One in Four Influencers Asked Not to Disclose Paid Promotion (AdAge, 8/10/16)

Well that’s just a bad idea. This isn’t just best practice – and it has been since the days of “blog outreach” back in 2005 – it’s a federal regulation. Agencies who are asking the people they work with to not disclose a paid relationship are actively encouraging them to break the law. These “influencers” should immediately run away from anyone who says this to them.

The (Future) Queens of Podcasting (The Ringer, 8/10/16)

A must-read. If there’s one problem I consistently have with podcasts it’s that they’re all hosted by white 30-something dudes. I’d love to expand my horizons on that front, but discovery still sucks in most podcast platforms. Anyway, the (now) low barrier to entry to podcasts mean a variety of voices from all kinds of people can be heard. Now discovery needs to improve so they can be found by a broader audience.

iOS, Android, and macOS Apps Now Open Source (SimpleNote Blog, 8/11/16)

Not a lot to say here, but I like SimpleNote and it’s great to see Automattic open source it, showing that their ethos in that regard extends to more than just WordPress.

simplenote

“A Honeypot For Assholes”: Inside Twitter’s 10-Year Failure To Stop Harassment (Buzzfeed, 8/11/16)

This has been much-discussed and I don’t have a lot to add to it. It’s worth noting Twitter’s response, though Buzzfeed staffers quickly pointed out – on Twitter, of course – that Twitter was given plenty of opportunity to comment prior to publication. It’s undisputed that the network has to do more on this front but there’s a lot…well…this is a complicated issue. Still an important story and hopefully one that spurs Twitter to action.

Snapchat ‘Anime’ Effect Is Criticized as Asian Caricature (New York Times, 8/12/16)

This is what, the third time Snapchat has come under fire for a racist filter. You’d think they’d learn by now, but this is what you get when you create a company, not to mention an entire industry, by people who are actively antisocial and don’t know how to run a business in an adult, societal-aware way.