Saturday, August 26, 2006
HC+T Update: August 2006
HC+T Update: August 2006
HC+T Update
August 2006
- New Webinar Begins Today
- Online Video Will Continue to Grow
- Sweeping Statements
- Brits Rate Mainstream Media More Trustworthy
- Participate in a Healthcare Blogging Survey
- My Road Tour is Getting Closer
- More Reasons to Take Second Life Seriously
- Yahoo! Launches a Corporate Blog
- Another Lesson on Corporate Blogging
- Site of the month
- HC+T update
- Boilerplate and subscription information
As usual, this issue represents mostly material I’ve written for my blog over the past month. You can find the blog at http://blog.holtz.com. And don’t forget, you should seriously consider switching from the email subscription to the RSS feed. Just add the following URL to your RSS news reader: http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/update/rss_2.0/.
New Webinar Begins Today
The new fundamentals of employee communications
A new Webinar featuring Shel Holtz, ABC
Five consecutive Mondays, beginning Monday, August 28, 2006
$345 covers the entire five-week Webinar!
Registration: http://snipurl.com/ec_webinar
Most organizations haven’t awakened to it yet, but the fact is that the guidelines that governed employee communications a mere decade ago don’t work anymore. Seismic change has affected everything from the conduct of business in general to the models of organizational communication. To succeed in employee communications—that is, to produce tangible benefits for the organization—communicators need to grasp the new rules, the new dynamics, the new models that drive internal communication success. In this far-reaching five-week online Webinar, you’ll learn…
- How the wall between internal and external communications has become porous, how the functions must work together, and the means by which you can ensure internal messaging drives your organization’s desired external perceptions
- The roles of the CEO, executives, managers and supervisors in the communication process
- The underpinnings of effective internal communications that can be tied directly to the company’s financial performance
- How to balance authoritative company communications with the set of increasingly collaborative, grass roots-driven channels
- How new communication tools like blogs and podcasts can fit into your communication mix without increasing the amount of work you have to do
... and a lot more!
Register by Aug. 30 to participate in this five-week workshop. The first lecture will be posted on Aug. 28. Subsequent lectures will be posted on Sept. 4, 11, 18 and 25.
During the webinar, you’ll benefit from comprehensive lectures, links to other online resources, downloadable handouts, and interaction with your instructor as well as other webinar participants. All this costs only $345—a fraction of what you’d spend on a similar session in a hotel meeting room—and you’ll never have to leave your desk.
Webinars are asynchronous—you participate when it’s convenient for you. A new text-based lecture is posted each Monday morning, but you can take advantage of it whenever you have the time.
Questions about the event? Contact Ragan Communications at 1.800.493.4867 or e-mail Shel Holtz directly at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Online Video Will Continue to Grow
My first corporate job —- in the mid-1970s working in employee communications for ARCO -— was a revelation. After working in newspapers for a couple years with their limited resources, seeing the tools available to a Fortune 20 company was enough to make you drool. For example, ARCO had a complete video studio. Later, the studio was abandoned as it became easier to outsource video work. But now, as video becomes more and more common on the web, you have to wonder when companies will begin beefing up their in-house video production capabilities.
A study from In-Stat (reported by ClickZ Stats), indicates consumption of online video is just getting started. “Online Content Aggregators —- AOL, Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Apple -— Slowly Defining the Future of Television” suggests the global market for online content will grow by a factor of 10 to over 131 million homes by 2010. Demand for online video is actually driving broadband adoption, according to the study, which projects 413 million homes will have broadband by the end of the decade, compared to 194 million today. Nearly 13% of all broadband households are consuming professionally-produced video.
Businesses by and large consider online video optional, but it’s important to consider that a company’s website is part of the greater web environment. People who grow accustomed to finding video everywhere will wonder about antiquated corporate sites populated mostly by text and pictures. Of course, given the availability of low-cost video cameras and inexpensive computer-based editing applications, in-house studios won’t cost anywhere near what they did in 1977. Companies should be gearing up to make more of their content available as something to watch, which is easier that online reading anyway.
Sweeping Statements
I stumbled across a post from back in April that included a statement I had to re-read several times to make sure I had it right: “Most PR bloggers are rarely critical of the industry and are genuinely giddy about the power of blogging.” The post, from The Bivings Group’s Rita Desai, makes two sweeping statements in one sentence. I have problems with both of them, but mostly the first.
I don’t read every PR blog, but I read about 50 of them, and one of the things I like about them -— what keeps me coming back-—is the remarkable degree of candor most of them display in their criticism of the PR industry. Not every post, of course, but whenever there’s a reason to take a stand (such as a news report of an agency or practitioner breeching ethical standards), the PR blogosphere tends to speak with a strong voice. Some of the topics I recall addressed by PR bloggers, off the top of my head, include pay-for-placement, questionable uses of video news releases, astroturfing, spamming, sending news releases that contain no news, and introducing services the agency is unqualified to provide. There have been calls for more action by the associations that represent the profession and harsher consequences for unethical behavior. Heck, there’s even a blog from two PR practitioners that is dedicated to bad pitches! The fact is, the PR blogosphere is more critical of lax PR practices than just about any other venue I can think of.
The approach taken is generally constructive, since we all work in the industry and want to see it shine. We’re all passionate about communications or we wouldn’t be blogging about it. We’re looking for (and in may instances suggesting) solutions.
Not every PR blogger writes about these issues, nor is there any obligation to do so. A blog about PR measurement, for example, is not required to digress from its theme when someone in the profession behaves badly. But by and large, bloggers like Allan Jenkins, Neville Hobson, Paul Holmes and a host of others have been forthright in their criticisms. All of which leads me to ponder the danger of making sweeping statements without having actually studied the subject at hand. I don’t know Ms. Desai -— I presume she’s a fine practitioner -— but I have to wonder how many PR blogs she read, over what period of time, before making her claim.
The “giddy” bit bothers me less, but still, the word is defined as “having a reeling, lightheaded sensation; dizzy.” Yes, many of us are enthusiastic, but our enthuiasm is based on experience and research. Frankly, I experienced the same kind of dismissal when I enthused over message boards and email in the late 1980s, the web in the early 1990s, and instant messaging in the late 1990s. (I remember being in a meeting around 1991 and suggesting that every member of the board of the organization should have an email address; the response: “There goes Shel with his online crap again.”) I was hardly alone back in 1991, though, joined in the Casandra syndrome (able to see what’s coming but nobody will believe you) by people like Craig Jolley, Pete Shinbach, John Gerstner, Sheri Rosen, Charles Pizzo and others. I remember being told, “No company needs a website,” and “We will never have instant messaging in this company; it’s just another way for employees to waste time.”
Were we all “giddy” about the role online technology would play in communication? No; we were convinced, enhtusiastic, even evangelical, but always tempered with reason and research, and always counseling a strategic approach to the application of these tools. Of course, today everybody has email, every company has a website (or more than one) and half the workers in the US use instant messaging as a primarily work-related tool.
I’m sure I’m as guilty as anyone else of making sweeping statements, but after reading this one, I pledge to be more careful about it. I wouldn’t want to paint anyone with a brush based on a cursory review of facts that leaves an inaccurate picture on display that readers may assume was carefully researched and factually accurate.
Brits Rate Mainstream Media More Trustworthy
The BBC reports that respondents to a new study ranked traditional media —- TV and newspapers -— as far more trustworthy than websites and blogs. The study, from interactive marketing firm Telecom Express, queried 1,000 people on the percentage of information from different sources they found to be accurate. Television ranked highest, at 66%, followed by national, regional, and local newspapers, which scored 55%. Websites were seen as accurate by 36% and blogs by only 24%.
“This study scotches any idea that the British media is no longer valued by the populace,” according to a Telecom Express spokesman.
The study results reinforce two of my long-held beliefs. First, new media do not kill old media. The notion that blogs are replacements, rather than supplements, of traditional journalism is simply wrong. Second, these studies ask the wrong question. If a research firm asked me if I trust blogs, I’d respond as most of those in the Telecom Express study did: no. But if somebody asked me whether I trusted Jim Horton’s or Mike Manuel’s blog, I’d answer yes. I don’t know the authors of most blogs; with Technorati tracking 51.8 million blogs as of today, there’s no way the average person can pay attention to more than a handful; they can assess the accuracy and value of only a percentage of those.
But I know Mike and Jim, and I’ve read enough of some other bloggers whom I’ve never met to decide that I can believe what they’ve written, too.
Further, whether you trust blogs in general or not, they’re still breaking news right alongside traditional journalists—and in the UK, with one in four Internet users writing blogs—that’s a lot of potential for influence. The BBC report notes as an example that it was a blogger who revealed that Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had stayed at a ranch owned by U.S. businessman Philip Anschutz.
Participate in a Healthcare Blogging Survey
Fard Johnmar, one of the clearest voices taking Jupiter research to task for its unwillingness to share its research methodology on a recent blogging report, is asking for help with a survey of his own. Johnmar works for Envision Solutions, which in conjunction with The Medical Blog Network has launched a comprehensive survey of the blogal healthcare blogging community.
“Taking the Puse of the Healthcare Blogosphere” is, according to an Envision press release, “the first systematic attempt to gather comprehensive opinion and demographic data from the global community of healthcare bloggers.” The survey is open from today through September 29 to individuals and organizations that dedicate a minimum of 30% of their blogging time to healthcare-related topics. Envision will release results in the late full beginning with a presentation at the Healthcare Blogging Summit 2006, set for December 11 in Washington, D.C.
The survey is at http://www.healthcarevox.com/2006/06/corporate_blogging_and_jupiter.html.
New Media: A Road Tour and a Seminar
I’m chairing a three-day conference on blogging and podcasting, set for October 18-20 in San Francisco. Titled, “How to Use Blogging & Podcasting to Engage Your Customers & Build Your Brand,” the seminar will include some terrific speakers from companies like IBM, Southwest Airlines, Whirlpool, Cisco Systems, and more. I’m delivering the keynote address and a post-conference workshop.
Details are here: http://www.aliconferences.com/conferences/blogging_podcasting/1006.html.
I’ll also be on the road in October and November with a new two-day workshop for Ragan Communications titled, “Connecting with the Wired World.” In this workshop, I’ll cover how to…
- Reach your many and varied audiences through better and smarter online writing techniques
- Develop audio, video and animated content that will engage your audiences as never beforeóand reach new ones
- Monitor what customers, competitors, employees, activists and others are saying about you online and in the blogosphereóand be ready to influence the discussion
- Sell the concepts of blogs, podcasting and other social media tools to a management skeptical of new tools and technologies
Engage your audiences in an online conversationóand mitigate the risks inherent in participatory communications
I’ll relate this to intranets, blogs, wikis, social media sites, social bookmarking and tagging, citizen and open-source media, and RSS.
Here’s the lineup:
10/05-06: San Francisco
10/23-24: New York
10/26-27: Washington, DC
10/30-31: Chicago
11/02-03: Atlanta
11/13-14: Toronto, ONT, Canada
Get the details and register online at http://snipurl.com/ragan_connect.
More Reasons to Take Second Life Seriously
ZDNet has released a couple videos that reinforce the idea that Second Life is something businesses -— and business communicators -— need to understand and, perhaps, embrace. The first looks at a convention center built in SL by new-media whiz-kid Eric Rice, which includes the ability to project video and audio into a meeting space. Rice is planning on renting the facility to organizations interested in meetings in the virtual world. The second looks at efforts by the University of California at Davis to use the simulation functionality of SL to train emergency workers.
The videos are at: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=3404
Meanwhile, I finally got around to some of my backed-up podasts and heard Karl Long interview two representatives from Electric Sheep (which builds SL venues) and one from Linden Labs (which built and operates SL). The trio talk about the future, which includes seamless integration between the real-time 3D world of Second Life and the asynchronous, 2D world of the web. It’s a revealing conversation that shines an even brighter light on the metaverse’s business potential.
There’s another another nifty simulation created for Second Life with serious real-world implications. Jeremy Kemp, with SimTeach, has developed a medical facility with three exam rooms. In each, patients await diagnosis. Medical trainees listen to each patient’s heart to determine whether anything is wrong and, if so, what the problem is.
Yahoo! Launches a Corporate Blog
Yahoo!-— already the host to several product-oriented blogs -— has launched “Yodel Anecdotal,”, the company’s official corporate blog. Blog Editor Nicki Dugan has offered up the introductory post, noting that the blog will be used to…
“...cover emerging trends, provide some behind-the-scenes commentary, profile interesting Yahoos, spotlight our beloved users, reveal some of our quirks, tap into guest bloggers, sprinkle in some videos and photo essays, and generally think out loud (lucky you… you get to listen). You’ll hear from interns to executives. Some days we’ll be light and airy, others we’ll get serious.”
The initial entry -— which also features a virtual video tour of the Yahoo! campus -— has been greeted so far by 31 comments, every single one of them positive.
Another Lesson on Corporate Blogging
Today’s lesson: Once a post goes up, leave it up. Pulling it down can have worse consequences than letting it stand.
TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington spins the tale of Microsoft developer Stuart Padley, whose blog was last updated in October 2005 before he posted an item explaining that, after finishing work on SQL Server 2005, he was selected by Ray Ozzie to work on the Windows Live Drive project, the company’s impending entry into the file hosting business. While nothing in the post is confidential, according to Arrington, it vanished shortly after it was posted, most likely because some Microsoft executive ordered it down.
Arrington, however, pointed to the post’s cache on Bloglines and posted a screen shot. So today, the story is about Microsoft yanking down an innocuous post rather than the confirmation that Windows Live Drive is coming—something those who pay attention to such matters already knew. Between Arrington’s post and Robert Scoble’s link to it, the story is bound to get a fair amount of attention.
Some may point to this incident as a reason for business not to blog. From where I sit, it’s a reason to ensure you have a blogging policy and that it’s well communicated so the risk of employees posting something they shouldn’t is minimized.
Sites of the Month
Cameron Olthuis got the ball rolling on his blog, “Pronet Advertising,” with a list of ”10 things you should be monitoring.” Jeremiah Owyang added seven items on his blog. Then Joseph Jaffe extended the list further on Jaffe Juice.
No doubt, several others in the communications blogging community can add more to this list, but the fragmented nature of blogs means some will add to one list, others to another, and the whole collaborative effort will spiral into chaos.
But that’s what wikis are for. So I’ve copied the entire list as it stands to The New PR, where everybody can work on a single master list.
http://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php?pagename=WhatToMonitor.HomePage
This could be loads of fun. The Washington Post has launched a consumer participation activity that starts with a video of political reporter Dana Milbank asking questions. You’re invited to download the video and, using your own software, insert your own answers. (The premise: You’re a candidate in an election that’s a week away.) The questions themselves are fun to watch, but it’ll be entertaining as hell to see what people come up with.
image
It’s not a contest, exactly, since there’s no judging and no winners. In fact, the Post says it’ll continue to upload new videos for as long as people continue to submit them. Viewers will rate and comment on what they’ve seen. (I expect bunches of these to find their way to YouTube, as well.)
The rules are simple. Submissions have to be under three minutes and submitted in either Quicktime or Windows Media format. You have to own all the rights to anything you include. And that’s it.
I’m sure this will have its share of detractors. However, it’s nothing but fun and invites readers to co-create with the Post. It could be a win for the newspaper and a model for others to adopt.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2006/08/01/VI2006080100794.html?referrer=email
HC+T Update
- I’m wrapping up work on a manuscript for McGraw-Hill’s “How to Do Everything” series: “How to Do Everything with Podcasting.” It should be published in early 2007.
- I’ll be attending a meeting in early September of a new executive forum for internal communicators, sponsored by ROI Communications. I’m working with Roger D’Aprix and Brad Whitworth to put the forum together.
- I’ve been working as part of a group to develop a social media press release. We cover our weekly efforts in a podcast you can find here: http://forimmediaterelease.biz/index.php/C5/
Boilerplate and subscription information
You received this newsletter either because you asked for it or somebody who likes you forwarded it to you.
Please feel free to forward it to someone =you= like!
HC+T Update is published monthly by Holtz Communication + Technology.
You can subscribe by visiting the HC+T site on the World Wide Web at http://www.holtz.com and selecting the FREE email NEWSLETTER page. You can subscribe, unsubscribe and view back issues at http://darkstar.holtz.com/hct/mamboserver/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi?f=list&l=hct.
You can subscribe to an RSS feed of this newsletter by adding “http://blog.holtz.com/update.xml” (without the quote marks) to your news feed reader.
Holtz Communication + Technology helps organizations apply online technology to strategic communication efforts.
(C) 2006, Holtz Communication + Technology. All rights reserved.