Verification Training for Journalists

Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and  Public Policy has launched a free one-hour online course to provide journalists and academics with verification skills to authenticate what they see online. To access the course, see this link: Free Online Course on Identifying Misinformation. Also watch the video below.

Instagram and Brands

 Having passed the 800 million user mark in September, Instagram recently passed another milestone on its quest to become a platform that connects brands with customers. As the company announced last week, there are now more than 25 million business profiles on Instagram, up from 15 million in July. Considering that Instagram only launched these profiles along with other business tools in June 2016, these numbers clearly indicate that brands are embracing Instagram as a new way to connect with consumers. And it appears to be working: as of March 2017, 80 percent of Instagram’s users followed a business, and in November, 200 million Instagrammers visited a business profile every day.

Getting businesses on board is a crucial stepping stone to monetizing a platform such as Instagram, because it increases its acceptance among professionals and its attractiveness to advertisers. As of September 2017, Instagram had two million active advertisers per month – a tenfold increase since March 2016. See “Brands are flocking to Instagram”.

Engagement Metrics: Successful Content

See this Statista analysis on metrics for successful content: “What is the best indicator for successful content?”

Analytics: Engagement Metrics

See this Statista analysis, “How to measure audience engagement online.”

Advertising Giants in the Digital Age

See this analysis piece in the Financial Times about the turmoil in the global advertising industry. One of the reasons is digital disruption: the dominance of Facebook and Google. See here: “Advertising companies struggle to adapt to a new world.”

Social Media and World Leaders

Social media tools are now indispensable for politicians, including world leaders. For an analysis of how world leaders use social media, see this Twiplomacy Study 2017. 

Digital Ad Duopoly: Google & Facebook

Facebook and Google are swallowing the global digital advertising market — with major implications for the media and journalism industries that depend on adverting revenues.

See this article in the Wall Street Journal, “The race is on to challenge Facebook-Google ‘duopoly’ in global advertising”. See also “Google and Facebook don’t just dominate online ads, they’re pushing everyone else out.” 

According to the Financial Times, Google and Facebook are set to attract 84 per cent of global spending on digital advertising, excluding China, in 2017, underscoring concerns that the two technology companies have become a digital duopoly. See the article here: “Google and Facebook dominance forecast to rise.”

For the implications for journalism, see “Facebook is eating the world.”

Where Most Web Traffic Comes From: Facebook and Google

Global Digital Advertising Market

The New York Times and Social Media

Should journalists working for newspapers such as the New York Times be free to express their opinions on their personal social media accounts? The New York Times does not think so. See this article, “The New York Times releases new staff social media guidelines.”