public

In the midst of PageOne Public Relations' Chantal Yang's juicy juxtaposition of JBoss and its public relations (non)strategy, I found this comment hugely important:

JBoss always put the community first. Under the open source mantra of "release early, release often," JBoss developers didn't wait for sign off from PR to release code, announce it on community mailing lists, and blog about it. This was initially a major headache for PR...

The PR team initially tried to control this, but communities don't work this way. Traditional PR often focuses on controlling the flow of information … Read more

After a few years of running a conference and blogging, it always surprises me how limp public relations is for most companies.

Good PR is the lifeblood of companies, particularly in an economy in which IT spending has lulled, yet most companies underinvest in PR. And most others do it poorly.

The cardinal rule of good PR is to bring real value to the conference or publication you're soliciting--not to primarily seek value for yourself. I get pitched infomercials all day, every day, from PR "professionals" that clearly haven't taken the time to read a thing … Read more

Ten years after the creation of Salesforce.com, the future of cloud computing is not in doubt; it is just being heavily debated. Two opposing views of how cloud computing will play out--especially enterprise cloud computing--are making the rounds among thought leaders and customer decision makers alike. Interestingly, there is enough to question about both approaches that a third option may, in fact, gain importance.

What all sides agree on, however, is that some form of cloud computing is coming your way. As always, the devil is in the details.

Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com's "pull no punches" … Read more

It's fascinating to see governments around the world embrace open source as a way to boost local economies and improve sovereignty. It's even better when the policy process itself is laid bare, allowing outsiders to see the partisan meddling that goes into a publicly articulated policy.

The European Commission is in the midst of preparing a report entitled "Toward a European Software Strategy," (PDF) with a draft released on Tuesday to Wikileaks. The draft is fascinating for all that it says about how open-source software affects the European software industry, but it's equally intriguing for … Read more

Apple's Safari was already the most used Web browser on the Mac, but other browsers like Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Camino have been quickly gaining on (and in some cases surpassing) the browser that comes preloaded on all Macs. The new version comes packed with interface enhancements and new features to once again set the bar a little higher for the competition. But is it enough?

Check out this First Look video to find out more about the new features in Safari 4 Public Beta.

Public Radio Tuner is a free app that gives you fast, live access to high-quality radio programming on hundreds of public radio stations, in your area or from anywhere in the country--even over slower EDGE connections. This excellent, easy-to-use app has added many refinements since its introduction, and you can now browse by state, search for call letters or other descriptors, find local stations using your device's GPS location, and easily create a list of favorites.

Public Radio Tuner isn't a general purpose radio tuner, though--it can only help you listen to public radio stations, primarily with NPR … Read more

I've now crossed into my eighth page of apps on the iPhone. Frankly, the time is quickly approaching when I'm going to have to delete good apps from my iPhone just so I can download more. To make matters worse, the apps keep on coming at the iTunes Store, as more developers figure out ways to utilize this unique platform--and they keep getting better! I haven't deleted an app that I've paid for yet, but I believe that the time might be coming when money spent will not be enough of a reason to keep an … Read more

Facebook has had another awkward coming-of-age moment.

Late on Tuesday night, the massive social network reversed a change to its terms of service (TOS) that had meant that its license on user content--a longstanding but little-publicized claim to an "irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license" for promotional efforts--would no longer expire if a member deleted his or her Facebook account.

Over the weekend a popular consumer advocacy blog, The Consumerist, declared the change a cause for alarm. Buzz started to spread: could Facebook make your personal photos public? Or could it hand over that drunken karaoke … Read more

Several young companies anticipate initial public offerings this week, but there's not a single high-tech outfit among them.

There's one green-tech company however. Changing World Technologies, a company that converts waste into oil, is one of four IPOs poised to hit Wall Street this week. Changing World is scheduled to price its IPO as early as Wednesday and could raise as much as $42 million, if it prices on the high end of its $11 to $15 per share range.

Nonetheless, while the four Wall Street prospects offer some excitement to their investors, there's little reason to … Read more