Monday, October 17, 2016
Friday, October 14, 2016
Social-media endorsements are the latest thing in advertising
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21708717-social-media-endorsements-are-latest-thing-advertising-gold-posts
Yet as media agencies and brands have piled in, the grey area between voluntary celebrity endorsements and paid advertisements has grown murky. Not all influencers label their posts clearly with “#ad”. Consumer watchdogs are crying foul. One, Truth in Advertising, recently accused Ms Kardashian and her sisters of running “deceptive marketing campaigns”.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/business/media/instagram-ads-marketing-kardashian.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/business/media/instagram-ads-marketing-kardashian.html?_r=0
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Crash: how computers are setting us up for disaster
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/11/crash-how-computers-are-setting-us-up-disaster
We are now on more lists than ever before, and computers have turned filing cabinets full of paper into instantly searchable, instantly actionable banks of data. Increasingly, computers are managing these databases, with no need for humans to get involved or even to understand what is happening. And the computers are often unaccountable: an algorithm that rates teachers and schools, Uber drivers or businesses on Google’s search, will typically be commercially confidential. Whatever errors or preconceptions have been programmed into the algorithm from the start, it is safe from scrutiny: those errors and preconceptions will be hard to challenge.
We are now on more lists than ever before, and computers have turned filing cabinets full of paper into instantly searchable, instantly actionable banks of data. Increasingly, computers are managing these databases, with no need for humans to get involved or even to understand what is happening. And the computers are often unaccountable: an algorithm that rates teachers and schools, Uber drivers or businesses on Google’s search, will typically be commercially confidential. Whatever errors or preconceptions have been programmed into the algorithm from the start, it is safe from scrutiny: those errors and preconceptions will be hard to challenge.
Monday, October 10, 2016
Friday, October 7, 2016
Spotify and Apple are now spinning profits for record labels
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21708300-once-enemies-record-labels-spotify-and-apple-are-now-spinning-profits-them-change
Most of that rebound is due to growth in subscription-streaming revenues. In the first half of 2016 subscription streaming in America reached a retail value of $1 billion, up by over $500m in just one year, putting it on a par with digital downloads. Retail revenues from radio-like services such as Pandora, and from ad-supported on-demand streaming such as YouTube and Spotify’s free service are faring much less well—they grew in America by less than a tenth, to $600m.
Most of that rebound is due to growth in subscription-streaming revenues. In the first half of 2016 subscription streaming in America reached a retail value of $1 billion, up by over $500m in just one year, putting it on a par with digital downloads. Retail revenues from radio-like services such as Pandora, and from ad-supported on-demand streaming such as YouTube and Spotify’s free service are faring much less well—they grew in America by less than a tenth, to $600m.
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Liquid assets: how the business of bottled water went mad
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/oct/06/liquid-assets-how--business-bottled-water-went-mad
Over the past two decades, bottled water has become the fastest-growing drinks market in the world. The global market was valued at $157bn in 2013, and is expected to reach $280bn by 2020. Last year, in the UK alone, consumption of water drinks grew by 8.2%, equating to a retail value of more than £2.5bn. Sales of water are 100 times higher than in 1980. Of water: a substance that, in developed countries, can be drunk for free from a tap without fear of contracting cholera. What is going on?
Over the past two decades, bottled water has become the fastest-growing drinks market in the world. The global market was valued at $157bn in 2013, and is expected to reach $280bn by 2020. Last year, in the UK alone, consumption of water drinks grew by 8.2%, equating to a retail value of more than £2.5bn. Sales of water are 100 times higher than in 1980. Of water: a substance that, in developed countries, can be drunk for free from a tap without fear of contracting cholera. What is going on?
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Monday, October 3, 2016
The advertising industry’s trust problem
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21707951-advertising-industrys-trust-problem-doesnt-ad-up
Marketers are particularly worried by a lack of transparency. Facebook’s inflated numbers did not lead to overbilling, but may have prompted companies to advertise more on it. Google and Facebook have started to allow third parties to verify some data, but many metrics remain proprietary.
Marketers are particularly worried by a lack of transparency. Facebook’s inflated numbers did not lead to overbilling, but may have prompted companies to advertise more on it. Google and Facebook have started to allow third parties to verify some data, but many metrics remain proprietary.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Facebook and Google: most powerful and secretive empires we've ever known
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/28/google-facebook-powerful-secretive-empire-transparency
There is the ongoing conflict over these companies’ self-identification as mere “technology” businesses, and the media critics’ charge that they are “media companies”. The issue being debated is usually whether Facebook or Google produce content or make editorial decisions, and in that sense constitute media. It’s hardly worth debating: of course they produce content, if only by algorithmically selecting, prioritizing and presenting.
There is the ongoing conflict over these companies’ self-identification as mere “technology” businesses, and the media critics’ charge that they are “media companies”. The issue being debated is usually whether Facebook or Google produce content or make editorial decisions, and in that sense constitute media. It’s hardly worth debating: of course they produce content, if only by algorithmically selecting, prioritizing and presenting.
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