FIR podcast: Eight years and counting

Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson

Eight years ago today - on January 3, 2005 - two communication professionals embarked on a voyage that was all about discovery and experimenting with a new medium: podcasting.

Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz started For Immediate Release: The Hobson and Holtz Report as part of their keen interest in new communication technologies and platforms, and what impact they may have on organizations and people.

With Shel on the US west coast and Neville in Europe, it offered both of us a great opportunity to get together via Skype to talk about topics of mutual interest at the intersection of business, communication and technology; record our conversations under our self-description of “a pair of communication professionals who think they have something to say”; and publish those conversations on the world wide web for anyone who may be interested to listen.

The first episode of FIR eight years ago demonstrated the possibilities of an embryonic medium where the barriers to entry were so low, anyone could do it. Now, anyone who wants to is doing it, not only audio but also video.

As we mark this milestone in our labor of love, we’d like to say thank you to you, our listeners old and new, who ‘tune in’ once a week to hear not only Shel and Neville but also reports from our correspondents and the voices of our sponsors and listeners who contribute their thinking on the issues and topics that matter to them.

Today, the vibrant FIR community also extends across the social web, on Facebook, Friendfeed, Google+ and Twitter.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to our sponsors:

Ragan Communications

Ragan’s Jenny Fukumoto in Chicago brings news and highlights of Ragan events across the United States and beyond. Each week, FIR is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years, www.ragan.com.

CustomScoop

The voice of Jen Zingsheim  - and occasionally, CustomScoop founder Chip Griffin - with the Media Monitoring Minute segment in each show. Save time with the CustomScoop online clipping service: sign up for your free two-week trial, at www.customscoop.com/fir.

And thank you to David Bator and Pollstream who sponsored FIR until the end of 2012. Pollstream helps you transform your communications goals into exciting strategies that will enable you to engage, educate and inform your customers and employees online, pollstream.com/fir/.

An equal thank you to our two regular correspondents:

  • Dan York - based in Keene, New Hampshire, Dan is Senior Content Strategist at the Internet Society, reporting on communication issues from the technologist’s point of view.
  • Michael Netzley - Academic Director at Singapore Management University, Michael reports on the communication scene across a region extending from the Middle East to Southeast Asia to China, Japan and the Koreas.

A huge thank you to Donna Papacosta - an accomplished podcaster herself - whose voice graces each episode with the details of how to contribute your comments and get in touch with us.

And a special thank you to contributors over the years:

  • David Phillips - occasional reports from the shadows of Stonehenge in England.
  • Eric Schwartzman - occasional reporting from Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world.
  • Sallie Goetsch - doses of now-and-again reality from The Podcast Asylum in California.
  • Mark Story - insights from behind the scenes at the federal government in Washington, DC.
  • Bob LeDrew - hailing from Toronto, Canada, Bob reviews books as FIR’s Book Reviews editor.
  • Lee Hopkins - ‘our man in the Adelaide Hills,’ Lee was our first correspondent, reporting from Australia from 2005 until early 2008.

Thank you, one and all!

If you haven’t listened to FIR before,why not give us a try next week when we start our ninth year with episode 685 on Monday January 7? If you can’t wait, check out this week’s 684, right here.

Finally, if you’re interested in a big picture, FIR today is a podcast series:

  • FIR: The Hobson & Holtz Report – a weekly show recorded on Mondays with commentary and opinion at the intersection of online communication, business and technology.
  • FIR Live – an occasional live call-in show recorded as a Google+ Hangout On Air where a topical issue is up for discussion by the two co-hosts and a a panel plus anyone who cares to add an opinion in the chat room.
  • FIR Cuts – occasional clips from the virtual cutting room floor of The Hobson & Holtz Report.
  • FIR Interviews with newsmakers and influencers from the online technology and organizational communication worlds.
  • FIR Book Reviews aligned with our theme of PR/communications and the online world.
  • FIR Speakers and Speeches – occasional podcasts of speeches, keynote addresses, breakout sessions, and other recordings from meetings and conferences of interest to PR and communication professionals.
Posted by neville on 01/03 at 12:01 AM
  1. Neville, Shel, a hearty congratulations from Manchester on this epic achievement. I know how tough it is to sustain a show - but for eight years? That’s almost unprecedented.

    Keep on innovating and challenging us. We admire and appreciate everything you do.

    Posted by Dave Thackeray  on  01/03  at  06:05 AM

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