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In this week’s edition of #IPRMustKnow, we discuss:

• It is the end of an era. Neville Hobson hangs up the podcasting kit after a decade on air. 
• Spin really does suck when apps are called “social sharing,” but they really are shrewd business owners, you know we’re in trouble.
• Facebook has been approved for a patent that will allow lenders to review the commercial credit score of your friends before approving you for a loan.

And the main topic of this week’s show…

With the news of Zirtual closing shop, seemingly overnight, Gawker taking down stories, the Reddit interim CEO stepping down based on the social media mob, and journalists writing stories that just aren’t based in fact, Vox is claiming the Internet is dead.

Here is what they have to say:

What links these seemingly dissimilar stories is a very basic fear — the idea that the internet as we knew it, the internet of five or 10 or 20 years ago, is going away as surely as print media, replaced by a new internet that reimagines personal identity as something easily commodified, that plays less on the desire for information or thoughtfulness than it does the desire for a quick jolt of emotion.

It’s an internet driven not by human beings, but by content, at all costs. And none of us — neither media professionals, nor readers — can stop it. Every single one of us is building it every single day.

We encourage you to read the Vox piece, listen to the episode, and come back here to discuss.

We’d love to hear from you.

A version of this first appeared on Inside PR.

About Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago-based integrated marketing communications firm. She is the lead blogger at Spin Sucks and is the founder of Spin Sucks Pro. She is the co-author of Marketing in the Round and co-host of Inside PR. Full bio

About Joe Thornley

Joseph Thornley, co-host of Inside PR, is CEO of Thornley Fallis and founder of 76engage. He is a past Chair of the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms. Full bio

About Martin Waxman

Martin Waxman, MCM, APR, is a digital, social media, and communications strategist and LinkedIn Learning instructor. He conducts AI research, leads social media workshops, and teaches digital strategy. He writes a Digital Marketing Trends newsletter on LinkedIn, is one of the hosts of the Inside PR podcast and can be found on Twitter @martinwaxman. Full bio