For Immediate Release: The Hobson and Holtz Report

FIR Book Club #1: “Social Media Strategist” Author Christopher Barger

2012-02-02T23:38:59+00:00

Christopher Barger was the guest author for the inaugural installment of the FIR Book Club, hosted by FIR Book Review Editor Bob LeDrew.

Christopher is senior vice president, Global Programs for Voce Communications, a Porter Novelli company. Before arriving at Voce, Christopher was director of global social media at General Motors, building the company’s social media program and leading its presence across multiple social networks. His work to repair GM’s reputation in the social web earned him PR News’ “Social Media Leader of the Year” award in 2010. Christopher also previously managed social media initiatives and corporate communications for IBM, where he was designated “Blogger-in-Chief.”

Christopher’s book, “The Social Media Strategist,” was reviewed on FIR.

This podcast was recorded live on BlogTalk Radio.

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This FIR Book Review is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

FIR Book Review: Intern Nation by Ross Perlin

2012-02-02T18:53:45+00:00

Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy, by Ross Perlin, is reviewed by guest reviewer Kris Gallagher. From the book description:

“Every year, between one and two million Americans work as interns. They famously shuttle coffee in a thousand newsrooms, congressional offices, and Hollywood studios, but they also deliver aid in Afghanistan, build the human genome, and pick up garbage. They are increasingly of all ages, and their numbers are growing fast—from 17 percent of college graduates in 1992 to 50 percent in 2008. A huge and increasing number of internships are illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and this mass exploitation saves firms more than $600 million each year. Interns enjoy no workplace protections and no standing in courts of law—let alone benefits like health care. Ross Perlin has written the first exposé of this world of drudgery and aspiration. In this witty, astonishing, and serious investigative work, Perlin takes the reader inside both boutique nonprofits and megacorporations such as Disney (which employs 8,000 interns at Disney World alone). He profiles fellow interns, talks to academics and professionals about what unleashed this phenomenon, and explains why the intern boom is perverting workplace practices in locations all around the world. “

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Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy by Ross Perlin

Publisher: Verso
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published May 2011
ISBN-10: 1844676862
ISBN-13: 978-1844676866
(No Kindle version)

Purchase at Amazon US, Amazon Canada, or Amazon UK.

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This FIR Book Review is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #636: January 30, 2012

2012-01-30T21:04:56+00:00

Content summary: Inaugural FIR Book Club took place on January 27; GaggleAmp webinar January 31; new podcast alert: Jay Baer “Social Pros,” featuring “social media practitioners, people doing the real work for companies,” features an interview, social media stat of the week and “Work it Out” - first episode due on February 2; News That Fits: blogging declines in business as newer tools rule; Ragan promo; Michael Netzley reports from Singapore on the year of the dragon on the Chinese calendar begins with investor activism in Japan around the Olympus scandal, and a debate about credentialing and badges in higher education; Google+ Brand page no longer optional; listener comments; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; Dan York reports on Rizzoma Wave, Apple iBooks Author, SOPA/PIPA/ACTA, etc: the underlying war; Europe signs up for ACTA; TemboSocial promo; Facebook may not be optional, either; music from Dance Hall Pimps; and more.

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For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report for January 30, 2012: A 73-minute podcast recorded live from Concord, California, USA, and Wokingham, Berkshire, England.

Links to websites, blog posts and other content we discuss in the show are posted as Delicious bookmarks to facilitate your connection with the discussions and sharing of that content.

FIR #636 bookmarks on Delicious

Names of blogs, individuals, companies and organizations we discussed or mentioned in the show are posted to the FIR Show Notes pages at The New PR Wiki. You can contribute time stamps – see the show notes home page for info.

FIR #636 show notes at The New PR Wiki

Share your comments or questions about this show, or suggestions for future shows, in the FIR FriendFeed Room. You can also email us at fircomments@gmail.com; call the Comment Line at +1 206 222 2803 (North America), +44 20 3239 9082 (Europe), or Skype: fircomments; comment at Twitter: twitter.com/FIR. 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.

To stay informed about occasional FIR events (eg, FIR Live), sign up for FIR Update email news.

So, until Monday February 6…

The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #635: January 23, 2012

2012-01-23T19:19:10+00:00

Content summary: FIR Book Review of ‘YouTube for Business’ is up; reminders: inaugural FIR Book Club on Jan 27 with Christopher Barger, GaggleAmp webinar on Jan 31; new FIR Interviews posted: Bob Fine, Social Media Monthly magazine, and Adam Kmiec, Walgreens; CREWE project to audit Fortune 100 on Wikipedia; News That Fits: of course employees are three times more active on social networks; Ragan promo; Dan York reports on the first battle against SOPA won, and more; could a ‘Secret Facebook of Power’ work for your organization?; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; Pinterest buzz continues to grow; listener comments; TemboSocial promo; no report from Michael Netzley this week; first look at the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer; music from The Dents; and more.

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For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report for January 23, 2012: A 69-minute podcast recorded live from Wokingham, Berkshire, England, and Concord, California, USA.

Links to websites, blog posts and other content we discuss in the show are posted as Delicious bookmarks to facilitate your connection with the discussions and sharing of that content.

FIR #635 bookmarks on Delicious

FIR #635 show notes at The New PR Wiki

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So, until Monday January 30…

FIR Interview: Walgreens Social Media Director Adam Kmiec

2012-01-21T20:01:24+00:00

FIR co-hosts Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz interview Adam Kmiec, director of social media for Walgreens, the largest drug store chain in the U.S. and a Fortune 50 company. Walgreens has engaged in the last 10 days or so in a social media-focused effort to build awareness among customers of alternatives to Express Scripts, the prescription benefit manager through which hundreds of thousands of people pay for the prescription medications. Unable to reach an agreement to renew their contract, Walgreens no longer accepts Express Scripts but using mechanisms like Prescription Savings Club membership (left) to retain customers.

The campaign to build awareness and retain customer loyalty has been largely focused on social media, including paid tactics like promoted Twitter trends and sponsored blog posts. In this wide-ranging interview, Kmiec outlines the challenges of the campaign, discusses the importance of statistical insights to drive decision-making, and the use of paid social media, as well as outcomes of the effort to date.

(Note, the Walgreens campaign was covered by Advertising Age and was the subject of a story covered on FIR #634. The FIR report was covered by the Best o’ Pop blog.)

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About our Conversation Partner

For more than 14 years, Walgreens Social Media Director Adam Kmiec has worked for some of the most forward thinking organizations in the world, while helping some of the most dynamic brands find success in the interactive and social space. His career spans both the client and agency sides of the marketing and advertising industry, covering stops at renowned organizations that include Fallon, Leo Burnett, and ConAgra Foods. His focus has always been on solving business problems by leveraging consumer driven insights to fuel creative ideation. He is a frequent speaker and news contributor. He is currently working on a book titled, “Yes, It’s Hypocritical,” due for completion next summer.

Connect with Adam on Twitter: @adamkmiec or via other social networks.

Share your comments or questions about this podcast, or suggestions for future interviews, in the FIR FriendFeed Room. You can also email us at fircomments@gmail.com; call the Comment Line at +1 206 222 2803 (North America), +44 20 3239 9082 (Europe), or Skype: fircomments; comment at Twitter: twitter.com/FIR. 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.

To receive all For Immediate Release podcasts including the weekly Hobson & Holtz Report, subscribe to the full RSS feed.

This FIR Interview is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

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FIR Interview: Social Media Monthly Publisher and Editor Bob Fine

2012-01-21T01:04:54+00:00

In this FIR Interview, FIR co-hosts Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz chat with Bob Fine, publisher and editor of The Social Media Monthly, a new print publication that is also a current Kickstarter project.

The Social Media Monthly was conceived at the 2011 South by Southwest Interactive conference and launched a mere 53 days later, on May 20th, 2011 at BlogWorld in New York. Three weeks later Fine secured national distribution for the magazine with Barnes and Noble. The magazine was honored as one of the top magazine launches of 2011 by MIN, an organization that reports on the publishing industry.

In the interview, Fine recounts the magazine’s origins, why he opted to produce a print magazine about social media, the audience he’s trying to reach, the motivation of article authors, and a host of other topics.

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About our Conversation Partner

Robert Fine is the founder of Cool Blue Company, LLC, and author of “The Big Book of Social Media Case Studies, Stories, Perspectives”. Robert has over 17 years experience as a systems and sales engineer with various companies including CMGI, Hughes Network Systems, and most recently as Senior Director of IT for Global Strategy & Development at Conservation International (CI). He is currently pursuing his PhD at George Mason University where he is researching links between investments in information technology and achieving conservation outcomes.

Connect with Bob on Twitter: @bobfine.

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This FIR Interview is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

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FIR Book Review: YouTube for Business, by Michael Miller

2012-01-20T16:01:12+00:00

YouTube for Business: Online Video Marketing for Any Business, by Michael Miller, is the latest book to be reviewed by FIR Book Review editor Bob LeDrew. From the book description:

“YouTube’s 120 million viewers are a tempting target for any business, large or small. How can you tap into the potential of YouTube to promote your business and sell your products or services? YouTube marketing is easy enough that any business can do it. All you need is some low-cost video equipment—and a winning strategy. After you figure out the right type of videos to produce, you can use YouTube to attract new customers and better service existing ones. That’s where this book comes in. The valuable information and advice in YouTube for Business help you make YouTube part of your online marketing plan, improve brand awareness, and drive traffic to your company’s website—without breaking your marketing budget.”

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YouTube for Business: Online Video Marketing for Any Business by Michael Miller

Publisher: Que
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published January 2012 (2nd edition)
ISBN-10: 078974726X
ISBN-13: 978-0789747266

Purchase at Amazon US (Kindle edition), Amazon Canada, or Amazon UK (Kindle edition).

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This FIR Book Review is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

FIR Book Review: The Social Media Strategist, by Christopher Barger

2012-01-16T20:24:45+00:00

The Social Media Strategist: Build a Successful Program from the Inside Out, by Christopher Barger, is the latest book to be reviewed by FIR Book Review editor Bob LeDrew. From the book description:

“In today’s fast-paced professional climate, large companies are learning that launching a website and taking a wait-and-see approach to engaging customers is not enough. Competition is fierce, and those who master the social media space are the ones who come out on top. There is greater urgency than ever before to establish a vibrant social media program—and it all starts with a key strategist who can best organize and leverage all of the organization’s resources to cut through the bureaucracy and get real-time results. This is where The Social Media Strategist comes in. Before tackling specific social media programs, you first have to get your own organization—and everyone in it—on board with making social media a business strategy priority. Christopher Barger, the award-winning former social media director at General Motors and IBM’s former “blogger-in-chief,” describes all the challenges particular to getting a comprehensive social media program off the ground in a large firm.”

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The Social media Strategist: Build a Successful Program from the Inside Out by Christopher Barger

Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published January 2012
ISBN-10: 0071768254
ISBN-13: 978-0071768252

Purchase at Amazon US (Kindle edition), Amazon Canada, or Amazon UK (Kindle edition).

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This FIR Book Review is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #634: January 16, 2012

2012-01-16T19:23:01+00:00

Content summary: Update on SOPA; FIR Interviews posted: with John Clemons, interim IABC Executive Director, and a Google+ Hangout video interview with Stuart Bruce and Phil Gomes on Wikipedia and PR; inaugural FIR Book Club date reminder: January 27; review of Social Media Strategist coming soon; GaggleAmp webinar January 31; two winners of latest GaggleAmp/FIR contest; News That Fits: three candidates for new PR definition; Ragan promo; Dan York reports on the Consumer Electronics Show, and more; the state of PR; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; Facebook shows relentless global growth; Michael Netzley reports from Singapore on Reputation Institute white paper on how companies in China can build competitive reputations; listener comments; TemboSocial promo; Walgreens turns to paid social media warriors in battle with Expressscript; music from Andy’s Doomsday Device; and more.

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For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report for January 16, 2011: A 72-minute podcast recorded live from Concord, California, USA, and Wokingham, Berkshire, England.

Links to websites, blog posts and other content we discuss in the show are posted as Delicious bookmarks to facilitate your connection with the discussions and sharing of that content.

FIR #634 bookmarks on Delicious

FIR #634 show notes at The New PR Wiki

To stay informed about occasional FIR events (eg, FIR Live), sign up for FIR Update email news.

So, until Monday January 23…

FIR Interview: Stuart Bruce and Phil Gomes on PR and Wikipedia

2012-01-13T18:57:13+00:00

FIR co-hosts Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz host a Google+ Hangout with Stuart Bruce, principal, Stuart Bruce Associates, and Phil Gomes, Sr. VP, Edelman Digital, to discuss efforts to improve the ability of corporate representatives to make ethical, transparent, disclosed and factual revisions that are independently verifiable to Wikipedia entries.

Currently, a host of communication professionals report having revised entries to reflect accurate financial numbers, spellings of executive names, new or departing board members, employee headcounts and the like. Yet because they are identified as “paid editors” without a neutral point of view, their revisions are often reversed and many are banned from the site. Gomes posted an open letter to Jimmy Wales on his blog at the same time Stuart Bruce Stuart Bruce post on his. Within days, the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) CIPR announcementit would engage in talks with UK Wikimedia representatives. At John Cass’ urging, Gomes created a Facebook group to host a conversation on the subject.

In this interview, Gomes and Bruce discuss the various dimensions of the subject and potential outcomes of the discussion.

Connect with Phil at @PhilGomes; reach Stuart Bruce at @StuartBruce.

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Share your comments or questions about this podcast, or suggestions for future interviews, in the FIR FriendFeed Room. You can also email us at fircomments@gmail.com; call the Comment Line at +1 206 222 2803 (North America), +44 20 8133 9844 (Europe), or Skype: fircomments; comment at Twitter: twitter.com/FIR. 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.

To receive all For Immediate Release podcasts including the weekly Hobson & Holtz Report, subscribe to the full RSS feed.

This FIR Interview is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.