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CATHARINE P. TAYLOR

Catharine P. Taylor has been covering digital media and advertising for almost 15 years. Follow her on Twitter @cpealet.

Articles by Cathy All articles by Cathy

  • The Social Media Insider Says Goodbye in Social Media Insider on 01/09/2015

    Let's put it right out there: After close to seven years and almost 400 columns, the Social Media Insider is calling it quits, at least for now. Wow, seeing that in writing seems strange. But, as practically anyone alive knows, every now and then it's time to shake things up, and now is that time for me.

  • More Of The Unvarnished Truth About Social Media Insider's 2014 Predictions in Social Media Insider on 12/19/2014

    Prediction! There will be no sequel to "The Interview," that little Sony movie about assassinating Kim Jong-Un! I'll save my thoughts on why that whole affair is Dennis Rodman's fault for another time, but now, as promised, I must publicly take a look that at other, more difficult predictions -- namely the ones I made a year ago in regard to Snapchat, Tumblr, Twitter, Vine and YouTube for 2014.

  • The Unvarnished Truth About Social Media Insider's 2014 Predictions in Social Media Insider on 12/12/2014

    About a year ago at this time, feeling uncharacteristically clairvoyant -- it must have been the eggnog -- I made 2014 predictions about 10 social media platforms. And then I said that at the end of the year -- which is nigh -- I would revisit them and eat humble pie if I had to about whether I was right or wrong. Herewith, the promised revisit of my 2014 predictions, which, like the original columns, will come in two parts, with part two coming next week. So, how'd I do with Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Myspace and Pinterest? Read on, and snicker, if you must!

  • CMOs Just Aren't That Social. Question Is, Why? in Social Media Insider on 12/05/2014

    There are plenty of things I've never understood about CMOs -- like why they'd take a job that seldom lasts that long -- but chief among those things I just don't get is their often-willful ignorance about how people are actually using media.

  • What's Up With WhatsApp? More Than You Think in Social Media Insider on 11/21/2014

    WhatsApp, to most of us American social media guru wannabes, is pretty much that thing that Facebook bought last year for $19 billion, even though its founders detest advertising so much they wrote a manifesto about it. The U.S. still remains unimpressed with it otherwise; only 8% of our mobile population use it. Gee, it must be fun to have billions of dollars to throw around! Nonetheless, WhatsApp piqued my interest this morning because of a small - but potentially telling - bit of data, highlighted in a post from Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab.

  • Retargeting Tango: How I Could Make That Blue Couch Vanish From My Newsfeed in Social Media Insider on 11/14/2014

    As I write this, a blue couch is stalking me. It's a contemporary sectional that would be a worthy replacement for the aging grey sofa bed in our living room -- if it were red. But it doesn't come in red, so as far as I'm concerned, our relationship is over. It's not giving up so easily, though. It haunts my newsfeed, and Facebook's right rail. And, just as I've said about other material goods that have followed me online long after my fascination with them has waned, I wish it would go away.

  • What Can We Learn From #AlexfromTarget? Sorry, Alex, It's The Wrong Thing in Social Media Insider on 11/07/2014

    Partly as a way of avoiding post-election news coverage, the Social Media Insider has been trying to focus on something equally important -- gleaning groundbreaking social media insights from this week's overnight Internets sensation: #AlexfromTarget. Unfortunately, those insights come down to this: where there's an overnight sensation, there's also always someone, somewhere, willing to take credit for making it happen. Perhaps from here on in we can call this simply Alex's Law.

  • Pay For Play: What Social Media Insider Has In Common With YouTube CEO in Social Media Insider on 10/31/2014

    It appears the Social Media Insider is not the only one who keeps wondering if there's traction in ad-free social platforms. Imagine my surprise this morning when I discovered that last week's column - on how ad-free Ello plans to make money - had 106 shares, ranking it third in the last year behind the column on The New York Times Innovation Report (136 shares), and Restoration Hardware's wrong-headed are you f*ckin' kidding me? mailing of catalogs so heavy you can use them to outfit your home gym (108 shares). Um, wow. And only some of those shares, I should add, were from bots! As if that weren't enough, this week, someone far more important than the Social Media Insider weighed in on the subject of non ad-supported revenue models.

  • What The Ello! This Ad-Free Social Net May Be Onto Something in Social Media Insider on 10/24/2014

    Not that I've gone on it again since registering a few weeks ago, but Ello is starting to get more interesting, what with the news it just received $5.5 million in funding from real, live venture capitalists. Do ad-free social networks have a real future?

  • Tell Me This: Is It Possible to Still Get Organic Reach?  in Social Media Insider on 10/17/2014

    The Social Media Insider has (yet another) confession to make: if she could write about just anything this week, it would be the news that HBO and CBS are both planning to offer subscriber-based streaming services. And to think that cable companies used to deny that cord-cutting was a thing! But, alas, as there's nothing very social about holing up in one's house and binge-watching "Game of Thrones," I'm using this week's column to ask for some social media advice that I hope will also benefit loyal readers. (I know -- the columnist is supposed to give the advice, not take it. But if you have an issue, go whine about it on Twitter.) Here's what I need to know: Is it possible to get organic reach anymore -- and, if so, how and where are you achieving it?

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