If you use Google Reader, you'll know by now that Google is shutting the service down on July 1. That's tomorrow. Since its launch in October 2005, Google Reader became a popular choice for many as the preferred method of subscribing to, reading and sharing information via RSS from blogs and websites. I've had a Google Reader account since its launch, yet I never really used Google Reader. My preference was a desktop reader programme: FeedDemon for Windows. I preferred a tool that ran on … [Read more...] about The Google Reader shutdown: Last chance to move on
Archives for June 2013
Goodbye IABC and good luck
Last week, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) held its international conference in New York. By all accounts I've read, some 1,400 members went and took part. I've heard, too, that the professional development, networking and social events over the three days of the conference were as compelling and enjoyable as they ever have been at IABC conferences. A different picture emerges, however, when it comes to the business of IABC itself. You may know that I was … [Read more...] about Goodbye IABC and good luck
FIR Interview: Tansley Stearns and Patrick Rooney on employee social media training
While between 30 and 42 percent of companies (depending on which research you cite) still block employee access to social media, research increasingly suggests that training employees is more effective than trying to stop them engaging. The Filene Research Institute - which conducts research for credit unions - wanted to offer training to credit union employees, and asked QUEsocial to modify their off-the-shelf product (one screen of which is pictured above) to address the specific needs of … [Read more...] about FIR Interview: Tansley Stearns and Patrick Rooney on employee social media training
This story about PR qualifies for ‘must read’
Every now and again, something is written or said about the practice of public relations, its development and evolution, usually with the phrase "this is a must read" attached. In my experience, much of what's described as "must read" is anything but, especially when the words "social media" are added; it's just spin for the PR. Now and again, though, something is written that you really must read for its clarity of thought, its intellectual excellence, its demonstration of innovation in … [Read more...] about This story about PR qualifies for ‘must read’
FIR Interview: Nick James on the future for towns, shopping and digital marketing
A big topic of debate in many countries today concerns the future of towns and cities and their roles as places people go to shop. A big element in the debate concerns digital, the internet, social channels of communication, and their disruptive effects on people's behaviours when it comes to shopping (think of new consumer behaviours such as showrooming). In this FIR Interview, co-host Neville Hobson talks to Nick James, founder of freshbusinessthinking.com, and organizer of the Digital … [Read more...] about FIR Interview: Nick James on the future for towns, shopping and digital marketing
Internet speed
Although the numbers have magnified in the year that's passed since Intel published this graphic representation of what's happening every minute on the internet, it's still a terrific visual snapshot of the huge scale and scope of what technologies are enabling people to do. This attractive graphic - perfect for corporate decks and presentations on tech trends - includes metrics we're used to seeing these days in reports and projections on the evolving technology and people-behaviour … [Read more...] about Internet speed
Buy a real pint with a virtual currency
A British pub lets you pay for your pint with Bitcoins: [...] The system is quick and effective. The bar staff press two buttons on the till and the screen displays a QR code. The customer opens their digital Bitcoin wallet, takes a snap of the screen and confirms the payment. The staff press one more button and the transaction is complete. Snapping the QR code in a crowded bar could be a challenge but in a quiet pub it is faster than paying by card. It's an imaginative use of a QR code. … [Read more...] about Buy a real pint with a virtual currency
The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #709: June 24, 2013
Intro: No Shel this week, he's at the IABC conference in New York; congrats to Shel, Richard Binhammer, Mark Dollins on launching SME2; in memoriam: PRSA Communications Chief Arthur Yann died on June 13; new FIR Interview up (done by Michael Procopio), another FIR Interview coming this week plus a Speakers and Speeches podcast of Neville's panel at Imperial College London on June 19; Quick News: What's the cost today of a decent press release?, Burberry posts entire 'London Collections: Men' … [Read more...] about The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #709: June 24, 2013