The May 2019 edition of “The Hobson and Holtz Report,” aka For Immediate Release episode 183, features Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz talking about these stories:

• A trio of technologies — from Google, Amazon, and The New York Times — show how marketers will be able to get into your head, assess your emotional state, and manipulate your intent.
• GDPR is one year old. Has it succeeded in protecting Europeans’ privacy?
• PR professionals are relegating earned media to the dustbin.
• Arabic podcasts are on the rise, embracing a long tradition of oral storytelling.
• More CEOs were terminated in 2018 over ethical lapses than financial performance.
• The Wall Street Journal is limiting comments to paying subscribers, and it’s working.
• Dan York reports on a new podcast report from Andreesen-Horowitz and looks at two podcast announcements from Spotify.

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

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(Or download the MP3 file)

Links from This Month’s Episode

• Google Ushers In The Era Of Anticipatory Marketing
• Amazon is reportedly working on wearables that can read your emotions
• The New York Times Can Now Predict Your Emotions and Motivations After Reading a Story
• General Data Protection Regulation: one year on
• The truth behind the dumbest GDPR myths, one year later
• GDPR One Year On: Survey Findings Show Consumer Awareness with Data Use is Concerningly Low
• Widespread confusion over GDPR rules that protect your privacy
• Study: PR pros prioritizing owned and shared media
• The rise of Arabic podcasts: ‘a digital revival of a long-term tradition’
• PODU, a Podcast Platform For Arabic Speakers, Wins UChicago’s CNVC
• More CEOs were forced out for ethical lapses in 2018 than poor financial performance
• How not to handle a MeToo-related PR crisis
• Why The Wall Street Journal limited commenting to paying subscribers

Links from Dan York’s Tech Report

• Investing in the Podcast Ecosystem in 2019
• Podcast episodes will now show up in Google searches. Helpful discovery mechanism or a shot in the Platform Wars?
• Spotify begins testing its first hardware: a car smart assistant

The next episode of For Immediate Release will be posted on Monday, June 24.