18 November 2024: X-odus
A week marked by a mass departure from the platform nobody really calls X, continued US election analysis and early peaks at 2025 - all from a global community of PR and marketing people.
Nothing but Bluesky
Confession: I haven’t actually left Twitter, for a few reasons, although I’m teetering. But the real story seems to be Bluesky, a friendlier (for now) version of the X that many of us fondly remember.
All change. First the Guardian, then Stephen King, leave X.
Growing up fast. It’s taking on a million users per week.
Real time. Watch its growth, live.
Truth Social for leftists? Another view. By Rich Leigh
Favor seeking. FT suggests advertisers may return to X for schmoozing. Via Jesper Anderson
Dorm energy. From the Taylor Lorenz substack: ”For now, Bluesky seems to be the winner, but what it really won was a declining user base of people who, as Intercept journalist Sam Biddle put it, have "theater kid energy" and "the vibes of an RA trying to organize a dorm activity.”
Starter pack. And if you are just getting started on Bluesky, here’s a starter pack of Advisory Club community members to follow (still working on it so apologies to those I’ve missed).
Election review
There were of course a lot of thoughts on the US election.
End of days. For Julio Romo, the 2024 campaign marked the end of celebrity endorsements.
The podcast election. Numbers and views from Scott Galloway, via Keren Darmon
Conspiracy theories (from the left). Meanwhile over on Threads, from Justin Kerr-Stevens
Immediate impact. My take with Whitney Simon on the UK PR Week podcast.
Four years of chaos. For the tech sector, and beyond. Thanks Andrew Bruce Smith
Bad narratives. Thoughts on explanations. Via Keren Darmon
Friends and family. Who influences voting decisions?
Six-pack. A selection of half a dozen views, kindly compiled by Wen-Wen Lindroth and offered here from her perspective:
Interview with Ian Bremmer, founder of Eurasia -- what happened through the lens of political science. Bremmer identifies these three factors in descending order: 1) inflation, 2) immigration, 3) disinformation. He also goes into an extended discussion on the decline of traditional media and reporting and rise of citizen journalism.
Interview with Doris Kearns Goodwin - what happened through a historian’s lens (From good old GBH Boston.)
Interview with Dem strategist (Jason Palmer) and GOP strategist (Joe Pinion) on FOX News over the weekend. Yes, I am sharing something from FOX. I strangely felt better after watching it, especially the part where Pinion says Dems had better do some soul searching [and get their act together] for the good of the country. https://www.foxnews.com/video/6364467208112
Interview with Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez who won reelection in her rural district in Washington state. I don’t know her, but agree with what she is saying about the importance of local politics, understanding constituents and helping them in practical ways. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/08/us/politics/marie-gluesenkamp-perez-interview.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ZE4.kmpV.jdjz_cC99doB&smid=url-share
Just published op-ed from Gov. Bashear of Kentucky with the same theme: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/12/opinion/democratic-party-future-kentucky.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ZU4.LNGu.F8OXV4JeL6Vf&smid=url-share
Lastly, a talk I gave about the energy transition and the Trump movement in West Virginia coal mining communities. This was in October 2016, one month before the first fateful election. At the time, I thought that better industrial policy would fix everything and was thrilled when Biden was elected and the IRA and infrastructure bills were passed. It turned out they were not enough and/or the impact is too far in the future to be appreciated now. Either way, you might find this interesting and please excuse my nervousness in my first (and only) TED talk https://video.fidelity.tv/view/RaaP0UYIa58
And FWIW. I’m leaving it to others to parse messaging and set political strategies. For now, this is where I am. Thanks Matt Gallagher.
Resources from the Advisory Club community
Members of the community lead the way in sharing perspectives and tips; here's a sampling of what's on offer.
The Agency Advisory. A round-up of advisory posts from experts on LI that have caught the eye in recent days (UK). By Andy West
The AI Exploratorium. A series of experiments with A.I. to discover use cases for professional communication (Denmark, international). By Jesper Anderson.
All Things Internal Comms. Internal communications news and views (UK). By Rachel Miller
Better Business Outcomes. The podcast for professional communicators and directors shining a light on the latest developments in PR, marketing, leadership, management and tech and featuring leaders who’ve set the standard for what great looks like (UK). By Sarah Waddington and Stephen Waddington
Climate Positive. Climate headlines that restore faith in the future (USA, international. By Emily Porro
Fuse. The PR, marketing and communications podcast (international). With Farzana Baduel.
Fridays With Folgate. News and views on the business of communications from Folgate Advisors and friends (international). By me, Dave Scott and Mark Hume.
In Front Of Your Nose. A weekly round-up of tools, technology, and data relevant to PR communicators. Warning: May contain useful information (UK, international . By Andrew Bruce Smith
Reputation Matters. Insights and opinion on strategy, reputation, and stakeholder engagement for senior leaders and officials (UK). By Julio Romo
Wag The Dog. A curated newsletter (with podcast version) blending insights on risk, crisis and emergency communication with the evolving roles of technology and AI (Portugal, international). By Philippe Borremans
Looking ahead …
I'm terrible at predictions, and yet I persist. My thoughts on 2025 for the marcoms business.
What we’re reading
Orbital, by Samantha Harvey.
From Keren Darmon: The 2024 Booker Prize winner, Orbital, explores our relationship with Earth, from the perspective of six astronauts (plus an alien, robot and a prehistoric human) as they see the planet from the perspective of the International Space Station over the course of 24 hours. It’s apparently a powerful reminder of how precious this planet really is. Might be a good way to zoom out from day to day stress?
The Boy Who Lived, by David Holmes.
From Rachel Miller: My amazing cousin David’s book is out today. He was Dan Radcliffe’s stunt double in Harry Potter and the world’s first Quidditch player. He was paralyzed in an accident on set back in 2009. His autobiography is out now.
And everything else
A few of the many posts and links shared across nearly two dozen chats in the community:
Wicked ways. Problematic packaging for Mattel. Via Jamie Klingler
Communities + tribes. Ella Darlington shared a list of organizations fostering community and connections in communications.
Rather brutal. Rob Mayhew takes on Ogilvy, via Tim Weber.
Blue or green, it matters not. Clever little spot for WhatsApp.
Northern lights. We liked this little moment of generous opportunism, too. Thanks Rachel Miller
Kiwi pride. Congrats Catherine Arrow
Bully Pulpit. And congrats Steve Earl
Web Summit. A recap, by Georg Schmitt
Micro news. Particle - new way to aggregate news?
Christmas shopping. The annual John Lewis (UK department store) festive season ad has dropped. A review.
Relevance report. The annual look at the PR industry from the University of Southern California is out. TL;DR: AI is reshaping the PR industry, driving innovation in storytelling, efficiency, and data-driven insights.
Beehiiv media collective. Beehiiv, a newsletter startup taking aim at Substack, says it's making a "multi-million dollar investment" to create a new "beehiiv Media Collective" of journalists on its platform. Via Axios.
Ambitious life. Reflections from my friend and co-author, John O’Brien.
Weird science. American trust in scientists is ticking up, a little.
Powerful protest. In Wellington.
Justice delayed. The Onion has won an auction to buy Info Wars, but now a judge has ordered an audit into the process.
Move over TikTok? Spotify gets into the video creator business.
Chief communications officer. I started in journalism. Stephen Waddington shared a chart that says there are better places to begin if you want to be a CCO.
Meet-ups
Always nice to connect in real life, isn't it? Below from left to right: Andy West, Joe Walton, Jim Donaldson, Andrew Bloch and Darryl Sparey at the PR Moment Growth Forum in London.
