Credible Context

03/17/2021

From across the room this looks like any other set of government appointments to some agency or other. But up close, this is real change in support of real progress for real people.

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego), and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) today announced the…

03/15/2021

Technology dominates most aspects of corporate life, but for one -- Privacy -- the soft skills move to the front of the line.

Published: March 15, 2021. Few weeks pass without my listening in on a webinar, podcast or presentation about privacy. Legislative initiatives, fines and technology dominate the scripts, but the real insight comes in the Q-and-A.

02/04/2021

As someone who cut his teeth at the New Jersey Turnpike, I take it personally when the historic toll roads of the Northeast are in the headlines.

The loss of jobs to technology is a long standing story (when then-U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy campaigned in 1960 for President, he lamented in West Virginia how little was being done for coal miners affected by what he called automation).

As cost pressures rise and technology becomes more capable, this story shows how the pace of replacement has accelerated.

Toll takers may be seen as anachronistic, but the people who have lost — and will continue to lose — their jobs are more a reminder of a lack of national will.

As technology advances we know its effects. We can’t continue to be surprised by them.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike laid off workers to switch to labor-saving technology, in what might be a broader trend.

01/21/2021

How we talk about privacy is as personal. That can make it hard to write rules to cover us all. Yesterday, Common Sense Media convened a few people to talk about what might help get Washington State's privacy law over the line on its third try in three years.

University of Washington professor Ryan Calo got me thinking broadly about what can be very personal. He said, the privacy harm "is the perceived or real use of information about you, against you." Simple, understandable, inclusive, measurable, manageable, easily repeatable.

Even though it seems we have a long way to go, we have come a long way already. At a panel discussion long ago at a tech conference that no longer exists, a marketing exec noted to appreciative nods that state drivers' license data, which included height & weight, could greatly help promote diet companies.

01/18/2021

Automation continues to make a play for corporate communications. Today, it is AxiosHQ. A logical idea, but I don't think corporate communications teams need as much help to do their jobs as to be allowed to do them.

Unless the tool can integrate diverse, often conflicting & always changing inputs, the sharpest writing will be dulled upon further review.

A new communications platform dubbed AxiosHQ is part of Axios Chief Executive Jim VandeHei’s desire to build a subscription business.

01/14/2021

20 years ago, privacy was thought to be about anonymity, 10 years ago it was security & now it is secrecy. Privacy ought stand alone as rules allowing data to be used for consumer benefit. Problem is, companies that Hoover up data never struck that deal.

The encrypted messaging services have become the world’s hottest apps over the last week, driven by growing anxiety over the power of the biggest tech companies and privacy concerns.

12/28/2020

For those in public relations, getting out ahead of the competition often leads to a bit of hype. But sometimes the white lies can create dark circumstances, as with the Nashville bomber and the new, shiny 5G.

If the Nashville su***de bomber destroyed an AT&T building because of delusional fears about 5G, overheated 5G marketing and political debates didn't help.

12/21/2020

Language has been an interest of mine since I realized in grade school that I was always going to come out on the short end of any playground dust up. Use your words!

Lately I have come to see more clearly how that language evolves, particularly marketing language. Ads always follow the money and when the money is (mostly) in the hands of ever younger, more inclusive, more tolerate and socially active people, the language follows.

It seems Adweek agrees.

And if pushing boundaries is a good thing.

11/18/2020

It's possible companies are good data stewards, but reputation always lags reality & laws seek to blunt what seems to be abuse as a default; Uber Chief Privacy Officer Ruby Zefo put it best on a recent DataGrail podcast: "It's impossible for consumers to do this for themselves"

‎Show GrailCast, Ep Episode 6: Ruby Zefo, Chief Privacy Officer at Uber - Nov 17, 2020

10/25/2020

I am often overwhelmed by the explosion of podcasts available. The best deliver real insight, many are entertaining and most are forgettable. As a public relations lifer, one that has stood the test of time is "On the Media" from WNYC - Public Radio

The current episode is a perfect case in point,

The origins of the modern presidential campaign and how livestream technology is transforming voter outreach. Plus, an explainer on "pink slime" news.

10/08/2020

Adam Lashinsky's Datasheet today offers the exception that proves the rule. Elon Musk has eliminated his PR team.

It is tiring to keep your head above the tree line all by yourself, but for now, the "rockets and batteries and brain implants, oh, my" is getting it done.

This is the web version of Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the top tech news. To get it delivered daily to your in-box, sign up here. The Tesla-focused news site Electrek reported this week that Tesla has effectively given up on conducting public relations. The company, Electrek’s Fred...

09/23/2020

If regulation requires public support, then privacy rules just got a boost thanks to Julia Angwin and the team at themarkup.org.

With the launch of Blacklight, a Google for finding out just how many eyes are on you on, well, Google.com and every other site on the 'net, we now know who and how many are looking over our shoulder.

As for the results? Read 'em & weep -- once you've called Congress.

https://themarkup.org/blacklight/

A Real-Time Website Privacy Inspector