In this episode of PRobecast, Justin Martell and Caitlin Smith join me in talking about the non-technology friendly Waldorf schools, emoticons and if they are appropriate and the man whose smartphone fits into his prosthetic arm.

Waldorf Schools and How They Teach – While many schools are getting budgets for more and more technology, one school is doing the opposite. The Waldorf schools – which have 160 across the country – teach with physical activity and learning though hands on tasks. What might be even more surprising is that many of the students’ parents’ work in big Silicon Valley tech companies. Are they hindering their children’s education?

Are Emoticons OK in normal conversations? – An article in the NY Times discusses the use of emoticons. Many of those interviewed admit to using them, even in conversations with colleagues, while others are appalled by people who use them. With more and more communication being from emails and text messages, are emoticons appropriate?

A Smartphone Dock in a Prosthetic Arm – A man who was born without his left arm has found a way to still easily and safely use his smartphone. Trevor Prideaux from Somerset, England asked experts to build a prosthetic arm that he could attach his Nokia smartphone into. This is a genius idea in my opinion and I think more companies and people working to help anyone disabled should start thinking about how technology can be incorporated into the designs of their products.

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week the story about the man with the prosthetic arm wins. Not only is his smartphone dock a cool use of technology, it is paving the way that technology can enable those with physical disabilities.

Who do you think should have won?

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I just spotted a story that reports that the majority of small businesses surveyed by Pitney Bowes earlier this year believe that multichannel marketing — including a combination of digital and physical communications — was the ideal marketing mix. The news release on the survey is a few months old, but I’m sure the findings are even more true today. But more important, this got me thinking about the multichannel approach to public relations we at Topaz recommend. There are still those out there who associate public relations solely with news releases and media relations, but we realized long ago that there’s much more that should be part of an effective public relations program. We touched on these areas in the “Circle of Influence” that was the focus of Topaz blog posts and our e-newsletter a few months ago. These public relations channels include crafting, publishing and placing integrated blog posts, articles and other content (what we call “Content Continuity”); creating Twitter initiatives and other forms of “Social Exchange”; and using online video, podcast and other types of “Digital Dialogue”. Even traditional PR tactics like releases and media relations take on a broader focus, as we look beyond new product announcements and create “Thought Leadership” news releases around company data, industry trends and expert perspective on market issues and competitive developments. In media relations, we’ve moved beyond announcement-driven and “ed-opp” follow-up and seek more issues-based opportunities that we call “Trendjacking.” In these and other ways, we’re witnessing a true multichannel approach to PR, and I have a feeling that our clients — like the businesses surveyed for this report — see the value in this strategy.

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On October 12, 2011, Dennis Ritchie was found dead in his home in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. Very few people have heard of him, but nearly everyone involved in the computer industry is aware of his accomplishments. Ritchie is best known for writing the original C Programming Language, and having worked with long-time friend and colleague Ken Thompson to create the UNIX OS.

For his accomplishments, Ritchie was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1988, and won 3 awards in his career: the Turing Award in 1983, the Richard W. Hamming Medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the National Medal of Technology in 1998, given by then-President Clinton. He shared all three awards with Thompson. Earlier this year, the Japanese government also awarded him a medal. All accolades were for creating the C Programming language, and developing UNIX.

Ritchie worked for Bell Laboratories, a division of AT&T, for over 40 years. It was during this time he and his colleagues created the original C programming Language, which is the basis of all modern OS. Imagine a world with no computer applications, an antiquated OS, and slower hard drives! Without UNIX, the ability to even make a good OS would not have been possible, or would have not occurred for many more years. Windows and Mac would not have been possible because the basis for their OS would not have been invented at the time.

I recall seeing a commercial for a tech company many years ago during the NFL playoffs that showed an inventor walking down the street, nearby a football player who was signing autographs, and the narrator said “when he walks down the street, no one recognizes him, and no one asks for his autograph, yet he is happy, because he alone knows what he has done.” Although people may not have asked for Ritchie’s autograph, or even been aware that he ever existed, his contributions to computer science impact us all. And for that, he deserves to be honored.

In his own words:
“I did it (create C programming language) as a backlash against the bad operating systems of the day,” said Thompson, 67. “We were just trying to get something better to get our own work done.”

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