In his keynote address at the Gnomedex tech conference in Seattle on Friday, US senator and highly-seasoned politician John Edwards had this to say about politicans' polish in an age of informality: [...] "The problem is that we're so trained and so conditioned over a long period of time that being normal and real and authentic requires you to shed that conditioning," Edwards said of politicians. "It is not an easy thing to do." Edwards then alluded to the next presidential election. "My … [Read more...] about The difficulty for politicians of normal, real and authentic
Archives for July 2006
Dean Koontz on movies
A pleasant discovery at the weekend - Dean Koontz, one of my favourite 'dark side' fiction writers, started a podcast last month. I found his second episode on iTunes, recorded just a few days ago, and immediately subscribed. I've been reading Dean Koontz' novels since about 1990 and finished reading his last one in paperback, Velocity, on my flight home from the US last month. One of my all-time favourites is Hideaway which was made into an awful film about ten years ago. I didn't … [Read more...] about Dean Koontz on movies
Down and out in Germany
Beckham off with injuries. Rooney gets a red card. 0-0 at 90 minutes. 0-0 at the end of the extra-play 30 minutes. Then a nail biting end of penalty shoot-outs. The ticker-text says it all. Nope, I don't want to talk about it. Plenty of others do, though. … [Read more...] about Down and out in Germany
Podcast Awards nominations are open
The second annual Podcast Awards is up and accepting nominations, and your FIR co-hosts would be delighted if you'd nominate us in the "Business" category. These awards are presented at the Portable Media and Podcast Expo in Ontario, California, on September 29 and 30. Both Neville and Shel will be speaking at the event. So why are we pimping for your votes with this particular awards program? The Podcast Awards do use the same technique as some of the others we have dismissed - the ability … [Read more...] about Podcast Awards nominations are open
Listen to the new PR voices
I've just spent a valuable thirty minutes absorbing some great thinking from a range of new PR voices at Behind The Spin, the blog of the print magazine of the same name written by PR students from across the UK. The topics aren't new by any means. But the thinking is refreshing and gives you a good idea of how some of our younger colleagues about to enter the profession see some of the topics that those of us with, let's say, a more seasoned approach often write about. For example, try these … [Read more...] about Listen to the new PR voices
PubSub still in business
Is the PubSub search engine business still in business or not? In a post on his blog yesterday, Dave Winer said: [...] I'm sitting next to John Furrier at Gnomedex and he says he heard from Bob Wyman last night [June 29] that PubSub has shut down and their engineers have found jobs at other companies. The PubSub site is still up and running as I write this, looking as normal as it did the last time I visited a few weeks ago. No announcements there. Mind you, something's up - note … [Read more...] about PubSub still in business
Each of us has value to someone
Thoughtful writing in the current Wired magazine by Chris Anderson (he of the Long Tail) in an article about the business and relationship transformations happening, in what he calls the "peer production era." I like his conclusion: [...] This isn’t amateurs versus professionals; it’s each benefiting the other. Companies aren’t just exploiting free labor; they’re also creating the tools that give voice to millions. And that rowdy rabble isn’t replacing the firm; it’s providing … [Read more...] about Each of us has value to someone
Don’t expect answers from Jupiter Research
In show #150 of FIR last Thursday, Shel and I talked about Toby Bloomberg's experience with Jupiter Research concerning their recent research report about corporate blogging. This is the report that says 35% of large companies (in the US) plan to institute corporate blogs this year, and nearly 70% of all site operators will have implemented corporate blogs by the end of 2006. I'd mentally-dismissed the research when I read the press release. Nice backgrounder with yet more big numbers about … [Read more...] about Don’t expect answers from Jupiter Research