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News and publishing: Inverse scale?

56 percent, 36 percent, and 30 percent — the share of large, medium, and small news organizations that have experienced lay-offs since January 2017, according to Pew. These are interesting numbers that describe the inverse scaling problem in news. After the New York Daily News cut half its staff yesterday, New York is facing a […]

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Autonomous Economy? Not So Much, Yet

Eager to replace people your business processes? Uber is reconsidering its approach to autonomous vehicles after racing ahead with the project in Pittsburgh, the Bay Area, and Arizona, where a fatal accident with an Uber car raised serious safety questions. The company is laying off 100 autonomous car operators after one of them was found […]

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Meta-Management: Getting Data for Machine Learning Right

You will not be able to anticipate everything you will want to learn from a large body of data at first. Starting with a well-documented, flexible metadata model for your content and other data assets will ensure that the learning systems can understand new information in context and, with less work than starting with completely […]

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Putting A Purpose Behind Lyft’s Wheels

This interview with Lyft VP of Marketing, Melissa Waters, is worthwhile reading. She describes a future built on drivers providing hospitality experiences: “We will continue to have drivers and people servicing vehicles. We think in the frame of hospitality and customer service.” It’s when she dives into the challenge of building the Lyft brand that […]

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Can you train contractors without becoming a legal employer?

The gig economy is a powerful force in commodity service markets, such as driving or “ride sharing.” More sophisticated services that require training, which courts have repeatedly ruled put companies in the legal position of employer, creating liability and increasing costs, especially legal costs, will reshape the development of business tools. The evolution of software […]

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On-demand in small business: Four ideas for growth

Where is your place in the on-demand economy? Many workers and small businesses, including retailers, see the encroachment of Amazon, WalMart, and myriad other services as destructive. Yet media-enabled global brands are consistently challenged when engaging home- and office-based customers. The future of your business, whether a physical location or as an independent contractor, depends […]

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GoDaddy doubles down on SMB social commerce

GoDaddy has acquired Main Street Hub, a social marketing tools and services company, for $125 million in cash with $50 million in  performance incentives, according to TechCrunch. This is interesting for several reasons: SMB marketing must evolve to support on-demand and in-home engagement. SMBs generally favor Do-It-With-Me and Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) models over Do-It-Yourself marketing services. […]

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In-Home Smart Speakers: A War of the Big Three

Smart speakers represent a new interface in the customer relationship. Holiday shopping in 2017 established clear battle lines in the home AI market. Amazon, with its Alexa service, Google Home speakers, and Apple’s Siri-enabled services and delayed HomePod speaker are way out in front of the rest of the pack in terms of installed base. […]

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Talking Cures: Home speakers, audio ads, and the contest for engagement

Amazon will reportedly monetize its site and Alexa channels in 2018 using advertising. Global Web Index, a London-based research company, reports that grocery shoppers seem to love voice speakers. Of 78,000 respondents to a survey, 56 percent are using or plan to buy a speaker in the next six months. But will those consumers love […]

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Experiential marketing will reach the home

AdWeek’s Sarah Priestman offers this assessment of experiential marketing: The experience economy is booming, brands are seeking real-world impact, the creative industries are putting dollars behind new capabilities—really, what more do we need to do but let the good times roll? Priestman goes on to emphasize the experimental and artistic qualities of experiential marketing, urging […]