In the initial segment of the Overflow Podcast this week, we come clean with the music that we have used for intros and outros for each episode and admit to using copyrighted material from our ITunes collections.
It has been a fun component of the post production process, finding the perfect song to compliment the topic whether it be from a lyric, the artist or simply the tone of the composition.
However, since we are trying to set a positive example for the rest of the podcasting community we want to respect the ownership rights of the artists who created the music, so it is time to tap the well of the Podsafe Music Network to find our Overflow theme music.
We come from an creative background and would not be happy if someone else was using our output without any form of credit, so we want to abide by the Creative Commons attribution standards that have been set.
The opening and closing theme for the Overflow Podcast is called Showdown at the Bridge, by Eric Dietrich.
The topic for this week revolves around the ability of social networks, and Twitter in particular to spread unsubstantiated rumors simply due to the ease of distribution. Recent examples of these rumors include a Twitter sactioned TV series that caused quite a stir among the “celebrities” on line until it was denied by Twitter directly. There was also a rumor that Patrick Swayze had succumbed to his illnesses that was even picked up by the mainstream media, a denial from his publicist was required.
Cameron and I had recently been having conversations with marketing directors for tourist destinations, and we both made sure to point out that an initial step to using social media effectively as a marketing tool would be to listen for any mentions online. The tools such as search.twitter.com and Google Alerts allow for instantaneous identification of conversations … including unsubstantiated rumors … that require some form of response.
By not listening, a negative comment or rumor might get away from a brand where a quick initial response would have quelled the rumor and put the fire out immediately.
The mainstream media now has added pressures to get stories out quickly generated by the ability of online communication to spread so rapidly, so we have to question their ability to fully source a story before they run with it.
There is alot of tremendous value in the ability of the Live Web to deliver messages on behalf of brands, however it does warrant having strong listening tools and plans in place about how to respond to communication issues.
Some brands / destinations may require a 24/7 monitoring and alert system that will ensure that adequate responses happen in a timely fashion. It will all be based upon the potential exposure as to how closely the monitoring needs to take place and how that monitoring will be staffed. A destination such as DisneyLand should have community managers who are on duty at all times to ensure messages are handled.
EDITOR NOTE: As we talked about the ability for an app to generate messages automatically based upon Alerts, I was considering that there is a possibility of subscribing to an RSS feed via SMS messaging that might do the trick. I have found where Google is testing a Labs application called SMS Channels in India which performs the exact function I am looking for. Here is an article that describes the process.
How do you watch for rumors spreading? Has anything happened to you that you became aware of and needed to quickly respond to? Let us know what the situation was and how you responded in the comments below.
The opening and closing theme for the Overflow Podcast is called Showdown at the Bridge, by Eric Dietrich.
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