Scott Monty

This Week in Digital - December 19, 2014

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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1zhPhpMI3Aw/VJRxEHi-S_I/AAAAAAAAZv4/KUuaQPc4SBQ/s1600/7429030628_f12332be90_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1zhPhpMI3Aw/VJRxEHi-S_I/AAAAAAAAZv4/KUuaQPc4SBQ/s1600/7429030628_f12332be90_k.jpg" height="320" width="640" /></a></div>
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The unending Sony saga, Time goes all-in with digital, Spanish publishers get exactly what they bargained for, marketing skills, companies and trends to watch in 2015, Instagram makes some changes, the future of Secret and Medium, Serial is over, how to get data to make your PR program better, a growing and pervasive lack of trust in the media and more, it's This Week in Digital.  <br />
<br />
A roundup of relevant links affecting our industry.  <br />
<br />
Each week, I compose a newsletter that includes a series of links about current events and trends in the worlds of technology, business, digital communications and marketing in order to keep leaders up to date on changes, newsworthy items and content that might be useful in your job. And now you have the option of <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f?sub=968961">subscribing just to this newsletter</a> if you wish. <br />
<br />
If you’re on Flipboard, you can get these links by subscribing to the <a href="http://flip.it/IfN4O">This Week in Digital Magazine</a>.  <br />
<br />
[<i><b>Note</b>: this is the last issue for 2014; while you wait for the return in 2015, we'll still be bookmarking in Flipboard</i>.]<br />
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<br />
<h4>
<b>Industry</b></h4>
<ul>
<li>As you've undoubtedly seen, the Sony Entertainment soap opera rolls on. From damaging emails to financial data and even personal information that was part of the data breach, the film giant's secrets and intellectual property has been laid bare. It hired a high-priced lawyer to order a cease and desist, and then the final nail in the coffin came when the hackers made a reference to September 11, causing Sony to cancel the film's release entirely.</li>
<ul>
<li>Some are calling <a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/reaction-to-the-sony-hack-is-beyond-the-realm-of-stupid">the reaction to the hack overblown</a>, citing that this was a cyber attack - not war, not terrorism, but a breach of data (albeit on a massive scale). (Motherboard)</li>
<li>George Clooney, in a staunchly worded letter and an even more remarkable interview <a href="http://deadline.com/2014/12/george-clooney-sony-hollywood-cowardice-north-korea-cyberattack-petition-1201329988/">called for his peers to support Sony to not further cave into the hackers' demands</a> - a request that was completely ignored by the rest of his peers in Hollywood. (Deadline Hollywood)</li>
</ul>
<li>Time Inc.'s chief content officer is meeting the challenges of the digital age <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/time-incs-norman-pearlstine-an-old-media-lion-drives-magazines-into-the-digital-age/2014/12/13/149d1aae-8227-11e4-81fd-8c4814dfa9d7_story.html">with an ultimatum to reporters</a>; Norm Pearlstine says that he has "the right to choose to keep the reporter that is generating a lot of traffic," and presumably to fire those who don't. (Washington Post)</li>
<li>Let's hope Time doesn't pursue Google the way European publishers did. After objecting to Google News providing headlines and snippets of content, a Spanish court ruled that Google could no longer do so; as of Monday, the search giant removed all Spanish publishers from its Google News index. The result: <a href="https://gigaom.com/2014/12/16/traffic-to-spanish-news-publishers-plummets-after-google-move/">traffic to Spanish news sites plummeted</a>. You can't say they didn't see this coming. (GigaOm)</li>
<li>Here are <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ilyapozin/2014/12/17/15-social-media-companies-to-watch-in-2015/">15 social media companies to watch in 2015</a>. (Forbes)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.holmesreport.com/long-reads/article/5-global-pr-trends-to-watch-in-2015">Five global PR trends to watch in 2015</a> include focusing on micro-networks and seeing more east-meets-west scenarios. (The Holmes Report)</li>
<li>And as we round out the year, Google sums up <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/year-in-search-2014.html?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRolvKnAZKXonjHpfsX%2B4u4vUa%2Bg38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YEHS8B0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEMSrTYX7Z4t6MIXA%3D%3D#utm_source=2014-dec-think-letter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20141218-think-letter-1B&utm_content=article-2-img" target="_blank">what we searched for in 2014</a>. </li>
</ul>
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<b>Platforms</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Facebook</b></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/16/enhance-enhance-enhance/">Facebook knows photos better than you</a>. At least that's what their photo auto-enhancing algorithm seems to indicate. (TechCrunch)</li>
<li>As part of the document leak related to Sony, <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/snapchat-ceo-devastated-by-email-leak-in-sony-hack/#ftag=CADf328eec">Facebook's offer to buy Snapchat was confirmed to have been for about $3 billion</a>.  (CNET)</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Twitter</b></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/twitter-debates-whether-hit-autoplay-videos-compete-facebook-161933">Twitter is considering adding auto-play to its videos</a>. Based on the expected consumer reaction, they haven't yet pulled the trigger on that. (Adweek)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.my/twitter-and-foursquare-partnership-in-2015-2014-12/#ixzz3M6FP1ebx">Foursquare is teaming up with Twitter</a> to provide better location-based details in tweets. (Business Insider)</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Instagram</b></li>
<ul>
<li>A major update to Instagram included <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/12/16/instagram-update-5-new-filters/">five new filters and the ability to hide filters you don't use</a>. (Mashable)</li>
<li>Instagram issued a warning (and followed through) that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chaos-ensues-as-instagram-deletes-millions-of-accounts-2014-12">it would begin deleting spam accounts this week</a>. More sensitive users were quite upset that they would be losing followers - even if those followers were bots and spam accounts. Ah, the logic of the passionate. (Business Insider)</li>
</ul>
<li>Anonymish app Secret, which flew to the top of the charts in March with its ability to post commentaries anonymously, has seen a decline in usage. Now <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/18/7413417/secret-is-re-launching-as-a-faster-anonymous-social-network-with-chat">Secret is set to relaunch as a social network with chat capabilities</a>. (The Verge)</li>
<li>With over 17 million users, Medium is anything but rare; <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/12/19/evan-williams-medium-co-founder-twitter-instagram/20320963/">Ev Williams discusses his plans to make Medium more well done</a> as it has content with deeper meaning that adds to the conversation in more of a monologue form. (USA Today)</li>
</ul>
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<br />
<b>Collaborative Economy</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Uber</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Not content with storm surge pricing last week, Uber decided that the Sydney hostage crisis made a great opportunity to charge surge prices to downtown customers. While some blamed the algorithm, it was clear that <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/12/14/uber-sydney-surge-pricing/">the promotions team knew exactly what it was doing</a>. (Mashable)</li>
<li>Following news of a rape by an Uber driver in New Delhi last week, we now have a report of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/17/alejandro-done-boston-uber-driver-rapes-passenger_n_6344432.html">an Uber driver in Boston raping a passenger in the back seat</a>. (Huffington Post)</li>
<li>Uber has a head of global safety. Phil Cardenas joined recently after having implemented a safety program at Airbnb. He penned <a href="http://blog.uber.com/safety">a blog post outlining Uber's safety roadmap for 2015</a> which includes: better technology, new screening methodologies for background checks, a 24/7 customer service and support system, and advisory and training partnerships.</li>
<li>There are at least three major car-hailing apps available in China. Last week, Uber and Baidu announced a partnership. Here's <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3040097/app-economy/why-uber-needs-baidu">why Uber needs Baidu</a>. (Fast Company)</li>
</ul>
<li>Could the continued rise of car-sharing apps begin to <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/rise-car-sharing-apps-poses-threat-auto-sector-152349635--finance.html">dent auto companies' revenues</a>? (Reuters)</li>
<li>While the consumer-facing sharing economy companies continue to get a good deal of press, there are <a href="http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00281">peer-to-peer enterprise exchanges that are sprouting up in the B2B space</a>. (strategy+business)</li>
</ul>
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<br />
<h4>
<b>Audio</b></h4>
<ul>
<li>Some of <a href="http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/17795.aspx">the best podcasts for communicator</a>s include For Immediate Release, Six Pixels of Separation and The Friday Five, among others. (PR Daily)</li>
<li>Serial is just he beginning. <a href="http://fortune.com/2014/12/18/serial-is-small-podcastone-is-building-a-podcasting-empire/" target="_blank">PodcastOne is building an entire podcast network</a>. (Forbes)</li>
<li>But the Serial podcast was popular enough <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6ab2d45a77/the-last-episode-of-serial/">to earn a parody</a>. (Funny or Die)</li>
</ul>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="375" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://www.funnyordie.com/embed/6ab2d45a77" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="600"></iframe><div style="font-size: x-small; margin-top: 0; text-align: left; width: 600px;">
<a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6ab2d45a77/the-last-episode-of-serial" title="from Funny Or Die, Michaela Watkins, lauren, Kevin Berntson, Travis Helwig, Nicol  Paone, Sean Dacanay, Alex Richanbach, Jason Carden, Matt Sweeney, BoTown Sound, and Chris Poole">The Final Episode Of Serial</a> from <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/funnyordie">Funny Or Die</a>      <iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?app_id=138711277798&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.funnyordie.com%2Fvideos%2F6ab2d45a77%2Fthe-last-episode-of-serial&send=false&layout=button_count&width=150&show_faces=false&action=like&height=21" style="border: none; height: 21px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: middle; width: 90px;"></iframe></div>
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</b> <br />
<h4>
<b>Metrics / Measurement / Big Data</b></h4>
<ul>
<li>Want better PR results? <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/12/share-data-better-pr-program/">Get your marketing department to share its data with the communications department</a>. (SHIFT Communications)</li>
<li>Related: if you want to position yourself (and your career) for success, take a look at <a href="http://www.christopherspenn.com/2014/12/the-hottest-marketing-job-skills-of-2015/">the hottest marketing job skills of 2015</a>. (Awaken Your Superhero)</li>
</ul>
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<br />
<h4>
<b>Legal / HR</b></h4>
<ul>
<li>Sony's woes continued, with more data being released on its executives, their productions and some of their stars. Sony's reaction: <a href="http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/12/in-damage-control-sony-targets-reporters/">hire a high-priced lawyer to demand media companies to take down the information</a> and to "arrange for and supervise the destruction of all copies" (Krebs on Security)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>Content</b></h4>
<ul>
<li>As you might imagine, some of the most powerful ideas are conveyed through TED Talks. Enjoy the best of the best in <a href="http://yearinideas.ted.com/2014/">The Year in Ideas: TED Talks in 2014</a>. (TED)</li>
</ul>
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<h4>
<b>When You Have Time: Essential Reading / Listening / Watching</b> </h4>
There seems to be some trust issues in the media of late. Issues that cause us to question the integrity  of some journalists and publications. It seems to be some combination of laziness (perhaps beholden to tight timing?) and lack of ethics. Here are some of the more recent cases:<br />
<ul>
<li>Rolling Stone published the earth-shattering "A Rape on Campus," detailing the sexual assault of a female student at the hands of some fraternity brothers. The magazine published "<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/a-note-to-our-readers-20141205">A Note to our Readers</a>" (never a good sign) in which the editors admitted that they couldn't verify the sources. (Rolling Stone) </li>
<li>Actress/activist (actrivist?) Lena Dunham wrote a book that described a forced sexual situation with a college associate named "Barry," <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/12/08/lena-dunhams-publisher-says-her-alleged-rapist-barry-wasnt-actually-named-barry/">who turned out to be unidentifiable</a>. Other details of her story didn't line up either, making some question her tale overall. (Washington Post) </li>
<li>The publishers at Penguin claimed that a new book by vlogging star Zoella was debuting with better results than JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book. After extensive publicity about Zoella's first book, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2863959/Vlogging-star-Zoella-accused-using-ghostwriter-record-breaking-debut-sold-78-000-publishers-admit-did-not-write-book-own.html?ito=social-facebook">the publisher was forced to admit that the singer "did not write the book on her own</a>." (Daily Mail) </li>
<li>Earlier this week, a high school student said that he earned over $72 million by making investments through his investment club. <a href="http://observer.com/2014/12/exclusive-new-york-mags-boy-genius-investor-made-it-all-up/">He later came clean, admitting that he made it all up</a>. (New York Observer) </li>
</ul>
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This Week in Digital - December 19, 2014

The unending Sony saga, Time goes all-in with digital, Spanish publishers get exactly what they bargained for, marketing skills, companie...

This Week in Digital - December 12, 2014

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<br />
Uber's no-good, horrible, very bad week, more 2015 predictions than you can shake a stick at, putting the 'no' in innovation, updates to Facebook's search tool, Instagram surpasses Twitter but Twitter doesn't care, the biggest media company of the future, the data behind binge listening to podcasts, understanding the quality of your audience, the FTC cracks down on agency social media activity, the evolution of the collaborative economy and more, it's <b><i>This Week in Digital</i></b>.  <br />
<br />
A roundup of relevant links affecting our industry.  <br />
<br />
Each week, I compose a newsletter that includes a series of links about current events and trends in the worlds of technology, business, digital communications and marketing in order to keep leaders up to date on changes, newsworthy items and content that might be useful in your job. And now you have the option of <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f?sub=968961">subscribing just to this newsletter</a> if you wish. <br />
<br />
If you’re on Flipboard, you can get these links by subscribing to the <a href="http://flip.it/IfN4O">This Week in Digital Magazine</a>.  <br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>Industry</b> </h4>
<ul>
<li>It's nearly 2015, and that means the usual trope of predictive posts are already out there. But this one is unlike the others. Shel Holtz takes a look at <a href="http://cw.iabc.com/2014/12/01/tech-talk-15-predictions-2015/" target="_blank">15 of the essential things communicators and marketers should focus on in 2015</a>. (IABC's Communication World Magazine) </li>
<li>And for a look at mobile, Aaron Strout rounded up a number of heavy-hitters to determine <a href="http://marketingland.com/2015-mobilelocation-based-predictions-10-experts-109650" target="_blank">mobile/location-based predictions for 2015</a>. (Marketing Land) </li>
<li>As long as you're thinking about the end of the year, consider these <a href="http://www.christopherspenn.com/2014/12/5-email-marketing-year-end-tasks/">five email marketing year end tasks</a> to keep your list on the high functioning end. (Awaken Your Superhero) </li>
<li>The <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141208023131-455189-meet-the-sherlock-holmes-of-digital-marketing" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes of digital marketing</a> believes in being consumer obsessed, not killing the butterfly and connecting the dots, among other things. (LinkedIn Pulse) </li>
<li>Related: don't <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jm4mD1Pzmg">put the 'no' in innovation</a>. (YouTube)  </li>
</ul>
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<h4>
<b>Platforms </b></h4>
<ul>
<li><b>Facebook </b></li>
<ul>
<li>You can finally search for more than just friends or pages on Facebook - <a href="http://searchengineland.com/facebook-search-finally-lets-search-posts-210308" target="_blank">now you can search for posts</a>. (Search Engine Land) </li>
<li>Facebook is promising a number of new features and <a href="http://media.fb.com/2014/12/10/new-tools-and-insights-for-publishers-2/">improvements to its publisher tool</a>, including improved Insights, Interest Tagging and Post End Date that will allow publishers to have time-sensitive material phase out. (Facebook Media) </li>
</ul>
<li><b>Twitter </b></li>
<ul>
<li>Hachette is experimenting with Twitter, <a href="http://searchengineland.com/facebook-search-finally-lets-search-posts-210308" target="_blank">allowing authors to sell books from directly within tweets</a>, keeping users on the site the entire time. (New York Times) </li>
</ul>
<li><b>Instagram</b> </li>
<ul>
<li>The photo-sharing app announced that it will now offer verified accounts <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/10/not-a-fad/" target="_blank">and has surpassed 300 million users</a>, making it larger than Twitter. (TechCrunch) </li>
<li>Twitter's Ev Williams <a href="http://fortune.com/2014/12/11/twitter-evan-williams-instagram/">isn't fazed</a>. (Fortune) </li>
<li>For a little fun, check out <a href="http://www.dailydot.com/technology/instagram-instabattle-web-app/?fb=dd" target="_blank">Instabattle</a>, that site that pits Intagram accounts against each other. (Daily Dot) </li>
</ul>
<li>In an effort to keep top talent from posting on other video channels, <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/youtube-offering-its-stars-bonuses-1417994309" target="_blank">YouTube is offering incentives and bonus</a> to some of its top stars. (WSJ - subscription required) </li>
<li>And it's probably worth their while to stick around. Jeffrey Katzenberg predicts that "Within five years, <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/15/hollywood-vine" target="_blank">YouTube will be the biggest media platform of any</a>, by far, in the entire world."   (The New Yorker) </li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>Collaborative Economy </b></h4>
<ul>
<li><b>Uber </b></li>
<ul>
<li>Uber has had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. The transportation disruptor was under scrutiny as one of its drivers in India was <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/07/us-india-rape-uber-arrest-idUSKBN0JL0IK20141207" target="_blank">arrested for allegedly raping a passenger</a> (Reuters), which resulted in <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2014/12/08/uber-banned-from-operating-in-new-delhi/" target="_blank">officials banning Uber in Dehli</a>. (WSJ India RealTime) </li>
<li>On top of that, Uber has been <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/08/uber-holland-uberpop/" target="_blank">banned in The Netherlands</a>, Spain and Thailand (TechCrunch) and has <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2014/12/defiant_uber_rideshare_launche.html">launched in Portland, OR without regulatory approval</a> from the city. (Oregon Live) </li>
<li>And Uber is being sued in its home state as Los Angeles and San Francisco <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/10/ubers-bad-week-california-prosecutors-lawsuit-unlawful-practices" target="_blank">for unlawful practices</a>. (The Guardian) </li>
<li>Speaking of San Francisco, the storm that hit the city <a href="http://sfist.com/2014/12/11/despite_promise_not_to_price_gouge.php" target="_blank">resulted in some significant surge pricing</a>, despite Uber's pledge to refrain from inflating prices due to "abnormal disruptions in the market" that came out of a New York lawsuit. (SFist) </li>
<li>An enterprising individual even created a site that tracks price surges during weather: <a href="http://uberstormsurge.com/" target="_blank">UberStormSurge.com</a>. </li>
<li>Proof that Uber is moving into the logistics business: they've just launched <a href="http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-uber-launches-food-delivery-service-uberfresh-20141208-story.html">UberFresh, a $3 food delivery service in the Los Angeles area</a>. (Los Angeles Times) </li>
<li>China's <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/12/baiduber/" target="_blank">Baidu is investing some $600 million</a> in a partnership with Uber. (TechCrunch)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Home grocery service <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/05/instacart-2b-kleiner/" target="_blank">Instacart has raised $100M on a $2B valuation</a>. (TechCrunch) </li>
<li>If Instacart reminds you of WebVan (for those of you around in the late 1990s and early 2000s), it should. The problem with all of the web-based services back then: <a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/12/da-bom/" target="_blank">we weren't ready for them</a>. (Wired) </li>
<li>We're seeing a shifting of power now that is transforming business. While it's not a utopian dream, neither is it the end of business as we know it. It's important to understand <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/12/understanding-new-power" target="_blank">the New Power</a>. (Harvard Business Review) </li>
</ul>
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<h4>
<b>Audio </b></h4>
<ul>
<li>What are <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3038746/the-8-best-podcasts-for-business-savvy-listeners" target="_blank">the best podcasts for business-savvy listeners</a>? They include HBR's Ideacast, Marketing Smarts, the $100 MBA and Duct Tape Marketing, among others.  (Fast Company) </li>
<li>In a recent issue, we mentioned Serial being the House of Cards for podcasting; <a href="https://medium.com/@Stitcher/binge-listening-is-the-new-black-d9fff5cca915" target="_blank">this report from Stitcher looks at the data behind binge listening</a> with tips on frequency, length and more. (Medium) </li>
<li><a href="http://mashable.com/2014/12/11/best-buy-serial-tweet/" target="_blank">Best Buy found itself in hot water this week</a>. One of its stores plays a crucial role in Serial, and the company tweeted, "We have something you need. Unless it's a payphone. #Serial" Critics were outraged and the company pulled the tweet. (Mashable) </li>
<ul>
<li>There was no such backlash for Sesame Street, however.  </li>
</ul>
</ul>
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Is it Thursday yet? <a href="http://t.co/8RNA0Z6RcV">pic.twitter.com/8RNA0Z6RcV</a><br />
— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) <a href="https://twitter.com/sesamestreet/status/542794195107213313">December 10, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<b>Metrics / Measurement / Big Data </b></h4>
<ul>
<li>Who's going to make the best CEOs of the future? Because of increased reliance on the importance of data, <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/linkedin-exec-says-marketers-make-best-ceos-161819" target="_blank">it's likely to be the CMO</a>. (Adweek) </li>
<li>Related: <a href="http://amzn.to/12jKaFK" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>The Big Data-Driven Business: How to Use Big Data to Win Customers, Beat Competitors, and Boost Profits</i></a> by Russell Glass (Amazon affiliate link) </li>
<li>You may have an audience, but is it the right one? Here's how to measure <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/12/measure-quality-audience/" target="_blank">the quality of your audience</a>. (SHIFT Comm) </li>
<li>One of the quickest ways to get to better insights: <a href="http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/data-visualization-inspiration-analysis-insights-action-faster/" target="_blank">visualize your data</a>. (Occam's Razor) </li>
</ul>
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<h4>
<b>Legal / HR </b></h4>
<ul>
<li>Just because you work at an agency doesn't mean you can flaunt the FTC rules regarding social media and promotional material. The FTC has ruled that <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/ftc-no-agencies-cant-ask-staffers-casually-tweet-nice-things-about-clients-161755" target="_blank">agency employees - much like brand employees - must disclose a relationship with the brand</a> for full transparency. (Adweek) </li>
</ul>
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<h4>
<b>Content </b></h4>
<ul>
<li>The Future of Marketing series continues with <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/12/future-marketing-mitch-joel/" target="_blank">Christopher Penn interviewing Mitch Joel</a>. (SHIFT Communications) </li>
</ul>
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<b>When You Have Time: Essential Reading / Listening / Watching </b></h4>
<ul>
<li>LeWeb took place in Paris earlier this week, and for us one the highlights was seeing the output of Jeremiah Owyang's presentation on the Collaborative Economy. Jeremiah celebrated the first anniversary of Crowd Companies, which was launched at last year's LeWeb (disclosure: I am on the board of advisors for Crowd Companies). Calling 2015 <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/jeremiah_owyang/leweb-deck-2015-the-year-of-the-crowd">The Year of the Crowd</a>, Jeremiah outlined exactly how robust the market is (over 9,000 startups with over $8 billion in funding) <a href="http://upstart.bizjournals.com/companies/startups/2013/12/11/big-business-learns-to-share.html" target="_blank">and got some nice coverage out of it</a>. (Slideshare and Upstart Business Journal)  </li>
</ul>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/42386449" style="border-width: 1px; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;" width="510"> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
<strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/jeremiah_owyang/leweb-deck-2015-the-year-of-the-crowd" target="_blank" title="LeWeb Deck: 2015 The Year of the Crowd">LeWeb Deck: 2015 The Year of the Crowd</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/jeremiah_owyang" target="_blank">Jeremiah Owyang</a></strong> </div>
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<ul>
<li>The original structure of the collaborative economy has grown as well: the 6-hexagon honeycomb has doubled: the original categories of Goods, Food, Services, Transportation, Space, and Money have been joined by: Health and Wellness, Logistics, Utilities, Corporate, Municipal and Learning. <a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2014/12/07/collaborative-economy-honeycomb-2-watch-it-grow/" target="_blank">Read about the full impact on Jeremiah's site</a>. (Web-Strategist) </li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i7hrZddI3Cc/VJCrEXpzWAI/AAAAAAAAZtY/spcvqRjNRQA/s1600/Collaborative%2BEconomy%2B2.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The evolution of the collaborative economy" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i7hrZddI3Cc/VJCrEXpzWAI/AAAAAAAAZtY/spcvqRjNRQA/s1600/Collaborative%2BEconomy%2B2.0.jpg" height="640" title="Collaborative Economy Honeycomb 2.0" width="458" /></a></div>
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This Week in Digital - December 12, 2014

Uber's no-good, horrible, very bad week, more 2015 predictions than you can shake a stick at, putting the 'no' in innovation,...

This Week in Digital - December 5, 2014

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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0W2LLgTAxWo/VIHz5LcBgGI/AAAAAAAAZoA/MpFbF1wKq4A/s1600/Beat%2Bup%2Bcar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Beat up car in LEGO bricks" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0W2LLgTAxWo/VIHz5LcBgGI/AAAAAAAAZoA/MpFbF1wKq4A/s1600/Beat%2Bup%2Bcar.jpg" height="230" title="Beat up car" width="640" /></a></div>
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Disruption hits the New York Times, the real story behind Apple Pay, Facebook makes privacy changes (again), Twitter makes it easier to deal with abuse, the quiet success that is Medium, going viral with audio, Uber takes a beating but bounces back and Lyft bounces higher, dark social and its impact, creating a culture of content, the reason it's hard to recognize genius, why PR is best left to the professionals and more, it's <b><i>This Week in Digital</i></b>.  <br />
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A roundup of relevant links affecting our industry.  <br />
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Each week, I compose a newsletter that includes a series of links about current events and trends in the worlds of technology, business, digital communications and marketing in order to keep leaders up to date on changes, newsworthy items and content that might be useful in your job. And now you have the option of <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f?sub=968961" target="_blank">just subscribing to this newsletter</a> if you wish. <br />
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If you’re on Flipboard, you can get these links by subscribing to the <a href="http://flip.it/IfN4O" target="_blank">This Week in Digital Magazine</a>.  <br />
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<b><i>Two notes</i></b>: <br />
<ol>
<li>Because of last week's holiday, there are more articles in the Flipboard magazine than could be accommodated here; please be sure to check it out. </li>
<li>In the last few weeks, a section on Audio has been added, owing to the increased attention on podcasting and other audio content. </li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And if you wouldn't mind answering <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HTNTL79" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a simple, one-question survey about this weekly update</a>, it would be greatly appreciated.</span></div>
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<h3>
<b>Industry </b></h3>
<ul>
<li><i>The New York Times</i> is going through some <strike>layoffs</strike> buyouts. Here's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/business/media/when-the-forces-of-disruption-hit-home.html" target="_blank">a view of disruption from the inside</a> by David Carr. (NY Times) </li>
<li>It may surprise you to learn that industrial behemoth <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/ge-touts-its-new-media-cred-1417482888" target="_blank">General Electric gets new media</a> - unless you've been following their extraordinary exploits. (WSJ - subscription required; alt: Google the article in an incognito window) </li>
<li>A new role for authors: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/fashion/got-a-best-seller-chipotle-may-come-calling.html" target="_blank">as Chipotle copywriters</a>. See how the stories get from their brains to your bags at the fast food darling. (NY Times) </li>
<li>Don't try this at home: tech PR is a job <a href="https://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/startup-coo-accidentally-proves-the-value-of-tech-pr_b103929" target="_blank">best left to the professionals</a>. (PRNewser) </li>
<li>Apple Pay is not a battle for cashless payments; it's part of <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/27/identity-wars-why-apple-pay-is-about-more-than-payments/" target="_blank">the battle for identity</a>. (TechCrunch) </li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Platforms </b></h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Facebook </b></li>
<ul>
<li>You've probably already told off a friend or two about the copy-and-paste Facebook Privacy hoax that's making the rounds this week. Still, it's probably wise to have a deeper understanding of <a href="https://somelaw.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/the-sky-is-not-falling-your-guide-to-the-new-facebook-terms/" target="_blank">what the recent Facebook Privacy setting changes mean</a>. (SoMeLaw Thoughts) </li>
<li>If you use Facebook Ads - particularly the Power Editor - here are <a href="https://econsultancy.com/blog/65841-four-recent-improvements-to-the-facebook-ad-platform" target="_blank">four improvements to the platform</a> you should be aware of. (Econsultancy) </li>
</ul>
<li><b>Twitter </b></li>
<ul>
<li>While working on a deal or deals, the CFO of Twitter inadvertently made public a message that was meant to be a DM. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-cfo-dm-fail-again-2014-11" target="_blank">Twice</a>. The question is whether this was an intentional leak or simply a misuse of the platform. (Business Insider) </li>
<li>Twitter released <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/2/7317955/twitter-releases-improved-tools-for-reporting-abuse-and-harassment" target="_blank">an improved way to block and report accounts</a> that abuse and harass. (The Verge) </li>
</ul>
<li><b>Instagram </b></li>
<ul>
<li>In a move to make itself relevant in the digital era, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/04/technology/innovationnation/polaroid-socialmatic-camera/" target="_blank">Polaroid is launching Socialmatic</a>, its $299 instant camera that connects to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter via wifi. And true to form, it comes with a lens on the back for selfies. (CNN Money) </li>
<li><a href="http://mashable.com/2014/12/04/brands-ruling-instagram/" target="_blank">Six brands that are killing it on Instagram</a> include National Geographic, GoPro and Intel (yes, B2B brands can be relevant on Instagram). See what separates the great from the good. (Mashable) </li>
<li>IKEA is experimenting with <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/06/30/ikea-instagram-website/" target="_blank">creating an online catalog</a> with Instagram accounts. (Mashable) </li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.inc.com/welcome.html?destination=http://www.inc.com/oscar-raymundo/tumblr-doubled-its-users.html" target="_blank">Tumblr is growing in active users faster</a> than Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or Pinterest. (Inc.) </li>
<li>Don't forget about Medium. It's a really strong platform for writers that is clean, well integrated with social channels, and full of interactivity. <a href="https://medium.com/@kyle_coffee/medium-its-getting-big-af66cfe69504" target="_blank">And it's getting big</a>. [<i>Does that mean we'll have to call it Large one day?</i>] (Medium) </li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Collaborative Economy</b> </h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Uber </b></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-just-raised-12-billion-2014-12" target="_blank">Uber has raised another $1.2 billion</a> and is now valued at $41 billion. It has pledged to become <a href="http://blog.uber.com/ride-ahead" target="_blank">smarter and more humble</a> [<i>which admittedly would require the existence of some humility to begin with</i>] as part of its internal changes. (Business Insider and Uber) </li>
<li>Could any of this sudden self-reflection be the result of <a href="http://recode.net/2014/12/03/uber-saw-a-small-dip-in-growth-during-its-bad-press-week/" target="_blank">a dip in business due to the negative press</a> about the company in the last two weeks? (re/code) </li>
<li>Even so, a survey indicates that <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2014/11/25/uber-driver-survey/" target="_blank">half of Uber drivers are likely to drive less</a> for the company after the revelations. (Forbes) </li>
<li>A case for <a href="https://medium.com/@blakeross/uber-gov-29db5fdff372" target="_blank">why Uber beats government-regulated bodies</a> every time.<i> Hint: two years to agree on the wording on a foam-padded poster is not part if its business plan</i>. (Medium) </li>
</ul>
<li><b>Lyft </b></li>
<ul>
<li>Undaunted, <a href="http://time.com/3616382/lyft-co-founder-ubers-strategy/" target="_blank">Lyft is having some of the best weeks</a> in its history. (TIME) </li>
<li>The company just named <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-04/lyft-names-new-finance-marketing-executives.html" target="_blank">Kira Wampler as its new CMO and Brian Roberts as CFO</a>. (Bloomberg) </li>
</ul>
<li>Joel Comm - communications professional <a href="http://joelcomm.com/my-life-as-an-uber-driver.html">who documented his life as an Uber driver</a> - insists that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-newman/people-make-the-world-go-_b_6236986.html" target="_blank">it's people, not technology, that matter in the sharing economy</a>. (Huffington Post) </li>
<li>Airbnb recently held a conference for some 1,300 hosts; in case you needed proof, here's what <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/11/what-airbnb-gets-about-culture-that-uber-doesnt" target="_blank">Airbnb understands about culture that of Uber doesn't</a>. (HBR) </li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Audio </b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Going viral isn't just for memes, videos or cute gifs. <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/12/01/367804000/did-you-hear-going-viral-no-longer-just-for-videos-memes%20" target="_blank">More evidence that audio is having a renaissance</a>. (NPR) </li>
<li>In an effort to boost more premium subscribers, <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/12/04/spotify-3-months-premium/" target="_blank">Spotify is offering three months of its Premium service for $0.99</a>. This is a clever move in association with the holidays, as app downloads will spike and, like heroin, users will get hooked on the service cheaply. (Mashable) </li>
<li>Much like House of Cards on Netflix, it may turn out that <a href="http://kdvr.com/2014/12/04/serial-will-make-podcasts-more-profitable/" target="_blank">the Serial podcast will be responsible for the legitimization of podcasting</a> (including profitability). (KDVR)</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Metrics / Measurement / Big Data </b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Hubspot redesigned its blog. <a href="http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/2014-hubspot-blog-redesign" target="_blank">Using data</a>. (Hubspot) </li>
<li>There are market research professionals for a reason. One of them is to <a href="http://www.research-live.com/opinion/the-dangers-of-diy-research/4012578.article" target="_blank">prevent do-it-yourself research from leading people astray</a>. (Research.) </li>
<li>Did you know that many of the ads served on the web never appear on a screen? Or that vertical ads perform better? Check out the <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/infographics/5-factors-of-viewability.html" target="_blank">five factors of ad viewability</a>. (Think with Google) </li>
<li>Not all social media activity is measurable; <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/239139/study-sheds-new-light-on-dark-social-finds-cons.html" target="_blank">"dark social" accounts for far more activity</a> than consumers give it credit for. (MediaPost) </li>
<li>Here's a handy guide for the uninitiated: <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/12/twitter-analytics/" target="_blank">how to use Twitter Analytics</a>. (SHIFT Communications) </li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Legal / HR</b> </h3>
<ul>
<li>Apple is part of an antitrust class action lawsuit that claims the tech giant <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/12/03/apple-deleted-rivals-songs-from-users-ipods/" target="_blank">deleted songs on iPod owners' devices from competing music services without permission</a>. (WSJ Digits) </li>
<li>Flickr is taking a little heat after <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/fight-over-flickrs-use-of-photos-1416875564" target="_blank">selling photos of users</a> who didn't secure their rights. (WSJ) </li>
<li>Working virtually is not always easy; if you manage or are part of a virtual team, <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/12/getting-virtual-teams-right" target="_blank">here are some tips for getting it right</a>. (HBR) </li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Content </b></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/12/culture-of-content/" target="_blank">The culture of content</a> is an important factor in planning your content strategy. Driven by people, processes and inspiration, it's important to set the tone in order to get strong results. The Altimeter Group has a report out on the topic. (Top Rank Blog) </li>
<li>It's never too late to start a blog; if you're just starting out <a href="http://www.businessesgrow.com/2014/11/25/starting-blog-scratch/" target="_blank">there are still some things to consider</a>, such as broad vs. niche, growing your audience and how to think about SEO. ({grow}) </li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>When You Have Time: Essential Reading / Listening / Watching</b> </h3>
<ul>
<li>Not every CEO is created equal, and that's certainly the case on social media. <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/12/the-7-attributes-of-ceos-who-get-social-media" target="_blank">The Seven Attributes of CEOs Who Get Social Media</a> lays out some common threads in their personalities, including insatiable curiosity, connecting rather than promoting, and having an OPEN (Ordinary People, Extraordinary Network) mindset. (HBR) </li>
<li>Amidst all of our advances in data, ad technology, automation and the like, we've lost something. <a href="http://digiday.com/brands/lets-make-social-media-human/" target="_blank">How to make social human again</a>. (Digiday) </li>
<li>One of Seth Godin's books was called <a href="http://amzn.to/1rWVljK" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Linchpin</i></a>. It was about the people who make connections in organizations (and I'm proud to have been <a href="http://jackiehuba.com/2010/01/5-questions-with-linchpin-author-seth-godin.html">called out</a>). Now you can learn <a href="http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/become-a-connector/">how to become a connector through Seth's online course at Skillshare</a>. (Twist Image)</li>
<li>What's coming next? SHIFT's series on <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/12/future-marketing-tamsen-webster/" target="_blank">the Future of Marketing</a> is a good way to find out. And the latest installment with Tamsen Webster is a gem. (SHIFT Communications)</li>
<li><a href="http://contently.com/strategist/2014/11/20/the-biggest-reason-its-hard-to-recognize-genius/" target="_blank">The Biggest Reason It's Hard to Recognize Genius</a>. (Contently) </li>
</ul>
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Put another way: </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius." </span>[<a href="http://ctt.ec/0hXEd" target="_blank">click to tweet</a>]</b></div>
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- Sherlock Holmes </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/atin800/">Âtin</a> (Flickr)</span></i><br />
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This Week in Digital - December 5, 2014

Disruption hits the New York Times, the real story behind Apple Pay, Facebook makes privacy changes (again), Twitter makes it easier to d...

Don't Quit Facebook - What Forrester Got Wrong

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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fwYGwGPYF0I/VHSjVD_9_II/AAAAAAAAZh4/wXInoUGMqcU/s1600/Sharp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Use your common sense" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fwYGwGPYF0I/VHSjVD_9_II/AAAAAAAAZh4/wXInoUGMqcU/s1600/Sharp.jpg" height="426" title="Sharp" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Earlier this week Forrester analyst Nate Elliott released another one of his bi-annual  “Facebook is failing marketers” reports that takes aim squarely at Twitter and Facebook when it comes to marketing tactics. In our experience, these so-called reports have been overly broad generalizations with questionable advice and based on <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougschoen/2013/11/01/forrester-gets-it-wrong/">sampling, statistical and analytical foibles</a>, according to statisticians.<br /><br />Last week, <a href="http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/11/news-feed-fyi-reducing-overly-promotional-page-posts-in-news-feed/">Facebook announced</a> that beginning in January of 2015, it will be cracking down on purely promotional content coming from brands; with limited real estate in the News Feed, Facebook realizes that people want meaningful content, not sales-y product pushing.<br /><br />In an incendiary blog post (not their first - <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2013/11/this-week-in-digital-social-1162013.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">see Commentary section here</a>), Forrester falsely claimed that “<a href="http://blogs.forrester.com/nate_elliott/14-11-17-facebook_has_finally_killed_organic_reach_what_should_marketers_do_next">Facebook has finally killed organic reach</a>,” in an effort to gain publicity for its report. It worked, as a number of outlets – including the Wall Street Journal and Fast Company – picked up on it. The report noted the flagging organic reach of Facebook posts, which has been a real concern, but the latest move by Facebook certainly does not "kill" organic reach. If you read about the changes closely, it simply penalizes brands that are using Facebook incorrectly.<br /><br />While this may seem extreme, it's been required because of so many brands posting promotional content; i.e. Facebook isn't failing marketers - marketers have been failing Facebook.<br /><br />When content aligns with what consumers want to see, organic reach can go through the roof. And then, material that is proven to be contextually relevant organically can be promoted with paid media to expose it to an even wider audience - something we recommend and help execute for our clients at <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/" target="_blank">SHIFT</a>.<br /><br /><br />Forrester's report, "Social Relationship Strategies That Work," warns brands away from Facebook and Twitter, based partly on its survey results in which Forrester asked 4,529 online adults, “In which of the following ways to you keep in touch with brands that you like or that you purchase from regularly?”<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pa5ugKNp4OQ/VHScv6fVgpI/AAAAAAAAZho/BBsjUUUCxOQ/s1600/Forrester.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pa5ugKNp4OQ/VHScv6fVgpI/AAAAAAAAZho/BBsjUUUCxOQ/s1600/Forrester.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>
While the report suggests putting more effort into your own website and email (owned media), it also suggests giving up Facebook (rented media) - or at least not making Facebook the center of your marketing efforts. Looking at the above numbers and using Forrester's logic, one might wonder why a brand would want a mailing list, mobile app or SMS.<br /><br />At SHIFT, we're fully committed to an integrated approach that includes multiple aspects of communications and marketing and the digital and social media that connect them. To completely ignore any segment - particularly a significant one - is to have an incomplete strategy.<br /><br />We share Forrester's notion that a web presence must have more social integration to make it effective and that you should exert as much control as you can over your own properties. Here are our recommendations:<br /><br /><div>
<h3>
<b>Understand your audience</b></h3>
It's absolutely critical to know who you're reaching or who you want to reach, as well as the platforms on which they spend their time. Having a fine-tuned analytics backend (such as Google Analytics or Omniture) baked into your site is a first step to understanding where they're coming from. It's equally as important to be up to speed with the various changes that Google makes that affect search results to your site as well.<br /><br />The Forrester report notes that a branded community is a better solution because a Sony Playstation microsite gained 4.5 million pageviews (an outdated metric, perhaps?). However, they don't manage to explain exactly where those views came from. A quick glance shows that Sony Playstation's Facebook page has over 4.7 million likes. Were those Facebook fans partially responsible for the eyeballs on the site? Perhaps. But a comprehensive audit would be more telling.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
<b>Focus on quality content</b></h3>
You're not going to get eyeballs (if that indeed is your metric of choice) if you don't know what people want. Whether you're posting on Facebook, your website or a branded community, content matters. Storytelling, emotional connection with your readers or viewers and the ability to develop relationships with them over time are the hallmarks of the progressive marketer. Yes, you'll want to customize that content for the unique audiences on each platform, but without a story that matters to them, you'll be dissatisfied with every platform you're on.<br /><br />This whole "dump Facebook" mantra is a red herring. It's a tendency to throw Facebook under the bus because of poor quality content created by marketers. Facebook is constantly developing products and tweaking the News Feed to benefit users, and marketers hold some accountability in that formula as well. If the lazy brands want to reuse content from other sites, post it and run away without engaging or gleaning insights from the data, then they deserve the paltry results they get.<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
 <h3>
<b>Know your goals</b></h3>
No single site or platform is a panacea; each has its own purpose, just as a press release, launch event and Sunday circular have their uses. The tools and platforms you select should match your needs, whether it's brand building, awareness, reputation, lead generation or sales. For most companies, social networks have been much better at assisting with the upper funnel - awareness and brand communications. But if done correctly with the right content and other integrated owned properties, they can be shown to work.<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
<b>Integration counts</b></h3>
In our experience, using each platform in a silo will yield limited results. If you know what you're doing and can derive insights from your data, you can achieve a greater outcome. For example, combining your email database with Facebook or Twitter for more targeted audience opportunities will result in fewer wasted marketing dollars. An audit of all of your activities - online and offline, paid, earned and owned media -  is a powerful way to glean data and develop insights that can lead to more intelligent ways to assign your resources.<br /><br /><br /></div>
<div>
As with everything, moderation is key. Knowing what you're trying to achieve and who you need to reach is a first step in developing a comprehensive and integrated strategy in paid, earned, owned and rented media.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>This post originally appeared <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/11/dont-quit-facebook-yet/" target="_blank">on the SHIFT Communications blog</a>.</i><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image source: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/5zSrV5" target="_blank">Hillary (Flickr)</a></i></span><br />--<br /><br /></div>
</div>

Don't Quit Facebook - What Forrester Got Wrong

Earlier this week Forrester analyst Nate Elliott released another one of his bi-annual “Facebook is failing marketers” reports that takes...

This Week in Digital - November 21, 2014

<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rtw6mVAYrhM/VG8APrB29BI/AAAAAAAAZFY/j6uNJhX70g4/s1600/Crisis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="What Uber felt like this week" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rtw6mVAYrhM/VG8APrB29BI/AAAAAAAAZFY/j6uNJhX70g4/s1600/Crisis.jpg" height="428" title="At the end of a crisis" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
An Uber-mega PR crisis that takes on a life of its own, the continued importance of mobile, global internet growth numbers, Facebook continues to cut down on spammy posts, clean up your Twitter history, Snapchat gets into payments, Amazon books some travel, Spotify inks a deal for ridesharing music and hints at a future of podcasts, when it's time to invest in measurement tools, how Google judges quality content, what's affecting global payments, the best business books for 2014 and more, it's <b><i>This Week in Digital</i></b>.  <br />
<br />
A roundup of relevant links affecting our industry.  <br />
<br />
Each week, I compose a newsletter that includes a series of links about current events and trends in the worlds of technology, business, digital communications and marketing in order to keep leaders up to date on changes, newsworthy items and content that might be useful in your job. And now you have the option of <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f?sub=968961">just subscribing to this newsletter</a> if you wish. <br />
<br />
If you’re on Flipboard, you can get these links by subscribing to the <a href="http://flip.it/IfN4O">This Week in Digital Magazine</a>.  <br />
<br />
Just a note: we'll be on hiatus next week because of the Thanksgiving holiday. <br />
<br />
<br />
<hr width="60%" />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And if you wouldn't mind answering <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HTNTL79" target="_blank">a simple, one-question survey about this weekly update</a>, it would be greatly appreciated.</span></div>
<br />
<hr width="60%" />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Industry</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>It's never a boring week at Uber, whose culture has been called into question in recent months. And this week it was like a soap opera, as <a href="http://recode.net/2014/11/18/should-uber-fire-exec-who-suggested-investigating-reporters-personal-lives/" target="_blank">an Uber executive suggested</a> that the company should hire researchers and investigative reporters to get personal information about any journalist who writes negatively about the car service company. (re/code)</li>
<ul>
<li>And lest you think it's just a Silicon Valley spat between a tech company and an insider publication like PandoDaily, <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/emil-michael-of-uber-proposes-digging-into-journalists-private-lives/?_r=0" target="_blank">the New York Times has picked up on it</a> and <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/pentagon-distance-uber?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email">the Pentagon distanced itself</a> from the Uber executive who made the comments. (Bits Blog and BuzzFeed)</li>
<li>You know you have a reputational issue to address when a leading venture capitalist notes that Uber's culture is driven by "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/values-and-culture-2014-11%3e" target="_blank">ruthless execution combined with total arrogance</a>," while a widely-read digital publication states that  <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/11/18/7240295/uber-privacy">Uber has an a-hole problem</a>. (Business Insider and Vox)</li>
<li>You <i>definitely</i> have a problem <a href="http://www.franken.senate.gov/files/letter/141119UberLetter.pdf" target="_blank">when you get a letter from Senator Al Franken</a>, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Technology, Privacy and the Law. (U.S. Senate)</li>
<li>The latest development was on late Thursday - somehow - <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-revenue-rides-drivers-and-fares-2014-11" target="_blank">a confidential deck of Uber's finances</a> were "leaked" to the press. (Business Insider)</li>
<ul>
<li>Given the hiring of one-time White House advisor David Plouffe as head of policy and communications, and the talk of "oppo" researchers, a so-called leak such as this is very reminiscent of controlled leaks that are fed out in political campaigns to distract from the main issue. </li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="undefined" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_11453" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/247277028/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Is bad brand behavior out of control? <a href="http://gawker.com/you-wont-believe-which-brand-just-posted-this-offensive-1660220716?utm_content=bufferf2a2a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">Gawker sets up a dedicated page for bad brand tweets</a> rather than having to write a new article for every one. (Gawker)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flurry.com/blog/flurry-insights/mobile-television-we-interrupt-broadcast-again#.VG4XG4vF-AV" target="_blank">Mobile is overtaking television</a> as the primary screen for time spent per day. (Flurry)</li>
<li>Mobile growth isn't only limited to smartphones: in New York City, <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/nyc-phone-booths-will-become-free-wifi-kiosks-161569" target="_blank">old phone booths will be converted into "Links</a>" that will feature touchscreens, wifi and charging outlets. There will be 10,000 hotspots eventually. (AdWeek)</li>
<li>2015 will be a big year: <a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Internet-Hit-3-Billion-Users-2015/1011602?ecid=SOC1000" target="_blank">we'll surpass 3 billion people online</a>, and by 2018 over half of the world's population should be online. (eMarketer) Other notable highlights:</li>
<ul>
<li><b>2014</b>: Brazil will supplant Japan as fourth-largest internet user population</li>
<li><b>2015</b>: Mexico will settle firmly into the eighth spot, eclipsing Germany</li>
<li><b>2016</b>: India will jump the US as the second-largest internet user population</li>
<li><b>2017</b>: Indonesia will reach the top five, overtaking Japan</li>
<li><b>2018</b>: China will eclipse three-quarters of a billion users, after showing accelerating growth in each year in our forecast</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Cti_WXzIzQ/VG77w0tsSZI/AAAAAAAAZFE/Has9LhYgqtk/s1600/Top%2B25%2BInternet%2Bcountries.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The future of the internet, as seen globally" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Cti_WXzIzQ/VG77w0tsSZI/AAAAAAAAZFE/Has9LhYgqtk/s1600/Top%2B25%2BInternet%2Bcountries.gif" title="Top 25 countries ranked by internet users, 2013-2018" /></a></div>
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<br />
<h3>
<b>Platforms</b></h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Facebook</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Last Friday evening, Facebook announced it will be <a href="http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/11/news-feed-fyi-reducing-overly-promotional-page-posts-in-news-feed/" target="_blank">reducing overly promotional posts</a> from brands in your News Feed. (Facebook)</li>
<li>Get ready for Facebook in the enterprise. Long the mainstay of solutions like Yammer, Jive and Chatter, <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/11/16/facebook-at-work-2/" target="_blank">Facebook is working on its own solution for internal social networking</a>. (Mashable)</li>
<ul>
<li>Related: <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/ibm-launching-web-based-email-service-1416322806?mod=djemCIO_h" target="_blank">IBM is launching Verse</a>, a cloud-based email and social collaboration tool. (WSJ)</li>
</ul>
<li>Conscious of the limitations of its main app when it comes to specialized needs, <a href="http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/11/introducing-the-facebook-groups-app/" target="_blank">Facebook has released the Groups app</a> for better control and connection. (Facebook)</li>
<li>Forrester is back again with a report with limited research, claiming that <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2014/11/17/brands-are-wasting-money-on-facebook-and-twitter-forrester-says/" target="_blank">brands are wasting their money on Facebook</a> and Twitter. Claiming that brands don't have relationships with customers on the platform, analyst-lite Nate Elliott seems to miss the point that most brands haven't taken the proper step to build relationships because they've been too busy advertising at consumers. Of course they're not seeing ideal results. While we agree that it's important to have a strong owned media presence, any marketing strategy should contain <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/11/dont-quit-facebook-yet/" target="_blank">a variety of platforms and tactics</a>. (WSJ CMO Today and SHIFT Communications)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yzou4sGLIRY/VG78OYjmlcI/AAAAAAAAZFM/0xXyuVRmcTg/s1600/Forrester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="What brand resources customers use" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yzou4sGLIRY/VG78OYjmlcI/AAAAAAAAZFM/0xXyuVRmcTg/s1600/Forrester.jpg" height="488" title="Forrester's North American Technographics Customer Life Cycle Survey, 2014" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As usual, Forrester does a bang-up job of determining the <i>what</i>, but not the <i>why</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Twitter</b></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2014/building-a-complete-tweet-index" target="_blank">Twitter is now indexed for search</a> all the way back to 2006. Time to double-check for any embarrassing tweets from the early days. (Twitter Engineering Blog)</li>
<li>You can now <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/20/twitter-now-lets-you-share-public-tweets-via-direct-messages/" target="_blank">share public tweets via direct messages</a> - most certainly a useful feature to customer service reps who need to take public conversations private to protect personal information. (TechCrunch)</li>
</ul>
<li>Snapchat is getting into payments with the <a href="http://recode.net/2014/11/17/snapchat-to-let-you-send-money-to-friends-thanks-to-square/" target="_blank">ability to send money to friends in a partnership with Square</a>, calling the new service Snapcash. (re/code)</li>
<li>And speaking of e-commerce, <a href="http://recode.net/2014/11/18/ello-generates-first-revenue-through-t-shirt-sales/" target="_blank">Ello has taken to selling T-shirts</a>. While not their core funding strategy, the no-ads-here network may turn to selling goods as its business model - a move that may not entirely square with trends toward the sharing economy. (re/code)</li>
<li>Yahoo has forged a partnership with Mozilla, wherein <a href="https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2014/11/19/promoting-choice-and-innovation-on-the-web/" target="_blank">it will be the default search engine for the Firefox browser</a> for the next 5 years, replacing Google in an effort to promote "choice and innovation." (The Mozilla Blog)</li>
<li><a href="http://skift.com/2014/11/20/exclusive-amazon-to-get-into-hotel-booking-with-launch-of-travel-site/" target="_blank">Amazon is about to launch Amazon Travel</a>, a booking service for hotels, in select cities. This suddenly puts TripAdvisor squarely in Amazon's sites. (Skift)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Collaborative Economy</b></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/business/media/airbnb-introducing-print-magazine-pineapple.html" target="_blank">Airbnb is creating a print magazine called <i>Pineapple</i></a>, named after the famed fruit of hospitality in colonial New England. (New York Times)</li>
<li><a href="http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/11/17/official-spotify-uber-team-let-control-music-ride/" target="_blank">Spotify is collaborating with Uber</a> to allow riders to <a href="https://news.spotify.com/us/2014/11/17/uber/" target="_blank">choose their music</a> during a ride. (The Next Web and Spotify)</li>
<li>Here's a listing of <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12xTPJNvdOZVzERueyA-dILGTtL_KWKTbmj6RyOg9XXs/edit#gid=253059398" target="_blank">collaborative economy funding</a> to date. (Jeremiah Owyang)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.whttl.com/" target="_blank">Whttl</a> is a browseable and searchable database of sharing economy companies. (Whttl)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
<b>Audio</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Some enterprising reporters caught <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/17/hidden-in-spotifys-app-code-alongside-uber-plans-to-launch-podcasts-and-something-magic/" target="_blank">a mention of "magic" and podcasts in Spotify's updated code</a>. Could the personal music giant be prepping to include podcasting in its streaming next? If so, this will give iTunes some reasonable competition, although it has the advantage of coming installed on iOS devices. (TechCrunch)</li>
<li>Look out, Spotify - <a href="http://gizmodo.com/google-just-gave-you-a-good-reason-to-quit-spotify-1661154549" target="_blank">Google has just released YouTube Music Key</a>, which gives music lovers another streaming option - with video. (Gizmodo) </li>
<li><a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/11/an-end-of-radio.html" target="_blank">Is radio about to fall off a cliff</a> just as newspapers did, because of the rise of podcasting? (Seth Godin)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
<b>Metrics / Measurement / Big Data</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>There are three telltale signs when it's <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/11/three-signs-invest-measurement-tools/" target="_blank">time to invest in measurement tools</a>. (SHIFT Communications) </li>
<li>The future is now: Nielsen is finally getting into <a href="http://time.com/3593889/nielsen-netflix-amazon-video-streaming-sites/" target="_blank">measurement of Netflix</a> and other streaming video services. (TIME)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
<b>Content</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>As you go into 2015, you might want to consider <a href="http://www.schoolofcontent.com/content-marketing-strategy-2015/" target="_blank">five content marketing strategies</a> to guide your efforts. (School of Content)</li>
<li>Patagonia serves as a shining example of using <a href="http://www.fastcocreate.com/3038557/behind-the-brand/the-purpose-driven-marketer-how-patagonia-uses-storytelling-to-turn-consume?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fast-company-daily-newsletter-b&position=2&partner=newsletter&campaign_date=11192014" target="_blank">values-based marketing for storytelling</a>. (Fast Company)</li>
<li>Quality content (or at least talking about it) is all the rage. But <a href="https://econsultancy.com/blog/65712-how-does-google-judge-quality-content#i.gfpamj8iyed210" target="_blank">how does Google judge for itself</a>? Relevance, length, readability, the amount of advertising and the presence of images. (Econsultancy)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
<b>When You Have Time: Essential Reading / Listening / Watching</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>We'll be off next week for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, so here's a story we hope isn't a turkey: <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/how-constantly-connected-cooks-get-ready-for-thanksgiving.html" target="_blank">how constantly connected cooks get ready for Thanksgiving</a>. (Think with Google)</li>
<li>Believe it or not, <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/11/look-to-governmentyes-governmentfor-new-social-innovations" target="_blank">the government is a hotbed of social innovation</a>. They may be worth a look. (HBR)</li>
<li>Read this on your mobile device - or at least at your standing desk. <a href="http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/11/17/thoreau-walking/" target="_blank">Thoreau on the art of walking and the perils of a sedentary lifestyle</a>. (Brain Pickings)</li>
<li>If the developments of Snapchat interested you above, you might want to take a look at <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/financial_services/the_future_of_global_payments" target="_blank">the future of global payments</a>, where digital transformation, non-card real-time payments and data insights will have a large impact. (McKinsey)</li>
<li>Here are <a href="http://www.strategy-business.com/article/14402?gko=42558" target="_blank">the best business books of 2014</a>. (strategy+business) Our top picks:</li>
<ul>
<li><b>Marketing</b>:  <a href="http://amzn.to/1vuJlHr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Tilt: Shifting Your Strategy from Products to Customers</i></a> by Niraj Dawar</li>
<li><b>Strategy</b>:  <a href="http://amzn.to/11kGOl8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Business Strategy: Managing Uncertainty, Opportunity and Enterprise</i></a> by J.-C. Spender</li>
<li><b>Innovation</b>:  <a href="http://amzn.to/1xXYLCQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Social Physics: How Good Ideas Spread - The Lessons from a New Science</i></a> by Alex Pentland</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image source: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/nAi4GZ" target="_blank">Jesus Solana (Flickr)</a></span></i><br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />

This Week in Digital - November 21, 2014

An Uber-mega PR crisis that takes on a life of its own, the continued importance of mobile, global internet growth numbers, Facebook con...

This Week in Digital - November 14, 2014

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Dz_S2NLMc4/VGVXdcDXYCI/AAAAAAAAY8g/rB0oyOcK4OU/s1600/Rosetta's_Philae_on_Comet_67P_Churyumov-Gerasimenko.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Philae - a spic and span landing on a comet" border="0" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Dz_S2NLMc4/VGVXdcDXYCI/AAAAAAAAY8g/rB0oyOcK4OU/s640/Rosetta's_Philae_on_Comet_67P_Churyumov-Gerasimenko.jpg" title="Rosetta's Philae lander on comet" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Landing a rocket on a comet, being single in China is expensive, picking sides on net neutrality, Facebook updates privacy policy for humans, Twitter announces native video, Yahoo buys a video ad platform, Instagram evolves,  CMO tenure is growing, Uber is getting richer while attempting to prohibit Lyft from doing the same, podcasting is in vogue with a $1.5 million for a new podcast and a database of marketing podcasts, Amazon settles with Hachette and more, it's <b>This Week in Digital</b>.  <br />
<br />
A roundup of relevant links affecting our industry.  <br />
<br />
Each week, I compose a newsletter that includes a series of links about current events and trends in the worlds of technology, business, digital communications and marketing in order to keep leaders up to date on changes, newsworthy items and content that might be useful in your job. And now you have the option of <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f?sub=968961" target="_blank">just subscribing to this newsletter</a> if you wish. <br />
<br />
If you’re on Flipboard, you can get these links by subscribing to the <a href="http://flip.it/IfN4O" target="_blank">This Week in Digital Magazine</a>.  <br />
<br />
<hr width="60%" />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And if you wouldn't mind answering <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HTNTL79" target="_blank">a simple, one-question survey about this weekly update</a>, it would be greatly appreciated. </span></div>
<br />
<hr width="60%" />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Industry</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>The European Space Agency (ESA) celebrated this week as craft <a href="http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/" target="_blank">Philae landed on a comet</a> after a 10-year journey. Livestreams, photos, tweets, media outlets and drone lovers everywhere followed the historic event. (Rosetta)</li>
<li>In China, 11/11 is known as Singles Day (because of the four lonely 1's that make up the date) - it's the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day. And <a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article/1111-Blows-Black-Friday-Digital-Shopping-Worldwide/1011560?ecid=SOC1000" target="_blank">it blows away Black Friday</a> in terms of sales.  (eMarketer)</li>
<ul>
<li>In fact, last year, Alibaba did $5.75 billion that day; this year <a href="https://ca.news.yahoo.com/merchants-margins-suffer-alibabas-singles-day-shopping-bonanza-051205174--finance.html" target="_blank">they surged to $9.3 billion</a>.  (Yahoo)</li>
<li>But at least you weren't the guy who spent $82,000 on 99 iPhone 6s, arranged them in a mall in the shape of a heart, proposed to his girlfriend - <a href="http://www.thenanfang.com/blog/guangzhou-programer-buys-99-iphones-to-propose-to-a-woman/" target="_blank">and she said no</a>. Ouch. <i>Someone's got a broken heart. On the plus side, does anyone need an iPhone 6?</i> (TheNanFang)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6ePLlCV_wE/VGVRQZrOSrI/AAAAAAAAY8A/Z5-B645Wg94/s1600/Singles%2BDay.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Chinese mobile shopping spikes on Singles Day" border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6ePLlCV_wE/VGVRQZrOSrI/AAAAAAAAY8A/Z5-B645Wg94/s1600/Singles%2BDay.gif" title="Smartphone purchase intent on Singles Day in China" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/17/crystal-ball-3" target="_blank">Inside the wild, wacky world of Shinghy</a>, AOL's in-house "digital prophet." It's amazing that a network that's so downtrodden has the luxury of employing such an…individual. (The New Yorker)</li>
<li>Forrester has noted that <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2014/11/11/forrester-cmo-tenure-report/" target="_blank">the average CMO tenure will rise to 60 months</a> by the end of 2015 - a significant bump from the 45 months cited earlier this year by Spencer Stuart. It's likely that with more attention to digital and data, they need more time to make progress on these significant fronts. (WSJ CMO Today)</li>
<li>Legendary racing establishment Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby) <a href="http://recode.net/2014/11/12/churchill-downs-acquires-big-fish-for-885-million" target="_blank">has acquired gaming company Big Fish for $850 million</a>. (re/code)</li>
<li>Net neutrality was in the news this week, as <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/11/10/president-obama-net-neutrality-reaction/18797601/" target="_blank">President Obama threw down the gauntlet</a>. (USA Today)</li>
<ul>
<li>Naturally, the <a href="https://twitter.com/SenTedCruz/status/531834493922189313" target="_blank">opposition was there to poke and prod</a> (Twitter), but others provided <a href="http://theoatmeal.com/blog/net_neutrality">perspective and humor</a>. (The Oatmeal)</li>
<li>To boil down the issue, we give you <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpbOEoRrHyU" target="_blank">one of John Oliver's usual scathing videos</a> that explains it in more understandable terms. Cable companies have been focusing on regulations and the FCC code and other arcane policy areas, because "If you want to do something evil, put it inside something boring."</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
<center>
<object height="315" width="560"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/fpbOEoRrHyU?hl=en_US&version=3"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
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<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/fpbOEoRrHyU?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></center>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Platforms</b></h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Facebook</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Facebook's mandated use of Messenger has netted it <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/10/7187495/facebook-messenger-500-million-monthly-users" target="_blank">over 500 million monthly users</a> of the app. It's still less than half of the total Facebook population, but it just goes to show you what a forced implementation will do. (The Verge)</li>
<li>Facebook began taking a stand against Ebola with a banner atop everyone's News Feed that asked if they wanted to help to eradicate it. When a user asked what Facebook itself was doing about it, <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/zuckerberg-has-perfect-comeback-troll-accusing-facebook-exploiting-ebola-161271" target="_blank">Mark Zuckerberg himself jumped into the thread with the retort courteous</a>. (AdWeek)</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Twitter</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Big product news: users will now be able to <a href="http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/twitter-to-add-native-video-sharing-in-2015-expanding-beyond-vine-1201354969/" target="_blank">record and upload video natively on Twitter</a> beginning in 2015, making it a rival of YouTube. (Variety)</li>
<li>Twitter also announced they're working on <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2014/coming-soon-to-twitter" target="_blank">an instant, personalized timeline for new users who don’t want to spend time cultivating one on their own</a>, and the ability to make public conversations private - something that might come in handy for customer service teams. (Twitter)</li>
<li>With recent high-profile departures of its VPs of product and engineering, heads of media and of news, creative director and others, some ask <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/11/07/twitter_management_problems_dick_costolo_is_struggling_to_retain_his_vision.html?wpsrc=fol_tw" target="_blank">why do Twitter's executives keep leaving?</a> (Slate)</li>
<li>Bill Cosby misjudged his Twitter audience when he asked for a meme to be created of one of his images. The public responded with <a href="http://nypost.com/2014/11/10/bill-cosby-twitter-hasthag-meme-immediately-backfired/" target="_blank">references to some unsavory allegations in his past</a>. (NY Post)</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Instagram</b></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://blog.instagram.com/post/102294612077/discovery-and-caption-editing" target="_blank">Instagram made some changes this week</a>: the Explore function opens up discoverability to allow users to search people as well as photos; and users now have the ability to clean up their typos with edits after they post. (Instagram blog)</li>
<li>In addition to discoverability and accessibility, Instagram is working on <a href="http://recode.net/2014/11/07/whats-next-for-instagram-discovery-accessibility-and-time-spent-full-video/" target="_blank">measures such as "time spent."</a> (re/code)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.marketingcharts.com/online/top-brands-instagram-engagement-47876/" target="_blank">More top brands are gravitating to Instagram</a>, with 86 of the Interbrand 100 having accounts. (MarketingCharts)</li>
</ul>
<li>Yahoo! is expanding its video footprint with its <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/11/yahoo-video-advertising-platform-brightroll-640m" target="_blank">purchase of video ad company Brightroll for $640 million</a>. The move also gives them an opportunity to close the gap in advertising revenue with Google and Facebook; Yahoo's share of the $43 billion digital advertising market has dropped to 5.8% this year. (The Guardian)</li>
<li>Pinfluencers - excuse me, Pinterest Influencers - <a href="http://recode.net/2014/11/11/what-is-a-pinfluencer-well-they-now-have-talent-agents/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rc_email_daily&utm_content=what-is-a-pinfluencer-well-they-now-have-talent-agents" target="_blank">now have talent agents</a>. (re/code)</li>
<ul>
<li><i>Had we known that bookmarking was a skill, we would have sought out representation for our Delicious feed years go. We'd settle for a <a href="http://flipboard.com/profile/scottmonty" target="_blank">Flipboard</a> broker at this point.</i></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
<b>Collaborative Economy</b></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://peers.org/" target="_blank">Peers.org</a> was recently rebranded as a site that makes it easier for workers to find, compare and manage work in the sharing economy. (Peers.org)</li>
<li>Quirky and General Electric are showing <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/11/quirky-ge-unveil-their-vision-for-the-connected-home/?ncid=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29" target="_blank">their vision for the connected home</a>. (TechCrunch)</li>
<li><a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/uber-sets-out-to-raise-more-than-1-billion-in-funding-sources-say-1415411975" target="_blank">Uber is on its way to raise between $1-2 billion</a>, meaning the company could be valued at close to $30 billion. (WSJ)</li>
<li>Whether they get there unscathed is another question. Prominent venture capitalist Fred Wilson took note of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-ceo-on-messing-with-lyfts-funding-2014-11">Uber trying to sink funding for competitor Lyft</a> [noted in our last issue], saying that it's not only <a href="http://avc.com/2014/11/messing-with-a-competitors-fundraising/" target="_blank">"unethical and unsavory," but also ineffective</a>. (A VC)</li>
<ul>
<li>And it looks like Fred is right: <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3038350/most-innovative-companies/increased-shares-lyfts-rides-and-revenue-grew-five-fold-in-2014" target="_blank">Lyft's rides and revenue grew five-fold in 2014</a>. (Fast Company)</li>
<li>See last section below for a longer read about taxis and GPS</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MBZEckTEefE/VGVR0udFReI/AAAAAAAAY8I/7mbzG53-pWo/s1600/Taxi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Uber's vision for the taxi industry" border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MBZEckTEefE/VGVR0udFReI/AAAAAAAAY8I/7mbzG53-pWo/s640/Taxi.jpg" title="Uber vs. taxi" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uber's intention for the taxi industry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h3>
<b>Metrics / Measurement / Big Data</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>You've heard the expression "correlation does not equal causation," right? It means that while things may be related, they are not necessarily ordered action/reaction. But flip it around and you might be surprised to learn that <a href="http://www.christopherspenn.com/2014/11/causation-can-exist-without-correlation/?utm_content=buffer47813&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">causation can exist without correlation</a>. It might be a bit mind-boggling, and therefore the full article is worth a read. TL;DR version: it's the data equivalent of saying "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you." (Awaken Your Superhero)</li>
<li>It's always been difficult to reach employees that aren't deskbound. And how would you measure it, even if you were able to reach them? <a href="http://www.citeworld.com/article/2115597/mobile-byod/email-ignored-problem-fixed.html" target="_blank">Red E App has it figured out</a>. (Cite World)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
<b>Legal / HR</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Facebook's privacy policy has always been long and difficult to understand (ref. John Oliver quote above). But the social networking giant has crafted <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/13/7213745/facebook-proposes-user-friendly-privacy-policy-update" target="_blank">a shorter and easier to read version of its privacy policy</a>. (The Verge)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
<b>Content</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>The banner ad was born of necessity, in a rush, and not because anyone thought it was a particularly good idea. The story of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/06/technology/personaltech/banner-ads-the-monsters-that-swallowed-the-web.html?hpw&rref=technology&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=1" target="_blank">the rise of native content</a>. (New York Times)</li>
<li><a href="http://contently.com/strategist/2014/11/11/10-more-charts-that-are-changing-content-marketing/?goal=0_bc3967cef4-17c94d614d-314974901" target="_blank">10 charts that every content marketer needs to see</a> cover the dominant social sharing sites, the reasons people use social media, the impact of long-form content, metrics for content and more. (Contently)</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hmocInjYjNE/VGVSF_HHZRI/AAAAAAAAY8Q/KPKckSBmvFM/s1600/EngageTime_ArticleLength-Chartbeat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Quality trumps quantity content on new metrics from Chartbeat" border="0" height="492" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hmocInjYjNE/VGVSF_HHZRI/AAAAAAAAY8Q/KPKckSBmvFM/s640/EngageTime_ArticleLength-Chartbeat.jpg" title="Engaged time by article length" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>When You Have Time: Essential Reading / Listening / Watching</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>This is a good sign that podcasting is continuing to catch on: a producer from<i> This American Life </i><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/11/11/this-american-life-producer-raises-1-5-million-for-podcast-startup-gimlet/?mod=WSJBlog" target="_blank">raised $1.5 million for a new podcast startup</a> he's calling Gimlet. We'll drink to that. (WSJ Digits blog)</li>
<ul>
<li>"Serial" is one of <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenkilloran/2014/11/13/the-serial-podcast-is-eating-us-for-breakfast/" target="_blank">the fastest-growing podcasts</a>, according to Apple. It's so popular, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slates-serial-spoiler-specials/id935063801?mt=2" target="_blank">there's a podcast about it</a>. (Forbes)</li>
<li>It came as a pleasant surprise to find <a href="http://marketingpodcasts.com/" target="_blank">MarketingPodcasts.com</a>, a searchable database of ranked marketing podcasts.</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/Strategy/Synthesis_capabilities_and_overlooked_insights?cid=mckq50-eml-alt-mip-mck-oth-1411" target="_blank">A fascinating look at the future of strategy</a> from the founder of McKinsey's strategy practice, a London Business School professor and a former corporate strategist. (McKinsey)</li>
<li>Amazon has long been an ally of the publishing industry; after a long feud with Hachette, the two have finally <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/13/363794096/amazon-and-hachette-reach-a-deal-on-e-book-pricing" target="_blank">reached a deal on ebook pricing</a>. (NPR)</li>
<ul>
<li>So just <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2014/12/amazon-hachette-ebook-publishing">how did Amazon get on the wrong side of Hachette</a> and a number of authors? (Vanity Fair)</li>
</ul>
<li>When you <a href="http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/10/london-taxi-test-knowledge/?mabReward=relbias%3Ar&module=Search" target="_blank">pit GPS against London's legendary taxi driver test The Knowledge</a> -  a weird city’s weird solution to the riddle of itself - how does it fare? (New York Times Magazine)</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image credit: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosetta's_Philae_on_Comet_67P_Churyumov-Gerasimenko.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></i></span></div>
<div>
--</div>
<div>
<br /></div>

This Week in Digital - November 14, 2014

Landing a rocket on a comet, being single in China is expensive, picking sides on net neutrality, Facebook updates privacy policy for hum...

This Week in Digital - November 7, 2014

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e9U_sajfrx4/VFzjWvmvFAI/AAAAAAAAYuY/NFd-mxFaU4I/s1600/BuzzFeed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e9U_sajfrx4/VFzjWvmvFAI/AAAAAAAAYuY/NFd-mxFaU4I/s1600/BuzzFeed.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
It was an election week but #AlexFromTarget trended, a major digital marketing acquisition, teenagers have a more nuanced view of privacy than you might expect, Millennials are set to dominate the workforce, a look at listening habits, Zuckerberg comes clean on Messenger, BuzzFeed DIY quizzes, another week of the soap opera behind the scenes at Uber, the use of small data, deciding what to measure, the best branded content of October and more,  it's <b>This Week in Digital</b>.  <br />
<br />
A roundup of relevant links affecting our industry.  <br />
<br />
Each week, I compose a newsletter that includes a series of links about current events and trends in the worlds of technology, business, digital communications and marketing in order to keep leaders up to date on changes, newsworthy items and content that might be useful in your job. And now you have the option of <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com/f?sub=968961">just subscribing to this newsletter</a> if you wish. <br />
<br />
If you’re on Flipboard, you can get these links by subscribing to the <a href="http://flip.it/IfN4O">This Week in Digital Magazine</a>.  <br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Industry </b></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li>US midterm elections were Tuesday; the Empire State Building, with its sophisticated lighting system, teamed up with CNN <a href="https://twitter.com/EmpireStateBldg/status/529819098000027649" target="_blank">to light the building with the election results</a> throughout the evening. (Twitter) </li>
</ul>
<br />
<div>
<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
PHOTOS: <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN">@CNN</a> lighting the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EmpireStateBuilding?src=hash">#EmpireStateBuilding</a> with midterm Senate election results! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNNElection?src=hash">#CNNElection</a> <a href="http://t.co/Y7HXcQa4xC">pic.twitter.com/Y7HXcQa4xC</a><br />
— Empire State Bldg (@EmpireStateBldg) <a href="https://twitter.com/EmpireStateBldg/status/529819098000027649">November 5, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
</center>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Ad conglomerate Publicis, still stunned from the failure of the Omnicom merger, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/publicis-to-buy-sapient-for-3-7-billion-1414996107" target="_blank">is acquiring digital marketing powerhouse Sapient</a> for about $3.7 billion - and the odd man out <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sorrell-publicis-acquisition-of-sapient-looks-like-the-behavior-of-a-jilted-lover-2014-11" target="_blank">throws some barbs</a>. (WSJ and Business Insider)</li>
<li>Social media influencers are often misunderstood - and in some cases are resented - by their non-digital colleagues. If you really want to understand <a href="http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/6-things-influencers-do-to-stand-out-in-social-media.html" target="_blank">why these influencers are valuable to your company</a>, take a look at six traits they share. (Inc.)</li>
<li>The truth about teenagers, the Internet and privacy: to put it in Facebook's terms, <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3037962/then-and-now/the-truth-about-teenagers-the-internet-and-privacy?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fast-company-daily-newsletter-b&position=6&partner=newsletter&campaign_date=11042014" target="_blank">it's complicated</a>. (Fast Company)</li>
<li>And just like that, productivity plummeted. The Internet Archive now has <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2842453/internet-archive-brings-900-classic-arcade-games-to-your-browser.html" target="_blank">900 classic arcade games available on your browser</a>. Chalk one up for cultural heritage in the digital world. (PC World)</li>
<li>Longtime platform and network <a href="http://adage.com/article/media/sheknows-buys-blogher/295684/" target="_blank">BlogHer has been purchased by SheKnows</a>, a female-centric platform. (AdAge)</li>
<li>According to Edison Research's report <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/webby2001/the-infinite-dial-2014?qid=84e419fc-93a8-4537-b101-22b01cd8a793&v=qf1&b=&from_search=6" target="_blank">The Infinite Dial 2014</a>, 39 million people listened to a podcast last month. <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/whats-behind-the-great-podcast-renaissance.html" target="_blank">What's with the renaissance of podcasting?</a> (Edison Research and New York Magazine)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/31942844" style="border-width: 1px; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;" width="510"> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
<strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/webby2001/the-infinite-dial-2014" target="_blank" title="The Infinite Dial 2014">The Infinite Dial 2014</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/webby2001" target="_blank">Edison Research</a></strong> </div>
</center>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Platforms </b></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Facebook</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Mark Zuckerberg offered <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/6/7170791/mark-zuckerberg-finally-explains-why-he-forced-you-to-download-the" target="_blank">an explanation as to why Messenger was pushed as a standalone app</a>. The bottom line: apps can - and should - do only one thing well. (The Verge)</li>
<li>Facebook is Preferred Marketing Developers program is now known as <a href="http://www.insidefacebook.com/2014/11/06/what-does-the-facebook-marketing-partners-change-mean-for-the-marketing-ecosystem/" target="_blank">Facebook Marketing Partners</a>. Substantial changes include dividing up teams based on what objective they specialize in (ad technology, media buying, small business solutions and content marketing) to allow clients to focus on different objectives such as awareness, content optimization, lead generation, etc. (Inside Facebook)</li>
</ul>
<li>SnapChat is incorporating brands into its "Our Stories" collections - <a href="http://adage.com/article/digital/snapchat-discussing-ad-type-similar-live-tv/295700/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social" target="_blank">an advertising type that's similar to TV</a> - particularly around live events. (AdAge)</li>
<li><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/01/two-worlds-colliding-how-linkedin-could-take-on-salesforce/" target="_blank">Could LinkedIn beat Salesforce at its own game?</a> Some think so, particularly with the amount of thought leadership currently exhibited within the platform. (TechCrunch)</li>
<li>Microsoft has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-advertising-sales-team-redundancies-2014-10" target="_blank">fired its global advertising team</a> as part of a larger plan to eliminate some 18,000 jobs. (Business Insider)</li>
<li>The cloud is getting crowded. Move over, iCloud, Flickr, Google+, etc.: <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/4/7154107/amazon-prime-customers-now-get-unlimited-cloud-storage-for-photos" target="_blank">Amazon now offers unlimited photo storage and backup</a> to Amazon Prime members. (The Verge)</li>
<li>You know those ubiquitous BuzzFeed quizzes? You're about to see more. BuzzFeed announced that <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/catesish/how-to-make-a-buzzfeed-quiz" target="_blank">users can now make their own quizzes</a>. Sorry, brand publishers. You have to pay for that feature. (BuzzFeed)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Collaborative Economy </b></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li>A 26 year-old woman took Uber home on Halloween after her birthday celebration. When she awoke the next day, she was greeted with a $360 bill, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/women-raises-362-to-pay-for-uber-ride-2014-11?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+businessinsider+(Business+Insider)" target="_blank">which she promptly crowdsourced payment for</a>. (Business Insider)</li>
<li>Airbnb needs to figure out how it will evolve its relationship with cities. <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/travel_transportation/the_future_of_airbnb_in_cities" target="_blank">An interview with CEO Brian Chesky</a> examines that. (McKinsey Insights)</li>
<li>Kara Swisher takes a look at <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2014/12/uber-travis-kalanick-controversy">the Uber Man himself</a>, CEO Travis Kalanick - and his fiery temper that is directed at regulators, the taxi industry, competitors (attempting to hamper Lyft's fundraising), and even customers. To quote one of Uber's early investors, "It’s hard to be a disrupter and not be an asshole." (Vanity Fair)</li>
<ul>
<li>It looks like the culture is working: <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/05/lyft-sues-travis-vanderzanden/" target="_blank">Lyft is suing its former COO</a>, who they claim stole confidential documents before departing to become the COO of Uber. (TechCrunch)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Metrics / Measurement / Big Data</b></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li>It's indisputable: of the 50 most innovative companies of 2014, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2014/11/03/the-50-most-innovative-companies-of-2014-strong-innovators-are-three-times-more-likely-to-rely-on-big-data-analytics/" target="_blank">strong innovators are three times more likely to rely on big data analytics</a>.  (Forbes)</li>
<li>Big data is like being at a cocktail party with hundreds of people and being unable to hear any of them. <a href="http://www.holmesreport.com/opinion-info/15562/The-Rising-Importance-Of-Small-Data.aspx" target="_blank">What about using small data?</a> (Holmes Report)</li>
<li>Contrary to popular belief, everything is measurable in PR. The question is, <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/11/everything-is-measurable-in-pr/" target="_blank">what's worth measuring?</a> Before doing creative work, it's important to determine how to <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/measure-what-matters-most.html" target="_blank">measure what matters most</a>. (SHIFT Communications and Think with Google)</li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fTTUDkX9-Jw/VFzlJ4pB69I/AAAAAAAAYug/5RS5NU8uI5M/s1600/Measure%2BPlan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fTTUDkX9-Jw/VFzlJ4pB69I/AAAAAAAAYug/5RS5NU8uI5M/s1600/Measure%2BPlan.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
<h3>
<b>Legal / HR</b></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Not only did hackers get 56 million credit card numbers in the recent Home Depot security breach, but they also made off <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/home-depot-53-million-email-addresses-swiped-too-7000035542/" target="_blank">with some 53 million email addresses</a>. (ZDNet)</li>
<li>2015 marks the year when Millennials will become the majority of the workforce. This study takes a look at the <a href="http://www.elance-odesk.com/millennial-majority-workforce" target="_blank">collision course of cultures between Millennials and traditional employers</a>. (Elance-oDesk and Millennial Branding) </li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VgqK3hVE6a8/VFzlU8FMaSI/AAAAAAAAYuo/Z6Xtf8qZSYk/s1600/Millennials-inline-prioriteies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VgqK3hVE6a8/VFzlU8FMaSI/AAAAAAAAYuo/Z6Xtf8qZSYk/s1600/Millennials-inline-prioriteies.jpg" height="492" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3>
<b>Content</b></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Content marketing is experiencing something of a crisis of confidence. <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/05/content-in-crisis-content-marketing-vs-sales-enablement/" target="_blank">Is it worth it?</a> The key is to match what you spend with areas where consumers spend time. (Venture Beat)</li>
<li>A new twist on content: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/arts/video-games/kevin-spacey-stars-in-call-of-duty-advanced-warfare.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&_r=0" target="_blank">storytelling within gaming platforms</a>. Kevin Spacey addressed this in his keynote at Content Marketing World in September, and now he debuts in <i>Call of Duty</i>. This portends an opportunity for brands as well as actors. (New York Times)</li>
<li>A roundup of <a href="http://contently.com/strategist/2014/11/03/the-best-branded-content-of-october/?goal=0_bc3967cef4-c1cae17654-314974901" target="_blank">the best branded content in October</a> includes:</li>
<ul>
<li>A series of short holiday videos from Sofia Coppola for The Gap.</li>
<li>Honda's double-sided story with an extraordinarily creative use of video.</li>
<li>A captivating story with original content, multimedia elements and interactivity for Cole Haan by the sophisticated content studio at the New York Times.</li>
<li>Twitter's mapping of NFL fans across the country</li>
<li>An extraordinary 46-minute documentary on the future of fashion from Electrolux.</li>
<li>Netflix's outdoor GIFs.</li>
<li>Ouija's 20-second Snapchat ad.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>When You Have Time: Essential Reading / Listening / Watching</b></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Lewis Carroll, in his mathematician and logician life (before he wrote <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>), wrote an essay called "How to Learn," in which he outlines <a href="http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/06/13/how-to-learn-lewis-carroll/" target="_blank">four rules for digesting information and mastering the art of reading</a> that still resonate today. (Brain Pickings)</li>
<li>Cutting across the digital divide <a href="https://econsultancy.com/blog/65462-how-to-cut-across-the-cmo-cio-divide-in-four-steps#i.f5jjib27lf9kz7" target="_blank">between the CMO and CIO in four steps</a>. (Econsultancy)</li>
<li>Sometimes the Internet is a strange place. This week, for seemingly no apparent reason, <a href="http://time.com/3554572/alex-from-target/" target="_blank">#AlexFromTarget started trending</a>. Less than 24 hours later, the unsuspecting cashier had over <a href="https://twitter.com/acl163" target="_blank">330,000 Twitter followers</a> (nearing 700K at the time of publication) and was the top trending topic, and later in the week, he appeared on Ellen. </li>
<ul>
<li>It turns out the joke was on us, as 48 hours later, it was revealed that <a href="https://gigaom.com/2014/11/04/stop-the-presses-viral-alex-from-target-stunt-was-an-ad" target="_blank">it was a stunt</a> - one that proved the power of the teen social media machine.  <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/11/04/marketing-claims-alex-from-target/" target="_blank">Or was it?</a> The Twitter account that posted the first image of Alex is now locked down. (GigaOm and Mashable)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/ef9ec4" target="_blank">TechCrunch (Flickr)</a></span></i></div>
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This Week in Digital - November 7, 2014

It was an election week but #AlexFromTarget trended, a major digital marketing acquisition, teenagers have a more nuanced view of privacy...

Scott Monty - Strategic Communications & Leadership Advisor