The online press release has taken another big step forward.

PRWeb has launched a new feature allowing customers to embed video in their press releases. In Episode 21 -- Press Release Video, I talk to Jiyan Wei, the PRWeb Product Manager at Vocus, about this service.

Called Feature Video, it allows a user to upload video to one of several online video services, including YouTube, and then embed it in the press release, where it can be played with a mouse click. This is a great way to publicize viral video and a clever approach to making releases more interesting.

It's a pretty common occurrence in the PR agency business. A prospective client calls up and wants help putting out a press release. That's it. Nothing more.

In Episode 20 -- Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy, author and PR practitioner Linda VandeVrede explains why such requests are common and, importantly, why they miss so much of what PR has to offer. VandeVrede has just come out with the second edition of her book, Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy, and has a great deal to say on this topic.

VandeVrede, of VandeVrede Public Relations, discusses with us some misconceptions about what PR is and how it should be handled as well as pointing out the right way to bring PR into an organization. It is an interesting interview, particularly for anyone considering the adoption of a PR strategy.

Enjoy the interview.

I've noticed that not all subscribers made the transition to our redesigned site's feed.

Some of you who signed up for fkcblog and talking communications with farrell kramer may have subscribed to our pre-feedburner feed, which now no longer exists. If you have been accidentally unsubscribed, please resubscribe.

(I've just redirected those old feed URLs and it should work for most of you. But if you're not getting updates over the next couple of days, you may need to subscribe again.)

It's a simple process. Just navigate to our blog or podcast sites and subscribe in the normal way. Both the autosubscribe icon in your browser window and the icon in the sidebar go to the same place.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Just a quick note to alert everyone that we've just completed a major redesign of the talking communications with farrell kramer site.

I'll post more on this later but, please, come visit and check it out.

Importantly, the site's URL path has changed. The home page is now: www.farrellkramer.com/talkingcommunications. If you go to the old URL, www.talkingcommunications.com, you will be redirected to the new URL anyway, so no worries! I plan to keep the redirect up for awhile.

However, you will see the new URL in your browser as soon as you land. Also, the permalinks for all episodes have changed. Basically, they now all begin: www.farrellkramer.com/talkingcommunications/... The rest should be the same for all links.

Welcome to the new PR.

In the old, pre-Web 2.0 world, conventional wisdom held that it was necessary "to have significant news before you were allowed to write a press release." No more. The new rule, according to David Meerman Scott, our guest in Episode 19: The New Rules: "Don't just send press releases when `big news' is happening; find good reasons to send them all the time."

These new rules come from David's e-book, "The New Rules of PR," which has just been updated with a second edition. David also has written an upcoming physical book "The New Rules of Marketing & PR," which is due in June 2007.

Just a quick note to let you know that our next episode, #19, is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 26.

It should be posted sometime in the early evening.

The sale of a business is something that is usually done in private, with communications typically beginning when the transaction is ready to be announced.

With the advent and advances of Web 2.0, however, there's ample room to experiment with new approaches. Ryan Carson, Director of Carson Systems, is doing just that. Ryan's company is in the midst of selling DropSend, a Web application that allows individuals and businesses to send large files via e-mail. To communicate that fact, Ryan decided to cover the sale via blog, posting on everything from the sale announcement to financial/operating metrics and negotiations.

The year 2006 was as exciting a period in communications as I can remember.

Technology drove a lot of it. We talked earlier in the year about topics such as search engine optimized and social media press releases, corporate blogging, new media outlets and RSS distribution. But there were also celebrity and corporate scandals, the advertising vs. PR balance of power, the changing role of journalists, and other similar issues.

In Episode 17 -- Year in Review, I discuss these topics and others with Stuart Fischer, Executive Vice President of the PR firm Robinson Lerer & Montgomery. Stuart has a broad perspective on the PR industry and has some wonderful insights about the year that -- just a few more days now -- was.

Enjoy the podcast and thanks to all of you for listening during the first year of Talking Communications with Farrell Kramer. We'll look to do even better in 2007!

I am planning to post one more episode of Talking Communications with Farrell Kramer in 2006.  I don't have a definitive date for that episode yet, but I will let you know as soon as it is finalized.

Then, we'll launch into 2007!

A lot of public relations involves the attempt to generate media interest in a particular topic. In some cases, however, attention comes your way that is quite unwanted.

This is the negative story.

In Episode 16 -- Anatomy of a Negative Story, we look at the negative story and literally walk through the steps needed to deal with it. We start with the first word that a story is developing -- usually a phone call -- take on the internal assessment and decision-making process, move on to the actual interview with the reporter, and finally discuss how to handle subsequent cycles of the story once it appears.

My guest is Jim Maiella, Vice President of Media Relations for Cablevision, who has broad experience on both the corporate and agency sides of the PR business. Jim has seen negative stories in many contexts and the discussion we have is very informative.