It feels almost like "Groundhog Day": the top brass at Facebook saying, "Oh, did we get it wrong? Were you offended by what we did? We didn't mean to upset you. We're only learning. We'll get better. Trust us!" We've heard this from them many times over the past decade and more, about a wide range of misbehaviors. But in the past few years we've been hearing it about the same issue, over and over again.

I am convinced that the emergence of direct-brand companies will have an enormous and positive impact on TV advertising. Why? Because when these companies needed to scale, TV had already become their media platform of choice - despite the fact that they were born and weaned on search and social advertising. Unfortunately, I'm not sure TV companies are quite ready for what direct-brand companies will expect of them.

There's an often-overlooked tool in your toolbox, an element that can bring massive returns when executed correctly: partner marketing. Marketers fail to make use of this tool for two reasons. First, it's a long play. Partner marketing requires an investment of time before it bears fruit. Second, it's hard and requires focus. Partner marketing is like native advertising, where you have to learn about the channels at your disposal and customize approaches for each one.

I've been in Spain and Portugal for three weeks, with 21 days of rain and gale-force winds, and have spent little time thinking about online media. But for what they're worth, here are some random observations from the last three weeks.

Newsflash from South by Southwest: It's been an important, foundational year at the Times. Podcasting has provided a new platform and a new voice for storytelling, and the company has embraced a new, often unvarnished voice that is in turns both modern and rooted in the deep past of the institution.

Perception is reality -- and marketers think Big Online outperforms network TV when it comes to consumer reach. That perception is in stark contrast to the realities of TV's ability to deliver reach versus Amazon, Google and Facebook.

Blockchain might seem like the sort of faux-fabulous technology that will go down in history with Segway and MapQuest. But it's technically elegant., new, fun and brilliant. t's a distinctive brand that holds the promise of fending off bad guys so the good guys win! What's not to like?

Transparency is a big word for an important idea, but I'm curious if it will actually have an impact on the advertising business. If you casually peruse articles about advertising published in the last few years, you'll see a steady increase in the volume of people talking about transparency, but if you dive one layer deeper, you'll find it's still just talk - not a business practice for most companies.

A Facebook vice president of ads comments on the Mueller Investigation via Twitter, U.S. Tweeter-in-Chief, Donald Trump, responds -- just one more example of a personal tweet blowing up into a major news event.

Why do people wring their hands and get so worked up about the future of media? Let's break apart its distinct pieces/parts.