Barack Obama Archives - Beyond Social Media

Block19 Backlash

By David Erickson | July 18, 2021 |

BL and David discuss the backlash over Culper Precision’s Lego kit for a Glock handgun; Improv Everywhere’s New York city dance party; Google’s test of seller ratings in search; Twitter’s Non-Fungible Tokens; Amazon’s Kindle Vella serialized fiction platform; Twitter’s testing of new conversational features; Instagram’s Reel advertising; BusinessInsider’s clever welcome email; Facebook launching it’s Substack clone, Bulletin; the advent of the college athlete influencer; This Week in Cuba Twitter Space; DiGiorno’s crowdsourced slogan; an Amazon contractor gets fired by bot; emails on packaging; Clubhouse demographics;…and much, much more.

New Social Media Features

By David Erickson | March 7, 2021 |

BL and David discuss how Amazon Prime and Netflix are grokking TikTok; the TikTok trend of creating fake album covers out of random camera roll photos; potential new Twitter features could include super followers, an undo button, and shoppable tweets; LinkedIn’s new freelancer marketplace, Stories for Pages, and Swipe-ups; LinkedIn recommending newsletter subscriptions; YouTube Shorts; Taco Bell To Go concept restaurants; Microsoft’s hacked email servers; …and much, much more.

TikTok Deal?

By David Erickson | August 2, 2020 |

Episode 317: BL and David discuss the pending/paused TikTok acquisition by Microsoft; Deadspinners split to Defector Media; Nike’s amazing You Can’t Stop Us ad; denying Holocaust deniers; Country Time’s little bailout fund; virtual influencers’ time may have come; the whole Stella Immanuel strangeness; the Walmart Nazis; the Consumer Electronics Show goes virtual until 2022; the Harper’s Letter decrying cancel culture;…and much, much more.

Massive Twitter Hack

By David Erickson | July 17, 2020 |

Beyond Social Media - Twitter Hack - Episode 315

Episode 315: BL and David discuss the massive Twitter hack and Bitcoin scam directed at high-profile accounts; the Minnesota Twins broadcast a scrimmage with a crowdtrack; free Grow With Google courses; long-term care seniors pose for iconic classic rock album cover recreations; Michelle Obama’s new podcast on Spotify; Hulu rolls out self-serve advertising; an ad agency goes fully remote; Target joins the growing list of retailers mandating masks for customers; Chris Cuomo calls out Trump over Goyagate; Instagram to clone TikTok; Hong Kong’s protest movement keeps getting stymied by Apple;..and much, much more.

Most Horrific Marketing Stories Of 2019

By David Erickson | October 25, 2019 |

Beyond Social Media - 2019 Most Horrific Marketing Stories - Episode 286

Episode 286: BL and David discuss the six most horrific marketing stories of the year; Senator Mitt Romney’s Twitter persona, Pierre Delecto; the creepy and compelling Skin-On interface; Google’s olfactory artificial intelligence algorithm; Washington Post’s Arc CMS becomes a subscription service; Amazon launching a news app; Google testing lead-generation form ads;…and much, much more.

Spot The Robot For Sale

By David Erickson | June 8, 2019 |

Beyond Social Media - Boston Dynamics Spot - Episode 271

Episode 271; BL and David discuss the NYC subway landshark that went viral; drone deliveries via Amazon Prime Air; Vox Media Union reaches an agreement; Boston Dynamics’ commercial Spotbot; the Obama’s partner with Spotify; Apple Podcasts transcripts; Amazon Echo’s erase feature; Instagram’s influencer ads; Google’s new search results diversity update; Counterfeits on Amazon; fear-based social media sites like Nextdoor, Citizen, and Amazon Ring’s Neighbors; YouTube’s New Hate Speech Policy;…and much, much more.

Spotting Fake News & Dunkin' Donuts' Tiny Home

By David Erickson | October 21, 2018 |

Beyond Social Media - Spotting Fake News - Episode 245

Episode 245: BL and David discuss misplaced trust on social media; Lacta’s 5Star Chocolately Mayhem commercials; the Parkland Kids and Kesha’s “Most Vicious Cycle” video; Carvana’s car vending machines; scientists outing Bots; Dunkin’ Donuts’ tiny house powered by coffee; Twitter’s new tool for spotting haters; Madden Newsjacks Linval Joseph; how to keep your kids from seeing political attach attack on YouTube; horse blinders for humans; President Obama debunking excuses not to vote; Ted Cruz’ failed Facebook livestream; Dictionary.com dissing 45…and much, much more.

Bud Light's Dilly Dilly Cease & Desist

By David Erickson | December 11, 2017 |

Beyond Social Media - Bud Light Dilly Dilly Cease & Desist - Episode 212

Episode 212: David discusses Spotify opening up to podcasts; Budweiser Light’s crafty cease and desist letter to Modist Brewing; Wine label design and the stories they tell; YouTube Creator Studio’s rebranding and revamping; Google Map’s new wakeup call feature; Google’s expansion of meta descriptions; video technology that literally changes a leopard’s spots and lip syncs Barack Obama…and much, much more.

The Rock's Empire & The #MeToo Movement

By David Erickson | October 20, 2017 |

Beyond Social Media - Dwayne Johnson Agency - Episode 206

Episode 206: BL and David discuss the #MeToo movement’s impact; a brilliant dot takeover; Barack Obama’s hip hop Presidential portrait; the Jane Austin role playing game from a former Second World developer; locking down Google for security; The Rock’s creative empire; Google search surprises; buff Jeff Bezos’ PR coup; craptastic towns of New Zealand provoke death threats; the voice ad challenge for brands; deceptive NFL advertising..and much, much more.

Louise Linton's Instagram Rant & KFC's Scary VR Training

By David Erickson | August 25, 2017 |

Episode 199: Co-hosts B.L. Ochman and David Erickson discussed Louise Linton’s elitist, out-of-touch Instagram rant; former President Barack Obama’s claim to the most popular tweet; LinkedIn’s new native video capabilities; State Department’s science envoy Daniel Kammen’s embedded impeachment message in his resignation letter; the DeepEmoji algorithm that can detect sarcasm in tweets; the Trump Twitter feed bot; Apple’s move to marry Siri with everything; Google Maps Q&A; KFC’s virtual reality training; Facebook influencers’ brand tagging tool; plus great new apps and stats you should know…and much, much more.