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Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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Friday Wrap #142: Another tweet gone bad, Google’s about-face, AP podcast deal, Android for Work

Friday Wrap #142: Another tweet gone bad, Google’s about-face, AP podcast deal, Android for Work

Friday Wrap #142
Flickr photo courtesy of Andy Carter
The Friday Wrap is a review of news, posts, reports, and other items appearing in the last week that will help you stay on top of the forces shaping communication in this fast-paced, ever-changing environment. These are stories that may have been lost in the flood of headline news stories (like the FCC’s decision to classify the Internet as a public utility). I collect the items from which I choose the Wrap stories in my link blog, which you’re welcome to follow. 

News

Another company apologizes for another tweet—News organizations could save themselves some time by creating a template that begins: {Insert company name here} has apologized for an offensive tweet.” This time around, it’s Dunkin Donuts that tweeted the Liverpool Football Club cres next to a Dunkin’ Donuts crest that looks very similar. The offer: “Tweet us what you’d want on your personal crest & we might surprise you w/ your own!” In the revamped image, two flames are replaced with iced coffee cups, but those flames memorialize 96 fans who were crushed to death at an overcrowded stadium. The blowback led Dunkin’ Donuts to delete the tweet and apologize. At least they didn’t blame the intern. Read more

Edelman severs ties with American Petroleum Institute—Edelman, the world’s biggest PR agency, has ended its relationship with oil lobbying organization American Petroleum Institute. While the reasons for the break haven’t been disclosed, speculation points to a dustup last summer when Edelman was called out for representing “climate deniers.” If that’s the case, Edelman has demonstrated its reputation is more important than the hundreds of millions of dollars in billings the API account generated. Read more

Sometimes you’re clever, sometimes you’re just a jerk—Nobody was surprised that Verizon was unhappy with the FCC’s ruling in favor of Net Neutrality. The ruling—based on a law passed in 1937—prompted Verizon to convey its unhappiness by issuing a press release in Morse Code, and another written on an old typewriter. Both referred to the #ThrowbackThursday hashtag, as the ruling was issued on a Thursday. There are times when such a snarky response is creative and goes viral, and there are times it just makes you look like a petulant child. These fall into the latter category. Read more here and here

Google backs off explicit content ban—Not long after announcing a ban on sexually explicit content on its blogging platform, Blogger, Google reacted to feedback and reversed its decision. An executive said the decision was partly because of the potential “negative impact on individuals who post sexually explicit content to express their identities.” Other critics called the move a violation of free expression. Instead of banning such content, Google will no “step up enforcement” of policies that prohibit commercial pornography. Read more

Medium introduces new ways to read and write—Publishing platform Medium has introduced “a simple new writing experience” that lets you “capture (a) thought when lightning strikes and share it with the world in one click.” Dubbed the homepage editor, the tool requires no titles and offers simple formatting options and one-click publishing. Medium has also introduced a new look for streams, with shorter posts appearing in-line, “where you can instantly start reading.” According to a Medium post, the top of user profiles will also include a featured (or most recommended) post, followed by an ongoing stream of all of that writer’s content. Read more

Facebook introduces suicide prevention tools—Facebook is introducing a new option that lets users flag when a friend might be thinking about hurting himself; the tool is available within every post. When the tool has been used, the user will see options for getting in touch with the person who expressed concern, get help from another friend, or get in touch with a suicide helpline. Read more

Trends

Podcast partnership brings AP, PodcastOne together—More evidence of podcasting’s rising star is evident in a partnership between Associated Press and PodcastOne, which hosts some 200 podcasts. The deal will have Podcast One dynamically inserting timely news at the end of its podcasts as they are downloaded. Read more

Say goodbye to the password—The end is near for the password. Microsoft is working to eliminate passwords from Windows 10, opting for other options through the addition of support for the Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) standard, which may have you logging on at work with your face, voice, iris, or fingerprint. Apple has gone the consumer approach, building a fingerprint reader into its iPhones, iPads and Mac Air products. Samsung features fingerprint and facial recognition technology in its latest Galaxy line of phones. Expect more replacements for the all-too-easily hacked password. Read more

Nearly all B2B marketers are using social media—More than 90% of B2B marketing executives use social media channels to distribute content, and one-third rely on mobile, according to a Regalix study. Only a company’s own website is used more than social media for content sharing. Email took third place with 90%. Read more

EU passport system will accept selfies—Among other features of a new passport system rolling out in the European Union is an app that lets users to selfies that meet passport regulations and submit them to be added to the passport card. The card is similar to one introduced in the U.S. that makes it easier to move through the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, but so far the selfie option is unique to the EU. Read more

Domino’s goes social with rebranding—You may not notice, but Domino’s has dropped the word “Pizza” from its brand. To drive attention to the name change, the company is asking Instagrammers to share photos of stores still using the old log and signage by adding the hashtag #LOGOINFORMANTS and #SWEEPS to the picture. Despite the fact that the name change is supposed to reflect the chains non-pizza offerings, the prizes for social media campaign are a year’s worth of free pizza. Read more                 

Pepsi video contest will identify content marketing candidates—PepsiCo is running a video contest on LinkedIn to let college students know about the company’s content marketing jobs. Students in the U.S. will create short videos to pitch an idea for using technology and short-form videos to connect a PepsiCo brand to musicians whose starts are on the rise. The grand prize winner will meet the company’s CMO of global consumer engagement and get a summer internship at Pepsi’s content studio. Read more

YouTube isn’t enforcing its new logo restrictions—YouTube’s recently revised paid product promotion policy restricts creators who are earning income from YouTube ads from independently inserting “graphical title cards” that feature sponsors’ brand or product logo in their videos. However, YouTube isn’t searching for violators of the policy. If they start getting complaints about a video, that could change. Read more

Mobile and wearables

Google’s Android for Work wants to be part of the enterprise—Android for Work is Google’s attempt to become a formal part of the enterprise. The strategy features one environment for personal use and one for work, all integrated into a user’s personal profile. The Work apps are labeled with a lunch-box icon so users will know they’re using the work app and not the personal one. IT departments will be able to deploy apps and manage work data. Read more

“Our Stories” earn tens of millions of views on Snapchat—The “Our Stories” clips on Snapchat—produced for a collective, crowdsourced section of the app—are drawing viewing numbers usually seen for the most popular TV shows. One clip of New York during Snowmageddon was viewed 25 million times; 5,000 screenshots were captured of the clip. Other contributors also earned views in the tens of millions. Read more

Barclays app lets you tweet a payment—Users of Barclay’s Pingit payment app are now able to send payments by using their Twitter handles. You don’t have to be a Barclays customer to use the app. Signing up is just a matter of adding your twitter handle to your Pingit profile. Both the sender and recipient of payments need to have Twitter accounts added to their Pingit profiles. Read more

Intel sees the workplace as fertile ground for wearables—Intel is betting that wearables will become increasingly common in the enterprise. Among products already making inroads is the Pro Glove, designed for workers in production processes that “unlocks a new level of information and business intelligence for production management.” Intel’s wearables chips power a variety of other devices. Read more

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