NASA Archives - Beyond Social Media

Snapchat Millionaires

By David Erickson | January 17, 2021 |

BL and David discuss how Snapchat is shelling out one million dollars a day to get users to adopt its TikTok clone, Spotlight; Match.com’s match made in hell; Barbie’s new role as a digital influencer; Taco Bell’s potato CEO; Ben & Jerry’s new doggie desserts; NFL quarterbacks Aaron Rogers, Patrick Mahomes, and Baker Mayfield as spokesmen; Phishing’s Explosive Growth; the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer; Apple Siri; Voice Recognition; Calendly; and much, much more.

Estee Lauder’s Cosmic Product Shoot

By David Erickson | October 5, 2020

Beyond Social Media - Estee Lauder Product Shoot - Episode 325

BL and David discuss NASA’s space toilet and Estée Lauder’s cosmic product shoot; Google’s plan to pay publishers; Cloudflare’s service to speed up WordPress sites; Google Assistant will sit on hold for you; the paparazzi turn to social media stars (who knew?); Ring’s home surveillance drone; Russian hackers breach federal agencies; the Los Angeles Police Department’s citizen surveillance system; Twitter’s racist crop;…and much, much more.

Vindictive Valentines

By David Erickson | February 9, 2020 |

Episode 295: BL and David discuss “Cry Me A Cockroach” vindictive Valentines via San Antonio Zoo; social media savvy Astronaut Christina returns to earth; Seventh Generation’s brilliant State of the Union ad; Spotify’s podcast expansion; flirting with Tinder bots; how Netflix gets to the Oscars; Twitter squashes student’s parody, then apologizes; Planters Baby Nut banned; best and worst Super Bowl LIV ads; the Iowa Caucus debacle; hacking Google Maps; world’s worst job ad and world’s funniest resume; Clearview AI slapped with cease-and-decists; Celebrity Cruises’ clueless commercial; 2020 election disinformation wars; Edelman Trust Barometer…and much, much more.

Bud Light Inebriates Aliens

By David Erickson | July 20, 2019 |

Episode 276: BL and David discuss Bud Light’s offer to aliens escaping Area 51 of a specialty brew; NASA’s release of a video recreating the moon landing; Oscar Meyer Air BnB-rentable Weinermobile; The VOID’s immersive movie experiences; Twitter’s desktop redesign; Pampers smart diapers; lifestyle content on LinkedIn; Amazon pays users for their data; browser extensions leaking personal data; the Russian FaceApp; newsletter signup clutter; the Spearphone attack; copy and paste websites; and much, much more.

Everything Amazon Owns

By David Erickson | July 15, 2019 |

Beyond Social Media - What Amazon Owns - Episode 275

Episode 275: BL and David discuss the astounding array of businesses Amazon owns; the Area 51 search for aliens joke that 400,000 people have signed up for; major updates to Google My Business; how Pittsburgh helped power the first US Moon Landing; Pinterest adds videos; Shoelace is Google’s latest attempt at building a social network; a hilarious parody influencer apology video; Ikea’s new Soffa Sans typeface; using text messages to solicit local reviews; dangerous dongles and much, much more.

Augmented Reality Books & Payless Punks Influencers

By David Erickson | December 1, 2018 |

Beyond Social Media - Augmented Reality Books - Episode 251

Episode 251: BL and David discuss influencers punked by Payless; Canada Goose freezing customers; unfinished stories of distracted driver victims; easy Facebook engagement; holiday Tweets; Dogs Trust’s dogs are not gifts ad; augmented reality children’s books; #ChintatownOtter’s koi rampage; Starbucks banned; hashtag hijacking; Lockheed-Martian; Foodfluencers; editable Tweets…and much, much more.

NASA's Aretha Franklin Tribute & Vans Goghs

By David Erickson | August 18, 2018 |

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.

Starbucks Blacklash & David Bowie's Subway Station

By David Erickson | April 19, 2018 |

Beyond Social Media - Starbucks Backlash - Episode 225

Episode 225: BL and David discuss the fallout Starbucks is enduring in the wake of the viral video of to black patrons being arrested for no good reason; the David Bowie subway takeover; the AlterEgo thought-activated device; Walmart Yodel Boy going viral; Phillips and the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Children’s Hospital innovating lighting to foster healing and recovery; bedtime stories read from space; the details on the surveillance society; a forensic tool for identifying fake photos and videos; an IKEA-friendly robot; Artificially Intelligent Flintstones episodes; the one-page Internet; and much, much more.

NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer & Twitter Subscription Service

By David Erickson | August 3, 2017 |

Beyond Social Media - NASA's Planetary Protection Officer - Episode 197

Episode 197: BL and David discuss NASA’s opening for a planet protector; Foreign Affairs’ sophisticated direct mail program; Facebook’s publisher subscriptions program; Google’s SOS Alerts; touring podcasts; the hilarious Lord Birthday; Twitter subscriptions; how a poor choice of font lead to Nazi glitter; companies pitching paid placements; fishing drones; a PR pitch from hell; and much, much more.

Amazon Buys Whole Foods & Ken Doll Gets Man Bun

By David Erickson | June 24, 2017 |

Beyond Social Media - Amazon Acquires Whole Foods - Episode 192

Episode 192: BL and David discuss NASA how called BS on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop; Amazon acquires Whole Foods; beefy new Ken Dolls come out; Smirnoff newsjacks; Google AI helps expand reading for kids; BuzzFeed & VOX Media get buggy; a Troll Cakes/detective agency makes trolls eat their words; Spectacles go scuba diving; alorithmic responsibility; the Instagram star who was trampled by a cow and much, much more.