You asked for it, potty. It's my pleasure to help you get smarter faster. The Full Monty: You Can Say That Again – October 1, 2018We're living through tech history; putting humanity into artificial intelligence; the case against driverless cars; the impact of second screens on TV; what happens when marketers are too myopic; the best Halloween costume this year; image-based shopping gains traction; former Facebook employees talk; the best streaming service for your money; a debate about the podcast bubble; California enacts a cybersecurity law and restores net neutrality; the happiness factor of Uber drivers; how Subway increased foot traffic by 31 percent; the purpose of life in 10 words; finding America's quietest spots; plus the podcast pick of the week and more in the You Can Say That Again edition of The Full Monty for the week of October 1, 2018.
The Full Monty saves you time and makes you smarter by curating the essential business intelligence every week. Links are below with commentary in italics. Please sign up for our email updates to make sure you don't miss a thing. And check out The Full Monty on Flipboard. Contents:AnnouncementsTop StorySpeaking EngagementsArtificial Intelligence / AutonomousCommunications / Marketing / Business StrategyRetail ApocalypsePlatformsMediaPrivacy / Security / RegulatoryMeasurement / Analytics / DataMental NourishmentAnnouncementsA reminder that in the weeks ahead, The Full Monty will be making a switch to a tiered subscription model. Some content will always be free, and the full version will be accessible via a reasonable monthly fee. I'd be grateful for any feedback you'd like to provide, from pricing to the model.
Scheduling note: we'll be off next week.
Top StoryHistory – and in this case, recent history – is repeating itself. Once again, we've got a data breach from Facebook. It's a violation of privacy, of security, and most of all, of trust. Roll out the apology tour. Facebook has lived by apology. At what point does it become meaningless? It's like we're living in an abusive relationship and we can't help going back. It doesn't help that a prominent investor like billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, calls social media the "cancer of our time."Meanwhile, we've got Tim Berners-Lee, the godfather of the Internet, working to decentralize the web and take back power from the forces that have profited from centralizing it. Are we seeing a point of no return for some of these technology companies? Have consumers had enough? Sadly, until there's a viable alternative, there's nothing we can do. Thanks this week to Gini Dietrich, Christopher Penn, Mitch Joel, Drew McLellan, Chris Poterala, Nick Westergaard and Jay Baer. And a special shout-out to Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin, whose book Talk Triggers, goes on sale today. It's all about the power of doing business in a way that gives customers something to talk about. And we all know about the power of word of mouth. Plus... alpacas! I hand-curate all of the content you see below (plus other stories on Flipboard that don't make the newsletter). If you've got something you think I should see, @ me on Twitter, Facebook, or email.
Speaking EngagementsAlways looking for recommendations for speaking engagements – including executive briefings / workshops and keynotes. Can I speak to your organization or at your event? Feel free to contact me to discuss it.- Brandemonium in Cincinnati, October 3-4. BR18FRIEND gets you $100 off.
- Pubcon in Las Vegas, October 16-18.
- Now booking for 2019 for groups small and large. Check out my speaking page for more info.
Artificial Intelligence / AutonomousThe latest in AI, machine learning, bots, and blockchain, mobility, and autonomous everything.Aʀᴛɪꜰɪᴄɪᴀʟ Iɴᴛᴇʟʟɪɢᴇɴᴄᴇ / Mᴀᴄʜɪɴᴇ Lᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ- A report from the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School provides a new foundational framework for considering the risks and benefits of A.I. on human rights. (Harvard Law Today) Artificial intelligence will most certainly have an impact on society. We need sociologists, economists, psychologists and more thinking about this just as the engineers are doing the technical work.
- Microsoft has launched an A.I. humanitarian initiative – a five-year, $40 million project to support developers of A.I. systems for helping humanity. (VentureBeat)
- Parents in China are using educational A.I. robots to entertain children. (CNN)
- Alibaba A.I. Labs, which develops Alibaba Group's consumer A.I. products, said it will introduce a robot for the hospitality sector, making it the latest in a series of hotel-specific robots that make deliveries to guests in order to free up human staff for more complicated tasks. (AdWeek) The bonus is it won't care if you answer your door in your towel.
 | | We're getting ever closer to The Jetsons... |
Aᴜᴛᴏɴᴏᴍᴏᴜs / Mᴏʙɪʟɪᴛʏ- BMW will introduce 'safe' fully autonomous driving by 2021. (Digital Trends) With BMW drivers out of the driver's seat, we believe it.
- Lax safety laws, public skepticism, and privacy concerns are among the issues that could pump the brakes on the autonomous-vehicle market: The Case Against Driverless Cars. (The Motley Fool)
- India's ride-hailing company Ola is launching an A.I. ride monitoring system called Guardian. The service tracks and analyzes all trips, including route deviations and unexpected stops, in an effort in increase passenger safety. (Tech2)
- BMW engineers have developed an autonomous motorcycle. The company does not plan to produce and sell the self-driving motorcycles commercially. (The Street)
Communications / Marketing / Business StrategySᴛʀᴀᴛᴇɢʏ / Mᴀʀᴋᴇᴛɪɴɢ / CᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛJᴏᴜʀɴᴀʟɪsᴍ / Cᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs / Rᴇᴘᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ- How people learn about corporate social responsibility efforts. And judge them. (MarketingCharts) Keep in mind that this is during a time when the public trusts companies less and less.
- Some businesses, concerned about unreliable social-media personalities, are turning to their own employees and customers to serve as brand ambassadors. (The Atlantic) Which is really what they should be doing in the first place.
- Speaking of social media personalities, Urban Outfitters is selling a crop-top and leggings combo that it is calling an "influencer costume" this Halloween. Add Fila sneakers, a canvas cap, and a platinum blonde wig, and you too can be an influencer for just $155. (The Verge) Hey, maybe you'll get a contract worth thousands with a brand!
 | | via Urban Outfitters |
Retail ApocalypseHumans are a transactional species, and the practice — if not the very notion of what retail is — is undergoing a historical metamorphosis. - Amazon introduced Four-Star, a physical store that only sells goods rated four stars or higher on Amazon, with special discounts for Prime members. (Amazon) A smart way for Amazon to use data to test and launch.
- With its Amazon Go stores with frictionless payment, some analysts think Amazon could take on convenience stories and QSRs. (eMarketer)
- Snap is testing a new way to search for products on Amazon using the Snapchat camera. (Snap) The integration of ecommerce into social and messaging apps is something we'll be seeing more of soon.
- Not to be outdone, Google is rolling out shoppable images this holiday season. (Retail Dive)
- Warning that Sears is running out of time and money, CEO Edward Lampert is making his biggest push yet to restructure the retailer to avoid a bankruptcy filing, as a debt payment looms next month. (WSJ) Could this be the last gasp for the more than century-old retailer?
- Did you know in-car commerce was a thing? Cargo, which makes boxes of items like gum, phone chargers and snacks that ride-hail drivers can sell to their passengers, raised $22.5 million after its official partnership with Uber. (VentureBeat)
- Don't look now, but Carvana promoted its next-day delivery for cars in New York by parading them around in take-out food bags. (Marketing Dive)
- Bed Bath & Beyond shares have plummeted more than 21% in Thursday trading, on a path to its lowest-ever close, as it uses coupons to compete with Amazon. (MarketWatch) You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders – the most famous of which is "never get involved in a price war with Amazon" – but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line"!
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Platforms News to know about relevant social, virtual, and augmented reality platforms that may affect your business.- More Millennials and Gen Z are using social media apps. But their use is largely visual in nature: YouTube, Snap and Instagram are their weapons of choice. (eMarketer)
- Overall, the use of the Internet, social media, and digital devices has plateaued as they have reached near-saturation levels. (Pew Research Center)
Fᴀᴄᴇʙᴏᴏᴋ / Iɴsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ / WʜᴀᴛsAᴘᴘTᴡɪᴛᴛᴇʀ- Twitter has launched event pages for TV series that appear 30 minutes before new episodes are broadcast, including hashtags, talent names and handles. (AdWeek)
Oᴛʜᴇʀ
MediaThe latest in the world of streaming video, audio, and the advertising, pricing and bundling models related to them.VɪᴅᴇᴏAᴜᴅɪᴏ And don't forget about The Full Monty podcast, our own 5-minute weekly business commentary.
Privacy / Security / RegulatoryBusiness disruptions in the legal, regulatory, and computer security fields, from hacking to the on-demand economy and more.Pʀɪᴠᴀᴄʏ / Sᴇᴄᴜʀɪᴛʏ / HᴀᴄᴋɪɴɢRᴇɢᴜʟᴀᴛᴏʀʏ / Oɴ-Dᴇᴍᴀɴᴅ EᴄᴏɴᴏᴍʏMeasurement / Analytics / DataThe future is not in plastics, but in data. Those who know how to measure and analyze it will rule the world.
Mental NourishmentOther links to help you reflect, improve, or simply learn something new.
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