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In the April edition of The Hobson and Holtz Report, Neville and Shel discuss these stories:

• The advertising industry weighs in on an Ogilvy policy banning influencers from photoshopping their images
• A metaverse company plans to offer a form of immortality with its “Live Forever” mode
• Coca-Cola is offering a limited-edition drink that tastes like pixels and includes a Fortnite code
• Corporate America seemed bound for a more purposeful existence. Has it all fallen by the wayside?
• Elon Musk believes in unfettered free speech, a key reason he wants to buy Twitter. Is it a good thing?
• Research reveals consumers care more about how a company donates than how much

Dan York’s Tech Report covers how the Russian war against Ukraine is splintering the Internet (along with other tech-related fallout from the invasion); Wikipedia’s decision to stop accepting cryptocurrency donations; how much Jack Dorsey’s first tweet — initially purchased as an NFT for $48 million — attracted in an auction; the state of the Ethereum merge; TikTok’s rollout of AR capabilities; Spotify’s rebranding of its Clubhouse clone; and more.

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, May 23, 2022. FIR “shorts” — episodes under 15 minutes — will be available several times each week.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to fircomments@gmail.com.

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

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is available, as well.

Links from this episode:

• Industry weighs in on Ogilvy’s influencer editing policy
• Ogilvy will no longer work with influencers who edit their bodies or faces for ads
• Metaverse Company to Offer Immortality Through ‘Live Forever’ Mode
• A.I. Is Mastering Language. Should We Trust What It Says?
• Coca-Cola’s new limited-edition drink tastes like ‘pixels’ and comes with a Fortnite code
• Coca-Cola’s tweet announcing limited-edition drink
• Nifty News: Meta wants 50% of NFT sales, Coke’s Metaverse flavor, and more
• Coca-Cola animation detailing its metaverse promotion
• Virtual Thirst Winner Announced (YouTube video of Coca-Cola’s 2007 Second Life promotion)
• Is corporate America no longer interested in purposeful business?
• Disney shareholder tells CEO Chapek to stop wasting money on ‘political crusades’
• Disney Fans Want Companies To Oppose ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill—But Not Take Drastic Measures, Poll Finds
• Elon Musk’s bid spotlights Twitter’s unique role in public discourse – and what changes might be in store
• How Free Speech Absolutist Elon Musk Would Transform Twitter
• Elon Musk talks Twitter, Tesla and how his brain works — live at TED2022
• Elon Musk Demonstrates How Little He Understands About Content Moderation
• Giving Back: Consumers Care More About How Companies Donate Than How Much

Links from Dan York’s Tech Report

• What Is the Splinternet? And Why You Should Be Paying Attention
• TikTok created an alternate universe just for Russia
• U.S. and Ukrainian Groups Pierce Putin’s Propaganda Bubble
• Russia VPN usage continues to soar
• Russia Is Leaking Data Like a Sieve
• Wikipedia community votes to stop accepting cryptocurrency donations
• Wikipedia editors don’t want your bitcoin
• ‘Jack Dorsey’s First Tweet’ NFT Went on Sale for $48M. It Ended With a Top Bid of Just $280
• Ethereum Merge No Longer Expected in June
• TikTok is rolling out Effect House, which lets creators make AR effects that others can use in videos, to all users after a closed beta test last fall
• TikTok is testing a “dislike” button in comments
• Instagram upgrades its DM inbox with music sharing, statuses, polls, silent messages and more
• Spotify rebrands companion app Spotify Greenroom as Spotify Live and integrates its live audio capabilities in the main app minus the interactive features

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

About Neville Hobson

Neville Hobson is a communicator, social strategist, consultant, digital change agent, writer, and podcaster. He is co-founder and co-host of the 'For Immediate Release' podcast. Since 2000, his career has focused on working with organisations globally to help them leverage his experiences, knowledge and subject-matter expertise of social networks, social media marketing, analytics and insights reporting, to create and build foundations for authentic engagement and to expand online reach and influence. Full bio