Welcome to Super Sunday. Before you get lost in the pizza, chip dip, and betting pools, here are this week’s stories about media, entertainment, and of course, radio. Hopefully, this will give you something to talk about tonight as the entire world watches two football teams duke it out.
The must-read story in this group is the first one:
1. Alexa goes mainstream
We’ve been predicting this, and we’re studying it carefully in this year’s Techsurvey (now in the field). Amazon Echo is in a lot of homes, but you may be surprised about who’s buying and using these nifty voice command devices. There are big-time implications here for radio. Slice Intelligence breaks it down with facts and stats here.
2. Look who just jumped into daily podcasting
“The Daily” is the new everyday podcast from The New York Times. The content is exactly what the name implies – a brief rundown of what you need to know to start your day, aimed at people (Millennials?) too busy to read the physical paper or even navigate to the website. Podcasting and commuting are becoming paired activities, and The Times is hoping to capture an audience in a space that has been typically owned by radio and morning television. Read about it here.
3. So now what?
We all find ourselves faced with an impasse, especially as we try to problem-solve at high rates of speed. This short article provides great advice about how to slow it down and figure out “what to do when you have no idea what to do.” Don’t panic – read this one here.
4. Is Facebook dead?
Well, that may be a bit much. But many have noticed a decidedly different tone when scrolling through their newsfeeds on the planet’s most popular social media site. Photos of weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, and anniversaries have taken a back seat to political ranting and raving. Is that changing the Facebook environment and user experience? In a piece in The Federalist, writer Bethany Mandel lays out her logic. Check it out here.
5. The politics of Super Bowl ads
To prepare you for the game, there seems to be a different tone in many of the $5 million ads that will air tonight. Interestingly, politics is a theme this year (perhaps at halftime, too). This may signify that the accepted norms of content and marketing may be changing. As ad pro Jason Sperling notes, “If you are not creating something that transcends the 50 other ads in the Super Bowl, then you are wasting your money.” Read the LA Times story here.
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Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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