For more than twenty years, Microsoft Outlook has been the primary software tool I use for email and calendars on Windows PCs, for both business and personal uses. On New Year's Day, I switched my personal email accounts to Mailbird, a software tool that lets me manage my email and calendars on my Windows 11 PCs. Even only four days into my use, I'm already well impressed with Mailbird, how easy it was to install and set up, and the fast way I get things done that took much longer with … [Read more...] about Mailbird is a good tool for email and calendar management
Communication
September 11 remembered
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the infamous terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001. Today, people around the world will pause to remember 9/11 - that terrible day twenty years ago. Almost 3,000 people from 90 countries lost their lives when two hijacked planes were crashed into the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center, causing their total collapse and the deaths of thousands, with another hijacked plane crashing into the Pentagon in Washington DC. A further … [Read more...] about September 11 remembered
Why your communication goal must be smart and measurable
As every communicator knows you start your communication plan with a measurable goal, one that lets you demonstrate whether or not the outcome of executing on your plan achieved the goal you established. To be genuinely worthwhile, though, a goal needs to be much more than that. It also needs to be smart. Rather, SMART: Specific – target a specific area for improvement.Measurable – quantify or at least suggest an indicator of progress.Assignable – specify who will do it.Realistic – state … [Read more...] about Why your communication goal must be smart and measurable
Considering the forthcoming metaverse
It’s only a vision at this point, but technology companies like Facebook are aiming to make the metaverse the setting for many online activities, including work, play, studying and shopping. How do we ensure everyone has a say in how it develops? It's a question Shel and I considered in the primary discussion in the August episode of The Hobson & Holtz Report aka episode 210 of the For Immediate Release podcast published on August 23. We started with a definition. Wikipedia's is … [Read more...] about Considering the forthcoming metaverse
Unpicking the vicious cycle of anger, hostility, and outrage on social networks
If you've been wondering why footballers get racially abused online all the time, why some people make disgusting death threats on social networks, or why presumably otherwise sensible celebrities say offensive things in their tweets about other people, a new book may well provide the light bulb of clarity you've been seeking. It's certainly something I've wondered about: why, in the past few years, has there been such a significant and notable increase in vile behaviours online where people … [Read more...] about Unpicking the vicious cycle of anger, hostility, and outrage on social networks
Will Windows 11 be the most beautiful Windows yet?
Last month, Microsoft announced Windows 11, the evolution of and replacement for the six-years-old Windows 10. The new version will be released later this year (some reports speculate it might be in October) as a free upgrade to Windows 10. Panos Panay, Microsoft's Chief Product Officer and the executive in charge of Windows, posted a narrative of features to expect in the new OS. He speaks of "simplifying the design and user experience," noting: It’s modern, fresh, clean and beautiful. … [Read more...] about Will Windows 11 be the most beautiful Windows yet?
FIR 208: A timely PR stunt at the G7
Shel and I had such a rich selection of topics to discuss in the June episode of The Hobson & Holtz Report podcast, aka FIR 208 - recorded during the weekend of the G7 meeting - that it was quite a job to assemble the order of discussion! As always each of us provides three topics, making six in total for discussion in each episode. Here's the final list for June: Half of U.S. adults consider who publishes it as the key factor in assessing a story’s trustworthinessColgate launches its … [Read more...] about FIR 208: A timely PR stunt at the G7
Moving the podcast market
News that Apple's new podcast subscription service is being delayed until June because Apple needs to tweak the Apple Podcasts app is a good reminder of how important the user experience is and ensuring it delivers on expectations. It's also a great illustration of how a market moved. In the early homebrew days of podcasting, it was common for many podcasts to sound like they'd been recorded in the back of a garden shed on a rainy day, or the recording was somehow transmitted from the far … [Read more...] about Moving the podcast market