The Full Monty: Our Terms of Service Have Changed – April 23, 2018
Looking for a translator who understands legalese; the robot resistance may be rising; Amazon's algorithm will help you look cool; predictive business intelligence systems are the future; Tesla should learn from history; the best digital and social media research of 2018; tech matters to grocers and Home Depot; YouTube TV gets digital-only networks; the lights are on at Flickr; Netflix is going strong - but for how long?; the Podcast Consumer 2018 from Edison Research; fake reviews are big business; measuring innovation; why solvitur ambulando may be your answer; revealing our image strategy; the podcast of the week and more in Our Terms of Service Have Changed edition of The Full Monty from Brain+Trust Partners for the week of April 23, 2018.
Please consider supporting the considerable effort made for you here each week.
How about it?
The Full Monty, a Brain+Trust Partners publication, exposes you to virtually everything you need in business intelligence at the top of every week. Links are below with commentary in italics. Please sign up for our email updates to make sure you don't miss a thing.
Announcements
The more eagle-eyed of you may have noticed the progression of images over the last five issues of the newsletter. It's a subtle nod to Alfred Hitchcock, who famously made cameo appearances in nearly every movie he directed. It took him six years and three films to pull off his cleverest gag: in Spellbound (1945) , he was seen carrying a violin case; in The Paradine Case (1947), he had a cello case; and in Strangers on a Train (1951), he struggled to bring a double bass onto the train.
Our version was the five-part series The Course of Empire by Thomas Cole.
Top Stories
The Facebook / Cambridge Analytica news has brought quite a bit of the unrealized or unspoken of the tech world into national consciousness. Collectively (and individually in some cases), we've been talking about data, privacy, and what we're willing to give up for our beloved free services.But it strikes us that there's an element that's been with us all along which could have saved us from ourselves — a functional piece of each and every app and service that we use that should have been a talisman, but was instead a nuisance at best or an impediment at worst.
We're of course referring to the Terms and Conditions.
Ts and Cs (or ToS for "Terms of Service" on some platforms) are what we're typically greeted with when we sign up for new apps, platforms and services. Before you can dive in and share your photos from last night's party, your political opinion on the hypocritical politician of your choice, or message someone, you need to make your way through the legalese of the 20-thumb scroll to find the "I Accept" button that you press, having read none of the Terms.
And is it any surprise that you haven't read them? With some of them <cough>PayPal</cough> being longer than Hamlet, who has time to read them in their entirety? This is how some Londoners were tricked into signing over their firstborn children. With this kind of easy slip-up, simplification is needed.
The real function of these dense, jargon-filled policies and agreements — which most of us universally ignore — isn't for companies to inform users of our rights, but to establish legal grounds for collecting and sharing our information. That's it. Plain and simple. It's a way to ensure that business models stand because we're too lazy or stupid to read and understand the terms.
But now, thanks in part to the advent of GDPR, meant to return control of personal data to the individual by ensuring companies follow a new set of data protection compliance rules, companies are scaling back and simplifying their terms of service. Why? Because users' consent would be legally invalid if they don't understand the agreement they're signing. But you might ask: if they can simplify to adhere to regulations, why couldn't they have simplified for the sake of customers in the first place? To which we'd answer: see the above paragraph.
Facebook is no exception, and the company initially said that it would adhere to GDPR standards around the world – not only in Europe. However, the company quickly changed its position to mean only in Europe, meaning that the other 1.5 billion Facebook users around the world would be governed by the looser US standards.
US regulators have an opportunity to step up and create the same level of data protection for Americans that have been created in Europe. Certainly, multinational companies will need to create a single standard that complies with GDPR. Facebook should step up and meet this need before regulation is required.
Then again, seeing that a number of elderly members of Congress recently had difficulty in understanding basic Internet and social media terms and functions, perhaps we should ask them to spend time reading the Terms and Conditions of their own jobs.
Industry developments and trends, including advertising & marketing, journalism, customer experience, content, and influencer relations.
If you're seeing this, maybe you'd like to see your company's name here too. Let us know.
Facebook is no exception, and the company initially said that it would adhere to GDPR standards around the world – not only in Europe. However, the company quickly changed its position to mean only in Europe, meaning that the other 1.5 billion Facebook users around the world would be governed by the looser US standards.
US regulators have an opportunity to step up and create the same level of data protection for Americans that have been created in Europe. Certainly, multinational companies will need to create a single standard that complies with GDPR. Facebook should step up and meet this need before regulation is required.
Then again, seeing that a number of elderly members of Congress recently had difficulty in understanding basic Internet and social media terms and functions, perhaps we should ask them to spend time reading the Terms and Conditions of their own jobs.
Artificial Intelligence / Autonomous
The latest in AI, machine learning, bots, and blockchain, mobility, and autonomous everything.Aʀᴛɪꜰɪᴄɪᴀʟ Iɴᴛᴇʟʟɪɢᴇɴᴄᴇ / Mᴀᴄʜɪɴᴇ Lᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ
- The anti-robot uprising is coming: "Automation anxiety" is likely to trigger popular resistance to robotization, says Carl Frey, leading researcher on the future of work.
- Now wait just a minute: the artificial intelligence revolution hasn't happened yet. We have much to learn, and practical applications are just taking seed.
- Marketers, content creators and other creatives can take a page from machine learning marketing algorithms, lest they be replaced.
- Amazon’s Echo Look allows you to take hands-free selfies and evaluate your fashion choices.
- Business intelligence systems, largely the domain for analyzing past performance, are being retrofitted with artificial intelligence to bring predictive features to their reporting capabilities.
Aᴜᴛᴏɴᴏᴍᴏᴜs / Mᴏʙɪʟɪᴛʏ
- Automotive experts say that Tesla is repeating the mistakes of the auto industry from the 1980s. Elon Musk is discovering that large-scale car manufacturing is really hard, and it's not easy to improve on the methods of conventional automakers.
Communications / Marketing / Business Strategy
Sᴛʀᴀᴛᴇɢʏ / Mᴀʀᴋᴇᴛɪɴɢ / Cᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ
- In this age of information overload, your digital messaging doesn't need more data; sometimes you just need to understand the basic human processes that govern decision-making.
- All of the best digital and social media research in 2018, compiled by Journalist's Research.
Jᴏᴜʀɴᴀʟɪsᴍ / Cᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs / Rᴇᴘᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ
- Three ways a creative brand personality helps to boost PR efforts.
- Apple plans to integrate recently acquired magazine app Texture into Apple News and debut its own premium news subscription service next year.
Retail Apocalypse
Humans are a transactional species, and the practice — if not the very notion of what retail is — is undergoing a historical metamorphosis.- The biggest news in retail last week was Amazon revealing that it has 100 million Prime subscribers.
- Amazon's next retail conquest: apparel. Note the article in the Aʀᴛɪꜰɪᴄɪᴀʟ Iɴᴛᴇʟʟɪɢᴇɴᴄᴇ section above: this is a key component to Echo Look.
- Home Depot is launching its biggest tech hiring spree ever to protect its lead over Amazon.
- Tech is a priority for grocers. Omnichannel initiatives are seeing greater adoption in supermarkets, and more are fully integrated than last year. Nearly every major grocer has a mobile app.
- The CEO of Sears has offered to buy the company's real estate and its heralded Kenmore brand.
- Just for fun: images of Art Deco Sears buildings. Back when we built temples to retail.
SPONSOR
Want to know what 500 marketers (budgets up to $10 million) believe and how those beliefs influence their behaviors when it comes to hiring and firing agencies just like yours?
Don't miss this FREE 16 page report, full of information, insight and guidance on how to best approach prospects based on the findings.
Some of the results are going to really surprise you.
Platforms
News to know about relevant social, virtual, and augmented reality platforms that may affect your business.Tᴡɪᴛᴛᴇʀ
- Twitter has banned security company Kaspersky Lab from advertising on its platform due to the company’s alleged ties to Russian intelligence organizations.
Fᴀᴄᴇʙᴏᴏᴋ / Iɴsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ / WʜᴀᴛsAᴘᴘ
- What if Facebook charged a fee to use its service? Based on average revenue per user, Facebook might have to charge $11-$14 for monthly subscriptions to offset ad revenue, but it would empower users with choice and a sense of value.
Aʟᴘʜᴀʙᴇᴛ / Gᴏᴏɢʟᴇ / YᴏᴜTᴜʙᴇ
- YouTube TV added its first digital-only networks with the launch of two channels from Cheddar: its financial news network and Cheddar Big News.
- Ads from over 300 companies and organizations — including tech giants, major retailers, newspapers and government agencies — ran on YouTube channels promoting extremists, including white nationalists, Nazis, pedophilia, conspiracy theories and North Korean propaganda.
Sɴᴀᴘ / Sɴᴀᴘᴄʜᴀᴛ
- Now Snapchat advertisers will be able to include a button on their sponsored Lens that can carry out a number of actions, such as letting users visit a website, watch a promotional video, or install an app.
- Snap released seven new templates and Giphy integration for its Lens Studio, and now lets creators build their own face filters for the first time.
Oᴛʜᴇʀ
- Reddit now has more users than Twitter, and far more engagement.
- Flickr has been bought by SmugMug, which aims to restore the photo-sharing platform to its prominence. Yahoo bought Flickr in the mid-2000s, but never made much of it. Oath, Verizon's subsidiary decided to unload it for an undisclosed sum.
Media
The latest in the world of streaming video, audio, and the advertising, pricing and bundling models related to them.Vɪᴅᴇᴏ
- Netflix added more than 7 million subscribers in Q1 of 2018, putting it around 125 million subscribers worldwide.
- How the media memberships stack up:
- HBO: 142 million
- Amazon Prime: 100 million
- Spotify: 71 million
- Apple Music: 40 million
- Hulu: 17 million
- Pandora: 5.5 million
- MoviePass: 2 million
- According to an auditor, the future is bleak for MoviePass. Its parent company will sell 10.5 million shares at $2.75, 28.2% below last Wednesday's $3.83 closing price.
- Disney's streaming service is coming. With all of the content and franchises under their belt, Netflix should be scared.
Aᴜᴅɪᴏ
- Radio's health is better than you think. But what's the long-term prognosis?
- The Podcast Consumer 2018, the latest in Edison’s annual study of the medium, contains all new data on podcast users in America, derived from the Infinite Dial 2018 study, The Smart Audio Report from NPR and Edison, and the latest from Edison’s Share of Ear® research.
- Google has a new podcasting strategy that completely reimagines how people find and listen to shows. Part one of an exclusive five-part series.
- Content creators can learn a lot about their craft by taking some lessons from podcasting.
- Program of the Week: Our pick this week is CMO Moves, a podcast that shares the human side of game-changing CMOs, hosted by Nadine Dietz. Do you have a program to recommend? Add yours to our Google Sheet: smonty.co/yourpodcasts.
Don't forget to subscribe to The Difference from Brain+Trust Partners!
Privacy / Security / Regulatory
Business disruptions in the legal, regulatory, and computer security fields, from hacking to the on-demand economy and more.Pʀɪᴠᴀᴄʏ / Sᴇᴄᴜʀɪᴛʏ / Hᴀᴄᴋɪɴɢ
- There are a number of businesses out there that are established for the sole purpose of creating fake businesses with fake reviews. A deeper look into the problem and what you can do about it from Brian Krebs.
- When it comes to Amazon, there's an underground community of reviewers on Facebook who game the system and flood the site with fake reviews.
- Peter Thiel’s data-mining company Palntir is using War on Terror tools to track American citizens. The software combs through disparate data sources — financial documents, airline reservations, cellphone records, social media postings — and searches for connections that human analysts might miss. It then presents the linkages in colorful, easy-to-interpret graphics that look like spider webs. Think Google and Facebook know a lot about you? Child's play next to Palantir.
- Surveillance firm Terrogence, a US government vendor, has been building a massive facial recognition database from photos on Facebook, YouTube, and other sites. Maybe on Flickr now?
- So what can you do to protect your online data? Practically nothing.
- Over 20 million Google Chrome users installed ad blocker extensions that contained malware.
Rᴇɢᴜʟᴀᴛᴏʀʏ / Oɴ-Dᴇᴍᴀɴᴅ Eᴄᴏɴᴏᴍʏ
- Lyft riders increased their tipping in 2017 by 8 percent over 2016. The company reported over $500 million in tips for drivers last year. Chalk it up not only to generosity, but to a well-designed app as well. UX matters.
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.- Want to measure your innovation efforts? These two intuitive measurements are how to go about it.
- Advertisers are still using last-touch over multi-touch attribution. Somewhat surprisingly, they also believe that's the most useful ordering.
- One of the keys to helping your business is understanding employee sentiment, which can now be accomplished with machine learning.
- The latest episode of The Difference, with our colleague Katie Lioy, CEO of Brain+Trust Insights, talking about how brands need to deal with dark data:
Mental Nourishment
Other links to help you reflect, improve, or simply learn something new.- The complete list of 2018 Pulitzer Prize winners.
- Aside from the revelation of 100 million Prime members, Jeff Bezos' shareholders letter had other nuggets, including this fun fact: Amazon doesn’t do PowerPoints - they do “6-page narratives.”
- A lack of sleep alters a brain connection that causes fear and anxiety. As if you needed another reason to get more sleep?
- A grandfather's advice – or rather the way he lived his life – is a lesson on how to approach every single day.
- Solvitur ambulando: it is solved by walking. If you can master the art of a purposeful walk, you may be surprised at how much you can accomplish.
- These seemingly modern-sounding colloquialisms (such as ginormous, hipster, rap and more) actually have much earlier origins.
Do you like what you see here? Please subscribe to have trends on digital communications, marketing, technology and business delivered to your inbox each week.
Upcoming Brain+Trust Speaking Engagements
Upcoming events:- Digimarcom in New York City on May 10 and in Houston on June 7.
- The Customer Experience Summit in Dallas on May 22.
- In the next two weeks, the Brain+Trust team will be in Nashville and New York. Let us know if you'd like to get together in person.
Can we speak for your organization or event? Drop us a line.
Brain+Trust Partners companies evolve at the speed of customers. From social and content strategy development to technology and data vendor selection, to improved operations, our focus is on improving the customer experience and saving money. 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.
--
0 comments:
Post a Comment