August 21, 2017 archive

For Immediate Release #101: Is Amazon Spark the Missing Social Media Link?

Nora Ganim Barnes and Michael Harry Klein joined host Shel Holtz for conversations about these topics:

  • A brand’s response to a consumer suggestion on Facebook struck the consumer who made the suggestion as harsh.
  • Business was front-and-center in the political news last week with CEO’s abandoning U.S. President Donald Trump’s Manufacturing Advisory Council, prominent artists leaving the White House Arts panel, and nonprofits canceling plans for events at Trump’s Mar a Lago resort.
  • How is Twitter still alive?
  • Amazon has launched a new social network called Amazon Spark. So far, it’s only for Prime members and only on the iPhone. Will this shoppable feed attract users and how will it affect Facebook, retail, and other existing enterprises?
  • A company set up two fake Instagram accounts, bought fake followers, and paid for fake comments and likes. Those accounts were paid as influencers by brands. What does this say about the state of influencer marketing?
  • Dan York reports on a new evolution of the Facebook News Feed, recording podcasts using Wire, the end of typing, and the ethics of CloudFlare kicking a white supremacist website off the Internet.

Connect with our guests via Twitter at @norabarnes and @mklein818.

Nora’s research:

Links to the source material for this episode are on Contentle.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

FIR is recorded using Zencastr.

About today’s guest co-hosts:

Nora Ganim Barnes earned a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut and is a Chancellor Professor of Marketing and Director of the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Nora has worked as a marketing consultant for many national and international firms. Business Week, CNN, Inc. Magazine, Computer World, Washington Post, NY Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal and Fox News have covered her work on social media adoption. She is a popular keynoter and conference speaker and was invited to speak at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show on social media adoption in higher education. She has published over 125 articles in academic and professional journals and proceedings, has contributed chapters to books, and has been awarded numerous research grants. She is the only person in the history of University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to receive both the Teacher Of The Year and Scholar Of The Year awards.

Mike Klein helps businesses identify business challenges that focused communication can tackle. Then, by developing specialized strategies, delivering targeted writing and messaging, and identifying internal influencers, he works with these organizations to address their challenges. Mike comes come from a background in political consulting and advertising, combined with an MBA from London Business School and 15 years of experience working inside some of the world’s leading organizations – like Shell, Cargill, easyJet, Maersk and VEON.

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