Storytelling Archives - Beyond Social Media

Lightspeed Internet

By David Erickson | November 15, 2020 |

Episode 331: BL and David discuss Google’s infrared Internet project; sequential video storytelling; the Biden Harris transition website; Spotify buys Megaphone audio hosting provider; Four Seasons Total Landscaping’s VR furries; YouTube Rewind cancelled this year; MmHmm video conferencing addon comes out of beta; customizable Oreo cookies; Ticketmaster’s fan safety app; our post-literate society; law firms undermining democracy; support for pot legalization;…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.

The Deep Fakes Edition

By David Erickson | June 24, 2019 |

Beyond Social Media - Deep Fakes Edition - Episode 273

Episode 273: BL and David discuss the Pakistani press conference that was filtered with cat ears; 3D objects and augmented reality in Google search; YouTube’s augmented advertising; Cracker Barrel’s moral stand; a robobullying parody video of Boston Scientific robots; museums installing ‘braille art’ touchable recreations of exhibits; Spotify’s Daily Drive podcast playlist and the company’s new podcast-targeted advertising; the announcement of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency; an AI-generated Russian spy infiltrates LinkedIn; a deep fake Rasputin sings Beyonce; deep fake videos that are as easy to create as editing text; an algorithm that can generate an accurate portrait of a speaker based only on a sample of that speaker’s voice; Google Photos goes Driveless;…and much, much more.

Culturejacking Game of Thrones

By David Erickson | April 19, 2019 |

Episode 266: BL and David discuss the Atlanta Falcons, OREOs, and Fender Guitars culturejacking the last season of Game of Thrones; a 5 year-old’s podcast; Search Metrics’ industry-specific search ranking factors; the IRL trolling of Twitter’s Jack Dorsey; the New York Times’ brilliant use of the Hero space for storytelling; Apple’s Earth Day video; LinkedIn’s new reactions; Marketoonist’s take on smart speakers; travelling podcast studios; Helvetica Now; All In The Family live; Twitter author labels; Notre Dame fire misinformation; Facebook grabbing contact list emails; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sort of quitting social media…and much, much more.

Apple Services & AMPed For Email

By David Erickson | March 31, 2019 |

Beyond Social Media - Apple Services - Episode 264

Episode 264: David discusses Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple AirPods 2, Apple Card; audio content marketing; Arizona State University’s science fiction anthology about future solar power; Twitter video subtitles; LinkedIn Lookalike audiences; Google’s AMP for Email; Intel’s Vaunt smart glasses; the unwinnable fight against Russian trolls; the authoritarians’ digital mercenaries; Boston Dynamics’ stacking bot; idiot humans and their fatalgrams;…and much, much more.

Martha Stewart, Baked

By David Erickson | March 3, 2019 |

Episode 261: BL and David discuss discuss Martha Stewart joining cannabis company Canopy Growth; Neuroscientist Uri Hasson’s research demonstrating humans are hardwired for stories; the New York Times’ new In Her Words newsletter; Twitter’s new hashtag data; Farmers Insurance’s Dr. Seuss campaign; LinkedIn’s new features for job seekers; Alexandria Ocasio Cortez as a comic book super hero; a data visualization of brand value; small businesses without websites; airline seat cameras; influencers and their discontents;…and much, much more.

Russian Facebook Political Ads & Hurricane Harvey Hoaxes

By David Erickson | September 7, 2017 |

Episode 200: Co-hosts B.L. Ochman and David Erickson discuss Facebook’s admission that it ran 3000+ political ads paid for by Kremlin-linked propagandists, the “Calling Bullshit” college course, Values job search, hilarious Trump parodies,draw your search, Cloudvertising, Verizon’s fake unlimited plans, a cultural fit job site, how to have video calls with your cat, an app that turns your phone into a portable podcast studio, social accountability for brands and much, much more.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Marketing

By David Erickson | October 25, 2015 |

Beyond Social Media - Star Wars The Force Awakens - Episode 117

Co-hosts B.L. Ochman & David Erickson discussed Trump’s Twitter woes; killing baby Hitler; tech journalism backlash; Pepsi’s failure to stock up for Back To The Future Day; racist Twitter trolls boycott Star Wars; a teen Vine star; PR for ad agencies; Twitter polls; Facebook search; USA Today’s Back To The Future wrap; Amazon sues fake reviewers; YouTube going Red; New York Times’ submersive journalism; facial recognition for health care; super secure passwords; Nixon’s tweets; plus great new apps and important stats and a lot of stuff in between.