Holtz Communications + Technology

There’s an age-old analogy that keeps coming up in social media talks I hear. “You don’t need to know how it works,” the analogy goes, “just like you don’t need to know how internal combustion works to drive a car.”

It’s a fine analogy for a consumer using social media. It doesn’t wash for communicators.

The very fact that communicators need such knowledge shouldn’t surprise anyone. Most communicators…

I was struck by two items that surfaced in my RSS feeds this morning.

(Yes, I still use RSS. RSS is nowhere near dead. I understand that armies of people are abandoning RSS for “better” tools but, like Dave Winer, I think people confuse Google Reader with RSS. And, like Marshall Kirkpatrick, I’m fine with the growing abandonment RSS. The more who dismiss it,…

There has been a flurry of activity in the PR corners of a variety of social channels today. These messages have been filled with angst and vile and anger. There has been finger-pointing, name-calling and threats.

What could motivate such an outpouring of emotion? A particularly egregious case of astroturfing? The revelation that a PR agency is behind a front organization…

One thing is certain about new technologies: The first uses to which they’ll be put are replacements for older technologies. The truly innovative uses come later, after people have been using the tool for a while and discussing its possibilities.

Computers are a good example. When the first PCs were offered to the public, they were used primarily as replacements for typewriters,…

Yesterday I shared my thoughts about the shift from work-life balance to work-life integration. My definition (but certainly not the process) is simple: Work-life balance presumes a clear boundary between work and the rest of your life while integration assumes you’ll be doing both all the time.

Some of the comments that resulted from the post challenged the idea of work-life integration,…

Former GE CEO Jack Welch is causing quite a stir today with remarks quoted in a Wall Street Journal article insisting that, for women, there’s no such thing as work-life balance. There are consequences to the choices you make, Welch says, and if you’re not at work “in the clutch”—presumably because you’re home dealing with your child or taking maternity leave—you could be passed over when opportunities…