For Immediate Release

In 1995, MIT Media Lab Director Nicholas Negroponte predicted "The Daily Me," a digital newspaper that would feature articles that aligned with the interests of each individual reader, leaving out news a well-rounded person might need to know. Now, courtesy of AI, a company is planning to develop a daily 30-minute newscast with AI-generated anchors sharing coverage of stories based on each viewer's interests. The concept can be useful where audience segmentation is important but also raises some serious questions, which Neville and Shel ponder in this short midweek episode.
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The post FIR #346: The Daily Me, Video Version appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Longtime FIR listener (and one-time contributor) Bernie Goldbach asked Neville and Shel how they find quality conversations. That opened up a discussion about sources of information for staying current on communication and technology trends and how those habits have changed over the years.
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The post FIR #345: Sources of Information appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

AI rewrote 50 of the best-known brand slogans, and survey respondents preferred the AI version 48 percent of the time -- even Apple's "Think Different" slogan fell to the AI alternative. Also in this AI-heavy monthly long-form episode:

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The post FIR #344: Sloganeering with AI appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

A new activist tactic is targeting individual businesses, concentrating all of the movement's energy and resources on forcing that one business to bend to the group's will. These instances are usually based on business practices that reflect the company's values, such as support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. How the business responds has a direct impact on the experiences of employees who interact with customers on a day-to-day basis, especially in retail and other customer-facing sectors. How communicators can help both the company and employees weather these storms is the focus of this short midweek FIR episode.
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The post FIR #343: Employees Caught in Activism’s Crossfire appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Meta's Threads, a new micro-blogging platform, is now available to anyone with an Instagram account, and there has been no shortage of people willing to give it a try. Only about two weeks old, Threads is already the subject of speculation about its future. In the meantime, brands and journalists are jumping onto the platform. Should your company or brand be there, too? Neville and Shel share their thoughts in this short midweek "For Immediate Release" episode.
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The post FIR #342: Pulling at Threads’ Seams appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In the world of influencers, brands pay for influencers to say what the brands want them to say. In the case of Shein, what they wanted them to say appears to be at odds with the facts. In this case, the blowback targeted the influencers more than the brand, calling attention to the gloss the company wanted to put on its tarnished reputation. Will every follower of an influencer know every time they're hearing a manipulated message? We explore the Shein story and its implications in this short mid-week episode.
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The post FIR #341: Influencers Amuck appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

All the signs are there, according to observers. As one tech publication put it, "Google is trying to kill the 10 blue links. Twitter is being abandoned to bots and blue ticks. There’s the junkification of Amazon and the enshittification of TikTok. Layoffs are gutting online media. A job posting looking for an 'AI editor' expects 'output of 200 to 250 articles per week.' ChatGPT is being used to generate whole spam sites. Etsy is flooded with 'AI-generated junk.' Chatbots cite one another in a misinformation ouroboros. LinkedIn is using AI to stimulate tired users. Snapchat and Instagram hope bots will talk to you when your friends don’t. Redditors are staging blackouts. Stack Overflow mods are on strike. The Internet Archive is fighting off data scrapers, and 'AI is tearing Wikipedia apart.'"

Is the worst-case scenario inevitable? Neville and Shel explore the possibilities in this short mid-week episode.
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The post FIR #340: Will AI Destroy the Web? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The hype around the metaverse rises and falls, but Second Life is 20 years old and continues to draw users and make money. Neville and Shel explore the reasons Second Life enjoys its ongoing modest success in the June monthly long-form episode of "For Immediate Release." Also in this episode:

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The post FIR #339: Still Virtual After All These Years appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Public relations, both in academia and in practical application, has always been seen as a business practice. A new study produced by researchers from the Missouri School of Journalism and Penn State argues that community activism employs PR strategies and tactics. By recognizing community activism as a form of public relations, traditional PR professionals can incorporate some of the things it does better, including listening and taking a long view. Neville and Shel dive into the research in this short midweek episode.
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The post FIR #338: Adding Activism to PR appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

A new survey finds that 90 percent of Americans don't trust influencers. What does this mean for the multi-million influencer industry? And where can brands turn now, since the old celebrity approach also doesn't carry much weight with consumers? Neville and Shel fill you in during this short midweek episode.
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The post FIR #337: Is It All Over for Influencers? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.