PR Futurist | Stuart Bruce | Purposeful Relations - 📰 PR Futurist #45 - TikTok, Bain, the Metaverse and data science

Welcome

TikTok and corporate shenanigins

Despite its huge growth TikTok is still taking flak. Just this week Gizmodo exposed its corporate messaging strategy... I say exposed because the article is written in a 'shock and horror' tone, but doesn't actually reveal much. TikTok's approach to messaging is the same as most companies.

However, we can see why TikTok feels the need to defend itself when organisations like the UK parliament make irrational decisions to suspend its experimental TikTok account just because a tiny number of MPs are concerned about its Chinese ownership.

We also take a look at the professional conduct, or misconduct, of one of the world's largest management consultancy firms. Bain's misconduct in South Africa has led to it being banned from tendering for UK government contracts for three years.

Data, measurement, analytics

Data science isn’t particularly sexy, but it’s more important than ever

A good summary of some of the bumps in the road for the onwards advance of the data scientist. Delighted to see that 'data munging' is still a current term—data cleaning is a much under looked aspect of any analysis. The article points to data science becoming a multi–skilled function, spread across numerous roles—which is to be expected with any functional area that is gaining significance in a business. Now to convince the C-suite to ditch their ‘hunches’. - TB

Crisis communication

TikTok in the dock for its messaging strategy

Gizmodo has published a bizarre 'exposé' of TikTok's messaging strategy and policy. Bizarre because TikTok isn't really doing anything that most public relations professionals for most companies wouldn't do. The ire directed at TikTok is more because of a fear of TikTok and its Chinese ownership. - SB

Bain barred from UK state contracts because of its professional misconduct in South Africa

I've mixed thoughts on the news that the UK government has banned management consultants Bain from tendering for government contracts for three years because of its unethical professional conduct in South Africa. On the surface it's great the UK government has done this, but is it? Three years isn't long, especially as it retrospectively starts in January, so it's only actually two and half years. And more seriously surely the criteria for tendering for government contracts should rule it out automatically? What the ban really means is that unethical, unprofessional conduct on a massive scale isn't usually a bar to tendering for a government contract.

It's also interesting that Jacob Rees-Mogg's letter refers to Bain's reputation. It says: “I trust that after three years have elapsed Bain & Co will have restored its reputation.”

A good example of why reputation really matters. - SB

Professional practice

Putting the service-profit chain to work

An oldie, but goody. This article on the service-profit chain was originally published in the Harvard Business Review in 1994 and reprinted in 2008. But it certainly stands the test of time. The service-profit chain establishes relationships between profitability, customer loyalty, and employee satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity. It puts 'hard' values, on 'soft' measures. - SB

20 skills you’ll need to succeed in the future

An interesting list of skills for the future world of work and beyond. Some very broad categories are included (creativity, for example), but nothing fundamentally to disagree with. For me, the top skill in the list is critical thinking, from which several of the other skills are then derived. The list is available in full in the video description, if like me, you find videos a bit low density when it comes to information sharing. - TB

AI, digital and social

UK parliament axes TikTok account after some MPs complain over China links

A disappointing decision by the UK parliament to abandon its experiment with TikTok, just because of the fears of a handful of MPs from a single party. - SB

How did this tiny startup put live, moving, people into a full-blown 3D landscape, instantaneously?

An interesting example of a small UK company's innovative approach to the Metaverse. Condense uses a “volumetric” camera capture and streaming process that — the company claims — can livestream any kind of human activity (music, sports, etc.) into a 3D environment, which can be put into a simulation, such as a game, mobile app or platform. - SB

Are all in one community platforms the right choice?

A community platform that promises to do everything you need can be appealing, but there are a number of reasons it might not be the best choice. Here’s why. - SB