I'm On a Panel Tonight: Podcasting & PR (Palo Alto)

Today I'm catching a plane to San Jose for the second annual BlogHer conference, which starts tomorrow.

Tonight (Thursday, July 27) I've been invited to speak on a panel at a monthly gathering of Bay Area PR luminaries, held this month in Palo Alto. The topic is podcasting.

My fellow panelists are:

• Phil Gomes (Edelman)
• Barbara Anthony (Palo Alto 360)
• Aaron Burcell (Podshow)
• Jarah Euston (Fresno Famous)

The panel is at Fanny & Alexander in Palo Alto. It starts at 6:30 tonight, and probably goes until 9 or so. I don't believe there's a fee to attend this event, but you might want to RSVP via Meetup.com.

So to warm up my brain for this, here are a few thoughts on podcasting as conversational media...

As I've been saying for some time, conversational media (via blogs, e-mail lists, forums, and more) is becoming increasingly important and influential. Yet it seems to me that most media and communications pros (including PR) haven't really wrapped their brains around that significant development yet.

With the exception of a few thought leaders in the PR field like Phil Gomes, Shel Holtz, and James Clark (of Capture the Conversation, a new client of mine), most PR professionals still seem focused on getting coverage in mainstream media. Now, media relations is important, but it's only a subset of public relations.

Remember the big picture: Public relations mean communicating with the public. The mainstream media are a powerful intermediary, but they're only a means to that end. Also, communicating with the public requires listening as much as (well, actually, more than) speaking. Ideally, public relations (and any communication effort) should be about conversation, not monologue.

I think podcasting has tremendous potential as conversational media. However, it has pros and cons.

Here are the advantages of podcasting as conversational media, as I see them:

• The human voice: What better conversational tool than that? The audio/video nature of podcasting allows richer transmission of conversational clues and nuances.

   

• Continuity: Subscription via feed, plus follow-up links offered in show notes, allow listeners, support ongoing engagement between podcasters and listeners.

   

• Fairly low barrier to entry: Podcasting is still geeky, but it's getting easier and more popular all the time. It's not very difficult to create and distribute a podcast, and it's even easier to listen to one (iTunes, Odeo, Melodeo, etc.). Plus, I expect podcast support to become a ubiquitous feature of mobile phones in the next few years.

   

• Talk back capabilities: These are less common so far, but they're getting more popular. There are voice mail services that save messages as wav or MP3 files, which many podcasters are using as listener comment lines. Plus most podcasts have associated blogs which take comments, and many podcasters routinely read listener e-mails on the show. One of the most conversational podcasts I listen to is Polyamory Weekly, which is hosting its first Skypecast on July 31. Again, as podcasting becomes ubiquitous on mobile phones, I think talkback features will become simpler and more integrated.

   

• Long-tail appeal: Podcasting is ideal for reaching niche audiences.

Current disadvantages of podcasting as conversational media:

• Still too geeky, at least for most people so far. It requires appropriate devices and connectivity, which creates an economic and generational divide.

   

• Quality is generally poor: Most podcasts are crap. The sound sucks, and even worse the content is inane. It's true. Many shows are superb, and more great ones are arising all the time. But if you were to subscribe to a random podcast it would probably be crap. Crappy communication stifles conversation.

   

• Device/time disconnect: I find that often I'm listening to a podcast on my MP3 player when I'm out & about. I hear something that makes me want to check a link, or comment back. But by the time I'm back by my computer, I've forgotten about it. My MP3 player offers me no way to bookmark points in podcasts I want to revisit.

OK, just a few things to get this discussion rolling. I hope to see some Right Conversation and Contentious listeners there!

...I'm of course embarrassed that I haven't podcasted in quite a while and have a lot of new listings to add to my Women in Podcasting list, but c'est la vie.

Anyway, stop by this panel if you're in the area. It'll be fun.

Comments

[minx]

Thanks for the mention and for your participation in the Skypecast! You brought up some excellent points that really forwarded the discussion and set me thinking, personally, as well.

And yes, as you know, I believe very strongly in the community-oriented and conversational nature of podcasting. Not only do I believe in encouraging listener feedback and participation, but I'm out to meet as many listeners as possible so it seems less like I'm just talking into a mic in an empty room!