🗞️ Links & Thinks from 2023.03.17

18 Mar, 2023

RIP Metaverse

Meta is cutting costs anywhere it can, and its much touted metaverse vision is one of the victims. Which isn’t surprising since that pivot was panicked and premature.

The flip side of the picture is that generative AI might be the killer. Funding to that sector is booming as it dries up for metaverse and web3, last year’s hot trends. Which, again, isn’t surprising, given the new hot thing’s potential for near-term impact is far higher than the former’s. They may all coexist someday, but metaverse and web3 have too steep an on ramp for most users and too vague a use case to claim a large share of the market anytime soon.

In addition to Portal and NFTs, social audio is also getting the axe. Which is interesting given that, while it’s not the same, LinkedIn is doubling down on its podcast network.

Ecomm Site 101

WooCommerce has a case study about Brodo. It reads like an extended sales letter for Woo (no surprise), but there are a few takeaways anyone can snag for themselves:

• Mobile first (not the first time I’ve said that this week)
• Rich visuals (oh, hey Instagram, didn’t see you there)
• Make it more accessible

That post where I mentioned mobile first also mentioned pop-ups, so here’s 16 Irresistible Popup Examples (& How to Copy Them!).

More Ads In More Places

On top of Uber cars! A self-serve out-of-home (OOH) option enters the chat.

Podcast ads, in video! This isn’t really new, but the clamor is what happens when YouTube and podcasts turn out to go together like pita and hummus.

Just The Headlines

Marketing Week’s 2023 Career and Salary Survey reveals the skills marketers believe businesses are undervaluing, with marketing strategy, brand management and data analysis ranking highest. (Cool, so like the 3 things I’m really trying to focus on.)

Over half of Gen Alpha watch shopping content (Gen Alpha was born after 2010 and the content is mainly unboxing and haul videos. Also, not a fan of this. (And yes, I know plenty of kids’ shows are really just infomercials for the merchandising.))

Pinterest’s quiet battle for ad dollars is getting louder (If you’re having success with Pinterest Ads, I’d love to hear about what’s working for you.)

#headlines