Blog Relations

Download Jeremy Strong Interview

[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/blogrelations/jeremystrong.mp3]

Packages are where audio editing gets creative. They are big part of BBC output, but not many podcasters make them. They are all about creating pictures with sound. You have to record plenty of ‘wild track’ atmosphere and mix it in with the words later.

This package comes, of course, from Storynory. It’s a visit to Reigate Priory Junior School to meet Jeremy Strong, author of The 100 Mile An Hour Dog. He was speaking to 600 school kids and did a wonderful speed-reading. It came about as part of our continuing friendly relationship with the children’s book publisher, Puffin. As I have mentioned before, I think Puffin understand the power of the Internet for reaching kids, as well as anyone.

For those who are interested, I mixed it in Sony SoundForge making ample use of Special Paste Cross-Fade and Mix. I also used plenty of fade out and fade in. Part of the trick is to make sure that a blast of atmosphere fades out and fades in gracefully. Also, you often start the atmos under that last few words of the preceding sentence, or even just ‘tuck” it under the last word. You might want to pick up the narration over the end of the atmos.

I could equally have done it in a multi-track program like GarageBand. The hardest part of recording it was to capture Jeremy’s words while he was speaking in front of the school. I sat on the floor near his feet, which didn’t look too silly as all the kids where doing the same.

Shortly before Christmas we were asked to make a pilot for a podcast for parents. Our potential backer sees potential for sponsorship in this area. We made it in the first week of January, sent it off, and still no response. So I thought I might as well post it here for now.

Download Whizz Parents Pilot.

[audio:http://blog-relations.com/audio/wppilot.mp3]

The top-notch presenter is Manuella (with whom I used to work) and you’ll hear from Mathew in his slack dad role. Even my wife, Olga, features. I was the producer. The set piece discussion is the Great Gina Ford Debate. If you don’t know who Gina is, just ask any mum. She’s Britain’s most famous Super Nanny and prescribes strict routines for babies. For some mums she’s the best thing since sliced bread, for others she’s the worst thing since sliced bread.

We also have Matthew’s slacker dad slot, and we included our Charlie Higson Young Bond interview about how to get boys to read.

Any passing sponsors, please get in touch: hugh at blog-relations.com.

[audio:http://www.blog-relations.com/audio/molly2.mp3]

Download the interview with Molly.

If I say so myself, this is a truly fascinating audio interview with Molly E. Holzschlag of Molly.com

Molly, who is one of the top speakers on web design and development – confessed on her blog last week that she was sitting in her London hotel room with “a minibar full of alcohol, and 80 Lorazepam tablets (2 milligrams each) and 100 friends within a mile radius,” and that she was suffering from a deep depression. She went on to write frankly about series of personal problems.(Counting the Coup Telling True)

She was inundated with responses on her blog, as well as emails and phone calls from friends who were truly worried about her. The very next day she appeared at the @media and gave one of the best presentations of her career.

In the interview, she says of the decision to blog about her problems:

“It was a turning point in my whole process. That night I didn’t know that I had the courage to live another day.”

I think this goes to the heart of what blogging is all about. Here we have a leading professional in her field who has used her blog to enhance her reputation for expertise. At the same time, she writes on a deeply personal level, and has an amazingly close relationship with readers around the world, many of whom she has never met before.

It’s worth a listen, and makes up for my first disasterous attempt to interview Molly last Christmas. The duration is around 10 minutes.

Many thanks to Ian Forrester for organising the @Media social event where I met Molly.

Until now, I don’t think I have heard of a well-known business getting a blog relations campaign just right, let alone one aimed at kids. The pitfalls for non-blogging adults are numerous, especially when it comes to tone. But this is a first.

Penguin’s top title in their Puffin range for children is Artemis Fowl. I haven’t read any of the Artemis books (yet) but the hero is high tech and supernatural all at the same time. When Penguin wanted to tell Artemis’s numerous fans about his new website, they needed to do it on budget. They employed a graduate to spend a few days researching the top Artemis bloggers on Technorati. The first idea was to write to the young fans under the guise of Artemis, but then they realised that this would hit a false note. So they sent out some plain honest emails. So you see, the art of Blog Relations, isn’t so hard. Still, most corporations can’t accept that it’s that simple.

Anna Rafferty, head of Penguin.co.uk tells the story in this 6 minute audio interview. It’s my last from the online marketing show.

[audio:http://www.blog-relations.com/audio/onlinemarketing/penguin_podcast.mp3]

Download the interview with Anna Rafferty