The Week in Digital Marketing: Foursquare 2.0, VR for B2B Agencies, and Companion Pods

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Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley wants to intertwine the metaverse with reality to create a new Web3 social network called “LivingCities.” According to techcrunch, Dennis and his two partners raised $4 million in early funding so far; their goal is to create a “social metaverse like never before.” LivingCities will be a consumer experience delivered over open web3 protocols as a 3D experience.

B2B agencies are also challenging the status quo with virtual experiences. Believe it or not, “Strap on your VR glasses; we’ve got a meeting” could become a common phrase for marketers soon. Some agencies are hosting annual summits in VR. Others are shifting meetings from Zoom to VR workspaces like Meta’s Horizon Workrooms or experimenting with VR glasses and platforms like Decentraland to better advise clients on the subject.

The Supreme Court vacated an earlier decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on HB 20 — which forbids banning, demonetizing, or downranking Texas users’ posts based on “viewpoint” — is blocked while a lawsuit over its constitutionality proceeds. Justices John Roberts, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh voted in support of the decision, while Alito was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Elena Kagan in opposition

Twitter has agreed to a $150 Million fine from the FTC over past misuse of users’ personal information. According to Twitter CFO, Ned Segal, new users at the time were prompted to share device settings for ad targeting. Unfortunately, a malfunction led to all users being opted in, regardless of if they declined the option. So, essentially, Twitter’s system did not respect user privacy inputs, and that flaw had been in place for six years, between 2013 and 2019.

Streaming services are investing in companion podcasts. Michael Gluckstadt, director of content on the podcast team for HBO Max, told Marketing Brew, “podcasting really lets us hit the superfan audience with that extra stuff they want without necessarily blowing up the budget to do so.” Becky Rho, director of production for HBO and HBO Max’s podcast team, added, “If fans are spending an hour watching Succession or Winning Time and they’re spending another 30–45 minutes with the Winning Time podcast, that’s some more time spent with the brand.

ProtonMail announced that it’s changing its name to Proton. The company will offer an “ecosystem” of linked products, all accessed via one paid subscription. Proton subscribers will have access not just to encrypted email but also to an encrypted calendar, file storage platform, and VPN.

On Wednesday, Musk tweeted that Tesla employees “should pretend to work somewhere else” if they’re not willing to return to their offices. Implying that they were already pretending to work if working from home. Some of us might be taking that a bit personally, as we produce this delicious podcast from our homes.

One agency is battling burnout with 70 paid days off, including three company-wide closures for a week at a time. Tinuiti’s chief people officer Jeff Batuhansaid had this to say, “It’s not about the time at your desk. It’s not about the login at the computer; it’s about getting the work done.”

According to results of a new Morning Consult poll shared with Axios, about half of tech employees who are not monitored at work today indicated they would resign rather than be subject to surveillance. In short—surveillance sucks and makes humans feel icky. This really shouldn’t surprise anyone.