Disney’s Robotic Groot

Beyond Social Media - Disneys Robotic Groot - Episode 350

BL and David discuss Disney’s development of atonomous bi-pedal robots to play characters such as Groot at the theme parks; YouTube’s new audio ad format; Google’s LaMDA AI model; Hulu’s self-serve advertising; About This Site coming to a search near you; the brand texting trend; Mattel wants to recycle your old Barbies; Snap’s Spectacles are back in AR form; India wants to erase “Indian Variant” from social media; Google Analytics 4 readiness;…and much, much more.

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Disaster Girl Cashes In

Beyond Social Media - Disaster Girl - Episode 348

BL and David discuss Disaster Girl’s big payday; Nerf’s new chief TikTok officer; Clubhouse’s NFL draft partnership; Clubmarket’s Clubhouse influencer exchange; digital product placement; Spotify’s paid podcast subscriptions; Flipboard flips to sponsored newsletters; vaccination public service tweets; Punch Pizza’s recruiting marketing email; a clever social media and visual communication tactic; Facebook’s failure; slander for profit; Basecamp’s ban; Apple’s privacy sanctimony exposed;…and much, much more.

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Boomfluencers

Beyond Social Media - Boomfluencers - Episode 346

BL and David discuss Baby Boomers as the new influencers; Google Earth’s timelapse visualization of climate change; Steak-Umm picks a fight with Neil deGrasse Tyson on Twitter; Reddit considers its own Clubhouse clone; Broadway returns; LinkedIn creates creator tools; LinkedIn asks for secret endorsements; Non-Fungible Tokens sold to raise funds for a kidney transplant; everything you want to know about NFTs but was afraid to ask; how to use Google My Business posts; Kribi self-cleaning underwear; your privacy reading list; zero-click search results data;…and much, much more.

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New Social Media Features

Beyond Social Media - New Social Media Features - Episode 340

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.

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Augmented Reality 2.0

Beyond Social Media - Augmented Reality 2.0 - Episode 332

Episode 332: BL and David discuss how Apple’s iPhone lidar technology is shaping the future of augmented reality; the wide release of Amazon’s Echo Frames; Twitter’s disappearing Fleets and potential audio chat; Midwest governors mask up for a pandemic PSA; AI software that stymies facial recognition technology; Apple Podcasts gets an embeddable player; LinkedIn’s top influencers for 2020; Frito-Lay sets up a holiday-themed merch shop; Pepsi makes an apple pie cola; Arby’s sells deep fried turkey pillows; Fake People are everywhere online; holiday eCommerce sales projections;…and much, much more.

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Biden Town Hall Ratings

Beyond Social Media - Biden Town Hall Ratings - Episode 327

Episode 327: BL and David discuss the viewership of the dueling Trump/Biden Town Hall forums; an array of new Zoom apps; Google Analytics version 4; Coinbase’s no-politics policy; Alexa notifications; Apple pays hackers to hack; Snapchat’s LiDAR lenses; vintage downloadable cookbooks; a social media wellness check; funeral flyers;…and much, much more.

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Video Conferencing Revolution

Beyond Social Media - Video Conferencing Revolution - Episode 314

Episode 314: BL and David discuss the amazing Mmhmm video conferencing app; the tech pushback against Chinese data requests; new evidence for Subscription Twitter; pinnable Instagram comments; Google acquires an augmented reality glasses company; Google Assistant Continuous Mode; the FaceApp #WhatItWouldBeLike campaign; YouTube’s new affinity metrics; a Google Project Loon update; Jimmy Johns employees post racist video; Mark Zuckerberg fails to impress civil rights leaders; the Ayn Rand Institute grabs PPP money; Anti-mask masks for sale; another PR pitch from hell;..and much, much more.

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Apple Developers Conference Updates

Beyond Social Media - Apple Developer Conference - Episode 313

BL and David discuss the most siginficant announcements to come out of Apple’s 2020 Developer Conference; Keen, Google’s new social collaboration tool; Google Images fact checks; Patagonia joins the growing Facebook advertising boycott; Devin Nunes’ Cow wins in court; YouTube introduces shoppable commercials; Pandora introduces analytics for podcasters; Facebook continues to harbor hate; some Covid-19 masks that are creepy AF; mobile messaging app stats;..and much, much more.

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Coronavirus Visuals

Beyond Social Media - Coronavirus Visuals - Episode 305

Episode 305: BL and David discuss Twitter’s new COVID-19 misinformation protection measures; free Google Shopping Listings; Google’s new identity verification requirements for advertisers; a clever tactic for retaining unsubscribing customers; an app that will broadcast family videos for tech-averse elders; COVID Nursery Rhymes; alternatives to “unprecedented”; free resources for marketers; vintage pandemic posters; TV show posters reimagined for COVID-19; a Coronavirus Rhapsody; MinneAnalytics Monday; two-faced Facebook; mobile voting efforts; dangerous Amazon working conditions; the public companies taking small business loans;…and much, much more.

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Siri, Do I Have Coronavirus?

Beyond Social Media - Coronavirus Crisis - Episode 300

Episode 300: Co-hosts B.L. Ochman and David Erickson discussed the coronavirus crisis, including: The contrast in leadership between governors Andrew Cuomo and Tim Walz and Trump; Siri’s response to Do I Have The Coronavirus?; Smart thermometers that may be able to identify local outbreaks; Covid 19 pandemic maps; Twitter helping brands communicate during the crisis; a New York-based Chinese immigrant stepping up to manufacture personal protective equipment for health care workers; the responsibility of the media in broadcasting the White House coronavirus “briefings” live; Moe Williams’ daily doodles; Willie’s American Guitars offer two-minute guitar lessons on Facebook; Amazon limits non-essential shipments; the ENKI Brewing Company taproom goes curbside; coronavirus resources and free entertainment; pandemic gallows humor; Google’s California-only Covid 19 triage website; the two faces of Fox News; the Army’s social media manager gets canned; idiots that will cost lives; TV commercials that have not aged well in the coronavirus era; live webcams broadcasting deserted public spaces; the Department Of Justice wanting to suspend costitutional rights; …and much, much more.

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