Chat #24: on pimping, podcasting and professionalism

Welcome from the global eruption of erudition00:39 A word from our sponsors - GoToMeeting.com01:58 Your two intrepid intellects come clean that Allan & I are only into podcasting for the money. From the advertising revenue we receive we will be renting ajoining penthouse suites at a swanky hotel in New Orleans. Yes, we disclose exactly how much we have received...02:56 Ted Demopoulos' new book "What no one ever tells you about blogging and podcasting: real-life advice from 101 people who successfully leverage the power of the blogosphere" is fabulous, but Allan wants the 2nd Edition out pronto! That's because he's not in it. Lee assures Allan that the reason he's not in it, unlike Lee who IS in it [page 25], is because Allan is not worth talking about, unlike Lee. Allan doesn't like the title, but Lee is happy with it because it draws you in, just as good Direct Marketing titles should do. Lee loves Ted's writing style, and also comments favourably on 'Promoting your podcast: the ultimate guide to building an audience of raving fans" by Jason Van Orden.07:35 Allan is jealous of Lee's new Edirol R-09 digital recorder. Lee explains why he received it and again thanks Ross Monaghan at Deakin University for the opportunity.08:28 Lee has been called many things over the years, but is he a "professional?" The question has been keeping Allan up late at night (much to Mrs Coffee's disgust). Jay Rosen and Shel Holtz raised the question a little while ago, Lee blogged about it over at the Marcom blog with interesting answers from Robert French's PR students. Allan thinks that the question for being recognised as a 'professional'; Lee recalls his Sociology studies and attempts to sound authoritative by talking about the 'Professional Project'. Both toss the ideas around about formal, legal accountability versus informal self-accreditation (including the IABC & PRSA), plus the difference between respect for the positional title and respect for the person. Allan suggests that accredited professionals have to go for re-examination or accreditation every, say, 5 years, in order to show that they are undergoing self-development and keeping their skills up to date.Agree with us? Disagree? Let us have it - both barrels! Drop your comments on the show blog, or even better send a Waxmail to our new Gmail account: commscafe at gmail dot com.All in all, 23 minutes of caffeine-fuelled hyperbole and satire, which you can either download and listen to right away, or else subscribe to via your rss podcatcher. And if you are an iTunes user, you can find our podcast in the iTunes Music Store (for free, of course!) Beware, though: iTunes has a funny habit of not picking up all of our chats; you are better off copying our rss feed and then, in your copy of iTunes, go to 'Advanced' in the top menu bar, 'Subscribe to Podcast…' and paste in our rss feed there.Until next time (paying clients must always take priority) take it easy, take some risks, take the garbage out when your wife asks you to.