Digital Marketing News with Site Strategics
For this week’s digital marketing news coverage, Site Strategics CEO Erin Sparks was joined by special guest Max Yoder, CEO and co-founder of Lessonly. Here’s the news roundup from Episode 312 of the award-winning EDGE of the Web:
Smart Speaker Usage Continues to Climb
From Matt Southern on Search Engine Journal: 72% of People Have Used Voice Search Through a Digital Assistant in 2019. And 75% of households will have at least one smart speaker by 2020.
- Erin Sparks: The expected penetration of smart speakers into 75% of households by 2020 is just amazing. We’ve got two or three smart speakers in the building here, and I’ve got five of them at home – one in each of the kids’ rooms. We can page them to come down to dinner. Maybe we’re just lazy.
- Max Yoder: I do have a smart speaker, and I’m scared of them. It’s the Internet connection part of the equation that scares me. So the way we do it is that when the speakers aren’t on, Alexa isn’t on either.
- Erin Sparks: More stats from the article include 35% of people have used voice search through a smart home speaker. What are they searching for? 68% of people say they search for quick facts, 65% of people say they look up directions, 52% of people say they search for a product or service, 44% of people say they conduct additional research for products and services, and 31% of people say they use voice search to compare products and services. All that activity is monitored and you can bet it will be monetized at some point in time. And when I say it’s monitored, I mean it. My wife and I had a conversation in the back yard about pool filters, and the smart speaker overheard and sure enough, ads started popping up through Amazon for pool filters! We didn’t ask for that, but it happened. But the speed of the adoption rate for smart speakers is just incredible.
- MaxYoder: I always wonder when something comes so fast if it will also disappear as fast. I guess time will tell.
Facebook Expects Biggest Data Breach Fine Ever
On The Hustle, Wes Schlagenhauf reports that Facebook is expects to receive the largest-ever fine for a data breach in the US. The fine could be anywhere in the range of $3-$5 billion. Then again, to put that figure in perspective, Facebook has annual revenues of $56 billion, so the fine would represent less than two weeks of what the company rakes in. Some have characterized it as little more than a slap on the wrist, or likened it to a parking ticket.
- Erin Sparks: The FTC’s largest fine against a tech company before was a mere $22 million.
- Max Yoder: That’s a big jump.
- Erin Sparks: And yet it’s really not that significant to Facebook, so will it really have an effect on their behavior?
- Max Yoder: I think a value-based approach is kind of the answer here. How much would the company have to pay to solve this problem? Value-based fining would make sure the fine is substantial enough to force a real change in their behavior. If it doesn’t hurt then it’s not doing the job.
Can Byte Topple TikTok?
Also from Matt Southern on Search Engine Journal: Byte, the Follow-Up to Vine, Begins Sending Out Beta Invites. Will this reboot be able to unseat TikTok’s stronghold?
- Erin Sparks: For the uninitiated, Vine was a platform where you created 6-second videos that would then play on a loop. People were incredibly creative with their six seconds of video.
- Max Yoder: You know how people say sometimes imposing constraints can foster creativity? Well, Vine was a great example of that. The level of creativity in the 6-second videos people made was amazing. I have to say everything I saw on Vine brought me a lot of joy. It seemed like there was a lot of joy there.
- Erin Sparks: Byte is going to be a true reboot of Vine, which a lot of people have asked for. That’s impressive in and of itself, right? Usually, you see total atrophy with some platforms, like how the user base for Snapchat totally flatlined after its IPO. Twitter shut down Vine two years ago and yet the voices calling for its return have been loud and clear ever since then.
Connect with Max Yoder, CEO and Co-Founder of Lessonly
Twitter: @MaxYoder (https://twitter.com/maxyoder)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxyoder
Max’s posts on Lessonly: https://www.lessonly.com/blog/author/lessonly
Max’s book: Do Better Work: Finding clarity, camaraderie, and progress in work and life
Lessonly Twitter: @lessonly (https://twitter.com/lessonly)
Lessonly Facebook: @lessonlyapp (https://www.facebook.com/lessonlyapp)
Lessonly website: https://www.lessonly.com
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