China's Social Media Engineering & America's Social Divide

Episode 169 co-hosts B.L. Ochman & David Erickson discuss discuss the new app that warns you when Donald Trump Tweets about a stock you own; Cinnabon’s worst buns in the galaxy Twitter goof; The PussyProject’s PussyHats for the Women’s March on Washington; Facebook’s Blabby multi-streaming Messenger; Google’s wheelchair accessibility maps; China’s scary gamification of citizen obedience with Sesame Credit; new Occulus Rooms; Biz Stone’s new AskJelly; Leicestershire Police’s chilling video about online predators goes viral….and much, much more.

Read More

Fake News & Its Discontents: #Pizzagate Has Real-Life Consequences

Beyond-Social Media - Fake News & Pizzagate - Episode 167

Episode 167: BL and David discuss Facebook’s blocking of a fake news detector; the real-life consequences of the fake news “Pizzagate” story; Uber’s customer tracking; Reddit’s demise at the hand of trolls; LiLou, SFO’s therapy pig (and Instagram star); Netflix’s alien-identifying algorithm; the Local Matters watchdog journalism newsletter; Amazon’s employee-free retail store; BMW’s self-policing cars; the best Christmas ads; the Reuters News Tracer breaking news algorithm; My Starbucks Barista Bot; Google’s emoji-responding Twitter account; and much, much more.

Read More

Justin Timberlake Busted & Facebook Hates Cats

Beyond Social Media - Justin Timberlake Busted - Episode 163

Episode 163: BL and David discuss Justin Timberlake’s voting booth selfie; the massive Distributed Denial of Service attack that crippled the Internet; Miss Iceland’s withdrawal from a beauty pageant over body shaming; Twitter’s decision to shut down the Vine app; Facebook’s problem with cats; LinkedIn’s update of the Endorsement and Skills algorithm; Budweiser’s self-driving beer run; fake NASA livestreams; Google’s declaration of a mobile-first world in search; rappers for Hillary; Amazon’s personal mini drones patent; the #TrumpANovel tweets; Squarespace’s one-page mobile sites; the Skittles photo lawsuit; Facebook’s cloning of Snapchat Stories; and much, much more.

Read More

Hillary Clinton Goes Between Two Ferns & Trump Jr. Creates A Skittles Snafu

Beyond Social Media - Hillary Clinton Between Two Ferns - Episode 158

Episode 158: BL and David discuss the Trump Jr. Skittles controversy; North Korea’s paltry Internet; the NatWest scam; Apple’s nerdy professor emoji; hacking Teslas; a celebrity Get Out The Vote campaign video; Hillary Clinton on Between Two Ferns; Starbucks Upstanders campaign; stadium designs and the NFL TV experience; a social newsgathering coalition; the return of the naked Trump statues; Google Street View respects cow privacy; NASA’s live streaming press conference; Facebook Live comes to the desktop; vintage photos animated, and much, much more.

Read More

Facebook Live & Philando Castile

Beyond Social Media - Facebook Live Philando Castile - Episode 149

Episode 149: BL and David discuss the Facebook Live broadcast of Philando Castile’s death at the hands of a Minnesota police officer, its aftermath, and its implications for news coverage; Donald Trump’s Trollmaster; Microsoft’s recruitment fail; Facebook’s secret messages; Red Cross’ racist pool safety poster; the Washington Post under Jeff Bezos’ leadership; the New York Times’ call for Facebook Live political footage; the revenge of the liberal arts majors; permanent snaps; NASA’s short film contest; Patrick Stewart’s country crooning; and much, much more.

Read More

Snowzilla & Social Media, Donald Trump Can Shoot People, National Zoo's Panda

Beyond Social Media - Internet of Things Security Risks - Episode 127

Episode 127: Co-hosts B.L. Ochman & David Erickson discussed Donald Trump’s latest controversial remarks; CEOs shunning social media; fun & games with the FBI; Internet of Things security risks; Tina Fey does Sara Palin, again; the Cannabis Health Summit; Google blocking bad ads; BarkBox doggie events; the customer service imperative; the National Zoo’s panda frolicking in the snow; social media & the Snowzilla blizzard of 2016; Amazon Echo reading Kindle books; Facebook’s Sports Stadium feature; plus great new apps and important stats and a lot of stuff in between.

Read More

Jack Dorsey's Twitter & Square Duet

Co-hosts B.L. Ochman & David Erickson discussed Marks & Spencer’s ill-conceived #ShowYourStrap campaign; Amazon’s Alexa-activating commercial; Columbia Sportswear’s septuagenarian spokeswoman; data journalism reporting on gun violence; Jack Dorsey’s permanent return; the #ImWithLizzie and anti-bullying month; Medium’s new features; Twitter Moments; Facebook empathetic Emojis; Google’s Impact Challenge; email signature best practices; plus great new apps and important stats and a lot of stuff in between.

Read More

The Pros & Cons Of Starbucks' Race Together Campaign

Beyond Socila Media Show - 88 - Starbucks Race Together

Co-hosts B.L. Ochman & David Erickson discussed the pluses and minuses of Starbuck’s #RaceTogether campaign; Toyota’s BB King commercial; HBO’s Robert Durst True Crime reality show; Monica Lewinski’s TEDTalk; American Airlines exception policy fiasco; Google’s practice of manipulating search results; YouTube’s new cards; NASA’s live broadcasts; and a lot of stuff in between.

Read More