Holtz Communications + Technology

(c) Can Stock PhotoYou don’t hear it very often, but Tumblr was down much of today. Since I maintain my link blog at Tumblr, I couldn’t get to my list of potential stories for today’s Wrap until later than usual. Tumblr did get back up and running, though, which meant I was finally able to assemble today’s summary of some great posts you may have…

Among the givens in a crisis, none are more important for organizations to keep in mind than the fact that people react to a crisis emotionally, not rationally. Emotions are a complicated stew of feelings, but risk-aversion is almost always one of the most prominent. What risk do the circumstances that caused the crisis present to them and the people…

Cisco Systems unveiled its Social Media Listening Center today at its Executive Briefing Center in San Jose. The small group of tech analysts and influencers in attendance—and others participating through Facebook and Twitter—heard an important concept repeated throughout the presentation:

Helping employees visualize what people are saying about your organization in an easy-to-comprehend, at-a-glance format is a vital step toward engagement and action…

Traditionally, journalists work to become experts on the subjects they cover. Political reporters don’t start as legislators or government employees, for example. They start as journalists and learn to cover the political beat. General assignment reporters become instant experts on every topic they cover, learning enough to report accurately so that lay readers will understand. Learning how to learn in this way…

(c) Can Stock PhotoThe weekend is upon us—but not before we wrap up the digital and social news of the week of interest to communicators. For the full list of items from which I draw these stories, dive into my link blog at LinksFromShel.tumblr.com.

If workers are bringing their own mobile devices to work—a reflection of the…

(c) Can Stock PhotoNobody goes into the planning for a communications effort believing the customer is a tabula rasa, a blank slate. Knowing customers have interests, biases and other characteristics is the very reason we conduct audience research. Having seen new research from The Futures Company, however, I’m wondering if that research digs deep enough.

When we study the people who comprise our…