Politics

For Immediate Release 109: CEOs Torturing English

Neville Hobson Leave a comment Artificial Intelligence, Business, Communication, For Immediate Release, Investor Relations, Marketing, Politics, Public Relations, Reputation, Social Media, Software, Technology, Web

Shel and I recorded the October edition of the monthly Hobson & Holtz Report. This month’s topics: Three distinguished PhDs propose a Magna Carta for Artificial Intelligence. Too soon? Research establishes a connection between CEOs who mangle English during analyst calls and falling share prices. What can PR agencies and associations do to build a reputation of trust in the wake of the Bell Pottinger scandal? New data points reinforce the importance of companies taking positions on social and political issues. Most importantly, Edelman’s 2017 Earned Brand study found that 30% of consumers are “belief-driven” buyers. In the UK, political activists are using an app to influence party conference votes. Two crises — one from Facebook and one from Unilever’s […]

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SDF podcast 12: Scope and scale of Fake News and GDPR

Neville Hobson Leave a comment Business, Communication, Marketing, Politics, Public Relations, Small Data Forum, Social Media, Society, Technology

September was PR Measurement Month, and October is conference season. Not just in UK politics, but also for a number of trade bodies in communications, PR and media monitoring. From AMEC and the PRCA, to FIBEP, ICCO, PRSA – there are plenty of awards and some reflections on where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we are likely to be going. Fake news remains the centre of attention and is the starting topic of discussion in episode 12 of The Small Data Forum podcast. This episode’s show notes were written by Thomas Stoeckle. Tuesday’s New York Times ran the story How Russia Harvested American Rage to Reshape US Politics. As an issue that affects the democratic process in […]

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SDF podcast 11: From winning with data to the future of fake facts

Neville Hobson Leave a comment Business, Communication, Innovation, Marketing, Politics, Public Relations, Reputation, Small Data Forum, Social Media, Society, Technology, Trends, Workplace

For the 11th time, the SmallDataForum convened – this time to explore questions related to the opportunities and challenges of data in business, the rational and emotional side of decision-making, and the continuing erosion of trust and confidence in the truthfulness of information. Stephen Fry’s fabulous narration of the complete works of Sherlock Holmes formed the backdrop to musings about data sleuthing and the skill sets required for successful forensic analytics. This episode’s show notes were written by Thomas Stoeckle. Big Data’s Business Value A recent Harvard Business School article discussed the issue that Companies Love Big Data but Lack the Strategy to Use It Effectively. Neville sums this up succinctly: “You don’t need big data strategy, you need a […]

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For Immediate Release 100: Locked and Loaded

Neville Hobson Leave a comment Artificial Intelligence, Business, Communication, Ethics, For Immediate Release, Marketing, Politics, Public Relations, Reputation, Social Media, Social Networks, Society, Technology, Trends, Web
Using Twitter

In the August episode of The Hobson & Holtz Report, Shel and I talked about these topics: The Society for New Communications Research has launched an initiative to assess options for the communications industry to address fake news. An artificial intelligence bot can detect plagiarism (85% of the time). Supporters of US President Donald Trump are amplifying their tweets through a little-known Twitter feature that lets you create and name a Direct Message group. And let’s talk about that twice-daily folder the president gets filled with only positive coverage about him. Agencies are cropping up that focus exclusively on Generation Z. The Westin hotel in Buffalo, NY, is putting an Amazon Echo in every room. Ask Alexa for a toothbrush […]

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SDF podcast 10: Big Data is never a be-all and end-all

Neville Hobson Leave a comment Business, Communication, Entertainment, Journalism, Marketing, Politics, Public Relations, Small Data Forum, Social Media, Society, Technology, Trends, Web

Amid congressional hearings and FBI investigations in the US about whether and how Russia interfered with the US Presidential Elections, discussions continue about the efficacy and ethics of micro-targeting voters. In our latest and 10th edition of the SmallDataForum podcast, Neville, Sam and Thomas reflect on the outcome of the recent general elections in the UK. This episode’s show notes were written by Thomas Stoeckle. We agree that, unlike last time, Labour did better than the Conservatives digitally at this election. In combining doorstep campaigning with digital targeting in marginal seats (based on the insights from their proprietary software) and generally being on the ball with issues online, Labour managed to connect the dots more successfully than the Conservatives. This […]

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