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland responded to an online survey conducted by the Ecco agency network on the ideal form of media releases. They represent a cross-section of the German-speaking media scene, from daily newspapers, magazines, trade press and electronic media to freelance journalists and editorial offices. The survey was conducted in the second half of April 2013.

The detailed results for Switzerland (PDF)

You can find the complete study results here: www.ecco-network.de/page0/page29/