RepMan

REPMAN PODCAST: Hi, my name's Kim. I'm 25, a Leo and totally, like, fried

A recent Forbes.com article not only suggested that Millennial women were burning out at a faster rate than their male counterparts but, get this, female PR millennials were topping the 'fried at 25' list.

In an attempt to get to the heart (if not soul) of this frightening trend, I recently invited six Peppercom interns to air their views (note: we had an even balance of men and women in the discussion).

So, kick back (if your schedule permits you to do so), turn up the volume and listen to hear if Peppercom's millennial women agree with the basic Forbes.com premise (note: all three were multi-tasking as they answered my questions, so some answers may be garbled. The guys, on the other hand, were yawning, stretching and fighting hard to keep their eyes open).

Millennial Stress

 

 

 

Does music matter?

That’s the question substitute host and Peppercommer Paul ‘Music Man’ Merchan debated along with  regular Repchatter co-host Brendan ‘Muggs’ Mullin and a cast of thousands. So, click below, download, tune in, turn on and drop out as you listen to our team of experts debate whether Lady Gaga is, in fact, the reason our world has gone positively insane.

 

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A Star Is Born

I highly recommend you listen to the latest Repchatter podcast. In addition to hearing some fascinating views on ‘Christmas Creep’ and new product launches gone bad, you’ll be witnessing the birth of a new star: Brendan ‘Muggs’ Mullin. The latter has joined the Repchatter crew as my co-host. (Note: I’d had enough of the cavalier attitude of Ted ‘Ludacris’ Birkhahn and summarily gave him the boot.) So, download the file onto your iPod (or whatever) and listen to Muggs wax poetic with Dr. Dawn Lerman, Marketing Area Chair and Associate Professor of Marketing Graduate School of Business Administration Fordham University. Is an anchor role at the CBS Evening News in Mullin’s future? Stay tuned.

 

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Will the Tea Party only last as long as, say, your average tea party?

We recently hosted a second Repchatter podcast with Andy Sullivan, one of the founding members of the white hot political movement known as the Tea Party. Andy’s also founded bluecollarcorner.com and 911 Hard Hat Pledge.

As you’ll hear, Ted ‘Ludacris’ Birkhahn and I pulled no punches in asking Andy about the Tea Party’s agenda. We addressed the subject of religious freedom in the Ground Zero mosque controversy as well as the questionable credentials of some of the Tea Party candidates running for office.

Andy handled everything in his typically graceful style. Love or hate the Tea Party movement, they’ve earned the right to be front and center (as opposed to far right) in any and all conversations about our country’s future course. That said, your guess is as good as mine as to whether they’ll grow stronger or simply fade away just like every other Third Party movement.

Click on the gray bar below, to listen:

 

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From colostomy bags to Sarah Palin

RepChatter co-host Ted 'Ludacris' Birkhahn and I recently played host to Andy Sullivan, creator of bluecollarcorner.com and one of the founders of Tea Party 365.

Andy proved to be a worthy foil to Ted's far left wing, pro big government sentiments as he made a solid, if somewhat disjointed, plea for a return to the way we were. As you'll hear, Andy waxes poetic on everything from the peace-loving nature of Tea Party members to a prediction that Sarah Palin will fool everyone and waltz into the Oval Office in 2012. I'm not sure what inspired him to insert walkers and colostomy bags in the discussion, but the bluecollarguy promised a no holds barred chat and certainly delivered.

I hope you enjoy the podcast. Do me a favor and post your thoughts and/or follow-up questions for Andy. Andy, in turn, has promised to forward the link to the Tea Party universe, so this could get very interesting. One final note: Andy has agreed to do another RepChatter podcast on the eve of the 2010 midterm elections. We'd like to match him with a more knowledgeable and strident liberal spokesperson than Ted and would welcome your thoughts.

Smarter than a 7th Grader?

Guest Post by Maggie O'Neill

With the Consumer Electronics Show just behind us and the launch of the iPad fresh on our minds, many companies have put their reputation on the line for the newest technology product – whether a reality or just good old vaporware.  Hours and dollars were surely invested in consumer research to see what should be next and what will people flock to buy. But are we talking to the right people? 

The below article, which ran in a Long island school paper, The Green and Gold Gazette, was written by 7th grader Jack DeFuria prior to CES and last month’s iPad launch.  Bypassing all employment laws and assuming Jack can get someone to buy him the iPad, is this generation the voices marketers need to hear.

2010: The Year in the eyes of a Techie
by Jack DeFuria

2010 has been said to be the year of many things: a better economy, progress with American’s healthcare, possible peace between fighting nations, but my favorite a year for awesome tech. But in what ways will tech be changing in 2010? Let see:

1. Living in the cloud- 2010 is said to be the year in which more and more Americans move into the cloud. By the tech term “cloud”, I am referring to where web services save user data (photos, documents, videos, photos, music, etc.) virtually, online in a server. Many people are already using Cloud services through applications like Google Docs, a web-based word processor, lala.com, your online music library, Scripped, Google Docs for screenwriters. Apple, the maker of the Mac computer line and the forever-popular iPod, has recently acquired lala.com and is currently planning on releasing a version of web-based iTunes software.

2. Advanced Gaming - The “Wii” has been a large player in the video game market for the last few years because of its amazing wand-like-remote that made game players feel as though they were actually in the game. But in 2010, Microsoft, the maker of the “XBox” video game consoles and Sony, the maker of the “PlayStation” video game consoles, are prepared to fight back. Microsoft is currently preparing to release “Project Natal”, a motion-controlled camera that allows the game player to play the game as though they are in it without any remote control. It is also said that Sony will be releasing a new remote-control, similar to the Wii remote.

3. The new iPhone, that isn’t an iPhone- The iPhone has swept up the mobile market because of its genuine looks and feels as well as for its vast “App Store” which contains over 85,000 apps, as of September 2009. But, there have been some competitors, like the Blackberry Storm, the G1 and the Droid, but no one has came close to iPhone-like stardom. Apple has remained at the top of the top since its launch, but there looks like a close competitor in the future: the first ever Google phone. Although Google has provided the operating system for the G1, myTouch 3G and the Droid as well as partnered with the companies who bring these to the market, Google has never truthfully had their own phone. In the upcoming weeks, Google is said to announce their new device. Sources say that Google is in the process of “dogfood-ing” the product. “Dogfood-ing” is a term used when a company is letting their employees use a product, for usability testing, prior to its release.

4. Time for tablets- Tablet computing is a very popular idea around the tech community. Many companies have been racing to create the first and so far only one has an actual finished product. Fusion Garage, a computer company from Singapore, has created the first ever tablet computer, the JooJoo, which is expected to start shipping in 8 to 10 weeks. Tablet computers is basically a computer, with limited features and particularly based around the internet. Think of these tablets as a larger iPhone

These upcoming products seem to be great. Each of the products, in my opinion, will change the world of technology. Each of them are sure to be game-changing products. They are all set to be released some time in 2010, so look out for them in the near future.

Check back next week to hear our RepChatter podcast featuring Jack DeFuria. . .

RepChatter #65

Most organizations would kill for a loyal customer base. Yet, many customers aren't worth having. Listen to Steve and Ted's conversation with Professor Lerzan Aksoy of Fordham Business School to find out why.

Download RepChatter - #65

Sorry, dawg, but you just don't have what it takes

We're holding 'American Idol' type auditions for the new voiceover introduction of our Repchatter podcast. How cool is that? To select just the right voice, we've asked interested employees to 'perform' in front of four judges.

They'll read a prepared script (or, one of their own choosing if they prefer) and we'll evaluate them on originality, performance and, naturally, their voice. Oh, and the winner will receive a $100 gift certificate.

I never could have done this at my previous workplaces. They simply wouldn't have permitted it. Nor could I see it being done at many workplaces I've come into contact with recently. Most take themselves way, way too seriously. Peppercom, on the other hand, has always espoused a 'work hard, play hard' ethic and the auditions are a pure play hard example.

So, the next time our vast listening audience of four downloads Repchatter, they'll hear a brand, new intro delivered by an employee who just pocketed a cool $100 for muttering a few sentences. It's good work if you can get it. And, it's good to be in an environment where this stuff happens.

RepChatter show #42 posted

 

Michael Vick, Barry Bonds, and a corrupt NBA referee. What is the world of professional sports coming to? In the most recent RepChatter podcast Steve and Ted discuss how the actions of today’s athletes are diminishing the integrity of professional sports.

MakTalk / Repchatter Pt. 2 posted

Back in June, Ken Makovsky and I did a podcast on the subject of business blogging. For our second  show in this series, we decided to get the perspective of someone who heads up a successful corporate blogging initiative. So, we looked no further than GM, which publishes several very well-known and respected blogs. Bill Betts, GM's Communications Web Services Manager, spoke with us recently about the role of blogging at GM and what the corporate communications team is doing to make it a success. Listen to it here.