This week's FIR Zoom Chat included a discussion of IABC's virtual 2020 conference and the viability of virtual conferences in general.Continue Reading →
The post FIR Zoom Chat #11: Virtual Conferences appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

FIR Zoom Chat #11: Virtual Conferences

Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz analyze the month’s news in digital and social media for communications professionals.

Tech News

Technology

Business

Investing

Careers

Management & Marketing

Business News

Shopping

News

Marketing

In a LinkedIn post, Techcrunch Sr. Enterprise Editor Frederic Lardinois lamented the ineffectiveness of an event-related press release he received. To date, 42 comments have agreed, many coneming the utter uselessness of press releases and the incompetence of those who produce them. Neville and Shel understand their frustration based on the poor quality of most press releases but defend the practice, when done right, for various reasons in this short midweek episode.Continue Reading →
The post Love Them Or Hate Them, Press Releases Can Still Deliver Value appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Love Them Or Hate Them, Press Releases Can Still Deliver Value

Google is ending third-party tracking cookies on Chrome, the last of the major browsers to take this privacy-enhancing action. Without these cookies, advertisers could see as much as a 70-percent decline in revenue from online ads. What are the alternatives? Neville and Shel break it all down in this short midweek episode.Continue Reading →
The post FIR #399: No More Cookies For You appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

FIR #399: No More Cookies For You

Artificial intelligence (AI) is making significant strides in various domains, and voice technology is no exception. OpenAI, a prominent player in the AI industry, has recently announced Voice Engine, a groundbreaking development in AI text-to-voice technology that will create natural-sounding voices based on a 15-second clip of your (or anybody's) voice. OpenAI claims Voice Engine will deliver unparalleled realism and naturalness in computer-generated speech, surpassing the capabilities of existing solutions offered by companies like 11 Labs.
In this short midweek episode, we delve into OpenAI's voice technology and explore its potential applications across different industries. We also discuss the ethical considerations that communicators need to keep in mind. We discuss the potential for misuse, such as the creation of convincing deepfakes and the spread of misinformation, and highlight the importance of responsible development and deployment of AI voice technology. 
Continue Reading →
The post FIR #398: The AI Version of Your (or Anybody’s) Voice appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

FIR #398: The AI Version of Your (or Anybody’s) Voice

"Thought leadership" is a term that gets bandied about a lot. (A Google search for the term produced over 100 million results.) You have to question whether everything labeled thought leadership actually is, suggesting the quality of thought leadership leaves something to be desired. In fact, a recent study from Edelman and LinkedIn finds doubts about the quality of thought leadership but also reveals that when it's done right, it can be huge dividends for organizations, from building trust to driving business. Neville and Shel share some of the study's findings in this short midweek episode.Continue Reading →
The post FIR #397: Some Thought Leadership on Thought Leadership appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

FIR #397: Some Thought Leadership on Thought Leadership

AI-powered tools like Perplexity are replacing Google as the go-to search resource for a growing number of people. Even AI tools that are not focused on searching the web, like Microsoft's Copilot and Claude's pro version, provide links to resources in their results. Is it enough to dethrone Google, which has held sway over search for decades? Some say yes, while others question whether AI is best for the variety of different uses to which people put Google. Neville and Shel are not in complete agreement on this one.Continue Reading →
The post FIR #396: Will AI End Google’s Search Dominance? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

FIR Zoom Chat #11: Virtual Conferences

Download our free app to listen on your phone