Social Media

Dani Mathers looked up and saw a woman who aesthetically offended her. She had a thought … a silent, personal thought. A hackneyed, pop-culture meme came to her: “If I can’t unsee this then you can’t either.” It was so clever! So witty. She lifted her smartphone. It’s a bit catty, but it’s sooo perfect. A quick Snap. It’s funny, right? She was done typing the caption before she finished thinking. Well, mean/funny … but it’s OK. A quick tap. It was over in an instant -- Playboy Playmate Dani Mathers's thought unleashed on an unsuspecting world. Clearly, we now have all the tools we need to use our thoughts to destroy ourselves -- and they are more powerful than you probably imagine. Continue Reading →

Here's what's going to happen. You are going to read this post up to the point where you agree with me or you don't. Then, either you will find something else to do or, if I have your attention, you will write a comment or an email that espouses your world view. This sounds great. Except it isn't. Continue Reading →

The number of network-connected smartphones is racing toward 3 billion. What impact will it have on how we live our lives. Shelly Palmer talks about it with Kerry Drew and Juliet Huddy on Fox 5. Original Airdate: July 12, 2016 Continue Reading →

I don’t like to discuss religion or politics in polite company. It’s pointless. Both subjects provoke passionate lectures espousing personal worldviews, and minds are seldom, if ever, changed. But … after watching some of the speeches and debates, reading some tweets, and switching between the parade of pundits on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, I've started to wonder what @tjeff (my hypothetical twitter handle for a reincarnated Thomas Jefferson) would have had to do to find the facts upon which to base his independent thinking. Continue Reading →

Instagram recently announced the inevitable – it will transition away from its pure, lovable, chronological feed to an algorithmically calculated feed. There is all kinds of goodness in this simple idea. On the other hand, posts that the algorithm scores as "less interesting to you" (whatever that content may be) will be demoted or ultimately not shown. Free social at scale is an endangered species (this is not news). But with the Instagram transition, it is more endangered than ever. Continue Reading →

Why is Twitter in real trouble? In a world that is becoming more and more connected every day, Twitter has done the unthinkable: it has shrunk. What's worse is that Twitter gets more free TV advertising than almost any other product or service which leaves two possibilities: (1) TV advertising does not work. (2) People don’t like the product. I’ll go with number 2. Here's why ... Continue Reading →

Shelly Palmer speaks with Facebook's Jane Schachtel and Carolyn Everson about humanizing technology. Continue Reading →

Shelly Palmer discusses his three Hottest Tech Trends for 2016 with Alison Kosik on CNN's World Business Today. Original airdate: December 30, 2015 Continue Reading →

The Arabic hashtag #stab is something I'd rather not see on a social media post. Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, recently showed a version of the instructional graphic that accompanied that hashtag to the UN Security Council with the English-language title, "How to Stab a Jew." Mr. Danon was making a point – but also describing a form of warfare so new it does not yet have a name. Continue Reading →

I’m going to leave the punditry about Twitter’s management issues to Chris Sacca and others who have (and will) make suggestions about how to right the ship. What I would like to explore is a simple, obvious fact: Twitter is not a compelling consumer product. Continue Reading →