Content summary: Listeners’ comments discussion (building engagement; figuring out b5media; the problem with Google Print; good and bad batteries; ID3 tags; finding the needle in the haystack); soundvertising with Senseo; sound quality challenges with podcast interviewing by phone; podcasting: tech challenges and communication opportunities; new business podcasts; tagging; Lee Hopkins report; end of the road […]
Category: Communication
Spreading the word in Europe
As we head into the last quarter of 2005, it’s great to see so many worthwhile professional development events taking place during the next few months which either are wholly about social media from the business perspective or prominently include this broad topic as a constituent part of a conference or seminar. I invest quite […]
The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #72: September 29, 2005
Content summary: Listeners’ comments, an update on the iPod nano, Wikimedia’s open-source textbook project, more on soundvertising, Neville’s cheese sandwich, a great quote for making the employee blogging case, Whirlpool starts a podcast, a business podcasting white paper, Neville’s new mixer. Show notes for September 29, 2005 Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & […]
Keeping Apple coolness intact
The problems with scratches on the new iPod nano that hundreds of users reported during the past two weeks hasn’t turned out to be the brand, reputation and PR crisis for Apple that it could have been. Thanks largely to a public acknowledgement that a batch of nanos did suffer from a manufacturing defect regarding […]
Big choices in the UK for internet phone services
If Skype paved the way for free and low-cost telephone calls via the internet for early adopters, enthusiasts and others who ‘saw the light,’ then Freetalk looks set to kick-start a mass market in the UK with the launch last week of a new internet phone service that lets you use the phones you already […]
The rise of individual credibility
A challenging assessment of the differences between executive blogging and business blogging and which are best blogs, by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, writing in The Long Tail: […] It’s a huge mistake to equate executive blogs with business blogging, just as it’s a huge mistake to see the world only through the economic […]
The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #73: October 3, 2005
Content summary: Listeners’ comments discussion; changes to podcast show notes; PR waking up to social media; Nielsen survey on RSS subscribers; Wikipedia article posted on Wikipedia; book publishers using podcasts; blog spam forces a blog to close; Lee Hopkins report; Yahoo! to start digitizing books; US GAO publishes Ketchumgate findings; podcasting at The Conference Board. […]
IBM’s credible message: Blogging means business
Two senior IBM executives are featured in an informative and engaging series of audiovisual presentations that present the case for blogs as strategic business tools. Presented by Harriet Pearson, IBM’s Chief Privacy Officer and Vice President for Corporate Affairs, and Willy Chiu, Vice President of IBM’s High Performance On Demand Solutions Group, some very interesting […]
Solving your communication challenges
IABC members will soon be receiving their copy of the brochure for IABC EuroComm 2005, the fifth annual professional development conference in Europe that brings together communicators from across the globe to share best practices, examine case studies and discuss the latest developments in communication planning, practice and analysis. Considering the role of new media […]
Podcasting the Conference Board conference
My FIR co-presenter, Shel Holtz, recorded a series of podcasts at the Conference Board’s 2005 Corporate Communication and Technology Conference in New York on 26 September. Those podcasts are still not showing on the conference web page – but, last night, seven podcasts showed up in the podcast RSS feed in my RSS reader. So […]
Technorati-Edelman blog survey results published
Things will be a bit quiet here until the weekend as I’m on the road. Meanwhile, take a look at the results of the Technorati/Edelman blog survey that was conducted late last month. According to the two firms, Technorati contacted tens of thousands of active bloggers via email, blog posts and the networks of discussion […]
The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #74: October 6, 2005
Content summary: Edelman/Technorati survey results, AOL’s instant messenger hits the blogosphere, a threat to Microsoft Office, Apple’s upcoming announcement, a new communications podcast, the Conference Board podcasts, a report from Dan York, a cautionary tale of comment spam and fake blogs, listener comments, and way, way more. Show notes for October 6, 2005 Welcome to […]
Yahoo launches podcast directory
Yahoo has launched a podcasting site, a place that’s not only a directory of podcasts but also a great resource of rich information on podcasting generally, and a one-stop-shop for your podcasts and music purchasing. Yahoo Podcasts includes detailed information that explains what podcasts are and an excellent how-to guide on creating your own podcast, […]
Help victims of Pakistan earthquake
The devastating earthquake in Pakistan on Saturday that so far has claimed around 20,000 lives in that country as well as in parts of India and Afghanistan is headline news worldwide, as you’d expect. Some media reports say that the death toll is closer to 40,000. Blogs and other social media undoubtedly will come into […]
New online resource for internal communicators
Melcrum Publishing, the global communication publisher, today launched The Hub, a new online knowledge resource for internal communicators with hundreds of resources to help communicators do their jobs more effectively. The first of its kind in the UK according to Melcrum, The Hub provides members with resources that include networking, news and analysis, learning guides […]
The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #75: October 10, 2005
Content summary: Listeners’ comments discussion (employee engagement; bad PR gimmick with a fake blog; how to stimulate blog comments); Cillit Bang PR debacle update; helping victims of the Pakistan earthquake; US court ruling on not identifying an anonymous blogger; Yahoo! Podcasts launches; Google’s RSS reader; CBC employee lockout follow-up; Lee Hopkins’ report; the new FIR […]
Speaking at E-Day Amsterdam
Heading off to the Emerce E-Day conference taking place today in Amsterdam. I’m participating in a panel discussion broadly titled Public Relations in The Blogosphere. My fellow panelists are Scott Rafer, Frank Janssen, Paul Molenaar and Hans Mestrum. We hope to have a stimulating and dynamic multi-lingual discussion (Dutch and English) on issues and strategies […]
The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #76: October 12, 2005
Content summary: Listeners’ comments, Emerce Eday in Amsterdam, RSS use study, Microsoft’s proposed RSS logos, Skype cordless handset, Microsoft and Yahoo link IM clients, Google Library project update, The Spinfluencer interviews Ron Bloom, reactive vs. proactive communication, Apple launches video iPod, the anonymous Publix employee blogger, and more. Show notes for October 12, 2005 Welcome […]
The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #77: October 17, 2005
Content summary: Listeners’ comments discussion (more on, and from, the anonymous Publix blogger; loving the new FIR logo; transcribing show notes; proactive vs. reactive again); IABC’s new website; software to help eliminate jargon from writing; Technorati’s latest state of the blogosphere; Lee Hopkins’ report; The Conference Board Europe’s communications meeting; no podosphere PR yet; PR […]
Improving weblog usability
Website usability guru Jakob Nielsen published his top 10 weblog design mistakes yesterday, and the list plus his commentary are interesting reading. Weblogs are often too internally focused and ignore key usability issues, Nielsen says, making it hard for new readers to understand the site and trust the author. You can read Nielsen’s detailed commentary, […]