• FIR #200: Elon Musk Doesn't Need No Stinking PR

The October 2020 episode of The Hobson and Holtz Report features Neville and Shel discussing…

• A look at how employees are handling life in the pandemic and what companies can do to help
• Techlash hasn’t gone anywhere, but it has fragmented
• Journalists need training on advanced verification techniques to curb disinformation
• Sonic logos and other company-used audio needs to change to reflect broad public sentiment
• Tesla has done away with its corporate PR department; apparently, all they need is Elon
• Voice connects us to others even more than video—and way more than text
• Dan York’s Tech Report covers Snapchat getting sounds, WordPress’s new ability to turn blog posts into Twitter threads, Cloudflare’s automatic platform optimization for WordPress, Spotify podcast promo cards, and the crazy amount of live streaming going on.

We are hosting an FIR Communicators Coffee Break on Zoom each Thursday during the stay-at-home period at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Spread the word to your communications community.

Shel is moderating a panel on digital storytelling on Wednesday, October 21. Steve Crescenzo is keynoting. The panel includes members of the FIR family Deirdre Breakenridge and Scott Monty, along with nonprofit communication consultant Damon Rawls. It’s free and online at 12:30 ET. Register here.

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.

Links from This Month’s Episode

• A pulse on employees’ wellbeing, six months into the pandemic
• The Future of Techlash: ‘Sentiment is Becoming More Fragmented’
• Year in a Word: Techlash
• Journalists need more training on advanced verification techniques to curb global ‘tsunami’ of Covid-19 disinformation
• Why Some Sonic Logos Actually Hurt Their Brands During Covid
• Tesla dissolves its PR department — a new first in the industry
• Tesla’s Decision to Scrap Its PR Department Could Create a PR Nightmare
• What Tesla’s Move to Eliminate Its PR Department Means for the Industry
• Type Less, Talk More

Links from Dan York’s Report

• Snapchat Now Lets You Add Songs to Posts, Launches With Preview of New Justin Bieber, Benny Blanco Track
• WordPress can now turn blog posts into tweetstorms automatically
• A New Way to Publish Your Blog Posts Simultaneously as Twitter Threads
• JetPack 9.0 Introduces Loom Block,  Twitter Threads Feature, and Facebook and Instagram oEmbeds
• Cloudflare Launches Automatic Platform Optimization for WordPress
• Introducing (Spotify) Promo Cards
• Spotify for Podcasters: Promo Cards
• Dan York’s Spotify Promo Card
• The Dan York Report on Spotify
• Streamlabs & Stream Hatchet Q3 Live Streaming Industry Report