Thursday, November 24, 2005
The Hobson and Holtz Report - Podcast #88: November 24, 2005
Content summary: The Washington Post offers content mashups, IBM lets employees podcast internally, recording with Waxmail, our review of Naked Conversations, Richard Edelman’s post on PR’s readiness for discontinuous change, it’s time for annual predictions, pro- and anti-IKEA websites, Amazon’s new product wikis, character blogs, a report froom Dan York, why CEOs don’t blog, listener comments, and more.
Show notes for November 24, 2005
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, an 74-minute conversation recorded live from West Hills, California, USA.
Download the file here (MP3, 29.8MB), 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 (formerly known as iPodder), DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
In this Edition:
Intro:
- 00:30 Shel introduces the show
- 00:58 Shel gets personal about his Thanksgiving trip to LA
- 02:22 Neville traveling for today’s and next Monday’s shows
- 02:51 We’ll dedicate much of next Thursday’s show to PR skills required for working in the Web 2.0 world
- 03:59 Where to send comments to FIR
- 04:46 What the show’s about
- 05:14 What we have in mind for our 100th show on January 9, 2006
- 06:25 Fifty-two listeners have added themselves to our Frappr map
Listeners’ comments discussion:
- 07:34 This week’s comments
- 07:36 Several comments from AOL Journals owners in response to Monday’s commentary on AOL adding advertising to blogs
- 08:53 AOL Journals comment from Kelly talks about efforts to reach AOL on the issue
- 10:36 Another AOL Journals comment from Peachy
- 11:56 A final AOL Journals comment from Judity Olivia Heartson
- 12:07 Shel on AOL’s history of bad PR
- 12:57 An audio comment from Clarence Jones kicks off with a discussion of Google Base in response to Neville’s remarks on Monday’s show
- 16:44 Clarence addresses the AOL Journals discussion
- 19:00 Clarence works in retail, not PR, but enjoys the show
- 19:36 David Jones offers to provide some Canadian content
- 21:43 Steven Davies comments on Neville’s review of the University of Sunderland new media conference and invites Shel to the next one
- 22:21 Peter Chen offers a link to Drupal.org and to
- 22:21 Peter Chen offers a link to Drupal.org and to
The Show:
- 23:29 The Washington Post is encouraging and spotlighting mashups of its content
- 27:53 IBM is encouraging employees to podcast internally
- 32:35 Neville weighs in, beginning with an explanation of how he’s recording his comments
- 33:34 Our review of the book “Naked Conversations”; Shel Israel has posted to the “Naked Conversations” blog about it
- 35:32 Neville has received a copy of “Blog Marketing” by Jeremy Wright
- 36:00 Richard Edelman writes eloquently about the PR profession’s readiness for discontinuous change
- 39:19 Predictions for 2006 are undoubtedly on the way
- 40:24 Positive and negative sites about Swedish furniture retailer IKEA
- 43:15 Amazon.com is launching product wikis
- 45:30 Blog Business Summit blog has a piece about how Gourmet Station has dealt with negative reactions to his character blog
- 47:18 Shel comments on the audio quality of Neville’s contribution
- 47:58 Mark Ragan, CEO of Lawrence Ragan Communications, gives us a shoutout
- 48:10 Shel idents the show
- 48:20 Dan York‘s report
- 48:35 Dan finds that the PR firm that he thought “got it” really doesn’t
- 50:31 A
- 52:13 Dan thanks Neville for the Frappr map
- 52:25 Dan comments on Heidi Miller‘s audio comment Monday about her recording experiences
- 53:50 Why aren’t more CEO’s blogging?
Outro:
- 61:04 Shel outros the show: Where to send comments, where to find show notes
- 63:04 Don’t forget to contribute links at TheNewPR wiki
- 64:32 This week’s music from the is “Kenny’s Last Dance” by the Marriott Jazz Quintet
Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are now 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. 5Mb attachment, please!). We’ll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.
So, until Monday, November 28…
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
FIR Book Review: “Naked Conversations”
In this edition of For Immediate Release book reviews, Neville and Shel discuss “Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers,” the new book on blogging and businesses by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, to be published in January 2006.
The Book:
“With a foreword by Tom Peters, author of such business bibles as ‘In Search of Excellence,’ this book uses more than fifty case histories to explain why blogging is an efficient and infinitely more credible method of business communication. Blogs are easily linked, allowing information to spread rapidly, and blog readers are active, not passive, participants in the communication. Business and marketing decision-makers will find themselves excited about the possibilities after just a few pages.” (Promotional text.)
The Authors:
Robert Scoble is a technical evangelist at Microsoft and maintains the popular blog Scobleizer. Besides blogging, Scoble is part of Microsoft’s Channel 9 videos team producing educational and evangelist mini-films targeted towards students and professional developers. He is Microsoft’s best-known blogger whose blog is read by millions of people annually and is the top-ranking business blog among Technorati’s Top 100 blogs.
Shel Israel writes and speaks about blogging, communications and innovation. He also consults with startups as a senior strategy and communications advisor. He is editor-in-chief of Conferenza Premium Reports, the leading newsletter covering technology industry executive conferences. A self-proclaimed recovering publicist, Israel spent more than 20 years as a PR executive specializing in technology startups. He played a key strategic role in introducing some of technology’s most successful products, including PowerPoint, FileMaker and Sun Microsystems workstations.
The Review:
Download the 32-minute conversation here (MP3, 12MB), or sign up for the book reviews RSS feed to get it and future reviews 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. To receive all For Immediate Release podcasts including the twice-weekly Hobson & Holtz Report, sign up for the full RSS feed.
- 00:22 Shel and Neville introduce the review
- 00:45: The story behind the book’s development and the role of the book blog
- 03:47 About Robert Scoble and about Shel Israel
- 05:06 What the book is about and the nature of its content
- 11:52 A concise run-down of the table of contents
- 13:14 Neville describes what he likes about the book
- 16:00 Shel and Neville discuss the international focus
- 16:39 More likes
- 17:28 Blogging with passion
- 18:02 The ‘doing it wrong and doing it right’ contrast
- 19:11 How the authors recognized others who contributed to the book’s development
- 20:17 The book’s not perfect, says Shel
- 21:18 No issues to criticize, says Neville
- 21:58 Here are some examples, says Shel
- 25:46 The acid test for what book buyers will think
- 27:16 When the book’s coming out and where to buy it online
- 29:21 Our overall conclusion
- 29:48 About this podcast and where to find For Immediate Release.
Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers
Publisher: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
Hardcover, 272 pages.
ISBN: 0-471-74719-X
Publish date: January 3, 2006 (UK), January 17, 2006 (USA).
Podsafe intro and outro music - On A Podcast Intrumental Mix (MP3, 5Mb) by Cruisebox.
Monday, November 21, 2005
The Hobson and Holtz Report - Podcast #87: November 21, 2005
Content summary: Show 100 wish; The Sunderland experience; listeners’ comments; new free RSS and wiki tools; angry AOL bloggers push boycotts; blocking bots from stealing content; Google’s new head of communications in Europe and other developments; Eric Schwartzman’s Spinfluencer report; join the FIR community; upcoming interviews and book reviews; and more.
Show notes for November 21, 2005
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, an 83-minute conversation recorded live from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Concord, California, USA.
Download the file here (MP3, 34MB), 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 (formerly known as iPodder), DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
In this Edition:
Intro:
- 00:29 Neville introduces the show; what the show’s about; where to send comments; show notes
- 02:08 We’re just 13 episodes shy of our 100th show; here’s what we’d like
- 04:30 Neville discusses the conference at which he spoke at the University of Sunderland
- 11:44 Blogging progresses in the UK
- 12:30 Sunderland conference participants didn’t claim their bosses were actively opposing new media channels
Listeners’ comments discussion:
- 16:52 We have comments from every one of our comment channels.
- 17:19 Sallie Goetsch hassles Shel some more about how he characterized his vacation
- 20:59 Dan York calls the comment line from the US/Canada border crossing to discuss K7.net, Frapr, and Feedburner.
- 23:07 Howard Harawitz sends an email to talk about his growing understanding of PR (thanks to listening to FIR)
- 25:07 FeedDigest and Schtuff
- 36:00 AOL bloggers upset about ads on their paid blogs
- 40:07 A tool called Botsense to keep bots from sucking your blog’s bandwidth and stealing your content
- 45:21 Google hires a European PR chief and opens new offices in the UK
- 48:37 Google’s book rental proposal
- 51:38 Update on Google Analytics
- 51:55 Brief discussion of Google Base
- 55:25 Andy Lark gives us a shoutout and Shel idents the show
- 55:58 A report from The Spinfluencer, Eric Scwhartzman from the Portable Media Expo and Podcasting Conference in Ontario, California, USA
- 60:04 Eric interviews Portable Media Expo and Podcasting Conference co-founder Tim Bourquin
- 60:40 Eric interviews “Podcasting Solutions” authors and podcasters Dan Klass and Michael Geoghegan
- 61:25 Eric interviews Paul Figgiani
- 62:52 Eric discusses the California Copyright Commission dinner he attended where music rights and podcasting were the subject of discussion
- 64:51 Shel and Neville riff on Eric’s report, beginning with a discussion of advertising in podcasts
- 65:48 TiVo to allow subscribers to copy recorded shows to the iPod video and the Sony PSP
- 66:36 More discussion of music copyright issues
- 67:12 A bit of talk about podcasting demographics
- 70:51 Ragan Communications selling recorded teleseminars on an iPod
Outro:
- 71:49 Neville will be in Strasbourg on Thursday; Shel will record from his Mom’s house (he’s there for Thanksgiving); programming notes
- 72:59 Update on Frappr contributions
- 75:47 You can download a copy of the FIR logo and promote FIR on your site!
- 76:19 Where FIR stands in the Podcast Alley rankings
- 78:09 Where to send comments
- 79:06 Today’s music: Walk Away by Love Spirals via the Podsafe Music Network
Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are now 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. 5Mb attachment, please!). We’ll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.
So, until Thursday November 24.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Join the FIR Community
If you’re a listener to one of the For Immediate Release podcasts and you’d like to let the readers of your blog or website know about FIR, we have some graphics you can display on your own site.
Here’s how:
- Choose which graphic you’d like and save it to your own computer. Then, upload that graphic to your own server or blog hosting service. (Please download the graphic rather than link to it here. Thanks.)
- Select and copy the corresponding HTML code. In that code, edit the location of the graphic you saved to show the address where you uploaded it to.
- Add that code to the appropriate place in a page on your own site (eg, in a sidebar).
That’s it!
FIR 100x100 pixels:
FIR 80x80 pixels:
FIR 80x24 pixels
Thanks again to our friends at Effective Edge Communications, Inc., in Elmira, Ontario, Canada, who designed the logo for us. Check out their podcast.
Finally, why not join the FIR on Frappr group and add yourself? Click below to do that!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #86: November 17, 2005
Content summary: Listeners’ comments (the FIR comment line; FIR RSS feeds; Shel’s website calendar; group vs. individual blogs; blogs and podcasts as conversation; the appropriateness of blogs as part of integrated marketing programs, Poynter’s E-Media Tidbits blog); Neville’s trip to the University of Sunderland, FIR has a Frappr map, more on Waxmail, Heather Green’s new podcast, an update on Typepad’s service levels, Krause Taylor Associates and SixApart respond to blogger criticism, GM Fastlane gets heat for an out-of-synch post, an airline introduces a blog for its loyalty program, Dan York’s report (PR companies that get it; Business Week’s article on “50 Smart Ways to use the Web;” the accuracy of podcast download statistics, Neville’s trip down memory lane recalling HTML Assistant, and why podcasts are different from streaming audio), the Sony rootkit crisis and why communicators need a seat at the management table, Neville and Shel react to Shel Israel’s post about blogs and integrating marketing, a government agency in Florida yanks a blog, and music from the Podsafe Music Network.
Show notes for November 17, 2005
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 85-minute conversation recorded live from Concord, California, USA, and almost live from 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 (previously known as iPodder), DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
[Show notes OPML file to come]: Get the show notes on your own PC, Mac, PDA or other device. To use this file, we suggest trying Dave Winer’s OPML Editor (for Windows).
In this Edition:
Intro:
- 00:31 Shel introduces the show; what the show’s about; what’s in this edition; where to send comments; show notes
Listeners’ comments discussion:
- 01:54 First comment from Bryan Person is read by TextAloud text-to-voice software; Bryan thinks he knows what happened to the FIR comment line and asks about our RSS feeds and Shel’s website calendar.
- 04:46 Shel answers Bryan’s questions (the website calendar, by the way, is part of a larger open-source CMS package called PHPWebSite)
- 10:02 Lloyd Grosse on whether corporate blogs are better written by individuals or groups
- 12:56 Sallie Goetsch discusses whether blogs and podcasts constitute “conversations”
- 15:56 Bryan Person points us to Shel Israel’s post dismissing blogs’ potential as elements of integrated marketing strategies.
- 16:40 Judy Jones points listeners to the Poynter Institute’s E-Media Tidbits blog
The Show:
- 18:11 Neville on his trip to the University of Sunderland
- 19:01 FIR has a Frappr Map; please visit and add yourself so we can see where all our listeners are!
- 21:17 Neville waxes eloquently some more about Waxmail
- 23:07 Heather Green from BusinessWeek will start a podcast on podcasters
- 27:00 Neville updates us on how SixApart has handled its TypePad performance issues; he also updates us on his move to Wordpress
- 343:30 How Krause Taylor Associates, a PR agency, and Six Apart, the agency’s client, handled a potentially damaging blog post by commenting on the blog
- 44:46 GM takes some heat over a Fastlane post that sounded more like an advertisement
- 48:52 An airline starts a blog associated with its loyalty program
- 51:48 Christopher Bennett gives us a shoutout before Shel idents the show
- 52:05 Dan York‘s report begins with a report of a PR agency that gets it, moves forward, and drinks the Kool-Aid
- 55:05 Dan on accuracy in podcast download statistics
- 55:29 Dan enjoyed Neville’s walk down memory lane as he remembered Howard Harawitz as the programmer behind HTML Assistant
- 55:46 Dan explains how podcasting is different than streaming audio
- The Sony rootkit PR crisis shows just why communications should have that proverbial seat at the management table
- 63:26 Neville disagrees with Shel Israel’s contention that blogs have no place in an integrated marketing strategy
- 70:52 Shel agrees with Neville, not with…umm…Shel
- 75:39 Neville discusses Josh Hallett’s post about a Florida government agency that yanked a blog that seemed to be working just fine
Outro:
- 83:00 Shel wraps the show; show notes; how to give your feedback
- 94:34 The music - Song for Free from Todd Lerner via Podsafe Music Network
Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are now 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. 5Mb attachment, please!). We’ll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.
So, until Monday, November 21…
Monday, November 14, 2005
New comment line phone number
The deal with K7.net: Use it or lose it. That’s what I learned after I got an email comment from Bryan Person, who tried to call the comment line but got a notice that it was inactive. When I logged into my account to reactivate it, K7.net assigned a new phone number. I guess I’ll have to call the line once a month if nobody else does, just to keep it active! In any case, here’s the new number: 206.222.2803. Somebody call and leave a comment just so we know it works.
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #85: November 14, 2005
Content summary: Listeners’ comments (Blue Boxes and phone phreaks; the music industry and podsafe music; recommended IT Conversations interview; Daily Telegraph starts podcasting; more on the anti-blog backlash; regulating American political blogs); Wikipedia defends itself; report from the Portable Media Expo; most powerful women bloggers list includes a man; Podcaster News launches; My Syndicaat RSS engine debuts; Lee Hopkins’ Report; blogger relations and public relations; PubSub PR List; addressing questions from the Financial Times on companies and blogging; latest Speakers & Speeches podcast posted; upcoming FIR interviews.
Show notes for November 14, 2005
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 99-minute conversation recorded live from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Concord, California, USA.
Download the file here (MP3, 41MB), 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 (previously known as iPodder), DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
[Show notes OPML file to come]: Get the show notes on your own PC, Mac, PDA or other device. To use this file, we suggest trying Dave Winer’s OPML Editor (for Windows).
In this Edition:
Intro:
- 00:28 Neville introduces the show; about SkypeOut; what the show’s about; what’s in this edition; show notes
Listeners’ comments discussion:
- 03:43 Howard Harawitz on “Blue Boxes” and phone phreaks; a reminiscence on those pre-PC computing days
- 07:38 Robin Mayfield asks if anyone has noticed any reaction from the music industry to the rise of podsafe music, recommends listening to IT Conversations: Voices in Your Head, and tells us that The Daily Telegraph started a daily podcast today
- 17:31 Rob Cottingham says fear is the name of the game in the mainstream media anti-blog backlash; regulating American political blogs - why our sympathy should be with those who will have to implement the regulations
News:
- 24:21 Wikipedia defends itself against charges of inaccuracies by an ex-managing editor of Encyclopedia Britannica
- 31:22 The Portable Media Expo last week - excellent commentaries on sessions and keynotes from Matt Foster
- 39:45 The ten most powerful women in blogging… the 8th one, Joi Ito, is actually a man
- 44:02 Podcaster News launches, the latest venture from Todd Cochrane; potential new developments from Yahoo! Podcasts; and what about iTunes and Odeo‘s planned podcast-creating capability?
- 52:41 My Syndicaat, a new RSS “news mastering engine,” debuts
Features:
- 56:54 From Our Correspondent Down Under: Lee Hopkins - on jargon words; happy birthday to the Coffee; Mr & Mrs Jenkins caught on camera; Constantin’s PubSub PR rankings; ‘Perfect Medical Presentations’ book wins prestigious gong; article & white paper on knowledge management; Lee’s rant: the corporate blogger’s professional project
- 64:28 Taking up Lee’s rant - is there a difference between “blogger relations” and “public relations”?
- 70:18 The PubSub PR rankings - does volume of posting make a difference to where you appear on the list?
- 73:24 Continuation from show #84: The Financial Times asks lots of questions about companies and blogging - we try and provide some of the answers
Outro:
- 90:13 Shel outros the show; upcoming interviews, probably next week; latest Speakers & Speeches podcast posted; show notes; how to give your feedback
- 92:59 Shel’s solo on Thursday’s show as Neville travels to the UK to speak at a conference at the University of Sunderland
- 94:34 The music - Bad Religion from Jimmie Bratcher via Podsafe Music Network
Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are now 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 +1 206 984 0931. You can email your comments, questions and suggestions as MP3 file attachments, if you wish (max. 5Mb attachment, please!). We’ll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.
So, until Thursday November 17…
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The FIR logo image shown at the top of this page was specially designed for us in October 2005 by Effective Edge Communications, Inc., Elmira, Ontario, Canada. Check out their podcast.