Trafcom News

The reason for my blogging silence

Here's a hint... (No, I'm not taking flying lessons.)

I'll have lots to share with you next week!

I’m not normally a fan of computer voices, but…

This one is pretty darn good. Listen to what Chris Penn has done with the Financial Aid Podcast, letting Alex, the voice of Apple's Leopard operating system, read his copy.

I don’t think I’d want to listen to a long show produced in this way, but the voice would be perfectly acceptable for reading news bites or weather reports, don’t you think?

Autumn and winter take a meeting

I just had to snap a photo of this burning bush flocked with snow. It's a glorious day in Southern Ontario -- if you don't have to drive anywhere.

Podcasting inside the organization: My RaganTV debut

At the Talk is Cheap social-media unconference at Centennial College last week, Kristen Ridley asked me a few questions about podcasting inside the organization. Here's the video she has posted at MyRagan.com. (If you're viewing this in your RSS reader, you may have to click through to the blog to see the video.)

Thanks, Kristen!

Not what you expect the store clerk to say

At lunchtime today I stopped by the Home Depot to buy some mousetraps for a friend. Really! They’re not for me. (I already own a half dozen of them to capture the critters that invade my crawl space each autumn. Let’s just say that retrieving them is not my favourite job.)

As she passed the traps over the scanner, the store clerk said, “evil.”

I  just looked at her.

Then she shared her opinion again: “These traps are evil.”

OK, I couldn’t stop myself. I said, “If you’d prefer, we can trap the mice humanely and then deliver them to your house.”

“Don’t you think it would be better to buy the poison?” she asked.

“Um, no, I actually think these are more humane,” I answered as I pocketed my change and left the store, wondering what kind of training this clerk had received. Can you imagine her working at Whole Foods? “Oh my, are you buying chicken? Yes, these are organically raised, handfed and cost $47 a pound, but how COULD you?”

When I was a teen working in retail, I don’t recall expressing any opinions to the customers. What do you think?

A bank’s ads vs. its actual treatment of customers

My friend Shel Holtz’s son, Ben, who is serving in the U.S. armed forces,  has been treated awfully by his bank, Washington Mutual, an institution that touts its friendliness in TV ads. Please read Shel’s post and all the comments for the full story.

An employee of the bank has just commented with an apology. (Do you think they’re tracking blogs?) Stay tuned.

What's a podcast and why should you care?

Before the year ends, would you like to check “learn about podcasting” off your to-do list? About a dozen communicators have already signed up for my next free Webinar, Podcasting 101 for Communicators and Marketers, scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern on December 5. Would you like to join them?

Here’s what one participant said after a recent session:

Thanks for a great webinar!  You do a great job of sharing important information while still keeping everyone involved.  I'll be sure to recommend the webinar to anyone I know who's curious about how podcasting can help their business. --John Watkis

In this 45-minute session, we cover what podcasting is all about; how to find podcasts relevant to your interests; how organizations are using audio for internal and external communications; and how to sell the idea to management.

I like to keep the number of attendees small so that people can ask questions. So if you’re interested, sign up soon! To attend, all you need is a phone and an Internet connection. To register, send an email to trafcom@gmail.com. Did I mention that it’s free?

Sound check

Podcasters and prospective podcasters often ask me about microphones and recorders. In my latest podcast, just 17 minutes long, I play audio samples so that you can hear the difference between a condenser microphone, a built-in microphone, a recorded phone call and lots in between. Of course there are a zillion possible permutations, but this little sound check might help you to decide how you might record your own podcast.

In this show, we also continue the conversation about presentations that started in the previous episode.

On the Trafcom News Podcast page, you can listen to this podcast or subscribe so that you won’t miss a show.

I have not "fallen off the face of the earth"

A faithful listener of my Trafcom News Podcast has emailed me (twice) asking WHERE the latest edition is. Anyone who has worked with me knows that I am a stickler for dates when it comes to clients' deadlines.  Of course my own projects suffer in the process. This month, I've been particularly busy. However, I hope to record the next Trafcom News Podcast later today and post it tomorrow.

Thanks for missing me!

Talk is Cheap: successful all around

Gary Schlee and his team from the Corporate Communications and Public Relations program at Centennial College in Toronto did an amazing job running the Talk is Cheap social media unconference on November 15. Almost 200 people came out to hear people talking about social media in the real world. I enjoyed the sessions by Tara Wood of the World Wildlife Fund Canada about using social media to augment a traditional awareness campaign; Rick Spence of Canadian Entrepreneur on the power of blogs vs. print; and Jen Maier of Urban Moms  and Michelle Kostya of Cuisinart, who spoke of building community as a way to ultimately build sales.

I regret missing Joe Thornley discussing best practices in social media relations, Wayne McPhail talking about video and Dave Fleet sharing his insights into social media and crisis communications (with a case study about the California wildfires).

Thanks to the Toronto chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for stepping up to sponsor this first-time event.

Here are my impressions as an attendee and speaker:

• The students were so very helpful. From the moment you walked through the doors, you could always find a fresh young face to direct you to the right place; those of us who are directionally challenged are grateful for this.
• Nice food, especially for a free conference. Much appreciated.
• Kudos for keeping everyone on time. Twenty minutes seemed to work well for the presentations.
• Allowing 15 or so minutes between sessions was a smart idea to encourage networking; there seemed to be plenty of this going on.
• Mixing seasoned pros and young students keeps both groups on their toes; this is a good thing.
• No one was selling anything. Hallelujah.
• The evening went by way too fast for me and left me wanting more. So what’s the deal for next year, Gary?

Congratulations to Gary and the students.