Friend of the People — November 6, 2017
Big Tech needs to step up their game in accountability to users and society at large; robots have surrounded us for years; blockchain is a versatile tool; Waymo defines autonomy; the end of an era for Big Auto; digital transformation is about more than tools; COOs need to think like behavioral economists; what customers want from personalized marketing; YouTube TV debuts; Pandora has a teen problem; you've covered your webcam - now what?; one travel company deleted traveler warnings about the safety of resorts; stop with the quizzes already; the Instagram for data; rethink your to-do list and improve your memory; and more in the Friend of the People edition of The Full Monty from Brain+Trust Partners for the week of November 6, 2017.
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Top Stories
The Russian influence on the election via major technology platforms continues to dominate the news cycle. Rather than occupying this space as a partisan issue, it pervades our thinking because of two elements: (1) the rise of fake news and the public's ability to be easily duped via online sources (and here we're referring to actual fake news, not the rhetoric that uses the term as an insult to media); and (2) the lack of moral responsibility exhibited by technology companies. Both are larger issues that reflect on the business climate in general and more specifically on these platforms that are now undeniably and inextricably considered media companies.
- Facebook, Twitter, and Google all testified before the U.S. Senate, where Senator Lindsay Graham said, "Your power scares me."
- Senators raised the issue of shell firms obscuring identities of advertisers — a fundamental obstacle to efforts to increase transparency.
- Five things we learned coming out of the Senate hearing included: Congress is skeptical of Big Tech, Facebook is especially under scrutiny, and this is just the beginning of the tough questioning. You know it's serious when the industry gets its own "Big" moniker, which in common parlance is meant to be equivalent to "Evil."
- A former Twitter employee says the threats weren't taken seriously. In 2015, a manager at Twitter discovered a trove of accounts with Russian and Ukrainian IP addresses, but nothing was done because it would have slowed down "growth" of the platform. Priorities.
- Even worse, Twitter offered Russia Today an increase in share of voice from 2% to 15% for $3M worth of ads during the U.S. election versus 56% share of voice for CNN, 32% for Fox; Russia Today declined.
- Facebook estimated that 126 million people were served content from the Russia-linked pages.
- Here are some of the ads that deceived users on Facebook and Twitter.
- The erasure of traditional boundaries between advertising and other “content” online lies at the root of the Russian ad issue during the U.S. election.
- Why the fake news / Russian meddling matters: more Americans are turning to social media sites for news. According to Pew Research, 26% of U.S. adults get news from two or more social media sites, up from 15% in 2013 and 18% in 2016; 50% of Facebook news users get news via Facebook alone.
- Prior actions shows Facebook, Google, and Twitter cannot be counted on to police themselves; some think that it's time for proactive prevention with real oversight.
- Here are the questions that Facebook, Google and Twitter promised Congress they would answer later.
- Professor Scott Galloway poses his own set of 12 questions for Big Tech:
Artificial Intelligence / Autonomous
The latest in AI, machine learning, bots, blockchain, mobility, and autonomous everything.ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE / MACHINE LEARNING
- Through tens of millions of conversations, Amazon is quietly building the robots of sci-fi.
- Freaked out by the quiet growth of such a robot army? You shouldn't be. We're already surrounded by robots and we've wanted them all along. Resistance is futile. Robots, robots everywhere...
- There's a dirty little secret in machine learning: clean data is essential for proper functioning, and it's where the majority of the effort resides. Scrub-a-dub-dub!
- Why AI Is Still Waiting for its Ethics Transplant: the new report from the AI Now Institute takes an unblinking look at a tech industry racing to reshape society along AI lines without any guarantee of reliable and fair results.
BLOCKCHAIN
- Bitcoin's incredible price run to break over $7,000 this year has sent its overall electricity consumption soaring, as people worldwide bring more energy-hungry computers online to mine the digital currency. Now one Bitcoin transaction uses more energy than your house in a week.
- Here are 27 ways marketers can use blockchain, from verifying ad delivery to paying consumers for explicit use of their data, to rewarding consumers for contributing content to an ad campaign, storing digital assets in lieu of cloud computing and more.
- Want a quick boost to your company's value? Apparently you can just add "Blockchain" to your name and voilà. Behold, the power of blockchain.
AUTONOMOUS / MOBILITY
- The Trump administration quietly set aside a previously proposed mandate requiring new cars to have wireless vehicle to vehicle communications technology. As we've seen with many other industry regulations that have been scrapped recently, the auto industry may choose to do what's right regardless of a lack of mandates.
- With so many options on the spectrum (Levels 0 through 5), Waymo is specifically defining what kind of self-driving it wishes to support. Hint: it's Level 4.
- Waymo and AutoNation formed a strategic partnership in which AutoNation will maintain a driverless test fleet for Waymo. Traditional auto retailers need to adapt and embrace, rather than scoff and use franchise laws as a shield, as many have done for years.
- The self-driving capital of the world might just be Phoenix. Why? It's pretty self-explanatory.
- IONITY, a joint venture between BMW, Daimler, Ford and VW, will build 400 fast-charging stations for electric cars by 2020, a pan-European solution.
- Former GM executive Bob Lutz is never short on opinion (although he is often short on realistic conclusions), and he doesn't disappoint in his latest essay in Automotive News on the end of an era for the automotive industry.
Communications / Marketing / Business Strategy
COMMUNICATONS / MARKETING / STRATEGY
- Brand executives say that digital transformation requires a cultural shift, not simply a technological shift. People, process and technology - in that order. This is precisely the Brain+Trust vision. Can we help you?
- COOs need to think more like behavioral economists to improve operations, and up-level the customer experience, as they answer the "why" before the "what."
- Here are 2018 marketing predictions from the C-suite.
- Meanwhile, it may be helpful to understand why few marketers are typically not invited to join boards of directors.
- While 70% of brands work with influencers, 90% of them fail to share influencer content on their own platforms.
- Ultimately, influencer marketing is about data, not about celebrity deals. It's about using platforms to understand your audience better.
THIS WEEK IN RETAIL
- Walmart is addressing the holiday season with big plans, online and offline: from tripling its available merchandise to free shipping, and 20,000 parties planned in its supercenters across the country. A retailer with such a large physical footprint has the advantage with IRL events. Disclosure: Walmart is a Brain+Trust client.
- With the advent of Seller Flex and Amazon Key, the Amazon appears likely to power future growth with fulfillment and shipping services to third-party sellers: FedEx and UPS could be the e-retailer's next targets.
- Sears is closing another 63 stores after the holidays. This marks the latest round of closings in what seems like the slowest-moving liquidation sale.
- What customers want and what businesses think they want are often two different things. Here’s what customers are looking for from personalized marketing.
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Platforms
News to know about relevant social, virtual, and augmented reality platforms that may affect your business.TWITTER / PERISCOPE
- Where were you when President Trump's Twitter account went down? A Twitter employee deactivated @realdonaldtrump on their last day of work. Twitter determined the cause and notified the public; reactions came fast and furious. Or fast and hilarious.
FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / WHATSAPP
- Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook's efforts to prevent abuse will cut into future profits as company plans to double employees to police its platform. What's that quote again about the price of liberty?
ALPHABET / GOOGLE
- An update to the YouTube Kids app gives kids their own profiles by age and gives parents more security controls.
OTHER
- Microsoft introduced LinkedIn integrations in Outlook.com for richer contact info in inboxes
- There are so many messaging apps to choose from, especially when groups of friends are spread out across a handful of them. How to determine when and where to share something with your trusted friends? A case can be made for switching to Signal.
AR / VR
- Amazon is letting shoppers test things out in their homes before buying with a new augmented reality feature in its iOS app.
Media
The latest in the world of streaming video, audio, and the advertising, pricing and bundling models related to them.VIDEO
- On the heels of the success of Netflix's Stranger Things, CBS will use its own streaming service to revive its old chestnut The Twilight Zone, with new episodes.
- YouTube TV debuted its standalone app for Android TV and Xbox One devices. It is expected to be available for Apple TV, Roku, and smart TVs in the coming weeks.
AUDIO
- Audiobooks are riding a wave of success just as podcasts have. If your organization has a publishing arm, it might be time to look into audio.
- Pandora has a teen problem: teens are turning their backs on the streaming audio service at staggering numbers.
- For an object lesson in how big data, AI, and machine learning can be put to use for business benefit, look no further than Spotify.
- Program of the Week: This week, we feature Here Be Monsters, a podcast from KRCW about the unknown — with a focus on science, drugs, death, religion, politics, and medicine. Do you have a program to recommend? Add yours to our Google Sheet: smonty.co/yourpodcasts.
Regulatory / Security
Business disruptions in the legal, regulatory, and computer security fields, from hacking to the on-demand economy and more.SECURITY / HACKING
- Should you cover your webcam? It's a valid question for those concerned about privacy. But when you stop to consider all of the other devices in your home that may be "spying" on you, it may be the least of your worries.
- There are reasons to believe that we've only seen the beginning of ransomware attacks, and that it's about to get worse. What's your plan for preventing or addressing a ransomware attack?
- Members of the TripAdvisor community tried to warn other members about the dangers of certain Mexican resorts, but the company deleted those posts and placed travelers in danger.
- Data breaches were up by 164% in the first half of 2017 and identify theft was the leading type of breach.
- You know all of those quizzes you take on various social media sites? They're a goldmine for hackers.
ON-DEMAND ECONOMY
- Uber's rival in Southeast Asia, Grab, has reported that it has completed 1 billion rides.
- Uber has committed $5 million to sexual assault and domestic violence prevention.
- Lyft is still gaining on Uber, even though Uber has slightly recovered from the #DeleteUber campaign.
Measurement / Analytics / Data
The future is not in plastics, but in data. Those who know how to measure and analyze it will rule the world.- Facebook kicked off a test in six countries where it moved all Facebook Page posts from the News Feed to its new Explore Feed. Slovak publishers saw their reach collapse. But traffic levels remained unchanged.
- Grafiti wants to make it easier to create and share data visualizations on smartphones as it considers itself "Instagram for data."
- Naming a chief analytics officer sends a powerful signal...about the importance of data analytics.
- Longer content isn't wearing people out. Actually, audiences are engaging more with longer videos, and you shouldn’t consider all the “bounces” as bad visits.
- Automated predictive analytics are here to stay. But what about the jobs of data scientists?
Mental Nourishment
Other links to help you reflect, improve, or simply learn something new.- Still struggling with the clock you adjusted on Saturday night with the end of Daylight Saving Time? Here's a brief history and rationale behind Daylight Saving Time. You can thank Benjamin Franklin and William Willett.
- With so much information flying at us every day, we could use help. Here are 10 ways to improve your memory. Just don't forget where you bookmarked this.
- And while you're at it, it's time to completely rethink your to-do list.
- It's time to stop asking your employees how you can help. There's an approach that will make them feel much better.
- Thanksgiving in the U.S. is only a few weeks away. So there's no time like the present to properly prepare. How to serve an entire Thanksgiving meal as a casserole. But whatever you do, don't try to drink your Thanksgiving meal.
- The next time you're in Antarctica, try a cocktail at Club 90.
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Upcoming Brain+Trust Speaking Engagements
- SocialFresh in Orlando December 8-9, 2017 (Christopher and Tim)
Can we speak for your organization? Drop us a line.
Brain+Trust Partners helps smart, risk-taking executives discern the real from the hype. From strategy development to technology and data vendor selection, and streamlining processes, our focus is on digital business transformation that improves customer experience and drives efficiency for your company. And our decades of experience working for major brands means that we deeply understand the challenges you're facing. Let us know if we can help you.
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November 06, 2017
analytics, artificial intelligence, autonomous, blockchain, digital transformation, Ethics, Facebook, Google, newsletter, privacy, security, Twitter
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