The sharing economy is under fire, Apple TV may be a reality soon, Fitbit for your car expands, Facebook gets pressured for better privacy controls in Europe, Twitter welcomes a new user,Spotify spots an opportunity beyond music, Google "buy now" may soon be on your phone, Snapchat is adding journalists, the fight against ad fraud continues, setting up a social listening dashboard, the Internetest video out there, the battle for the customer interface 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 the full feed or just to this newsletter to keep up to date on developments.
If you’re on Flipboard, you can get these links and more by subscribing to the This Week in Digital Magazine.
Industry
- For a good look at the future of wearables, look no further than Apple and Disney as market makers. A PDF of the white paper is also available. (Superhype)
- Apple may be preparing a TV offering, including both hardware and content. (VentureBeat)
- Business Insider's approach to serving smaller businesses involved using a publisher trading desk - in this case Rubicon's Ad Engine. The result: cost savings, the benefit of being part of a programmatic buy and access to BI's audience. (Ad Exchanger)
- Automatic has released an SDK, turning the car into an app platform. The "Fitbit for your car" is partnering with app developers to give the car itself more functionality and integration with your smartphone. (TechCrunch) Disclosure: I am an advisor for Automatic.
- Mad Men is over. Knowing what you know now, would you rather hire Peggy, Don or Joan? (AdWeek)
Platforms
- This week, the Google I/O conference will happen in San Francisco. Expect news to emanate from the event.
- The secret anti-fraud team at Google is one of the busiest. It's mission: to crack down on the growing digital ad fraud problem that is costing the industry some $6 billion annually. (AdAge)
- Google may be preparing a buy button on search results on mobile devices, giving Amazon and eBay some serious competition. (VentureBeat)
- Google is spinning out Photos from Google+, giving users much more control over their images. (Bloomberg)
- Facebook is getting heat from European regulators for its less than satisfactory approach to privacy. A 28-page report from the Belgian Privacy Commission says that Facebook needs to be less secretive and ask for consent on the use of data. (WSJ)
- What's up with WhatsApp? Since Facebook bought the chat service for $22 billion, we haven't heard much about its plans. Facebook's CFO thinks it may be useful for business-to-consumer chats. (Bloomberg)
- Facebook's townhall meeting last week contained 5 surprises by Mark Zuckerberg. From Ukraine to virtual reality to the chief's fashion choices, it's all there (WSJ Digits)
- Twitter and Google are together again. Google search results will now index tweets, in an effort to enhance discovery and drive more traffic to the 140-character platform. (Twitter)
- President Obama joined Twitter as @POTUS (previously, his tweets were occasionally seen from the @WhiteHouse account). (Business Insider) He wasted no time in demonstrating his sense of humor, including an exchange with a former office-holder:
- Showing that the youth vote is important - not to mention that maybe it'll drive some adults to use it too, Snapchat is hiring journalists to cover the 2016 U.S. presidential race. The perfect solution for politicians who want you to forget things they've done more than 10 seconds ago. (The Guardian)
- Just in case you were wondering: here's the grown-up's guide to Periscope and Snapchat. (WSJ)
- Flickr needs to work on its auto-tagging. Racist and derogatory phrases were associated with individuals' photos last week. And it wasn't pretty. (CNN Money
Collaborative Economy
- How much of the so-called sharing economy actually involves sharing? And how much of the dependent contractors' livelihoods depend on it? "The uncomfortable truth is that the sharing economy is a rent-extraction business of the highest middleman order." Uber isn't the Uber for rides — it's the Uber for low-wage jobs. (WSJ)
- The cut-and-paste mentality of some entrepreneurs is creating a glut of me-too companies in the on demand marketplace. And it's hurting tech investors. (Business Insider)
- We all know that Uber isn't a fan of regulation. But what about when that regulation involves the Americans with Disabilities Act? (Daily Beast)
- While Airbnb may be great for travelers and existing renters, it has harmed the overall rental market in San Francisco by reducing the available long-term rental units, according to the city's Board of Supervisors Budget Analyst. (48 Hills)
Content
- What's holding back content marketers? The most common reason is lack of resources and budget, followed by the inability to effectively calculate ROI - which is interesting, as last year, CMOs indicated an increasing spend on analytics, social and content. (MarketingCharts)
- It's difficult to keep the attention of customers during a rote and boring process such as the standard safety presentation and video. Which is why Delta - in its continued push to improve the customer experience - has gone over the top with its safety video featuring dozens of Internet celebrities and memes. See how many you can name. (YouTube / Delta)
Have you got your ticket yet for Content Marketing World 2015 in September? Thousands attend this signature event for the content marketing industry - you can register here.
[Disclosure: affiliate link]
Audio
- Spotify is more than just a music service. It will soon offer video and podcasts in its lineup. (The Verge)
Metrics / Measurement / Data
- If you're in a rush or on a tight budget, here are 6 quick ways to build a listening dashboard. Also, a handy definition of the difference between monitoring and listening. (Buffer)
Privacy / Security / Legal
- Uber is getting serious about its privacy issues, as it has hired Sabrina Ross, Apple's former head of privacy. (re/code)
When You Have the Time: Essential Watching / Listening / Reading
- Uber owns no vehicles. Facebook creates no content. Airbnb owns no rooms. Welcome to the future, where the battle for the customer interface is raging. (TechCrunch)
- Nice guys may in fact finish last. It turns out that there are benefits to being a narcissistic jerk. Just not around me. (The Atlantic)
- Being a boss in our ever-changing world, with more connectivity, flexible work schedules and locations, and scrutiny from all around is difficult. (Fast Company)
--