If you’re in PR and you don’t already know Shel Holtz, shame on you! I remember when I was coming up through the ranks at Fleishman-Hillard, Shel and Ann Wylie were the two people whose names you always heard and were counted lucky if you met either of them.
Well, now I have. And you should too!
Shel grew up in LA, now lives in the Bay Area, and travels about half of the year speaking and conducting workshops on employee communication, internal use of social media, and the digital world, in general.
He started using the web in the early 90s at his corporate job, which makes him a true expert, but he’s one that never holds that over your head.
A very interesting background (he’s worked with Joe Jaffe and he’s served on the national IABC board), Shel was one of the very first podcasters, starting “For Immediate Release” with Neville Hobson in January of 2005.
He blogs at “A shel of my former self” and is the author of six books.
Dead. Serious. Six books.
- The Intranet Advantage
- Public Relations on the Net
- How to Do Everything with Podcasting
- Tactical Transparency
- Blogging for Business
- Corporate Conversations
The father of two, Shel has been married for 36 years and his personality makes that believable. He’s a very kind man who is extremely intelligent and knows how to speak with people at all expertise levels.
A true staple in the communication world, make sure you pay attention to what Shel is doing. Follow him on Twitter, subscribe to and read his blog, subscribe to and listen to his podcast, see him speak if he comes to your city, and buy one or two (or six) of his books.
And, if you have the chance to spend any one-on-one time with him, grab it! YWRI.