The Loss of Agency in the Age of Algorithms

February 20, 2019 by Taylor Wiegert in AI, Artificial Intelligence

Algorithms are everywhere. They decide what news we should see, what friends we should keep up with and even what shows we watch. Their pervasiveness shouldn’t really be a surprise. After all, their promise is an attractive one. You are only going to see the stuff you like. The Internet is going to cater to you.

Algorithms are the Internet’s easy button, giving you just the stuff you want and none of the stuff you don’t. They’re meant to enable us to get the most out of the web, but do they?

Brave Ad World Podcast - Episode 316

April 02, 2018 by Taylor Wiegert in Podcast

Episode 316 of the Brave Ad World Podcast is ready for your ears!

This week’s headlines: Instagram Updates Algorithm to Emphasize Recency, Snapchat Adds New Features to Snap Map, Facebook Implements Massive Changes in Wake of Controversy and Snapchat Seems to Be Launching Connected Apps.

The week’s news quick hits: Facebook Expands Local News Initiative to All Countries, Snap Launches Location-Based Advertising Features, HQ Lands First Sponsor, Facebook Removes ‘Interested In’ Ad Targeting, Apple Slates New Shows for Next March, FTC Announces Investigation into Facebook Privacy Practices, Google Acquires Tenor, Turner Sports Launches New Streaming Service, Apple Launches iPad for Students, LinkedIn Brings Video Ads to All Advertisers, Business Chat Shows Up in iOS 11.3 and Snap Has Another Round of Employee Cuts.

Get this episode and many others in the podcast section, and be sure to subscribe via iTunes.

This Week in Social and Digital (Week of March 26)

April 01, 2018 by Taylor Wiegert in This Week in Social

This Week in Social is a weekly digest of some of the biggest stories in social media marketing news. These stories are the show notes for the Brave Ad World Podcast. Each story is discussed at a deeper level on the podcast.

Cut Out the Middle to Focus Social Efforts on Big and Small Bets

February 07, 2018 by Taylor Wiegert in Strategy, Strategic Planning

Facebook rocked a lot of worlds a few weeks ago when it announced its latest News Feed algorithm update. The update focused the News Feed on delivering its users content from friends and family at the expense of content from publishers and brands. Facebook says it aims to nurture personal connections. Essentially, Facebook is going back to the roots.

For brands, little has changed. Facebook and social as a whole for the most part is a pay-to-play effort. The social side of social media is for friends and family. That’s what Facebook is giving back to users with this latest algorithm update. The media side is where brands a publishers come in. We have to treat these channels as media platforms we approach with compelling, creative assets that are deployed through a strategic media investment.

Brave Ad World Podcast - Episode 305

January 08, 2018 by Taylor Wiegert in Podcast

The first episode of the Brave Ad World for 2018 is here!

This week’s headlines: Snapchat Weighing Option of Requiring Users to View Ads for 3 Seconds

The week’s news quick hits: Instagram Bringing in Content from Accounts Users Don’t Follow, Snapchat Launches Stories Everywhere, Dish Network Combining Data for Addressable Ads on Traditional TV and OTT and Instagram Testing Stories Integration with WhatsApp.

Get this episode and many others in the podcast section, and be sure to subscribe via iTunes.

Brave Ad World Podcast - Episode 304

December 18, 2017 by Taylor Wiegert in Podcast

The last episode of the Brave Ad World Podcast for 2017 is here!

This week’s headlines: Twitter Videos Get View Counts, Twitter Comes Out with New Feature for Tweetstorms, Snapchat Opens Up Lens Studio and Facebook Updates Its Approach to Video.

The week’s news quick hits: Facebook Gives Video Creators New Tools, Facebook Removes the Ticker, Instagram Lets Users Follow Hashtags, Pinterest Giving All Brands Access to Insights Tool and Facebook Lets Brands Add CTA Driving to WhatsApp in Brand Posts.

Get this episode and many others in the podcast section, and be sure to subscribe via iTunes.

See you in 2018!