CustomScoop's PR PodJots

Welcome to CustomScoop’s PR PodJots, our weekly rundown of the best of the PR and marketing podosphere.

I added a new listen to this week's Jots, as I hadn't before heard that Paull Young and Luke Armour do a Podcast from the Forward Blog. As always, please any other new podcasts you think deserve a mention in the comments section.

Another hat tip to CustomScoop colleagues this week for their help in assembling the Jots, which are as follows:

PRobecast #27 - Bloggers' Rights?

Doug Haslam, Tim Allik and Adam Zand tackle the Google News comments discussion that hit the web late last week. Doug points out that the most interesting element is that the comments would be heavily filtered, and the comments would only take place on Google itself, not on the source websites. They further discuss the verification process, and how Google will ensure that clever hackers wouldn’t pose as one of the subjects of the article in order to sneak a comment into the story.

The Topaz team agrees that the comments experiment will no doubt be tweaked down the line, and it is difficult to judge how it will play out at this early stage.

Bloggers’ rights also took center stage in the PRobecast, as the discussion turns to the news that bloggers are going to be granted the same journalistic protections as mainstream reporters. This includes protection of sources, and marks another step towards the blurring of the line between journalists and bloggers. This led naturally into a discussion of the possibility of a bloggers’ union, a proposal set forth to band bloggers together to fight for benefits such as health insurance, collective bargaining, and set professional blogging standards.

Interesting in the discussion of a bloggers’ union is the lack of clarity. Who would join the union? Would any independent blogger on a free site be able to receive health coverage, or would it apply only to the bloggers who earn their main income through blogging? This will be an interesting issue to follow as it develops.

Also discussed:

• George Colony of Forrester Research tells CEOs to get with the Web 2.0 program or else.
• Is social media an appropriate forum for marketing? The team continues a discussion started by Chris Brogan and Doug.
• Tips on “stalking” reporters via social media.
• Defcon: Undercover reporter outed by hackers. No losers here; color us amused

Across the Sound #87 – The iPhone Experiment Evolves

The iPhone-sponsored podcast story lives on, and this week the second sponsor, a podcasting Hollywood actor named Tim Coyne, cashes in with a short clip. For his part, Joseph Jaffe declares that he is looking to give the iPhone away on the show (after all, he already received one from our own Chip Griffin) and his only goal is to help Coyne find success through support from the podcasting community that he has embraced.

Continuing along the same theme, Jaffe announces that he has awarded a month long sponsorship to Kirk Skodis from Real Pie Media, whose payment comes in the form of a shiny new MacBook Pro laptop computer. Jaffe and Skodis agree to focus the sponsorship on the “celebration of experimentation,” and insist that experimentation is the lifeblood of new media. While Jaffe acknowledges that there are plenty of objectors to what he is trying to do, he argues that there is great value in monetizing podcasts through fully customized sponsorships and playing with new ideas. Skodis and Jaffe both agree that this sort of arrangement makes things more interesting, and admit that no one would care if it was just a monetary arrangement. The bottom line, they both agree, is that the experiment is working.

And Jaffe promises there is much more to come – he announces plans to next ask for a flat panel TV (with surround sound), and then a car, and perhaps even a house down the road. He wants to push the experiment as far as he can and, not surprisingly, encourages all of his listeners to be a part of it.

Also discussed:

• Misunderstanding the value of marketing in Second Life
• New Marketing ROI – “Why Failure is often just delayed Success.”

Marketing Over Coffee – "You Can't Shrink to Greatness"

John Wall and Christopher Penn cover a variety of topics in this week’s Marketing Over Coffee podcast, “You Can’t Shrink to Greatness.” The Dunkin Donuts duo poses an interesting question from Dan Johnson: How or where do you draw the line between marketing vs. spam?

Obviously advertising is a crucial part of marketing, but the line between advertising and spamming people is ambiguous at best. John and Christopher contend that avoiding spamming potential customers comes down to targeting and personalizing your message. “Scraping” for names on websites and renting random email lists will get you no where near an effective marking campaign.

The podcasters go on to say that there is certainly a stigma association with crossing the line from wanted advertiser to useless spammer, so the bottom line is “go with your gut.” If people care about whether or not they are spamming others, then they should probably just trust their instinct.

Also discussed:

• Customer service surveys – the more campaigns you do, the better, more refined results you’ll receive.
• Congratulations to SalesRoundUp for being the top trafficked sales podcast!
• Managing expectations: set positive goals, rather than limit your success and “don’t shrink your way to greatness (except for Weight Watchers).”
• Unfortunately, John won’t be at Podcamp Pittsburgh 2 or PME, but Chris will be attending both Podcamp Philly and bean town’s Podcamp Boston 2!

Around the PR Podcast Horn:

For Immediate Release #266 and #267 - August 13/16, 2007 – Shel and Neville continue to cover a full range of issues this week, discussing everything from the latest survey showing that print media isn’t quite dead, to a controversial policy from a company looking to force health on its employees. Also of note, Neville reports that a new study form the U.S. that shows social networking is not as much of a danger to youngsters as previously thought. Thursday’s show also feature’s a report on social network portability from Dan York, a discussion of the Wikiscanner, and the announcement of 2007 Podcast Awards winners.

Forward Podcast #29 - August 16, 2007 – A new addition to the weekly PodJots, Paull Young and Luke Armour discuss microblogging. Specifically, the podcast features a discussion between Paull and Topaz Partners’ Doug Haslam about Twitter. Over a couple of beers, Paull and Doug discuss the features and basics of Twitter, and tackle why it is important for young communications professionals. Anyone wondering how Twitter might be beneficial should check out their conversation.

Inside PR #72 - August 14, 2007 – After discussing their nomination for a 2007 Podcast Award, Terry and Dave discuss five questions for PR practioners forming social media strategies. The five questions are, “Do you blog yourself? What blogs and podcasts do you recommend? What clients have you got into social media? What do you think of ghost blogging? How do you approach a blogger who wrote something negative?”

Six Pixels of Separation #64 - August 12, 2007 – Returning form his speaking engagement and vacation in the far East, Mitch Joel jumps right back into the SPOS podcast. After talking about his trip and taking a few listener comments, he gives an update on his upcoming travels to BarCamp Nashville and PodCamp Boston 2. Additionally, this week’s Six Points of Separation are “Six Tips For Keeping Your Blog Fresh.”

Ten Golden Rules of Internet Marketing #5 - August 13, 2007 – This week, Jay Berkowitz offers up Ten tips for small business internet marketing and advertising. Recording from the beach in Nassau, this week also includes the first Internet Marketing Beachcast. Jay closes the show with a playing of the breakout YouTube hit Chocolate Rain, as interpreted by pop singer John Mayer.

Comments

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