Posted:  1/20/2020

Article Link:  https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/345964/google-users-battle-company-over-alleged-assistan.html?edition=116900

Blog:  https://abramophotography.photo.blog/2020/01/23/google-users-battle-company-over-alleged-assistant-privacy-violations/

The article discusses google users that want to proceed with legal claims alleging that the company had recorded conversations illegally that “occur within the sanctity of consumers’ own homes” and sending those recordings to outside contractors.  It discusses how consumers using the devices in their homes should expect privacy, pointing to Google’s Privacy policy.  It talks about how google listens to conversations without first hearing the hot word to activate the listening device.

I think that people are nieve to believe that Google isn’t always listening through the device to help market goods.  I don’t think it is a coincidence if you are having a conversation then open up Google, and there is an add or link to that very product.  I don’t think it is limited to only google products either.  I think any device, whether it is a smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, etc.  However, I find that convenient and don’t mind that it is happening.  It is a digital world and anything that saves me a little time, I am okay with, even if I am giving up some of my privacy.  There are people I know that refuse to have Alexa devices or cameras in their house because they are afraid of “the man” always listening.  I am not one of them.

Posted:  1/20/2020

Article Link:  https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/345964/google-users-battle-company-over-alleged-assistan.html?edition=116900

Blog:

The article discusses google users that want to proceed with legal claims alleging that the company had recorded conversations illegally that “occur within the sanctity of consumers’ own homes” and sending those recordings to outside contractors.  It discusses how consumers using the devices in their homes should expect privacy, pointing to Google’s Privacy policy.  It talks about how google listens to conversations without first hearing the hot word to activate the listening device.

I think that people are nieve to believe that Google isn’t always listening through the device to help market goods.  I don’t think it is a coincidence if you are having a conversation then open up Google, and there is an add or link to that very product.  I don’t think it is limited to only google products either.  I think any device, whether it is a smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, etc.  However, I find that convenient and don’t mind that it is happening.  It is a digital world and anything that saves me a little time, I am okay with, even if I am giving up some of my privacy.  There are people I know that refuse to have Alexa devices or cameras in their house because they are afraid of “the man” always listening.  I am not one of them.

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/345660/nfl-viewers-show-post-season-gains-state-farm-ve.html

Posted:  January 14, 2020

The article discusses the advertising of various companies during NFL postseason games.  All networks airing NFL regular-season games posted similar viewership increases of about 5%.  The improvement continued right into the post-season.  As the article mentions, “it was the most-watched divisional-round game average in three years.”  It goes on t discuss the top paid advertisers and amounts spent on commercials.

The article caught my eye because, as we learn about target marketing, it makes sense to see TurboTax was the top spender according to iSpot.tv with “22 airings, 306.4 million impressions, and $14.0 million in national TV advertising spend”.  I am sure for TurboTax, now is the time a majority of their marketing budget is spent with 2019 just coming to a close, and many people are starting to think of filing taxes.  Now is an excellent time to push their product.  I was, however, surprised to see that the next two highest airings were insurance companies (Progressive and State Farm).  If you include Geico at number seven, three out of the top seven were for insurance.  That was surprising to me for three insurance companies to be in the top seven during football games.  I am sure insurance companies must have detailed market research that their target customer is in the NFL fan demographic but not something I expected.   

Subway Feeds Vegans Meatballs

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/345482/subway-feeds-vegans-meatballs.html

https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/other/martha-stewart-teaches-us-to-grow-plant-based-meatballs-in-a-subway-canada-commercial/ar-BBYIx5c

https://vegnews.com/2019/8/subway-reveals-exactly-where-to-get-the-beyond-meatball-sub

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/martha-stewart-partners-subway-canada-120000170.html

The article discussed a spoof of Subway feeding unsuspecting vegans meatballs.  The title of the article is what caught my attention.  I didn’t even realize Subway had come out with an impossible meat product.  In reading that article, it made me interested and searched for more information on the release of impossible meat from Subway.  I came across an article from vegnews titled “Subway Reveals Exactly Where to get the Beyond the Meatball Sub” (link above), which discusses that Subway came out with the meatless meatball sub in September in Canada and the United States.  I know many fast-food chains are reacting to the new craze of impossible meat to match the competition and add additional customers that don’t eat meat.    

It was surprising when I read Subway had teamed with impossible meat to make a sub since September because I never heard anything about it.  When Burker King (BK) came out with the impossible burger, it was difficult not to know because they marketed the product so much.  It was on numerous commercials, billboards, signs, etc.  Although Subway may not be as big of a competitor to BK as McDonalds or Wendy’s, they are both in the fast-food service and make sure they are identifying new opportunities such as impossible meat products, while keeping up with new social trends and matching products of competitors.  I think Subway learned they didn’t promote the product very well when it initially revealed in September, and this time was partnering with Martha Stewart, hoping to use her name and recognition in commercials released in Canada to to help increase sales — using Martha Stweart as the spokesperson is an effort to market the product using her popularity.    

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.