The Friday Wrap is my weekly collection of news stories, posts, studies, and reports designed to help organizational communicators stay current on the trends and technology that affect their jobs. These may be items that flew under the radar while other stories grabbed big headlines. As always, I collect material from which I select Wrap stories (as well as stories to report on the For Immediate Release podcast, along with stuff I just want to remember to read) on my link blog, which you’re welcome to follow. If you want to make sure you never miss an edition of the Wrap, subscribe to my weekly email newsletter.

News

Apple shuts down Topsy—Two years ago, Apple acquired Topsy, a popular Twitter analytics tool. Without warning, Apple shuttered the site this week; it now redirects to an Apple Support Document about Siri. The loss is huge, since there are no alternatives that provide the depth of Topsy’s functionality for free. The takeaway: Don’t get too attached to services and have alternatives in your back pocket. Apple, Google, and Yahoo have all terminated popular services that no longer fit their needs. Read more

Cision acquires PR Newswire—Cision has purchased PR Newswire from UBM for $841 million. UBM wants to focus on its events business while Cision is becoming a PR services powerhouse. The takeaway: Press releases still matter. Read more

TSA launches Twitter account to help travelers—The TSA is reviled by a lot of fliers, but its social media efforts have been first-rate. A new Twitter account, @AskTSA, was designed to engage directly with fliers and field their questions and concerns. The TSA’s communications director says the idea is to “be better able to serve passengers to they are prepared when they’re traveling.” The account was created to address the kinds of questions the public affairs team was getting over the agency’s existing account. The takeaway: The account has shown personalized answers to fliers’ questions, though my scan this morning revealed only four TSA tweets and nothing from fliers. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on the account to see if an unpopular agency can gain supporters by providing near-real-time answers. Read more

Facebook opens live video-streaming to verified Pages—The slow roll-out of Facebook’s live video-streaming service took another step with companies managing verified Pages now able to broadcast to followers in real time. The feature, Facebook Live, is currently available only for Facebook’s iOS app. The takeaway: More evidence of the interest in live video streaming, with Facebook seeking to grab some of the eyeballs currently going to Twitter’s Periscope, Blab, and Meerkat. Read more

Agency forms board to advise leadership—Ogilvy PR has created a special board to advise the CEO and executive committee on strategies for recruiting, innovation, and digital capabilities. The board is made up of staff with diverse backgrounds, demographics, and responsibilities, most of whom will serve two-year terms; some will rotate every year. The takeaway: A smart move by Ogilvy to inject fresh thinking into the leadership ranks. It’ll be interesting to see if any competitors take similar action. Read more

WhatsApp was briefly banned in Brazil—A Brazilian court ordered WhatsApp service suspended for 48 hours after the company failed to comply with a court order to supply investigators with information pertaining to a criminal case. Another judge ordered service reinstated, noting it was unreasonable “that millions of users be affected by the inertia of the company.” Complaints had been pouring in after the messaging app—used by 93% of the country’s online population—was suspended. WhatsApp owner Facebook expressed its own unhappiness, with Mark Zuckerberg posting that the company’s efforts to protect users’ data would provoke so harsh a response. The takeaway: The privacy-versus-government-interest debate is just getting started. Consider the near-unanimous support among Republican presidential hopefuls at this week’s debate for an access to encrypted data. Read more

Page an Uber car with Messenger—In Asia, messaging apps like WeChat are used for a variety of activities, including hailing a car. Facebook is trying to catch up by making its Messenger app more of an all-purpose platform. The company has announced a partnership with Uber that will let users in the U.S. request a car; it plans to add more ride-hailing services in the next few months. Other steps have included a payment service and a concierge service. The takeaway: I’m gobsmacked that most businesses I talk to still aren’t taking messaging apps seriously, despite the fact that they are poised to become the standard way many people interact with companies. Read more

Google shutting down direct webcam recording to YouTube—Did you even know you could? YouTube has had a webcam recording feature, but it will vanish on January 16, mainly because it runs on Flash and wasn’t used much. The takeaway: Flash is dead. Even Adobe thinks so. Read more

In the UK, you could need a license to take picture of stuff you own—Think copyright is onerous in the US? In the UK, copyright law is changing and among the changes is a requirement to get a license from the copyright holder if you want to take a picture of a protected item, even if you bought the item—and that will apply for over 100 years after the item was first introduced. Photographers will “need to worry about whether any of the objects in a picture they are taking is covered by copyright.” The takeaway: The UK government once again shows how incredibly out of touch they are with the way people use technology. It’s difficult to think of a stupider rule. I can’t wait for the first legal action taken by someone who inadvertently included a copyright-protected chair in a picture of a new mother holding her baby (or some other equally innocent image) and shared over Instagram. Read more

Facebook tests real-time notification—You posted to Facebook and one of your friends is leaving a comment. You get a notification as they are commenting letting you know a friend is in the process of writing a comment. That’s the new feature being tested on Facebook’s iOS app. The takeaway: Facebook continues to experiment with ideas that could improve engagement, though it could make some people reluctant to comment. For brands? It could be incredibly useful in speeding up response to customer inquiries and comments. Read more

Microsoft opens Augmented Reality experience at New York store—In an effort to attract developers to its HoloLens Augmented Reality (AR) platform, Microsoft has opened an ‘experience center” at its flagship store in New York City. The idea is to highlight what’s possible with the headset, including AR PowerPoint decks that let you “view key data points and navigate through the product with another person with HoloLens.” Analytics can also show you what people looked at when they viewed a presentation. The takeaway: The storytelling capabilities of HoloLens are compelling. Rather than wait for developers to create the tools from which businesses will choose, it would be wise to start talking about what your business can use so developers gravitate toward projects that will serve your needs. Read more

Google to prioritize HTTPS sites—Google has announced that it will prioritize secure HTTPS sites in an effort to protect users from hacker attacks. Earlier this year, Google started favoring HTTPS sites in search results; the announcement means this preference will become the standard. The takeaway: If I need to add an HTTPS version of my little one-person website, your business definitely does. Be sure to read Google’s guide to what makes a good HTTPS site. Read more

Facebook alters real-name policy—Ad-free social network Ello got a brief bump in popularity when Facebook cracked down on the use of fake names, popular with (among others) transgender performers who defected to Ello. Now, Facebook has altered its process for reporting fake names and for responding to those reports. There are now “support channels for LGBTQ issues, non-Western names, and instances of stalking or abuse.” The system is available in the U.S. and will expand to the rest of the world based on feedback. The takeaway: As the norms for using social networks evolve, expect the networks to continue tweaking their policies to accommodate individual needs, replacing a one-size-fits-all approach. Read more

New Facebook tools for video publishers—Facebook has introduced an API for its embedded video player that will include auto-play (with or without sound), volume control, playlists, player controls, and more. The social network also offered new support for oEmbed, the open standard that manages technical details required to embed Facebook content on other sites. The takeaway: The walled garden is crumbling as companies seek to ensure content published to their sites gets more exposure outside their own borders. Read more

Trends

Generation Z is poised to storm the workforce—The oldest of the post-Millennial generation is turning 19, which means they’ll hit the workforce in a big way in the next few years. How they think about work isn’t the same as their predecessors, according to research. For one thing, they have a stronger independent streak: 55% say they want to start their own businesses. Work-life balance isn’t important to them, nor is the intellectual challenge of a career. The takeaway: Recruiting GenZ workers will be a challenge, given their predilection for the startup life. Those who join the workforce will also need to be considered in internal communications and HR programs. Get to know their preferences and attitudes now. Read more

MIT will pick the best selfie for you—MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has crafted an algorithm to predict whether an image is memorable or forgettable. Upload your series of selfies to MemNet, and it will create a heat map that displays the parts of your image that are most memorable. You would share the one with the greatest image real estate occupied by the heat map. The takeaway: Just try it. It’s a great tool to help you select images for publication, not just social sharing. Read more

Blab founder shares his vision—Monkey Inferno CEO Shaan Puri sees Blab—the Monkey Inferno project that lets up to four people broadcast in real time—as the ultimate democratization of broadcasting. That, he says, changes the way we learn, debate, and share, the way communities help each other, and the ways people interact with businesses. Puri shares examples of each of these, and adds talent discovery to the mix. The takeaway: Blab is another live-streaming tool, with a laser-like focus on desktop/laptop users (there is no app). But brands like Cisco, IBM, and Wells Fargo are using it with some success; Cisco, for example, holds sessions to offer insights to job-hunting college graduates. The same can be accomplished on Google+ Hangouts on Air, but there’s something about Blab people just like. In any case, pay attention to the surging interest from both producers and consumers in live streaming. Read more

HuffPost deal with Sleep Number: The future of sponsored content?—The Huffington Post has had a sleep-focused section since 2007 that will now be sponsored by Sleep Number. The two organizations will share data that will inform content, which will be a mix of original HuffPo reporting at least one weekly video or article from the publication’s branded content arm, HuffPost Partner Studio, produce for Sleep Number. Speaking of the data sharing, a HuffPost executive said, “It’s native advertising but a much more sophisticated model.” The takeaway: This deal stands out because of the data-sharing, highlighting the increased importance of data in content development cycle. Read more

Influencer marketing is a crapshoot—Trying to decide which social media star you’re willing to pay for a campaign? There are no formulas to help you make that choice, and the influencers brands are approaching rarely offer any kind of guarantees on impressions or engagements. In fact, the only guarantee is that they’ll post what they say they will. In looking at follower numbers for these celebrities, it’s hard to know how many are genuine and how many are fake. One approach to address the problem: Invite the influencer to take over a brand-owned social media account. The takeaway: There are definitely benefits to having a celebrity talk to his or her fans about your brand, but without doing your homework, you could just be throwing your money away. Read more

Research

Leaders still won’t prepare for a crisis—It must be a “can’t happen here” mentality that leads senior execs to shrug off the need to prepare for a crisis. Despite the number of brands that experienced reputation hits this year, 45% of respondents to a survey by crisis consultancy Regester Larkin-Steelhenge said their CEO wasn’t part of crisis management training, and 46% reported a “lack of buy-in and support among senior management” as the key challenge to preparing to respond to a crisis. The study authors noted that “There is little point in attempting to be ‘crisis-ready’ when the core individuals responsible for managing a crisis will not know what to do.” The takeaway: Whatever it takes, it is vital that your leadership not only buy into a crisis plan, but that they participate in training and drills, since there’s no question they’ll be part of the real thing when (not if) it happens. Read more

Emotion tracking is coming to web analytics—The way you move your mouse can speak volumes about your mood, a discovery that could lead to better analytics from companies that provide data to companies. The takeaway: Knowing how people respond to your content emotionally can add a considerable dimension to your analytics. Don’t expect to see it in your media monitoring soon, though, and it hasn’t been tested for mobile activity. Read more

Also worth reading

• GE’s holiday Instagram treasure hunt—Already one of the savviest brands using social media, GE turned heads with its #DigitalSnowGlobe campaign. Read more
• AT&T social media team responds to 100,000 mentions per month—An inside look at AT&T’s “social care team” made up of some 100 staffers. Read more
• Maersk is a shining example of social media for B2B—The shipping line got started by transparently sharing an image of a whale killed after a collision with on eof its freighters. Read more
• Brand PR is failing at personalization—As a result the customer experience is suffering, according to research from Forrester. Read more
• The real story behind Uber’s PR purge—Uber’s new PR honcho, Rachel Whetstone, is cleaning house, getting rid of predecessor David Plouffe’s people. Read more
• The perils of brands trying to be customers’ friends—Friends have obligations companies don’t have in a relationship. Trying to become friends with customers is complicated. Read more
This week’s wrap image, of wrappers (and other trash) under a Brooklyn sidewalk grate—comes courtesy of Steven Pisano’s Flickr account.