A few weeks back, I joined a Google Groups list of communicators interested in participating in a discussion about the evolution of the new-media press release. That list is up to about 50 participants, but there hasn’t been much activity lately. I was delighted to get a call a few days back from Chris Heuer, who invited me to participate in an initial podcast discussion about the new-media release. Chris is the driving force behind the mailing list, which emerged from a discussion he had with Silicon Valley Watcher blogger Tom Foremski, who initiated the whole concept with his post, “Die, Press Release. Die! Die! Die!” Chris was also familiar with the first attempt at a social media release inaugurated by Todd Defren and SHIFT Communications.

Chris envisioned the podcasst as a Gillmor Gang-like discussion with a different cast of characters each week discussing progress, ideas, and issues. The first installment would be with Chris, Constantin Basturea, and me. Constantin had to bow out due to a scheduling conflict at the last minute, so the first 35-minute podcast is just Chris and me. It’s hosted on the “For Immediate Release” podcast blog, and is included in the FIR “everything” feed, although only for the first episode. After that, subscriptions are required through a unique, dedicated NMRCast feed. I hope you’ll consider participating in this experiment in the power of social computing.

Here’s a cross-post of what I posted to the FIR blog:

The New Media Release Podcast, episode 1, is being distributed as part of the “For Immediate Release” everything feed in order to introduce the podcast—and the NMR working group—to FIR listeners. After this first episode, if you want to keep getting the podcast as a regular subscription, you’ll need to subscribe separately to the NMRCast feed. Note, the Apple iTunes subscription will be active shortly.

Content summary:Chris Heuer and Shel Holtz introduce NMRCast and explain the NMR working group; discussion of microformats and their role in the NMR; where we plan to go from here

Show notes for July 13, 2006

Welcome to NMRCast episoded #1, a 35-minute podcast recorded live from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Download the file here (MP3, 14.2MB), or sign up for the RSS feed to get it and future shows automatically. (For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon).

Listen to this podcast now:

In This Edition:

• Google Groups mailing list for New Media Release discussion (please join!)
• NMR wiki (going live very soon)
• PDF of SHIFT Communication’s new media release template (opens in new window)
• SHIFT Communications’ PR Newswire release announcing the new media release template, produced as a new media release
• Todd Defren’s post about SHIFT’s new media release template
• Neville Hobson’s post about PR community action on the new meda press release
• Tom Foremski’s original post, “Die, Press Release, Die! Die! Die!
• About the Social Media Club
• Chris Heuer’s website (learn more about him)
• Wikipedia listing on the press release
• Ivy Lee’s quote on the ethics of the press release