If you are still feeling your way around the new media, trying to determine how much is hype and how much will have a significant impact on the way you do your job, then I would recommend that you listen to this podcast. Cameron Reilly, the founder of The Podcast Network, interviews Paull Young, an Aussie blogger, podcaster and PR professional.

During the course of a long (and OK, at times, rambling) conversation, both Paull and Cameron make a number of very astute observations about the impact of podcasting and blogging on public affairs. What they have to say about the changing nature of corporate communications, and the different approaches required to adapt to these changes, is just as applicable to the public sector as it is to the private.

In fact, given the incredible proliferation of these media, and the increasing amount of traffic in the channels, I think that you can only ignore (at the least) monitoring them at your peril. The immediacy and rapidity with which an issue can arise and achieve a critical mass of comment and profile within the blogosphere – and as Paull points out, once it is out there it is with your Google rank forever – means that if you adopt a traditional approach and wait for it to hit the MSM, then it is too late: the damage has been done and, at least in terms of Google, it is pretty much irrevocable.

So, for those of us toiling away in the public sector, it is not so much a case of rush out and start a blog, or convince your chief executive that she needs a podcast, rather I think that it is critical that we first a) understand these media, and b) monitor them and -where necessary- participate in the conversation. Once you have cleared it with Legal, of course…

Podcasting?

For information on podcasting, start with Podcast Expert. If you just want to figure out how to play the link to the podcast above, the info halfway down this page should see you right.