Thursday, January 19, 2006
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #104: January 19, 2006
Content summary: An upgrade for Skylook, IABC opens a members-only place for “buzz,” IABC Belgium President Gerry Murray starts a podcast, Shel and Neville talk about corporate blogging (should the CEO blog?, ghostwriting, time-wasting, risks from employee blogging, using a blog in place of PR), listeners’ comments discussion (spam, online editors, PR as relationship management, job hunting, Flash and more, liking long FIRs, trackbacks), upcoming meeting with Danish bloggers, the music.
Show notes for January 19, 2006
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 95-minute conversation recorded live from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Concord, California, USA.
Download the file here (MP3, 38MB), 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).
In this Edition:
Intro:
- 00:30 Neville intros the show; hotel network and Skype; special podcast edition coming up from Palo Alto in March; what the show’s about; how to give your feedback; show notes
- 03:40 Taking advantage of breaking news - our interview with Pete Blackshaw of Intelliseek on January 17
News Briefs:
- 08:30 An upgrade for Skylook, the Outlook plugin that lets you control Skype
- 11:55 IABC’s new buzz forum and IABC Belgium Chapter President Gerry Murray’s new podcast
Feature - Corporate Blogging:
- 17:46 The broad topic of corporate blogging - topics for today’s discussion
- 20:04 Should your CEO blog? (should the question be “Why should your CEO blog?”)
- 23:34 What if the CEO’s not very articulate? Should he or she still blog?
- 24:53 Ghostwriting a blog for a CEO - What is it? Is it wrong (and if so, why?) Is it ‘good communication’? A wide-ranging discussion on internal and external executive blogging
- 34:51 “The CEO shouldn’t be wasting his/her time on blogging” So what is the CEO’s job? And a bit more discussion on ghostwriting and human voice
- 40:29 The CEO’s not the only employee in the company who can blog
- 41:40 The risks (and responsibilities) of employees articulating strong personal opinions on their blog - the example of Robert Scoble’s commentary about MSN Spaces in China
- 46:38 Do you need PR if you have a blog? A discussion on Shel Israel’s post about startups that says you don’t, at least to start with
Listeners’ Comments Discussion:
- 53:24 Tom Raftery‘s thoughts on blog comment spam, Captcha, .htaccess and how to prevent spam getting to your blog
- 60:30 Peter Chen on online editors and blog integration
- 64:28 David Phillips on aves and thuds and exploring public relations as relationship management
- 68:49 Sebastian Keil on CVs, podcasts and RSS, and rates FIR
- 72:14 Michael Soulier sends us his first audio comment (his first to any podcast, he says) about Flash, Word, web pages and functionality
- 80:00 Mike Strock doesn’t mind 80-90 minutes of this show, and tells us why he bought an MP3 player
- 81:15 Dan Karleen enjoys the unpredictability of a podcast in the age of rewindability that may run 55 minutes, or 70 minutes, or perhaps even 60 minutes on the nose (and we wonder what Sallie Goetsch will make of “rewindability”)
- 85:13 Shel reads Eric Eggertson’s post about a PR agency’s guarantee of accountability in the PR profession, a trackback on Shel’s and my blog to show #103
- 87:20 And talking of trackbacks, Constantin Basturea’s post trackbacked to the Pete Blackshaw interview
Outro:
- 87:41 Neville’s meeting up with the leading lights of the Danish blogosphere on Saturday
- 89:17 Shel wraps the show; how and where to send your comments; where to find the show notes
- 90:20 Outro podsafe music via the Podsafe Music Network - Betty by the Lascivious Biddies
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 January 23…
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Interview - Pete Blackshaw, Intelliseek - January 17, 2006
Following today’s joint announcement by Intelliseek and Buzzmetrics on the merger of those two firms into a new company backed by media group VNU, Shel and Neville spoke to Pete Blackshaw, Intelliseek’s Chief Marketing and Customer Satisfaction Officer.
Conversation points: The joining together of Intelliseek and Buzzmetrics; VNU and being acquired; developments in tracking and analysis of consumer-generated media; continuing support and development for BlogPulse and other Intelliseek offerings; the growing impact of video on consumer-generated media; the future of podcasting; Pete’s observations about Naked Conversations.
Download the 26-minute conversation here (MP3, 11MB), or sign up for the Interviews RSS feed to get it and our future interviews 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.
Podsafe intro music - On A Podcast Intrumental Mix (MP3, 5Mb) by Cruisebox.
Monday, January 16, 2006
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #103: January 16, 2006
Content summary: Podcast print magazine to launch; Dutch publisher to publish newspaper with blog content; Power PR makes accountability “guarantee”; gaining first impressions about websites in the blink of an eye; Wikipedia reveals plagiarism by journalist; Lee Hopkins’ report; the pros and cons of offline blog editors; listeners’ comments discussion (the rescue of advertising; meeting up at the IABC conference); Eric Schwartzman’s views from CES and his Spinfluencer interview with Joe Hayashi of Yahoo! Podcasts; the music.
Show notes for January 16, 2006
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 62-minute conversation recorded live from Concord, California, USA, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Download the file here (MP3, 25MB), 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).
In this Edition:
Intro:
- 00:31 Shel intros the show; what the show’s about; how to give your feedback; show notes
News Briefs:
- 01:43 ID3 Podcast Magazine to launch in May
- 07:00 A Dutch publisher plans to publish a newspaper of blog content (Neville doesn’t think much of this idea)
- 08:56 Power PR brings “accountability to the PR profession” (leading Shel and Neville to question the agency’s claim to guarantee this)
- 13:38 New survey in Nature magazine shows you make up your mind about a website before you know it, in the blink of an eye
- 19:38 Wikipedia plagiarism costs journalist his career
From Our Correspondent Down Under:
- 23:17 Lee Hopkins reports - on leaving the serene Adelaide Hills for the harsh dangers of Arabian deserts and 5-star hotels; do you ecto?; and dost thou understand me, thou young rapscallion?
Feature:
- 28:35 Leading from Lee’s question about ecto, some views about ecto, BlogJet, Qumana and other offline blog editors; opinion on the pros and cons of offline blog editors, and the gap in the market that’s waiting to be filled
Listeners’ Comments Discussion:
- 38:20 First marketing, now advertising - David Phillips has a controversial rescue plan
- 44:31 Dave Traynor thinks meeting up at the IABC conference in Vancouver is a great idea, and says congrats on 100 shows
The Spinfluencer:
- 46:05 Eric Schwarzman in Los Angeles - congratulations on 100 episodes of FIR; views from the Consumer Electronics Show that the convergence of telecoms, the internet and the PC is here now; an extract from an interview with Joe Hayashi of Yahoo! Podcasts
Outro:
- 55:45 Neville wraps the show; how and where to send your comments; where to find the show notes; Shel will be solo on this Thursday’s show with recorded contribution from Neville
- 57:56 Outro podsafe music via the Podsafe Music Network - Rock ‘n Roll Queen by The Subways
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 January 19…
Thursday, January 12, 2006
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #102: January 12, 2006
Content summary: Annoying anonymous comments now illegal in the US; political podcasts in the UK by Prime Minister Tony Blair and Conservative leader David Cameron; US army hires Haas MS&L to pitch editorial content to bloggers; Dan York’s report; listeners’ comments discussion; the music.
Show notes for January 12, 2006
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 75-minute conversation recorded live from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Concord, California, USA.
Download the file here (MP3, 30MB), 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).
In this Edition:
- Detailed show notes to come.
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 January 16…
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Interview - Gerald R. Baron, author, “Now is Too Late” - January 11, 2006
In this edition of For Immediate Release podcast interviews, Shel enjoyed a 55-minute conversation with Gerald Baron, author of the crisis communications book, “Now is Too Late: Survival in the Era of Instant News.”
Download the conversation here (MP3, 21MB), or sign up for the Interviews RSS feed to get it and our future interviews 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.
About our Conversation Partner:
Gerald Baron is the founder and vice president of Audience Central with involvement in thought leadership around public information management and crisis communications. Mr. Baron founded AudienceCentral shortly after his role as spokesperson during the Olympic Pipeline rupture and explosion in 1999. He is also a contracted PIO for the Shell Puget Sound Refinery and other clients. He has been involved in producing crisis communications plans, as well as conducting numerous drills and exercises for various crisis scenarios.
Mr. Baron has been in marketing and public relations for over 24 years, serving as president of Baron & Company. He was a regional magazine publisher, co-founder of a successful vertical market software company and a university professor. He holds an MA in Communications from Wheaton College and Doctorate of Humanities (Honoris Causa) from Trinity Western University. He has written three books including “Now is Too Late: Survival in an Era of Instant News,” published by Financial Times/Prentice Hall in 2003. He is a frequent speaker at national public relations and industry conferences.
Interview Segment Time Points:
- 00:21 Shel introduces the interview
- 00:56 Gerald runs down his background
- 03:55 Gerald’s business focus, including crisis communications
- 05:15 Gerald defines “crisis”
- 06:13 Can you plan for a crisis?
- 08:41 Gerald pinpoints the changes to crisis management since the introduction of the 24-hour news cycle
- 09:31 The key implication is the difference in the speed with which information travels
- 12:23 Gerald talks about when he wrote his book and the update he’s currently working on
- 12:56 Blogs are now in the picture as a big part of the post-media world
- 13:45 Gerald addresses the significance of blogs on crisis management
- 14:50 Some crises—like the “60 Minutes II” crisis at CBS—are generated by blogs
- 16:15 Organizations are now the broadcaster; we don’t have to rely on the media to get our information out
- 17:00 CBS should have engaged bloggers
- 18:59 Gerald discusses the mishandling of the West Virginia coal mining tragedy communications
- 22:38 The balance between accuracy and speed: Accuracy shouldn’t always come first
- 23:46 Overcoming the time lags caused by review and approval processes
- 26:07 Public react to crises emotionally
- 27:52 News is now infotainment; fear is an important element of how news is conveyed
- 29:25 Should a company take advantage of its own blog in a crisis?
- 32:32 Should companies with blogs allow comments during a crisis?
- 35:53 Shel asks about companies that complain about the time and resources required to monitor citizen journalism and other consumer-generated media
- 37:42 The age-old principles of crisis communication still apply
- 40:50 It’s important to conduct crisis drills with the leadership team
- 44:51 Online crises should be addressed the same as you would address a media crisis
- 48:08 Gerald uses the Apple iPod Nano crisis as an example
- 48:53 The importance of dark or crisis-ready sites; Gerald’s PIER product accommodates this
- 52:10 PIER is a virtual communications center for crises and emergencies
- 53:26 Gerald says the second edition of his book will be out in two months
- 53:32 About this podcast and where to find For Immediate Release
- 54:43 Where to send comments
Podsafe intro music - On A Podcast Intrumental Mix (MP3, 5Mb) by Cruisebox.
Monday, January 09, 2006
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #101: January 9, 2006
Content summary: Wal-Mart and a blog crisis; relaunching The Observer and the role of the companion blog; banned words for 2006; is Google Pack for the enterprise?; ZenCast’s new definition of podcast; Lee Hopkins report; listeners’ comments discussions (competitive PR advantage, congrats on 100 and 101 shows, RSS and podcasts in job hunting, call to action to communicators); much more than ‘miscommunication’ in last week’s US mining tragedy; upcoming interview; the music.
Show notes for January 9, 2006
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 78-minute conversation 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).
In this Edition:
Intro:
- 00:28 Shel intro the show; what the show’s about; how to give your feedback; show notes
News Briefs:
- 01:30 Wal-mart’s website database error attracts unsavoury blog commentaries
- 08:16 The Observer relaunches and journalists chronicle relaunch day in the newspaper’s blog
- 12:23 Banned words for 2006
- 17:22 Is Google Pack for the enterprise? Perhaps not the applications themselves, which have attracted some poor reviews, more the Google Updater feature according to Charlene Li of Forrester Research
- 29:51 Creative Labs launches ZenCasts - and redefines the term ‘podcast’
From Our Correspondent Down Under:
- 31:12 Lee Hopkins reports - are corporate newsletters leaving us for a better life elsewhere? interview with Donna Tocci; sex, wonderbras and the corporate communicator
Listeners’ Comments Discussion:
- 38:19 A shoutout from David Jones
- 38:54 David Phillips on competitive advantage, the glacial pace of PR’s evolution, and bringing marketing and advertising under the PR wing (edited audio comment: full version here)
- 43:31 Robert French‘s congrats on 100 shows
- 44:18 Clarence Jones’ salute on reaching show #101 with some suggestions on reaching out to a youthful audience
- 48:36 Robin Capper says the show notes help him get to the content he wants to listen to, and has some further thoughts about using RSS and podcasts in job hunting
- 50:24 David Jones (again) with congrats on 100 shows, on the commitment needed for blogging and podcasting, and a call to action to communicators to participate in discussions on The New PR Wiki (Shel and Neville have some views on this, too)
Feature:
- 56:41 Much more than ‘miscommunication’ in last week’s US mining tragedy - fast-moving events mean communication control is difficult at best, the conflicting obligations of the media when reporting fast-moving events, and what the International Coal Group could or should have done in this major crisis
Outro:
- 71:46 Neville wraps the show; how and where to send your comments; where to find the show notes
- 72:57 Upcoming interview with Gerald Baron, CEO of Audience Central - Wednesday January 11
- 74:10 Outro podsafe music via the Podsafe Music Network - Rollin by Maria Daines
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 January 12…
Thursday, January 05, 2006
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #100: January 5, 2006
Content summary: Top 10 sources; your CV as an RSS feed and podcast; World Economic Forum podcasting and blogging at upcoming event; CEOs’ biggest fears; Dan York’s report; listeners’ comments discussion; upcoming interview; the music.
Show notes for January 5, 2005
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 71-minute conversation 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).
In this Edition:
Intro:
- 00:28 Neville introduces the show, milestone #100, what the show’s about, where to send your comments
News Briefs:
- 02:57 Top 10 Sources - how does it compare to resources like Digg or Memeorandum?
- 11:10 Job hunting with your CV as an RSS feed and podcast
- 16:23 World Economic Forum podcasting and blogging at the next meeting
- 18:45 New survey on CEOs’ biggest fears highlights a few potentially alarming findings regarding executive blogs
From Our US North-East Correspondent:
- 28:26 Dan York reports - congrats on 100 shows; using Swicki on a TypePad blog; trying out Podzinger; Google Maps is a good way to explain AJAX; send shoutouts to your favourite podcasts; IABC Yankee Chapter workshop; learning from FIR
Listeners’ Comments Discussion:
- 36:37 Warm words from FIR listeners to celebrate show #100 - Howard Harawitz, Donna Papacosta, Rob Cottingham, Lee Hopkins, Alex Bellinger, Marcel de Ruiter, Rob Safuto, Mike McClary, Marc Wright, Jeff Clavier
- 50:18 Sallie Goetsch with an ‘Intel Inside’ joke and happy anniversary to FIR
- 53:41 Tom Keefe wonders if he misunderstood Shel’s point in show #95 about the purpose of the IABC Cafe
Outro:
- 60:15 Shel wraps the show; how and where to send your comments; where to find the show notes
- 61:20 Upcoming interview with Gerald Baron, CEO of Audience Central - Wednesday January 11
- 62:25 Shel and Neville with thanks to some key people who were instrumental in our reaching 100 shows - Lee Hopkins, Dan York, Eric Schwartzman, Podcast Alley Forums, PW Fenton, Craig Patchett, Eric Rice; thanks to all our commenters and all our listeners; to our wives, Michelle Holtz and Laura Hobson; and special thanks to Adam Curry and Dave Winer
- 66:16 Outro podsafe music via the Podsafe Music Network - Shine by Kevin Reeves
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 January 9…
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