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For the past several years, momentum has been building as more and more organizations — recognizing public expectations that they take steps to address social and environmental issues in the wake of declining trust in other institutions — articulate strong positions on issues ranging from climate change to transgender rights. Then came the leak of the U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion decision, indicating the Court will overturn 50 years of precedent with Roe v. Wade. The response from the corporate world has been tepid. In this monthly long-form episode, Neville and Shel look at the few organizations that have spoken out and how some are taking internal measures rather than public-facing positions, while most remain silent.

As if that’s not enough heavy discussion, we also spend time looking at the culpability of social media that provide access to live-streamed footage of hatred-motivated mass shootings, from Christchurch to Buffalo.

Also in this episode:

• A Facebook executive has released an 8,000-word analysis of the metaverse, arguing that Meta can’t own it, and nor can anyone else
• The hybrid work model that many companies have adopted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic means an end to many employees being forced to participate in mandatory “fun” activities. Is that a good thing?
• New research finds that employees are experiencing notification fatigue, and it’s worse than Zoom fatigue or email fatigue
• There’s a correlation between a CEO’s reputation and that of the brands in their companies
• Dan York’s report focuses on TikTok, including a spate of new features and a look at some of the video-sharing app’s plans

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, June 20. 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:

• Meta Won’t Build a Dedicated Metaverse After All, Exec Says
• Making the Metaverse: What It Is, How It Will Be Build, and Why It Matters
• Nick Clegg’s Twitter Stream Introducing His Metaverse Treatise
• The Death of Mandatory Fun in the Office
• Zoom Revamps Apps with new Features As Companies Move Past Work From Home Policies
• Notification Fatigue is Tanking Productivity, Report Says
• After Buffalo Shooting Video Spreads, Social Platforms Face Questions
• Buffalo Gunman Clips Proliferate Online
• Facebook Notice that Buffalo Gunman Video Doesn’t Violate Community Standards
• Online hate under scrutiny after Buffalo shooter streamed massacre on Twitch
• Facebook and Twitter Still Can’t Contain the Buffalo Shooting Video
• Social media platforms still can’t stop mass shooting videos from going viral
• Social platforms’ Buffalo shooting response called inadequate
• The Enduring Afterlife of a Mass Shooting’s Livestream Online
• Controversial Livestreams Highlight the Brand Safety Pressure that Persists on Social Media
• Buffalo shooting: Sites yank videos faster, but not by much
• Texas Social Media Law Reinstated
• On Roe v Wade, Big Companies Already Have a Precedent for Action
• Bumble, OK Cupid, and Yelp: Why They’re Defending Roe v Wade
• Publicis and IPG Will Pay for Travel for Abortions for US Employees
• Major companies stay mum on thorny abortion issue — for now
• What Corporate PR Can Learn from Political Communications
• CEOs are one of the most ‘underrated’ marketing tools, study finds
• Elon Musk: Reputation Analysis
• Crazy Aviators: The Eerie Similarities Between Billionaire Howard Hughes And Elon Musk

Links from Dan York’s Tech Report

• FIR #255: How TikTok Makes Spreadsheets Cool – FIR Podcast Network
• TikTok introduces its first ad product to offer a revenue share with creators | TechCrunch
• TikTok Pulse: bringing brands closer to community and entertainment | TikTok Newsroom
• TikTok’s new ad product gives creators a chance to partner with marketers on branded content | TechCrunch
• Introducing TikTok Branded Mission: Inspiring Brand and Creator Collaborations | TikTok Newsroom
• Introducing more ways to tag and credit your favorite creators | TikTok Newsroom
• TikTok Adds Video-Crediting Features After Black Creator Backlash – Variety
• TikTok rolls out new ‘Friends’ tab to more users, replacing the current ‘Discover’ tab | TechCrunch
• EXCLUSIVE TikTok plans big push into gaming, conducting tests in Vietnam — sources | Reuters
• YouTube’s player gains new features including Most Replayed, Video Chapters, Single Loop and more | TechCrunch
• YouTube is testing ads on its short-form answer to TikTok, Shorts | The Verge
• Meta says Reels now makes up over 20% of the time users spend on Instagram | TechCrunch
• What’s Coming in WordPress 6.0 (Features and Screenshots)
• What’s New in WordPress 6.0: New Blocks, Style Switching, Template Editing, Webfonts API, and Much More

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