Holtz Communications + Technology

Warning: Lost post follows

Back in 1995, “Snow Crash” author Neal Stephenson teamed up with his uncle George Jewsbury under the pseudonym Stephen Bury to produce a potboiler titled “Interface.” The premise: A presidential candidate suffers a stroke and has a chip implanted in his brain. The chip features a wireless connection to feedback from thousands of watch-like devices distributed to a representative sample…

This incident that happened in Vegas won’t stay in Vegas. But it does explain something about Vegas I have long suspected.

I conducted a half-day workshop this morning for the Las Vegas chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. The day kicked off when my host, Andy North of St. Rose Dominican Hospitals and Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center, picked me up at The…

Robert French, the social media-promoting PR professor at Auburn University, has launched a Ning-based social network for PR students and faculty called PR Open Mic. He’s also thrown the door open to practitioners in hopes that a dialogue will emerge that ultimately improves PR curricula and benefits students.

As of this morning, the group boasts 382 members (including me). And, unlike some…

A couple weeks ago, I wrote that I was reconsidering my position on handouts for my talks and presentations. Among those who read the post was Lisa Junker who works for ASAE and the Center, a joint venture of the American Society of Association Executives and the Center for Association Leadership. She emailed me and attached a PDF file of…

After today, I may have to rethink my position on handouts.

For years, I have resisted providing handouts of my presentations. The reasons:

• Delivering handouts weeks before the speaking engagement precludes making changes to the presentation, even if events or better examples make such a change a good idea.
• We’re supposed to be going green, right? I have a file cabinet full of presentation…