I want to call special attention to an online, asynchronous, 8-week workshop I'm conducting with my colleague Joe Thornley, CEO of Thornley Fallis and co-host of the Inside PR podcast. This is our fourth year conducting this series, which includes not only the online learning modules, but a proprietary group for participants and a weekly conference call. We've earned stellar reviews each of the past three years. The workshop is offered through IABC. Details and registration

News

Edelman severs ties with American Petroleum Institute -- Edelman, the world's biggest PR agency, has ended its relationship with oil lobbying organization American Petroleum Institute. While the reasons for the break haven't been disclosed, speculation points to a dustup last summer when Edelman was called out for representing "climate deniers." If that's the case, Edelman has demonstrated its reputation is more important than the hundreds of millions of dollars in billings the API account generated. Read more

Sometimes you're clever, sometimes you're just a jerk -- Nobody was surprised that Verizon was unhappy with the FCC's ruling in favor of Net Neutrality. The ruling -- based on a law passed in 1937 -- prompted Verizon to convey its unhappiness by issuing a press release in Morse Code, and another written on an old typewriter. Both referred to the #ThrowbackThursday hashtag, as the ruling was issued on a Thursday. There are times when such a snarky response is creative and goes viral, and there are times it just makes you look like a petulant child. These fall into the latter category. Read more here and here

Google backs off explicit content ban -- Not long after announcing a ban on sexually explicit content on its blogging platform, Blogger, Google reacted to feedback and reversed its decision. An executive said the decision was partly because of the potential "negative impact on individuals who post sexually explicit content to express their identities." Other critics called the move a violation of free expression. Instead of banning such content, Google will no "step up enforcement" of policies that prohibit commercial pornography. Read more

Medium introduces new ways to read and write -- Publishing platform Medium has introduced "a simple new writing experience" that lets you "capture (a) thought when lightning strikes and share it with the world in one click." Dubbed the homepage editor, the tool requires no titles and offers simple formatting options and one-click publishing. Medium has also introduced a new look for streams, with shorter posts appearing in-line, "where you can instantly start reading." According to a Medium post, the top of user profiles will also include a featured (or most recommended) post, followed by an ongoing stream of all of that writer's content. Read more

Facebook introduces suicide prevention tools -- Facebook is introducing a new option that lets users flag when a friend might be thinking about hurting himself; the tool is available within every post. When the tool has been used, the user will see options for getting in touch with the person who expressed concern, get help from another friend, or get in touch with a suicide helpline. Read more

Trends

Say goodbye to the password -- The end is near for the password. Microsoft is working to eliminate passwords from Windows 10, opting for other options through the addition of support for the Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) standard, which may have you logging on at work with your face, voice, iris, or fingerprint. Apple has gone the consumer approach, building a fingerprint reader into its iPhones, iPads and Mac Air products. Samsung features fingerprint and facial recognition technology in its latest Galaxy line of phones. Expect more replacements for the all-too-easily hacked password. Read more

Nearly all B2B marketers are using social media -- More than 90% of B2B marketing executives use social media channels to distribute content, and one-third rely on mobile, according to a Regalix study. Only a company's own website is used more than social media for content sharing. Email took third place with 90%. Read more

EU passport system will accept selfies -- Among other features of a new passport system rolling out in the European Union is an app that lets users to selfies that meet passport regulations and submit them to be added to the passport card. The card is similar to one introduced in the U.S. that makes it easier to move through the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, but so far the selfie option is unique to the EU. Read more

Domino's goes social with rebranding -- You may not notice, but Domino's has dropped the word "Pizza" from its brand. To drive attention to the name change, the company is asking Instagrammers to share photos of stores still using the old log and signage by adding the hashtag #LOGOINFORMANTS and #SWEEPS to the picture. Despite the fact that the name change is supposed to reflect the chains non-pizza offerings, the prizes for social media campaign are a year's worth of free pizza. Read more

Pepsi video contest will identify content marketing candidates -- PepsiCo is running a video contest on LinkedIn to let college students know about the company's content marketing jobs. Students in the U.S. will create short videos to pitch an idea for using technology and short-form videos to connect a PepsiCo brand to musicians whose starts are on the rise. The grand prize winner will meet the company's CMO of global consumer engagement and get a summer internship at Pepsi's content studio. Read more

YouTube isn't enforcing its new logo restrictions -- YouTube's recently revised paid product promotion policy restricts creators who are earning income from YouTube ads from independently inserting "graphical title cards" that feature sponsors' brand or product logo in their videos. However, YouTube isn't searching for violators of the policy. If they start getting complaints about a video, that could change. Read more

Mobile and wearables

"Our Stories" earn tens of millions of views on Snapchat -- The "Our Stories" clips on Snapchat -- produced for a collective, crowdsourced section of the app -- are drawing viewing numbers usually seen for the most popular TV shows. One clip of New York during Snowmageddon was viewed 25 million times; 5,000 screenshots were captured of the clip. Other contributors also earned views in the tens of millions. Read more

Barclays app lets you tweet a payment -- Users of Barclay's Pingit payment app are now able to send payments by using their Twitter handles. You don't have to be a Barclays customer to use the app. Signing up is just a matter of adding your twitter handle to your Pingit profile. Both the sender and recipient of payments need to have Twitter accounts added to their Pingit profiles. Read more

Intel sees the workplace as fertile ground for wearables -- Intel is betting that wearables will become increasingly common in the enterprise. Among products already making inroads is the Pro Glove, designed for workers in production processes that "unlocks a new level of information and business intelligence for production management." Intel's wearables chips power a variety of other devices. Read more

This week on FIR

• On episode 796 of The Hobson & Holtz Report, Neville and I explore the rise of the "content economy," Twitter's call for marketers to become part of the conversation, whether Twitter is working for brands, and whether customer loyalty has killed the entire concept of marketing. We also report on Krispy Kreme's Twitter faux pas, the results of TekGroup's 2015 online newsroom report, Facebook's coming virtual reality play, and a real-time Twitter campaign for the Oscars that didn't suck. Reports from Dan York on technology and Michael Netzley on Asia are also in the episode. Listen
• Former PepsiCo and Apple CEO John Sculley is Paul Gillin and eric Schartzman's guest on FIR B2B. The co-hosts also report on the latest B2B news and trends. Listen
• On episode 29 of FIR on Higher Education, host Kevin Anselmo talks with Jeremy Miller, president of a brand building agency and author of the book Sticky Branding. Listen
• Doug Haslam joins Chip Griffin for the latest Media Bullseye Roundtable. Under discussion this week: a twitter kerfuffle involving a photo of interns, whether Facebook should ban anti-vaccine messaging, and if the ad-based business model was the Internet's "original sin." Listen

• In March, I'll speak at Ragan's Digital Employee Communications Conference in Chicago. (Information and registration is here)
• I'll speak at a Ragan conference devoted to visual communications in Las Vegas on March 2. (Information and registration is here.
• On March 10, I'll join Hulu's internal communications manager for a half-day workshop in Los Angeles on social intranets, sponsored by Igloo Software. (Information and registration is here)
• On April 23, I'll present a preconference workshop at Ragan's conference on visual communication in Portland, Oregon. (Information and registration are here
• Ann Wylie and I are bringing our two-day writing workshop to Thrivent Financial in Minnesota in April.
• Ann and I are also presenting our workshop to IABC's Pacific Plains region in Minneapolis in April.
• I'll be in Nebraska in May to present a two-day workshop on social media to the leadership of a national financial services institution.
• I'm speaking twice at the IABC World Conference in San Francisco in June. (Information and registration are here)
• In June, I make my annual trek to Sao Paulo, Brazil, for three days of instruction for senior communicators, part of the ABERJE/Syracuse Univesity certificate course in executive communications.
• In September, I travel to the U.K. to teach a two-day social/digital media workshop for the International School of Communication.
• In October, I'll speak to the Association of Public Relations Professionals of Puerto Rico at their conference in San Juan.

My speaking calendar is filling up, but there's room for you

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