NASA's Aretha Franklin Tribute & Vans Goghs

By David Erickson | August 18, 2018

Beyond Social Media Show, Episode 239

BL and David discuss NASA’s Asteroid Aretha salute to Aretha Franklin #QueenOfSoul; new Facebook business pages; Google employees protest censored Chinese search engine; Vans’ Van Gogh; Twitter locks API to developers; augmented reality cosmetic try-ons; how to keep Google from tracking you; Ajit Pai’s Lies; 70K block Twitter’s top advertisers in Infowars protest; a hilarious Mike Pence parody site; protest graphics … and much, much more. Thumbnail image courtesy Joe Ortuzar.

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Best Digital Cases

Asteroid Aretha #QueenofSoul

NASA named Asteroid 249516 Aretha after Aretha Franklin #QueenofSoul and also Tweeted from the moon “Rock Steady #Aretha. From your steady rock out in space.”

We’re saddened by the loss of Aretha Franklin. Asteroid 249516 Aretha, found by our NEOWISE mission and named after the singer to commemorate the #QueenOfSoul, will keep orbiting beyond Mars. See more details: https://t.co/NlW4vkmKDq pic.twitter.com/yZ0E5ofSQT

— NASA (@NASA) August 16, 2018

We're very sad to hear about the #QueenofSoul passing. Rock Steady Aretha.
From your steady rock out in space. pic.twitter.com/1rbBRlRUW7

— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) August 16, 2018

https://twitter.com/CWWayBK/status/1030155317089370113

New Facebook Page Features

After years of languishing utility, it appears Facebook is trying to add more value to Business Pages with several new features.

Helping People Connect With Local Businesses

Google Employees Protest Secret Work on Censored Search Engine for China

More than 1400 Google employees, upset at the company’s decision to secretly build a censored version of its search engine for China, have signed a letter of protest. A similar protest earlier this year led to Google’s discontinuation of a Pentagon contract.

Vans Goghs

In the case of the new Vans x Van Gogh Museum collection, the fusion between high art and everyday fashion is working, and the skyrocketing sales seem to bear that out.

Virtual Lipstick

Through Facebook’s AR platform, L’Oreal consumers will be able to see what certain makeup would look like on them, in real time, such as trying different shades of lipstick.

L’Oreal Teams With Facebook For AR Makeup Try-On Experiences

Literal Photoshopping

Photoshopper James Fridman completes badly-phrased Photoshop requests to the letter, which is obviously not what the requester expected.

Watch this brilliant response from a guy who takes Photoshop requests

Mass-Produced Meaning

Messages can be microtargeted, but meaning has to be mass-produced. A TL;MR article on the value of advertising in public.

The Death Of Don Draper

Worst Digital Cases

Twitter Locks Developers Out of API

Twitter cut access to its API, which many third-party developers depend upon, and makes toast out of many popular apps. Lesson: don’t build your house on someone else’s land.

Ajit Pai’s Lies

Turns out, there was no such cyberattack.

Surprise, The FCC Lied About That DDoS Attack

Google Tracks You Even After You Turn Off Location Services

Even if you disable Location History, Google still tracks you every time you open Google Maps, get certain automatic weather updates, or search for things in your browser. Finding the settings to turn tracking off is not easy. But Wired has step by step instructions.

Image via PC Steps

Virtual Mobs

A too-long, must-read cautionary tale of the wrath of the Internet.

When a Stranger Decides to Destroy Your Life

Shiny New Stuff

RoadID

RoadID is a cool and less expensive alternative to Medic Alert bracelets.

RoadID

Marketing Funnels

Free tool to map and share marketing funnels.

Funnelytics

Politics

In Alex Jones Protest, 70K Block Fortune 500 Ads on Twitter

While Twitter dithered about whether to block Alex Jones, Shannon Coulter created an app that allows Twitter users to block ads from 709 companies including the Fortune 500. As of Thursday 71,000 Twitter users had installed it.

Good morning! To encourage Twitter to drop Alex Jones, I just blocked the Twitter accounts of every Fortune 500 company w/ a Twitter presence. Ready to mass block Twitter's most lucrative advertisers with me? There are three quick & easy ways. Instructions are in this thread.

— Shannon Coulter (@shannoncoulter) August 12, 2018

Blocking these accounts until Twitter drops Alex Jones means you’ll no longer see either these companies’ timeline Tweets or promoted Tweets. You'll still see their promoted hashtags, but that’s not something most companies do very often.

— Shannon Coulter (@shannoncoulter) August 12, 2018

President Mike Pence

A parody site presents a Mike Pence presidency.

Mike Pence parody site tops Google search results for his name

Posters For Protesters

Visual advocacy for The Resistance.