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I want to get a discussion going about working on spec.  When i was starting out, I was pretty shocked to see how much work UK PR agencies did upfront just to get a foot in the door.  I was at an agency in Milton Keynes that would take whole teams of people off billable client work to research and write a proposal that usually included full creative treatment and a one-year communications plan!!  Then they’d devote hundreds of hours to creating and rehearsing a compelling ’dog and pony’ presentation show!  And this was for what was often a for …

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I saw a product review in InformationWeek on a new service from Gcast that supposedly makes producing a Podcast ‘as easy as making a phone call’. And I thought to myself, I should try this!  I thought I’d ask Strive Partner Rita Rich, the radio expert, her opinion on the service.  As you know, Rita is a radio/broadcast guru who has worked with Larry King, Jim Bohannon, Joan Rivers and probably every major US producer in the business.
Now, she spends quite a bit of her time helping blue-chip clients tap …

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You may not be 99 or even 86 but you still need to Get Smart.  People who work independently tend to focus on core business.  That is, delivering services to clients and developing the business.  We seldom think about our professional development because we can’t bill time spent in training sessions or attending seminars.  This is reality. 
And, we may think that, at this stage of our career, we have achieved a high level of expertise and that we are on top of our game.  Think again.  The BBC programme Get Smarter In …

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Everyone’s a little bit Irish today. I know the Brits will largely ignore the occasion, the Yanks may raise a green beer or two at lunch, the Canadians have taken the day off and are already propping up some bar.  We, in the Isle of Man, plan to join in on festivities too.  It’s our first St. Pat’s on the Island.  I’m unsure how it will go, but as we are geographically close to the Motherland (you can see Ireland from the top of Snaefell), I am …

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Well even Rupert Murdoch is catching on.  Monday night he gave a speech to The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers in London about how technology is shifting the power and the influence of the media away from publishers and editors to the actual consumers of the news and information. Well, I guess he can finally admit that this change is inevitable, now that News Corp has acquired MySpace, the social networking site. 
He is quoted on Brand Republic’s website as saying, “When high-speed broadband pipes TV and film onto …

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Virtual operations deliver all kinds of benefits.  No communting, lower costs, flexible working are just some. We have meetings on the phone, discussions on the blog and chat over IM; it’s almost like sitting in the next cube.  To develop business we send email pitches, direct people to the website and encourage word of mouth online.  But I can’t see how technology will replace or enhance good, old-fashioned networking.  I believe that meeting people face to face in a social environment, chatting with them and getting to know them a little is one of …

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Happy Birthday to Ottawa-based Strive partner, Stacey Diffin-Lafleur.  A bricks and mortar agency would have passed a card around for everyone to sign.  Then we would have let Stacey buy us all a drink at lunchtime to celebrate.  I guess this virtual greeting will have to do.  Have a great day Stacey!

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Podcasting has implications for public relations professionals.  Creating audio content for a target audience to listen to when they want and where they want to opens up a lot of opportunities for us and our clients. 
On the surface, Podcasting gives PRs another tool.  Creating audio files to push on RSS feeds is a great way to add value.  I personally quite enjoy listening to podcasts while I’m going through my news pushes and feeds every morning.  It’s a cool way to do two things as once. 
We should be encouraging our clients …

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It seems that fellow Ottawan, author Margaret Atwood, buys into the virtual way of doing business, in a really big way.  Her company has created a technology that will allow her to attend book signings around the world, greet fans and personally dedicate copies of her latest novels, all from the comfort of her own office in London. 
She thinks the technology will enhance the experience for fans too.  Instead of queing for hours to spend 30 seconds meeting their favourite author and walking away with a signed novel, they now …

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We’ve created this blog, Strive Notes, as a kind of ‘online water cooler’.  Strive Public Relations is a virtual company and our teams work from many locations around the world.  This business model has tons of benefits for our clients and consultants alike.  It keeps costs down, increases productivity & quality, improves clients’ access to high-level skills and experience and more.
But, on the other hand, our consultants tend to get less social interaction than our bricks and mortar counterparts. And if we are not careful, we can miss our chance to …