Alabama Power communications strategist Ike Pigott joins host Shel Holtz to talk about the correct use — and abuse — of push notifications and alerts in mobile apps. Also in this week’s episode:

* Inbox Infinity poses a dilemma for communicators trying to reach people via email

* Senior citizens are far more likely than any other demographic to share fake news

* Biometrics can predict a viral marketing campaign

* Artificial Intelligence is all about the metaphor (and helped Unilever make ice cream for breakfast a thing)

* VR’s buzz may have faded, but headsets in cars may change that

* Stories have come to YouTube

* Agencies have a problem as companies pull PR in-house

* A whole bunch of copyrights are about to expire

* Dan York reports on government websites that are down during the shutdown, wireless carriers selling user data, and Amazon Web Services’ introduction of a Mondo-compatible document database

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog.

About Ike Pigott

After more than 16 years in television news, Emmy-winner Ike Pigott left to feed his passion for crisis communication. While building his consultancy, he started working with the American Red Cross – first as a local communicator in Alabama, and finally as the Director of Communications and Government Relations for a five-state region. It was during his time at the Red Cross that he pioneered the use of social media, developed the first disaster-response blogs, as well as the non-profit’s Twitter account all the way back in 2007. For the last seven years, Ike has worked as a communication strategist and spokesman for Alabama Power, an electric utility that serves more than 1.4-million customers. He helped shape the Social Media Guidelines for Alabama Power’s parent, Southern Company, and serves on the system-wide Social Media Advisory Council. In addition to media relations duties and serving as editor of the corporate NewsCenter site, Ike works across the company to help individuals and departments get the most out of social media tools. Ike has been a featured speaker at dozens of communication conferences in the United States and Europe, and is considered a thought leader in the integration of social media in utilities and other regulated industries.

Links from this week’s episode

* Don’t Reply to Your Emails: The case for inbox infinity

* People older than 65 share the most fake news, a new study finds

* Can Biometrics Predict a Viral Marketing Campaign?

* How AI helped Unilever discover ‘breakfast for dessert’

* Remember virtual reality? Its buzz has faded at CES 2019

* Audi spins out Holoride to put VR in every car

* Holoride’s in-car VR solution is the best thing at CES 2019

* How to Use YouTube Stories: What Marketers Need to Know

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