Scott Monty

This Week in Digital - October 31, 2014

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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BF-HitDrrO0/VFOpaWlUagI/AAAAAAAAYmA/n44WPm54rPg/s1600/Digital%2Bearnings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BF-HitDrrO0/VFOpaWlUagI/AAAAAAAAYmA/n44WPm54rPg/s1600/Digital%2Bearnings.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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It was a social earnings bonanza this week, no Apple Pay for CVS and Rite Aid customers, a data breach for alternative payment system CurrenC, when real-time isn't really real, personnel changes at Twitter, a major overhaul for Flipboard, the disruptive and economic impact of the sharing economy, your analytics lesson of the week, taking brand publishers seriously, optimism and ignorance, getting others to listen to you and more,  it's <b>This Week in Digital</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 all-new <a href="http://flip.it/IfN4O" target="_blank">This Week in Digital Magazine</a>.  <br />
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<h3>
<b>Industry </b></h3>
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<ul>
<li>While Apple Pay launched last week, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/10/26/cvs-follows-rite-aid-shuts-off-apple-pay/17959213/" target="_blank">CVS and Rite Aid wasted no time in opting out of the system</a>. (USA Today)</li>
<ul>
<li>It turns out that they and a number of other retailers were prohibited from accepting Apple Pay <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3037782/the-reason-cvs-and-rite-aid-wont-take-apple-pay-contracts" target="_blank">because of their long-standing contract</a> with the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) and its QR code-based system called CurrentC. (Fast Company) [QR codes? That should work out swell.]</li>
<li>And then <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/currentc-hacked-2014-10?op=1" target="_blank">CurrentC was hacked</a>, with email addresses of its members acquired by third-party hackers. (Business Insider)</li>
</ul>
<li>Taco Bell decided to go dark on social media this week in an effort to promote its new mobile app. It was wildly successful, as it hit <a href="http://marketingland.com/taco-bell-mobile-app-tops-106015#.VFEw-lgtXGw.twitter" target="_blank">the top 25 most downloaded apps</a> on Tuesday. (Marketing Land)</li>
<li>Audio continues its rise as <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/24/deezer-buys-stitcher-to-add-talk-radio-and-podcasts-to-its-music-platform/" target="_blank">Deezer buys Stitcher</a>, adding some 35,000 radio talk shows and podcasts to its network. (TechCrunch)</li>
<li>Harvard Business Review has been highly successful with social, often beating larger rivals. It's proof that <a href="http://digiday.com/publishers/inside-harvard-business-reviews-social-sharing-success/" target="_blank">social can be a strong tool for a targeted publication</a>. (Digiday)</li>
<ul>
<li>Keep watching, as <a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/10/get-ready-for-a-brand-new-hbr-org/" target="_blank">HBR.org has launched a rebranded site</a>. (HBR)</li>
</ul>
<li>It's funny. As brands continue to focus on real-time marketing (and here are <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/rethinking-real-time.html?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRokvKvOZKXonjHpfsX+4u4vUa+g38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YEDSMN0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEMSrTYX7Z4t6MIXA%3D%3D" target="_blank">some tips on rethinking real-time</a> from Think with Google), they're missing the opportunity to engage, such as <a href="http://www.annhandley.com/2014/10/28/twitter-helps-get-lost-book-back-can-learn/" target="_blank">JetBlue helping a customer like locate a lost book</a> (Ann Handley). With social messages to brands increasing by 77%, some <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/brands-social-messages_b61144" target="_blank">five out of 6 messages go unanswered</a>. (AllTwitter)</li>
<ul>
<li>Kind of ironic, with so many brands focusing on real-time, isn't it?</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Platforms </b></h3>
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<ul>
<li><b>Facebook</b></li>
<ul>
<li>On its quarterly earnings call, the social giant declared <a href="http://www.insidefacebook.com/2014/10/28/facebook-in-q3-2014-in-charts-3-2b-in-revenue-1-35b-users/" target="_blank">its most successful quarter to date, with $3.2 billion in revenue</a>, including a 64% increase in advertising revenue. Mobile also played an important role, with mobile daily active users seeing an increase of 39% and mobile ad revenue accounting for 66% of the overall ad revenue. (Inside Facebook) [IMAGE]</li>
<li>Shares fell in after-hours trading because of something Facebook said: <a href="http://qz.com/288458/facebook-just-said-something-that-sent-its-shares-plummeting/" target="_blank">"We plan on 2015 being a significant investment year."</a> (Quartz)</li>
<li>According to Shareaholic, in Q3 Facebook drove the most traffic to sites, <a href="http://allfacebook.com/shareaholic-3q-2014_b135641" target="_blank">accounting for 22.36% of overall traffic referrals</a>. (AllFacebook)</li>
<li>Facebook is increasingly becoming to the news business <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/business/media/how-facebook-is-changing-the-way-its-users-consume-journalism.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email&_r=0" target="_blank">what Amazon is to publishing</a>. And rather than sending traffic to news outlets, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/business/media/facebook-offers-life-raft-but-publishers-are-wary.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&_r=0" target="_blank">Facebook might be looking to host the news on its own site</a>, with a revenue split with the publishers. (New York Times)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><b>Twitter</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Twitter reported Q3 earnings, showing <a href="https://investor.twitterinc.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=878170" target="_blank">a 114% increase in revenue to $361 million</a> against a subscriber growth of 23%. (Twitter)</li>
<li>Despite meeting Wall Street's expectations, <a href="http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/inside-the-ticker/why-twitter%E2%80%99s-earnings-were-not-good-enough-for-wall-street/vi-BBbRdla" target="_blank">the market still wants more</a>. (MSN Money)</li>
<li>As one might expect, there were some management changes to affect that: Jeremy Gordon, Twitter’s head of product engineering, and Adam Kinney, head of the analytics group <a href="http://recode.net/2014/10/29/two-twitter-execs-leave-the-company/" target="_blank">have left</a>; and VP of Product <a href="http://recode.net/2014/10/30/twitter-demotes-product-vp-after-only-six-months/">Daniel Graf has been demoted</a> after 6 months on the job. (re/code)</li>
<li>IBM and Twitter are teaming up <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/ibm" target="_blank">to incorporate Twitter data into IBM tools, solutions and consulting services</a> to help businesses make more informed decisions. (Twitter blog)</li>
<li>Twitter launched business.twitter.com to help <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-business-site_b61109" target="_blank">brands grow on the platform</a>. (AllTwitter)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-acquires-twitpic-domain-and-photo-archive-2014-10" target="_blank">The TwitPic saga is over</a>, as the mother bird has brought them back into the nest. (Business Insider)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>LinkedIn reported Q3 earnings, showing a <a href="http://www.adexchanger.com/investment/linkedin-q3-marketing-solutions-revenue-up-45-as-bizo-integration-continues/" target="_blank">growth of 45% in revenue, 28% user growth, and integration of B2B advertising platform Bizo</a>. (AdExchanger)</li>
<li>Instagram is increasingly important to marketers - <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/instagrams-video-ads-are-live-big-brands-board-161081" target="_blank">their video ads debuted this week</a>, with entries from Disney, Activision, Lancome and Banana Republic. For added measure, here are <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/14-instagram-data-findings-every-marketer-needs-know-160969" target="_blank">14 facts every marketer should know about Instagram</a>. (AdWeek)</li>
<li>Tumblr - no stranger to looping animated gifs - is taking a page from Facebook and <a href="http://readwrite.com/2014/10/28/tumblr-launches-video-ads" target="_blank">has rolled out video ads that autoplay</a>. (Read Write Web)<br /></li>
<li><b>This is huge</b>: Flipboard has launched <a href="http://inside.flipboard.com/2014/10/29/the-new-flipboard-gets-personal-with-over-30000-topics-to-follow/" target="_blank">the third generation of its popular digital magazine app</a>, with over 34,000 topics and a 7 a.m. curated update called The Daily Edition. (Inside Flipboard)</li>
<ul>
<li>Related: <a href="https://flipboard.com/profile/scottmonty" target="_blank">follow me on Flipboard</a> or subscribe to my magazines.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<a href="http://cdn.flipboard.com/dev_O/insideflipboard/10292014/gif-inside-flipboard-3.0-launch_XS_2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.flipboard.com/dev_O/insideflipboard/10292014/gif-inside-flipboard-3.0-launch_XS_2.gif" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3>
<b>Collaborative Economy </b></h3>
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<ul>
<li>Uber, Airbnb, Lyft are names that are now mainstream. How did we get here? A look at <a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2014/10/16/timeline-corporations-in-the-collaborative-economy-ver-2-oct-2014/" target="_blank">the timeline of the collaborative economy</a>. (Web Strategy)</li>
<li>The challenge for traditional companies is that <a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/10/apple-amazon-problem-people-dont-want-buy-stuff-anymore/?mbid=social_fb">people don't want as much "stuff" around anymore</a>. (Wired)</li>
<li>Amazon has opened <a href="http://thenextweb.com/media/2014/10/27/amazons-crowdsourced-publishing-program-kindle-scout-now-open-voting/" target="_blank">Kindle Scout, a crowdsourced publishing program</a>. (The Next Web)</li>
<li>The Internet of Things may seem like a fanciful world of talking toasters and smart refrigerators, but there are <a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/10/the-sectors-where-the-internet-of-things-really-matters/" target="_blank">sectors where the Internet of Things really matters</a>. (Harvard Business Review)</li>
<li>The technologies and mobile apps of the social media and digital world that make up the collaborative economy <a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2014/10/26/slides-and-data-the-collaborative-economy-disrupts/" target="_blank">are slowly but surely disrupting traditional revenue</a>. Here are the data. (Jeremiah Owyang)</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Metrics / Measurement / Big Data </b></h3>
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<ul>
<li>Content powerhouse <a href="https://gigaom.com/2014/10/28/buzzfeed-expands-its-data-team-by-acquiring-company-run-by-the-co-founder-and-former-cto-of-bitly/" target="_blank">BuzzFeed is beefing up its already strong data team</a> with the acquisition of Tornado Labs, founded by the co-founder and former CTO of Bit.ly. (GigaOm)</li>
<li>There's a whole world of <a href="http://digiday.com/sponsored/005-638-unifiedtt-dark-social-marketings-little-known-secret-unmeasured-roi/" target="_blank">downstream engagement with your content that isn't being measured</a>. It's known as dark social. (Digiday)</li>
<li>Your analytics must-read of the week: <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/10/advanced-analytics-position-velocity-and-acceleration/" target="_blank">understanding position, velocity and acceleration</a>. The three will allow you to turn data into insights. (SHIFT Communications)</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Legal / HR </b></h3>
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<ul>
<li>AT&T is being sued by the U.S. government <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/28/att-slowing-speeds-data-throttling-ftc_n_6062360.html" target="_blank">for reducing the data speeds of certain customers with unlimited data</a>. (Huffington Post)</li>
<li>Here's one HR leader's thoughts on <a href="http://qz.com/287876/this-is-why-people-leave-your-company/" target="_blank">why people leave your company</a>. (Quartz)</li>
<li>If that's the case, you might want to look at the list of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.sg/linkedin-100-most-desirable-employers-2014-10/#.VFDGkKq9Kc2" target="_blank">100 most desirable employers</a>. (Business Insider)</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Content </b></h3>
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<ul>
<li>Thought leadership is important. But there's no need to be pedantic. So how do you write thought-leadership pieces <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3003516/how-write-thought-leadership-pieces-get-published-and-dont-make-editors-want-die" target="_blank">that get published and don't make editors want to cry?</a> (Fast Company)</li>
<li>Brand publishing doesn't get the attention it deserves from the journalism industry. The Columbia Journalism Review argues that <a href="http://contently.com/strategist/2014/10/30/cjr-its-time-for-the-journalism-world-to-take-brand-publishers-seriously/" target="_blank">it's time to start taking brand publishers seriously</a>. (Contently)</li>
</ul>
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<br />
<h3>
<b>When You Have Time: Essential Reading / Listening / Watching </b></h3>
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<ul>
<li>In a bout of serendipity with the Apple Pay launch, <a href="http://brandsavant.com/brandsavant/the-mobile-commerce-revolution-has-arrived" target="_blank">Tom Webster and Tim Hayden have released their book</a> <a href="http://amzn.to/1u0gYzA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>The Mobile Commerce Revolution</i></a> (Amazon). It's an incredibly insightful dive into the behaviors and societal changes that led us to where we are. (Brand Savant)</li>
<li>And in case you'd like more hard data, here are <a href="http://recode.net/2014/10/27/the-world-of-mobile-by-the-numbers/" target="_blank">the numbers behind the world of mobile</a>. Most interesting is the time spent across devices, as seen below. (re/code) [IMAGE]</li>
<li>Marc Andreessen on <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/marc-andreessen-in-conversation.html" target="_blank">the power of optimism</a>. (New York Magazine)</li>
<li>But don't let that optimism turn into ignorance. According to psychologists, <a href="http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/confident-idiots-92793/" target="_blank">the trouble with ignorance is that is feels so much like expertise</a>. (Pacific & Standard)</li>
<li>Julian Treasure is a five-time TED speaker and is well versed in the art of speaking and sound. In this 10-minute talk, he has simple tips to help you <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_how_to_speak_so_that_people_want_to_listen" target="_blank">talk so that people want to listen</a>. (TED)</li>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://embed-ssl.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_how_to_speak_so_that_people_want_to_listen.html" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="560"></iframe></center>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></i> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/smswigart/6767371111/in/photolist-ir87vw-ahtKQx-dmyfCP-bj1xEg-ceW1uQ-fp3x9g-faUtUR-fDcSLc-7M3oA9-8vWmZd-6uichY-8XBP3F-og9P2s-oHuyPM-pkGMZd-4Vte7j-bmDkrH-faaHUN-5LbM6j-bvk4fX-naSShW-naR73e-naQJVM-naQKNi-naR6EF-8CCzqk-8CFEDj-685ySt-415JDY-2TPtsp-842Fbf-f1im5C-p6eD1H-mqzeNM-mqB5e1-mqzSxr-mqB5Xf-cD6jNw-fuCXXJ-dkhFkd-dkhFam-pkGMBu-azT5aq-6VDi8Y-cApKgd-f147ND-gt4Jo-biXyir-wU8Mk-cETN7Q" target="_blank">Scott Swigart (Flickr)</a></span></i><br />
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This Week in Digital - October 31, 2014

It was a social earnings bonanza this week, no Apple Pay for CVS and Rite Aid customers, a data breach for alternative payment system Cur...

Analytics and The Limits Of Knowledge

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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C_v_U7eMQK0/VFBRkJP3noI/AAAAAAAAYkQ/IoR7Uo_fHWI/s1600/Chromatic%2Bcowbells.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="I've got a FEVER! And the only PRESCRIPTION...is MORE COWBELL!" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C_v_U7eMQK0/VFBRkJP3noI/AAAAAAAAYkQ/IoR7Uo_fHWI/s1600/Chromatic%2Bcowbells.jpg" height="478" title="More cowbells" width="640" /></a></div>
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Have you seen the <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/536145">More Cowbell sketch</a> (<a href="http://vimeo.com/91715361" target="_blank">alternative link</a> for non-US readers) from Saturday Night Live? It’s more than just funny. Believe it or not, it’s a powerful metaphor for a successful work life. And it provides insight into the kind of people you need on your team, and what makes an effective team.<br />
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<i>Everyone </i>has at least one cowbell — it’s your unique, profitable talent people pay you for or your company's unique offering. It’s something people have a fever for. When you discover it and give those people a ton of it, you gain success and happiness for both yourself and others. It’s a win-win.<br />
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A cowbell is simultaneously something you love doing and something other people really want as well (although, as we’ll see, you still will have detractors and critics). A cowbell creates joy for you and other people. It makes them yell for more. They can't get enough.<br />
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<h3>
<b>Computers And Big Data Are Awesome</b></h3>
The Internet has given us great ways to learn more about the world and what people want and what the trends are. We love Google Trends and the Google AdWords Keyword Planner and Facebook’s Audience Insights and Graph Search. We’ve never known this much about ourselves and each other. We’ve never had more information to go on. <br />
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When you first discover these tools of Internet marketing and social media, you’re astounded by the possibilities. Theoretically, we should be able to understand our audience, reach the right people, convince them more effectively, get people what they want at a better price, and so on.<br />
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But…</div>
<div>
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<h3>
<b>There’s No Such Thing As Perfect Knowledge</b></h3>
Brian found that in using website analytics for 15 years to try to track what businesses do online, there was never perfectly accurate knowledge. There were always discrepancies and questions. If you have two web analytics programs on one site, you’re going to get data that disagrees. How is that possible?<br />
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There’s a lot we don’t know. Not everything in the world is tracked. We can’t really see into people’s heads. Even MRIs don’t tell us exactly what everyone is thinking. And surveys of people reveal that they often don’t know why they do what they do.<br />
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As humans have had to since the beginning, we still must make decisions without all the facts. We have beliefs, best practices and theories. We have our intuition. We have big data and surveys. But we’re still guessing.</div>
<div>
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<h3>
<b>Love, Marriage And Drunk Surgeons</b></h3>
You fall in love with someone based on who you think that person is - maybe who you wish that person was. Inevitably, as the years progress, you find out who he or she really is. Then you have to ask yourself, “Can I live with this? Is it good for both of us?” If so, you can be married a long time. If not, divorce can be very expensive.<br />
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We like to think we listen to our hearts. Or our guts. Brian likes to say, “Listen to your gut - unless you just ate Taco Bell.” The truth is it’s an effort even to truly know our own hearts. Sometimes gut feelings are wrong. Sometimes we’re in touch with intuition and sometimes we just think we are. We’re frequently wrong.<br />
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A drunk surgeon on a plane once told Garrison, “Half of surgery is exploratory. Those anatomical drawings are a lie! They’re an approximation, at best. You open people up and they’re different in there, so you have to change your plan.” <br />
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Equally perplexing is the fact that people have vastly different immune systems. One guy is allergic to shrimp and gluten, and another guy can eat out of a garbage can in an alley and never get sick. We’re not the same. Because of this, knowledge is only half the battle. The other half is effort.<br />
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<div>
<h3>
<b>Effort Is The Great Equalizer</b></h3>
We humans all have different compositions, capabilities, mindsets and intelligence levels. Effort is the great equalizer. We have the ability to apply what we do have, as much as we can apply it. Who’s rich and successful? Usually the ones that make the effort. Why are some less athletically gifted athletes doing better than #1 picks? They’re willing and able to apply more. Good motor. Hustle. <br />
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Urban Dictionary defines <b><i>hustlin</i></b> as “havin [sic] the ambition and drive to do everything and anything to make mad money.”<br />
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In the More Cowbell sketch, Gene Frenkle, a guy who’d eaten too many burritos and bought too small a shirt, put the effort in. He played the hell out of his cowbell. Bruce Dickinson says, “I gotta have more cowbell!” Together they increased Gene’s opportunity because Dickinson fueled Gene’s effort.<br />
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When a Bruce Dickinson (a producer, mentor or manager) sees your enthusiasm, your opportunities increase. Every manager wants more employees who work hard.<br />
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Garrison once won employee of the month, although other coworkers were more productive. Why was he singled out? He worked until 10pm every day, and management noticed. It was really because he was bad at time management, and he just couldn’t get a days’s work done before 5pm. He wouldn’t leave until he got it done. But his effort and persistence were noticed and rewarded.<br />
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Brian’s favorite time to work is Friday night into Saturday and Sunday, because no one else is working, so no one interrupts him- and he feels like he’s getting ahead. Workaholism is bad if you’re a bad husband or a bad parent, but Brian and his wife don’t have kids and both love to work- so it’s perfect!</div>
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<h3>
<b>Hope Can Be An Obstacle</b></h3>
Would you rather be hopeful or successful? Would you rather have something good in your life now, or the possibility that something good might happen in the future? Do you prefer achievement or potential?<br />
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It's easy to unconsciously choose hope in ways that keep you from success. If you are content with hope, you might not finish something. You might go off and relax or entertain yourself instead of pushing through to success. <br />
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Those who succeed are impatient for achievement. They make it happen sooner. If you want to be more successful, you cannot be satisfied with hope or potential. You must push to get your results now. You must feel like you deserve more — now. <br />
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What this means is that when the "hope" type of person sees someone who's discontent or impatient or pushy, it could mean the latter person is a "success" type. Success types can be irritating, no question. But they are often leaders for this reason. They make sure it gets done. And execution is critical to success.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iSRHQQMmXOs/VFBWL_NtfmI/AAAAAAAAYkg/32Vf1ZuE168/s1600/TheCowbellPrinciple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iSRHQQMmXOs/VFBWL_NtfmI/AAAAAAAAYkg/32Vf1ZuE168/s1600/TheCowbellPrinciple.jpg" height="200" width="171" /></a></div>
<i>This post is an excerpt adapted by Brian Carter from the forthcoming book <b>The Cowbell Principle: Career Advice On How To Get Your Dream Job And Make More Money</b>, by Brian Carter and Garrison Wynn. Brian and Garrison will be giving away a limited number of digital copies at launch time. To get notified when they’re available, sign up at:</i><br />
<i> <a href="http://thecowbellprinciple.com/getnotified">http://thecowbellprinciple.com/getnotified</a></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lead image source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowbell_(instrument)" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></span></i><br />
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Analytics and The Limits Of Knowledge

Have you seen the More Cowbell sketch ( alternative link for non-US readers) from Saturday Night Live? It’s more than just funny. Bel...

This Week in Digital - October 24, 2014

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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XiDvNbD9Wxk/VEm56PCUG-I/AAAAAAAAYd4/PC_AIseBcZ8/s1600/Facebook%2B-%2Bget%2Ba%2BRoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XiDvNbD9Wxk/VEm56PCUG-I/AAAAAAAAYd4/PC_AIseBcZ8/s1600/Facebook%2B-%2Bget%2Ba%2BRoom.jpg" height="492" width="640" /></a></div>
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Apple Pay and Google Inbox launch, John Oliver calls for more interesting Supreme Court coverage,  Facebook goes old school with Rooms, Twitter wants your Digits as part of its Fabric, audience ages across social networks, Uber has (another) PR problem on its hands, ROI metrics require math, The Guardian builds out editorial teams while the Mail Online makes its editorial staff moonlight as ad creators, Microsoft is the sheriff of the Internet 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, social media, mobile, 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 />
This week, we're pleased to feature a new section that acknowledges the growing importance of brands, start-ups and consumers joining forces to create new business models and solve problems. We're calling this section <b><i>Collaborative Economy</i></b>. <br />
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<h3>
<b>Industry </b></h3>
<ul>
<li>The Guardian is reorganizing to form <a href="http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/guardian-forms-new-editorial-teams-to-enhance-digital-output/s2/a562755/" target="_blank">new editorial teams to boost digital output</a>. These include visual journalism, data journalism and audience development. (Journalism.co.uk) </li>
<li>The ad industry is <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/10/21/the-ad-industry-has-made-peace-with-crowdsourcing/" target="_blank">coming to grips with crowdsourcing</a>. (Mashable) </li>
<li>To wit, on Last Week Tonight John Oliver bemoaned the dearth of Supreme Court (SCOTUS) media coverage because the important content is less than exciting. So, he took matters into his own hands and has <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/20/7014955/john-oliver-dog-supreme-court-last-week-tonight-free-public" target="_blank">challenged viewers to take video clips of dogs and use SCOTUS audio clips</a> with them. And <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/22/7038259/john-oliver-all-dog-supreme-court-argue-aereo-case" target="_blank">The Verge took him up on it</a>. (The Verge)</li>
</ul>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fJ9prhPV2PI" width="560"></iframe></center>
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<ul>
<li>A report from E&Y finds that <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/235901/report-finds-cmos-and-csos-need-to-accelerate-ch.html?edition=76931" target="_blank">CMOs and chief sales officers need to accelerate change</a>. Of particular interest: "CMOs focus too little on understanding the customer or enhancing their experience, while many CSOs emphasize short-term targets to the exclusion of strategy, innovation and longer-term connections." (MediaPost)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/21/technology/as-apple-pay-arrives-witnessing-the-next-step-in-money-maybe.html" target="_blank">Apple Pay launched this week</a>, meaning that thousands of hipsters can leave home without those pesky wallets. (New York Times)</li>
<ul>
<li>The joke will be on them when the Apple Watch launches, requiring them to don yet one more thing. Is a wallet really that much trouble?</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Platforms</b></h3>
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<ul>
<li><b>Facebook</b></li>
<ul>
<li>After changing its stance of not allowing drag queens to use their stage names, <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/18/facebook-to-federal-agents-no-you-dont-get-to-create-fake-profiles-to-ensnare-suspects/" target="_blank">Facebook has told federal agents that they can't</a> use fake profiles on the platform. (Venture Beat)</li>
<li>Which is completely fine, since now they'll be able to set up <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/23/facebook-rooms/?ncid=rss" target="_blank">Rooms, a pseudonymous app that lets users create pop-up forums on any topic</a>. (Techcrunch)</li>
<li>Rooms is a vintage/nostalgia play; it seems more like the IRC and Usenet forums <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/facebook-rides-a-wave-of-web-10-nostalgia.html" target="_blank">from Web 1.0</a>. (New York Magazine)</li>
<li>Popular marketing blog <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/bye-facebook" target="_blank">Copyblogger is saying goodbye to Facebook</a> because of lackluster results with its audience. (Copyblogger)</li>
<li>When considering a paid strategy for Facebook, should you boost your posts, your profile, or both? <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/10/find-brands-optimum-facebook-strategy/" target="_blank">SHIFT did the research and has your answer</a>. (SHIFT Communications)</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Twitter</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Twitter held its Flight developers conference on Wednesday and <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2014/introducing-fabric" target="_blank">revealed its new software development kit, Fabric</a>. (Twitter)</li>
<li>Aptly named, as Twitter intends for <a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/10/twitter-fabric-sdk/" target="_blank">its service to be woven into the fabric of the mobile apps</a> whether or not the service makes use of Twitter, with tweets simply being a part of the user experience and developer experience. In addition, the Digits update means that social logins are unnecessary, with mobile phone numbers substituted for login. (Wired)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<i><b>[NOTE: both of the above pieces are lengthy, but deserve the time spent with them, due to the importance and depth of this development.] </b></i><br />
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<ul>
<li>Travel site Splendia is partnering with high-volume Instagrammers <a href="http://marketingland.com/travel-site-splendia-partnered-prolific-instagramers-crowdsource-travel-guides-105097" target="_blank">to create crowsourced city guides</a> with their images. (Marketing Land)</li>
<li>Snapchat has released its first ads. <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/matthewzeitlin/this-is-what-snapchats-first-ad-looks-like#1ezg0w" target="_blank">This is what they look like</a>. (BuzzFeed)</li>
<li>Is the future of email here? <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/22/7041227/google-inbox-hands-on-this-feels-like-the-future-of-email" target="_blank">Google's new Inbox</a> may be just the thing to herald its arrival. (The Verge)</li>
<li>Rainn Wilson - best known as Dwight Shrute from The Office - is developing <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/21/rainn-wilson-hollywood-and-vine/" target="_blank">a new television show starring Vine celebrities</a>. (Engadget)</li>
<li>A look at audience ages across a number of social networks. If you're into teenagers, be sure to pay attention to <a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Snapchats-Audience-Teen-y/1011335/1" target="_blank">Snapchat, Tumblr and Vine</a>. (eMarketer)</li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cl_eCjUaBCs/VEm5A3B5lHI/AAAAAAAAYdo/Ipk_Akw0HQk/s1600/Social%2BNetwork%2BStats.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cl_eCjUaBCs/VEm5A3B5lHI/AAAAAAAAYdo/Ipk_Akw0HQk/s1600/Social%2BNetwork%2BStats.gif" /></a></div>
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<h3>
<b>Collaborative Economy </b></h3>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://crowdcompanies.com/" target="_blank">Crowd Companies</a> is a brand council that allows large companies to tap the potential of the collaborative economy, sharing economy, maker movement and co-innovation. (Crowd Companies)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/french-uber-bird-hunting-promotion-pairs-lyon-riders-with-a" target="_blank">Uber France tried a promotion that was quickly yanked</a> - pairing riders with "hot chicks," if you can believe it. (BuzzFeed)</li>
<ul>
<li>And one commentary linked it to <a href="http://pando.com/2014/10/22/the-horrific-trickle-down-of-asshole-culture-at-a-company-like-uber/" target="_blank">a more pervasive corporate culture</a>. (Pando Daily)</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Metrics / Measurement / Big Data </b></h3>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://spinsucks.com/communication/pr-roi-means-you-have-to-do-real-math/" target="_blank">Tracking the correct metrics for the ROI</a> of your public relations efforts means (gasp!) using math. (Spin Sucks)</li>
<li>I was at the board meeting of the <a href="http://www.ama.org/" target="_blank">American Marketing Association</a> in Chicago this week, and while I was there, I learned about <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/22/chicago-and-big-data/?ncid=rss" target="_blank">how Chicago is piecing together big data for the Array of Things</a>. (Techcrunch)</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Legal / HR</b></h3>
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<ul>
<li>Remember the case in which the appellant claimed that Mark Zuckerberg gave him 84% of Facebook? Well, now <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/facebook-sues-lawyers-for-allegedly-contributing-to-fraud-1413833733" target="_blank">Facebook is suing that guy's lawyers for fraud</a>, claiming that they should have known that his documentation was forged and dropped the case. (WSJ)</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Content </b></h3>
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<ul>
<li>There's no fear of the so-called church and state divide of journalism and advertising at Mail Online. They contend that <a href="http://digiday.com/publishers/mail-online-edit-staff-moonlight-ad-creators/" target="_blank">journalists are the best equipped to cover in-depth content</a>. (Digiday)</li>
<li>The key to sponsored content is to determine <a href="https://econsultancy.com/blog/65377-the-native-advertising-chart-of-relevancy-and-transparency#i.flinoy1b5ie60z" target="_blank">the intersection relevancy and transparency</a>. (Econsultancy)</li>
<li><a href="http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2014/10/19/content-marketing-trends-business-implementing/" target="_blank">Trends in content marketing</a> continue: new titles such as "Director of Content" are emerging; mobile optimization is critical; guest video posts are becoming more common; the use of visual platforms such as Google+ and SlideShare. (The Next Web)</li>
<ul>
<li><i>Related</i>: <a href="http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2014/06/29/6-ways-content-marketing-changed-way-pr/" target="_blank">6 ways that content marketing has changed PR</a>.</li>
</ul>
<li>If you think of your <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/10/the-bedtime-test-of-content-marketing-and-pr/" target="_blank">content like a bedtime story</a>, it should be obvious what your audience wants. (SHIFT Communications) </li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iWSzxntuEBY/VEm5cu6_bRI/AAAAAAAAYdw/L3Xmz-pYRls/s1600/Tell%2Bme%2Ba%2Bstory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iWSzxntuEBY/VEm5cu6_bRI/AAAAAAAAYdw/L3Xmz-pYRls/s1600/Tell%2Bme%2Ba%2Bstory.jpg" height="640" width="494" /></a></div>
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<h3>
<b>Essential Reading / Listening / Watching</b></h3>
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<ul>
<li>Well worth the read - <a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/10/microsoft-pinkerton/" target="_blank">Microsoft goes to great lengths to ensure that the Internet is safe</a>. (Wired)</li>
<li>Maria Popova, proprietor of Brain Pickings, sat down with Tim Ferris to talk about <a href="http://fourhourworkweek.com/2014/10/21/brain-pickings/" target="_blank">writing, workflows and workarounds</a>. Listen to this episode for insights on how a hyperproductive person does what she does. (Four Hour Workweek)</li>
<li>Email marketing still works. And here are <a href="http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/email-marketing-hacks-matt-heinz" target="_blank">13 tips for increasing your response rates</a>. (Hubspot)</li>
<li>The celebrity nude photo scandal that broke a few weeks ago has a lead suspect. And his story <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/what-kind-of-creep-sells-a-celebritys-naked-photos-on-the-in" target="_blank">is more interesting than the original subject matter</a>. (BuzzFeed)</li>
</ul>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mrs._Oscar_Powers,_wife_of_a_miner,_in_the_bedroom_of_their_three_room_house,_they_get_a_reduced_rental_rate_of_$4.50..._-_NARA_-_541165.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia</a></span></i></div>
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This Week in Digital - October 24, 2014

Apple Pay and Google Inbox launch, John Oliver calls for more interesting Supreme Court coverage, Facebook goes old school with Rooms,...

This Week in Digital - October 17, 2014

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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J4Uczc7jIxI/VEEkZlJKNGI/AAAAAAAAYYo/9GyRQr2NOww/s1600/Dumped%2Bold%2BTV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="HBO's web subscription model trashes old television" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J4Uczc7jIxI/VEEkZlJKNGI/AAAAAAAAYYo/9GyRQr2NOww/s1600/Dumped%2Bold%2BTV.jpg" height="426" title="Old school TV goes by the wayside" width="640" /></a></div>
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HBO Goes digital in a move that may presage wholesale change in television, McDonalds gets more vocal, LEGO ends promotion after Greenpeace protests, Stickers are all the rage on Facebook, Twitter explains its suggested tweets strategy, social login rates across the web, improving how we value data, Whisper tacitly admits it's not so anonymous, Uber and Lyft claim another victim, the power shift between CIO and CMO, crafting a global digital strategy 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, social media, mobile, 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 />
<h3>
<b>Industry </b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Last week, we saw digital go traditional with Amazon's foray into a physical storefront. Now we see the opposite, as <a href="http://recode.net/2014/10/15/hbo-says-its-going-to-start-selling-on-the-web-next-year/" target="_blank">HBO will offer a web-only subscription option in 2015</a>. (re/code)</li>
<ul>
<li>How much <a href="http://deadline.com/2013/05/hbo-go-without-cable-not-yet-says-time-warner-chief-487633/" target="_blank">things have changed in a year and a half</a>, when HBO originally said it wasn't ready for web subscriptions. (Deadline) </li>
<li>As we were editing this edition, we were prepared to say that other networks would be looking at their models, and lo and behold, <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/16/cbs-announces-its-own-live-tv-and-streaming-service-cbs-all-acess/" target="_blank">CBS announced that it will be creating an online subscription service</a>, called CBS All Access. (TechCrunch) </li>
</ul>
<li>If social media doesn't tie well to the objectives of marketing departments, then <a href="http://www.experiencetheblog.com/2014/10/stop-social-media-marketing.html" target="_blank">maybe it's time to stop social media marketing</a> and give others in the enterprise an opportunity to leverage it. (Experience: The Blog) </li>
<li>Email marketing, search and webrooming are all forces to take into account as you think about <a href="https://econsultancy.com/blog/65267-mobile-commerce-how-to-target-customers-and-beat-the-competition#i.f5jjib27lf9kz7" target="_blank">targeting customers and beating the competition in mobile commerce</a>. (Econsultancy) </li>
<li>In an attempt to turn around lagging sales and boost its brand image, <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-10-13/mcdonald-s-braves-social-media-waters-with-q-and-a-campaign" target="_blank">McDonalds is taking to social media to directly answer questions about its food</a>. (Bloomberg) </li>
<ul>
<li>The company has even released <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mcdonalds-ambassador/id924520616?mt=8" target="_blank">a McDonalds Ambassador app</a> for anyone who wants to be more informed about the company or its products. The app includes the ability to submit questions and search through answered questions. (iTunes) </li>
<li>Speaking of ambassadors, here's a quick summary of <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/10/learning-from-the-state-department.html?utm_content=buffere4b85&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">what life as a brand ambassador is like</a>. I can attest. (Seth Godin) </li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.science20.com/the_conversation/greenpeace_versus_shell_via_lego_the_building_blocks_of_a_successful_pr_campaign-146727" target="_blank">LEGO has announced it is ending its 40-year co-promotion deal with Shell</a> following <strike>an extortion effort</strike> a PR campaign by Greenpeace to ban Arctic oil exploration by attacking firms associated with such activities. (Science 2.0) </li>
<li>Nestle has traditionally had one of the best digital immersion plans of any global company. Now 4 years in, here's <a href="http://adage.com/article/digital/nestle-s-global-program-produces-digital-disciples/295359/" target="_blank">a look at how some of its digerati - and the program - have fared</a>. (AdAge) </li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Platforms</b></h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Facebook</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Facebook's app strategy has been less than a home run so far. <a href="http://digiday.com/platforms/facebooks-app-de-bundling-strategy-flailing/" target="_blank">Will their anonymous app change that record?</a> (Digiday)</li>
<li>Not to worry; the social network rolled out <a href="http://allfacebook.com/stickers-comments-2_b135232" target="_blank">Stickers within comments</a> this week. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse were not in the Sticker Store. (AllFacebook)</li>
<li>Facebook IQ, the company's insights unit, has released <a href="http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1317208/facebook-iq-reveals-marketing-millennials-flawed/" target="_blank">a study that indicates marketing to millennials is flawed</a> and fails to acknowledge the vast differences in this group. (Brand Republic)</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Twitter</b></li>
<ul>
<li>The latest available <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2014/introducing-a-new-audio-experience-on-twitter" target="_blank">Twitter card for media integration</a> is for audio, <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/16/6990707/twitter-introduces-a-way-to-play-audio-inside-tweets" target="_blank">beginning with SoundCloud and iTunes</a>, in which users can play audio directly inside of tweets. (Twitter and The Verge)</li>
<li>Twitter is <a href="http://recode.net/2014/10/16/twitters-finally-explaining-its-suggested-tweets-strategy/" target="_blank">finally explaining why they're placing suggested tweets</a> in your timeline. Bottom line: they'd like to keep users more engaged, so they'll include content when your feed is slow or with related material that you might like. (re/code)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/secret-twitter-tips-hacks-tricks_b60789" target="_blank">10 Twitter tips, hacks and tricks</a> that you probably didn't know. (AllTwitter)</li>
</ul>
<li>Marketers are spending more time <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/fashion/your-instagram-picture-worth-a-thousand-ads.html?_r=0" target="_blank">wooing top Instagram photographers</a> to cover their events. (NY Times)</li>
<li>A platform-by-platform look at <a href="http://agbeat.com/social-media/longer-working-social-media-2014-edition/?utm_content=buffer5a4f5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer#at_pco=smlwn-1.0&at_si=543bea2cfd37e209&at_ab=per-1&at_pos=0&at_tot=1" target="_blank">what works and what doesn't work</a> in social media. (The American Genius)</li>
<li><a href="http://mashable.com/2014/10/15/fewer-youtube-videos/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mashable%2Fbusiness+%28Mashable+%C2%BB+Business+and+Marketing%29&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-Bus-Partial&utm_medium=email&utm_source=feedburner" target="_blank">YouTube videos on Facebook are lagging</a> as Facebook's own video platform is taking a lead. (Mashable)</li>
<li><a href="http://janrain.com/blog/social-login-trends-q3-2014/" target="_blank">Social logins across the web are tracked in this study</a>, and it looks like Facebook is taking the lead, with 46% of sites preferring it; Google is second and is leading with B2B site logins. The study also looks at sites from other verticals such as media, entertainment and gaming, retail, music and more. (Janrain) </li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWjyT8XLgJs/VEEnV6iujHI/AAAAAAAAYZA/_xw0mqfWLz8/s1600/Social-Login-Trends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Q3 2014 social login trends" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWjyT8XLgJs/VEEnV6iujHI/AAAAAAAAYZA/_xw0mqfWLz8/s1600/Social-Login-Trends.jpg" height="334" title="Social login trends from Janrain" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3>
<b>Metrics / Measurement / Big Data</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>All that data that you throw off every day: the groceries you buy, the places you go, the people you interact with - <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/whats-all-that-data-worth-1413157156?mod=djemCIO_h&cb=logged0.4016712107695639" target="_blank">what is it worth?</a> At this point, companies have better accounting for their office furniture than their information assets. (WSJ)</li>
<li>If you'd like to get better at understanding what to do with all of that data, here are <a href="http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/benchmarking-digital-analytics-performance-metrics/" target="_blank">four options at your disposal to get benchmarks that will give you invaluable context</a>. (Occam's Razor)</li>
<li>The convergence of physical and digital is inevitable, and the data that comes with it is extremely valuable - hence, Amazon's decision to open a store in Manhattan and <a href="http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/the-true-omni-channel-is-convergence/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TwistImage+%28Six+Pixels+of+Separation+-+Marketing+and+Communications+Insights+Blog+-+Mitch+Joel+-+Twist+Image%29" target="_blank">the need for retailers to pay closer attention to what matters</a>. (Twist Image)</li>
<li>Smart marketers like Ditto are already figuring out <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/smile-marketing-firms-are-mining-your-selfies-1412882222?mod=djemCMOToday" target="_blank">how to use the images you take that include brand logos</a>. (WSJ)</li>
<li>The excellent CMO and the Cloud series continues with <a href="http://olivierblanchard.net/cmo-cloud-part-5/" target="_blank">Part 5</a> and <a href="http://olivierblanchard.net/cmo-cloud-part-6/" target="_blank">Part 6</a>. (Olivier Blanchard)</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Legal / HR</b></h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://theweek.com/speedreads/index/269514/speedreads-red-bull-will-pay-13-million-to-consumers-because-it-didnt-actually-give-them-wings" target="_blank">Red Bull is paying a $13 million penalty</a> in a class action lawsuit because of false advertising. The charge? Its popular energy drink didn't provide health benefits as stated. In other words, they didn't actually give customers wings. (The Week)</li>
<li>The Guardian revealed how "anonymish" app <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/16/-sp-revealed-whisper-app-tracking-users" target="_blank">Whisper actually tracks its users</a>, which Whisper called "not true" and "false." And then Whisper <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/16/-sp-whisper-privacy-policy-terms-of-service?CMP=twt_gu" target="_blank">suddenly changed its terms of service and privacy policy</a>. (Guardian)\</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Content</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Want a winning headline strategy? <a href="http://thenextweb.com/lifehacks/2014/10/12/6-ways-empathy-map-can-help-craft-winning-headlines/" target="_blank">Try a little empathy</a>. (The Next Web)</li>
<li>Yahoo and Tumblr have learned some lessons from <a href="http://contently.com/strategist/2014/10/08/5-reasons-these-branded-tumblrs-were-a-huge-success/">working with branded content</a>, including the importance of not talking about yourself, scale, consistency and mobile optimization. (Contently)</li>
<li>Hubspot's recent IPO was significant, in that inbound marketing - backed by content generation - is <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/11/why-hubspots-ipo-was-more-than-just-an-ipo/" target="_blank">a key aspect of the future of marketing</a>. (Venture Beat)</li>
<li>If you're trying to ascertain your investment in and impact of your content, the ebook <a href="http://bit.ly/1ttvC2w" target="_blank">The ROI of Content Marketing is a must-read</a>. (SHIFT Communications)</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Essential Reading / Listening / Watching</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>The Collaborative Economy continues to make inroads into traditional business. <a href="http://valleywag.gawker.com/uber-and-lyft-price-war-drives-major-competitor-out-of-1646194932/+laceydonohue" target="_blank">Hailo, the cab hailing app, is leaving North America</a>, citing competition with Uber and Lyft. (Valleywag)</li>
<ul>
<li>And for a tale of Shakespearean proportions, check out <a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2014/09/24/disruption-from-the-collaborative-economy/" target="_blank">the disruption that the taxi industry in San Francisco is suffering</a> because of a business model (and customers) that have been neglected for years. (Web Strategy)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C2JMi4N53F0/VEEn6dPK6XI/AAAAAAAAYZI/mrF8_d7tWKo/s1600/Fail-O.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C2JMi4N53F0/VEEn6dPK6XI/AAAAAAAAYZI/mrF8_d7tWKo/s1600/Fail-O.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.cio.com/article/2825086/cio-role/is-the-cio-cmo-transition-of-power-becoming-a-reality.html" target="_blank">The shift of power from CIO to CMO is under way</a> as CIOs begin to be relegated to a supportive role rather than a strategic role. A look at how we've arrived at this juncture and where things are headed. [Spoiler: if you're a CIO, it doesn't look good.] (CIO)</li>
<li>If you'd like <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/developing_a_global_digital_strategy" target="_blank">a lesson in how to build a global digital strategy</a>, Johnson & Johnson's example is a fine one to study. (McKinsey)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.sharethis.com/blog/2014/10/13/consumers-reach-peak-engagement-within-24-hours-event/#sthash.EFtJKqcZ.iif1OA19.dpbs" target="_blank">The latest study from ShareThis</a> indicates that timeliness around events is critical, as consumers are 5X more likely to share content within 24 hours of an event. Also worth noting is that channels are context-dependent, mobile is an early driver of engagement and that tablets are the true second screen. The report is embedded below. (ShareThis)</li>
</ul>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="355" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/40251426" style="border-width: 1px; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;" width="425"> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
<strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/sharethis/q3-2014-consumer-sharing-trends-report" target="_blank" title="Q3 2014 Consumer Sharing Trends Report">Q3 2014 Consumer Sharing Trends Report</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/sharethis" target="_blank">ShareThis</a></strong> </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/egEyMY" target="_blank">Ruocaled (Flickr)</a></span></i><br />
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This Week in Digital - October 17, 2014

HBO Goes digital in a move that may presage wholesale change in television, McDonalds gets more vocal, LEGO ends promotion after Greenpea...

This Week in Digital - October 10, 2014

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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0QnZVmpxeuY/VDfklhqpGnI/AAAAAAAAYRQ/zzizddicJsw/s1600/Amazon%2Bclick%2Band%2Bmortar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Amazon gets physical" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0QnZVmpxeuY/VDfklhqpGnI/AAAAAAAAYRQ/zzizddicJsw/s1600/Amazon%2Bclick%2Band%2Bmortar.JPG" height="314" title="Amazon - click and mortar" width="640" /></a></div>
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Amazon goes brick and mortar, New York's quick takedown of ad executions, Comcast gets a customer fired, music listening habits of Americans, Facebook gets into geofenced advertising, anonymous apps and healthcare, fired Reddit employee gets owned by Reddit CEO on AMA, how to combat "content shock," the ice cream principle of search and social, marketing skills of the future, global digital statistics 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, social media, mobile, 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 />
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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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<h3>
<b>Industry</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Clicks, meet mortar: <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/amazon-to-open-first-store-1412879124?mod=WSJ_hp_RightTopStories" target="_blank">Amazon is opening its first physical store</a> in Manhattan. (WSJ)</li>
<li>As the collaborative economy grows, when things occur like a hammer attack in an Uber car, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2014/09/30/uber-driver-hammer-attack-liability/" target="_blank">who is ultimately responsible?</a> (Forbes)</li>
<li><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2014/10/06/the-cio-function-will-survive-says-gartner-research-head/?mod=djemCIO_h" target="_blank">Are CIOs driving digital leadership?</a> A Gartner survey says that 47% of CIOs think so, but only 15% of CEOs agree. (WSJ CIO Journal)</li>
<li>Outdoor media company Titan <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/exclusive-hundreds-of-devices-hidden-inside-new-york-city-ph#1ezg0w" target="_blank">placed hundreds of advertising beacons</a> - to beam messages and advertisements or to track consumers' whereabouts - in payphones in New York City. Then, almost as quickly as they went up, they were removed. (BuzzFeed)</li>
<ul>
<li>Related: adult website PornHub somehow decided a billboard in Times Square was a good idea. <a href="http://www.pornhub.com/insights/pornhub-times-square/">It was erected and removed in a single day</a>. (PornHub - SFW link) </li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1vQIcF3_wa0/VDffUQdBWPI/AAAAAAAAYQ4/I3etPud7Vv0/s1600/Love%2Bcampaign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Not a family-friendly message in Times Square" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1vQIcF3_wa0/VDffUQdBWPI/AAAAAAAAYQ4/I3etPud7Vv0/s1600/Love%2Bcampaign.jpg" height="426" title="Pornhub image not suitable for Times Square" width="640" /></a></div>
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<li>Cookies are getting stale; <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/06/the-cookie-is-dead-heres-how-facebook-google-and-apple-are-tracking-you-now/?utm_content=buffer65fcf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">here's how Facebook, Apple and Google are tracking you now</a>. (VentureBeat)</li>
<li>Comcast, one of the <a href="http://www.dmnews.com/which-brands-are-the-most-and-least-trusted/article/345811/" target="_blank">least trusted brands</a>, stepped in it by providing less than acceptable customer service and <a href="http://consumerist.com/2014/10/06/unhappy-customer-comcast-told-my-employer-about-complaint-got-me-fired/?utm_content=buffer2667c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">getting a customer fired from his job</a>. (DM News and The Consumerist)</li>
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<li>Charlie Herrin, SVP of Customer Experience at Comcast (a newly created role), <a href="http://corporate.comcast.com/comcast-voices/a-public-apology-to-conal-orourke" target="_blank">offered a very public apology to the customer</a> and promised to make improvements. (Comcast)</li>
</ul>
<li>Where do the majority of Americans listen to music? <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/10/06/reddit-ceo-tells-ex-employee-why-he-was-fired-during-his-own-ama/" target="_blank">By a wide margin, it's in the car</a>. (Nielsen)</li>
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<li>Related: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/podcasts-are-back--and-making-money/2014/09/25/54abc628-39c9-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html">Podcasts are back</a> (did they ever go anywhere?). And they're making money. (Washington Post)</li>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qWSZsxvfgQ8/VDfhEVchC4I/AAAAAAAAYRA/KcaQXtqMVrc/s1600/Nielsen%2B-%2Bmusic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Time spent with music - Nielsen study" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qWSZsxvfgQ8/VDfhEVchC4I/AAAAAAAAYRA/KcaQXtqMVrc/s1600/Nielsen%2B-%2Bmusic.png" height="516" title="Nielsen - where people spend time with music" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3>
<b>Platforms</b></h3>
<b>Facebook</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Facebook is <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/03/us-facebook-health-idUSKCN0HS09720141003" target="_blank">getting into the healthcare business</a>, focusing on online support communities and preventive care. (Reuters) [Related item below in Essential Reading]</li>
<li>Ads are getting smarter: <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/10/07/facebook-location-based-ads/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mashable%2Fbusiness+%28Mashable+%C2%BB+Business+and+Marketing%29&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-Bus-Partial&utm_medium=email&utm_source=feedburner" target="_blank">Facebook is basing ads on where you've been</a> recently. (Mashable)</li>
<li>And for small and medium businesses, <a href="http://allfacebook.com/local-awareness-ads_b135069" target="_blank">Facebook's local awareness ads provide geofenced targeting</a> and even include the ability to get directions. (AllFacebook)</li>
<li>Facebook is preparing <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/facebook-readies-app-allowing-anonymity/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=technology&_r=1&" target="_blank">a standalone app that will allow users to maintain anonymity</a>, which we first reported on back in April. This is likely gaining traction as the competition for Whisper and Secret heats up and as the drag queen kerfuffle heated up leading to Ello defections. (NY Times Bits)</li>
</ul>
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<b>Twitter</b><br />
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<li><a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/10/twitter-sues-government/?mbid=social_twitter" target="_blank">Twitter is suing the US government</a> over the Justice Department's gag orders on what the microblogging platform can say about data security requests. (Wired)</li>
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<li>Google+ is now giving users an option <a href="http://thenextweb.com/google/2014/10/09/google-now-letting-add-polls-google-posts/" target="_blank">to insert polls in their updates</a>. (The Next Web)</li>
<li>Yahoo! is putting its new Alibaba money to good use, <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/235543/yahoo-courts-investment-in-snapchat.html" target="_blank">making a $20 million investment in Snapchat</a> on a $10 billion valuation. (Mediapost)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pinterest/pin-picks/" target="_blank">Pin Picks is Pinterest's weekly update</a> of examples of how they're working with content partners. (Pinterest)</li>
<li>You knew it was coming: <a href="http://contently.com/strategist/2014/10/03/how-publishers-are-crafting-their-ello-strategy/" target="_blank">how publishers are crafting their Ello strategy</a>. Too soon? (Contently)</li>
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<b>Metrics / Measurement / Big Data</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>Here's a great post on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140926080751-47370948-social-media-intelligence-roi?trk=prof-post" target="_blank">sources of intelligence</a> as you're looking to determine objectives and ROI. (LinkedIn)</li>
<li>Big data is big. How big? Try 2.5 exabytes a day. So what are marketers to do? <a href="https://econsultancy.com/blog/65260-the-top-four-applications-of-big-data-in-marketing#i.f5jjib27lf9kz7" target="_blank">Four applications of big data for marketers</a> - and we have a way to go before we get there - include:</li>
<ul>
<li>Improved forecasting and planning</li>
<li>More granular audience targeting</li>
<li>Optimizing campaigns in real time</li>
<li>Moving to multi-touch attribution</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Legal / HR</b></h3>
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<ul>
<li>Marriott blocked guests' wi-fi and <a href="http://gizmodo.com/the-fcc-fined-marriott-for-600-000-for-blocking-guests-1642154851" target="_blank">the FTC fined them for $600,000</a>. (Gizmodo)</li>
<li>A former Reddit employee took to Reddit to criticize his former employer in an AMA. And then <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/10/06/reddit-ceo-tells-ex-employee-why-he-was-fired-during-his-own-ama/" target="_blank">Reddit's CEO chimed in with the official word on why the employee was fired</a>. BURN! (Daily Caller)</li>
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<li>Advice: don't criticize your employer (current or former) on their own platform.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Content</b></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://socialfresh.com/the-top-10-business-blogs-of-2014/" target="_blank">The top 10 corporate blogs of 2014</a> are not necessarily well-known brands. (Social Fresh)</li>
<li>Combatting "content shock" with <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/10/simple-content-marketing-framework/" target="_blank">a simple framework for content marketing</a>. (SHIFT Communications)</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Essential Reading / Listening / Watching</b></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-marketing/the-ice-cream-principle-of-search-and-social/?utm_content=buffercaa26&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">The Ice Cream Principle of search and social</a> is brilliant in its simplicity. (Social Media Explorer)</li>
<li>Do you have a lot of followers? <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2781996/Hotelied-offers-cheaper-hotel-stays-holidaymakers-Twitter-Facebook-followers.html" target="_blank">Hotelied.com would like to put them to use</a> by giving you a discount. (Daily Mirror)</li>
<li>Related to Facebook's healthcare news above: <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/10/what-can-social-media-offer-healthcare/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shifthappens-10-08-14" target="_blank">What can social media offer healthcare organizations?</a> (SHIFT Communications)</li>
<li>I'm convinced that Christopher Penn is a borg: he unlocks the secrets of what you'll need to succeed in <a href="http://www.christopherspenn.com/2013/10/the-marketing-skills-of-the-future/" target="_blank">The Marketing Skills of the Future</a>. (Awaken Your Superhero)</li>
<li>We Are Social are always good for in-depth statistics and reporting. They continue this trend with their <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/wearesocialsg/we-are-socials-digital-statshot-001/" target="_blank">Digital Statshot 001: A Compendium of Global Digital Statistics</a>. (Slideshare)</li>
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This Week in Digital - October 10, 2014

Amazon goes brick and mortar, New York's quick takedown of ad executions, Comcast gets a customer fired, music listening habits of ...

How The Atlantic Devalues Social Media

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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KtNKjk2l1Is/VDX1a3G_nyI/AAAAAAAAYQE/7hcV8pt8f2g/s1600/Devalued.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Devaluation occurring right before our eyes" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KtNKjk2l1Is/VDX1a3G_nyI/AAAAAAAAYQE/7hcV8pt8f2g/s1600/Devalued.jpg" height="394" title="Devalued" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Atlantic <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/10/so-who-is-running-our-ello-account/381251/" target="_blank">doesn't know who's running its Ello account</a>.<br />
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While that's slightly amusing, it's not the point of this post. There's a more insidious undercurrent in the Atlantic article - one that isn't quite accurate and misses a point. But in two paragraphs, the article does an excellent job of summing up nearly everything that's wrong with social media.<br />
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Here are the paragraphs in question:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Firstly, brands...will always stampede towards the Next New Network. Most companies (including ours) now pay people to focus entirely on social media, whether in-house or through a variety of third-party firms. The dirty secret of social media work, though, is that it often doesn't take up a lot of time, the metrics (pageviews, sales conversions, newsletter sign-ups, et cetera) are squishy, and many social media managers are under the gun to prove to execs that they are worth whatever the organization is paying them. One of the easiest ways to prove your worth is getting your organization on a shiny new platform. Attract or buy a few thousand followers and you have a lovely graph to show off to the bosses.<br />
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Secondly, this early gold rush rarely pays off. Many brands and publishers are early adopters of networks like Tumblr, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, App.net and now Ello. In a few cases, like Facebook, Twitter, or (for some companies) Pinterest, these networks can become vital for business. In most other cases, the social network never develops enough users to have any ROI for brands, or it's too difficult for organizations to convert social media traffic into sales or pageviews. After claiming their initial stake, the brand will then usually wander off to pan for nuggets elsewhere.</blockquote>
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So once again, we're focused on the failure of social media to deliver on sales when the majority of brands are treating it like a glorified billboard or TV spot. We're talking about platforms that were designed for people to talk to other people and share things that matter to them, and the myopic metric is sales? That's like giving you a screwdriver to use to hit a golf ball and then scoffing because you can't play scratch golf.<br />
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Aside from the need to understand <a href="http://www.shiftcomm.com/2014/09/public-relations-metrics-are-like-apples-for-pie/" target="_blank">which department should be held responsible for which metric</a> -- or the lack of accountability of the performance of actual billboards and TV ads with regard to sales -- there's a huge point that's missed.<br />
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The challenge behind some of the measurement woes is that social media is better used as a branding tool than as a sales tool. Yes, it's possible to determine the change of sentiment toward a brand or to measure reputation. But it's not as quick and as definitive as ROI that is centered around sales.</div>
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The assumption that social media types are trying to justify their existence is both inaccurate and off-putting. If they are, then they deserve to be categorized as above. But the smarter ones are aligning efforts to overall communications and marketing goals, as well as business objectives. And it's highly unlikely that businesses have objectives that include "get more likes."</div>
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If done well, social media work is extremely time-consuming. This assumes that one is treating the considerable audiences on these platforms like a community: answering questions, searching for mentions of competitors and products, jumping into conversations and generally adding value.</div>
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But of course if one is simply creating posts, hitting "publish" and then running away, expecting magic results that never seem to appear, then the above is correct.</div>
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Let's hope the industry isn't quite as desperate and facile as The Atlantic is making it out to be.<br />
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What do you think?<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/k4P9yV" target="_blank">Nicholas Eckhart (Flickr)</a></span></i></div>
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If you'd like a regular round-up of what's affecting the industry delivered right to your inbox, please <a href="http://feedblitz.com/f/?sub=968961" target="_blank">subscribe to <b>This Week in Digital</b></a>, a weekly e-newsletter.</div>
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How The Atlantic Devalues Social Media

The Atlantic doesn't know who's running its Ello account . While that's slightly amusing, it's not the point of this po...

This Week In Digital - October 3, 2014

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A short history of marketing, Advertising Week summed up, job cuts at the New York Times, the seven deadly sins of social media marketing, the world of Facebook is on Atlas's shoulders, Twitter partners with MIT, getting out of the measurement rut in digital, tips for keeping your great employees, TV secrets to inform your content marketing, PR should stand for people and relationships, a review of the crowds on El Loco and more,  it's <b>This Week in Digital</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, social media, mobile, 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>Industry </b></h3>
<ul>
<li>The marketing industry has a rich history. But here are <a href="http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/37346.asp#multiview" target="_blank">13 seminal moments that stand out</a>. (iMedia) </li>
<li>Advertising Week has wrapped up in New York. In case you missed it, here are <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/10/01/advertising-week-trends/?utm_content=feature_img&utm_cid=mash-prod-email-topstories&utm_emailalert=daily&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily" target="_blank">the 5 hot trends in advertising</a>. (Mashable) </li>
<li><a href="http://mashable.com/2014/09/30/native-ad-campaigns/" target="_blank">Four native ad campaigns that are worth looking at</a> include <i>Orange is the New Black</i>, the Church of Scientology, Gap, and <i>Game of Thrones</i>. (Mashable) </li>
<li>The New York Times has announced that it is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/business/media/new-york-times-plans-cutbacks-in-newsroom-staff.html?referrer=&_r=0" target="_blank">cutting approximately 100 jobs in its newsroom staff</a>. (NY Times) </li>
<li>People are tired of the advertising mindset that so many unimaginative brands bring to social media and that a new network like "Ello won't change the bad habits of brands in social media." He summed it up in a brilliant cartoon and blog post <a href="http://tomfishburne.com/2014/09/socialmedia.html" target="_blank">7 deadly sins of social media marketing</a>. (Tom Fishburne) </li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Platforms </b></h3>
<b>Facebook </b><br />
<ul>
<li>As expected, <a href="http://atlassolutions.com/2014/09/29/meet-the-new-atlas/" target="_blank">Facebook has launched Atlas</a>, with the goal of reaching people across devices and bridging the gap between online impressions and offline purchases. (Atlas Solutions) </li>
<ul>
<li>In case you were wondering, Atlas Solutions is an anagram for "Lo, it's Satan soul." </li>
</ul>
<li>Facebook has launched <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/02/facebook-mobile-like-button-2/" target="_blank">a mobile Like button</a>. (Techcrunch) </li>
<li>Taking the time to explain its "real name" policy, <a href="http://recode.net/2014/10/01/facebook-apologizes-to-drag-queens-over-real-name-policy/?utm_source=newsletter#038;utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rc_email_daily&utm_content=facebook-apologizes-to-drag-queens-over-real-name-policy" target="_blank">Facebook apologized to drag queens</a>. (re/code) </li>
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<li>But the question still has to be asked, "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/whos-real-enough-facebook?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">Who is real enough for Facebook?</a>" (The New Yorker) </li>
</ul>
</ul>
<b>Twitter </b><br />
<ul>
<li>Twitter is <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-mit-social-media-research-lab_b60520" target="_blank">investing $10 million</a> in the Laboratory for Social Machines at MIT. The lab plans to build a system to enable "large-scale analysis of content, and implement pattern discovery, data visualization and mobile app technologies to analyse patterns in social systems." (AllTwitter) </li>
<li>Twitter is getting friendlier with app developers <a href="http://marketingland.com/twitter-hopes-bring-app-developers-back-101989" target="_blank">as it opens Twitter Fabric</a>, giving them ability to sign users up via mobile, incorporate CrashLytics for analytics and MoPub for an ad network. (Marketing Land) </li>
</ul>
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<b>Measurement / Metrics / Big Data </b></h3>
<ul>
<li>If you wonder why your social metrics stink, maybe it's because <a href="http://www.christopherspenn.com/2014/10/social-is-as-social-does/?utm_content=buffer9fc56&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">you're not being social enough</a>. (Awaken Your Superhero) </li>
<li>Here are five unique ways to <a href="http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2014/10/02/5-unique-ways-measure-evaluate-social-media-campaign/" target="_blank">measure and evaluate a social media campaign</a>. (The Next Web) </li>
<li>Are you stuck doing things the same old way when it comes to marketing and metrics? <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2014/09/30/marketing-failing-csuite/" target="_blank">It's time to change that</a>. (Forbes) </li>
</ul>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HcLIaUQVS-Y/VC4geh0E1rI/AAAAAAAAYLo/GEHu4ArOWpM/s1600/Old%2Bvs.%2Bnew.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HcLIaUQVS-Y/VC4geh0E1rI/AAAAAAAAYLo/GEHu4ArOWpM/s1600/Old%2Bvs.%2Bnew.png" height="259" width="640" /></a><br />
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<b>Legal / HR</b></h3>
<ul>
<li>With talent wars in software development, digital analytics and other hot fields, it can be tough to find the right people. And once you have them, you should know about <a href="http://ragan.com/Main/Articles/48826.aspx" target="_blank">ways to stop great employees from leaving</a>. (Ragan.com)</li>
<li>The FTC isn't kidding around. With <a href="http://adage.com/article/media/ftc-sends-warnings-ad-disclosures-top-advertisers/295107/?ttl=1412116945" target="_blank">Operation Full Disclosure</a>, they sent 60 advertisers warning letters claiming that they did not provide satisfactory disclosure to consumers. (AdAge)</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
<b>Content</b></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://smartblogs.com/social-media/2014/09/29/live-at-iabmixx-realizing-the-digital-video-opportunity/?utm_source=brief" target="_blank">Video content is as important as ever for brands</a>, as discussed at the IAB MIXX conference this week. (Smart Brief on Social Media)</li>
<li>But creating video doesn't have to be expensive; here's how <a href="https://medium.com/@nametagscott/how-we-made-a-full-length-concert-documentary-for-11-000-6e65fe07ed82" target="_blank">one entrepreneur created a full-length documentary for just $11,000</a>. (Medium)</li>
<li>And here's a site that's well worth spending a good deal of time with: <a href="http://7secrets.com/" target="_blank">7 TV Secrets You Can Use to Make Killer Content</a> (7secrets.com)</li>
<li>A new report on B2B content marketing is out, produced by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs: <a href="http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/10/2015-b2b-content-marketing-research" target="_blank">B2B Content Marketing 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends — North America</a>. (Content Marketing Institute) Some highlights:</li>
</ul>
<ul><ul>
<li>Most B2B marketers have a content strategy, but only 35% have documented it.</li>
<li>60% of content marketers with a documented strategy say they're effective versus 32% who have a verbal strategy.</li>
<li>Search engine marketing tops the list of paid distribution methods.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="421" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/39542761?rel=0" style="border-width: 1px; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;" width="512"> </iframe> </div>
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<a href="https://www.slideshare.net/CMI/2015-b2b-content-marketing-benchmarks-budgets-and-trends-north-america-by-content-marketing-institute-and-marketingprofs">2015 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends - North America by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/CMI">Content Marketing Institute</a></div>
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<h3>
<b>Essential Reading / Watching / Listening</b></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/the-state-of-business-brands-and-marketing-with-tom-peters/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TwistImage+%28Six+Pixels+of+Separation+-+Marketing+and+Communications+Insights+Blog+-+Mitch+Joel+-+Twist+Image%29" target="_blank">Mitch Joel interviews marketing legend Tom Peters</a>, in which they discuss the state of business, brands and marketing. (Six Pixels of Separation)</li>
<li>Great discussion about ello.co (that's <b><i>El Loco</i></b> to you), Facebook's mobile ad platform, microsites and other marketing topics on <a href="http://www.thebeancast.com/beancast-marketing-podcast-show-archive/2014/9/28/beancast-320-el-loco" target="_blank">this week's Beancast episode</a>. (The Beancast)</li>
<li>Did you ever want to be on television? <a href="http://shankman.com/how-to-be-an-expert-on-any-television-news-program/" target="_blank">Here's a sure-fire way to do that</a>. (Peter Shankman)</li>
<li>Don't let email rule your life. <a href="http://time.com/3425368/google-email-rules/" target="_blank">Google's Eric Schmidt has 9 simple rules to email</a>. (TIME)</li>
<li>If you've ever wondered what a truly luxury-class plane trip would be like, Derek Low describes <a href="https://medium.com/travel-adventure/what-its-like-to-fly-the-23-000-singapore-airlines-suites-class-17d9f3fee0d" target="_blank">the $23,000 Singapore Airlines Suite Class experience</a>, with plenty of photos. (Medium)</li>
<li>With all of the focus on marketing technology and automation, here's a novel thought: <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/Vocus/vocus-brian-solis-ebookfinal/SolisandGapingvoid" target="_blank">what if PR stood for People and Relationships?</a> Brian Solis and Hugh McLeod took a stab at it with Vocus. (Slideshare) </li>
</ul>
<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="421" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/39766660" style="border-width: 1px; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;" width="512"> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
<strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/Vocus/vocus-brian-solis-ebookfinal" target="_blank" title="What If PR Stood for People and Relationships By Brian Solis">What If PR Stood for People and Relationships By Brian Solis</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/Vocus" target="_blank">Vocus</a></strong> </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: <a href="http://tomfishburne.com/2014/09/socialmedia.html" target="_blank">Tom Fishburne</a></span></i><br />
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This Week In Digital - October 3, 2014

A short history of marketing, Advertising Week summed up, job cuts at the New York Times, the seven deadly sins of social media marketing...

Scott Monty - Strategic Communications & Leadership Advisor