Out with the inbox?  The  overwhelming popularity of workplace-specific platforms that facilitate coworker communication—commonly referred to as "enterprise social media"—is undeniable. But are these platforms poised to someday supplant business email accounts altogether? New York Times technology columnist Farhad Manjoo thinks so. The one big advantage that enterprise social media platforms like Slack have over regular email is their potential for workplace transparency; as Mr. Manjoo notes, by making employees' communications archivable and visible to the entire company, they facilitate the flow of information and make electronic exchanges a resource for employees looking for background information on a project, or what Slack's co-founder and chief executive, Stewart Butterfield, refers to as "soft knowledge": how the employees at the company approach group projects, for example. While privacy advocates will undoubtedly raise concerns at the prospect of employees having to communicate in a fish bowl, many of the workers at companies that use enterprise social media platforms appreciate that such platforms inhibit the hoarding of information, thereby facilitating collaboration and resulting in less hierarchical workplaces.

Tweet carefully. Financial services firms operating in the United Kingdom need to be careful of running afoul of that country's regulations when they use social media. According to new guidance issued by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), re-tweeting a customer's comment can be enough to trigger the rules that apply to financial promotions if the tweet "comments on or endorses the benefits of a regulated financial product or service." Among the many other guidelines set forth by the FCA in its social media communications guidelines is the admonition that a certain platforms' restrictions—Twitter's 140-character limit, for example—can make it especially difficult to for financial services firms to ensure that their communications are compliant.

All is fair in love... and movie promotions?  A controversial social media ad campaign generated as much attention as any up-and-coming rock band at this year's SXSW festival. To promote a science-fiction film—Ex Machina—that debuted at the festival, the film's producers set up a fake Tinder account for "Ava," a character featured in the movie. Ava's profile incorporated a photograph of Alicia Vikander, the Swedish actress who plays Ava in the film. Once a Tinder user gave Ava's (Vikander's) photo the right-swipe-of-approval on the popular dating app, the computer-generated Ava asked the user a series of questions that, only in hindsight, are appropriate for both a young woman quizzing a guy she just met on a dating app and a robot trying to figure out what it's like to be human—the role Vikander's character Ava plays in the movie. If Ava approved of a Tinder suitor's answers, she offered up her Instagram account, @meetava, for his perusal. Upon visiting Ava's Instagram account, the avatar's wanna-be boyfriends—perhaps to their chagrin—found videos and pictures promoting Ex Machina. Is this the beginning of a new era in online advertising—computer-generated fake friends and love interests being used to pressure us into buying stuff that we didn't think we needed? If so, let's hope that advertisers keep the FTC's Endorsement Guides in mind...

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