IS GOOGLE TAKING ATTRIBUTION DATA TOO FAR?:  In the world of location-based attribution tracking the hardest thing to do is measure that last 10 feet from stores’ aisles to the register.  Using cell-based Lat/Long data it’s pretty easy to determine if someone visits a store after seeing an ad.  But how can you tell if that person actually purchased the advertised item?  In May Google attempted to answer that question by introducing a new Store Sales Measurement tool, which matches a users’ Search and Location data (which Google already has) to 3^rd party credit card transaction data.  But this Frankensteined approach to attribution via mixed-source data is catching some blow back in the form of an FCC complaint by a consumer watchdog group called EPIC.  EPIC’s contention is that Google is invading consumers’ privacy by tracking purchases without consent.  Google has responded by saying it anonymizes the data in a way that protects individuals’ privacy.  So is this a creative and legal way for Google to tie existing data points together, or have they crossed the line into Big Brother territory?  Give the attached NPR link a read and decide for yourself.

MISERY . . . SOUNDCLOUD BE THY NAME:  Over the past month I’ve highlighted some major problems at SoundCloud which culminated in the laying off of 40% of their workforce in June.  So what happened to this once-promising albeit semi-legal music file sharing service?  The attached Buzzfeed article chronicles each agonizing mistake in marathon of missteps.  Beyond the obvious errors in personal conduct and a vacancy of leadership, I’d say SoundCloud’s primary mistake is that they lost focus on the original vision of being a file-sharing community where artists and music lovers could share their passion, and instead tried to become a me-too streamer.  It would be like Firestone waking up one day and deciding it should start producing and selling cars – it’s just a leap too far.  Granted the dirt hasn’t being shoveled on SoundCloud’s grave just yet, but it feels like the funeral home has been called.  (Editor’s warning on this article – it’s long, like NSFW long.  Save it for your personal time and stay focused on your day job!)

AUTOMATION RISK ACROSS THE PROFESSIONS:  Finally today, here’s a chart which will get you thinking.  Jed Kolko, Chief Economist at the job site Indeed, has painstakingly graphed hundreds of common jobs along the continuums of Service vs. Manufacturing work, and Communication/Critical Thinking vs. Manual Labor.  Then he color coded each job by likelihood of it being automated.  The results are fascinating.  I think it’s safe to start calling the upper right quadrant “robot corner”, with many human jobs already succumbing to automation. It’s also easy to understand why surgeons and airline pilots will still be humans for the foreseeable future.  But what about all those maybe-automated jobs in the middle?  What about all those dots with no labels?  And most importantly, will the job of Digital Media Blogger be automated any time soon?!?  Talk to me Jed!

Have a great Wednesday guys!