Interesting Reads. Industry news that you may have missed.
The votes are in: Alexa loses her voice but Amazon wins USA TODAY’s Ad Meter – USA Today
Amazon’s Alexa commercial was voted the top ad of the Super Bowl. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, as himself, is reassured by his staff that replacements of Alexa are ready. Among those who try — and spectacularly fail — to fill Alexa’s virtual vocal cords are Gordon Ramsay, Rebel Wilson, Cardi B, and Sir Anthony Hopkins. The NFL came in a close second, featuring Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr., recreating a spot-on parody of the Patrick Swayze-Jennifer Grey dance scene from the movie Dirty Dancing.
YouTube Takes Aim at Conspiracies, Propaganda – The Wall Street Journal
YouTube has come under fire for spreading misinformation online. The video-sharing giant plans to provide users with more context for videos promoting conspiracy theories or state-sponsored content. This latest effort will now label all videos coming from what YouTube identifies as state-funded broadcasters, a category that would include even the U.S.’s Public Broadcasting Service or PBS.
SocialRank is making it easier to suss out fake Twitter and Instagram followers – Fast Company
Analytic tools for social media are essential to learning why certain posts and accounts garner followers, and who is engaging with what content. The analytic tool, Social Rank, added a new feature that allows customers to analyze individual Twitter and Instagram posts more deeply – to quickly discover which accounts are automated dead weight. With fake followers gaining more attention in the wake of a recent New York Times article about the issue, these tools can help account managers figure out which of their followers are authentic.
Embark’s self-driving truck completes 2,400 mile cross-U.S. trip – TechCrunch
Embark’s autonomous truckTechCrunchion just completed a coast-to-coast trip from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, FL. The cross-country trip covered 2,400 miles over five days, and included a safety driver on board behind the wheel, ready to take over control if needed. The company expects to take the trip to two days travel in total, once the technology is ready and cleared to run on its own.
Ban These 5 Words From Your Corporate Values Statement – Harvard Business Review
Having a set of core values that function as the “operating instructions” of every organization is practically essential. The goal of establishing the principles is to inform, inspire, and instruct the day-to-day behaviors of employees. When re-defining core values, no matter if the company is a large enterprise or a small business, B2B or a B2C, product or service, new or established, these are the five core values to ban.
