Digital and social media are changing how government institutions, political campaigns and trade associations communicate and achieve their goals. Below is a roundup of the more interesting stories that we read over the last week:
Content, Digital and Social Media
ZDNet reports that LinkedIn bought Lynda.com for $1.5 billion. LinkedIn’s purchase of the twenty-year-old subscription-based online learning portal is a clear sign of the professional social network’s intention to provide training opportunities for specific career skill sets to its members.
In Forbes, contributor Robert Hof provides a thoughtful analysis of the rise of online video in digital advertising. Hof points out that TV-like online video ads are driving much of the growth in the ad industry. Hof forecasts that the video ads will make our smartphones more resemble our televisions.
Gov 2.0 and Public Affairs
Ernie Smith, the social media journalist for Associations Now asks the question of whether associations should care about the live-streaming video app Meerkat. Smith points out that Meerkat’s ease of use for live-streaming video makes it a valuable tool for capturing key moments at association conferences.
On DigitalGov, Sara Smith, the Social Media Strategist for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, provides her agency as a case study for the benefits of having social sharing buttons on your government website. Smith notes that NIDA’s addition of sharing toolbars to their website has resulted in a rapid increase in social shares and social media referrals to the site. The agency website is now averaging 20k social shares a month in 2015.
Campaigns and Elections
Western Journalism and Mashable report how Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign logo quickly became fodder for critics on social media. Clinton’s political critics, dismayed supporters and graphic designer aficionados panned the logo as amateurish and unprofessional.
These were some of Arc 3’s most interesting reads in digital and public affairs over the last week. What were your favorite stories? Let us know if there is a neat story that we missed! We’d love to hear from you.