GOOGLE GETTING INTO SHAZAM’S KITCHEN:  You knew it was just a matter of time before voice-rec AI technology became widespread enough that Shazam’s secret sauce would be up for grabs.  And not surprisingly, Google is the first copycat to roll out its new song-recognition software on Pixel smartphones and Android devices.  As described in the attached RAIN link, your Google powered device can now respond with artist and title information when you ask “What song is this?”  And if you want to play the song or watch the video (surprise!) you’ll be redirected to Google Play Music or YouTube, so Google keeps the entire content experience in house.  While I don’t see this as a game-changer for Google it’s a significant problem for Shazam who no longer holds song recognition technology as it’s unique selling proposition.  Expect Apple, Amazon and others to follow with similar capabilities sooner than later.

FACEBOOK MAKES IT AN EVEN DOZEN MEASUREMENT ERRORS:  You probably remember the self-reported errors Facebook began to disclose last Fall around measurement metrics and billing miscalculations.  Well guess what . . . it’s still happening.  As early as yesterday FB announced the discovery of two new errors, according to the attached Marketingland article.  The latest two errors involve video ad units which are only supposed to render while in view.  These ads automatically play once loaded, as long as they’re in view on the screen.  The benefit of this ad unit is obvious, because advertisers are guaranteed to have their impressions viewed.  But FB’s system didn’t stop the ads from playing once a user had scrolled down the page, which effectively backgrounded the unit.  However clients were still billed for the videos even though they weren’t seen.  FB isn’t disclosing the total number of videos that rendered in error, but they’ve announced credits to advertisers who paid for $5,000+ of the flawed units.  As I’ve said before, I’ll give FB credit for raising its hand and admitting an error once they know about it.  But you get the feeling the flaws in their tech stack are like cockroaches – you see a few here or there, but you know many more are waiting just out of sight.

EVERYBODY’S BECOMING A BANKER:  Finally today, let’s go on a Fin-Tech journey together.  First it was Paypal and Venmo encroaching on traditional banks with mobile cash transfer and payment systems.  Then the banks countered with their own mobile pay solutions such as bank-specific platforms like ChasePay and industry-wide platforms like Zelle.  Now Apple is trying to nose into the cash transfer game with the launch of Apple Pay Cash.  As explained in the attached TechCrunch link, users of Apple’s iMessenger app will now be able to send money back and forth instantly.  The transaction requires users to have an ApplePay account set up – so if you send cash it will be billed to your ApplePay account, and if you receive cash it will show as a credit.  This is just another example of a large tech company who already controls the communication infrastructure working its way into new service categories.  The traditional banks should be nervous about this one.

Have a great Wednesday guys!