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Happy Diwali to those celebrating! This week Susan is joined by Shelagh Cummins, founder and CEO of The Road to Seven.
Apple x BBC podcast subscription service
This week Apple is in the news for its subscription podcast service. They are partnering with BBC studios to bring exclusive content to North America – a channel that will give listeners access to shows that were previously only available in the UK.
Generally the big companies are wary of putting a price on something that’s so readily available and free so we’re interested to see how this plays out. It comes down to knowing the purpose of your podcast – if your podcast is made for lead generation, you don’t want to create a barrier to the listener. Or maybe the actual podcast subscription is the goal itself, so really think about where your podcast fits into your funnel. It could be a low cost way of delivering a very intimate experience to your audience. Remember the flywheel – always take it up to the next level!
Oprah is one of our favourite things
This time of year is Oprah territory – the Favourite Things list for 2021 . This year has not let us down with a delicious list of awesome things, categorized by the type of gift and, for the first time, presented by Amazon. So while this isn’t really helping the small business owner, good on Amazon for stepping in and creating that partnership. Sometimes you have to knock on the doors of the big guys – take a chance and see where you get!
Putting lipstick on a pig?
We wouldn’t want to spare Shelagh some Facebook talk! The big announcement last week was the rebranding of Facebook to the new name Meta, and the new all-in approach to the Metaverse. They have also decided to shut down facial recognition program, which many of us didn’t even know about. Something that we feel should have been switched up is the leadership. Out with Zuck! Mark Zuckerberg has broken our trust over and over and should no longer be the face of the company. Facebook has forgotten that they are in business because of people and they have been putting dollars ahead of the people that support their platform.
Microsoft jumps on the Metaverse bandwagon
Microsoft making moves in the metaverse direction – Microsoft Teams is now including avatars. Shelagh wonders if this trend is based on new technology or simply laziness. Her thought is that anyone masking a part of themselves – be it a different background covering up a messy office or leaving your camera off because you’re not appropriately dressed for the meeting – is just hiding. This undermines the purpose of the meeting if it is to create connection with another human being. If you’re choosing to connect “face to face”, why not give them the true you?
Disney Diversity
Disney’s new holiday ad is out and continues the story of Lola’s granddaughter Nicole from last year’s ad as a grownup. It’s a very realistic and relatable story in our society, and discusses the integration of a stepdad into his new family, which happens to be biracial. This stepdad has to find his place within old and new traditions.
We love that Disney has made some decisions to be front facing with the diversity in the ad but we want to make sure they’re also looking behind the scenes, following up, and making sure that there is also diversity on their leadership team and backing up their message.
Black Wall Street Market
The new Black Wall Street Market in Stonecrest, Georgia has opened up in an homage to the righting of wrongs that occurred when the original market in Tulsa, Oklahoma was destroyed by white mobs 100 years ago. People travelled miles and miles to show support and celebrate the moment. Wares ranged from books to clothes to arts to food with over 10,000 people showing up for the incredibly successful grand opening.
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