Thursday, January 03, 2008
FIR Interview: The launch of GMnext - January 3, 2008
This coming September marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of General Motors Corporation. As part of engaging with broad communities during 2008, GM today launches GMnext, a global communications platform aimed at improving perceptions of GM by employees, consumers and influencers.
GMnext is about conversations: a dialogue-based initiative that will engage people globally via social media and interactive experiences to discuss critical issues concerning energy, the environment, globalization and other factors that will shape transportation in the 21st century, with GMnext.com as the hub.
GMnext starts today with the GMnext Virtual Media Forum, a global online media event where senior GM leaders from headquarters, divisions and subsidiaries around the world will engage with journalists and social media influencers in online moderated dialogue. The event kicks off with an introduction by GM Chairman and CEO, Rick Wagoner.
In this exclusive FIR Interview, Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz talked with GM’s Scot Keller and Christopher Barger about GMnext including discussion on its objectives and how the programme was developed; how GM’s leaders and employees engage in GMnext; engaging with the media and social media influencers; the roles of social networks such as Facebook; and addressing communication, organizational and regulatory challenges.
About our Conversation Partners
Born and raised in Southern California, Scot M. Keller is a third generation car executive whose career spans 25 years. He has broad based experience in automotive marketing, communications, motor sports, heritage, and brand management with brands including Alfa Romeo, Audi, Chrysler and Jeep.
In 1999, Scot joined General Motors Corporation where he currently holds the position of Director Communications GMnext. In this capacity, Scot directs the corporation’s day to day activities around the global centennial celebration and GMnext digital experience. He also has responsibility for GM’s Heritage Communications directing the corporation’s involvement in key events including The Amelia Island and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegances.
Scot currently resides in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan with his wife and two children.
Christopher Barger is Director, Global Communications Technology at General Motors, and leads the company’s social media communications efforts.
Christopher is responsible for setting General Motors’ communications strategy in the emerging social media that make up “Web 2.0” (blogs, wikis, podcasting, user-generated content, social network engagement, and others). His team coordinates and counsels authors for GM’s corporate blogs (FastLane and FYI), builds and manages GM’s relationships with influential voices from across the social media landscape, and develops new social media resources for GM content and information.
Prior to joining General Motors in mid 2007, Christopher held a similar position at IBM where he was involved in such ground-breaking work as the investor relations department’s ”IBM and the Future Of…” series of podcasts.
Download the 38-minute conversation here (MP3, 17.4MB), or sign up for the Interviews RSS feed to get it and future interviews automatically. For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a such as the free Juice, DopplerRadio or iTunes, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon.
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If you have comments or questions about this podcast, or suggestions for future interviews, email us at fircomments@gmail.com; or call the Comment Line at +1 206 222 2803 (North America) or +44 20 8133 9844 (Europe); or Skype: fircomments; or comment at Twitter: twitter.com/FIR; or at Jaiku: fir.jaiku.com. 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.
This FIR Interview is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.
Podsafe intro music - On A Podcast Instrumental Mix (MP3, 5Mb) by Cruisebox.
Monday, December 31, 2007
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #306: December 31, 2007
Content summary: New FIR discussion forum launching; the next FIR episode marks this podcast’s third anniversary; a listener contest coming; FIR live in January on BlogTalk Radio; Lee Hopkins looks forward to 2008; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; Microsoft promotes Vista on YouTube with open commenting; are email and mobile phones the real social graph?; Tesla CEO blogs explanations; who’s got what you’re looking for: ask Hoosgot; Colgate in Second Life; senior employees obligated to blog at SonyBMG UK; listeners’ comments discussion; New Year’s Eve: music from Maria Daines; and more.
[Messages from our sponsors: FIR is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years, www.ragan.com; Save time with the CustomScoop online clipping service: sign up for your free two-week trial, at www.customscoop.com/fir.]
Show notes for December 31, 2007
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 65-minute podcast recorded live from Concord, California, USA, and Wokingham, Berkshire, England.
Download the file here (MP3, 29.2MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod, subscribe with iTunes; good podcatchers include Juice and DopplerRadio, and RSS aggregators that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon.)
Listen to this podcast now:
In This Edition:
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 (North America) or +44 20 8133 9844 (Europe); or Skype: fircomments; or comment at Twitter: twitter.com/FIR; or at Jaiku: fir.jaiku.com. 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 January 3, 2008…
Thursday, December 27, 2007
FIR Cut: What Is An Intranet?
Download the file here (MP3, 2.4MB; length 5:09), or sign up for the RSS feed to get this cut segment and all future ones automatically.
FIR Cut: Best Buy Up To Its Old Tricks
Download the file here (MP3, 2.4MB; length 5:18), or sign up for the RSS feed to get this cut segment and all future ones automatically.
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #305: December 27, 2007
Content summary: Predictions for 2008; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; Todd Cochrane’s 24-hour podcasts to support OLPC; Google Reader sharing private data stirs up a storm; Blognation writers live on; online TV ads more popular than TV TV ads; Dan York reports on Twitter; listeners’ comments discussion; next FIR episode on New Year’s Eve; music from Brother Love; and more.
[Messages from our sponsors: FIR is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years, www.ragan.com; Save time with the CustomScoop online clipping service: sign up for your free two-week trial, at www.customscoop.com/fir.]
Show notes for December 27, 2007
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 60-minute podcast recorded live from Wokingham, Berkshire, England, and Concord, California, USA.
Download the file here (MP3, 27.3MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod, subscribe with iTunes; good podcatchers include Juice and DopplerRadio, and RSS aggregators that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon.)
Listen to this podcast now:
In This Edition:
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 (North America) or +44 20 8133 9844 (Europe); or Skype: fircomments; or comment at Twitter: twitter.com/FIR; or at Jaiku: fir.jaiku.com. 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 December 31…
Monday, December 24, 2007
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #304: December 24, 2007
Content summary: New NMRCast is up; discussion: frozen peas and the power of grassroots support for a cause; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; Lee Hopkins reports; discussion: the final entry in Jonathan Crow’s great social experiment; IBM’s been busy; the British Royal Family launches YouTube channel; David Phillips reports; listeners’ comments including discussion on employee bloggers prompted by Kris Gallagher and on social networks prompted by Mitch Joel; music by Natalie Brown; and more.
[Messages from our sponsors: FIR is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years, www.ragan.com; Save time with the CustomScoop online clipping service: sign up for your free two-week trial, at www.customscoop.com/fir.]
Show notes for December 24, 2007
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 69-minute podcast recorded live from Concord, California, USA, and Wokingham, Berkshire, England.
Download the file here (MP3, 31.7MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod, subscribe with iTunes; good podcatchers include Juice and DopplerRadio, and RSS aggregators that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon.)
Listen to this podcast now:
In This Edition:
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 (North America) or +44 20 8133 9844 (Europe); or Skype: fircomments; or comment at Twitter: twitter.com/FIR; or at Jaiku: fir.jaiku.com. 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 December 27…
Saturday, December 22, 2007
NMRCast #17 - 12/22/07 - Pre-spec working document released
NMRCast #17 - 12/22/07 - Pre-spec working document released
The New Media Release Podcast, episode can be downloaded here, heard directly from this page, or subscribed to via the NMRCast feed. Also, the Apple iTunes subscription is now available here or by searching for NMRCast at the Apple iTunes store under “podcasts.” If you subscribe to the FIR “everything” feed, however, this podcast will not be included.
Content summary:The usual suspects: Chris Heuer, Shel Holtz, Tom Foremski, Brian Solis and Shannon Whitley. Shannon runs down the recently-released pre-specification working document, which needs your input. The group discusses the flurry of posts taking pro and con positions about the social media release.
Show notes for December 22, 2007
Welcome to NMRCast episode #17, a 33-minute podcast recorded live from the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City.
Download the file here (MP3, 14.9 MB), 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 Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).
Listen to this podcast now:
In This Edition:Key reference sites for the Social Media Press Release:
- Working document referenced by Shannon Whitley
Blog posts referenced in this podcast:
- Greg Jarboe’s original post, “Is the Social Media Press Release a Meatball Sundae?”
- Brian Solis’ reply: “Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, the Social Media Release is Not a Meatball Sundae”
- Greg Jarboe’s second post, “Strumpette testifies in social media press release trial”
Social media release resources:
- The new Social Media Release site, home of the social media release requirements
- Google Groups mailing list for New Media Release discussion (please join!)
- hRelease wiki
Thursday, December 20, 2007
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #303: December 20, 2007
Content summary: Discussion: should brands join social networks?; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; Dan York reports on the Web Awards, Blognation, offline blog editors for Mac; follow-up and discussion on Jonathan Crow’s Great Social Experiment; David Phillips reports on recessions and PR; listeners’ comments including discussion on social networks prompted by Mitch Joel; the music; and more.
[Messages from our sponsors: FIR is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years, www.ragan.com; Save time with the CustomScoop online clipping service: sign up for your free two-week trial, at www.customscoop.com/fir.]
Show notes for December 20, 2007
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 60-minute podcast recorded live from Wokingham, Berkshire, England, and Concord, California, USA.
Download the file here (MP3, 27.4MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod, subscribe with iTunes; good podcatchers include Juice and DopplerRadio, and RSS aggregators that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon.)
Listen to this podcast now:
In This Edition:
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 (North America) or +44 20 8133 9844 (Europe); or Skype: fircomments; or comment at Twitter: twitter.com/FIR; or at Jaiku: fir.jaiku.com. 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 December 24…
Seasoned FIR reporter Dan York in action
Have you ever wondered how the fearless band of For Immediate Release podcast reporters actually records their contributions to the twice-weekly show?
Wonder no more as Dan York, FIR’s correspondent in Burlington, Vermont, USA, shows how it’s done.
The report Dan’s recording in this seesmic video is included in FIR #303.
Nice work, Dan!
[Later] Dan’s also posted about his video recording experience.
Monday, December 17, 2007
FIR Cut: PR Tips for Recessions
Download the file here (MP3, 2.10MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get this cut segment and all future ones automatically. Length: 4:31.
FIR Cut: WalMart’s Panty Gaffe
Download the file here (MP3, 1.64MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get this cut segment and all future ones automatically. Length: 3:31.
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #302: December 17, 2007
Content summary: Discussion: the social media experiment; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; digital footprint study from Pew; you own dot-org but what about dot-com?; social networks deliver product recommendations; BBC readies new user-customizable website; Lee Hopkins reports on Second Life now that the goldrush is over, the Australian Federal Police and paedophiles, and on why he disagrees with Chip Griffin; listeners’ comments discussion; new version of Audacity released; FIR editions over Christmas and New Year; music from Bernie Goldbach: the Wyclef Jean Mashup; and more.
[Messages from our sponsors: FIR is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years, www.ragan.com; Save time with the CustomScoop online clipping service: sign up for your free two-week trial, at www.customscoop.com/fir.]
Show notes for December 17, 2007
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 60-minute podcast recorded live from Concord, California, USA, and Wokingham, Berkshire, England.
Download the file here (MP3, 27.3MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod, subscribe with iTunes; good podcatchers include Juice and DopplerRadio, and RSS aggregators that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon.)
Listen to this podcast now:
In This Edition:
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 (North America) or +44 20 8133 9844 (Europe); or Skype: fircomments; or comment at Twitter: twitter.com/FIR; or at Jaiku: fir.jaiku.com. 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 December 20…
Thursday, December 13, 2007
FIR Cut: Movable Type Goes Open Source
Download the file here (MP3, 4.37MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get this cut segment and all future ones automatically. Length: 9:29.
FIR Cut: LinkedIn Makes Its Move
Download the file here (MP3, 1.36MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get this cut segment and all future ones automatically. Length: 2:53.
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #301: December 13, 2007
Content summary: Eric Schwartzman meets the media: Reuters, AP, Bloomberg, UPI; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; Twitter is one man’s conversation ecosystem and another’s massive waste of time; Annenberg study reveals that communicators are out of sync; retailers to embrace virtual worlds; an exodus to virtual worlds is predicted; Dan York reports on the Open Web Awards and more; listeners’ comments discussion; music by Feels Like Friday; and more.
[Messages from our sponsors: FIR is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years, www.ragan.com; Save time with the CustomScoop online clipping service: sign up for your free two-week trial, at www.customscoop.com/fir.]
Show notes for December 13, 2007
Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, a 61-minute podcast recorded live from Wokingham, Berkshire, England, and Concord, California, USA.
Download the file here (MP3, 28MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod, subscribe with iTunes; good podcatchers include Juice and DopplerRadio, and RSS aggregators that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon.)
Listen to this podcast now:
In This Edition:
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 (North America) or +44 20 8133 9844 (Europe); or Skype: fircomments; or comment at Twitter: twitter.com/FIR; or at Jaiku: fir.jaiku.com. 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 December 17…
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