An invitation to walk in the Labor Day Parade got me thinking about labor law as an alternative path to meaningful data privacy regulation. Think about this… Continue Reading →
Advertising & Marketing
Posts about Advertising & Marketing.
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The FTC and New York State reported that Google has agreed to pay a record $170 million penalty to settle accusations that YouTube broke the law when it knowingly tracked and sold ads targeted to children. In agreeing to pay this fine, Google is essentially admitting that YouTube collected user info from kids in violation Continue Reading →
Yesterday, Walmart announced it will reduce its gun and ammunition sales, one month after more than 20 people were killed in a mass shooting at one of its retail locations in El Paso, Texas. Walmart also pressured Congress to enact gun safety measures. I wrote an essay about a year ago about “Brand Bravery as Continue Reading →
CNET reports that Facebook may soon start hiding likes on News Feed posts. The company already tested a similar move on Instagram in August as a way to help break users' fixation with getting likes on their pictures. This is a spectacular idea. Everything about it will be better for everyone, except... are we not so addicted to the endorphin rush caused by accumulating likes that we will see it elsewhere? Continue Reading →
It has been just a week since my essay, Deepfakes 2.0: The Sequel Is Even Scarier. Now, Bloomberg is reporting about Zao, a next-generation deepfake facial replacement tool (a la FaceApp) that is taking China by storm (details below). When you see the results of this “anyone can do it at the tap of a Continue Reading →
Whether it’s because of schadenfreude, morbid curiosity, or simple human nature, the journalistic trope “If it bleeds, it leads” never disappoints. And because anyone who creates content – which is now everyone – is in a never-ending battle for everyone else’s attention, the enduring misalignment of incentives and outcomes raises the question: Whom can you trust? Continue Reading →
CNBC is reporting, “Best Buy shares fell 6.5% after its second-quarter revenue and same-store sales growth missed analysts’ expectations and upcoming tariffs on the company’s core products weigh on the stock.”
Let’s do a poll. Who has purchased anything at Best Buy (or any other brick & mortar electronics store) in the past 12 months?
You got your smartphone from the carrier or DTC from the manufacturer. You bought any accessories you needed online. Unless you were in dire need of printer ink or a charging cable or needed a gift that minute, you had no reason to walk into a store. But enough about me… what about you? Continue Reading →
We've come a long way since Tofurky. Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat may have thought that all they needed to do was best one another, but now, many of the country's 800,000 cattle ranchers have declared war on them. I'm looking for guidance here. Nutrition experts? Cattle geniuses? Agribiz peeps? Continue Reading →
For about 200,000 years, we have relied on our eyes and ears to separate truth from lies and fact from fiction. Even if we ignore the rise of fake news, technology is on the verge of making it impossible to know if what we are seeing and hearing is real or fake. Here’s a roundup of what’s new, what’s next, and what you can expect in time for the 2020 election. Continue Reading →
One of my very favorite Facebook executives is famous for saying, "Likes are not a business outcome." This is absolutely true. But likes are more addictive than oatmeal raisin cookies or soft pretzels or peanut butter toffee ice cream or, well... you get it. Likes are addictive. So, what would happen if Instagram made them go away? Wait. What? Yes, Instagram is experimenting with the idea. IMHO, this would shift the balance of social media power in a very positive way. Continue Reading →