Surprises galore from Mobile World Congress, a telecom company cracks wise, the inspiration behind Geico's new ads, why senior communications executives exempt themselves from digital skills, Krispy Kreme needs to read Sherlock Holmes, a social network for financial executives, the Future of Marketing 2015 ebook, who wins in the Uber vs. Lyft battle, native advertising has a trust problem, The Infinite Dial 2015 has the latest digital and audio trends, better podcast measurement, watch Charlie Rose and Chris Hughes go at it 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 just to this newsletter to keep up to date on developments.
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The Content Marketing Institute just announced that 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]
Industry
- One of last week's pieces in reaction to the FCC's net neutrality decision was a scathing bit of satire from Verizon. As a protest, Verizon created a press release that was written in Morse Code (and then translated to a typewriter-based font) and claimed "FCC's 'Throwback Thursday' Move Imposes 1930s Rules on Internet." (Verizon)
- You've long been told that teens are leaving Facebook in droves. You've likely been told where they're going. But are they? You might be surprised. (Edison Research)
- Geico's new unskippable 5-second ads are getting a lot of attention. (AdAge)
- But Geico's agency was clearly making a reference to the original Police Squad! epilogues. (YouTube)
- Krispy Kreme got itself into hot water recently with a Facebook campaign. Could the brand have avoided trouble if it had read one of the Sherlock Holmes stories? (I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere)
- According to a CIPR survey, senior communications executives value traditional PR skills over digital skills and deem digital skills a junior responsibility, even though they acknowledge that the future of the industry depends on the skillful execution of social and digital communication. (Holtz Communication + Technology)
Platforms
- Google+ is being broken up into Photos, Streams and Hangouts. Or, as a Quartz headline put it, "Google, proving it still hasn’t figured out social, will strip Google+ for parts."
(Gizmodo and Quartz) - Stay tuned in the coming weeks, as Google unveils its plan to build a mobile network. (TechCrunch)
- Until then, at least your contacts will be easier to manage, as Google rolls out the new Google Contacts that include a smoother interface and a better way to manage your multiple contacts. (Gmail Blog)
- Not to be left out in the cold, Yahoo! followed up with automatically updating "Contact Cards" for its mail product. (TechCrunch)
- At Mobile World Congress, Mark Zuckerberg took the opportunity to mend fences with the telecommunications industry, saying that Internet.org would be something that would be beneficial to the industry. (Wired)
- If you run any Facebook campaigns, you might want to check out Wisemetrics to help you be more efficient with your advertising spend. (TechCrunch)
- ISIS isn't too pleased with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey over the deletion of some of their accounts. To the point where they're making death threats against him. (The Next Web)
- You can now embed Twitter videos across the web. (The Verge)
- Supposedly, Meerkat is the live streaming video app that Twitter should have built. But the company is in early talks with Periscope, a service that allows users to stream live video via Twitter. (TechCrunch and ValueWalk)
- Instagram is introducing carousel-style photo sets - but only for brands (aka advertisers). (Gizmodo)
- The new layout will also allow advertisers to provide a "Learn More" button that will link outside of Instagram. (CMO Today - WSJ)
- Still lagging on absolute numbers, Snapchat is the fastest-growing social app. (We Are Social)
- And pay attention brands, because the Snapchatters, Instagrammers and Viners tell you that Tumblr is out when it comes to reaching Gen Z. (AdAge)
- Symphony, a new social network for Wall Street financial professionals, will debut this summer. It is backed by 15 major banks and was developed via a hackathon sponsored by Goldman Sachs. (New York Post)
SHIFT Communications' ebook The Future of Marketing 2015 is now available. Interviews with marketing leaders will help you grasp the importance of many different elements of marketing.
Collaborative Economy
- Airbnb keeps growing, and its latest round of funding will place the value of the firm at $20 billion. (TechCrunch)
- Previously, Airbnb announced it was creating Pineapple, a print magazine for its hosts (see This Week in Digital - November 21, 2014); this week, Uber launched Momentum, a magazine for its 150,000 drivers. (Business Insider)
- Uber doesn't make apologies for the way it does business. But what if it did? (Funny or Die)
- But if Uber's previously documented strategies pitted Lyft and Uber drivers against each other, the good news is that drivers of both services are benefiting from the rivalry. (Washington Post)
Content
- There's a secret to writing long-form content that goes viral. The good news is that BuzzFeed doesn't have a lock on it. The bad news is you need to read this long-form article about it. (Fast Company)
- If you have editorial responsibilities or manage a content marketing effort, you'll understand how complex it can be. This week, Content Lifecycle Management made its debut to help with that process. (Sprinklr)
- Aside from its actual name, native advertising (or sponsored content or branded content) has made a bad name for itself. A majority of readers don't trust native advertising. Can that image be repaired? (Contently)
Audio
- The Associated Press and PodcastOne are teaming up to provide dynamic news via podcasts, in which AP content will be distributed across the podcasting network founded by Norm Pattiz. (Digital Content Next)
- Edison Research, in conjunction with Triton Digital, has released its Infinite Dial 2015 report on trends in digital media [full slideshow embedded at bottom]. A few key takeaways: listening to online audio is now a mainstream activity, Pandora is the most recognized brand, AM/FM radio still dominates the in-car listening experience, the Serial podcast was recognized by 10% of the respondents and this slide is all marketers need to know when it comes to sponsoring podcasts:
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| Isn't it time you started advertising on podcasts? |
Metrics / Measurement / Data
- Next-generation measurement for the PR industry means Moneyball II. (SHIFT Communications)
- Podcast measurement has always been tenuous. There may be a new method of podcast measurement on the horizon. (Brand Savant)
Privacy / Security / Legal
- Apple Pay is giving rise to fraudulent behavior, as criminals use the system to make transactions with stolen credit card information. (The Guardian)
- CIOs are people too. And their primary concern is security, along with a few others that may sound familiar. (CIO)
- At the recent Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection sponsored by the White House, Apple CEO Tim Cook was the only CEO to claim that "everyone has a right to privacy and security." (Washington Post)
- Uber didn't feel that way, as it stored the personal data of some 50,000 of its drivers on GitHub - a public site. (Ars Technica)
When You Have the Time: Essential Watching / Listening / Reading
- Charlie Rose recently interviewed Chris Hughes, new owner of The New Republic and co-founder of Facebook, about the differences between traditional media and digital media. It got a little uncomfortable at times. And it's well worth a watch. (Twist Image)
- PR and journalism jobs are the opposite sides of the same coin. But are the technological changes in both industries, resulting in an imbalance of numbers, placing a permanent wedge between journalists and PR practitioners? (TakePart)
The full presentation from The Infinite Dial 2015 from Edison Research:
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