NEWSLETTER #182/ November 3, 2019
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GOOGLE DEMANDS PRIVACY. LAUGHTER ENSUES
Ya gotta laugh to keep from cryin'.
Google is involved in an anti-trust case with dozens of states over its business practices. According to the SF Chronicle Google is very concerned that the case may threaten its privacy. Good heavens!
This week, Google filed a petition "demanding more protections before it hands over confidential business documents sought by investigators."
Google is afraid that some of its information might wind up in the wrong hands. Can you imagine the horror? Strangely they don't seem all that concerned when it's our information that might wind up in the wrong hands.
When they were "Accused of 'Massive' Abuse of Intimate Personal Data" I don't remember their legal department swinging into action. You see, when it's our data they really don't give much of a flying shit, but when it's their data it turns out they're terribly fastidious.
According to the Chronicle, "Google said it wanted to be notified in advance before...its confidential company information (is shared) with third parties." Hey Google, ya know what? We'd like to be notified before our confidential information is shared with third parties, too. Okay? Oh, and by the way...screw you.
Twitter Punts
The degradation of political discourse -- fueled largely by social media -- has left all media with a devil's choice about political advertising:
- Publish it all, and be accused of spreading misinformation.
- Publish only "acceptable" advertising and be accused of being arbiters of political truth.
- Stop taking political advertising altogether.
This week Twitter took door number three. CNBC reported that Twitter ceo Jack Dorsey said "it would be 'not credible' for Twitter to tell users it’s committed to stopping the spread of misinformation while allowing advertisers to target users with political ads just because they’ve paid Twitter to do so."
Twitter's position is in stark contrast to Facebook who, in defense of free speech, recently acknowledged it had accepted political advertising that it knew was false.
Which leads us to...
Gallant Defenders of Free Speech
This week Aaron Sorkin, writer of the movie "The Social Network" which explored the origins of Facebook, took to the NY Times with an open letter to Zuckerberg that exposed his courageous dedication to free speech for the bullshit that it is. Sorkin revealed that...
- After Facebook big shots read his screenplay for The Social Network, "I was asked if I would change the name of Harvard University to something else and if Facebook had to be called Facebook."
- "After we’d shot the movie, we arranged a private screening...for...Sheryl Sandberg. Ms. Sandberg stood up in the middle of the screening... and said, “How can you do this to a kid?”
Facebook is truly beyond redemption.
Headline of the Week
From Tuesday's MediaPost...
Fitbit Horse Shit
Here's a little Fitbit tidbit about the value of data.
Fitbit is a company whose products and operations are drowning in mud. They make "wearable tech" (in other words, watches) for the hypochondriac/narcissist crowd (in other words, Californians.)
They went public in June 2015 and their shares were soon selling above $47. Recently the shares were down at about $3. Between 2016 and 2018 their sales dropped 1/3 as they've been eaten alive by the Apple watch. But Fitbit apparently has great value in the surveillance economy because it has all kinds of confidential health data about their customers.
This week Google announced they were buying this white elephant for $2.1 billion. So now Google won't just have our net worth and sexual preferences, they'll also know our menstrual cycles and sperm counts.
According to the Motley Fool "Fitbit reassures customers... the data that it has will not be used for Google ad targeting."
Yeah, nothing to worry about here. Google has recently developed a tremendous respect for privacy.
Facebook Outrage of the Week
If ever there was a poster child for the hollowness of the religion of "brand purpose," it has to be Facebook. Although it is the most irresponsible, untrustworthy, and reviled enterprise on the planet, its absence of integrity seems to be of no concern to its customers.
This week FB announced another quarter of unabated growth and profitability. The fact that it is being investigated by 47 states, the Federal Trade Commission, the US Department of Justice, and the European Union doesn't seem to offend the hypocritical virtue hustlers of the marketing industry one little bit.
Business School Drop-out
Regular readers of whatever the hell this thing is will recognize the great Mark Ritson.
Ritson announced this week that he is leaving the Melbourne Business School where he taught MBA students for 15 years. He has accepted a position with VaynerMedia. Only kidding.
Ritson will be spending his time on his personal business interests. This leaves a huge hole in academia. God only knows what nonsense students are learning in marketing programs these days. It can only get worse with Ritson out of the game. The good news is that he's continuing his online Mini-MBA in conjunction with Marketing Week.
Ritson is one of the most sensible and interesting people in the industry. In a field in which dullness and group-think are often mistaken for wisdom, Ritson is not afraid to be outrageous, provocative and smart.
And While We're on the Subject...
...of personal business interests, I'm developing a new "speaking product." Why? I'm getting awfully tired of travel.
Consequently I'm working on a web-based speaking program for smaller groups in which I can deliver my same imprudent and highly irresponsible remarks about the delusional advertising and marketing industry at a substantially reduced rate.
While this will not be appropriate for major events, it will be good for...
- small conferences and meetings
- agency personnel, marketing departments, and ad clubs
- widely scattered work groups
- cheap-ass bastards who don't want to pay my remarkably modest live talk rates
I did my first webcast program recently and it seemed to go well. If this sounds interesting to you, click here.
