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Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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Friday Wrap #184: A taste of Peach, brands blow Bowie tributes, Snapchat is mainstream, and more

Friday Wrap #184: A taste of Peach, brands blow Bowie tributes, Snapchat is mainstream, and more

Friday Wrap #184The Friday Wrap is my weekly collection of news stories, posts, studies, and reports designed to help organizational communicators stay current on the trends and technology that affect their jobs. These may be items that flew under the radar while other stories grabbed big headlines. As always, I collect material from which I select Wrap stories (as well as stories to report on the For Immediate Release podcast, along with stuff I just want to remember to read) on my link blog, which you’re welcome to follow. If you want to make sure you never miss an edition of the Wrap, subscribe to my weekly email newsletter.

News

Snooping on employees is not okay (in Europe)—A number of groups that represent both management and workers in Europe have issued warnings that a recent court ruling is not a “green light…to start snooping on staff.” Europe’s top court had ruled in favor of a company that had read an employee’s messages. “Employees should not be subject to Stasi-style surveillance at work,” was the message from the Institute of Directors, one of the organizations taking a position on the ruling. “We would strongly urge businesses not to read employee’s personal messages, apart from the most exceptional circumstances.” Privacy is taken more seriously in Europe than the US, but American businesses should pay attention, especially as they struggle to improve engagement. Read more

How to kill a hot new social network—Jelly was a terrific idea, an app that let people ask questions of their network. Sadly, so many brands jumped on it so fast that users abandoned it, seeing it as nothing more than a platform for marketing. Early reports suggest the same fate may be in store for Peach, a week-old social networking app that has attracted a ton of attention (despite its current iOS-only availability). Peach combines Slack-like commands with an interface reminiscent of Facebook Messenger. Its popularity has enticed brands like Merriam Webster, Taco Bell, J Crew, and Starbucks; other brands are planning their presence as publishers like The Washington Post and Vice establish outposts. The takeaway: I’m a believer in experimentation with new tools, but too many brands can damage an app’s appeal if they’re on board before enough users have signed on. Read more

Why Peach is so hot—Magic Words are at the heart of Peach’s appeal; type in pre-set words or phrases to issue a command (“draw” opens a drawing tool, “here” displays your current location, and “move” shows you how many steps you’ve taken). Like the defunct app Path, Peach lets you message only with people you’ve deliberately added to your friends feed. The takeaway: Whether it will last or not remains to be seen, but right now the app—from the creator of Vine—is taking the Net by storm. My daughter says she’s using it more than Facebook. Read more

Did brands have to share David Bowie tributes?—My first reaction on learning of David Bowie’s passing was shock, surprise, and sadness. My second: “Oh, God. Here come awful brand tributes.” And indeed, they polluted Twitter and other channels. One of the worst: Crocs, maker of those rubber shoes, which offered up a Bowie-esque lightning bolt superimposed over one of its shoes, prompting a flood of backlash. Conversation also targeted other brands for crass commercialism. The takeaway: Unless your brand had a direct connection with the deceased, resist the temptation to post a tribute under the company name. It’s not a problem if an individual—even a CEO—shares her or his thoughts, but a tribute from the company logo, no matter how heartfelt, will not end well. Trust me, you won’t lose sales or customers if you just shut up. Read more

Huffington Post focuses on video distribution through social channels—The Huffington Post has scaled back its live-streaming video, opting instead to concentrate on distributing video through a variety of social media platforms. Founder Arianna Huffington and CEO Jared Grusd wrote in an internal memo, “The way the world consumes video has changed dramatically, and we’re changing along with it to deliver video as efficiently as possible.” HuffPost will still “go live when warranted,” but most of the effort will now focus on ensuring video is tweaked appropriately for each channel through which it is distributed. The takeaway: For brands, it is certainly important to look to the various channels people use to discover content. In the enterprise, though, it’s even more important to recognize this trend. If you’re sharing news solely (or primarily) by asking employees to visit the home page of the intranet, it’s time to wake up to the new reality of news consumption and adopt it internally. Read more

John Legere is sorry for his Eff-bomb—In a video shared via social media T-Mobile CEO John Legere attacked the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) report on the mobile carrier’s “Binge On” option, which he ended by asking “Who the f**k are you, EFF? Why are you stirring up so much trouble, and who pays you?” He apologized in a blog post, saying “Just because we don’t completely agree on all aspects of Binge On doesn’t mean I don’t see how they fight for consumers.” The takeaway: Good move, Mr. Legere, considering the widespread support the EFF enjoys for its efforts. Read more

Tylt aims to improve online conversations—Tylt, whose launch is imminent, is designed to improve online conversations, notably contentious ones. The site (according to a trademark application) will provide “information, news and commentary in the field of trending topics of general interest news and current events over media whereby users leverage their social networks to vote on positions and the most influential users are highlighted.” According to AdAge, that sounds like “Reddit for opinions.” The company behind Tylt, Advance Publications, is hiring editors and writers. The takeaway: This was sort of the idea behind Plag(ue), an app aimed at spreading opinions for thumbs-up or down votes. Maybe Tylt will attract a more mature audience. Read more

Mobile and Wearables

Snapchat ages up—One reason some companies have shied away from Snapchat is its demographics: It was used mostly by teens. No more. The mobile messaging app is, according to Wired, “on the verge of its ‘mom moment,’ the point at which a social media platform tips from niche network to mainstream sensation and becomes the type of thing your mother will start using.”  During the last six months of 2015, the app was being used by 15% of US Internet users 18 years old and above. The takeaway: While Snapchat may not be a platform for every organization, it does now warrant consideration. Its growth curve will only continue. Read more

Snapchat rivals Facebook for mobile video views—Snapchat delivers more than 7 billion video clips every day, about 1 billion shy of Facebook’s mobile video reach, despite the fact that Facebook has 15 times the number of users. Video traffic is driven by Stories, which lets users share clips from the last 24 hours. The takeaway: Some brands have embraced stories, and considering the fact that Snapchat has aged up (see the item above), it presents an opportunity for companies with visual elements to get in on the game. Read more

Snapchat’s latest user: The White House—Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that US President Barack Obama has taken the crown as the most social media-savvy president in US history. The day before delivering the State of the Union address, the White House has opened a Snapchat account. The administration noted that 60% of American smartphone users between 13 and 34 are on Snapchat, and they hope to engage that demographic “in new and creative ways.” The takeaway: I saw an item noting that Millennials feel they’re being ignored by the field of both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. Snapchat could be a channel for reaching those voters. Read more

Wall Street Journal joins Snapchat—Sensing a theme here? In addition to the White House, The Wall Street Journal is publishing content on Snapchat’s Discover channel, the 19th publisher to distribute content through Discover. The takeaway: If it isn’t obvious by now, Snapchat is mainstream. Deal with it. Read more

Periscope invades Twitter stream (on iOS only, so far)—For most people, viewing a Periscope broadcast starts with seeing a tweet announcing that one of your connections is now live. On iOS, however, you can see the live broadcast of your connections right in the Twitter stream. The feature is coming soon for Android and Twitter’s website. The takeaway: Periscope has exploded despite some misgivings, along with Blab; Facebook Live isn’t far behind as it rolls out to everyone. Live streaming is for real. Read more

Group video calls now available on Skype mobile—Skype has launched free group video calling on a broad range of mobile operating systems, including Android, iOS, and Windows 10. The feature will roll out over the next few weeks, but you can complete a pre-registration form for early access. The takeaway: With group calls fairly common in other messaging apps, Skype needed to make this available for mobile. The benefit: Skype users already have all their contacts in their Skype directory. I know I do. Read more

Trends

Marriott on meetings: In-person and aided by technology—A new video from Marriott’s CEO shares a vision of the future of meetings. “Meetings Imagined” shifts the focus of meetings from physical logistics to human engagement. The trends: sensory analytics (capturing an event’s pulse by taking advantage of the Internet of Things), tribalization (cultivating relationships to improve outcomes), content safaris (the fluidity of content and programming to personalize the event experience), living 360 degrees (customizing everything from lighting to airflow to create healthier environments), and immersive telepresence (making meetings a combination of in-person and virtual connectivity). The takeaway: Marriott envisions these as trends for hotels that offer meeting spaces, but the same principles can be applied to corporate meeting rooms. Read more

Marketing via Chrome filter—The Google Chrome Web Store is full of filters that address issues from parental controls to ad blocking. Lean Cuisine has another idea for filters. The frozen meal company has introduced a filter that blocks the word “diet” from articles and social media posts, part of an attempt to focus on health and fitness. The goal was to help consumers avoid the flood of weight-loss messaging introduced around the first of the year, when people regularly make New Year weight-loss resolutions. The takeaway: This is the first time I’ve heard of a filter being used as part of a marketing effort (or, for that matter, as a CSR initiative). I can’t wait to see someone come up with a Chrome extension that serves a marketing purpose. Read more

Hershey’s crowdsources shipping solutions—Crowdsourcing isn’t the conversation starter it was 7 or 8 years ago, but it’s still a problem-solver for a growing number of organizations. Consider Hershey’s, which is looking for a way to keep chocolate from melting when en route from factory to stores during summer. The crowdsourcing contest is seeking a “lightweight, affordable cool shipping system that will keep chocolate close to the temperature at which it was packed for at least 48 hours.” The winner gets $25,000 in development funds and the opportunity to work with the iconic chocolate company to develop other proposals. The takeaway: The not-invented-here syndrome needs to die. Especially as more experts go independent seeking gigs instead of jobs, crowdsourcing initiatives will become more important to organizations looking to innovate. Read more

A new take on reaching a niche audience—If you want consumers to pay attention to your ad, amongst all the content out there competing for their attention, you can try making the ad just for that customer rather than a one-size-fits-all video. Warby Parker has been all over this idea for years, shooting videos to answer a single customer inquiry (and making it available to everyone through a variety of channels), but Toyota has taken a different approach, filming multiple clips that can be combined to produce more than 100,000 possible configurations. Which one you’ll see in your Facebook stream depends on what you have liked. The takeaway: The only way you’ll suffer from “content crash” is if you don’t adapt by trying new ways to target your content to the people you want to reach. Read more

Research

World Bank says the Net is increasing inequality—The Internet could be increasing inequality, according to a World Bank report. “Digital technologies are spreading rapidly, but digital dividends—growth, jobs, and services—have lagged behind,” according to the report, which notes that people on the lower end of the economic and education spectrums have seen few of the Net’s benefits, which have accrued mostly to the well-off and well-educated. The takeaway: While access to the Net continues to spread, it’s not enough. Countries need to promote competition and introduce programs to train workers in the new skills that tech companies need. Read more

Parents post more on Facebook—Not that this will surprise anyone, but parents post to Facebook more than other users. An Ipsos study found new American moms post 2-1/2 times more updates, 3-1/2 times more photos, and more than four times more videos than non-parents. New parents’ posts also generate 37% more interactions than “regular” posts. The takeaway: If your company targets parents and families, new moms (and dads, too) could be influencers worth your outreach. Read more

Virtual and Augmented Reality

Google now has a VR unit—Google Cardboard was an early entry into the Virtual Reality space, but with Oculus selling out of its pre-orders for the Rift and Microsoft getting a lot of attention for its soon-to-launch Augmented Reality HoloLens, the company wants to get more serious. CEO Sundar Pichai has appointed a VP of VR; the unit to be run by Clay Bavor (one of the people behind Cardboard) will position the company to compete head-to-head with other companies gearing up for a surge of new products and consumer interest. The takeaway: Google is partnering with Lenovo to introduce a smartphone with Augmented Reality at its core; it also invested half a billion dollars in AR startup Magic Leap. Clearly the company sees a big future for both AR and VR. Read more

Agencies send staffers to VR crash courses—A number of advertising and marketing agencies are finding ways to get their staffs up to speed quickly on Virtual Reality. One production studio has been holding workshops for its agency partners, while BBDO has reorganized and rebranded its digital lab, creating a safe space for employees to play with the technology. The agency Huge has built a virtual “hangar” where staff can find its past and current projects that employ VR; new staff members are participating in VR seminars. The takeaway: VR is more complicated than a lot of other tools, and for those who plan to offer it as an option to clients, education is a requirement. Read more

What’s the downside to Virtual Reality?—Most of the content published at VR these days is full of optimism and excitement. It could be a decade before we understand impact VR might have on society and individual behavior; that’s how long smartphones have been around and we are only now beginning to see how the devices affect culture and society. The takeaway: Society has managed to cope with the effects of new technologies so far. While some caution is warranted, I wouldn’t worry too much. After all, we managed to overcome the web-surfing addiction, didn’t we? Read more

Are there issues using VR for marketing?—Yes, according to some, who worry that viewing branded VR content on cheaper devices will make the experience look cheap. Costs are still high, and you watch VR alone; there’s no sharing or engagement opportunity at this point. Add the fact that VR may be a short-term fad, and marketers may need to think twice before jumping on board. These issues haven’t stopped a number of companies, from Marriott and North Face to BMW, from testing the VR waters. As always, you should approach this new avenue strategically, unless you’re up for a little low-cost experimentation, which isn’t hard with 360-degree immersive video. Read more

This week’s Wrap image comes from Pete‘s Flickr account. He notes, “I really hate putting Christmas away each January.”

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