Holtz Communications + Technology

At least once a week, I get e-mail from a communicator under pressure to show that readership of the online newsletter she produces for employees is acceptable. “Do you know where I can find any statistics about readership of online newsletters?” the e-mails usually ask. “I was hoping to get some perpective from other companies.”

I make a dedicated effort to stay on top of…

The case of Ellen Simonetti, the Delta flight attendant fired for photos posted to her blog has been discussed far and wide. It’s not the only case, though, as an article in Wired News points out. It’s also happened to a Web designer in Utah, a FedEx Kinko’s staffer and even a Microsoft temp. The article quotes Wendy Seltzer, a intellectual property…

When Google acquired Blogger, the search company implemented an internal blogging system. Employees found a variety of uses for the intranet blogs. They kept track of meeting notes, shared diagnostic information, traded bits of software code, and kept their colleagues up-to-date on their activities. The intranet blogs were so useful that one Google executive has indicated the company could sell…

Isn’t it interesting that publications like Computerworld are publishing articles about corporate policies for employee blogging but publications dealing with communications and human resources have been fairly quiet on the issue?

The Computerworld piece by Jupiter Research VP Michael Gartenberg suggests companies need to (1) know what other blogs are saying about you, (2) go slowly when creating corporate blogs, and…

Employee communicators spend a lot of time producing communication materials they distribute to employees. You have to wonder how much this traditional top-down communication model will engage employees. It’s an important consideration, seeing as how senior executives have made it clear through a number of channels that they believe an engaged workforce is a requirement if they’re going to compete in the…

You’ll be shocked—shocked!—to learn that employees use instant messaging for personal conversations. You’ll be equally shocked to learn that employees stop in the hallways for personal conversations.

This time around, it’s the Meta Group that has released a survey that shows 57% of the respondents from 300 organizations “admitted” using IM at work for personal reasons. Did they really admit they use IM for non-work purposes? Or did they…