The Full Monty — November 21, 2016

 

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It's a very real week for fake news; earned media is influential for consumer opinions; prioritizing digital transformation efforts; Twitter gets serious about trolls; Facebook is getting serious about measurement; the sharing economy may be stagnating; more Americans stay at shared homes than share theirs; AI is everything at Google right now; big brands get into podcasting (kind of); mobile interactions in-store should not be undervalued; how hackers will exploit the IoT; traffic deaths are up for the first time in decades; and more in this week's edition of The Full Monty. Trivia and the poem of the week are now exclusively on The Full Monty podcast.

Virtually everything you need in business intelligence. If you’re on Flipboard, you can get these links — and those that didn't make the cut for publication — by subscribing to The Full Monty Magazine at smonty.co/fullmontymag.

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

• I'll be speaking at a company event in Miami on November 29.
• Attending the CMO Data Summit December 7-9.
• Keynoting at Social Media Marketing World 2017 in San Diego, March 22-24, 2017

Programming note:

There will be no newsletter and podcast on November 29, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Industry

• It's been a surreal week as the topic we covered in Episode 17 of The Full Monty podcast - the post-factual world - was all over the news. So much so that we bring you This Week in Fake News:
  • How we got to post-truth: there's never been so much to read and so many readers—and that's part of a much larger problem for politics.
  • Here's Facebook's fake news problem, explained. With 68% of Americans visiting the site daily and 44% of Americans getting news from the site, it's becoming problematic.
  • In fact, fake election news outperformed real news on Facebook.
  • People are slowly getting radicalized, because Facebook doesn’t want to challenge you. They know that if you’re challenged on their platform, you wouldn’t want to use it as much.
  • But according to a Snopes editor, Facebook is not the problem. The real issue is that the public has lost faith in the media broadly — therefore no media outlet is considered credible any longer. 
  • Well, then maybe Facebook should buy Snopes? Nopes.
  • One editor calls out Mark Zuckerberg as wrong in his assertion that Facebook isn't a media company. In fairness, Zuckerberg has about as much interest in being part of the news media as Donald Trump does in being president.
  • But Zuckerberg posted his own update late in the week, admitting that Facebook takes misinformation seriously, but does "not want to be arbiters of truth" themselves, instead relying on "our community and trusted third parties.” At least he's feeling better now. He had me worried.
  • The bottom line is, the world has reached a point where the way we consume information has literally changed the kind of people we are.
  • Facebook isn't alone. Google’s top news link for ‘final election results’ goes to a fake news site with false numbers. As a result, Google is banning sites with fake news from its ad service.
  • Even corporations are not immune from fake news. Get ready.
  • Confirmation bias is a hell of a drug — and it's a hell of a business model.
  • Catch a well-reasoned essay of all of the above an more in Episode 19 of The Full Monty:

• Earned media placements are regarded as the most influential sources of news and information when it comes to driving consumer opinions about brands and products and when driving sharing across social media and other platforms.
• Amazon is expanding its video streaming globally, posing a serious threat to Netflix. Maybe Apple should buy Netflix?
• Here's the State of Social Media 2016 report from Buffer. Three key takeaways: Facebook is still huge, video is expanding, and using social to handle customer care could be a strategic advantage.
• How do businesses prioritize their digital transformation efforts? It all starts with picking the right champion.

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Platforms

TWITTER / PERISCOPE / VINE

• Twitter is rolling out anti-harassment tools. At a pivotal moment, the company is introducing a mute filter, muted conversation threads, and user report infrastructure in an effort to win back its platform from the trolls. It's about time. And it may help to resuscitate Twitter's reputation in this area.
• And then Twitter suspended a number of alt-right accounts. That didn't take long. 
• Twitter added QR codes to its iOS and Android apps. Because pressing a "Follow" button was so much work. Just when you thought Twitter was getting smarter...

FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / WHATSAPP

• Facebook announced a major measurement update, making corrections and adding viewability. They're also adding more third-party verification, forming a Measurement Council to stay in step with evolving products and metrics, and staring the Metrics FYI blog to keep the public up to date.
• You can now manage Facebook Pages, Instagram and Messenger through a single app. Universal inbox will let marketers more easily take note of comments, reviews and direct messages being authored by consumers on Facebook, Instagram and Facebook Messenger.
• WhatsApp launched a free video calling service that will rival Facetime and Skype. More evidence of Facebook's continued push for video.

ALPHABET / GOOGLE

• Google debuted PhotoScan app for iOS and Android, which makes it easy to digitize old print photos with your phone; Google Photos was also updated with more advanced image editing tools.

SNAP

• Snap and Foursquare have signed a data deal that will make Snapchat ads a bit more targeted. Foursquare to power its location-based geofilters with more data that marketers can use to pinpoint where their ads are served.
• Snap has filed confidentially for its expected IPO. Watchers anticipate the IPO to happen in the spring, when Snap will suddenly and inexplicably lose sight of its users in an effort to placate investors every following quarter.
• Snap's Spectacles are out and here is how 6 brands are using them.

Collaborative / Autonomous Economy

• The sharing economy appears to be stagnating. Fewer people are taking gigs with companies like Uber and Airbnb, and those who do are making less money. 
• What motivates workers in the gig economy? For part-time drivers, the primary motivation to work is often social; for others, driving offers a solution to a lack of other job opportunities.

 

LODGING

• Airbnb doesn't just want to own the lodging experience of your trip. Airbnb wants to own the entire trip. Airbnb's experience will now include written and audio guides, a chance to meet up with others in the city you're visiting, flight booking and service offerings.
• It turns out that Americans really aren't that keen about sharing their homes with strangers. Only 1% of Americans renting out their homes on sharing platforms, while 11% have used the platforms to stay at a shared home.

TRANSPORTATION

• Lyft takes aim at Uber in its new advertising, casting them as evil corporate men from Ride Corp who are trying to slow down the diverse, fun ride-sharing startup.
• A Danish high court issued a blow to Uber when it ruled that a driver was operating an illegal taxi service.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE / BOTS / BLOCKCHAIN

• AI is the ultimate moonshot for Google. It seems to be everywhere Google's CEO Sundar Pichai is. You know what they say: you can't spell Pichai without AI."
• Siri vs. Cortana vs. Alexa vs. Assistant: the AI battle is on. Still waiting for the moment when someone utters "Alexa, kill Siri."
• Don't worry - AI won't replace CEOs. An MBA’s instinct is increasingly vital in the age of information overload. Job security FTW!

Virtual Reality / Audio

VR/AR

• Google Earth is coming at you in VR. Good concept, but it's limited only to the HTC Vive currently. 
• The world is awash in affordable, pointless VR devices. As usual, the true breakthrough mainstream technology is still years away and the fragmented market needs to consolidate first.
• As the company comes under pressure to deliver new products, Apple is exploring AR digital glasses that connect wirelessly to iPhones,
• VR lets Chinese customers shop at Macy's on Singles Day, the largest shopping day in the world. Confirm your sad lonely life on Singles Day, when you can't even get anyone to virtually shop with you.

AUDIO

• Some big brands are beginning to produce their own podcasts as a point of differentiation. But "branded" podcast in some cases may be nothing more than slapping the brand's name on a show, like Texaco Theater of TV in the 1950s. As usual, your mileage will vary. 
• Spotify launched Playlist Potluck, a pre-scheduled collaborative playlist for parties. After the election, this may be the only thing that some families agree on at Thanksgiving Dinner this week.
• Program of the Week. In keeping with the fake news theme this week, we selected Paul Kelly's recommendation Revisionist History Author Malcolm Gladwell looks back to debunk closely held beliefs about history. Superb, smart storytelling. Do you have a program to recommend? Add yours to our Google Sheet: smonty.co/yourpodcasts
• And don't forget to subscribe to ours via email or oniTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spreaker or  SoundCloud.

Content / Customer Experience / Influencer Marketing

• Going from traditional journalism to brand journalism requires a reset of sorts. But it's somewhat familiar territory.
• Don't believe all of the hype about attention spans that are the same as those of goldfish. Longform content is still here and it's catching on. Or, as Mark Schaefer says, I like big blogs and I cannot lie.
• Social software giant Sprinklr acquired LittleBird, the influencer identification tool. The pairing of the two could mean brands will have the ability to discover, track and measure their influencer relationships better.
• If you're not a Sprinklr or LittleBird customer, you can use IFTTT to prospect for influencers.
• The top motivator for influencers working with brands is not money. Alignment with a brand’s core values is the number one most important factor when approached with a brand partnership opportunity.
• Mobile moments matter: 55% of in-store mobile interactions directly impact purchase decisions. Just 8 percent occur via retailers’ own apps, 4 percent involve social.

Privacy / Security / Legal

• We've already seen a whiff of it, but there's more to come. Here's how hackers will exploit the Internet of Things in 2017. Get ready for Rise of the Machines. I'm unplugging my blender.
• The FBI says it can break into almost any device it wants to unlock. Except an iPhone, if you recall.
• Symantec acquired LifeLock for $2.3 billion, making it the "world's largest digital safety platform for consumers and families."

Measurement / Metrics / Data

• As Facebook found more miscalculations of metrics, the social media giant plans to form measurement council and provide more third-party data verification for partners. Facebook said it was publicly disclosing the miscalculated metrics as it tries to bring more “clarity and confidence” to the many advertisers and publishers who rely on its platform to reach consumers.
• Facebook has created its own analytics tool for Messenger bots. The tool will cross-reference Messenger interactions with Facebook user data and can tie into mobile app, web analytics.
• In a survey, Sequent Partners and Eyeview determined how brand marketers measure digital video advertising. More respondents want to be able to assess how it’s doing via ROI and cost per acquisition.

Essential Watching / Listening / Reading

• Leadership is a privilege; those who have the privilege to lead have the duty to act. Here are 10 fatal flaws that will derail great leadership.
• Still calling your comics graphic novels? Stop. Maybe it's time to move on to books without pictures.
• Increased technology usage in cars has contributed to distractions that resulted in a 10.4% rise in traffic fatalities this year, after three decades of falling rates. Death? Yeah, there's an app for that.
• Then again, you might be doing yourself more harm if you wash your coffee mug at work.
• Just because you can't be too careful: here's a TED Talk on filter bubbles.

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