Inside PR
Can you believe it's mid-December and another year is almost done? That can only mean one thing ... it's time for our annual episode where we gaze into the proverbial communications crystal ball ...
info_outline Inside PR 556 (Nov 10, 2021)Inside PR
On this episode of Inside PR, Martin Waxman, Joe Thornley, and Gini Dietrich discuss the importance of protecting your intellectual property, even for new business decks and website verbiage.
info_outline Inside PR 555: Facebook, decaying from the inside?Inside PR
In the wake of Facebook's bad news month, we discuss the communications challenges the company faces. A blip? Or a step on an irreversible path toward becoming the new MySpace? The necessary impetus to increased regulation? And would a company with an army of lobbyists ever see a regulatory regime that actually curbs its freedom of action in any meaningful way? Is it really becoming the new Tobacco? And, most importantly, is its community decaying from the inside?
info_outline Inside PR 554: Content Meets the Sound of SilenceInside PR
Have you noticed your brand is no longer getting the type of engagement on organic social media or on your blog? Perhaps the digital world has become even more pay-to-play. Gini, Joe and Martin discuss Rand Fishkind's blog post, ‘The Incentives to Publish No Longer Reward the Web’s Creators‘.
info_outline Inside PR 553: Ethically, Legally, ResponsiblyInside PR
In this episode of Inside PR, we talk about the PR Writer's Code of Conduct and ethical communications. An evergreen topic.
info_outline Inside PR 552: Imagining Your New WorkspaceInside PR
Are you ready to go back to the office or would you prefer to work remotely or in some type of hybrid situation?
info_outline Inside PR 549: When PR People Do Bad ThingsInside PR
This week's podcast is based on a Washington Post story about a site that bills itself as an investigative blog. Turns out, it has financial ties to a PR firm and seems to focus on stories where the agency's clients have a vested interest.
info_outline Inside PR 548 (Jun 16, 2021)Inside PR
Gini, Martin and Joe talk about mistakes that employers are making in the post-lockdown period. Success in bringing employees back to the office will turn on effective communications. And effective communications starts with listening, understanding others' interests and objectives. And then speaking to their concerns, not just blustering forward with what you want and care about.
info_outline We Are Back - IPR 546Inside PR
We're happy to report that after a hiatus of around 20 months and all the things that have happened between then and now, Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley and I are back recording Inside PR.
info_outline Autumn Intent - IPR 545Inside PR
Yes, it's been a long time coming, a long time behind episodes. But we're back with Inside PR for another year. And we're getting back into the groove by discussing the things that we are looking at in the waning months of 2019.
info_outlineFacebook's Really Bad Behaviour
Sometimes, the stars just align perfectly. When we recorded this episode of Inside PR, we did not know that, within hours, the New York Times would publish a bombshell story delving into Facebook's tactics to avoid full transparency and accountability for the existence and persistence of Russian troll activity and other bad acts on Facebook. In this episode, you'll hear us discuss that the only truly satisfactory response on the part of Facebook must go beyond simple PR bromides to real actions that align with its promises. Something which the NY Times story suggests Facebook fell far short of.
Ironically, it was the NYTimes Tech Reporter, Kevin Roose, who provided the most succinct definition of what's really going on in a Tweet following the picture that emerged of a group of boys allegedly giving the Nazi salute prior to their prom. Roose tweeted, "has anyone answered "a generation raised on platforms that reward provocation in a culture with a shrinking list of taboos" yet[?]"
has anyone answered "a generation raised on platforms that reward provocation in a culture with a shrinking list of taboos" yet https://t.co/V9xTaTxO38
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) November 12, 2018
And it's not just outside observers who are rethinking the approach the social media platforms took to driving growth and user engagement. Recode reported that Twitter co-founder Ev Williams told a tech conference in Portugal, "I think showing follower counts was probably ultimately detrimental. .... It really put in your face that the game was popularity.” Williams went on to discuss the "suggested user" list that helped new Twitter users start to follow people on Twitter by suggesting well-known are widely followed people for them to follow. Reflecting on this, Williams suggested, “Those weren’t really interest-based follows, and then someone who had grown their following organically compares themselves to them. It’s inauthentic.”
And that brings us back full circle to Facebook. Even before the NY Times story dropped, legislators outside of the US were demanding that Zuckerberg provide some accountability to them for Facebook's operations in their countries. A few weeks back, we discussed the fact that Canadian legislators were prepared to travel across the Atlantic to attend a joint session with their counterparts in the UK Parliament - if Mark Zuckerberg would agree to appear before them. Last week, legislators from Australia, Ireland and Argentina joined their counterparts from the UK and Canada to provide Zuckerberg with a five for one offer. One appearance for five countries. Yet, at the time of recording Zuckerberg and Facebook still had not agreed to appear.
And then the NY Times story dropped - and we saw in vivid detail the machinations and manipulation Facebook was taking to duck calls for full transparency everywhere.
Delay. Deny. Deflect. Now that we understand this, could this be only the first of many bad weeks for Facebook?
Faster, Safer Internet Access from Your Phone
Do you ever connect to the Internet via a public WiFi network (think airports, hotels and Starbucks?) Have you read the terms of use you have with your Internet Service Provider (ISP)? If so, you may discover that they can share with "partners" data about your Web surfing and Internet activity from inside your home! Yes, it's a scary world.
Cloudflare, the company that many developers rely on for Domain Name Server (DNS) and Content Delivery Network (CDN) services, is making it easier for all of us to increase the security and privacy of our connections to the Internet - whether at home or in public places. Last April, the company launched its 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver service that enables you to keep your Web activity private - even from your ISP. Now, they have introduced apps to bring the service to your mobile phone. I've installed the 1.1.1.1 app on my iPhone. It took less than three minutes. You too can download the app from the iOS and Android stores. It's an easy, simple step to protect yourself online.
It's about the links
When you pitch an article to an online news outlet, do you expect them to include a link back to the source you provided to them? Do you see this as good SEO for the news outlet? As important to your client? A recent PR article on obtaining links in articles referencing clients got us thinking.
The challenge and rewards of Nanoinfluencers
Finally, we talk about the emergence of Nanoinfluencers. From a thousand points of light may come great influence?
Linkworthy
- Delay, Deny and Deflect How Facebook's Leaders Fought Through Crisis, Sheera Frenkel, Nicholas Confessore, Cecilia Kang, Matthew Rosenberg and Jack Nicas
- Mark Zuckerberg Defends Facebook as Furor Over Its Tactics Grows, Cecilia Kang, Matthew Rosenberg and Mike Isaac
- has anyone answered "a generation raised on platforms that reward provocation in a culture with a shrinking list of taboos" yet[?], Kevin Roose
- Twitter Co-founder Ev Williams says in retrospect that showing how many followers you have wasn't healthy, Teddy Schleifer
- Pressure grows on Zuckerberg to attend Facebook committee hearing, Alex Hern
- 1 Thing You Can Do to Make Your Internet Safer and Faster, Mohd Irtefa
- Announcing 1.1.1.1: the fastest, privacy-first consumer DNS service, Matthew Prince
- Journos don't appreciate being used as a marketing tool - PR Pros urge caution against SEO link requests, Arvind Hickman
- Are you ready for the Nanoinfluencers? Sapna Maheshwari
It’s your turn.
We’d love to know what you think about the topics we discussed as well as your suggestions for questions you’d like answered or topics for future shows.
- Leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group,
- Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected],
- Interact with us on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.
- And, of course, you always can leave a comment below this post.