For Immediate Release

Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz
  • 5.0 (20)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
For Immediate Release

In addition to news items and in-depth discussion of trends and issues, you'll hear the Internet Society's Dan York report on technologies of interest to communicators.

  1. 1 HR. AGO

    FIR #442: Justin Baldoni's Attack on Blake Lively Explains Why PR is a Dirty Word

    Astroturfing, smear campaigns, social media manipulation, unauthorized release of private information, defamation, character assassination, whisper campaigns, media planting, and gaslighting. These activities are undertaken by the seamiest, most ethically challenged public relations practitioners. While there are far more PR professionals who abide by ethical codes, the bad actors get all the attention, leading to a sordid reputation for the industry that some believe we will never be able to overcome. The latest example comes from the agency representing actor/producer/director Justin Baldoni, who responded to accusations of inappropriate behavior by engaging an agency that employed all of the tactics listed above. Initially, the campaign had the desired effect but ultimately backfired as the campaign itself drew more attention than the original allegations. In this short midweek episode, Neville and Shel examine the controversy and address the idea of requiring licensing or certification of all PR practitioners and whether it would weed out those who find codes of ethics to be mere inconveniences to be ignored. Continue Reading → The post FIR #442: Justin Baldoni’s Attack on Blake Lively Explains Why PR is a Dirty Word appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

    20 min

  2. 3 DAYS AGO

    FIR #441: PR, AI, and Social Media Are All Shook Up

    The world’s biggest PR agency laid off five percent of its global staff. It’s a sign of the headwinds facing the industry, including reduced opportunities for earned media, which is what PR agencies spend a lot of their time trying to achieve. We’ll explore what’s happening in the PR agency world in the long-form FIR... Continue Reading → The post FIR #441: PR, AI, and Social Media Are All Shook Up appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

    1h 29m

  3. DEC 18

    FIR #440: Experimenting for Influence

    Even when they know it has been rigged, people assign a lot of credibility to experiments. When they see the experiment produce favorable results, for example, potential customers might be more inclined to buy. Experiments can also influence decision-makers in your company -- again, even if they assume you put your thumb on the scale. The phenomenon is similar to wrestling, with audiences knowing the match is staged by enjoying it all the same. Neville and Shel review some research on the subject and discuss ways communicators can apply experimentation to their work in this short midweek episode. Continue Reading → The post FIR #440: Experimenting for Influence appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

    17 min

  4. DEC 13

    FIR #439: Agentic AI Tops Digital Trends for 2025

    There is a common thread among many of the predictions and trends posts that typically blossom across the web as the year draws to a close: AI agents are poised to revolutionize (a word we don't use lightly) work in 2025. The frontier AI models -- ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Llama, and a few others -- have captured imaginations and led to various uses throughout the business world. But these chatbots, which deliver answers to natural-language queries, will pale compared to agentic AI, which sets off to complete tasks that require multiple steps autonomously. In this short midweek episode, Neville and Shel delve into agentic AI and its possibilities for communicators, along with five other digital marketing trends. Continue Reading → The post FIR #439: Agentic AI Tops Digital Trends for 2025 appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

    20 min

  5. DEC 4

    FIR #438: Google's AI Overviews Upend SEO

    It doesn't seem to be a big deal at first glance. A Google AI Overview answers a search query at the top of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Beneath it, all those traditional links and snippets are still there. However, analyses reveal that many people are reading the AI Overview and calling it quits -- they never click a link to visit a website. That's concerning to organizations that have relied on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to drive traffic to their pages. In this short midweek FIR podcast episode, Neville and Shel look at the data and the trends and recommend actions communicators can take to ensure their web properties still get attention as the shift to AI search continues. Continue Reading → The post FIR #438: Google’s AI Overviews Are Upending SEO appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

    16 min

  6. DEC 2

    FIR #437: AI Takes Root in the Workplace

    Research finds that corporations no longer see AI as a novelty; it's a full-blown business tool, one that is so critical that its development is mostly being done in-house. In the November long-form episode of "For Immediate Release," Neville and Shel review new research about AI's place in the business world and among employees. Also in this episode, we take a look at social media in 2024 -- a consequential year -- and what to expect in 2025. Beutler Ink has published its principles for ethically engaging with Wikipedia. Companies will twist themselves in knots deciding whether, and how, to respond to social and political issues that arise during the next four years of the second Trump Administration. Bluesky's growing popularity, and an open API, has led to a burgeoning collection of third-party apps. And Coca-Cola misfired with an AI-generated holiday commercial...or did they? In his Tech Report, Dan York looks at the post-Twitter social media world, Bluesky's looming challenges, X's reminder that it owns your account; the impending court decision on the TikTok ban, and Australia's new law banning social media for children under 16. Continue Reading → The post FIR #437: AI Takes Root in the Workplace appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

    1h 32m

  7. NOV 27

    FIR #436: Nothin' But Bluesky (and TikTok and Threads, and Instagram and WhatsApp...)

    Bluesky -- the Twitter-esque social network that has suddenly started attracting refugees from Elon Musk's X -- had its start when Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey asked software engineer Jay Graber to introduce federation to Twitter. She told him she couldn't, but she could create a new social network based on a new federation protocol called AT, a decentralized foundation for public social media. At first, Bluesky was an invitation-only network. Many of those who scored invites were underwhelmed. But a surge of migrations from X has reinvigorated Bluesky, which is also adding features as a further incentive for people to join and stay. In this short midweek episode, Neville and Shel discuss Bluesky's potential and whether communicators should consider establishing a presence for their companies or clients. Continue Reading → The post FIR #436: Nothin’ But Bluesky (and TikTok and Threads and Instagram and WhatsApp…) appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

    22 min

  8. NOV 20

    FIR #435: Physical Presence is Not a Collaboration Magic Bullet

    When executives justify their return-to-office mandates, they almost universally cite the collaboration and innovation that results from serendipitous encounters between employees. They also point to the need to boost productivity. The problem with these arguments is that the evidence does not support them. In this short midweek FIR episode, Neville and Shel look at one financial services company that has seen eye-popping increases in performance metrics since listening to its employees and adopting a policy that lets employees work where they want. We also review a report on what it actually takes to build connections and collaboration in organizations. Continue Reading → The post FIR #435: Physical Presence is Not a Collaboration Magic Bullet appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

    20 min
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5
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

In addition to news items and in-depth discussion of trends and issues, you'll hear the Internet Society's Dan York report on technologies of interest to communicators.

Information

  • Creator
    Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2024
  • Episodes
    50
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0)
  • Show Website
    For Immediate Release

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