Pay-to-Play Social Media Subscriptions, Bing Conversational Experiences, Nokia vs. Kia Rebrand, More AI, and the 4-Day Workweek Reality from the SUM
This week, there are a few videos ?? to watch at 2x speed discussing the 4-day workweek and artificial intelligence. Not everyone skims articles for fun... like me... If they did, the boom of newsletters across the Internet wouldn't be necessary. Luckily, everyone digests information differently.
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A Summation of this Newsletter ???
How Pay-to-Play Subscriptions on Social Media Platforms are a Huge Disruption for Content Creators
Earning verification badges on social platforms has always been an enigma, but now, you can simply pay for a badge on?Facebook,?Instagram,?Twitter, Snapchat, and?Tumblr.
In the not-so-distant past, earning priority in the newsfeed was a challenge. Would-be content creators:
Others purchased bot packages from sketchy websites that did nothing for long-term channel growth, simply inflating follower counts to build a fake reputation. Add those accounts to the forgotten garbage heap of the Internet's past.
The Power of the Boosted Post's Debut
When boosted posts emerged, they were a monetized cheat code to get something important out into the world. This upgrade was a win-win, benefiting hungry creators and companies, and raising the bottom line of the social platform to create happy shareholders.
If you could afford it, every piece of content you posted could be boosted ?? (which many “now famous” or well-known content creators did) to gain recognition and “beat” the algorithm. Others had to be choosy about what content was backed by dollars, and what sacrifice had to be made to afford such a boost.
Pay-to-play will disrupt social media as you and I have come to know it as users and social media professionals. It’s the same disruption we’re seeing with the intrusion of sophisticated AI chatbots.
The moment to adapt and survive is happening right before your eyes, so don’t sleep on it.
2023 Nokia Rebrand Sends Major Kia Rebrand Vibes... Calling All Logo Designers
Nokia?launches its rebrand. The design might remind you of Kia's 2022 reimagining leading to consumer confusion.
While the two rebranded logos are fundamentally different with sharp edges versus rounded corners—the similarity is something I cannot unsee—but I can't put my finger on why. Designers, please weigh in.
B2B vs. B2C Confusion
Anyway, the Kia confusion is unlikely to occur for the telecom equipment provider without exposure to the consumer B2C market—but you never know.
Dropping the iconic Nokia blue for a range of colors, depending on where and how it's being used, is reminiscent of?Ciena's current brand standards. It's dropping the bland blue for 2023 vibrance and emphasizing an almost prismatic gradient style.
Why Nokia is Changing and Why the 2023 Rebrand?
After 60 years, Nokia is trying to diversify its brand image as the company diversifies its market verticals. It wants to be identified as a "business technology company" rather than solely an equipment maker. Plus, they're moving into automation and data centers to compete in new sectors.
Once they got a taste of the 2021 market value they experienced during the?GameStop?short squeeze, you cannot blame the hunger for a higher valuation. ??
Spotting the Correlation of the Nokia and Kia Rebrand
Creative Bloq 's Daniel Piper describes the assembly of let-your-mind-fill-in-the-rest design as "disembodied shapes" which is suiting.
As the days pass since the announcement at the Mobile World Congress, the consensus of confusion and comparisons drawn between the recent rebrands only validates this incomplete notion of a redesign.
Fun Fact: Nokia was founded as a single paper mill back in 1865.
Eat your heart out?Amazon.
Last,?Lippincott?does great work, and I'm a personal fan of their portfolio. Any unintentional shade should be taken with a grain of salt.
How Effective is Communication in Your Company: Grammarly's 2023 "State of Business Communication" Report
"Poor communication costs U.S. businesses an estimated $1.2 trillion annually (or $12,506 per employee per year)," ?? according to Grammarly 's 2023 "The State of Business Communication" report.
Here are 3 key findings to back up this growing disconnect.
1. Written and asynchronous communication is rising in importance.
Asynchronous communication isn't in real-time. It's passive and doesn't require an immediate response, so think text messages, emails, pings, and notifications from project management software.
?? The report shows an 18% increase in written communication across channels compared to last year.
2. Effective written communication is essential for driving productivity and performance.
If you're struggling to communicate with your team, your coworkers, and interdepartmentally, "the business suffers from the resulting swirl of misinformation, lack of alignment, and tedious rework," resulting in lost profits.
?? It's easy to see how those breakdowns align outside of the workplace, too.
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3. Communication is a core function that affects everyone within the organization.
The report finds more productivity and engagement from confident communicators, more effective communication from workers who can craft and adjust their tone on the fly, and finally better intra-organizational relationships drive overall efficiency via communicating like a champ (i.e. better profits for said company).
?? When was the last time you evaluated the effectiveness of communication with your company?
Microsoft's Bing is a Conversational Experience ...But What About Receiving Factual Information?
Being an “emotionally manipulative liar” is better than complete irrelevance for?Microsoft’s Bing.
Users are enjoying the insults, lying, sulking, gaslighting, manipulation, and its existential crises right now, but when the dust settles, Bing is a search engine trying to compete with?Google?for factual info. ??
At the end of the day, the “unhinged” AI errors come as human users intentionally tear down the artificial computer mind. Is it from fear of irrelevance and replacement, or just a little “good” fun?
The 4-Day Workweek Reality: How Does This Translate to Actual Practice?
In 1926, Henry Ford instituted a five-day, 40-hour work week with no loss in pay for having Saturdays off. Now, there’s a push to consider a four-day, 32-hour work week with no loss in pay, but how practical is it?
A consolidated workweek can provide benefits, such as:
Yet, a shorter workweek could disrupt business operations, may not be feasible or desirable for specific companies or industries, and it could lessen productivity, thereby failing the needs of an increasingly needy consumer.
Anyway, this laissez-faire approach is the antithesis of capitalist ventures pursued in the U.S. for a century. While the cost and benefits of the 4-day workweek are up for debate in America, despite convincing evidence overseas, the discussion will continue...
Side Note: It's ironic how the 4-day workweek debate comes raging back into the media as the AI chatbot headlines permeate the business and consumer sectors.
?? Video credit to NPR .
LinkedIn for Job Seekers: A Social Community Where You Announce You've Been Laid Off and You're Seeking New Employment
Watching colleagues, coworkers, acquaintances, and friends announce they're seeking employment on?LinkedIn?is a surefire way to draw attention to your "open for work" circumstances.
Hell, LinkedIn even has a nifty little badge for your profile picture.
It's also encouraging to see reactions roll in from outside a job seeker's immediate network, watching some posts go viral, and it shows the power of networking on professional social channels.
In March 2020 when the pandemic was underway, I announced my employer filed for bankruptcy, and I was actively looking while the impending lockdowns approached. In one month, I was hired into a full-time position.
As wide-ranging layoffs resonate throughout the economy, job seekers should leverage LinkedIn and be vulnerable to get the word out. If you're in a job seekers network, do them a favor a "repost" their message.
At the end of the day, LinkedIn is a large social community, so don't hesitate to pin your credentials on the digital corkboard.
Meme-ification
As a marketing manager, it can be a battle dealing with know-it-all consultants—but keep in mind—they're literally getting paid to know it ALL. Cut them some slack when they're explaining basic Marketing 101 you learned in undergrad to non-marketing peers in your company.
As a consultant, understand that many internal marketing teams are undervalued, and their expertise and experience are often overlooked by decision-makers. Ask them questions and consider their input—they know the business and internal dynamics better than you do.
Learn About Artificial Intelligence with John Oliver and Have a Laugh ??
John Oliver—host of Last Week Tonight on HBO —digs into artificial intelligence and the societal implications of such a technology. He discusses AI benefits centered on efficiency in healthcare, particularly speeding up biochemistry processes to ward off the next pandemic, and how healthcare can be a big beneficiary of the technology.
Yet, there are concerns shared among most AI roundtables, like replacing human workers, exacerbating inequality, and consolidating and further concentrating technological power within small groups of individuals or companies. Any guesses as to who those might be?
Moving Forward with Artificial Intelligence
Oliver's entire discussion boils down to some key takeaways:
While Last Week Tonight is filled with one-liners, humor, and satire, everything in this segment expresses questions, suggestions, and ideas everyone should be considering.
The SUM is derived from industry news and insights related to marketing, copywriting, advertising, branding, web best practices, and more. If you enjoyed The SUM, subscribe for biweekly updates or follow?Zach Burger?for content that doesn't miss a beat.