Content summary: New Communications Forum next week; GlaxoSmithKline’s grassroots PR initiative; GM seeks customer input in solving image problem; a report from Dan York; the evolution of the press release; Google launches the Google Page Creator; Neville’s new site launches; listeners’ comments discussion (WELS press release, the origin of ‘synod’, congrats to Neville and Shel, the circular nature of the podcasting world, the ‘rhymes with…’ meme, influence and authority); the music.

Show notes for February 23, 2006

Welcome to For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, an 80-minute podcast recorded live from Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and almost live from 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 Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).

Listen to this podcast now:

In This Edition:

Intro:

• 00:32 Shel introduces the show; what the show’s about; how to give your feedback; show notes; what Shel’s doing in Memphis
• 04:17 The New Communications Forum takes place in Palo Alto, California, next week – come and join us!

News and Commentary:

• 08:09 More signs that PR is on the rise – a grassroots initiative from GlaxoSmithKline in the US aims at changing negative perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry; regulatory issues and effective employee communication
• 25:09 The elephant in the room – General Motors has an image problem, says GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, and he’s asking for your opinions on what GM needs to do to change perceptions on a grassroots level: so far, over 220 blog readers give their views
• 30:36 Dan York reports – a local community blogs to encourage community input, and now a podcast; the Vermont senate race blog
• 33:30 Old media adapts to new media – the latest evolutionary path of the press release becomes an interactive channel as PR Web introduces trackbacks in press releases, and starts a series of podcasts
• 41:35 Google launches the Google Page Creator ‘one-click’ web page service – a new way to create pages online with the minimum of fuss and absolutely no exposure to anything technical: will it take off and how will it develop?
• 49:03 Neville’s new site smoothly goes live; the real benefits of the FeedBurner RSS service; blurring the gap between blog and website, and the minimalist use of blogrolls

Listeners’ Comments Discussion:

• 60:17 Sallie Draper tells us about the discussion at WELS following show #113, including a press release
• 62:14 Steve Bauer explains the origin of the word ‘synod’
• 64:19 Dan York (again) with congrats to Neville on his ranking in the Onalytica business blogging survey, congrats to Shel for IABC Communication Commons, and lets us know he also listens to podcasts on curling
• 65:47 Ben Jennings highlights the circular nature of the podcasting world, and has a tech question re differing volume levels in FIR
• 68:03 Sallie Goetsch on the ‘rhymes with…’ meme, suggests Guinness should track IP addresses if they want to restrict access to their new blog to UK residents only, and comments on the New Communications Forum
• 69:37 Peter Chen on influence and authority, and on how some Australian politicans look at measuring performance

Outro:

• 72:37 Shel wraps the show; let us know your views about today’s discussions; how and where to send your comments; where to find the show notes
• 74:38 Outro podsafe music via the Podasfe Music Network – Nobody Else But You by The Mike Andersen Band

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. 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 February 27…

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel’s and my podcast blog.)