When Elon Musk bought X, the algorithm became a political battleground. With U.S. ownership of TikTok looming, creators worry the same thing could happen again — this time to the “secret sauce” that makes TikTok. If politics shapes algorithms, what happens to culture? digiday.com/marketing/ti...

AI may not “kill” Google, but it’s definitely changing how people search for things online. It’s creating a slow chaos for marketers, like declining web traffic and chatbot optimization. I get the sense marketers are scrambling to keep up.

and I teamed up with @kimekom.bsky.social for this piece on the lack of measurement around brand AI investments digiday.com/marketing/cm...

Meta’s aiming to fully automate ads with AI by 2026 — and creative agencies aren’t exactly shocked. Many are already using AI tools. But questions around job displacement, creative control, and the agency’s evolving role still loom large. I dug into it for @digiday:

TikTok’s deadline is quickly approaching. There are multiple buyers, competition from Pinterest, Snap and Meta and it’s unclear if Trump will extend that deadline again. This time, the TikTok ban has left more questions than answers. What we know so far on the @digidaymedia.bsky.social podcast:

YouTube is really dominating America's TV time. What do y'all watch on YouTube? Which creators are you following?

After Pinterest's first billion-dollar revenue quarter, I sat down with Chief Revenue Officer Bill Watkins to talk about how Pinterest pulled off its play for ad dollars. (Spoiler alert: They banked on performance/lower funnel ad offerings to drive what advertisers care about, which is sales.)

The most interesting part of the AI ad buying domination is this: As much as advertisers say they want transparency, they'll continue to spend as long as it generates sales.

At best, we are gravely misunderstanding the concept of free speech. At worst, that supposed misunderstanding is a feature, not a bug.

I've recently been informed that the car brand Hyundai is pronounced hun-day, like Sunday, and not hi-yun-day, as I've been saying it for the past 30 years.

New: The FTC was set to tackle "surveillance pricing" and "surveillance wages" before Trump took office. Now consumer and worker advocates are taking the battle to the states instead—and four have already introduced bills to ban the practices: wapo.st/4iacqAZ (w/ @laurenkaorigurley.bsky.social)

what are things you do to be more whimsical? every year on new year's day, i tell the same joke and say "i haven't showered since last year." anytime i edit a story and send it back to my editor, i say "see if this shoe fits better."

Storytime: Last week, I was working on an article looking at the impact of DEI's dismantling. I reached out to one of my go-to comms pros to help me line up some interviews. Normally, she has sources. This time, she said no one wants to talk DEI. They're scared. Call it the Trump Effect:

Diversity seems to be the Boogeyman in the DEI shitstorm. But if everyone backs away from the 'D' in DEI, that leaves a watered-down version of past commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. My latest for @digidaymedia.bsky.social here:

"I loved who I became when I baked: a calmer, more precise person who turned raw ingredients into gold. Why, then, did baking seem to make me closer to something I didn’t understand and wasn’t sure I wanted to become, which was a wife?"

If you are someone who works in communications, you should absolutely have your phone number in your email signature. Even if it's just a Google Voice number, you have to give folks an alternative way to contact you during business hours.

Google's third-party cookie phase-out is less of a "long kiss goodnight" and more of a slow, but somehow never-ending death. So if Google's cookie phase-out ever comes, Mars' chief brand officer Rankin Carroll says the snack company has two alternatives: partnerships and, of course, AI.

Super Bowl spots seem to be going the way of seasonal marketing, rolling out earlier and earlier each year. This year's Big Game spots were deemed a bit lackluster. Is the early rollout to blame? @kristinam.bsky.social answers that in this week's Marketing Briefing:

Just saw Kars4Kids take a shot at Drake, following Kendrick's Super Bowl halftime show. Duolingo, I get. Kars4Kids? A nonprofit car donation organization?! ENOUGH.

“How did we fumble remote work so badly?” The sexy answer is middle managers and people who hate their families wanted a return to office. Maybe. But also, there’s an entire ecosystem that is built around in-office work and the commute. In other words, money was at stake.

Another day, another ended set of diversity goals.

So many people thought TikTok would be the so-called second screen for the Super Bowl last year, replacing X. Then came the TikTok ban. I talked to marketers and strategists to see what becomes the second screen this year, and it seems there's no definitive answer.

Here's what's interesting about the DEI walk-backs: On one hand, retailers are tapering down their commitments to DE&I. But on the other, they're still spending with multicultural marketing agencies. As my mother would say, "They're talking out both sides of their mouths."

Macy's has abruptly ended its tuition-free college program for employees less than three years after it launched. Shows how much the landscape has changed for retail workers over the last few years—companies no longer feel the need to offer these perks. www.modernretail.co/operations/m...

Justice Impacted This personal essay from an Atlanta mom describes her devastation after the judge she helped elect detained her son without bond or trial Read the full story: https://buff.ly/40ohc6G

There is so much focus on the presidential election that more local happenings are often second-thought. This is a stark reminder to prioritize both. This is a gut-wrenching, devastating read, but a vital look at the justice system in Atlanta from the perspective of the city's homegrown voices.

Adding “I don’t know if it’s true or not” before sharing something doesn’t absolve you of spreading misinformation or disinformation. Either confirm with a legitimate news site or simply don’t share if you’re unsure.

i hope everyone who starts meetings with cameras off on default is having a good day.

Linear TV is dying and marketers seem to think sports is the last man standing. That means there's a gold rush and it's getting harder for ads to stand out, even for a massive brand like Verizon. I caught up with Verizon's VP of partnerships Nick Kelly to talk about how they're adjusting.

Saw someone refer to Barnes & Noble as the Applebee's of book stores and I've been giggling ever since.

A "wild episode from the gold rush known as retail media advertising" that's worth reading if you're into that kind of thing.

TikTok now says it is "in the process of restoring service"

Oh. I guess I should read a book or something.

I think this ties into a broader narrative around all of renting space from our digital landlords, finding a new spot whenever the rent goes up. I do wonder if any of this will fast-track interest in the fediverse, physical media or other spaces you can own more easily.

Stanley wasn't the only brand with a "TikTok Made Me Buy It" moment. So many companies went viral on TikTok, launching them into a new realm of success. With the TikTok ban only days away, I caught up with a few of them to see what a future without the For You Page looks like. Read here:

This final season of TikTok reminds me A LOT of when Twitter got rid of Fleets and everyone immediately posted their thirstiest thirst traps.

Amanda's stories are always so good. I've been thinking a lot about the decline of legacy brands, like Nike and Gap, and who's responsible turning those companies around. There's a similar phenomenon happening in marketing--brand storytelling versus performance marketing.

Last week, Amazon, Meta, Publicis Groupe and McDonald’s joined the growing list of companies to revamp (or roll back, depending on who you ask) their DE&I policies. Some say it's just the evolution of business, but the timing makes these announcements interesting. digiday.com/marketing/de...

I want to point out that what’s happening with Meta, Walmart and McDonald’s DEI rollbacks coincides with DEI practitioners being laid off, fired in the name of company restructuring and budget constraints. These are many of the same people that were hired in response to George Floyd protests.

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is terminating major DEI programs, effective immediately

Monoculture on social media doesn’t really exist anymore. We all live in separate corners of the internet, but there are only so many dollars to chase audiences around online. My latest for Digiday:

We’re about to see the “Muskification” of social media, I fear.

Ah, 2024, the year that nearly every brand realized the potential of an ad network. The thinking seems to go, if everyone else has one — and they’re getting the additional revenue from ad dollars — why shouldn’t my brand have one too? h/t @kristinam.bsky.social

“You can continue to compete in a diminishing market, or you can go on offense and you can go after where the growth is. We have to be fishing in the ponds where the growth is.”

Over the weekend, I celebrated something big. Saturday marked my 4th work anniversary with Digiday. It's the longest I've stayed anywhere, which really speaks to how I feel about the amazing group of folks I work with. Grateful for it all. Here’s to more storytelling 🫶

Between Meta's AI slop problem and now Fable's AI-generated books in review fiasco, are we ready to admit that AI has still not delivered its promise to improve things? Not to mention, it's a crushing weight on the environment.

NEW: Meta tells me that it is deleting the AI profiles that are currently going viral, and that there is "confusion" about these versus what is to come in the future. A few of them are being deleted as we speak: www.404media.co/metas-ai-pro...

CNBC unveils its firm streaming plans as it prepares to be spun off, along with several other cable networks from NBCUniversal.

Thursdays should not feel like Mondays.

“The board went further in its recommendation to vote against the proposal, saying the think tank is masking its true anti-diversity agenda under the guise of reducing risk.” www.cnn.com/2024/12/27/b...