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Made In Red, White, & Blue

Did Facebook treat you as a lab rat?

You consented to a Facebook experiment in 2012 without knowing it, and now it's sparking a massive controversy.

Unknowingly, 700,000 Facebook users were part of a massive psychological experiment. The experiment was used to determine whether Facebook could alter the emotional state of its users to post either more positive or more negative content based on the content of their news feeds.

To do this, they altered their algorithm for one week to omit the content that contained words associated with either positive or negative emotions from news feeds.

Facebook has made it clear this week that they handled the experiment poorly. The lead scientist of the study even stated that he was having second thoughts about the project. "In hindsight, the research benefits of the paper may not have justified all of this anxiety," he posted on his Facebook page.

The findings of the study confirmed the notion that when Facebook users see all of the great and wonderful things other people are doing, it makes people feel bad about their own lives.

According to an abstract of the study, "for people who had positive content reduced in their News Feed, a larger percentage of words in people's status updates were negative and a smaller percentage were positive. When negativity was reduced, the opposite pattern occurred."

The fear associated with this experiment is not only the privacy of users, but that Facebook is using its users as lab rats, and not just to figure out which ads we'll respond to but actually change our emotions.

While other experiments employing user data that Facebook has ran, including the recent one to determine how many people were visiting Brazil for the World cup, and another one to determine the best places to be single in the United States, this particular study struck a nerve with its attempt to manipulate users emotions.

In the future, be aware that when you agreed to Facebook's Terms of Service, you give the company wide leeway in how it can treat you.

World's Largest Advertiser repackages marketing.

As of July 1st, marketing at the world's biggest advertiser, Proctor & Gamble, will never be the same.

P&G's marketing directors and associate marketing directors will soon make the title transition to brand directors and associate brand directors. As a company with nearly 73,000 marketing directors around the world, this will be a huge change.

The re-design was announced in February, and will shift the entire P&G marketing organization towards what will now be labeled as "Brand Management". But instead of removing the concept of marketing entirely, the newly dubbed Brand Management division will signify a broader scope of marketing directors as before.

Brand Management will include four functions - brand management (what was formerly marketing), consumer and marketing knowledge (market research), communications (PR), and design.

A P&G Spokeswoman stated that "these changes will help us unify brand-building resources to focus on delivering better brand and business results, clarify roles and responsibilities to make faster decision, and simplify our structure to free up time for creativity and better execution."

Keep an eye out for future Proctor & Gamble marketing, as it is likely to transition with the organization.

Wearin' Wearables 

A new smart watch this week. A new pedometer next week. A new home automation system next month. The amount of innovative technology that is being rolled out will make your head spin, but it also means that more than ever, there are going to be new opportunities for advertising.

The rapid rate that these wearables and devices and gadgets are being introduced to the market is rendering previously innovative technology obsolete. Such is the case with the Barnes & Noble Nook and the Nike Fuel Band. This makes it difficult for brand marketers to keep up.

Latest tech piece to keep an eye out for is Apple's iWatch, which is rumored to take place soon after its production begins this month. The speculated features of this wearable include:

• Different sizes and price ranges
• iOS 8
• Health-related functions including steps taken, calories burned, sleep quality, heart rate, etc.
• 4-5 day battery life

Consumer data shows that people are willing to adopt new devices and digital experience faster than ever before, and equally as quick to abandon those devices and experiences as soon as the next generation design is released.

The future lies in the manufacturers of these devices allowing and inviting consumers (and brands marketers) to interact.

Marketers should realize that, in this constantly evolving marketplace, they must treat such devices as a major sporting event. One where there would be significant media attention initially, followed by lots of social media interaction before and during, followed by an "afterglow" period, ending with very low buzz and chatter until the next device comes around.

We will see branded accessories, mobile apps, fames, etc. that all exploit the launch of these gadgets, and whether or not these items briefly capture the attention of an audience will determine the success of marketers.

The Best General Career Advice

(Advice to lead your business)

• Successful people listen. You have two ears and one mouth. Use them in that ratio. You learn more when you listen than when you talk.
• Pareto principle: Always look for the 80/20. 80% of the value is delivered by 20% of the product/service. Focus on that 20%.
• The importance of passion. When Warren Buffet finds people to run his business, his key criteria is to find somebody who would do the job whether they would get paid or not.
• Be likable. People who are liked have the wind at their backs.
• Just when you think you've got it 100% right, you can be taken down.
• People who are lucky make their own luck. And you only make your own luck by staying in the game.
• Put on "the cloak" of leadership. A large part of your role is to inspire and motivate your employees, and people will look to you for confidence. If you were on a plane with engine problems, you don't want the pilot to say, "I am exploring a number of options and hope that...," you want him to say, "I will do whatever it takes to land this plane."
• The outcome of a negotiation is largely a function of your alternatives. Know your next best option.
• You will only be as good as the people you will recruit. Media and culture celebrate individuals, but teams succeed.
• The best scientists can explain complex issues in simple terms. Pretty good scientists can explain complex issues in complex terms.
• A's hire A's. B's hire C's. Always strive to hire people better than you are.
• Be a clear, fair manager. For example, when speaking to a business unit leader that isn't succeeding, say: "I want a strategy to win in one page, and the objectives we need to hit each quarter to reach them."
• When considering a business opportunity, look for change. What inflection point are you taking advantage of? Without change, there is rarely opportunity.
• When in doubt, just keep selling. Not a bad default strategy to communicate to your team.
• Be humble. The markets are brutal to those who are arrogant.
• Understand what you don't do well. Surround yourself with people and resources that can do these things well.
• Practice self-discipline. Set targets, have timetables, have clear, unambiguous goals. Life passes quickly - days, weeks, months, years, a lifetime. "Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time. It is regret for the things that we did not do that is inconsolable."
• Be yourself. In group settings, you usually serve the group best by thoughtfully expressing exactly what you are thinking - not necessarily what the group wants to hear.
• Learn to relax. Often, overachievers are passionate about many things. Yet, it's important to learn not to always care so much. Try being indifferent to things that aren't that important.
• You've got to give trust to get trust. Treat people as you would like to be treated.
• Sometimes people take advantage of you. That's fine; don't do business with them again.

(As seen on Mashable)