Inside PR 427: SxSW drops the ball

Martin Waxman, Gini Dietrich and I are back with another episode of the Inside PR podcast. This week, we point to several #IPRMustKnows:

  • Gini talks about the backlash against Black Friday consumerism and what one company did, announced it would be closed on Black Friday. A gesture that gained them tremendous positive commentary around social media.
  • Martin tells us that Rogers Publishing is pulling its Canadian fashion magazine, Flare, from newsstands, starting in January 2016. They’re not abandoning the magazine. They’ll keep publishing it digitally, because that’s where their audience is. Traditional magazines continue to evolve.
  • On the growth side of the ledger, podcasts are on their way to the Google Play. US Podcasters are registering their podcasts with the app now. Expect to see the launch to consumers early in 2016.

The US-first launch of podcasts on Google Play, the US-first launch of Facebook Instant News, the US-first launch of the Apple News launch raises an important issue for non-Americans. In a world in which first to market and first to use provides a real advantage, social businesses and marketers outside the US must play catch up again and again.

Finally, we talk about SXSW’s bobble of the gamergate panels. This was big news when it happened and it will be interesting to see how it colours the conference when it opens in March.

Are we talking to ourselves? We hope not. Please let us know what you think about the things we discussed on this episode.

Leave a comment on the blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini DietrichJoseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

And we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

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Thank you to the people behind Inside PR.

Our theme music was created by Damon de SzegheoRoger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

 

Inside PR 426: It’s Jeopardy VR

This week, Martin and Gini do another two-hander, as I’m AWOL. (I have to stop making a habit of this.)

Martin’s #IPRMustKnow takes us to the other side with Alex Trebek and Jeopardy’s Virtual Reality experience. Really?!?!

Gini’s #IPRMustKnow is the removal of share counts by Twitter. You’ll have to find another way to get your share counts. Don’t freak out. It’s OK.

But let’s talk about something cool for our main discussion. Let’s talk sensory metaphors. Jonah Berger’s recent contemplation of why cool is still “cool.” Or it that hot?

Are we talking to ourselves? We hope not. Please let us know what you think about the things we discussed on this episode.

Leave a comment on the blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini DietrichJoseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

And we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR.

Our theme music was created by Damon de SzegheoRoger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

 

 

Inside PR 425: The Lost Episode

Yes, it’s been a long time. Too long.

We haven’t posted, even though we have recorded podcasts.

And that’s all on me. This has been the busiest autumn for work that I’ve had in years. And I found I just lacked the energy to do that one more thing, to post Inside PR at the end of the day.

It’s on me.

If you’re reading this, if you’re still subscribed to the podcast, Thank you! Here’s the first of several that will be posted over a relatively short time as we catch up.

Today’s episode: Canada, the land social media forgot. It’s a two-hander. Just Martin Waxman and me. Gini is still on the road. But all three of us will be back together again next week.

Are we talking to ourselves? We hope not. Please let us know what you think about the things we discussed on this episode.

Leave a comment on the blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini DietrichJoseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

And we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR.

Our theme music was created by Damon de SzegheoRoger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 4.24: The Networking Leeches

It’s the end of the third quarter and it’s time to get serious about the end of the year. There are, after all, only 12 more Fridays until Christmas (as Buddy the Elf likes to remind us).

Before we get to the topic of the day (networking and “can I pick your brain?”), let’s talk #IPRMustKnow:

And now, the topic of the day: Networking leeches.

A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times ran an article titled, “How Not to Be a Networking Leech: Tips for Seeking Professional Advice.”

It gave better advice than, “Stop asking me to pick my brain!”, which tends to be the reaction from nearly every professional services provider in the world.

Some of our favorite tips include:

  • Go with a prepared list of questions;
  • Don’t argue about their advice or point out why it wouldn’t work for you; and
  • Don’t ask for intellectual property or materials.

Martin also adds his own tip that you’ll be sure to want to hear. And, I wrote about this on Spin Sucks and the comments are very interesting. So go check out Thirteen Ways to Get the Best Out of Networking,” if you are so inclined.

Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini DietrichJoseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

And we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR.

Our theme music was created by Damon de SzegheoRoger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 423: Has Big Tech Become Too Powerful?

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We’re back after a brief end of summer hiatus and start off with this week’s #IPRMustKnow segment.

Martin: Signal, Facebook’s new app for FB and Instagram, gives journalists a set of tools to discover breaking news, curate visuals and stories and share them on various platforms.

Gini: Google and Twitter have teamed up to provide an open-source competitor to Facebook’s Instant Articles, a place for publishers to display breaking news on mobile.

Joe – How do you spell Google Reader? Apple News. Joe gives an overview of the much-touted app. He likes the visual interface but doesn’t think it’s a replacement for an RSS reader yet. And he offers a quick hack on how to get the app if you’re not in the U.S. – but you’ll have to listen to the show to get it :).

And our talk of the big three – Apple, Google and Facebook – brings us to our main topic: a New York Times op-ed by Berkeley prof Robert Reich called, Big Tech Has Become Way Too Powerful. Reich contends Facebook, Google and Apple have too much influence over the government and regulators and the way we discover news and content.

Listen for our discussion. And please send your thoughts. We’re interested to hear what you think.

We end by answering a question Barbara Nixon posed on Facebook and Twitter: ‘What should new PR pros expect and prepare for when interviewing for an entry-level PR position?’

Gini wants to hear where people see themselves in five years and where their career path is heading.

Joe tries to have a conversation with potential hires to see if the person can exchange ideas with him, and if they fit into a culture of creativity and curiosity.

Martin suggests searching the company to find out about the principals, how they think, and what their culture is. And then search yourself to see if there are any red flags.

Any other suggestions? We’d love to hear from you.

Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini DietrichJoseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

And we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR.

Our theme music was created by Damon de SzegheoRoger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 422: The Business of Podcasting, YouTube, and More

It’s the last week of summer and Joe, Martin, and I are ready to read some books. We hope you enjoyed our first installment of book club…and will participate in future events.

This week, we discuss the business of podcasting, how to use YouTube with the audio shows, and more.

But first, this week’s #IPRMustKnows:

  1. Podcasting Embraces a New Era of Cool.

  2. Facebook is Eating YouTube’s Lunch When it Comes to Video Views and Sharing.

  3. Is There Enough Benefit to Putting Podcasts on YouTube?

We also talk about the Four Great Canadian Marketing and PR Podcasts (plus one American, who is an honorary Canadian), and blogging’s bad rap from Alison Garwood Jones.

Then we answer a comment from John Kouten, the CEO of JFK Communications.

Listened to 415.

I have: FB, twitter, Linked In.  However I rarely post and rarely follow.

I am unsure about Goggle+

My problem is I don’t know how to find the time to use these channels as I am an agency principal.  I have sales, operations, HR and other time killers.

Any advice?

We give John some advice, which works for anyone in PR—executive, business owner, or not.

And, if you’d like to participate in next month’s IPR Book Club, leave us a comment here on what you’d like to read and we’ll add to our pile!

We’d love to hear from you.

Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini DietrichJoseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

And we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR.

Our theme music was created by Damon de SzegheoRoger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 421: The Business of Podcasting

This week, on Inside PR 421, we introduce our first Inside PR Book Club #IPRBookClub, featuring The Business of Podcasting by Donna Papacosta and Steve Lubetkin. We’re not alone in the book club. Mark Blevis, co-author of Touch, and Kevin Anselmo from the FIR on Higher Education podcast weigh in with their thoughts on the book. On top of that, Donna Papacosta joins us to tell us who she and Steve were thinking of when they wrote the book and what they hope people will take away with them from reading it.

We also have our regular IPR Must Know #IPRMustKnow segment:

More evidence of the power of search to shape opinion. This time, it’s an academic study showing that manipulating search results can affect how people vote. It’s important for us to constantly be aware of the power of Google.

Gini and the Arment Dietrich team tested Facebook’s Notes feature and they discovered that posts written via the Notes feature are in fact extending the reach of their content. If you have a company page, it’s worth taking a fresh look at whether you should be posting content via Facebook Notes.

Martin points out that, after several years absence, Twitter posts are again showing up in real time in Google’s desktop search. The return of a beautiful relationship.

We’d love to hear from you.

Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini DietrichJoseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

And we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR.

Our theme music was created by Damon de SzegheoRoger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 420: Neville Hobson Hangs Up His Mic

This week, we have something special: Joe’s interview with Neville Hobson, co-host of the Hobson & Holtz Report and one of the first PR podcasters.

But first, our #InsidePRMustKnow segment.

Martin: The social news distribution space is getting a little more crowded. Facebook’s adding a Twitteresque app to let publishers send out breaking news alerts.

Joe: An academic study shows that what works for marketing – good SERP – also will affect voting decisions in elections. Something for us all to be aware of and vigilant about. Also, helps understand the concern of European authorities over the dominant share of search held there by Google.

Gini: How do you drive more traffic to a podcast? Eden Spodek, who’s launching her own podcast in a few weeks, suggests posting the audio and an image to YouTube and Gini tried that. We’ll let you know what happens.

Now onto Joe’s conversation with Neville …

As you’ve probably heard, Neville is leaving the FIR Network after 10 years and tells us he’s going to be focusing on creating more written content. In a wide-ranging discussion, he takes us on a journey that begins with the early days of podcasting, or as he calls it ‘home brew radio’. Neville tells stories about what he’s observed and learned along the way. He mentions some of the people who inspired him and shares his thoughts on what makes a podcaster great (hint – curiosity).

And speaking of podcasting… Just a reminder that we kick off our #InsidePRBookClub next week with a discussion of The Business of Podcasting by Donna Papacosta and Steve Lubetkin. We hope you’ll read it and share your thoughts.

We’d love to hear from you.

Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini DietrichJoseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

And we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR.

Our theme music was created by Damon de SzegheoRoger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 419: The Internet is Dead

In this week’s edition of #IPRMustKnow, we discuss:

And the main topic of this week’s show…

With the news of Zirtual closing shop, seemingly overnight, Gawker taking down stories, the Reddit interim CEO stepping down based on the social media mob, and journalists writing stories that just aren’t based in fact, Vox is claiming the Internet is dead.

Here is what they have to say:

What links these seemingly dissimilar stories is a very basic fear — the idea that the internet as we knew it, the internet of five or 10 or 20 years ago, is going away as surely as print media, replaced by a new internet that reimagines personal identity as something easily commodified, that plays less on the desire for information or thoughtfulness than it does the desire for a quick jolt of emotion.

It’s an internet driven not by human beings, but by content, at all costs. And none of us — neither media professionals, nor readers — can stop it. Every single one of us is building it every single day.

We encourage you to read the Vox piece, listen to the episode, and come back here to discuss.

We’d love to hear from you.

Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini DietrichJoseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

And we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR.

Our theme music was created by Damon de SzegheoRoger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 418: The IPR Book Club

Joseph Thornley here. On this week’s Inside PR, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and I talk about Gini’s experiment reposting older content and some of the trends in blogging and publishing that it pointed to.

Also, this week, we launch the Inside PR Book Club #IPRBookClub. Each month, we will ask the Inside PR community to suggest a book that they would like to discuss with us. We’ll name the book at the beginning of the month and then take two or three weeks to read it. As we do this, we’ll invite our listeners to read the book as well. And then, most importantly, we’ll ask you to share with us your impressions of the book. What was most useful? What rang true? What missed? We’ll ask you to submit your impressions as comments on the IPR blog. Or even better, we’ll ask you to send us audio comments to the [email protected] email address. Then we’ll collect your comments and our own impressions and put together a special Inside PR episode in which we discuss the book. And I mean WE. Because we plan to play your audio comments and read the comments you leave on the Inside PR blog. Yes, we’re going to not just review books  but make this a real book club with all of us taking part in the discussion.

For our first book, we’re going to talk about something that should be of interest to the podcaster in all of us, The Business of Podcasting by Donna Papacosta and Steve Lubetkin. This is a brand new book by two podcasters who share with us the lessons they have each learned in over a decade of experience in podcasting. It’s a short read – perhaps two hours time. Full of tips and examples. You can get your copy from Amazon.

We also have our #IPRMustKnow segment. This week, we tell you about three things we think you should be sure to note:

The New York Times is reinventing the way it presents advertisements on mobile devices;

Facebook marches on. They now can claim 1.49 BILLION monthly active users. Facebook, he Internet for most of us.

Gini points us to an article of useful tips to ensure that we stay on the right side of the law with our visual storytelling.

We do this for you. And we’d love to hear from you.

Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini DietrichJoseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

And we have a favor to ask: if you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR.

Our theme music was created by Damon de SzegheoRoger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.