The global response to Covid 19 continues to be the single biggest topic. However, Social Asset Management points the way to an AI future with an impressive funding round, AMEC releases its shortlist, Twitter acts of misinformation and print media is in significant decline.
Social Asset Management raises $CAD 3.6 Million
Social Asset Management (SAM), a Canadian start-up which analyzes open and connected data sources to spot early signals of emerging risks and potentially threatening situations, has raised $CAD3.6 million. The Associated Press is among investors in the company and have been using the tool to “to surface fast, accurate signals of breaking news around the world.”
AMEC Awards shortlist
In the first week of June we should have been packing our bags and heading to Vienna to join AMEC’s annual summit. But, the event this year will now be in July and virtual. The AMEC Award winners will also be announced in July and this week the shortlist was released. Congratulations to all the shortlisted nominees across an incredible 22 categories.
Ethics in communications
The European Communication Monitor has released its 2020 report. The study is based on responses from 2,324 communication professionals in 44 countries. Communicators expressed a growing sense of unease around ethics in public relations. Among the elements that caused concern were the use of big data analytics, bots and employee’s personal social media accounts to promote company messages. The report is always a good read.
Print media on the decline (yes, still)
The current Covid-19 induced financial crisis is seeing quick changes to the print media landscape. In Australia, News Corp will cease printing 112 regional newspapers. Bauer Media announced that it was closing 7 Australian titles (just days after acquiring Pacific Magazines). In the UK, Bauer is reviewing the future of 10 titles, as well as its radio business. In South Africa, Caxton & CTP Publishers & Printers announced a raft of magazine closures including Bona and Farmer’s Weekly, while Associated Media Publishers, which published Cosmopolitan amongst other titles, announced its closure. In the US, local newspapers are under significant strain. While Google might be offering a lifeline to local media, the rate of change is significant and likely to continue.
Twitter adds a misinformation tag
We first flagged Twitter’s intentions back in February but the company has now introduced new labels that provide context and information on some Tweets containing disputed or misleading information. Initially, the messages were related to Covid-19 misinformation, but have now been applied to other content. The platform update was very much in the news after it applied tags to two of President Trump’s tweets. Twitter has responded to the President’s criticism, as has Facebook, but Trump is looking to regulate social media platforms. This is a story that will take some time to come to a conclusion and social media aggregators will need to maintain a close eye on changes to regulation.
Forrester looks at Influencer Marketing
Forrester has released its latest look at Influence Marketing Solutions. The Forrester New Wave™: Influencer Marketing Solutions, Q2 2020 report places AspireIQ, Mavrck, and CreatorIQ as its leaders. The 10 largest vendors earned more than $200 million in net revenue in 2019, with average year-on-year growth greater than 80% from 2018 vendors. However, the report flags that vendors are not hugely differentiated, and that key to success is the ability to guide customers on what great strategy and execution looks like.
Response to Covid-19
The industry is continuing to respond to Covid-19, providing support, insight and data to customers. We covered some of the ways that the industry is supporting customers over the last couple of months, and here are some more fantastic examples. Alva is producing some brilliant daily and weekly insight reporting. Symanto has been tracking the impact of Covid-19 on mental health via Twitter conversations. Reputation.com has a range of posts on how to manage reputation during the pandemic.
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