The Weekly Spark: 2/12/19 Edition
In December 2018, we launched ThinkShout’s Weekly Spark: a roundup of seven reads delivered every Tuesday on the latest bold moves, big risks, and opportunities for improvement in technology, advocacy, and social good. The Weekly Spark offers a glimpse into what we’ve got our eye on and why. But if you missed our email, you can catch the Spark archives right here on our blog in perpetuity.
(1) Internal staff alignment: It’s what’s for breakfast.
How do you connect content to conversions? Whether you’re laser-focused on list-building, converting visitors to paid members, or both, what’s been happening over at the Seattle Times is a case study that you’ll want to review. Turns out that growth has as much to do with internal teams being on the same page as it does with external motivations. [Digiday]
(2) Here’s to breaking the (brand) rules. And to making them.
It’s a historic year in the category of Women Who Are Officially Running for President. And, if you’re like us, then you’d want to know that–thanks to Sen. Harris and Rep. Gabbard and Sen. Warren and Sen. Gillibrand—it’s also a historic year for breaking the rules when it comes to campaign branding. [Fast Company]
(3) Birds of a feather… track your data together?
Turns out that, from 2009 through 2015, Twitter was about the least private place on the planet to share your thoughts: Anytime users added a location to a Tweet—even a broad one, like “NYC” for example—their exact GPS location was stored in the tweet’s metadata and accessible via the platform’s API. Yikes. [Wired]
(4) The kids really are alright.
Tech needs different voices at the table. Tech needs different advocates in the room. And tech, more than anything, needs people with different backgrounds, experiences, and life stories writing code itself. That’s just one reason why we’re so excited about this amazing development encouraging girls of color to dive into STEM from teenage technologist Sasha Ariel Alston. [Huffpo]
(5) The 2019 Developer Skills Report is out.
Created by Hacker Rank, it summarizes a survey of more than 70,000 developers around the world. There are some interesting insights, including the rise of REACT and “4 in 10 developers have been negatively impacted by immigration policies in 2018.” [Hacker Rank]
(6) Heads up on a huge development in sticky city.
Did you know that Facebook is developing a fundraising tool for Instagram? Well, now you do. If your organization is keeping a close eye on the value of social conversions from specific platforms, this news is a call for celebration. (PS: If you’re not, reach out to our team: This development is almost invariably something to pay attention to.) [Philanthropy Today]
(7) Speaking of…
How can we reconcile the fact that Facebook’s ethical values clash with the very groups and organizations that find its tools most beneficial? Maybe the best course of action is to build tools that can help monetize their labor. [Bitch Media]