I hope you’re well and enjoying this fall weather. I’ve heard that it’s ‘shoulder season’ here in Toronto. Is it? I’ve never really understood the term. Google tells me that it refers to non-peak travel time. Peak for who and for where? What does traveling have to do with shoulders? I don’t get it.
Twitter (Product) vs. Elon (Person)
If you’ve managed to avoid the coverage of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, well done - I envy you. It's dominated by rants fuelled largely by political beliefs and personal options about Musk. I’m far more interested in the product, not the person. How might a first-principles thinker challenge accepted beliefs about what a modern social media platform is? For a product that has historically been stagnant, he has quickly instituted an $8 subscription model for verification and is exploring a new paywall and the resurrection of Vine. Meta’s product roadmap is based on copying popular features from other social platforms (see Snapchat ‘Stories’ and TikTok ‘Reels’). How might Elon’s Twitter zig (or is it zag?) You know what I mean.
Personal Brands & Social Content
Is social media posting burning us out? As more professionals are using social to build their personal brands (and businesses), it can be difficult to untangle personal identity/ value from self-expression/ projection. The ongoing pressure to post has “turned us into content machines” and posting itself can feel like “taking the bins out” once a week (H/T @adliterate). The biggest power users of LinkedIn are apparently turning to ghostwriters with mixed (and often hilarious) results. As someone who regularly takes the bins out without a ghostwriter, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t struggle with this. What has helped me is to write about things that I am learning and want to better understand. Sharing my writing fits into my own professional flywheel and provides me with a bit more rhythm and focus for my work.
In-Car Digital Experiences
Ever since I was a guest on the That New Car Sense podcast, I’ve been paying more attention to what’s happening in the in-vehicle digital experience space. A new report projects that the in-vehicle infotainment market will grow 10.8% annually, driven (pun intended) in part by 5G and AI. Elizabeth Warren recently rang the bell on the risk that Apple, Amazon, or Google might takeover cars like they took over smartphones. Here’s more background on the ‘Android-Ification of Cars’. As someone who works with companies to explore the business and marketing opportunities associated with new technologies and digital channels, vehicles do seem like a new frontier. How might we add more utility for the driver / front row while providing more entertainment for passengers / back row? Here’s some good thinking on transportation & mobility trends from Publicis Sapient.
Smart Reads
Chief Digital Officers & Leapfrogging the C-Suite: New research that explores the blurry role of the CDO, and how some are moving “from sideshow to centre stage”. Highlight: 38% of marketing responsibilities and capabilities do not sit under the office of the CMO (they’re with a ‘digital leader’).
Is your brand stuck on the performance plateau: Another smart read from Tom Roach on the balancing act between brand-building and performance marketing. I appreciate how the B2B context is discussed here as it’s often overlooked (i.e., only 5% of your B2B buyers are in market right now).
Ways to think about a metaverse: My favourite tech writer Benedict Evans zooms out to provide us with a clear perspective on how to respond to a boss that wants a “metaverse strategy”. He de-buzzifies the term and puts it into a historical context. Very helpful.
Fresh Research
Pew Research: A growing number of people in the U.S. are getting their news from TikTok – all other social media platforms are flat or trending down in this area.
Visual Capitalist: What are the most valuable brands in 2022? Hint: they’re the same brands that are trying to take over your in-vehicle software. H/T Jed Schneiderman.
We Are Social: If you want to keep up with what’s happening within social / internet culture without losing hours going down a TikTok rabbit hole, this is a very well-done round up of monthly trends.
Cool Beans
ClipDrop: New AI-based tool to take a picture of a product on your phone and paste it into Photoshop.
Artist Str4ngeThing has created images of Nike apparel as digital art in the renaissance period.
Namelix: Addictive new AI tool that provides you with dozens of new brand names and logos instantly (see below for Kickframe alternatives ;-)
