Virtual Skinny: Consistency Is Key

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on March 16, 2016 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

3.16.2016

Good to Know: Consistency is the name of the game for the Obama Administration when it comes to nominating someone to fill the current vacancy on the Supreme Court (like previous Administrations). In a slight departure from tradition, the Administration created an account (@SCOTUSnom) just to announce President Obama’s nominee. Congrats, Judge Merrick Garland. Now, good luck getting Senate approval.

THE SKINNY

You Came In Like A Wrecking Ball …

Is the Internet partly responsible for giving the American people Senators Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz … and even Donald J Trump for the 2016 presidential election? It could be the case since they’ve all gained traction despite the fact that the establishment isn’t here for any of them.

What Used to Be …

Historically, Republican presidential nominations came down to media and political powerhouses … But that was then. Now, thanks to online fundraising, presidential candidate no longer need to rely on political and media insiders but can rake in tons of online donor cash to support their campaigns.

Role Reversal …

These days, Internet users are driving content. And, it’s no different when it comes to politics. Case in point? Online media sites like Vox and others picked up on stats that articles about Bernie Sanders generate heavy traffic. So, they do what any savvy biz person would do … Give the people what the want – more articles of Sanders.

Bottom line …

Some of you guys on social media are partly responsible for Sander’s popularity and the unexpected rise of Donald J Trump (to which DJ Khaled would say, “Congratulations, you played yourself.”) Moving forward, the Internet’s shake up of the media’s influence in U.S. politics is just starting.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

When Consistency is Overrated and You Need to Change Strategy …

Apple filed its latest response yesterday in its ongoing beef with the U.S. government. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its own documents with the court and fired (more) shots. The DOJ alleges that Apple is only making a thing out of the entire situation for its marketing purposes. In response, Apple took a more measured approach to dispel the government’s characterization of its position. With its filing, Apple’s trying to change the convo from marketing chatter to more serious things like privacy and security.

It’s Not As Easy As It Looks …

There’s been a lot said about what’s going on in this very heated debate. Late last week, President Obama even weighed in at tech and music festival South by Southwest. Obama basically said there has to be a middle ground. But, no so fast … John Oliver’s got the illest 18-minute long explanation of the whole issue. Definitely worth a looksy…

Not This Again …

Online streaming services have been going through it. Last year, Taylor Swift piped up to pen an open letter about how she won’t be putting her work on streaming services like Spotify because they don’t properly compensate artists the way they should … U.S. music licensing laws are insanely complicated, and Swift’s argument isn’t exactly accurate. While that’s still an ongoing issue, music streaming services now have a new problem: Click fraud. Turns out it’s pretty easy to defraud streaming services into forking over royalties even if you aren’t a legit artist. You basically need three things to pull it off: (1) fake artists, (2) auto-generated tunes, and (3) “bots” that’ll click all will nilly on songs by real and fake artists. Things that make you go hmmmm…

QUICK POLL – RUN THOSE NUMBERS …

Some of you guys in the U.S. aren’t paying up for Netflix. A recent study found that about 31% of Americans who have access to the service aren’t actually paying for it. On a related, here are tips to sharing your account the right way. You’re welcome …

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Instagram’s going rogue … The platform plans to start showing posts not in chronological order but based on what people want to see. While we’re on Insta, Pope Francis is getting ready to make his debut.

AirBnB just announced in Tokyo that neighbors of AirBnB hosts will soon be able to put the hosts and their properties on blast via an online form.

If you’ve got an MBA, e-commerce giant Amazon may just be interested. The company’s got a thing for business school grads. While it’s recruiting MBAs, Amazon is putting its lawyers to work. The company just filed a patent application on the process that would allow people like you and me to pay for things via selfies.

Internet veteran Yahoo is still trying to figure out the best way to move its business forward. But no matter what happens, its current CEO Marissa Mayer wants to stay put for at least three years.

Ride-hailing service Lyft and GM are teaming up to make car rentals easy peasy for Lyft’s drivers.

Waffle , anyone? No, we’re not talking the better alternative to pancakes. It’s Samsung’s new social network.

Btw, Twitter’s trying to make a comeback. Here are someways to make your account work for you.

The Virtual Skinny: One Day …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on January 14, 2016 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

1.14.2016

Good to Know: Earlier this week, the White House got itself its very own Snapchat account. If you haven’t quite mastered the app like DJ Khaled, here’s a 101 guide on how to get there. #BlessUp … But be careful, even DJ Khaled has screwed up while snapchatting (US $80K gone in 30 seconds) … Ouch!

THE SKINNY

When Growing Up Isn’t So Hard to Do …

Seventy million subscribers and available in more than 540 million households across the globe … Online streaming video service Netflix is growing like gangbusters.

When You’ve Gotta Watch Your Back …

Netflix may now appear as a mere blip in the broader content radar, but traditional media moguls should be worried … very worried. The New York Times advises that media execs should give Netflix’s potential some serious thought while at Davos, an annual pow wow of the who’s who in politics and business that’s happening next week.

Porque?

Well, the company’s been pouring a ridiculous amount of money into producing its own original content and decided to expand globally in just one day. Most people believe this approach should’ve failed, but Netflix seems to be defying the odds. It’s strategy seems to be working well. The company’s being compared to the early days of e-commerce company Amazon. Apparently, back in the day, some people thought Amazon’s unconventional approach would fail too.

Haters Gonna Hate …

As Netflix’s growth continues, naysayers don’t think it’ll be able to keep subscription prices for its content low. One skeptic thinks that the best Netflix can do is to reach a “modestly profitable business, just not a spectacular one.” Others beg to differ. They’re thinking more content down the line. Perhaps a Netflix-owned studio? And, dare we say theme-parks?

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

In More News …

As Netflix expands, some countries aren’t quite sure what to do with the service. And by some countries, we mean Kenya. Regulators in the East African country can’t seem to agree on whether Netflix is like old school television or more like YouTube or Facebook. If it’s the former, Netflix can expect some of its content to be censored if the government flags it as “inappropriate.”

When The Discussion Takes A Sharp Left …

The World Bank recently put out a report on the Internet and its impact on the global economy. The bank didn’t hold back and is basically telling people not to buy into the Internet-hype. According to the report, everything’s not all sunshine and rainbows when it comes to the Internet’s economic and societal benefits. Turns out digital technologies are creating more of a division between the haves and the have-nots. Whether the Internet will play a positive role, ultimately comes down to the country and its governance system. The World Bank is piping up during an interesting time – just as Internet companies are pushing to bring access to less developed areas.

What You’re Not Gonna Do Is …

Egypt’s government is playing no type of games when it comes to protests leading up to the fifth anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising against the country’s then-leader Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian government just arrested some people for allegedly using Facebook to incite more protests. If you’ll remember, back in 2011, people turned to Facebook and Twitter to organize and protest before the country shut down access to the social platforms. The current government doesn’t want a repeat so they’re taking action to shut down channels for protests (including cultural centers).

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

U.S. election season is in full swing, and civic platform Change.org is out with a new service – Change Politics. The goal? Get educated on where candidates stand on certain positions and even pose questions to them directly if that’s what you fancy.

New dating app ideas are a dime a dozen these days. The latest? “Once” will attempt to use the beat of your heart to help you find the one. FitBit or Android Wear device not included but necessary.

Snapchat needs more people … You know, it needs to compete with the Instagrams of the world. So, it’s trying to woo people over 35.

Speaking of competition, new app Upshot is moving into Snapchat territory. It’s basically Snapchat for events. You can privately share pics of a night out with friends, and they’ll disappear after a week.

Twitter is integrating live stream videos from Periscope into your tweet timeline now …

Making moves … SurveyMonkey’s got a new CEO, Zander Lurie – formerly of GoPro … Google nabs Caroline Atkinson, President Obama’s Economic Advisor, to lead its global policy team … More Yahoo VPs dip out on the company.

The Virtual Skinny: Time Flies!

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on January 8, 2016 in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

1.8.2016

Good to Know: ‘ILI’ is described as the first wearable translation device. Seems like a bomb product, right? But then, this happened. #MarketingFail

THE SKINNY

Time for a Pow-Wow…

Tech leaders and White House officials are getting together today to talk terrorism.

Who’s On the List?

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, presidential counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey, National Intelligence Director James Clapper, National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers and reps from Twitter, Apple, Google, and Facebook allegedly.

What’s on the Agenda?

(1) How to make things easier for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to I.D. terrorist groups online. (2) Ways to make things that much more difficult for militant and terrorist groups to recruit peeps via social media. (3) Specifically, how to use technology to throw militant operatives off of their violent radicalization and recruitment game.

Team Work Usually Makes The Dream Work …

But, tech companies have a tough balance to strike. While they want to seem cooperative, they also don’t want to appear too friendly with governments. Post Edward Snowden leaks, companies helping governments with surveillance is just not a good look.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Warning Shots …

Pretty much everyone and their moms in the tech world are jazzed up about next-gen products. But, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is letting tech companies know that they should tread lightly. The agency wants companies to watch how they are collecting and using massive amounts of users’ data aka “big data.” The FTC definitely understands that “big data” could have some important social benefits (e.g., proving people’s creditworthiness for loans), but it wants companies’ to make sure they are doing what they can to decrease social biases.

Who Does That Anymore?

If it’s up to social network Facebook, you should just forget about making regular calls and text messages. Facebook Messenger has now got over 800 million users. The company not only wants to take over how you communicate with your peeps, but it’s got a virtual assistant feature in the works to help with your scheduling, shopping, etc. Pretty cool …

We Want In …

When you see an opportunity, jump on it immediately! That’s exactly what crowdfunding platform Indiegogo is doing with its new “enterprise crowdfunding” consulting service. Crowdfunding has typically been reserved for artist-types and pretty much anyone with a slightly weird but innovative idea. Big brands like Brookstone want to be innovative too and are eyeing crowdfunding platforms. Why? Two reasons: (1) Major brands want to learn a thing or two about crowdfunding, and (2) crowdfunding platforms are a good place to scout out potential products/partnerships. Basically, a win-win situation.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

It’s the same thing Netflix does every night … Try and take over the world. This week at a mega tech conference in Las Vegas, the streaming service announced that it’s now live in over 130 counties. #BizGoals

The new year may be off to a very rough start for some Yahoo employees. The company’s expected to let go of at least 10% of its workforce.

Going … going … GONE! Looks like the fashion deal site Gilt Groupe may have been a victim of its own flash sale model. The company sold yesterday for $250 Mill to Hudon’s Bay, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue. The sale price is a mark down from the $286 Mill that Gilt previously raised.

Social scrapbooking site Pinterest is getting serious about increasing its diversity. The company just brought on Candice Morgan help step its game up.

Turns out giving young people Internet access via mobile devices is a recipe for success. And, these days India’s the place to be for Internet companies. That’s exactly why Tinder is setting up shop in Delhi.

And ICYMI, Twitter is trying to keep its users so the platform’s playing around with a 10,000 word character limit instead of the 140 we’re used to… Some people think this is no bueno. We could see a change in the next couple of months.