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This week, host Shel Holtz talks about weird brand Twitter accounts with Stone Temple Consulting (which has just been acquired by Perficient Digital) Senior Marketing Consultant Doug Haslam, and with internal communications thought leader Mark Dollins about communicating with employees when gig-economy workers are part of the mix. Also in this episode…

• Net, social media, and device adoption have plateaued.
• Teens are (still) abandoning Facebook.
• Google is looking more and more like a social network, and it’s on purpose.
• Amazon wants to own the brands you buy from when you shop on Amazon.
• Alexa has connected your printer, taxis, and other stuff to its skills.
• You can repurpose your Alexa Flash Briefings for use on Facebook and other sites.
• Bill Gates is behind a new recommendation engine.
• IC Kollectif is out with an important report on internal communications.
• Dan York’s Tech Report covers an upcoming DNS root key change, an Inclusive Design event, all kinds of updates on WordPress 5.0, and Instagram’s new version of Snapcodes.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog.

About this week’s conversation partners

Mark Dollins is president of North Star Communications Consulting, a consultancy with core capabilities in communications talent development and in employee/change communications strategy. Mark’s previous corporate experience spans more than 30 years with Fortune 500 companies. It includes serving as head of Executive & Global Employee Communications for DuPont. Mark previously spent 17 years in executive communication leadership roles with PepsiCo. He was SVP and Chief Communications Officer at Pepsi Beverages and PepsiCo Americas Foods; and SVP of global internal communications, among other senior corporate roles. His career with PepsiCo followed 10 years in the energy sector, running Corporate Communications for Northern Indiana Public Service Company, and leading employee communications for Indiana Michigan Power/American Electric Power. Mark began his career in broadcast and print journalism, working with ABC NewsHe currently serves on the national advisory council of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, served for eight years on LSU’s journalism advisory board for the Manship School of Communications, and holds a seat on The Conference Board’s Change & Transformation Council.

Doug Haslam’s career has spanned a variety of disciplines within the communications field: radio technology, editorial production, public relations, marketing, social media and digital. Currently a senior consultant with Stone Temple Consulting, , which has just been acquired by Perficient Digital, Doug began with public radio, producing news and thoughtful sports programs, moving into technology public relations, and currently to social media and content strategy for brands of all sizes and industries. Doug’s love of media has come full circle, as his most recent positions have seen him taking full advantage of his content creation skills, managing social media and brand publishing programs for a wide variety of clients.

Links from this week’s episode

• Internet, social media use and device ownership in U.S. have plateaued after years of growth
• Attention Brands: Young Americans Are Breaking Up With Facebook
• Why Google Search Is Starting To Look More Like Social Media
• Secret Amazon brands are quietly taking over Amazon.com
• Death of the Industrial Advertising Complex
• Steak-umm’s new marketing strategy: millennial angst with a side of meat puns
• The Uneasy Comfort Of Brands On Twitter
• Amazon Echo: Your Alexa skills just got a whole lot smarter
• How to Repurpose Audio Content for Social Media and Beyond
• Bill Gates’ new recommendation engine
• If 20-30 percent of your workforce consisted of contractors, would you change how you communicate with them?
• The Next Level: Why IC Kollectif’s latest report is important
• The Next Level: Global IC Report

Links from Dan York’s Report

• DNS Root Key change on October 11
• Inclusive Design event on October 11
• A Plan for WordPress 5.0
• A Technical Overview of Gutenberg Integration into WordPress
• Proposed WordPress 5.0 Scope and Schedule
• Instagram’s Nametags: A New Way to Connect with Friends on Instagram

About Shel Holtz

Shel Holtz, ABC (Accredited Business Communicator), is director of Internal Communications at Webcor, a commercial general contractor headquartered in San Francisco. Before joining Webcor, Shel spent 21 years as principal of Holtz Communication + Technology. In addition to integrating technology into communications strategies, his expertise includes strategic communications planning, change management, organizational culture, business initiatives and communications research. Full bio