The January installment of The Hobson & Holtz Report brings Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz together in a long-form podcast that covers a handful of topical issues. We start with the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer including the role of influencers as influence marketing efforts move from agencies to in-house departments. Next, the rise of live-streaming video with 95% of executives planning to use it this year. Then, which pharma companies are winning at social? We look at the results of a … [Read more...] about For Immediate Release 122: Trust, influence, pharma and more
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The appeal of the open Internet
When I reflect on my career over the past few decades, I think about three constants that have always been present no matter the type of work I have done or with whom I have done it. Those three constants comprise business, communication and technology. None of them is separate from the other, yet each of them is a tool of empowerment in its distinct way. Although I have a passion for technology, my larger passion is about communication. It’s about using technology as a means to a … [Read more...] about The appeal of the open Internet
2018: the year of chatbots, AI and digital personal assistants
2017 was the year that artificial intelligence (AI) generally gained a greater consciousness in the public mind as well as in the minds of many professionals, not the least being those in the broad communication business – especially public relations, advertising, marketing and employee communication. Every time we see a robot mentioned in the mainstream media, there's either a photo of the Terminator or some human-looking machine which feeds our fear – adding to the uncertainty and doubt … [Read more...] about 2018: the year of chatbots, AI and digital personal assistants
SDF Podcast 14: Looking forward by looking back
As the Small Data Forum progresses through its early teenage years – our latest podcast is episode 14 already – regular co-hosts Thomas Stoeckle, Neville Hobson, and Sam Knowles are taking the opportunity to look forward by looking back. Patients of our own medicine, you might say, we’re using the year end and what we’ve observed and learned in 2017 to enter the predictive analytics business. We take our inspiration from Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, transitions, and time, after whom … [Read more...] about SDF Podcast 14: Looking forward by looking back
SNCR fake news study: high stakes for marketers in survey findings
You can summarise what marketers think about fake news with this - they are ambivalent about what ought to change, and are reluctant to alter their own business practices. That's a key finding from the results of an online survey-based research study carried out between August-November 2017 by The Society for New Communications Research of The Conference Board (SNCR). Led by SNCR Fellow Jeff Pundyk, a former Senior Vice President at The Economist, the prime purpose of the research project … [Read more...] about SNCR fake news study: high stakes for marketers in survey findings