Things I’ve Learned from Lately #180
“Things I’ve Learned from Lately” is a regular compilation of articles that have made me a smarter marketer. Hopefully, they’ll help you, too.
People Believe Competence and Ethics Don’t Mix - Edelman’s 2020 Trust Barometer is out, and it gives a big challenge to businesses. The 34,000 person survey found that people don’t believe organizations can be both competent and ethical. That sounds like a challenge worth taking up.
About Those Social Photos - This piece profiles the company Clearview, a firm that says it’s scraped photos across social media and the internet to create a “groundbreaking facial recognition app.” The company is being used to a limited degree in some places, but as it expands the ramifications could be significant. Google has held back from releasing such technology due to fears it could be used “in a very bad way.”
Mortality Vitality - The world seems a bit out of control, so maybe it’s understandable that people are seeking new ways to feel control, even over death. This piece looks at the trend of people younger than ever “exercising control over death.”
Disrupting the Word Disruption - In honor of Clayton Christiansen, this is one of my favorite pieces written by him, and it’s as relevant as ever. Disruption is a word that’s lost all meaning, but Christiansen and company argued that there are qualities for disruption. Understanding and adhering to those qualities matters if businesses truly want to take advantage of disruptive thinking.
From Scrappy to Foundational Silicon Valley - Silicon Valley firms have gone from “advocacy of the small, innovative firm and entrepreneurial ecosystem” to “giving way to more and more to justifications for bigness.” This is why Silicon Valley is failing at innovation.