How safe is Clubhouse? asks Wired magazine in the latest critical look at the social audio service that appeared in April 2020 - less than a year ago. It's attracting huge attention globally. Alongside the hype and hyperbole that have been hallmarks of the perceived attractiveness and exclusivity of the invitation-only iOS app that passed ten million users in February - a five-fold growth since recording two million in January - there's increasing scrutiny of how the app works and how it … [Read more...] about FIR 204: Won’t you Join Us in our Clubhouse?
SDF 44: Facebook and the robber barons are at it again
Last week Facebook announced that it had decided to up the ante in its fracas with the Australian government and ban mainstream media news on its platform. The move meant that all Facebook users - not just Australians - would not be able to share or view news on Australian news Pages on Facebook. This move by Facebook was in response to the Australian government introducing a new law that would force Big Tech to pay media companies a fee to include their news in their users' news … [Read more...] about SDF 44: Facebook and the robber barons are at it again
FIR 203: Insurrection and Sea Shanties
'Trust' was the major theme for discussion in the January episode of The Hobson and Holtz Report podcast aka FIR 203 that Shel and I recorded last weekend and published on Monday. It underpinned all other topics we discussed as we started the episode reviewing the key analysis in the Edelman Trust Barometer 2021 - the report concludes that there is a 'crisis of leadership' with a growing trust gap and declines in trust worldwide; and without a trusted leadership source to look to, people … [Read more...] about FIR 203: Insurrection and Sea Shanties
FIR 197: A better social network
The July 2020 episode of The Hobson and Holtz Report, aka FIR 197, features Neville and Shel discussing… Emotional Intelligence as an Internal Communications focusAI avatars as a new tool for training and marketingThe latest TikTok newsWhat a better social network might look likeThe rise of Virtual and Augmented RealityThe staggering jobs challenge the world is facing Dan York reports on making video calls better, apps that keep copying each other, Amazon’s new live-streaming for … [Read more...] about FIR 197: A better social network
FIR 196: Speak up, Twitter
The June 2020 episode of The Hobson and Holtz Report features Neville and Shel discussing… Their appearance on Joe Jaffe’s broadcast showA report on the all-virtual IABC World ConferenceTwitter’s move to let users record and tweet audio (but only on iOS for now)Three new blockchain developments of interest to communicatorsFlipboard’s new Storyboard featureA user email that prompted Merriam-Webster to update a dictionary definitionHow Wikipedia became a battleground for racial … [Read more...] about FIR 196: Speak up, Twitter
FIR 190: Digital vs analogue behaviour in the UK general election
For the December edition of The Hobson & Holtz Report - aka episode 190 of the For Immediate Release podcast - Shel and I picked an eclectic list of topics to talk about. As a European and, specifically, a Brit, my hot one was about the result of the General Election that took place here in the UK on December 12 - the result was a landslide win for Boris Johnson and the Conservative party - and the role social media played in influencing voters. Did social media influence voters to … [Read more...] about FIR 190: Digital vs analogue behaviour in the UK general election
FIR 189: The first thing we do, let’s ease timekeeping for all the lawyers
The November episode of “The Hobson and Holtz Report” features Neville and Shel discussing these topics: MeWe and WT:Social are among the latest crop of social networks offering serious privacy in an attempt to dethrone FacebookA new tool lets brands remove negative comments from paid social media postsQR codes have made a comebackAI writer completes writing what you startedTelcos hope RCS will inspire you to give up WhatsApp, Messenger, and other third-party toolsPing raises $13 million to … [Read more...] about FIR 189: The first thing we do, let’s ease timekeeping for all the lawyers
SDF Podcast 27: When April Fool’s meets Groundhog Day
So this is the episode when the three stooges of the SmallDataForum were meant to reflect wistfully on what was Great Britain exiting Greater Europe. The irony of recording this on April Fool’s Day wasn’t lost on us. Brexit Fool’s day is every day, these days. Our resident classicist Sam even managed to squeeze in Juvenal’s Satire VI, and even though the reference was in regard to another April Fool’s – Facebook regulation, haha – Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes might just as well … [Read more...] about SDF Podcast 27: When April Fool’s meets Groundhog Day