It's back to reality after SXSW, Apple TV joins the cord-cutting movement, the NY Times makes good on its digital innovation plans, Facebook is so money, Twitter is in testing mode, Instagram needs more business, using Uber for "bar roulette," a milestone for data-driven PR, spending on data-driven marketing is up, what Americans- including Mark Zuckerberg - are doing to ensure their privacy, a search for tranquility, the math behind insane startup valuations and more, it's This Week in Digital.
A roundup of relevant links affecting our industry.
Each week, we 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. Please subscribe - either to our full feed or just to this newsletter to keep up to date on developments.
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Industry
- SxSW Interactive wrapped up this week, and it was the usual festival of networking, parties, and would-be startup launches. Dominating the bunch this year was Meerkat. Or, as we like to call it, "I went to SxSW and all I got was a bunch of dead links in my Twitter feed." (The Verge)
- Want to know what's in and what's out at SxSW this year? Digiday has you covered. (Digiday)
- The six hottest trends at SxSW include some of our favorite topics: the collaborative economy, personalization vs. privacy, and of course the dreaded Meerkat. (Sprinklr)
- Apple is launching a web TV service of 25 channels this fall. This could be a huge opportunity for iAds, as device-specific information about viewing habits is the holy grail for advertisers; Apple has a wealth of first-party data about its customers.
- Apple is offering a trade-in program to users who ditch their Android devices. Does this spell trouble for Android makers, or does it signal a greater weakness from Apple? (9to5 Mac)
- The New York Times continues to evolve its digital efforts, releasing a major Sunday feature online on Friday and deploying the author of the piece to engage and comment with readers online on Facebook and other sites. (Digiday)
- Pick your favorite: 20 must-have tools for clever digital marketers. (Marketing Profs)
- The world's first selfie museum opened in Manila. God help us. (Good)
Platforms
- Not to be outdone by last week's Apple Watch news, Google and Intel are teaming up with TAG Heuer for a luxury connected watch. (Bloomberg)
- Facebook introduced payments to the Messenger app. Now you'll be able to send money to friends if you connect your debit card to Facebook. This may be a disruption to PayPal, SquareCash and others. (Facebook Newsroom and TechCrunch)
- In addition, Facebook plans to add some 20 third-party apps to Messenger to make it more multi-functional. (Mashable)
- Related: Facebook will undoubtedly find ways for you to spend that money you got from your friend as they signal a move into e-commerce with their purchase of TheFind, a shopping search engine. (Fortune)
- Twitter is experimenting with a major homepage overhaul, making it something of a social media news portal. (Fast Company)
- Twitter is also testing a new advertising unit in the form of a carousel, specifically for apps to install on your device. (The Next Web)
- Meerkat made a big splash at SxSW, but Twitter did its part to negate that by cutting off access to its social graph. Twitter has been cutting back on access by developers and third party apps in recent months. (BuzzFeed)
- Instagram is popular with users, but not so much for brands. Adoption by brands still remains low. (Social Times)
- So brands - if you're listening - here's The Business Guide to Using Instagram. (Spin Sucks)
- Remember Foursquare? They're still here, and thriving, with revenue that is at least doubling every year. (Business Insider)
- If you use Bitly, there's good news: Bitly links will now open apps if you're on a mobile device. (AdAge)
- If you want to reach people on the social network they visit the most, Facebook is the one, with 50% of its users visiting more than once per day. (Social Times)
- Uber is about more than being a taxi substitute; we've previously discussed how Uber is getting into the logistics business. To wit, here are seven crazy things you might be able to do with Uber soon, including "bar roulette." (Business Insider)
- Uber's CFO is departing, citing the very human need to spend time with his young family. (WSJ Digits blog)
- We may have reached the tipping point: Uber cars now outnumber taxis in New York City. (Engadget)
- Some legal troubles for Uber: its Paris office was raided amid a ban of its Uberpop service in Germany. (WSJ)
- Lyft is also in the news for a lawsuit that accuses the company of depriving drivers of bonuses. (Engadget)
- Sean Moffitt has segmented the various components of the "crowd economy" into 14 different categories. The visual is below. (Crowdsourcing Week)
Content
- There's a lot of common sense here, but it's great to see it in one place: Seven Principles of Content Marketing. (SHIFT Communications)
- Brands had some success publishing on BuzzFeed's platform, but the free ride is over: BuzzFeed has barred brands from self-publishing, focusing their attention on BuzzFeed's paid alternatives. (MarketingLand)
John Cleese will be keynoting at Content Marketing World 2015 in September. No mention of whether he'll do a silly walk or a silly talk, but you can register here.
[Disclosure: affiliate link]
Audio
- Listening to podcasts can be an isolating experience. Sharing functionality is limited to a handful of podcatcher apps. So where's the Instagram of audio? (Emily White on Medium)
Metrics / Measurement / Data
- SHIFT Communications (my employer) has long been a pioneer in progressive PR and oscial media. From the creation of the Social Media News Release to hiring a technical wizrd like Christopher Penn, it's been on the cutting edge. This week SHIFT was named a Google Analytics Certified Partner, giving credence to its mantra of data-driven PR. (SHIFT Communications blog)
- Here's a nice DIY analytics hack: combine Bitly, Google Analytics and Google Sheets for a winning metrics analysis. (Awaken Your Superhero)
- IBM and Twitter have launched their Twitter-fueled data for businesses, designed to give companies more insights based on what people are saying. (New York Times)
- The Direct Marketing Association says that data-driven marketing spending is on the rise. (eMarketer)
- Of course, if you're a CMO, you want to be sure that you're not wasting money on the wrong analytics. (VentureBeat)
Privacy / Security / Legal
- In a post-Snowden world, Americans have taken some steps to be more vigilant about their privacy: about 34% of those aware of Snowden have taken at least one step to hide or shield information. (Pew Research Center)
- If Snowden had used the newly unveiled encrypted Yahoo! email, he might have been better off. (WSJ Digits)
- One of the great ironies of the week: Mark Zuckerberg is suing contractors working on his house for breach of privacy. From Zuckerberg's lawyers: “Mr. Zuckerberg goes to great lengths to protect the privacy of his personal life.” More nuggets in You Kids Get Off Mark Zuckerberg's Lawn. (Dave Pell on Medium)
- Amid so much data and analysis, are we losing the ability to trust our instincts? With all of the data we intentionally an inadvertently give off, you can be sure that we're being taken advantage of: a sucker is optimized every minute. (New York Times Magazine)
- Which means, whether you know it or not, you're part of a giant social media experiment You might be surprised to find out about your personality and potential with this tool. ({grow})
When You Have the Time: Essential Watching / Listening / Reading
- We have too many interruptions in our lives. What can be done to minimize what our devices are doing to us? (TechCrunch)
- There's always meditation. (The Onion)
- What your tweets say about you could go as deep as heart disease. (The New Yorker)
- The third wave of the Internet is here, according to Steve Case. Crowdfunding, strategic partnerships, global startups and more. (CNN Money)
- This is a long read, but an important one if you want a semblance of understanding how it is that an app can be worth more than a Fortune 10 company: The Fuzzy, Insane Math That's Creating So Many Billon-Dollar Tech Companies. (Bloomberg)
- Here's how two analysts think that Instagram could be worth $37 billion. (Business Insider)
- Hold onto your money: an Uber investor thinks the Bay-area bubble will pop this year, affecting more than just the technology market. (SFist)
- Parting shot: old media can still compete with new media:
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