In the absence of a method to prevent the live streaming of murders and other violence, Zuckerberg remains personally responsible for the consequences of this service offering. By not suspending the service until a screening system is in place and functioning, he has made the decision that the ethical problems associated with Facebook Live are subordinate to the monetary benefit it confers to his company.
Read MoreThe marketplace is flooded with books and articles that emphasize the importance of personal brand management. Now that the means of mass communication are in everyone’s direct control, we’re all expected to show our skills in action, not simply through a static CV or résumé, but through an ongoing stream of social media and blog posts. Prove that you know what you say you know...continually.
Read MoreThe Internet demands to be fed. Your career likely demands that you feed it. You are what your Internet record says about you which is why we're all personal brand managers now. We have to prove that we're active, that we go to interesting places and do interesting things. We're competing against the next fellow who's aggressively marketing himself. We redouble our efforts to catch up. On one hand, this is a boon to those who are looking to stand out. On the other, it's a new infringement on personal time as we're leashed to a data vortex that demands constant intake.
Read MorePrivate citizens are using the power of their mobile devices to influence the programming decisions made by commercial news and entertainment outlets. They’re using it to record and break the news themselves, augmenting -- or even circumventing -- the established media.
Read MoreYouTube opened a new conduit through which marketers could reach consumers but what they created wasn't just a new video distribution channel like some alternate form of television. They've gone beyond simply offering a different technology for message transmission. YouTube allows marketers to harness the consumer base itself as part of a modern strategy. The once passive receivers of television and radio advertisements have, through YouTube, become part of the salesforce.
Read MoreGovernment agencies need to explain and promote the value of their efforts to taxpayers. They’re in a constant fight for government tax dollars as surely as corporations are in competition for consumer dollars. An all-star social media user within the U.S. government is NASA. Let’s take a look at how they use social to their best advantage and contrast their efforts with two of their closest counterparts: the European Space Agency (ESA) and Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX.
Read MoreIn his book The Social Code, author Patrick Hanlon argues that social media communities can be characterized by seven distinct elements: a creation story, a creed, icons, rituals, sacred words or lexicons, non-believers, and a leader. In this post, I'm going to test his thesis by comparing his criteria to a Facebook interest group called “Space Hipsters.”
Read MoreWhile we are now awash in digital communities which foster constructive dialogue between widely varying groups, so too are we at pains to distinguish truth from propaganda and outright fantasy.
Read MoreIn the age of the corporate intranet, one of the most obvious methods for taking the temperature of the staff is the online comment forum or discussion board. It is precisely because the solution seems so obvious that the decision to adopt it is usually made without a thoughtful consideration of the consequences. The manager who asks for employee feedback may get more than she bargained for. Save yourself some aggravation (and unpleasant surprises) by being honest about how much feedback you're really willing to accept.
Read MoreI've read that “Twitter is full of people talking about the weather, what they had for lunch, and their indigestion.” Maybe that’s so, but if it is, I don’t know much about it. Here’s what I see on Twitter: people offering their opinions on brand strategies, new software releases, logo redesigns, live speaker quotes from conferences attended, and other musings related to the profession of Communications. If that’s not what you see, it’s because you’re curating a different set of Twitter users than I am.
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