New Year, Old You — January 7, 2019

One bite at a time

New Year's resolutions normally don't stick - unless you approach them differently; A.I. and its effects on humans; humans go to war against autonomous vehicles; five phases of digital eras; five content marketing trends you can't ignore; real influencers with fake sponsors; the photo that Walmart's CEO keeps on his phone; feeling bad for Facebook; get your sales team to use social media; which streaming service is better for films or television; podcast predictions for the year; the biggest tech challenges ahead include security and privacy; who's winning ride hailing; differentiated data will help win machine learning races; what attention actually is; and so much more in the New Year, Old You edition of The Full Monty for the week of January 7, 2019.

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Top Story

It's a new year, as you know. And that's typically when we make pledges to ourselves in the form of resolutions.

Do they work? Well, the jury is out on that. If you're anything like most humans, the new habits may stick for a while, but you'll find that you simply slip back into your old ways.

There's nothing wrong with that. It's just the way we're wired. So stop trying to change.

It's difficult to tackle something new and different if we haven't properly prepared ourselves for it. That could range from beginning to exercise, developing a new strategy, taking some operations back from agencies, a leadership role, or more.

If you haven't been warming up and you try to just jump in, it's going to be hard going.

"We must undergo a hard winter training and not rush into things for which we haven't prepared."

– Epictetus

The alternative is to adopt Atomic Habits. That is, begin with the smallest things and build from there. So, rather than pledging to stop drinking alcohol entirely in 2019, try cutting back to one drink a week. Or instead of giving up carbs at once, cut back your servings per day. And don't expect to figure out the analytics of your entire department in one quarter; begin with the metrics around one specific part of the operation.

It's human nature to want to make drastic changes to show our commitment to change. But those changes are more likely to stay with you if they're done bit by bit, over time.

If you enjoyed this commentary, please sign up for Timeless Wisdom in addition to this newsletter and I'll send you a couple of more items a week.

About this week's image: Goya depicted the story of god Saturn (the Titan Cronus in Greek mythology) eating his children upon their birth, as he feared he would be overthrown by them. His wife Ops eventually hid his third son, Jupiter, on the island of Crete, deceiving Saturn by offering a stone wrapped in swaddling in his place. Jupiter eventually supplanted his father just as the prophecy had predicted.

Artificial Intelligence / Autonomous

The latest in AI, machine learning, and bots; mobility and autonomous everything.
Aʀᴛɪꜰɪᴄɪᴀʟ Iɴᴛᴇʟʟɪɢᴇɴᴄᴇ / Mᴀᴄʜɪɴᴇ Lᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ

Experts say the rise of artificial intelligence will make most people better off over the next decade, but many have concerns about how advances in A.I. will affect what it means to be human, to be productive and to exercise free will. (Pew Research Center)
A look Five Standards for Responsible A.I. Use through the eyes of CEOs in industries that will be affected by it. (strategy+business) Ultimately, this is an exercise in many areas beyond the technology; namely, ethics, operations, risk management and more.
A smartphone that detects your sadness? A car that knows when you’re tired? Experts in "affective A.I." are building emotionally intelligent technology. (Wall Street Journal) Quite a feat when there are humans that have a hard time with even emotionally intelligence.
We're on the cusp of widespread facial recognition. But tech companies know that implementing it comes with a wide array of toxicity. (Venture Beat)

Aᴜᴛᴏɴᴏᴍᴏᴜs / Mᴏʙɪʟɪᴛʏ

Amazing police reports from the Phoenix area on how people are messing with self-driving Waymos: a slashed tire, a pointed gun, bullies on the road. In one case, a drunk guy tired of them in his neighborhood stopped one just by standing in front of it. (AZCentral) It’s not enough that we’re horrible to each other - now we’re going to mistreat the machines too?

“They said they need real-world examples, but I don’t want to be their real-world mistake,” said one local. (New York Times)

GM Cruise and Door Dash are partnering on autonomous delivery of food. (CNBC) So does that mean no tipping?
Former Uber and Otto executive Anthony Levandowski launched a self-driving truck startup Pronto.ai, which plans to ship Level 2 automated driving systems in 2019 starting at $4,999. (TechCrunch) Hope he didn't steal anyone's IP for this one.
Ford recognizes that the challenge with autonomous driving is behavioral change and gaining trust with consumers. (Fortune)
Can you teach a car to drive itself simply by showing a neural net millions of examples of good driving? In their quest to build the most experienced driver, researchers at Waymo detailed some of their work to explore the boundaries of A.I.
We have run out of room for growth of personal automobiles in urban areas: prepare yourself for the coming explosion of light electric vehicles. (Hugh Malkin) Except in northern cities in the winter, that is.

Communications / Marketing / Business Strategy

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

A look at how the digital era is evolving, and where we find ourselves in it. (Web Strategy) The big question: what's next?

Sᴛʀᴀᴛᴇɢʏ / Mᴀʀᴋᴇᴛɪɴɢ / Cᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ

CMOs can only do so much, and focus is key. Here are three strategies to follow and three to ditch in 2019. (MarketingProfs)
The top marketing news stories of 2018 included topics such as chatbots, artificial intelligence, marketing stunts, and more. (Trust Insights)
The 25 best ads of 2018 of course included KFC's apology, but also brought us international entries and ads about our environment. (AdWeek)
Marketing skills and behaviors that you'll need for 2019. (Mark Schaefer)
Four principles to embrace if you want to be a brand, or rise to the top of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. (Foster Thinking)
Your 2019 content strategy: five trends you can't ignore. (Convince & Convert)
85+ predictions for content marketing in 2019. (Content Marketing Institute) Lots of good stuff in here — worth a perusal.

Jᴏᴜʀɴᴀʟɪsᴍ / Cᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs / Rᴇᴘᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ

As digital matures, there's a rise of accountability in the air. (Forbes)

A deeper look at this and other phenomena in the 2019 Digital Trends Report (Edelman)

Strategic communications planning is critical during a leadership transition. (Peterson Rudgers Group)
Seven newsletters every marketer should have in their inbox for 2019. (Cheetah Digital) Communicators too, we'd argue.
Just because you're doing B2B influencer marketing doesn't mean it should be boring or automated. There's just as much room for emotion, collaboration, and creativity as in B2C influencer marketing. (Top Rank)
Influencers are so desperate for attention and approval that they're faking sponsored content. (The Atlantic) Nothing surprises me any more.

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Retail Apocalypse

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

Well, Sears filed for bankruptcy and the bankruptcy court approved $25 million in bonuses for Sears executives. (CBS) So, pretty much the way Sears had been run.
As a refresher, here are the firms that filed for bankruptcy in 2018. (CNBC) They included Toys 'R Us, Mattress Firm, Gymboree and Brookstone.
Amazon plans to open more Whole Food stores. The plan is to put them near customers within range of its Prime 2-hour delivery service. (Wall Street Journal)
Amazon says Alexa voice shopping tripled over the holiday season. (Fortune)
Related: how retailers trick your brain into overspending during the holidays. (CNN Business)
Just what is it about Costco that makes it irresistible? (Buzzfeed News)
The one photo that Walmart's CEO keeps on his phone keeps him mindful to never stop innovating. (CNBC)

"Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy."

–Fred De Witt Van Amburgh

Just a quick moment to thank those of you who have recommend this newsletter (publicly) to friends and colleagues. You've helped countless others discover these stories and learn from them.
Please consider doing it again, as the new year is upon us.

Platforms

News to know about relevant social media and technology platforms that may affect your business.

Fᴀᴄᴇʙᴏᴏᴋ / Iɴsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ / WʜᴀᴛsAᴘᴘ

It's kind of a nuanced ethical question: despite everything that's gone down, is it okay to feel bad for Facebook? (Six Pixels of Separation) Here's the thing: it comes down to your belief in their intentions and the usefulness of the platform to you. You need to be comfortable with those.
Facebook shelved plans for a product that would have promoted civil discourse. Evidently, conservatives would have thought it was biased against them. (The Verge) I'm still trying to make sense of that last sentence.
While the social network will face serious problems with user engagement, Facebook, in tandem with Google, will continue to dominate digital ad revenues. (eMarketer)
Instagram is testing a new set of promo buttons for brands to use on posts. (Mashable)
Instagram launched walkie-talkie voice messaging. This will place it in competition with other messaging services like Messenger, WhatsApp, and Telegram for voice services. (TechCrunch) My teenager hangs up on friends to text them, so I don't know how well-received this will be.

Tᴡɪᴛᴛᴇʀ

Twitter re-launched the reverse-chronological feed, much to the joy of users. (The Verge)
Twitter was warned by a researcher two years ago of a flaw, recently reported to FTC and EU's DPC by the company, that leaked users' phone number country codes. (TechCrunch)

Oᴛʜᴇʀ

Google is getting social with India as it rolls out Neighbourly, a new app just for that country. (CNN Business)
A question and answer session with Kal Amin, COO of Flipboard. (The Idea)
Is your sales team resistant to using social media? Or simply doesn't know where to begin? Here's a six-step plan for getting your sales team to use social media. (Social Media Examiner)

Media

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

If you have Netflix, you undoubtedly heard about or watched Bird Box over the holidays. It's a sign of how Netflix is taking over Hollywood. (Axios)

Original content accounted for 37% of Netflix's U.S. streams, up from 24% a year ago, with the rest of viewing from licensed content. (Variety) This, plus the move of Disney and other content owners to open their own streaming services, is why Netflix is dedicating a significant budget to original content.

Decisions about which streaming services to subscribe to can be difficult, but whether your viewing habits fall largely on movies or television can dictate your choices. Amazon and Hulu overlap most on films, and Amazon on Netflix on TV shows. (PC Mag)

The top 20 TV shows streamed in 2018; only one isn't on Netflix. (Forbes)

Roku will be offering premium subscriptions directly soon. (Roku)
Facebook wants you to buy and watch HBO on Facebook. (Recode)

Aᴜᴅɪᴏ

Take a look at 13 podcast predictions for 2019 and see which ones you agree with. (Pacific-Content) Let me know what you think.
One in six commuters chooses podcasts and music rather than radio, according to a survey of 2,000 U.K. drivers. (The Independent)
NPR announced RAD, an open source podcast analytics technology that aims to collect better listening metrics while respecting user privacy. (TechCrunch)
Program of the Week: Headlong: Surviving Y2K. We all know what happened at midnight on December 31, 1999. But in the months leading up, we were uncertain. Surviving Y2K has the stories of how people reacted and prepared in those crazy times.

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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

The biggest challenges for tech in 2019: privacy, security and employee protests will shape the year ahead for Silicon Valley. (New York Times)
Automated cyber attacks are the next big thing. (Entrepreneur) The machines are coming.
Hackers stole personal data including credit card information of ~300,000 people across 46 cities, using a vulnerability in government payment software Click2Gov. (Fortune)
CEOs haven't yet gotten the message that security is important enough to put a leadership position in place. Just five percent of top 100 firms listed a chief information security officer (CISO) or chief security officer (CSO) on their executive teams. (Krebs on Security) And if their insurance carriers keep paying out to cover damages for security breaches, there's no incentive to change either. Perhaps insurance companies should look at executive team structures before determining premiums.
While we're on the subject, here are seven digital privacy tools you need to be using now. (Fast Company)
More security stories in the Flipboard magazine for this section.

Rᴇɢᴜʟᴀᴛᴏʀʏ / Oɴ-Dᴇᴍᴀɴᴅ Eᴄᴏɴᴏᴍʏ

Chinese bike-sharing firm Ofo's fall is a warning to tech investors. (Reuters) Money quote: “It now appears bike sharing is the stupidest business..."
How Toyota is winning ride hailing. (The Drive) Let's just say exposure to their vehicles as Uber rides helps with marketing.
Lyft is offering to help low-income households who live far from grocery stores and who don’t have cars to get to the store by giving them rides for $2.50. (MarketWatch)
New data suggest that Lyft has eaten into Uber's market share. (Recode)
Airbnb revealed the 19 destinations to visit in 2019. (Airbnb)

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.

The machine learning race is really a data race. If they want to win, firms need to find differentiated data. (MIT Sloan Management Review)
Internal documents show that Facebook gave Microsoft, Amazon, Spotify and others far greater access to people’s data than it has disclosed. (New York Times)
The top five data visualization tools for 2018. (Meltwater) Bonus: they're FREE.
Four ways to plan for an automated marketing future. (Google) Hint: data and automation are your friends.

Speaking Engagements

Are you tired of hearing about the latest thing you have to chase from executives or so-called gurus who love shiny objects? The platform du jour, the latest trend in influencers, stunts, and the like?

Then allow me to wow your team with Timeless Wisdom — lessons drawn from historical and literary contexts, combined with my Fortune 10 executive experience, that still apply today. You'll walk away with a sense of reassurance after hearing some of my stories. I connect the dots between digital and analog, pointing out the universal human truths that drive us all, with insights that will help your team better connect with your customers.

Mental Nourishment

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

How books provide us with solace, empowerment and transformation. “Some books are toolkits you take up to fix things, from the most practical to the most mysterious, from your house to your heart, or to make things, from cakes to ships. Some books are wings… Some books are medicine, bitter but clarifying.” (Brain Pickings)
The definitive list of every important technology ever, ranked by their importance. (Gizmodo)
Conceiving of attention as a resource misses the fact that attention is not just useful. It’s more fundamental than that: attention is what joins us with the outside world. (Aeon)
Loneliness peaks at three ages, but it takes different forma, as an inverse relationship exists between loneliness and wisdom. (CNN)
If you've ever felt like a fraud, here's how to overcome your impostor syndrome. (Podia)
Your intuition is wrong, unless these three conditions are met. (Think Advisor)

Top image credit: Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco de Goya, c. 1819-1823 (public domain, Wikimedia Commons)

Monday, January 7, 2019