Inside PR 553: Ethically, Legally, Responsibly

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 … OK, it’s not that dramatic, really. But Gini, Joe and I do talk about three of the trends we’ll be watching over the next 12 months: Natural language generation and AI writing assistantsValues-based communication and leadership counselImpact and consequences of social media algorithms Check it out and let us know what you think and what other trends you may be seeing on the horizon. This is our last show of 2021 and we’d like to say a big thank you for listening and for supporting us. Before we go, here’s that link to Janelle Shane’s AI Weirdness Advent Calendar. And here’s one more AI Weirdness post, predictions for future top-selling toys. And now, in the spirit of brevity (and the season), we want to wish you all a wonderful holiday and all the best in the new year. Stay safe. Stay healthy. And stay tuned :). We’ll be back with more bi-weekly episodes in 2022! It’s your turn We’d love to hear what you think and if you have any subjects you’d like us to cover in upcoming episodes. Leave us a comment on the blog. Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], Connect with us on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman. Please rate us on Apple Podcasts We hope you like the podcast as much as we like making it for you. If you do, we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts. Thank you to the people behind Inside PR Our producer is Jacob Waxman, a talented musician, producer, and recording engineer. Jacob produced the episode and is also the composer of our new theme music. Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR by Joseph Thornley, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Communications, by its very nature, is an industry full of thinkers. The work that we do is often the same across disciplines—and other work is unique to every one of us. The work that is unique is our intellectual property, yet it’s pretty rare that we spend our resources on protecting it. On this episode, we talk about what that might look like for you, why it’s important to protect your ideas, and how to go about doing so. It’s your turn We’d love to hear what you think and if you have any subjects you’d like us to cover in upcoming episodes. Leave us a comment on the blog. Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], Connect with us on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman. Please rate us on Apple Podcasts We hope you like the podcast as much as we like making it for you. If you do, we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts. Thank you to the people behind Inside PR Our producer is Jacob Waxman, a talented musician, producer, and recording engineer. Jacob produced the episode and is also the composer of our new theme music. Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR by Joseph Thornley, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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? It’s your turn We’d love to hear what you think and if you have any subjects you’d like us to cover in upcoming episodes. Leave us a comment on the blog. Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], Connect with us on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman. Please rate us on Apple Podcasts We hope you like the podcast as much as we like making it for you. If you do, we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts. Thank you to the people behind Inside PR Our producer is Jacob Waxman, a talented musician, producer, and recording engineer. Jacob produced the episode and is also the composer of our new theme music. Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR by Joseph Thornley, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Have you noticed your brand is no longer getting the type of engagement on organic social media? How about ranking for search or interactions when you publish new content on your website or blog? Perhaps the digital world has become even more pay-to-play and is expecting a higher price from organizations in order for them to achieve decent business results. That’s what Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley and I talk about on Inside PR. Our conversation is based on a post by digital thought-leader Rand Fishkind called, ‘The Incentives to Publish No Longer Reward the Web’s Creators‘. TL;DR version: Your content marketing strategy needs a balanced and integrated approach. Have a read, then have a listen and let us know what you think. Subscribe to the Inside PR podcast We’re trying to be wherever you want us to be. So, you can subscribe to Inside PR on the most popular podcast apps. Subscribe to Inside PR on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to Inside PR on SpotifySubscribe to Inside PR on Google Play It’s your turn We’d love to hear what you think and if you have any subjects you’d like us to cover in upcoming episodes. Leave us a comment on the blog. Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], Connect with us on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman. Please rate us on Apple Podcasts We hope you like the podcast as much as we like making it for you. If you do, we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts. Thank you to the people behind Inside PR Our producer is Jacob Waxman, a talented musician, producer, and recording engineer. Jacob produced the episode and is also the composer of our new theme music. Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR by Joseph Thornley, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

In this episode of Inside PR, we talk about the PR Writer’s Code of Conduct and ethical communications. An evergreen topic.

It’s fall—well, almost—and there’s a hint of excitement in the air. At least it feels like there should be! Kids are going back to school. College and universities are offering more in-person classes. And people are getting revved up for the busiest season of the year. But are you ready to go back to the office or would you prefer to work remotely or in some type of hybrid situation? And how will you communicate what you decide to your team? Of course, there are no easy answers, but if you’re interested in our take, check out this episode of Inside PR. Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley and Martin Waxman talk about: The importance of having a communicator in the room when workplace decisions are being made.Why organizations need to listen closely and pay attention to people’s reactions.Giving employees an opportunity to voice their opinions and know they’re being heard, rather than simply feeling they’re being talked at.Creating a culture of empathy by understanding people’s situations, anxieties and fears.Being flexible and letting people know nothing’s set in stone and that you’re prepared to adapt if need be. And finally a word of advice from Joe: If you’re on a Zoom meeting and someone says something that makes your blood boil. Don’t get into a fight. Shut your camera and mic. Take a breath and try to see things from your colleague’s point of view. Then come back when your temper’s cooled so you can have a more balanced (and hopefully productive) conversation. Subscribe to the Inside PR podcast We’re trying to be wherever you want us to be. So, you can subscribe to Inside PR on the most popular podcast apps. Subscribe to Inside PR on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to Inside PR on SpotifySubscribe to Inside PR on Google Play It’s your turn We’d love to hear what you think and if you have any subjects you’d like us to cover in upcoming episodes. Leave us a comment on the blog. Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], Connect with us on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman. Please rate us on Apple Podcasts We hope you like the podcast as much as we like making it for you. If you do, we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts. Thank you to the people behind Inside PR Our producer is Jacob Waxman, a talented musician, producer, and recording engineer. Jacob produced the episode and is also the composer of our new theme music. Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR by Joseph Thornley, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

On episode 551 of Inside PR, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman, and Joe Thornley do a special recording for the Earned Media Mastery Summit with Agility PR Solutions. They discuss the future of the PR industry—exciting things to come, as well as the challenges young professionals will face as they grow in their careers. Listen to this episode to learn: Why you should stop using spreadsheets in favor of software to help you do your job;Media outlets continue to shrink and journalists no longer have beats—and what that means for your future, especially if you have any earned media responsibility; How to use paid, owned, and shared media to supplement the work that we do from an earned media perspective; That artificial intelligence is already here and already ready to do the more mundane parts of your job so why you should stop waiting for a memo and do something about it; andHow machine learning can beat all of the best practices and teach you what works best for your organization, your audiences, and your prospective customers. Enjoy! Subscribe to the Inside PR podcast We’re trying to be wherever you want us to be. So, you can subscribe to Inside PR on the most popular podcast apps. Subscribe to Inside PR on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to Inside PR on SpotifySubscribe to Inside PR on Google Play It’s your turn We’d love to hear what you think and if you have any subjects you’d like us to cover in upcoming episodes. Leave us a comment on the blog. Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], Connect with us on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman. Please rate us on Apple Podcasts We hope you like the podcast as much as we like making it for you. If you do, we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts. Thank you to the people behind Inside PR Our producer is Jacob Waxman, a talented musician, producer, and recording engineer. Jacob produced the episode and is also the composer of our new theme music. Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR by Joseph Thornley, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

On this bi-weekly episode of Inside PR, Joe Thornley, Martin Waxman, and Gini Dietrich discuss the plumbing of the internet, from Feedburner and its replacements to how marketing automation works in the deep dark areas of the web and how video continues to evolve as we adapt. These are things we all take for granted, sort of like the sewer beneath our cities, but they are necessary for making things work. And there are things that have transformed the way we’ve done business in the past 18 months. While we certainly used Google Video or Skype or Zoom, it tended to be once or twice a month—at the most. Now we’ve found that video chat is the primary way work is done and we now all take for granted that it’s the preferred way to communicate. Even as some organizations go to a hybrid model or even back to the office full-time, there will be times that video is warranted. And, as schools reflect on the best learning, some students will be in-person while others are at home. Martin speaks to his experience teaching in a hyflex classroom, which is hybrid and flexible. The classroom is like a studio and students have to sign up to be there in person. For those that are learning at home, the teacher (Martin, in this case) has a camera that follows them around automatically, capturing the lecture—and then everyone in the class, in-person included, will all Zoom in and any group work will be done through breakout sessions. It’s a new way of working and, certainly, the plumbing of the internet will continue to evolve as we adapt to new ways of learning, working, and living. Join us for this episode to learn more! Subscribe to the Inside PR podcast We’re trying to be wherever you want us to be. So, you can subscribe to Inside PR on the most popular podcast apps. Subscribe to Inside PR on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to Inside PR on SpotifySubscribe to Inside PR on Google Play It’s your turn We’d love to hear what you think and if you have any subjects you’d like us to cover in upcoming episodes. Leave us a comment on the blog. Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], Connect with us on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman. Please rate us on Apple Podcasts We hope you like the podcast as much as we like making it for you. If you do, we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts. Thank you to the people behind Inside PR Our producer is Jacob Waxman, a talented musician, producer, and recording engineer. Jacob produced the episode and is also the composer of our new theme music. Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR by Joseph Thornley, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

OK. Before you get defensive, I want make something clear right from the start: We are NOT saying all PR people are evil. Far from it. In fact, most of us are simply trying to do the best jobs we can for our organizations or clients and behave in an honest and ethical manner. But let’s just say, there are some less than scrupulous individuals and companies whose approach and choices reflect badly on the industry. And it’s not just PR pros who are guilty of this. Certain bloggers, journalists, media outlets and influencers are also not as honest or transparent as they could be when it comes to conflicts of interest. And because social media has given us all a voice, we need to make sure we think through the consequences of how we use it. That’s what we talk about for this week’s podcast. We got the idea from 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. In our opinion, this contravenes many PR codes of ethics and standards including PRSA, CPRS and the Global Alliance to name a few. Have a listen and let us know what you think. And if you want to dig deeper, check out Gini’s Spin Sucks post on the subject. Subscribe to the Inside PR podcast We’re trying to be wherever you want us to be. So, you can subscribe to Inside PR on the most popular podcast apps. Subscribe to Inside PR on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to Inside PR on SpotifySubscribe to Inside PR on Google Play It’s your turn We’d love to hear what you think and if you have any subjects you’d like us to cover in upcoming episodes. Leave us a comment on the blog. Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], Connect with us on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman. Please rate us on Apple Podcasts We hope you like the podcast as much as we like making it for you. If you do, we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts. Thank you to the people behind Inside PR Our producer is Jacob Waxman, a talented musician, producer, and recording engineer. Jacob produced the episode and is also the composer of our new theme music. Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR by Joseph Thornley, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Once they’ve tasted freedom, it’s hard to take that away. It’s not what I want as an employer; it’s what you want as an employee. Has your boss told you that you have to return to the office fill time? Part-time? Have they talked about flex work? Or even held out the prospect of working remotely on an ongoing basis? And how do you feel about this? Do you want to return to the office? Full-time? A few days a week? Or do you want to continue to work remotely? What are the things that you liked and valued about working from the office? What are the benefits of working at home? Gini, Martin and Joe talk about mistakes that employers are making in the post-lockdown period. High-knowledge, high-skill workers have discovered the freedom of being able to choose where they work – and with the end of the lockdown, many of them will be thinking about what they want to do, and realizing that they have choices. So, the employer who informs their staff that they must return to the workplace full-time may discover that many of their workers not only don’t return, but actually leave. As with many other key decisions, 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. So, this week, let’s talk about effective communication for the post-pandemic return to the office. Subscribe to the Inside PR podcast We’re trying to be wherever you want us to be. So, you can subscribe to Inside PR on the most popular podcast apps. Subscribe to Inside PR on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to Inside PR on SpotifySubscribe to Inside PR on Google Play It’s your turn We’d love to hear what you think and if you have any subjects you’d like us to cover in upcoming episodes. Leave us a comment on the blog. Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], Connect with us on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman. Please rate us on Apple Podcasts We hope you like the podcast as much as we like making it for you. If you do, we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts. Thank you to the people behind Inside PR Our producer is Jacob Waxman, a talented musician, producer, and recording engineer. Jacob produced the episode and is also the composer of our new theme music. Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR by Joseph Thornley, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.