Trends

Who should die when a driverless car crashes? Q&A ponders the future

Neville Hobson 4 Comments Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Innovation, Law, Public Relations, Society, Technology, Trends

In the 2004 science fiction film I, Robot, the police detective hero played by Will Smith is in a car crash resulting in his vehicle and another sinking in a river. The other car contains a trapped 12-year-old girl. With imminent death by drowning confronting both characters, a rescue robot appears and rescues the hero from his doomed car but leaves the girl to die. Why? Because, the robot’s logic tells it, her survival was statistically less likely than the Will Smith character’s. This ethical dilemma of choice – as a human would see it – underpins much of the movie (set in the year 2034), informing the viewer of the driving emotional forces motivating the hero. In our real […]

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Fake news is a global concern says BBC survey

Neville Hobson Leave a comment Communication, Mainstream Media, Online Media, Public Relations, Reputation, Social Media, Social Networks, Society, Trends, Web

To many people, the phenomenon known as fake news is something that’s moved beyond just a news item itself and into the realm of trust. With so much reporting and commentary about fake news, it’s no surprise that we’re placing greater importance on verifying the truthfulness of what we read, listen to and watch that is called ‘news.’ Whether it’s online or via the traditional mainstream media, or from companies, governments and others, we want to feel assured that what we encounter as news is real and not fake or propaganda. Take the image above, a snapshot from the news I saw earlier today in the BBC News app on my Android tablet. To me, some of the news items […]

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For Immediate Release 105: Centre Stage for Credible Sources

Neville Hobson Leave a comment Business, Communication, Ethics, For Immediate Release, Marketing, Public Relations, Reputation, Social Media, Society, Technology, Trends, Web

Shel and I got together for the September edition of The Hobson & Holtz Report to talk about these topics: The self-inflicted downfall of the UK PR agency Bell Pottinger (and kudos to the PRCA for putting teeth in its ethics code) How various fields will be affected by speech recognition (including PR and communications) Mitch Joel’s open letter to the advertising industry: Let’s not mess up ads for voice The proliferation of fake scientific journals (and what it means for the PR industry) The Pew Research Center has identified five “types” of people who search for facts and information, with implications for content marketing Are Americanisms killing British English (and does it matter)? In his Tech Report, Dan York […]

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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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Perspectives on blogging in the UK

Neville Hobson Leave a comment Advertising, Blogging, Business, Communication, Experiences, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Social Networks, Trends, Web, Weblogs

Blogging for business and pleasure is alive and flourishing in the UK, according to the second annual survey of UK bloggers carried out by Vuelio UK in conjunction with Canterbury Christ Church University. The survey was conducted in February 2017 to explore how bloggers work, their activities and views about their relationship with PR professionals and the future commercialisation of their work. Published last week, the results present a useful snapshot of the UK blogosphere. Whether you’re a blogger or someone wanting to understand and connect with bloggers, there’s much of interest in the report. Ten highlights: Although a majority (34%) of survey respondents said they blog for personal reasons, there is continuing growth in professional blogging with more interest […]

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