CustomScoop’s PR PodJots

Welcome to CustomScoop’s PR PodJots, our weekly rundown of the best and brightest of PR and marketing podcasts.

If you come across any especially interesting podcasts, please share them with us! We are always looking for new PR podcasts to skewer review.

This week starts with a recap of our old friend Mitch Joel, whose podcast features a number of interesting ambient noises, but more importantly, valuable insight into Web 2.0.

Six Pixels of Separation – July 8, 2007 – Mitch Joel looks at Social Media Fatigue

Twist Image’s Mitch Joel suggests that podcasters, bloggers, and other members of the social media community are living in an echo chamber. Joel argues, however, that this conclusion paints an incomplete picture and notes that the community is actually building itself up and creating its own individual celebrities. Such celebrities, he argues, can help the community grow and thrive.

SPOS also features a closer look at Jaiku through the eyes of Bernard Goldbach, who touts the micro-blogging service as an excellent way to develop a social network that follows a composite stream of shared information.

Joel comes back to address the social media overload phenomenon, and tells listeners not to hesitate to skip it. He suggests that business people should not blog, podcast, etc. to the point where their business suffers. If it becomes overwhelming, Joel rightly tells listeners, stick with the business-related tasks.

Also discussed:

• iPhone hype.
• Michael Netzley – Singapore Management University.
• PodCamp Boston 2 – October 26th – 28th, 2007.
• Social Media Echo Chamber.
• Greenfields Report #7 – Bernard Goldbach – Podcasting.ie.
• Neil Gorman – Comicology.
  Six Points of Separation – Six Predictions On The Future:
  1. Mobile Social Networks.
  2. Tagging.
  3. Podcasting.
  4. Personal Brands.
  5. Social Shopping.
  6. Virtual Worlds.

Tech PR War Stories – July 11, 2007 – Corporate Blogging

Paul Gaulin and David Strom look at guidelines of corporate blogging in light of the Michael Moore/Google “dustup,” where Big G was embarrassed by an employee blogger who suggested that the health industry should have managed their reputation better by utilizing Google’s advertising tools.

Gaulin and Strom stress that, regardless of disclaimers, the opinions shared in a corporate blog will be associated with the parent company. Strom makes a strong point in noting that basic planning and guidelines need to be in place, with one individual ultimately in charge of the content and authors that a blog employs. Both agree that if a company decides to use a single blog with multiple contributors, rather than establishing a number of individual employee blogs, they need to be especially careful about its content.

Also discussed:

• Cheers for BlogTalkRadio.
• Jeers to Matthew Haughey for “misplaced” advice about how to talk to the press.

Inside PR – July 10, 2007 – The Client Project Postmortem

David Jones and Terry Fallis “bookend” their recent discussion on client relations with a look at "the client project postmortem." The two podcasters encourage PR professionals to sit down with their clients at the end of every project and review the process and results with key metrics in mind. The idea, they say, is to learn from every project and use that knowledge in future campaigns.

Jones highlights three key points that should be kept in mind for any postmortem. First, make sure to at least take the time to do a report of some kind. Second, and I love this phrase, “don’t put lipstick on a pig.” That is to say, do not try to make the project appear more successful than it really was. And finally, present the report as a personal presentation whenever possible – especially with new clients.

It’s an important part of the process that is easy to overlook, but a step that can not only help future projects, but also “celebrate the team” and show value to clients. Both Jones and Fallis acknowledge that PR professionals may not always be able to find the time for a postmortem, but it ought to be a goal for every campaign.

Also discussed:

• Podcasters Across Borders 2007.
• Inside “PRoper” English: split infinitives (it’s ok!?).
• Fans of Inside PR group on Facebook.

Around the PR Podcast Horn:

Marketing for Coffee – July 12, 2007 – Chris Penn and John review several interesting topics this week, including Circle Lending and regulating the popular Second Life.

Topaz Partners PRobecast #23 – July 6, 2007 – Adam Zand, Doug Haslam, and Tim Allik cover a number of fascinating subjects.  They review various PR aspects of Michael Moore’s new controversial film Sicko.  They also highlight CustomScoop CEO Chip Griffin’s e-book titled, “The New Media Cocktail.”