Inside PR 489: People before Platforms

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We talked to one another for 42 minutes to plan the podcast before we started to record. At the end, we’ve decided to take the pressure off by saying that this is a recording that is not remarkable. Just three friends, three communications professionals talking about issues of importance to us. The responsibility of the big platforms, Facebook and Google.  Their begrudging appearance before Congress, an appearance that makes that case that government has levers that, just by their existence, keeps the big players in check. If Congress had not persisted, we never would have gotten the real picture about what was going on with Facebook, Google and Russian interference in the US election.

Yep, Facebook and Google are media companies. Publishers that makes judgements through the algorithms they deploy just as surely as humans do. Have they become too dominant, too focused on their own commercial interest, to realize the original dream of people connecting with one another in a meaningful, positive way?

And what’s the impact of a few dominant players on innovation? When they buy new innovative companies when they haven’t yet fully realized their potential.

That may not be a remarkable discussion. But that doesn’t make it unimportant.

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 blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

#IPRMustKnow

Our hashtag is #IPRMustKnow. If you are tweeting or posting about the podcast, please include our hashtag so that we can find your post.

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.

Subscribe on the podcast app of your choice

We’re trying to be wherever you want us to be. So, you can subscribe to Inside PR on the most popular podcast apps.

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Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

IPR 480: Walks like a Duck. Quacks like a Duck. Must be Facebook the news publisher.

• • PR, Show Notes

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When is a yellow rubber duck worth a thousand words? Facebook walks like a news publisher and quacks like a news publisher; must be a news publisher. No surprise here: Venture capitalist research features their portfolio companies. But what of disclosure? Marketing with social bookmarking. Social media innovation is alive and well. And IPR is on iHeartRadio.  Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and Joseph Thornley tackles these issues in this episode of the Inside PR podcast.

Yellow Rubber Duckie?

The giant yellow duck that visited the Toronto Waterfront on Canada Day underlined that, even in this digital world, old-fashioned, real life stunts still pay off.

Inside PR is on iHeartRadio

This may be self-serving, but we want to tell you that Inside PR is available on iHeartRadio. We know that one of you found us – because in the three episodes since we arrived on iHeartRadio, we have had exactly ONE download of each episode of iHeartRadio. We love you whoever you are. And if you are our lone iHeartRadio subscriber, let us know, because we want to give you a shoutout on the next episode.

Social media innovation is alive and well

You may think that the glory days of social media innovation ended when Facebook became dominant. However, a recent Marketing Land post reminded us that the pace of change in social media is still rapid. Change is the new normal. But so much change this year.

No surprise here. Research by venture capitalists may focus on their investment portfolio

Tom Webster of Edison Research published a critical analysis of the Mary Meeker Internet Trends report. He didn’t question her observations. But he did point out that the growth examples that she profiled tended to be Kleiner Perkins investments. There’s nothing wrong with this. But it does beg the question of adequate disclosure. As Webster says, “take the report for what it is — an extremely effective piece of content marketing, promoting the trends and interests of a company selectively invested in the space.” PR people are familiar with the FTC rules governing disclosure of sponsored posts. Would Mary Meeker’s presentation at the Code Conference have passed this test? No one is questioning Meeker’s ethics. But the fact that the highlighting of Kleiner Perkins investments was not explicitly spelled out for the average observer does provide a cautionary example.

Marketing with Social Bookmarking

Gini and Joe have been longtime advocates of social bookmarking as a tool, as a means of contributing to the community, and as a way to make transparent our interests and our research. So, we were happily surprised to see the name of Martin’s latest Lynda.com course – Marketing with Social Bookmarking. Martin talks with us about the course and we exchange tips about how we get the most out of social bookmarking. Yes, this is a shameless plug for our co-host, Martin Waxman.

Facebook adjust its news feed algorithm, reinforcing its role as a news publisher

Facebook’s recent adjustment to its news feed algorithm underlines again that Facebook is a news publisher, not just a neutral conduit, and they have an obligation to serve the public good. Follow us here. When you…

  • Boast a “news feed value” that states that “News feeds should be informative,” (All the news that’s fit to print?)
  • Call out “a tiny group of people … who routinely share vast amounts of public posts per day, effectively spamming people’s feeds,” (letters to the editor?)
  • Suggest that, “Our research shows that the links they share tend to include low quality content  such as clickbait, sensationalism and misinformation.” (editorial judgment)
  • State baldly that, “We want to reduce the influence of these spammers,” and you adjust your news feed algorithm to suppress distribution of their posts,

…you have committed an editorial act on a par with the editor of any newspaper. You are not just a platform or a conduit, you are a news publisher with all the responsibilities to society and the obligations that status carries with it. Facebook, it’s time to step up, admit that you are a news publisher and accept all of the responsibilities that come with that status.

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 blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

#IPRMustKnow

Our hashtag is #IPRMustKnow. If you are tweeting or posting about the podcast, please include our hashtag so that we can find your post.

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.

Subscribe on the podcast app of your choice

We’re trying to be wherever you want us to be. So, you can subscribe to Inside PR on the most popular podcast apps.

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Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 475: Car crashes all the time?

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Ev Williams reminds us about what the Internet can and should be. Worth considering. Society & Data issues a report on Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online. Worth Reading. Is Pinterest Shazam for Food? Worth sampling. Facebook struggles with community standard and keeps marching forward in video. Worth a time out? And MP3 is dead. Worth debunking.

Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and Joseph Thornley are together for another episode of the Inside PR podcast.

Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online

Data & Society, the New York-based research institute has published a new study, Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online, which every person interested in today’s media environment should read. Media manipulation techniques are being used by a wide swathe of groups, such as the alt-right, Men’s Rights Activists, gamergaters and trolls. They observe one another, adopt techniques and adapt them to achieve their objectives. The report is well-researched and cites several recent case studies, including Hillary’s Health and Pizzagate. Well worth a couple hours of your time to read.

Pinterest: Shazam for Food?

Do you use Pinterest to share food, recipes and dining experiences? A huge number of people do, including Gini Dietrich. In fact, Pinterest reports over 5 billion food-related saves and searches by US-based users in the past year. And now Pinterest has introduced new tools, including visual Lens discovery, Recipe Pins and search filters to make it easier for users to post, promote and find food and related recipes.

Facebook keeps the focus on video

Three additional Facebook innovations in video are worth noting this week:

Facebook’s community standards guidelines

If every there were doubt that Facebook is operating as a publisher, it was put to rest once and for all by the publication by the Guardian of leaked community standards guidance documents used by Facebook content moderators. As we have argued repeatedly, Facebook is not just a carrier, a dumb pipeline. It is a publisher. And that starts with its algorithms that incorporate the judgments of their creators and it now extends to the increasingly high profile work of their content moderators.

MP3 is dead. Long live MP3

Yep, many tech media outlets were suckered by a self serving corporate position. Yes, the patent on MP3s has expired. Yes, the company that owned the patents no longer will profit from the patent. But that doesn’t mean that MP3 is dead as a standard anymore than JPG is dead as a standard. The patent may have expired on both formats, but they will live on. Why? Because they do the job they are intended to do – and that’s good enough. Sometimes, “good enough” technology is all we need, and its simplicity and widespread adoption will keep it alive indefinitely. So, ignore the stories about the death of MP3. You don’t need a replacement. It’s not going anywhere. And for an intelligent explanation of this, take a look at Marco Arment’s post.

Car crashes all the time

Ignore the clickbait headline in the New York Times. Read the article. Respect for Ev Williams, who embodies the idealism that the Web is built on. We can do better than the ad-driven, clickbaity environment we find ourselves in. Let’s join Ev in not be satisfied until the Web is again a place to create amazing content and to be able to share ideas.

It’s your turn.

Our hashtag is #IPRMustKnow.

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 blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also 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.

Subscribe on the podcast app of your choice

We’re trying to be wherever you want us to be. So, you can subscribe to Inside PR on the most popular podcast apps.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 474: No-slide presentations. Step forward and be seen.

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Good times for PR at PRSA Counselors Academy. No-slide presentations! Better tools for Facebook Groups. WordPress joins Hacker One and offers a bounty on bugs. Quartz has an Obsession with propaganda.

Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and Joseph Thornley are together for another episode of the Inside PR podcast.

Good times for PR at Counselors Academy

Martin returned this week from Counselors Academy and he reports that attendance was up substantially. Martin estimated that about one third of the attendees being first timers. We talk about the conference and the subject matter that stood out for Martin. And among the best news for Gini and Joe: Next year’s Counselors Academy will be held in Toronto.

Better Tools for Facebook Group Administrators

Facebook has provided group administrators with the ability to set up a brief questionnaire that prospective new members must answer when requesting membership in the group. It’s not a big thing. But it will help administrators to understand who is joining the group and what has drawn them to it. Thank you Facebook.

WordPress steps up its efforts to keep our Websites secure

Over 28% of the top Websites are powered by WordPress. So, it’s great to see that WordPress continues to take security seriously. So props to WordPress for joining HackerOne and for introducing a bug bounty program.

Quartz Obsesses on PRopaganda

Quartz has started a new collection of articles on a topic that should be of interest to PR practitioners: Propaganda. No, we’re not suggesting that we see ourselves as propagandists. But it would be naïve to suggest that the birth of the PR industry and propaganda weren’t closely intertwined. And in these times, its ever more important for us to pay attention to the ethics of communications. And when you’ve bookmarked the Quartz obsession, you may want to check out Tim Wu’s treatment of Ed Bernays and the birth of PR in The Attention Merchants. And for a lean-back experience that should spark further thought, find and watch The Century of the Self, a four part documentary first shown on BBC in 2002.

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 blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

Our hashtag is #IPRMustKnow.

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.

Subscribe on the podcast app of your choice

We’re trying to be wherever you want us to be. So, you can subscribe to Inside PR on the most popular podcast apps.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 472: Meet you on Mastadon?

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The NY Times is on Snapchat Discover. You’re probably not on Mastadon. But is that really important? Consolidation on the Internet. Facebook and augmented reality. Let’s go Inside PR. It’s just Martin and Joe this week. But we cover a lot of ground.

Facebook focuses on AR

Facebook just isn’t letting up on the pressure on Snapchat. Last year, Snapchat made waves with its glasses, pointing the way to a video future. Just as it has parroted other Snapchat features (Stories anyone?), Facebook is now pointing to an AR future and committing Facebook-scale resources to it. Competition is great, as long as the giant doesn’t crush the upstart.

Distributed publishing isn’t all publishers hoped it would be

News that the Guardian has pulled out of Apple News and Facebook Instant Articles comes on the heels of earlier reports that other publishers were not seeing the financial results they hoped to achieve from adopting the distributed publishing model being touted by Facebook, Snapchat and Google. And for those of us who publish our own content, take note. Don’t shut down your owned website quite yet.

The New York Times is looking for more on Snapchat

In April, the New York Times joined Snapchat Discover.

It’s hard to see how Snapchat Discover matches the nature of the Times content. Take an early Discover article as an example. On Sunday April 23, the Times ran a major feature on Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. The version of the Times Website clocked in as just under 4,000 words.  The next morning, the Times launched its Snapchat Discover channel with the Kalanick story. And what a difference! The Snapchat version contained an animated GIF and three text panels containing under 160 words. That’s right. 4,000 words on the Times site. Less than 160 on Snapchat.

 

Consolidation on the Internet

A recent NY Times article underlined the degree to which the previously open Internet is consolidating around a handful of platforms. Consolidation of attention makes us less free, makes us less able to serendipitously encounter different views and different experiences.

Are you on Mastadon?

Probably not. But does that matter? Do platforms need to scale to Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat levels to be of value? No, it’s not. It’s important that we support and play with new experiments like this. Whether Mastadon every grows, the very spirit that gives to its rise underlines the vitality of the Internet and Net Neutrality.

 

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 blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

Please rate us on iTunes

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 iTunes.

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Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 471: Tweak Week

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It’s social media feature tweak week. Changes to Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat underline how competitive the social media platforms are. Plus we get onside with changing norms in acceptable language. And Spin Sucks surveys PR pros.

Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and Joseph Thornley are back for another episode of the Inside PR podcast.

#IPRMustKnow

Stories Here. Stories There. Stories Everywhere … on Facebook

Facebook lets you had Stories directly from your mobile app. In a world in which more than half of Facebook usage is on mobile apps, this is the real start of the race for Facebook. If the essence of an attention getting story is a visual, then it only makes sense to let us compose stories from the device with a built-in camera.

Snapchat Keyword search

Casual users may find Snapchat much more welcoming now that Snapchat has upgraded its search to enable full key word searches.

Twitter confuses long time users

When are extra characters worth keeping around? When they are the @NAME convention in tweets that respond to other people’s tweets. Take it away and you have confusion on the part of many long time users.

Periscope live streams now appear inside Twitter Moments

Periscope is a great live streaming tool. It’s also less popular than other livestreaming services. So, anything that raises its profile is a good thing.

RIP the Egg

And we couldn’t let the passing of the Twitter egg go by without comment. Another of the quirky, idiosyncratic things that made early Twitter so distinctive is now just a memory. Say hello to generic head and shoulder outlines as the new avatar for trolls and newbies.

A small step for gender neutral language, a giant step for Mankind

Communicators must be aware of words and phrases that convey or reinforce values that are outmoded. This is a challenge in a time in which acceptable language standards are established by focused communities of interest. It’s a big challenge to stay on top of these changes in acceptable use. We struggle to keep up.

Spin Sucks surveys PR practitioners about the state of the business

Gini Dietrich’s Spin Sucks site asked readers to tell them about the PR industry they work in today. The responses came in mostly from people who work at small PR firms and independently, which itself says something about changes in the PR industry. Gini takes us through some of the insights she gained into the state of the business through this survey.

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 blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

Please rate us on iTunes

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 iTunes.

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Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 468: Escape with us

• • Inside PR, Show Notes

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Escape with us. From fake news. From our filter bubble. From annoying videos that play sound as soon as they scroll into view. From Snapchat hype.  Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and Joseph Thornley are back for another episode of the Inside PR podcast.

#IPRMustKnow

Snapchat hype

In the wake of the Snap IPO, we talk about what really matters for its prospects – a disconnect between its user base and its business model. And since we recorded this program, the dramatic drop in Snap’s share prices suggest that, after the hype, others have taken a closer look at what’s really going on here and have decided that its time to pull back from overly inflated excpectations.

Who is asking for Sound on videos by default? Not us.

Facebook’s move to turn sound on by default on videos that scroll into your newsfeed is another example of what happens when the interests of advertisers are placed ahead of the wants and likes of users. It’s also something that happens when one player dominates the marketplace. It can do things that don’t serve users. But, heck, where can we go? (See Snapchat above.)

Facebook is getting better at identifying fake news

Facebook has begun to more clearly mark fake news when users attempt to share it. A good move. An overdue move. And another clear indicator that Facebook is a news media company. And it should shoulder the editorial responsibilities of a news media company.

Escape your filter bubble

Social media, with its newsfeeds  created by algorithms designed to retain our attention and increase our interactions, traps us in a filter bubble. We will only escape this through action on several fronts. By acknowledging and understanding  standards for journalism grounded in transparency of perspective in place of the illusion of objectivity. By continuing to pressure the social networks to acquit their editorial responsibilities as news media. By promoting increased media literacy among all people.

#TryPod

March is #TryPod month. During this month, we and other podcasters are encouraging you to share with your friends one or more podcasts that you love. For my part, I want to share with you two podcasts.

  • Brief Remarks. Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery veteran Susan Delacourt knows all the key players in Canadian politics. And every week, she interviews them. A chance to get to know not only the politicians we see every day, but the behind-the-scenes players who make government work in Canada.
  • The Daily. Every weekday, Michael Barbero provides an in depth look at one of the big stories or trends that the New York Times is covering. In greater depth than is possible in the newspaper or on a blog post. Interviewing the people who researched and wrote the stories. Providing context. It’s the podcast I listen to to start every day.

If you have podcasts that you love, share them with others. Post about your favourite podcasts on Facebook, Twitter or any social media using the hashtag #trypod. Share the joy of podcasting and look for the smile on your friends’ faces as they too discover content that matters to them.

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 blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

Please rate us on iTunes

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 iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 460: Fake News: When bad PR may not be bad

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Gini Dietrich and Martin Waxman recorded this episode in the wake of the US election and so it’s not surprising that they reflect extensively on face news, the responsibility of Facebook and our relationship to news media.

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 blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

Please rate us on iTunes

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 iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 459: Better than speed dating. It’s speed podcasting.

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This week we try “speed podcasting.” Martin, Gini and Joe triple booked ourselves. So, we only had twelve minutes to record the show. Could we make it in that time? Well we could if we focused on the #IPRMustKnows.

#IPRMustKnow

Vine faces its existential threat

Say goodbye to Will Sasso and disappearing oranges. Say goodbye to Vine as Twitter focuses their business and decides that Vine is not part of its future. Could there be a white knight out there who will take Vine off Twitter’s hands and keep it alive?

Facebook launches digital masks

It may be only in Ireland right now, but Facebook’s emulation of Snapchat’s most popular features marches on. Facebook’s strategy: Never stay still. Look for what’s hot. Copy. Profit.

Trump’s digital campaign machine

We recorded this just prior to the election. And even though we couldn’t see the outcome, Gini pays reluctant tribute to Donald Trump’s digital team. A remarkable story.

We did it!

Inside PR in under twelve minutes. We had a great time recording this. It’s like speed podcasting.

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 blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

Please rate us on iTunes

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 iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 457: Ethical media relations

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Twitter Moments for all of us. Large publishers’ growing dependency on Facebook. Thinking ahead about the implications of AI in our devices and apps. And the ethics of the close-hold embargo. Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and Joseph Thornley are back with another episode of the Inside PR podcast.  

#IPRMustKnows

Create your Own Twitter Moments

Twitter Moments, introduced for media and select users earlier this year, is now available for all users. This is a useful feature for anyone speaking at a conference or participating in an event or discussion that they want to curate and preserve. Bit by bit, Twitter is becoming even more useful.

Large publishers are becoming dependent on Facebook. But where is the revenue?

A report published by the International News Media Association and reported on by Nieman Lab indicates that 30% of visits to large publishers websites are referred from Facebook. That’s huge. But if publishers are becoming ever more dependent on Facebook’s network effect, and with Facebook favouring content published natively on it, the big question continues to be, is traffic paying off in revenue?

Getting out front on AI

The increasing introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into apps, social networks and internet-connected devices raise a broad range of ethical, legal and policy issues. And where that happens, government is likely to act. So, it should come as no surprise that large businesses are banding together in a number of organizations to address these issues in order in advance of legislation and regulation. Of course, we can only hope that the voice of civil society will be heard alongside that of business.

A media relations issue to ponder: Close-hold embargoes

Charles Seife, writing in Scientific American, introduced us to a practice we had never encountered: A close-hold embargo. And it gives us the opportunity to ponder the line between transparency and manipulation and the ethical questions that public relations practitioners must confront when negotiating terms of access with news media.

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 blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

Please rate us on iTunes

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 iTunes.

******************************************************************

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.