NevOn

The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #113: February 20, 2006

Content summary: Luke Armour's PR paper download; New Communications Forum 2006; announcing IABC conference podcasts; what we've been up to this past week; the Techcrunch party; IABC Communication Commons launches; influential authorities on business blogging - survey; WELS goes to the next level; the Guinness UK marketing blog; Donald Rumsfeld's call for better US government PR; Robert Scoble shoutout; Lee Hopkins report; listeners' comments discussion; FIR community on Frappr; the music; and much more.

Show notes for February 20, 2006

Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, an 86-minute podcast recorded live from Concord, California, USA, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Download the file here (MP3, 35MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you'll also need a podcatcher such as the free Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).

Listen to this podcast now:

In This Edition:

Intro:

• 00:28 Shel introduces the show; what the show’s about; how to give your feedback; show notes; what’s in today’s show
• 02:03 Luke Armour's PR report available for download (PDF)
• 02:40 Shel and Neville will be running a workshop on podcasting at the New Communications Forum in Palo Alto from March 1-3
• 07:00 Announcing IABC conference podcasts - we'll be producing a series leading up to and during the IABC 2006 International Conference in Vancouver, Canada, from June 4-7
• 08:51 Our first time back together live for a while: we recap on what we've been up to - Shel: travel, client work, Techcrunch party, lunch with Robert Scoble; Neville: travel, client work, Manchester conference, knocked for six, preparing new blog
• Neville's writing a review of Naked Conversations for IABC's Communication World magazine

News and Commentary:

• 17:22 IABC Communication Commons launches
• 22:51 Onalytica survey: influential authorities on business blogging - what's the difference between influence and popularity?
• 36:31 WELS goes to the next level with RSS
• 42:43 Guinness UK launches a marketing blog - and it's good
• 51:35 US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld calls for better US government PR
• 56:23 Robert Scoble shouts out! (out-take version first)
• 58:53 From Our Correspondent Down Under: Lee Hopkins - weather RSS feeds and TV news broadcasters; FeedDemon2 beta; serendipitous reads and why blogrolls shouldn't disappear any day soon; Newbie Nifty Nev and the Podcast Institute.

Listeners' Comments Discussion:

• 71:04 Steve Rubel responds to our commentary last Thursday on his move to Edelman
• 73:36 Howard Harawitz with a tip on the role of a blog in teaching journalism

Outro:

• 76:44 Neville wraps the show; let us know your views about today’s discussions; how and where to send your comments; where to find the show notes
• 78:37 The growing FIR community on Frappr
• 80:09 Only Shel live for next Thursday's show with recorded contributions from Neville
• 81:00 Outro podsafe music via the Podasfe Music Network - The Engine Driver by The Decemberists

Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are posted to the FIR Show Links pages at The New PR Wiki. You can contribute - see the home page for info.

If you have comments or questions about this show, or suggestions for our future shows, email us at fircomments@gmail.com, or call the Comment Line at +1 206 222 2803. You can email your comments, questions and suggestions as MP3 file attachments, if you wish (max. 3 minutes / 5Mb attachment, please!). We'll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.

So, until Thursday February 23...

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel's and my podcast blog.)

Imagine if Chevron had used a blog instead

Listening this morning to a BBC World Service radio interview with Peter Robertson, vice-chairman of the Chevron oil company, I was struck in particular by his commentary about a website where the public can join Chevron in an online discussion about the future of energy.

Overall, I found it a fascinating interview, with its discussion of wide-ranging topics including the future of energy, the evolving role of the energy industry (the oil companies) and corporate social responsibility. From a PR point of view, I think Robertson did a pretty good job for his company.

Concerning the online discussion, Robertson was talking about willyoujoinus.com, a website sponsored by Chevron, that's facilitating some discussion about the future of energy and what people think about it.

From a broad look around the site, and judging from the detailed information in Chevron's Community Guidelines page, this is actually a substantial undertaking (and clearly part of a broad public affairs effort):

The willyoujoinus.com discussion forum was created as a place for individuals and groups to exchange ideas on important energy issues. It is also a place for users to read, consider, respond, and perhaps be inspired to take individual or collective action in an environment of mutual respect.

To contribute your opinions, you have to register. And your comments are moderated:

Experienced outside moderators have been assigned to ensure that postings are relevant and appropriate, and otherwise meet the site’s community guidelines as described below.

All postings will be reviewed by moderators and published on the site within 24 hours if determined to be within these guidelines.

That's fine - comment moderation is hardly unheard of and, as long as the policy is clearly stated, unlikely to confuse participants nor set any wrong expectations.

The concept of this effort by Chevron - provide a place online where people can participate in broadly open discussion on a topical issue - is very good, precisely the kind of thing where a blog could work well as that place for open, even if moderated, discussion.

But willyoujoinus.com is not a blog. Instead it's a beautifully-designed and clearly well thought through corporate website with some blog-like naming (the words 'post' and 'comment' are used, for instance).

It's gatekeeper heaven, too, with its completely un-blog-like methodology of contributing your opinions via a web form that goes off to some unknown person or group of moderators  - what Chevron describes as "experienced outside moderators" (without giving a sense of who these people are: could be the PR agency for all I know) and, elsewhere in the site, as "contracted specialists in community moderation" (sounds scary!).

Imagine if Chevron had used a blog instead. With RSS feeds. With trackback capability. It could certainly still require registration and login in order for anyone to participate, and have comment moderation.

Most important, though, a blog could give this place personality and authenticity - two of the attributes which it currently and starkly lacks. And identify who the moderators are. Build some trust.

You're about 80 percent there with this, Chevron. Why not go the full 100? Put your pedal to the metal!

The Hobson and Holtz Report - Podcast #112: February 16, 2006

Content summary: Steve Rubel and Micro Persuasion move to Edelman; approaching communication issues using new media; delivering the new PR in Manchester; has PR figured out podcasting yet?; Technorati and the Magic Middle; Dan York's report; listeners' comments discussion; the music; and more.

Show notes for February 16, 2006

Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 77-minute podcast recorded live from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and almost live from Des Moines, Iowa, USA.

Download the file here (MP3, 36MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you'll also need a podcatcher such as the free Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).

Listen to this podcast now:

In This Edition:

• Detailed show notes to come

Content start points guide -
- Intro 00:28
- News and Commentary 03:10
- Listeners' Comments Discussion 51:50
- Outro 70:23

Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are posted to the FIR Show Links pages at The New PR Wiki. You can contribute - see the home page for info.

If you have comments or questions about this show, or suggestions for our future shows, email us at fircomments@gmail.com, or call the Comment Line at +1 206 222 2803. You can email your comments, questions and suggestions as MP3 file attachments, if you wish (max. 3 minutes / 5Mb attachment, please!). We'll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.

So, until Monday February 20...

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel's and my podcast blog.)

The Hobson and Holtz Report - Podcast #111: February 13, 2006

Content summary: Low ethics pay-for-placement PR; Luke Armour's PR paper; RSS software converts content into spam blogs; Eric Schwartzman interviews The New Yorker Magazine's Ken Auletta; Coca-Cola sends bloggers to Torino; NBC's The Office character blog; Lee Hopkins report; are there libel concerns with using coComment?; listeners' comments discussion; preview: potential new FIR intro music; the pros and cons of IABC and PRSA; the music and much more.

Show notes for February 13, 2006

Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 91-minute podcast recorded live from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and almost live from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Download the file here (MP3, 42MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you'll also need a podcatcher such as the free Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).

Listen to this podcast now:

In This Edition:

• Detailed show notes to come

Content start points guide -
- Intro 00:28
- News and Commentary 04:08
- Listeners' Comments Discussion 59:52
- Outro 83:36

Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are posted to the FIR Show Links pages at The New PR Wiki. You can contribute - see the home page for info.

If you have comments or questions about this show, or suggestions for our future shows, email us at fircomments@gmail.com, or call the Comment Line at +1 206 222 2803. You can email your comments, questions and suggestions as MP3 file attachments, if you wish (max. 3 minutes / 5Mb attachment, please!). We'll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.

So, until Thursday February 16...

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel's and my podcast blog.)

Daily Telegraph's new media expansion

Another indicator of how some mainstream media see podcasting as a big opportunity - The Daily Telegraph is advertising for two Podcast Reporters/Producers:

[...] We are looking for two individuals who are capable of creating high quality and engaging Podcasts that feature comment and opinion from both internal and external sources. The successful candidates will be expected to write, voice, edit and upload audio content. A proven track record in journalism is essential. Full training will be provided on the technical aspects of the role.

The Telegraph launched its daily podcasts last November, and hired a podcast editor in December - apparently the first role of its kind in the mainstream media in the UK.

(Via Hugh Fraser)

Interesting things going on with other new media at the Telegraph - they now have ten journalists with individual blogs and a group blog.

Related Nevon post:

• Blair and Cameron podcast firsts

The New PR in Manchester

Just finalizing preparations for my participation in a terrific conference taking place in Manchester, England, this week, which sees the Angels of The North team reunited again - Philip Young, Chris Rushton, Tom Murphy, Elizabeth Albrycht, Stuart Bruce and me, Neville Hobson.

Delivering The New PR – How Blogs, Podcasts and RSS Can Work For You (PDF) will take place on Wednesday 15 February at the Lancashire County Cricket Club at Old Trafford near Manchester.

Participation costs £125 +VAT for CIPR members; £145 +VAT for everyone else. Over 90 communicators have already signed up for the event. There's still space and time for more - you can sign up online.

Orchant insights continue at ZDNet

If you've been a follower of Marc Orchant's insightful commentaries over at The Office Weblog about all things to do with office productivity, cool tools, gadgets and Microsoft Office, note that he's moved house.

From the beginning of February, Marc's now blogging at ZDNet with the new Office Evolution blog. Sign up for the RSS feed here.

(I had an email from Marc ahead of his move and I meant to post about this last week. Better late than never...)

The richness of blogs

One of the best articles about the value of blogs that I've read in a long time was posted by Robin Good yesterday.

Information Overload: Blogs As Content Navigators, Information Filters, Trusted Niche Guides provides a good perspective on one of the curses of modern life, which isn't how to find information - it's how to find, interpret and trust the information that matters to you.

The bottom line:

[...] Blogs stand to benefit in the present media landscape for a number of reasons:

• Because of the overload of information it is impossible for people to keep up with all of it. Information needs to be sifted through and made sense of.
• Bloggers also add richness to the already established reach of mass media.
• Blogs can cater to niche audiences that mass media cannot because mass media must focus on the most important or biggest issues at hand.
• Because of the Internet a blogger can have a niche audience of 5,000 readers a day from around the world.
• A major factor is that blogs have little to no overhead to set up and run. All that is needed is a computer and an Internet connection and a blogger can be up and running, so the distribution costs are cheap.

[Technorati: blogs, information overload]

Factoring blogs into crisis communication planning

A feature on blogs in the current issue of The Economist hardly adds any value with a subject focus that's been flogged to death by some sections of the mainstream media, notably Forbes magazine last October.

Bloggers can be vicious but they can also help companies avert disaster, says the sub-title as The Economist devotes 10 paragraphs of its 14-paragraph article discussing the negative aspect of blogs and the potential reputation and other damage that a company can suffer at the hands of bloggers.

One reality point, I suppose, is that the article positions blogs among other long-standing social media like online discussion groups (aka forums or chat rooms) and email lists that have been around for years, so a reader of this article would hopefully not form an impression that blogs are just some form of unique evil manifestation of the worst in people.

And there's the rub for me. Yet another article in a mainstream medium where the overall feeling you have after reading it is that blogs and other online communication media are something mostly to be feared and concerned about, so you'd better get your crisis communication plan ready (as the article concludes) for a disaster.

Yes, get your crisis plan ready but not just because, suddenly, there seem to be blogs out there written by bloggers determined only to do you damage!

Let's say you have your crisis communication plan ready to roll so that you are prepared for any eventuality. And that eventuality doesn't necessarily mean a negative thing - the ability to respond quickly and decisively isn't always to do with the negative use of the word 'crisis.'

What's different today  - and this is the real point - is that blogs and other new social media (eg, podcasts) should also be factors you will consider and take into account in your crisis communication planning. Not only from the point of view of what such media are saying about your company, your brand, etc, but also how you can make use of such media.

If you want to see some really thoughtful commentary on how blogs fit into overall communication planning, crisis and otherwise, take a look at the posts in the Challenges of Corporate Blogging section in Global PR Blog Week 2.0.

Four things tag

Ok, Phil, I saw your tag, so here goes...

Four Jobs I've Had

• Barman (yeah, everyone's done this one)
• TV ad voice-over provider (that was fun!)
• Yellow Pages ad salesman in the Middle East (which earned me enough to buy a TransAm)
• A typical corporate PR suit (note: definitely a previous life)

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over

• Star Wars III
• Star Wars IV
• Star Wars V
• Star Wars VI

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch

• 24
• CSI Miami
• Judge John Deed
• Charmed

Four Places I've Been to on Holiday

• Costa Rica
• South Beach, Florida
• Padstow, Cornwall
• Spain

Four Favorite Dishes

• Roast beef and Yorkshire tortillas
• Pasta and just about anything
• Gallo pinto
• Steaks and atmosphere as served in De Zagerij, Amsterdam

Four Websites I Visit Daily

I don't visit any websites daily but I read RSS feeds. Top 4 daily essential feeds:

• Financial Times
• Headlines from PR Weblogs
• Tech Memeorandum
• BBC

Four Places I'd Rather Be

• Barcelona (for the culture mix and terrific restaurants)
• New Zealand (because I've never been)
• Costa Rica (it's just a fabulous country and it's warm)
• California (and I'll be there next month)

Four Bloggers I am Tagging

• Mark Shanahan
• Armin Grewe
• Stephen Davies
• Jesper Bindslev

[Technorati: four things]

Engage with bloggers, says the BBC

BBC  journalist Paul Reynolds regards the blogosphere as a source of criticism that must be listened to and as a source of information that can be used.

In a lengthy article on the BBC News website, Reynolds presents a number of examples to back up his conclusions that mainstream media has to sit up, take notice and develop some policies to meet the challenges presented by an alternate news and information channel - an "army of irregulars," as he puts it.

It's a two-way street, in my view - bloggers need to reach out and build connections with the mainstream media, too. With this in mind, Reynolds' concluding commentary is especially worth paying attention to:

[...] Richard Sambrook, head of the BBC World Service and Global News Division (who runs a blog himself) accepts that the BBC needs to do more.

"The BBC should proactively engage with bloggers. This is a new issue for us. Some departments look at blogs, though haphazardly. But it pays dividends. The BBC is a huge impersonal organisation. It needs to come out from under its rock," he says.

As for using blogs as a source he says: "The key is careful attribution. It would be a big mistake for the MSM to try to match the blogs, but they can teach us lessons about openness and honesty. The MSM should concentrate on what it can do - explain, analyse and verify."

Related Nevon posts:

• BBC getting into blogging
• BBC call for 'citizen journalism'

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Engaging podcasts from IBM

I've been subscribed to IBM's investor relations podcast series "IBM and The Future of..." since IBM started this series last August.

Eleven podcasts so far, each one providing a worthwhile learning experience on wide-ranging topics relating to society, business and technology.

The latest one, IBM and The Future of Privacy, is a great example of how any organization can use this medium to address what might seem to be a pretty dry subject in a way that captures and holds a listener's attention. Engages the listener, in other words.

From the broad communication point of view, this series also demonstrates how podcasting can subtly reinforce a company's credibility and authority about the subject being addressed. And it doesn't matter how big or small the company is - you don't need to be a global corporation like IBM to realize the benefits from podcasting.

Not only that, it enhances one's overall perceptive view of that company and how it gives you another choice of getting hold of information and opinion in a way that gives you additional insight into the company and some of its people.

If the podcast is also one element among other open and connected communication channels - as is the case with IBM - then you have another good foundation for building sustainable relationships with your audiences (who then become participants).

Worth subscribing to.

Related NevOn posts:

• IBM's credible message: Blogging means business
• IBM starts investor-focused podcasts
• IBM publishes guidelines for employee bloggers

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The Hobson and Holtz Report - Podcast #110: February 9, 2006

Content summary: Nvidia and its PR agency are accused of unethical viral marketing; follow-up to Google’s removal of BMW from its search; Gallup assesses the importance of blogs to web users; your value decreases the longer you’re unemployed; NPR opens the podcast floodgates; new services from Odeo; a report from Dan York; listeners' comments discussion (time for effective communication in the EU; opening a window on culture; a report on the separation of PR and marketing); the music.

Show notes for February 9, 2006

Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 73-minute podcast recorded live from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Download the file here (MP3, 29.5MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you'll also need a podcatcher such as the free Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).

Listen to this podcast now:

In This Edition:

Intro:

• 00:28 Shel introduces the show; what the show's about; how to give your feedback; show notes; what’s in today’s show

News and Commentary:

• 02:26 The dark side of viral marketing - are graphics card maker nVidia and PR firm AEG engaging in underhand practices in gamers' forums and employing some peculiar PR tactics to respond to such accusations? We discuss wide-ranging commentary from Christopher Carfi, Thomas Hawk and the Digg crowd, adding our own perspectives as we ask: What should nVidia do to address this issue, and is such activity symptomatic of business un-ethics today? We also discuss a Wall Street Journal story today regarding FON and positive commentaries by bloggers who don't fully disclose their interests.
• 28:58 BMW's return to grace after trying to game Google; an alternative view that presents an 'end justifies the means' case for why brands should spam search engines
• 37:06 Was Google's lack of engagement over the China search engine furore the right communication approach? Brad Bellaver thinks so
• 40:16 A Gallup report provides some answers to the question on how many people are reading blogs - is that even the right question? How this fits in with ideas from PR bloggers like Steve Rubel on developing new metrics about blogs and communication measurement
• 44:06 The longer you're unemployed, the more your value decreases, according to a report from the Royal Economic Society
• 49:15 The podcast floodgates open at National Public Radio in the US with a directory featuring 250 titles from 79 public radio stations as podcast downloads reach 13 million
• 51:29 Odeo introduces a way you can record comments to podcasts, send audio messages and call in comments via a phone number
• 55:04 Steve Lubetkin shouts out!
• 55:33 Dan York reports - it's snowing in Vermont, beta testing Windows Live Messenger, Gmail for mobile devices, moderating a panel discussion at IABC Yankee Chapter, can't make it to the New Communications Forum next month but hopes to get to Vancouver in June for the IABC 2006 conference

Listeners' Comments Discussion:

• 61:21 Philip Borremans says, yes, it's about time for effective communciation by the EU
• 62:53 David Phillips opens a window on culture (and we say we're looking forward to meeting David at the New Communications Forum)
• 66:28 Luke Armour's research into the separation of PR and marketing (we have copies and we will be talking about it soon)

Outro:

• 67:43 Neville wraps the show; let us know your views about today's discussions; how and where to send your comments; where to find the show notes
• 69:49 Outro podsafe music via KillRockStars.com - The Unhappy Song by John Doe

Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are posted to the FIR Show Links pages at The New PR Wiki. You can contribute - see the home page for info.

If you have comments or questions about this show, or suggestions for our future shows, email us at fircomments@gmail.com, or call the Comment Line at +1 206 222 2803. You can email your comments, questions and suggestions as MP3 file attachments, if you wish (max. 3 minutes / 5Mb attachment, please!). We'll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.

So, until Monday February 13...

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel's and my podcast blog.)

Record audio at Odeo

Odeo, the podcasting service and directory launched last July, now offers a recording capability where you can record a commentary about a podcast:

[...] There is now a "Reply" button under the audio player on Odeo pages. This way, when you record and share an Odeo with people, they will be able to record a response. (You'll get email notifications of this activity so you can keep up with the conversation.)

I definitely want to see how Shel and I can implement this feature for For Immediate Release. Our podcast is listed with Odeo so you can also subscribe to it there. We've already added an instant-play feature to the podcast blog (just click to listen to a show); if we can also provide a way for listeners to easily make an audio comment there and then, while the impulse to do so is hot, that would be terrific.

Now if iTunes had a feature like this...

Odeo has also introduced a rather neat audio messaging service where you can record a message and send it to someone. And you don't need to have an account with Odeo to use this service.

Do give it a try!

Comments are integral parts of the conversation

While I'm still having a bit of difficulty figuring out whether the 30Boxes calendaring service is worth spending any time with or not, I'm having no such difficulty in seeing the value of a service like coComment.

The concept of this is brilliantly simple - provide a means through which any comment you make on any blog (anyone's blog, including your own) are aggregated in a single place so that you can clearly see all those comments from different places and thus get the broad picture of all the online conversations you are taking part in, anywhere. Read more about how it works here.

Not only that, you can then add a bit of code to your own site which displays your latest comments, wherever you make them. I'm trying that out which you can see in the right-hand column.

It gets even better as you can also share your aggregated place on the coComment website so anyone else can also see what you say and where you say it. A sort of shared personal place for all your conversations. A great way to stimulate more conversation with and by others. Take a look - here's my place.

And more! You - and anyone else - can also subscribe to an RSS feed of your comment place so you can get all the comments you've made to a particular post. That RSS feed will also deliver anyone else's comments to a particular post you've commented on.

Now that's a conversation. It makes redundant anyone's notion of where you comment is an important thing. It's not. Who cares where the conversations take place when you can track them, wherever they happen?

coComment is in beta (of course) and you need an invitation to participate. If my experience is any indicator, just go to the home page, fill in the details there and you may get an email invite from coComments directly. That's what I did a few days ago.

This is a terrific service. It works on the major blogging platforms. Still in development, as I said, and the developers have lots of ideas for it. One I'm hoping to see soon - a fully-automated way to capture your comments into coComment. I've got the coComment capture bookmarklet in Firefox, but I keep forgetting to click it when I leave a comment anywhere...

The Hobson and Holtz Report - Podcast #109: February 6, 2006

Content summary: The latest state of the blogosphere according to Technorati; new media in the travel business; practicing safe surfing and the global blogathon; the Google internet; BMW gets kicked off Google; Lee Hopkins report; tracking conversations with the Conversational Index and coComments; the Superbowl and the Six Nations Championship; revitalizing the press release; Eric Schwartzman interviews Walt Mossberg; listeners' comments discussion (Stanford on iTunes; PR gets a bad name; FIR goes viral; those cartoons); the music.

Show notes for February 6, 2006

Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 76-minute podcast recorded live from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and almost live from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Download the file here (MP3, 35MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you'll also need a podcatcher such as the free Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).

Listen to this podcast now:

In This Edition:

Intro:

• 00:29 Neville introduces the show; Shel's not here live today; what the show’s about; how to give your feedback; show notes; what's in today's show

News and Commentary:

• 03:11 Technorati's state of the blogosphere - it keeps doubling every five months, now 60 times bigger than it was three years ago; tagging is the big growth area
• 07:17 Shel takes a break during the Superbowl and explains why he's in Philly all week
• 08:46 What's going on in new media as it relates to the travel business - quite a lot, says Shel
• 11:26 Tomorrow is the EU's Safer Internet Day and the start of the global blogathon
• 16:02 Is Google planning a separate internet and is EPIC looking less like fiction? And if you try and game Google, you'll get kicked off the search engine as BMW found to its cost
• 22:29 Cruisebox shouts out!
• 22:48 From Our Correspondent Down Under: Lee Hopkins - Heidi Miller's great podcasting microphone podcast, RocketPost blogging tool, Telstra's PDF on emerging technologies, and on reading your email out loud; Neville adds some commentary on RocketPost, and on QumanaXP beta
• 31:32 Tracking conversations with the Conversational Index and coComment (plus a "yes, but..." note by Jeremy Pepper)
• 38:36 Shel's finished watching the Superbowl...
• 39:55 Revitalizing the press release - PR Newswire adds del.icio.us tags to press releases, says Steve Rubel, to create more discoverability for online content; Gary Goldhammer's rating system for today's modern press release;
• 49:07 Neville's response to Shel's Superbowl comments - what about the Six Nations Championship rugby!
• 50:26 From The Spinfluencer in LA - Eric Schwartzman has an interview with Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, on the importance of online communications

Listeners' Comments Discussion:

• 61:30 Howard Harawitz points us to Stanford on iTunes, the university's offerings of university-related podcasts via iTunes
• 63:12 Clarence Jones says no wonder PR gets a bad name with this example of the threats of legal action against Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing
• 65:05 FIR goes viral thanks to David Phillips
• 66:21 Dan Hill on the cartoons about the Prophet Mohammed; Neville adds some comment about freedom and responsibilities of the press

Outro:

• 70:44 Neville wraps the show; how and where to send your comments; the FIR community on Frappr continues to grow; where to find the show notes
• 73:23 Outro podsafe music via the Podsafe Music Network - El Puente Closing Theme by Larry Sayer

Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are posted to the FIR Show Links pages at The New PR Wiki. You can contribute - see the home page for info.

If you have comments or questions about this show, or suggestions for our future shows, email us at fircomments@gmail.com, or call the Comment Line at +1 206 222 2803. You can email your comments, questions and suggestions as MP3 file attachments, if you wish (max. 3 minutes / 5Mb attachment, please!). We'll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.

So, until Thursday February 9...

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel's and my podcast blog.)

Moving towards Google's EPIC

Still thinking that the Google Grid and the Evolving Personalized Information Construct are pure fantasy, just a history lesson from 2015? From The Times yesterday:

Google is working on a project to create its own global internet protocol (IP) network, a private alternative to the internet controlled by the search giant, according to sources who are in commercial negotiation with the company.

[...] A leading content provider, who did not wish to be named, told Times Online: "We are in discussions with Google to provide content for their alternative internet service, to be distributed through their Google Cube product. As far as I'm aware they have been conducting negotiations with a number of other players in our marketplace to provide quality content to their users."

[...] Contacted by Times Online today, a spokesperson for Google denied that it had any such plans, before adding its customary rider: "It's Google's policy not to comment on speculation concerning products before they are launched."

[Technorati: Google Grid, EPIC]

Pricey freedom of the press

BBC News: Danish-Swedish dairy giant Arla Foods says the ongoing boycott of Danish products in the Middle East had so far cost it between £40m and £50m. As the Muslim world refuses to buy Danish goods in protest over cartoons published in a Danish newspaper, Arla is losing £1m a day. Arla has also had to send home 170 employees across Denmark due to the impact of the reduced sales.

Ouch.

I thought it was extraordinary for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten to publish those cartoons (caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed) when it would have been apparent to anyone that they undoubtedly would cause major offence to large numbers of people (and clearly have). Like most western countries, Denmark enjoys freedom of the press. But just because they could publish them doesn't mean they should.

The situation is further worsened when other newspapers in France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Hungary re-published those cartoons this week. What on earth were they thinking? Ah, freedom of the press. Right.

Allan Jenkins - who has been chronicling some interesting things at Arla Foods regarding their blogs - has a thoughtful post on what this story can teach us. In his post he also raises a key point of distinct relevance to organizational communication:

[...] What do communicators need to think about in a world where an article in an obscure newspaper calls down boycotts on your company? When a controversy like this can leave employees pulled in several directions: loyalty to religious faith, a desire to do a good job, a desire not to be beaten at the factory gates.

Empathy for different cultures and beliefs - even when tolerance by some of the differing beliefs by others runs very thin - must be a prerequisite for any organization today doing business in any country, not just those in the Middle East. Respect for such differing beliefs would be woven into the corporate fabric (or DNA, as some would call it) of any organization. This isn't a new idea - tolerance, respect, etc, are already part and parcel of the expected behaviours and attitudes by employees in most companies today.

So it's not too hard to see the role communicators can play within an organization confronted with the situation as Allan describes. Indeed, a situation such as is confronting Arla Foods and many other Danish businesses.

Where it gets pretty complicated, though, is making any difference or exercising any influence on the strong (and inflexible-looking) opinions of people outside the organization.

These are easy answers. The fact is - there are no easy answers.

The Hobson and Holtz Report - Podcast #108: February 2, 2006

Content summary: New Flash player in show notes; Google continued: China and earnings; Microsoft blog censorship in China; the press release padding trap; Edelman's new podcast; new podcast magazine launches; what the EU needs is effective communication; is citizen journalism dead?; a job ad from the future; listeners' comments discussion (moving to the Bay area, differing roles of PR and marketing, Montreal not Toronto); the music.

Show notes for February 2, 2006

Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 78-minute podcast recorded live from Concord, California, USA, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Download the file here (MP3, 32MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you'll also need a podcatcher such as the free Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).

Listen to this podcast now:

In This Edition:

Intro:

• 00:28 Shel introduces the show; what the show’s about; how to give your feedback; show notes
• 02:11 Thanks for your support for voting for FIR on Podcast Alley - now at #3 in the Business category
• 03:11 New Dew Flash player in the show notes - you can just click and listen to each show

News and Commentary:

• 06:02 The heated debates about Google's search-censorship in China continue; Rubber Room Radio's comment to the Daily Source Code #326; hanging Google out to dry over their 'Do No Evil' motto
• 12:51 Google gets a pasting over their earnings announcement; little communication from Google; a BBC reporter's take on what Google's like; is Google just arrogant?
• 20:01 Microsoft's blog-censorship in China also attracts criticism: unlike Google, Microsoft responds with some positive action
• 23:34 Skype to offer audio-conferencing services, and signs a deal with Warner Music to offer music from A-list artists as ring tones
• 28:35 The press release padding trap: don't just copy-and-paste press releases into your blog post, says Performancing's Chris Garrett - add value!
• 33:11 David Murray shouts out
• 33:23 We listen to the first episode of earSHOT, the new podcast from Edelman PR presented by Phil Gomes. So what did we think?
• 39:40 Shel talks about another new PR podcast out of the US, PR/PA Ideas To Use from Novita Issue Communications; Neville wonders when we'll see the first one out of the UK
• 41:29 Podcast User, the first online magazine about podcasting and podcasters, launches
• 43:46 Communications in the European Union are key to every citizen's understanding of the EU, says Philip Borremans, highlighting a new white paper on communications for the EU which is a step in the right direction this time
• 51:43 Is citizen journalism dead? A look at Dan Gillmor's Bayosphere experiment and why he's abandoning it; how the citizen journalism concept can work within organizations
• 57:08 "Candidates must have a Google Page Rank of at least 5. And/or an Alexa Rank of at least 750,000 or better. Candidates with at least 1,000 Google hits on their name are also eligible." Is this what a job ad in the future might look like? Tom Foremski thinks so

Listeners' Comments Discussion:

• 64:58 Jeremy Pepper comments on his being hired by Weber Shandwick - yes, he's moving
• 65:44 David Phillips say the differing roles of PR and marketing is not just a semantic discussion
• 70:50 Julien corrects us about the Cirque du Soleil debut in Canada where bloggers were invited - it was in Montréal, not Toronto

Outro:

• 71:38 Neville wraps the show; the FIR community on Frappr grows; how and where to send your comments; where to find the show notes
• 74:03 Shel's in Philadelphia next week
• 74:21 Outro podsafe music via the Podsafe Music Network - 143 by Stingray

Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are posted to the FIR Show Links pages at The New PR Wiki. You can contribute - see the home page for info.

If you have comments or questions about this show, or suggestions for our future shows, email us at fircomments@gmail.com, or call the Comment Line at +1 206 222 2803. You can email your comments, questions and suggestions as MP3 file attachments, if you wish (max. 3 minutes / 5Mb attachment, please!). We'll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.

So, until Monday February 6...

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel's and my podcast blog.)

New magazine for podcasters launched

In show #103 of our podcast last month, Shel and I talked about ID3 Podcast Magazine, a new print publication about podcasting launching in May.

Well, you don't have to wait until May if you want to get your hands on a brand new magazine about podcasting as the first edition of such a new magazine was launched online today.

Published as a PDF, Podcast User magazine was conceived and produced in less than a month, according to Paul Nicholls, the magazine's editor. It's the brainchild of a group of a dozen mostly British podcasters - in addition to Paul, Mark Hunter, Adrian Pegg, Linda Mills, Paul Pinfield, Chris Skinner, Paul Parkinson, Phil Coyne, Jim Hastell, Colin Meeks, Grant Mason, and Simon Toon. (Related: Paul and Adrian Pegg are two of the driving forces who were behind PodcastCon UK last September.)

The inaugural edition of Podcast User includes news, features, opinion columns, podcast reviews, and a review of recording equipment. If you sign up to the RSS feed, you'll ensure you get every edition.

Congratulations to the team behind this first publication dedicated to podcasting and podcasters.

The 2006 Forum: A milestone event for communicators

I've just finalized setting up my trip to California at the end of this month to participate in the New Communications Forum which takes place in Palo Alto from 1-3 March.

My podcasting partner Shel Holtz and I are running a workshop at the Forum, the Podcasting 101 pre-conference 'boot camp.' This is a half-day interactive session that will help you learn about podcasting, from the elements of a successful podcast, to strategizing content to support your communication objectives, to recording a podcast that sounds good.

We intend Podcasting 101 to be really interactive - we'll be producing a special edition of For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report podcast during the session. Can't get more interactive than that!

I'll also be moderating the session on "New Media Case Studies - Blending New Communications & MSM," which will discuss the blending of mainstream media with citizen-generated media.

This year's Forum is the second such event and follows the success of the 2005 Forum, at which I also presented (check my posts here). A great deal has happened in the development of new-media communication channels during the past twelve months, and this is reflected in the structure of the 2006 event and in the subject matter that will be covered.

And what a phenomenal line-up of talent at this year's Forum! I am very excited to be at an event in the company of people like Dan Gillmor, Rebecca Blood, JD Lasica, Robert Scoble, Eric Rice, Katie Delahaye Paine, Tom Foremski, Pete Blackshaw, Debbie Weil, Mike Manuel, Elisa Camahort... the list of influential champions of social media  is almost endless. See the full list of speakers (over 60) for details.

Forum organizers Jen McClure and Elizabeth Albrycht have constructed an outstanding event, one that I am certain will be regarded as a milestone in professional development for any communicator with a serious interest in getting to grips with the strategic "how?" of social media (last year the focus was largely "what?", but that conversation has moved on).

So if you want to be part of an event that is all about frameworks and participation, this is the one. Full details at the New Communications Forum website.

Hope to see you there.

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Conferences are about frameworks and participation

Jeff Jarvis' rant the other day about conferences strikes a chord for me as I'm involved in speaking at quite a few during the next few months (see the links in the left-hand column).

I'm hoping they do not have some of the characteristics of what I saw at one or two events I participated in during 2005, my experiences of which I can sum up by paraphrasing Jeff:

Too many conferences suck. They're too expensive. They are filled with boring panels. They are all about speeches and not about conversation and argument and learning and meeting. They don't capture the expertise of the crowd. They enrich the organizers at the cost of both the "talent" and the "audience" [...] often, the problem is that the interests of those who make conferences work - the people who fill it - are not aligned with the interests of the money behind conferences - the organizers and sponsors.

That really does sum up far too many conference, the typical corporate-type event where I often wonder why people have bothered to gather together after forking out a fortune in attendance fees and travel costs when it seems to me that no one really is engaged, or even cares.

Yet the real dilemma as I see it is not only about conference organizers, vested interests and the other criticisms (valid ones, to be sure) that Jeff squarely levels. It's also about the willingness of those involved - speakers/presenters and delegates - to actually engage.

I agree with nearly everything Jeff says about what the format or structure of a conference should ideally be - what Jeff calls the 'unconference' - where a prime responsibility of the event organizer is to create the most effective framework that facilitates or enables all the people there to make the most of the environment that's been created for them. And this includes things like blogs, RSS and wifi as well.

If that's the organizer's responsibility, then the speaker's/presenter's responsibility is to use that environment as his or her own framework to provide the means to stimulate engagement with the people who have showed up at the event. So that means things like no boring PowerPoints, no panels full of talking heads just having a nice little chat with each other, etc. You know the kind of thing I mean.

Instead, it means speakers and presenters who really do participate with their audience, making that audience an integral part of the session. In effect, everyone there is the panel or presentation where the (so-called) presenter or speaker is a conversation leader and focus former. Now there's a convoluted label!.

Those attending have a responsibility, too - actively participate, not just sit there like glazed-eyed mute dummies where you can see the bodies are physically in the room but the minds are absent.

All of these things need to happen if any conference could be judged as even halfway successful. But I'm actually quite optimistic, at least about most of those events I'm involved in over the next few months as I can see many of the framework elements already being built by those who are doing the organizing.

And I'm pretty clear on my own responsibility.

The Hobson and Holtz Report - Podcast #107: January 30, 2006

Content summary: Windows Live; Google in China; Weber Shandwick hires Jeremy Pepper; BluePulse apologizes and wins; US bloggers get an Amsterdam junket; Cirque du Soleil invites bloggers to Canadian debut; listeners’ comments discussion (paying attention to Technorati); the music.

Show notes for January 30, 2006

Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 73-minute podcast recorded live from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Concord, California, USA.

Download the file here (MP3, 29MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you'll also need a podcatcher such as the free Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).

Listen to this podcast now:

In This Edition:

Intro:

• 00:30 Neville intros the show; what the show's about; how to give your feedback; show notes
• 02:01 Thanks for your support for voting for FIR on Podcast Alley - now at #5 in the Business category

News and Commentary:

• 03:28 Neville's impressions from the Windows Live preview event in London last week; we talk about mobile-enabled content; Ajax and why communicators should pay attention to this new technology
• 18:44 Is Google compromising its values? Google's actions in China in censoring search results continue to attract much passionate opinion and commentary; we discuss some of the latest buzz including by Dave Taylor, Steve Crescenzo and Jason Calacanis, and hear critical comment from Tom Raftery
• 38:01 PR blogger Jeremy Pepper gets hired by Weber Shandwick
• 41:56 Brother Love shouts out!
• 42:17 Changing web content will backfire on you when there's a search engine cache - a cautionary tale about BluePulse which has a positive outcome
• 48:54 Twenty-five US bloggers get an Amsterdam junket in exchange for promoting Amsterdam including ads on their blogs; one blogger, Outside The Beltway, answers criticism about ethics
• 56:48 Howard Harawitz tells us about a Digg item on Cirque du Soleil inviting two bloggers to be at the debut of their Canadian tour, so we discuss blogger outreach

Listeners' Comments Discussion:

• 62:51 Paul Baker has a tale that highlights why you should pay attention to what's being said about you on Technorati

Outro:

• 66:17 A get-well message to Lee Hopkins
• 66:40 Shel wraps the show; how and where to send your comments; where to find the show notes
• 67:27 Outro podsafe music via the Podsafe Music Network - Nobody Else But You by the Mike Andersen Band

Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are posted to the FIR Show Links pages at The New PR Wiki. You can contribute - see the home page for info.

If you have comments or questions about this show, or suggestions for our future shows, email us at