Monday, May 21, 2018

The Full Monty: The Choice Is Yours – May 21, 2018


There are always more than two options; Google corrects its oversight in Duplex; the running robots that will overtake us; what blockchain blockheads can learn from the Great Beany Baby Bubble of '99; Waymo may win; what CMOs think marketing needs to work on; Walmart ends a couple of experiments; how the subscription business model works; trends in social media platform usage; the value of Facebook ads; Twitter's effort to reduce trolling; Netflix goes all-in on original content; podcasting's music problem; the call for Facebook to be broken up; if we want better Internet privacy rules, we need to show we care about it; using data and humans together; trustworthiness, likability and listening go hand in hand; plus the podcast of the week, a new Community section and more in the Choice is Yours edition of The Full Monty from Brain+Trust Partners for the week of May 21, 2018.



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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

Three things this time around: (1) thank you for the feedback on the Top Stories section it was nearly universally voted up; (2) we've added a new section called Community in which Full Monty subscribers can ask for and receive help from each other; (3) I've rebooted The Full Monty podcast. with a very personal episode:






Top Stories

Last week, we were treated to one of the major conflicts of our time. It was not global superpowers at loggerheads, but rather the Internet, looking to skewer itself over the audio clip known as Yanny or Laurel. To me, the most fascinating part of this was not the debate, but that an audio file could be heard differently by different people. Particularly given my own audio struggles.

Humans have had conflict since their first appearance on earth. Tribes battled each other, religions held tales of gods trying to outdo each other and even brother killing brother, literature has been dotted with it, from the Montagues and Capulets to Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty.

But often times, we're given false choices because it's easiest to make a decision when there are only two things to decide between. This versus that, my team over yours, Democrats or Republicans, white dress or blue dress – we're typically fixated on a choice between a pair of things. Even one of my favorite podcasts, Business Wars, focuses on the battle of the brands, whether it's Blockbuster vs. Netflix, Nike vs. Adidas, or Marvel vs. DC. It's easier for us to compartmentalize.

The world is usually messier than that. In workplace conflicts, there are wide arrays of feelings, motivations, priorities and the rest that inform how employees make decisions. But human nature loves victory. We root for the underdog, or we cheer the champion that defeated the also-ran. We love a good villain and admire a great hero.

As we move toward to the temptation to make quick decisions, take sides, or declare victory, let's recall that perspective matters. A simple change in focus or looking at something from a different angle can change how you view the challenge in front of you. Rather than insisting on your position, try asking some questions or offering some understanding.

Bonus: here's an expanded discussion of the above, in video.




Artificial Intelligence / Autonomous

The latest in AI, machine learning, bots, and blockchain, mobility, and autonomous everything.

Aʀᴛɪꜰɪᴄɪᴀʟ Iɴᴛᴇʟʟɪɢᴇɴᴄᴇ / Mᴀᴄʜɪɴᴇ Lᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ

Aᴜᴛᴏɴᴏᴍᴏᴜs / Mᴏʙɪʟɪᴛʏ

  • Facebook has rolled out dynamic lead-generation ads for auto brands, allowing dealerships to integrate lead-gen forms into their vehicle catalogs and CRM systems.
  • When it comes to autonomous vehicles, Waymo is set to win the race: its technology is on par with other leaders, but with the significant backing of parent company Alphabet, it can go the distance.

Bʟᴏᴄᴋᴄʜᴀɪɴ

  • Blockchain is much more than just cryptocurrency, but with all of the hype around Bitcoin right now, its worth focusing on some lessons from the Great Beany Baby Bubble of '99. Will history repeat itself?


Communications / Marketing / Business Strategy

Industry developments and trends, including advertising & marketing, journalism, customer experience, content, and influencer relations.

Sᴛʀᴀᴛᴇɢʏ / Mᴀʀᴋᴇᴛɪɴɢ / Cᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ

Jᴏᴜʀɴᴀʟɪsᴍ / Cᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs / Rᴇᴘᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ

  • If you want to know if someone is trustworthy, look for these 15 signs. Trust is tied directly to reputation, both in individuals and brands.


Retail Apocalypse

Humans are a transactional species, and the practice — if not the very notion of what retail is  is undergoing a historical metamorphosis. 


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Platforms 

News to know about relevant social, virtual, and augmented reality platforms that may affect your business.

Social Media Examiner surveyed 5,700 marketers and developed a report of their planned use of different social media platforms for the next year. It's skewed more toward small businesses, but the disparity between Instagram and Snapchat is amazing – not to mention how Facebook doesn't seem to be hurting at all.


Fᴀᴄᴇʙᴏᴏᴋ / Iɴsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ / WʜᴀᴛsAᴘᴘ

Tᴡɪᴛᴛᴇʀ

Aʟᴘʜᴀʙᴇᴛ / Gᴏᴏɢʟᴇ / YᴏᴜTᴜʙᴇ

Sɴᴀᴘ / Sɴᴀᴘᴄʜᴀᴛ




Media

The latest in the world of streaming video, audio, and the advertising, pricing and bundling models related to them.

Vɪᴅᴇᴏ

Aᴜᴅɪᴏ



  

Community 

A place for subscribers of this newsletter to help each other. Do you have a special request or need? Email us and each week, we'll pick one to feature. And hopefully the power of the crowd will work. As Marcus Aurelius wrote in Meditations, "...help men. Short is life."

This week, I wanted to share something unique with you. My friend Dave Delaney has created a workshop called Communication Reboot.  High turnover rates impact company culture, productivity, engagement, and overhead.

So what does Dave do? He works with your teams to improve company culture and communication by using the techniques of improv in his sessions. Check out Communication Reboot to see how Dave's unique take on things can help your team.

Can we help you with anything? Send an email to fullmonty [AT] scottmonty [DOT] com with your request and we'll see if we can get it into a future issue of the newsletter.
 

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

    Rᴇɢᴜʟᴀᴛᴏʀʏ / Oɴ-Dᴇᴍᴀɴᴅ Eᴄᴏɴᴏᴍʏ


    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.



    Mental Nourishment

    Other links to help you reflect, improve, or simply learn something new.




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    Top image credit: Modern Rome - Campo Vacino by JMW Turner, 1839 (public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

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