|
PLATFORMS
So Elon Musk now says he’s going to close the Twitter deal. It wasn’t all that surprising — despite complaining about the number of bots on the platform and trying to worm his way out of the deal, he doesn’t have a choice but to follow through with his legally binding $44 billion offer to buy the company. The last thing he wants is to have this case play out in court, where he’ll be under oath and made to answer all sorts of embarrassing questions about what he knows, or at the very least, reveal more embarrassing text messages. There’s no way a Delaware court would allow the world’s richest man to flout corporate law. Twitter’s board also has its hands tied. Their obligation is to shareholders, and everyone knows there’s no better plan to get Twitter’s flagging share price back to Musk’s $54.20 per share offer. In the end, this fiasco has exposed Twitter for the mess it is — a poorly managed and struggling ad business of tremendous influence… and now in the hands of an egotistical billionaire with irresponsible ideas regarding free speech. We haven’t seen the end of this saga yet.
In the middle of all this mess, Twitter’s actually rolling out editable tweets. But it’s only on the paid Twitter Blue plan. $5 a month is what you pay for the right to fix your typos.
Meta is shutting down Bulletin, its Substack competitor. There was quite a bit of fanfare when Bulletin was first announced because of the people it signed up to write, including Malcolm Gladwell, Tan France, and other independent creators. Meta even promised that it wouldn’t be taking a cut from subscriptions until 2023. It was hard for me to imagine Meta making a long-term play like this (it didn’t even launch outside of the U.S.) and I wasn’t expecting Bulletin to last the year. So as the economy worsens, Meta has been rationalising its bets in the creator space. Facebook’s Audio Rooms, which competed against Clubhouse, is dead. So is live audio. Even its podcast service (that no one really knew existed) is gone. There’s now a hiring freeze at Meta. It’s all about priorities now, ie. the metaverse and TikTok-tising the platform.
To attract more advertisers in a slowdown, Meta is adding more ad positions to Instagram. Brands can now run ads on the Explore home page and in profile feeds. Meta will also start testing “image carousel” ads in Facebook Reels.
The inevitable may soon be possible. Instagram is letting some users post multiple links in their page bios. Goodbye to all the Linktree and its copycats — all dead.
Spotify acquired Kinzen, a content moderation startup that identifies harmful content on the platform. Much of this stems from the Joe Rogan fiasco where the popular podcaster was blatantly spreading Covid misinfo. No mention of deal terms but kudos to my friend Mark Little on his second exit (he built and sold Storyful to News Corp).
GOVERNMENTS
Singapore’s parliament is debating a new bill that will put more pressure on social media platforms to act on “egregious content”. The bill covers posts around suicide, self-harm, and child sexual exploitation, which is good to see. It also includes language around the incitement of racial and religious tensions, or posing a risk to public health. Penalties for non-compliance include a fine of up to US$700,000 or an outright blocking of the service.
The Taliban shut down the websites of Hasht-e Subh Daily and Zawia News for “false propaganda” against the government by deactivating their .af web domains. The sites were run by Afghan journalists reporting from exile ever since the Taliban took power in August 2021.
Trump sued CNN, claiming the network defamed him. In complaint, the ex-president alleges a “campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander”, noting that this has recently escalated “as CNN fears the plaintiff will run for president in 2024.” He’s demanding $475 million in damages.
REPORTING
Journalists at the BBC World Service say the company’s plans to move its Vietnamese service for London to Thailand puts them at risk of abduction. This is part of the BBC’s plans to trim costs, which will also result in the loss of 400 jobs. Other teams will also be relocated — the Thai service will also move from London to Bangkok, the Korean service to Seoul, and the Bangla service to Dhaka.
A radio broadcaster was gunned down in the Philippines. Percy Lapid was host of “Lapid Fire” and was highly critical of the Marcos administration and the previous one under Duterte. He’s the second journalist to be killed under Marcos. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines condemned the killing.
The co-founders of India’s fact-check site AltNews are reportedly in the running for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. According to Time, Mohammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha may be recognised for their work to counter misinfo and discrimination against Muslims in the country. Zubair himself was arrested in June for allegedly stirring up trouble among the different religions — a charge that was condemned by the Committee to Protect Journalists. (Thanks for this link, Ria!)
VIDEO
Vidio is worth watching — it’s giving Netflix and Disney+ a run for their money in Indonesia. The locally owned company is funding about 40 original series a year in a market that the big global players have ignored. Vidio also has the rights to the English Premier League and the National Basketball Association. Read about their strategy.
Video search is a fast growing trend and TikTok is at the front line of that change. This is what we can learn from the rise of video search in China, and its implications for publishers.
CREATORS
Damien Radcliffe put together a helpful list of what we can all learn from the creator economy. It’s an important view, and Rishad and I have been trying to get that point across, though we keep running into the “they’re-not-journalists” crowd. Here are some good views on the state of the creator economy today in the context of media — and two emerging trends to watch.
Stole this from Rishad’s Frames newsletter
Spotify’s new fan study for creators is out. Here are some quick outtakes from this utterly gorgeous report that Anchor put together:
- People who subscribe your podcast will listen to four times more episodes than those who don’t
- True crime and fiction podcasts have the highest completion rates (around 87%)
- Tech shows have one of the lowest completion rates (around 72%)
- Gen Z is discovering podcasts about twice the rate of other age groups 🤯
- Comedy is the most popular genre worldwide. Make ‘em laugh, friends.
- The first four months are vital for your podcast; that’s when your biggest growth happens. Stay the course.
SAFETY
WhatsApp fixed a “critical” security flaw on its Android app that allows attackers to remotely insert malware into your phone during a video call. There’s apparently a thing called “Video Call Handler” which could allow an attacker to take complete control of your app. Hit that update button if you’re on Android.
TOOLS
Substack Reads is finally on Android. It features a weekly digest of writing, podcasts, art, and ideas… all created on Substack.
I’ve never thought about it, but Simon Owens says Substack actually has an unfair advantage with its recommendations. “Substack’s central ethos is that it establishes a direct connection between writers and their fans; any launch of a Facebook-like algorithm would be in direct betrayal of this ethos. What’s genius about Recommendations is it allows Substack to walk that thin line perfectly.”
OPPORTUNITIES
The New York Times wants to find a journalist for their Asia team. Experience in breaking news, and broad reporting skills across politics, economics, and culture are needed. The role is based in Hong Kong or Seoul.
Google is looking for ways to help news creators grow on YouTube. They’re now accepting registrations for their upcoming news creator workshops. It’s offered in Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, French, and German.
Walkleys extended the application deadline for the Meta Australia News Fund by two days. You have until the end of Sunday to apply for this year’s $2.5 million program. Judges will prioritise digital-first projects that contribute to economic stability.
Thibi is creating open-source data visualisations about the Malaysian elections for newsrooms to use in their websites and articles. They’re looking for an elections data researcher to work part-time on a six-month contract.
AFP is hiring a digital verification reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. You’ll need strong digital investigation and precise writing skills. You’ll also need to be fluent in English and Malay.
Radio Free Asia has a spot for a data journalist in its Asia Fact Check Lab. The team is tasked with verifying China-related statements to counter mis/disinformation. The job is based in the U.S. and Taipei.
|
