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Futurum senior analyst Olivier Blanchard joins FIR host Shel Holtz to talk about how AI can improve the results of A/B testing (and other things). Also on this week’s episode:

• Recurring video series are gaining viewers on IGTV
• Farewell, Carma, after some 14 years as an FIR sponsor
• Ticketmaster has a scandal on its hands. But is it a PR nightmare?
• Amazon is investigating employees who accepted bribes to manipulate data
• Meet the newest social network, TripAdvisor
• Want to get paid for recommending products? There’s an app for that
• Ad campaigns do better with AI
• Legislators wonder if AI could violate your civil rights
• Walmart is rolling out VR training to all employees
• A VR lounge has opened at JFK’s Terminal 4
• American Airlines explains the rationale for decisions to employees via a podcast
• Some companies are bowing out of podcasting
• A student is making $10,000 a month with Alexa skills
• Split-screen design is a growing trend
• The love-hate relationship with the hamburger icon
• The Nike boycott is over, thanks in part to its polarizing effect on customers
• Consumers are demanding better treatment of women and minorities from companies
• Media, entertainment, and consumer brands are banding together to get out the vote
• A 10-state strike by McDonald’s employees over sexual harassment is a values blow to the burger chain

Also, Dan York reports from Panama on Twitter’s new chronological timeline option, a Mastodon podcast, Mozilla’s VR browser, Amazon’s Echo announcements, and the Gutenberg editor.

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 Olivier Blanchard

Olivier Blanchard is a French-born, American-based Brand Management and Digital Marketing consultant, the author of two best-selling books, and an acclaimed keynote speaker. As a Senior Analyst with Futurum Research, Olivier helps organizations better understand the crucial role that emerging technologies like Cloud computing, Big Data, Virtualization, Augmented Reality, Smart Automation, IoT and AI will play their industries and markets over the next 10 to 20 years. Though based in the US, his geographic range extends beyond North America to Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. Olivier is the author of the best-selling #1 social business desk reference for digital managers and business executives: Social Media ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts In Your Organization (Que/Pearson). Olivier is also a sought-after subject-matter expert and corporate trainer.

Links from this episode

• Instagram’s IGTV sees growing popularity of episodic videos
• ‘A public relations nightmare’: Ticketmaster recruits pros for secret scalper program
• Amazon investigates claims staff sold customer data, wiped poor reviews for a fee
• TripAdvisor Is Turning Itself Into a Social Platform for Travel Lovers
• App will pay you for product recommendations
• The robot revolution is coming
• Is A/B Testing Still an Effective Tool for Marketers?
• Ad industry leans into machine learning
• Senators are asking whether artificial intelligence could violate US civil rights laws
• Walmart to Launch Nation-wide VR Training Program with Over 17,000 Oculus Headsets
• JFK Airport Unveils New VR Experience
• American Airlines gives employees (and the public) a peek at its decision-making one podcast at a time
• In crowded field, some media companies sour on podcasts
• This 22-year-old college student makes $10,000 a month off Amazon’s Alexa
• Split Screen Design: The Trend That Keeps Growing
• Loving & Hating the Hamburger Icon
• #NikeBoycott Is Over. Why Retail Activism Rarely Changes Sales.
• How brands can benefit from polarization
• Media, entertainment and consumer brands band together to ‘advance civic engagement’ before US election
• Consumers are pushing brands to deliver on innovation and ethical responsibility
• The Simple Request of the McDonald’s Anti–Sexual Harassment Protests

Links from Dan York’s Report

• Twitter will soon let you switch between chronological and ranked feeds
• Join the federation? Mastodon awaits (Mastodon podcast)
• Mozilla releases Firefox Reality, its web browser for VR
• Here’s everything Amazon announced at its huge September event
• Here’s everything Amazon announced Thursday, from microwave to subwoofer to Alexa capabilities
• DrupalGutenberg.org
• Drupal Gutenberg Project
• GutenbergCloud.org
• Gutenberg Cloud: A Cross-Platform Community Library for Custom Gutenberg Blocks
• Gutenberg Cloud project tweet
• The Mission: Democratise Publishing
• Gutenberg Showcase: Custom WordPress Blocks for Amnesty International, by Big Bite

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