The Hobson and Holtz Report - Podcast #47: July 4, 2005

The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #47: July 4, 2005

Content summary: Listeners’ comments (positive opinions about podcasts; negative opinions about Virgin’s New York podcasts; sans-serif fonts and the new generation; is open source marketing open?; a suggestion for FIR #50; mixing a genuine CEO blogger with a fake Toyota Yaris blog); Six Apart upgrades TypePad; call for ideas for blogging IABC’s next conference; Steve Rubel’s first podcast; a terrible tale of a criminal blogger; from Our Correspondent Down Under.

Show notes for July 4, 2005

download mp3 podcast

Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 67-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 iPodder, DopplerRadio or iTunes 4.9, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).

In this edition:

Intro:

  • 00:33 Shel introduces the show; July 4 and George III; how to give your feedback; show notes; what’s in this edition

Listeners’ comments discussion:

  • 02:06 Robert French and Mark DiJulio have some positive opinions to counter Ragan Report’s negative view on podcasts
  • 05:07 Rob at PodcastNYC doesn’t think much of the Virgin Airlines podcasts about New York
  • 09:11 David Becker argues that sans-serif fonts are what a whole new generation is becoming accustomed to, and wonders why open source marketing looks like it’s actually closed
  • 19:36 Tom Keefe suggests producing a ‘Best Of…’ edition of FIR for the 50th edition on July 14. How about it?
  • 21:10 Sebastian Keil asks what we think about mixing up a genuine CEO blogger with a fake Toyota Yaris blog. What do listeners’ think?

News and Features:

  • 27:26 Six Apart upgrades the TypePad hosted blog service over the US holiday weekend, introducing wide-ranging new features including means to combat comment and trackback spam, and new design templates. The upgrade hasn’t gone wholly smoothly, though, for some bloggers.
  • 36:22 Warren Bickford’s call for new ideas for blogging and podcasting the next IABC conference in 2006 - how should we expand on this year’s success?
  • 38:40 Steve Rubel’s first podcast is short and sweet - style and substance make a good combination for a personal conversation
  • 42:57 Shel outlines a disturbing news story, a terrible crime where the perpetrator was a blogger - how could the perp get away with talking about his perversions on a blog and no one knew?
  • 50:31 From Our Correspondent Down Under: Lee Hopkins - opening a beer can and other podcast sound effects; how Neville, Shel, Warren and IABC have fuelled some major annoyance, frustration and jealousy; comments on Backbone Media’s corporate blogging report; blog spam and blogging services; the risks of not blogging regularly; aren’t the Aussies doing well at Wimbledon!

Outro:

  • 60:15 Hold-over topics for Thursday’s show; Neville will be on a plane (so pre-recorded contribution)
  • 60:44 Neville outros the show; how to give your feedback; show notes
  • 61:37 Shel outros the music

Links for the blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show:

Intro - July 4, George III.

Listeners’ comments discussion - David Murray, Ragan Report, Mike Wing interview, Robert French, Purina podcasts, Mark DiJulio, NASDAQ, Rob at PodcastNYC, Virgin Atlantic, David Becker, ION Systems, Gutenberg Archive, Open Source Marketing manifesto, James Cherkhoff, Johnnie Moore, Creative Commons, Wikipedia, Tom Keefe, IABC Cafe, Sebastian Keil, Toyota, GM Fastlane Blog, Bob Lutz, Thomas the Tank Engine.

News and Features - Six Apart, TypePad, TypeKey, Six Apart Status Weblog, Allan Jenkins, Expression Engine, Blogger, Richard Byrom, Warren Bickford, IABC Cafe, IABC, Charles Pizzo, Julie Freeman, David Kistle (PDF), Flickr, Steve Rubel, Dave Winer, Morning Coffee Notes, Tim Kaine, Tim Kaine campaign blog, InForum of Fargo ND, Technorati, MSN Spaces, Lee Hopkins, IABC conference blogging posse, Backbone Media, Movable Type, WordPress, Blogger, Amy Gahran.

Outro - PodcastNYC, Whirl, Palmreader, For Immediate Release, A Shel of My Former Self, NevOn.

If you have comments or questions about this show, or suggestions for our future shows, email us at comments@forimmediaterelease.biz, 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 July 7…

Posted by neville on 07/04 at 11:30 AM

  1. Shel & Neville,
    I had some thoughts on the story of the car rental agency that wanted to start a blog not only including CEO content but also stories from the cars.  I think think there’s a nugget of a good idea here.

    First, though, I completely agree that this should NOT be mixed within the CEO’s content.  Two seperate things, two seperate blogs.  Instead of being from the car, though, give customers cameras and allow them to start a travel blog.  Then the company can take the photos and upload them to a photo gallery.  Of course highlight what car was used on the trip and what office(s) the car was rented/returned from.

    Doing this gives the customer some sort of control and begins a conversation.  The customer then will say to their friends “Check out my blog! It’s at www.(name of the agency).com/myblog.”  It seems this doesn’t cross the line into fictional content but instead gives the customers a cool point to start talking about the company.

    Posted by Chris Thilk  on  07/05  at  03:44 AM

  2. Hi guys, good to hear David’s comments about Open Source Marketing. 

    Reference the Manifesto, the restrictions that David mentions are those imposed by changethis.com which uses a particularly strict CC licence.

    Reference the wider subject, I find a common reaction to the idea of Open Source systems, within marketing or any other area, is that people think it’s about removing all rules - leaving chaos to fill the void! 

    Obviously, this is not the case.  It’s about accepting that rigid command-and-control doesn’t work in a digital world where consumers have so much control. 

    OSM is about innovating to create new models that will work in the world of marketing (as Lawrence Lessig has done so wonderfully in IP) rather than ploughing on and refusing to admit the world has changed. 

    That doesn’t mean no control, it means new management techniques for a new era.  For example, as Shel picked up on, it’s more about being a brand host who helps and entertains customers - as oppose to a brand guardian who just wants to boss everyone around!!

    Congrats on reaching 50, the best of idea sounds great!!  I vote for the interview with me and Johnnie!!  ;-)

    Posted by James Cherkoff  on  07/05  at  05:47 AM

  3. Hi Chris, thanks for your thoughts. Your solution is of course THE way to go, especially with the cluetrain in mind. However, and Neville was right about too much background missing, this customer comes from the conservative corner and would never agree to let customers actually voice their opinions. Sad as that may be though I am sure Shel and Neville have had similar expreriences.
    Sebastian

    Posted by Sebastian  on  07/05  at  05:59 AM

  4. Gents,

    In reference to David Murray’s negative comments about podcasting in the Ragan Report, I would suggest that Mr. Murray’s issue may not be so much with podcasts as it is a point of ignorance of the basic Maslow’s heirarchy of needs.  Of course if you are hungry you are not going to find interviews or any other podcasts all that engaging.  Once you have taken care of basic needs, though, it may well be a different situation.

    What I would like to suggest is that either you, Shel or Neville, or perhaps more appropriately, we, the loyal listeners of FIR, should help Mr. Murray out by purchasing and shipping a case of Polish sausage to him after his return from vacation.  That way he can make sure to be listening to the show without being interrupted by the growling of his stomach.

    What do you say?  Heck, I’d go in for a few bucks just for the sheer fun of it.  Anyone else care to join?

    Dan

    P.S. And yes, it still may not change his opinion, but it would at least be entertaining…

    Posted by Dan York  on  07/06  at  03:25 AM

  5. I came to suggest something similar to Chris, but with a slightly different slant.

    Like Chris my thoughts are to give the customers cameras and let them record their experiences.  Unlike Chris my motivation would be that you stop positioning car hire as a purely functional activity (getting from A to B) and shift it to a provider of (aspirational) experiences.  Want to go to a friend’s wedding in a smart car - here is how Mr & Mrs X did it with one of our Mercedes.  The blog becomes a demonstration of people realising their dreams.

    The upside of this could be to raise the level of cars that people hire to ones where (presumably) the profit margin is higher.

    Whist the experiences would be real I’d get a professional writer to write the posts, partly to give a continuity of style (and so the writing is interesting).  The blog would be separate from the CEO blog.

    Posted by Andrew Marritt  on  07/06  at  09:11 PM

  6. Shel & Neville,

    Having already listened to pretty much all of your shows over the last 6 months, the “best of” retrospective idea for your 50th show does not do much for me personally. Having said that, I could see it as a great benefit to all the new folks subscribing (especially via iTunes) who would not necessarily have the time to go back and listen to all the shows and, hey, we who have been listening for a while can always press the fast-forward button if we want to skip certain segments we still remember. It really depends upon whether you two have the time to produce such a show.

    What I would personally be more interested in hearing in your 50th show would be your thoughts on what you would (or would not) do differently based on what you know now if you were to start the show again (on a technical level, or organization/structure, frequency, etc.).  In my opinion, you two are continuing to lead the way in showing how to produce professional quality business podcasts and any insight you may have will only help others who may follow in your footsteps.  Not just insight into what you may have done differently, but also thoughts into what you would NOT change that you feel has led to the shows success (I would suggest the detailed show notes are one of those points).  Any thoughts you have would certainly be helpful to others either starting out or thinking of getting into the game.

    My 2 cents (Canadian for another week or two),
    Dan

    Posted by Dan York  on  07/07  at  01:07 AM

  7. Shel & Neville

    I agree partially with David Murray, only about that one interview with Mike Wing. I found it a bit long and dry. Having said that, I also never miss a show.  The following interviews were great. Writing off podcasting as a whole based on one interview in one podcast is kind of crazy. Also David is missing the best part (for me) of this medium, he could have BBQed his polish sausage while he was listening, the best of both worlds.

    David Becker

    Posted by David Becker  on  07/07  at  05:50 AM

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