The great thing about blogging is that your posts can have unexpected consequences. Recently, a piece I wrote on focus groups and usability testing got me an invite as a guest on a radio show.

Some of you may recall reading my piece on the problems of using focus groups for user testing in a recent edition of our newsletter (The trouble with focus groups). Well, that article got picked up for publication in the August edition of the Irish Marketing Institute’s Ezine. That in turn was read by Alex Gibson, who is the host of The Persuaders, a radio show for marketing professionals broadcast on Anna Livia FM, and he was kind enough to invite me on to the show to discuss the article.

It was a really interesting experience, although a little nerve wracking. I got a chance to rant on some of my favourite soap-box topics, including the problems of focus groups, usability testing, the Google Search Appliance and I even got to plug the iQ Boot Camp ’06 conference. As I said, Alex’s show is aimed at marketing professionals, although he covers a wide range of topics including Internet marketing and search engine marketing. The show goes out on Fridays at 1.00 pm, just in time for lunch, and is available in the Dublin area on 103.2 FM.

Those of you unfortunate enough to miss my Radio debut should check out The Persuaders podcast. Alex posts the show as a Podcast, often with extra material, every week after the show is broadcast. You can hear me on Number 18: Internet Marketing – SEM and Web Usability. You can subscribe to the Podcast on Alex’s website, or you can find the show in the Podcasts section of the iTunes music store if you search for “The Persuaders”.

Incidentally, The Persuaders podcast is a great case study in how the web can help anyone reach a global audience with just a little effort, a blog and some high-quality content. Alex tells me that in the space of 18 episodes he has reached thousands of subscribers worldwide and is signing them up at the rate of 50 or 60 each day through iTunes. I just hope my appearance on his show doesn’t put a dent in his listening figures.