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Scott Monty joins FIR host Shel Holtz to discuss Spotify’s acquisition of Gimlet Media and Anchor.fm, as well as Periscope’s new audio call-in feature. Also in this episode:

• Tik Tok is a threat to Snapchat and Twitter; meanwhile, brands are figuring out how to make it fit in their social media toolkits
• Facebook Pages can now join Facebook Groups
• After 15 years, on balance, has Facebook been good or bad for the world?
• Instagram will inject IGTV video clips in your primary feed
• Twitter reveals its daily active users, and it isn’t pretty
• Artificial Intelligence for writing copy is getting common in newsrooms; can PR and marketing be far behind?
• An Alexa update means marketers will have to optimize email for voice
• Dan York’s report looks at the Spotify/Gimlet deal, more from Twitter’s earnings call, Spotify’s fight against ad blockers, Germany’s order to Facebook, and one reporter’s attempt to cut the big five from her life (it was hell)

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 Scott Monty

Scott Monty is an internationally recognized Fortune 10 leader whose background in classics positioned him to see through the shiny objects and drill down to understand the common human needs from throughout history that still drive us all. Scott speaks to and advises executives on understanding trends while embracing the timeless wisdom of human nature through classical literature, philosophy, and history. Scott spent six years as an executive at Ford Motor Company, where he helped turn the company around with an uncanny ability to merge technology with humanity. He served as a strategic adviser across a variety of business functions, leading the company’s global social media strategy. He also has a another decade and a half of experience in communications and marketing agencies. Scott’s clients have included Walmart, IBM, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and Google, and The Economist ranked him as #1 atop the list of 25 Social Business Leaders. He is a past board member of the American Marketing Association, a trustee of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and an adviser for a number of Silicon Valley companies. He writes about the changing landscape of business, technology, communications, marketing and leadership at ScottMonty.com, and produces the widely acclaimed weekly newsletter and podcast The Full Monty.

Links from this episode:

• Google releases Chrome extension to check for leaked usernames and passwords
• How TikTok is climbing the download charts, taking on Snapchat and Twitter
• Facebook Finally Lets Brands And Publishers into Groups
• Has Facebook been good for the world?
• Instagram will put IGTV videos in your feed
• In a First, Twitter Tells Brands How Many Users It Has
• Subscription startup Scroll acquires news aggregator Nuzzel
• The Rise of the Robot Reporter
• Alexa Updates Imply Marketers Must Now Consider How Emails Sound
• Spotify’s podcast acquisitions will bring a lot of money into a tiny industry
• What Spotify’s $230 Million Gimlet Deal Means for the Podcast Industry
• Spotify Buys Podcast Startups Gimlet Media and Anchor, Plans Up to $500M in Acquisitions in 2019
• Periscope’s latest feature turns your broadcast into a radio talk show

Links from Dan York’s Report:

• Twitter keeps losing monthly users, so it’s going to stop sharing how many
• Spotify buys podcast producer Gimlet Media, sources say for ~$230M, and Anchor, a startup which makes it easier for users to record and distribute podcasts
• Audio-First
• What Spotify needs in order to become a great podcast app
• Anchor is joining Spotify
• Spotify bans ad blockers in updated Terms of Service
• Spotify’s new Terms of Service, which go into effect on March 1, will give Spotify the authority to immediately terminate accounts that use ad blockers
• Germany orders Facebook to stop combining data from WhatsApp, Instagram, and third-party sites with data in a user’s main Facebook account without their consent
• Bundeskartellamt prohibits Facebook from combining user data from different sources
• Why We Disagree With the Bundeskartellamt
• Facebook ordered by Germany to gather and mix less data
• I Cut the ‘Big Five’ Tech Giants From My Life. It Was Hell

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