Soon we will all be driving electric SUVs

May 23, 2018

unnamed (2)By 2022, Chinese demand for electric cars will triple, and the largest block — 39% — will be SUVs and crossovers, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Americans, meanwhile, will buy more than twice as many electrics as they currently do, and 52% of them will be SUVs and crossovers.

Why it matters: Electric car skeptics cite relatively low current demand as evidence that battery-propelled vehicles are unlikely to break out of their niche any time soon.

But the new forecast suggests why they can — because they will fall neatly into the current of existing mobility fashion. (SUVs lead vehicle sales, accounting for 42% of all U.S. demand last year and 39% of China’s.)

The report forecasts an overall boom in EV demand through 2040, led by a surge in the number of electric models on offer, especially from the German automakers but also Tesla.

SUVs will be the main driver of that demand.

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TV consumers are hyper-distracted, upending the ad business and legacy TV networks

May 22, 2018

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Media continues to experience a period of violent change.

Consumers are hyper-distracted.

An estimated 177.7 million U.S. adults —or  70.3% of the total population — will regularly use another digital device while watching TV this year, up 5.1% from 2016, says eMarketer.

A majority of people (58%) say also say they browse the internet while watching video programming, says Nielsen.

Distracted consumers no longer tolerate commercials, which is completely upending the advertising industry.

They’ve become accustomed to on-demand viewing where there are no ads, or digital ads that are highly relevant.

As a result, commercials are shrinking and becoming more dynamic.

Nearly 6% of commercials today are less than 10 seconds long, according to Nielsen’s 2017 Commercial & Advertising Update

A whopping 67% of TV viewers switch to another channel when a commercial advertisement comes on, says Nielsen.

At last week’s TV Upfront presentations in New York, nearly every major TV network vowed to shrink commercial time and promised to make their commercials more digital, relevant and targeted.

There are now as many Netflix subscribers (which screens content ad-free) as cable subscribers in the U.S, according to PwC.

Content companies are desperately trying to compete for streaming scale to survive.

Discovery Communications, Inc. announced this summer that it’s buying Scripps Networks Interactive for $14.6 billion. Lionsgate acquired Starz for $4.4 billion last year. CBS has signaled its looking for a buyer, since its Viacom merger has basically fallen through.

Time Warner Inc. reached an agreement to sell to AT&T for $85.4 billion last year.  Sinclair Broadcast Group announced the acquisition of Tribune Media for $3.9 billion this spring. Disney is looking to buy Fox’s entertainment assets for $52 billion.

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Mark Zuckerberg will meet with EU pols but refuses to face UK scrutiny

May 17, 2018

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will meet with leaders of the European Union’s parliament to answer questions about the Cambridge Analytica privacy controversy.

Why it matters: Zuckerberg has turned down requests from the U.K. to testify in person there. As the E.U.’s new privacy rules go into effect, its leaders may take a tougher line on Facebook than U.S. legislators did last month.

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Writing for business: how to create copy that has a real impact. A unique three hour course

May 16, 2018

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This three hour course is specifically designed for corporates.

Do you write business copy as part of your job? Or do you need to create a style guide and tone of voice for your entire organisation? This three hour practical masterclass will teach you strategies to communicate at the most senior levels with effectiveness and credibility.

The course is split into three main sections: planning, writing and collaboration. You’ll receive a pre-course online assessment, allowing you to set your personal objectives and will have the option to write a style guide for your organisation on the final day.

You’ll learn how to plan your content, as well as receive insights on how emotions guide behaviour, how communication works, how to understand your brand and identify a tone of voice, and the importance of headlines, structure and style.

You’ll also find out how to write with simplicity, clarity and an active voice, and develop a tone and style for your business writing that you can share with your entire organisation.

The course is specifically designed to last just three hours – perfect for hard pressed delegates with busy roles in large organizations.

Content

  • How to communicate what you want clearly in the subject line or the title and the first two sentences of everything you write
  • How to use well-organised, active sentences to explain what is happening, what ought to happen and what people need to do
  • How to communicate with authority, authenticity and impact
  • How clear leadership expressed in writing creates alignment and boosts productivity
  • New strategies for influencing others and getting results
  • An exploration of how strong writers embody confidence and emotion
  • How to handle difficult situations with well-written communications
  • How your writing influences how you are perceived in the business world
  • How to refine your skills by role-playing real business scenarios
  • How to develop a style and tone of voice guide for your organisation

 

Cost: just £99 per delegate

Minimum delegates: 5

 

 

 

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Melania Trump experiences “no complications” in kidney surgery

May 15, 2018

1526326091182First Lady Melania Trump underwent a “successful” kidney surgery this Monday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Trump, 48, had an embolization procedure which are generally are used to reduce or cut off the blood supply to an area of the body, often to treat an abnormal growth, such as a tumor.

Her office said there were no complications.

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Trouble at Tesla: Elon Musk’s senior execs are heading for the exits

May 15, 2018

1526314653557-1Interesting story emerged this week about how a relentless exodus of senior executives from Elon Musk’s electric car company Tesla could be a warning sign about the company’s future.

“It is never a good sign when almost all your senior executives are leaving with the stock price at a high,” billionaire short-seller Jim Chanos told Bloomberg Opinion’s podcast.

“That’s telling you there’s something wrong. And I don’t know what it is, but almost all the senior executives at Tesla see something and are leaving stock option packages on the table.”

13 execs have left or stepped own in recent weeks.

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Initial Coin Offerings have raised more than $23 billion since 2014, as this data viz shows

May 14, 2018

This visualization does a great job of showing just how crazy and explosive the Initial Coin Offering market has become.

What the hell is an initial coin offering? Everyone is confused. Investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers across the globe are still trying to figure out what an ICO is, too.

An ICO is a bit like an initial public offering, from which its name derives, it’s also something else entirely new.

The process of creating a new cryptocurrency and then selling it to investors in order to raise money for development work is evolving quickly, thanks to a combination of regulatory pressure and technological innovation.

ICOs have raised huge amounts of cash: more than $23 billion since 2014. An animation put together by the blockchain data analysis firm Elementus, above, shows just how explosive the field has been so far.

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How to read the room before a presentation

May 14, 2018

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In every conversation at work, there’s the explicit discussion happening — the words being spoken out loud — and the tacit one. To be successful in most organizations, it’s important to understand the underlying conversations and reactions that people in the room are having. But how do you do that?

Observe
The best way to read a room is to pay close attention to people — and not just what they’re saying.

Control how much you talk
You can’t observe if you’re spending most of your time talking. You need to listen, Be conscious of how much you are saying.

Interpret your observations
Once you’ve tuned into the emotions and energy in the room, you can try to make sense of what you think you know. Remember: if people in the room are feeling negative, it might have nothing to do with you.

Check your hypotheses
When you’ve developed a few explanations for what’s going on in the room, check your understanding with a mentor or coach.

Put your perceptions into practice
Determine  who in the room has the most social or hierarchical capital and then focus on getting that person on your side.

Do:

  • Consider the people in the room more broadly and reflect on the possible reasons for their individual and collective emotional states.
  • Look for microexpressions such as fleeting smiles or raised eyebrows. These offer clues to group dynamics and individual emotions.
  • Isolate the behaviors that your socially aware role model exhibits and try to emulate them.

Don’t:

  • Be distracted. Maintain eye contact and be present and engaged in conversations with others.
  • Make it all about you. Ask open-ended questions to help you uncover what’s really going on.
  • Allow yourself to be hijacked by a room’s negative energy. Keep your emotions in check and do what you can to shift the emotional reality of the room.
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