Make podcasting take off for you

Posted on July 25, 2011 at 7:03 am UK

There’s an intriguing article on the BBC Click website that says the term “podcasting” has largely disappeared from view as attention has increasingly turned to social media, and asks: why has such a popular technology received such a small amount of attention?

It’s a good article, describing how podcasting started and looking at the medium primarily from the perspective of how it competes with mainstream radio. The article is clear in one point it emphasises – podcasting doesn’t seem to offer much that’s different to what you get on the radio:

[...] The common perception is that a podcast is just a download of something that has already been made available elsewhere. Rather than changing the traditional media landscape, many believe that it is just replicating it.

“Half of podcasting is about just another medium to deliver the same content,” says radio futurologist James Cridland.

“The other half is the real democratisation of creating new interesting audio content.

“Is it something different to normal radio? Not really. I look at quite a lot of the podcasts and the fact they are on a downloadable medium that you can listen to whenever you like doesn’t necessarily change a lot of the content.”

As a podcaster myself who started in the early days (2004/2005), I think that’s a good point, one that certainly applies in the UK but not so much in the USA where podcasting began and immediately offered attractive alternatives to “homogenized” radio.

While such comparisons with mainstream media like radio are credible, that’s not the complete picture especially when you look at how the barriers to entry are so low that anyone can create and publish a podcast, not just the mainstream media. You don’t need expensive studios nor voice talent; indeed, you can get started with podcasting for much less than £100; even next to nothing if you take advantage of the instant broadcasting services now available.

So my question would be – why hasn’t podcasting really taken off in the UK outside the mainstream, so to speak? It’s a question I asked in April 2008, focused on the business aspects, which attracted some compelling discussion. Three years on, little has really changed from what I can see.

Consider three distinct areas that comprise the origins of podcasting:

Technological innovations that made podcasting possible.
Cultural demands that made listening to podcasts desirable.
The desire of individuals to create and share audio and video content.

The first one clearly has been a powerful driver thanks mostly to two individuals (Dave Winer who invented the RSS enclosure that enabled the subscription aspect of podcasting and auto-delivery of the MP3 audio files; and Adam Curry who popularized the medium and created the first podcatcher that lets you listen to those audio files and automatically manages your subscriptions) and one company (Apple when they launched iTunes with podcasting support) in 2004.

What of the other two areas, though – cultural demands and individual desire? Those two links look like the missing ones especially when you consider that podcasting has become even easier than it already was with the advent of “tap-talk-publish” tools and services such as Audioboo and iPadio. With instant broadcasting tools like these, no longer do you even need to have a computer with a microphone and recording software. Instead, with just an iPhone or Android smartphone – and, in the case of iPadio, even an ordinary landline phone – you can record your words and publish that audio content online instantly, shareable with the world.

Yet audio podcasting still hasn’t found its tipping point. Could it also be lack of quality content as James Cridland argues?

[...] The hard part is finding the quality. There are some really good podcasts but there are a load of terrible ones as well

Very true – just trawl through the thousands of podcast episodes in the iTunes podcast library or a directory like Podcast Alley and you’ll likely agree. But isn’t beauty in the (ear) of the beholder?

Still, unless you’re looking for big audiences to compete with radio, does a tipping point really matter? Isn’t this more about niche publishing where it’s economically feasible to be able to create content for ten people as it is for 10,000? Isn’t it more about developing a community and getting close to people who genuinely want your content?

What could you use a podcast for in a business context? Here are some ideas of what’s easily possible:

Employee Engagement: A weekly 15-minute business update for employees delivered by the CEO or other leader; employees worldwide can subscribe to the podcast via the company intranet or listen directly from the CEO’s blog.
General news of interest to everyone: The HR department produces a monthly 30-minute podcast that is a round-up of news and information on issues of interest and relevance to every employee including, for example, news about changes in employee health benefits, updates on training courses, expansion at the factory in a particular city, and a summary of company-wide job openings and where to get more information; the podcast is made available for subscription from the HR site on the company intranet and is referenced/linked to in the multiple channels used for internal communication, traditional and digital.
Training and Education: A series of short 5-minute podcasts produced by the marketing department on key aspects about a new product that’s being launched, to help employees understand the features and benefits of that new product; the podcast series supports and complements other communication channels. Depending on communication objectives and specific content, the series could also be used in external communication and published to a service like Audioboo.
Skills-Sharing and Team Building: The sales director records an occasional 10-minute podcast for her geographically-dispersed sales team with tips and tricks on, say, how to close deals with certain types of customers; her podcast is available from the sales intranet as a complement to formal sales materials and as one of the means through which she builds a sense of community and engagement with her team.

I came up with this concise list in 2005 when I was talking up podcasting for business with evangelical zeal (take a look at this presentation I gave at PodcastCon UK in London in September 2005). With just a bit of update-tweaking, I think they’re still valid today.

Hearing the voice of a trusted leader, or a subject-matter expert, or the sales director adds a human and informal touch to what’s too often the starched formalness of organizational communication. This can be a powerful emotional influencer on internal and external audiences alike. And emotional influence is a key factor in people engagement.

And I’ll point to the example of For Immediate Release, the weekly business podcast my friend Shel Holtz and I started in January 2005 and which is still going strong.

While the content is great (as listeners tell us!), that wasn’t the primary driver of listenership from the start. And listenership isn’t really what’s made FIR notable in the communication profession.

FIR is about community. While the two presenters are the foundation, it’s a network of regular reporters (in the USA and South-East Asia) and comment contributors that has given the show a sense of genuine community, and on a global level. So today, the content of a typical FIR episode is made up of at least 33 percent listener contributions and reports, and listener suggestions and recommendations drive much of the direction of the show, focused around a private community on Friendfeed. The influential listener community is one of the reasons why the show has attracted sponsors (Ragan Communications, CustomScoop and Pollstream), as is the fact that we survey listeners to find out who they are, what they like and what they want from FIR in the future, and share that information publicly (the last survey was published in May 2009; a new one is in development).

Today, FIR has grown into a series comprising six distinct podcasts including interviews, book reviews and an irregular live panel discussion on topical business communication issues.

The barriers to entry for podcasting as a tactical and complementary tool in your communication toolbox have never been lower, and the benefits never more obvious.

So what’s stopping you?

A resource you might find useful: How To Do Everything With Podcasting, the book Shel and I produced and which was published by McGraw-Hill in the summer of 2007. The blurb says, “[...] walks you, step by step, through the process of creating, broadcasting, and promoting your own podcast. You’ll get tips for targeting your audience, refining your content, integrating various technologies, and profiting from your podcast. You’ll also discover how businesses can use podcasting as a fresh, inexpensive way to communicate with customers, investors, and employees.” There’s a Kindle edition so you can get it right now.

Update: In the comments, Dave Thackeray asked if there’s an audio version of this blog post. There is now, which I recorded at Audioboo via the website recorder not the smartphone app. Instant podcast!

On the death of a mainstream medium

Posted on July 7, 2011 at 6:06 pm UK

It’s an astonishing end to a newspaper that published its first edition in 1843 and grew to become the biggest-circulation English-language weekly newspaper in the world, with a readership averaging close to 7.5 million in 2010.

That newspaper is the News of The World (NoTW). After 168 years of publishing, this Sunday, July 10, is the day when the last edition will be printed and then the paper will be closed.

Part of Rupert Murdoch‘s News International since 1969 (which owns, among other media, Times Group and The Sun in the UK and Dow Jones and Fox News Channel in the USA), the NoTW has been embroiled in a huge and unsavoury scandal that began with the illegal access of the telephone records and voicemails of members of the royal family and celebrities and, in recent years, ordinary people (what everyone is calling “phone hacking”); and, relatedly, bribing officers of the Metropolitan Police. All of this goes back to the early part of this century.

If you just Google the phrase “phone hacking scandal news of the world“, you’ll find an enormous amount of reporting along with commentary and opinion of every political hue, much of it over the past week in particular united in its clear sense of disgust and outrage. One good detailed account of the unfolding scandal is “News of the World phone hacking affair” on Wikipedia.

In recent days, the scandal has grown epicly as revelations seemed to come daily of yet more outrageous allegations. British blue-chip companies who spend millions advertising in NoTW suddenly began backing away and pulling their ads. Questions were being asked in Parliament and people were becoming ever more vocal in their demands that heads must roll at News International.

With Rupert Murdoch publicly backing the News International leadership led by its CEO Rebekah Brooks (who was editor of NoTW during part of the scandal-hit period), you had to wonder what would happen next. The scandal was continuing to grow – it had clearly become a full-blown crisis affecting the reputation of other News International titles in the UK in the minds of advertisers (if not the readers) and the entire Murdoch empire, with additional speculation that the scandal would likely impact Murdoch’s plans to acquire the entirety of BSkyB, the satellite broadcaster.

And so, the bombshell news came. Here is the text of the internal announcement (published all over the public media) made to NoTW employees by James Murdoch today:

I have important things to say about the News of the World and the steps we are taking to address the very serious problems that have occurred.

It is only right that you as colleagues at News International are first to hear what I have to say and that you hear it directly from me. So thank you very much for coming here and listening.

You do not need to be told that The News of the World is 168 years old. That it is read by more people than any other English language newspaper. That it has enjoyed support from Britain’s largest advertisers. And that it has a proud history of fighting crime, exposing wrong-doing and regularly setting the news agenda for the nation.

When I tell people why I am proud to be part of News Corporation, I say that our commitment to journalism and a free press is one of the things that sets us apart. Your work is a credit to this.

The good things the News of the World does, however, have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong. Indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our Company.

The News of the World is in the business of holding others to account. But it failed when it came to itself.

In 2006, the police focused their investigations on two men. Both went to jail. But the News of the World and News International failed to get to the bottom of repeated wrongdoing that occurred without conscience or legitimate purpose.

Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad and this was not fully understood or adequately pursued.

As a result, the News of the World and News International wrongly maintained that these issues were confined to one reporter. We now have voluntarily given evidence to the police that I believe will prove that this was untrue and those who acted wrongly will have to face the consequences.

This was not the only fault.

The paper made statements to Parliament without being in the full possession of the facts. This was wrong. The Company paid out-of-court settlements approved by me. I now know that I did not have a complete picture when I did so. This was wrong and is a matter of serious regret.

Currently, there are two major and ongoing police investigations. We are cooperating fully and actively with both. You know that it was News International who voluntarily brought evidence that led to opening Operation Weeting and Operation Elveden. This full cooperation will continue until the Police’s work is done.

We have also admitted liability in civil cases. Already, we have settled a number of prominent cases and set up a Compensation Scheme, with cases to be adjudicated by former High Court judge Sir Charles Gray. Apologising and making amends is the right thing to do.

Inside the Company, we set up a Management and Standards Committee that is working on these issues and that has hired Olswang to examine past failings and recommend systems and practices that over time should become standards for the industry. We have committed to publishing Olswang’s terms of reference and eventual recommendations in a way that is open and transparent.

We have welcomed broad public inquiries into press standards and police practices and will cooperate with them fully.

So, just as I acknowledge we have made mistakes, I hope you and everyone inside and outside the Company will acknowledge that we are doing our utmost to fix them, atone for them, and make sure they never happen again.

Having consulted senior colleagues, I have decided that we must take further decisive action with respect to the paper.

This Sunday will be the last issue of the News of the World. Colin Myler will edit the final edition of the paper.

In addition, I have decided that all of the News of the World’s revenue this weekend will go to good causes.

While we may never be able to make up for distress that has been caused, the right thing to do is for every penny of the circulation revenue we receive this weekend to go to organisations – many of whom are long-term friends and partners – that improve life in Britain and are devoted to treating others with dignity.

We will run no commercial advertisements this weekend. Any advertising space in this last edition will be donated to causes and charities that wish to expose their good works to our millions of readers.

These are strong measures. They are made humbly and out of respect. I am convinced they are the right thing to do.

Many of you, if not the vast majority of you, are either new to the Company or have had no connection to the News of the World during the years when egregious behaviour occurred.

I can understand how unfair these decisions may feel. Particularly, for colleagues who will leave the Company. Of course, we will communicate next steps in detail and begin appropriate consultations.

You may see these changes as a price loyal staff at the News of the World are paying for the transgressions of others. So please hear me when I say that your good work is a credit to journalism. I do not want the legitimacy of what you do to be compromised by acts of others. I want all journalism at News International to be beyond reproach. I insist that this organisation lives up to the standard of behaviour we expect of others. And, finally, I want you all to know that it is critical that the integrity of every journalist who has played fairly is restored.

Thank you for listening.

While the announcement late afternoon today of the closure of the NoTW comes as quite a shock, it’s actually a good and just decision. I believe it demonstrates quite clearly that the owners of the NoTW are listening to what people are saying and taking serious note of highly critical and exceptionally angry public opinion and sentiment, and acting in a decisive manner that directly addresses and responds to those concerns.

I’m not suggesting for a minute that this means things have come to a nice conclusion. On the contrary, police investigations continue and no doubt criminal charges will eventually be brought as and when individuals are identified who, it will be alleged, committed criminal acts. I would image civil lawsuits will be in there somewhere as well.

Cynics might say that this closure is a stunt to enable News International to continue NoTW under a different guise, maybe “The Sunday Sun” (keep an eye on the website www.sundaysun.co.uk, apparently registered just a couple of days ago). I hope not.

What effect will this have on other mainstream media especially print, in the eyes and minds of the great British public, aka newspaper readers, not to mention advertisers? Will we look on this as a milestone that dealt a severe blow to traditional printed newspapers and trust in journalism, and the opening of a new chapter – an increase in online content and readership – maybe accelerated by the arrival of a new disruptor such as The Huffington Post UK which started publishing yesterday (and let me disclose: I am a blogger for the HuffPost UK).

What a mess and an ignominious end to a newspaper with quite a history. Whatever you think of the paper itself, it was part of the fabric of the history of British journalism and newspaper publishing, done to death by bad people.

No-fuss perspectives: Social Media @ Work

Posted on June 19, 2011 at 7:06 pm UK

Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable. Block out 15 minutes of your time to watch a story, a corporate video with a difference. Watch it full screen in high definition and turn up the sound a little.

Ready? Then let’s begin.

(If you don’t see the video embedded above, watch it at Vimeo.)

This is a video that portrays the experiences and views of some opinion leaders who present credible perspectives on social media in the workplace – why it matters and what it means to the contemporary organization.

There is disconnect between how immersed and digitally connected employees are outside of the workplace, and how their internal communications are being delivered. On the ground, employees are still posting printed communications on the water cooler when they can be engaged, led and informed via the latest digital channels.

This isn’t a video that will try to convince you of something other than some believable thinking and points of view. I believe that’s one of the powerful strengths of the overall story and the ten people telling it, and why it’s worth 15 minutes of your time.

Here’s who you’ll hear from when you watch:

Marco Forgione, IVCA
Rebecca Richmond, Melcrum
Stefan Stern, Edelman London
Richard Dennison, BT
Helen Dunne, CorpComms magazine
Neil Gibbons, Communicate magazine
David Ferrabee, Able and How
Madeleine Kavanagh, Deutsche Bank
Livio Hughes, Headshift
Neville Hobson (that’s me)

If you like what you see – and even if you’re not sure – you’re welcome to share or download the video under the terms of the Creative Commons copyright license assigned to it by the makers. Especially take it to the C-suite.

Social Media @ Work was produced by Red Sky Vision and Able and How. If you tweet about it, be part of the conversation by including the hashtag: #worksm.

If you’d care to share your thoughts here, please leave a comment. Thanks.

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