June 2022 archive

As the economy cooks, inflation ratchets up, and interest rates rise, some companies are faced with laying off staff. As we have moved to remote and hybrid work, how those layoffs are handled is changing. But is it ever a good idea to lay someone off over Zoom or Teams? And if so, are there good and bad ways to go about it?

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, July 18. FIR “shorts” — episodes under 15 minutes — will appear once or twice each week.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to fircomments@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is available, as well.

Links from this episode:

• The art of giving out virtual pink-slips
• Tidal wave of layoffs hits San Fran
• When Remote Layoffs Are Inevitable, How to Cut Ties Gracefully
• Pokémon Go developer Niantic cancels four projects and lays off more than 80 people
• Can Employees Be Dismissed Over Zoom?
• Can employers really fire people over Zoom?

The post FIR #265: Fired Over Zoom appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

From the title of this episode, you might think we were talking about company sources going on background when speaking to a reporter. (Quick advice: Don’t. Either be on the record or don’t talk to a journalist.) But that’s not what this episode is about. Instead, we’re talking about Zoom backgrounds (or Teams, or Skype, or Webex, or Google Meet, or whatever). With flexible work the order of the day in many organizations, is it time to give serious consideration to what people see behind you in a call? There’s a book (that’s right, an entire book) on the subject. We cover it in 15 minutes.

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, July 18. FIR “shorts” — episodes under 15 minutes — will appear once or twice each week.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to fircomments@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is available, as well.

Links from this episode:

• You’re Still on Mute (The New York Times)
• Room Rater on Twitter
• How to Zoom Your Room: Room Rater’s Ultimate Style Guide (Claude Taylor’s book on Amazon)
• Fathom (free Zoom note-taking app)

The post FIR #264: On Background appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In the monthly long-form episode for June, Neville and Shel consider a Google employee’s claim that the company’s AI has become sentient, the reactions the claim has provoked, and what it might mean for business communicators. Also in this episode:

• Is being in the office really the only way for employees who don’t normally work together to encounter one another?
• Copyright trolls are suing people over Creative Commons photos
• Now that the metaverse is gaining momentum, it’s time to consider how to market and communicate there
• Should you spend any more time developing your personal brand?
• The state of PR is changing

In his tech report, Dan York talks about countries that want to change the Internet from a “permissionless” place to one where you have to pay for access to users.

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, July 18. FIR “shorts” — episodes under 15 minutes — will appear once or twice each week.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to fircomments@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is available, as well.

Links from this episode:

• FIR on Spotify
• Google engineer put on leave after saying AI chatbot has become sentient
• The Google engineer who thinks the company’s AI has come to life
• The dangerous fallacy of sentient AI
• Blake Lemoine Says Google’s LaMDA AI Faces ‘Bigotry’
• Google has not created sentient AI — yet
• The old rules don’t apply (The Small Data Forum Podcast)
• ‘Sentient’ artificial intelligence: Have we reached peak AI hype?
• Why We Need More Than Offices to Foster Connection and Belonging at Work
• Staying Visible When Your Team Is in the Office…But You’re WFH
• The Personal Brand Is Dead
• Marketing in the metaverse: An opportunity for innovation and experimentation
• SALT food and beverage marketing consultancy launches in metaverse
• Communicating In The Metaverse? Keep Your Eyes Wide Open
• ‘Copyright Trolls’ Are Suing People Over Creative Commons Photos
• New Muck Rack survey: The State of PR 2022
• ‘First to be chopped from the budget’: PR professionals weigh in on changing communications landscape as clients seek viral fame
• New #StateOfPR research finds a growing industry stunted by skills shortage
• CIPR State of the Profession 2022 (Slideshare; paywalled site)

Links from Dan York’s Report

• EU Telcos Want Big Tech and Streamers to Invest in Their Networks
• “Sender-pays” rule doesn’t necessarily increase telecom investment (from 2012)
• Old Rules in New Regulations – Why “Sender Pays” Is a Direct Threat to the Internet

The post FIR #263: It’s Alive! (AI, That Is. Or Is It?) appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

In the tech industry, there’s a trend: Rescinding offer letters as a cost-cutting measure. In this short episode of “For Immediate Release,” Neville and Shel explore the PR and internal comms repercussions of these moves.

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, June 19. FIR “shorts” — episodes under 15 minutes — will be available several times each week.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to fircomments@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is available, as well.

Links from this episode:

• Revoking job offers is an increasingly common cost-cutting strategy
• Beware: Rescinding Job Offers Can Prompt Legal Consequences

The post FIR #262: You’re Hired! Or Not… appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

As it faced a unionization effort, Tesla contracted with a PR agency (where one of its communication directors once worked in an executive capacity) to spy on employees, including those in a semi-private Facebook group, an activity one academic found unethical. While there is nothing wrong with a company monitoring employees’ online activities, there are lines that should not be crossed. Was one of those lines crossed in this case?

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, June 19. FIR “shorts” — episodes under 15 minutes — will be available several times each week.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to fircomments@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is available, as well.

Links from this episode:

• Tesla reportedly hired a PR firm to monitor employees on Facebook
• Tesla monitored its employees on Facebook with help of PR firm during 2017 union push
• CNBC reporter Lora Kolodny’s Twitter thread on her article
• MWW PR’s website

The post FIR #261: Crossing the Line When Surveilling Employees on Social Media appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

We all know that leaders should strive for authenticity. What does that mean, exactly? It’s easy to say authenticity is being who you are, but when you’re meeting with a department that is struggling to succeed, are you the person who rocks out at concerts? The one who coos little nothings in the ear of your significant other? There’s more to authenticity than just being genuine. Communicators need to understand the nuances since most leaders don’t have the time for a graduate-level course on the subject.

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, June 19. FIR “shorts” — episodes under 15 minutes — will be available several times each week.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to fircomments@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is available, as well.

Links from this episode:

• The Authenticity Paradox (Harvard Business Review, 2015)
• What’s Authentic Leadership, & How Do You Practice It? (HubSpot, 2019)

The post FIR #260: Grappling With Authenticity appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.