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The days are getting shorter. The air is getting colder. In spite of the emotional turmoil of the change of seasons, there’s something about the freshness and energy in the air this time of year that makes me feel motivated and alive! How about you?

Give this song by Pearl Jam a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…

The (premature?) death of social media

Email is dead. Outbound is dead. Social Media is dead?

I hate when the media piles on and says a marketing tactic is ‘dead.’ Every year there’s a new one – it’s all about sensationalizing.

Social media has been with us for nearly 20 years and in that time, it’s transformed the way we communicate – though not always for the better (Twitter mob, I’m looking at you).

Disinformation, nefarious algorithmic manipulation, and trolls make much of the social media universe hard to like. That’s why some people are working on new concepts that promise to free us from all that.

One such idea is “recommendation media”, which seeks to create a more positive and meaningful experience. This video from the MusicBiz channel explains it. Hint: This explains why TikTok is so popular.

How does this impact B2B? Have I got a little story for you… it’s all about getting the right message in front of the right person at the right time, right? Is it time to get your TikTok marketing strategy developed?

Forcing users to adopt Spotify

If there’s one thing computer users hate it’s being told what applications to use or being forced to use apps they don’t want. Now there’s evidence that Microsoft is mysteriously installing Spotify on Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs.

Some users report that the Spotify icon is showing up unbidden in the Taskbar. Such installs aren’t without precedent, either. The Microsoft Store has been known to give you apps you didn’t ask for.

A bug? Hardly. This could be a security flaw. Makes you think of the time Apple forced a U2 album on all iTunes users.

I already have Spotify on all my devices, so I won’t be affected by this particular unwanted installation. Have you seen this happen to your PC? Have you seen something like this happen in B2B?

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello!

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat