An artist is selling NFTs of Hermès Birkin bags which (unsurprisingly) provoked a response from the company in the form of a cease-and-desist letter. The artist, Mason Rothchild, has fired back, claiming he has a First Amendment right to create art representative of the world around him and suggesting that NFTs represent an evolution that Hermès should be part of. Do the legal precedents favor Hermès or Rothchild?

Note: Since we recorded this episode OpenSea has removed Rothchild's art from its NFT marketplace.
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The post FIR #222: NFTs, the First Amendment, and Trademarks appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The world's first multicultural podcast agency network has signed a multi-year deal with McDonald's to produce custom segments and content feature McDonald's menu items along with specialized targeted ads. It's not the first business Pod Digital Media has signed, suggesting companies are interested in reaching diverse audiences through podcasting. It makes sense, since podcast audiences are pretty diverse -- unlike the ranks of podcast hosts.
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The post FIR #221: Filling the Podcasting Diversity Gap appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In the January Hobson and Holtz Report, Neville and Shel dive into the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer. Also in this episode, disinformation is now available as a service -- DaaS; we review some journalism, media, and technology trends and predictions for 2022; TikTok and LinkedIn are both copying successful features of other social media services but adding their own twists; authenticity in virtual communication doesn't mean what you think it does (according to one researcher); organized labor is having a moment in the U.S., which should lead internal communicators to rethink some of their strategies. In his tech report, Dan York looks at Twitter Spaces' capabilities, the rebirth of Tumblr, Instagram's test of a chronological feed, Instagram and TikTok testing subscriptions, and some reports on NFTs.
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The post FIR #220: Pssst. Wanna Buy Some Disinformation? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Selfridge's -- the high-end UK fashion retailer -- is making NFTs available at its retail stores. It's not alone. Can NFTs at the Walmart checkout counter be far behind?
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The post FIR #219: Get Your NFTs at a Brick-and-Mortar Retailer appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The Walt Disney Company's parks division is looking for two part-time, on-site TikTok creators to generate content. The Disney Parks Experiences and Products account on TikTok may be the official account but there are also hundreds of Disney influencers sharing videos, too. When it comes to this kind of content, though, we still mostly hear about Instagram, even though Disney has far more followers on TikTok than on Instagram and Twitter combined. What does this mean for other brands?
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The post FIR #218: Disney Is Auditioning TikTok Creators appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The Associated Press has announced it will launch an NFT marketplace for some of its most iconic photos, including some that have won Pulitzer Prizes. The possibilities for other businesses are mind-boggling.
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The post FIR #217: Would You Buy an NFT of a Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photograph? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The "For Immediate Release" podcast is joining the Marketing Podcast Network (MPN), the new podcast network from Jason Falls. What does this mean to current listeners? Not a damn thing. The podcast will continue to be available on the FIR Podcast Network and your current subscription will work just fine. But we wanted to let you know about the MPN and why we're making our show available there. Listen for details.
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The post FIR #216: FIR Joins MPN appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

This is the first of our new shorter episodes that will complement the monthly "Hobson & Holtz Report." Today, Neville and She share their thoughts on trends that will affect communicators in 2022.
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The post FIR #215: Communication Trends for 2022 appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In the December Hobson and Holtz Report, Neville and Shel make a few announcements about the future of the show, including an imminent listener survey and plans for short conversations multiple times per week in addition to the monthly flagship show. Also in this episode: A Facebook executive blames society for misinformation and absolves MetaPKAFacebook of any responsibility; the top communicators at better.com resigned after the company's CEO sacked 900 employees on a Zoom call they all thought was just another town hall; a British comedian and commentator has produced a documentary that argues social media gins up anger in its users; propaganda-as-a-service is a possible outcome of the introduce of Large Language Model (LLM) software like Jarvis; there's a lot of hype out there about Web3, so Neville and Shel spend a fair amount of time dissecting it. In his Tech Report, Dan York looks at the State of Word and some elements of Web3.
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The post FIR #214: The Hope and The Hype of Web3 appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The metaverse is front-and-center in this episode of The Hobson & Holtz Report as the future of the metaverse begins to take shape and businesses start to pay attention. Also in this episode: You.com is a new search engine that delivers clear advantages over Google for anyone conducting research (as opposed to simply looking for the answer to a question), a look at a methodology for businesses to ramp up their TikTok efforts, and Neville shares his observations about the Center Cam webcam. Updates to social audio services are at the heart of Dan York's Tech Report.
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The post FIR #213: Getting Serious About The Metaverse appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.