Holtz Communications + Technology

Back in 2007, I wrote a post speculating about the future of professional associations. Digital and social media have made it easy for professionals to tap into an abundance of professional development and networking opportunities that don’t require annual dues. Facebook and LinkedIn groups provide a forum for in-depth discussion with professional peers, for example. Both of these channels, along with…

This morning I learned that Vocus, the public relations services company, has acquired email marketer iContact.

That Vocus would add email marketing to its portfolio is interesting enough, but for now, let’s focus on how I found out about the acquisition.

Not too long ago, I would have read about it in the business section of my daily newspaper, in my weekly edition of

European conferences that focus on the role of social media in public relations aren’t terribly common and those that are scheduled tend to be pricey. The Social Media World Forum is coming up next month in London, but its focus is broader than public relations and a ticket for the entire event will set you back US $920. There’s a marketing-focused…

Nearly everything you read about gamification is marketing-focused. When the books on the topic feature titles like “Game-Based Marketing” (which I enjoyed, by the way) and panel discussions at conferences focus on the benefits of adding a game layer to marketing efforts, it’s no wonder people might think there’s no pure PR use for games.

The difference between marketing and more classic public relations is…

Earlier today, U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor shelved the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), leading many to think the legislation is dead. It can, however, be ressurrected at any time. Meanwhile, its Senate counterpart, PIPA, is still very much alive even as support for it declines.

Despite the fact that the House won’t vote on the bill, Wikipedia and…

FIR co-hosts Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz host a Google+ Hangout with Stuart Bruce, principal, Stuart Bruce Associates, and Phil Gomes, Sr. VP, Edelman Digital, to discuss efforts to improve the ability of corporate representatives to make ethical, transparent, disclosed and factual revisions that are independently verifiable to Wikipedia entries.

Currently, a host of communication professionals report having revised entries to…