An interview with The Verge EIC Nilay Patel about building a destination site, his background and how that connects to his career in tech journalism, The Verge’s business model and approach to journalism ethics, and a bit of a debate about moderation and net neutrality.
Instagram Reels Struggles, Meta’s Mistake, TikTok at Code
Instagram policy with regards to TikTok content shows Meta hasn’t internalized the real risk from the Chinese company; then, revisiting U.S. TikTok policy
An Interview With Michael Mignano About Podcasts, Standards, and Recommendation Media
An interview with former Anchor co-founder and CEO Michael Mignano about podcasts, Anchor, Spotify, standards, and recommendation media.
Apple and Property Rights, On Google’s Non-Response, The Facebook Oversight Board
Apple’s ATT policy is another example of a tech giant playing a quasi-government role. Then, while there may be explanations for Google’s approach, they don’t stand up to scrutiny, while Facebook gets it right with their Oversight Board.
Rights, Laws, and Google
Google is not bound by the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, but its actions in a false positive CSAM case show that it is flouting the spirit behind them.
The Twitter Whistleblower, mDAUs and Bots, Musk’s Akorn Lifeline
A Twitter’s whistleblowers report is very believable in terms of Twitter’s violation of its FTC consent decree; that may matter more to Elon Musk than the discussion about bots.
An Interview With Eric Seufert About the Future of Digital Advertising
An interview with Eric Seufert about Apple’s big overhaul of SKAdNetwork, speculating about a possible Apple Ad Network, and why we’re both optimistic about Meta’s outlook. In addition, we discuss Snap’s disastrous year, and the Unity-ironSource-AppLovin acquisition drama.
Three Trends Follow-Up, The Question of “Cool”, TikTok and the Sinicization of the Internet
Follow-up on Instagram, TikTok, and the Three Trends, including questioning the “cool” thesis of social networks, and why China’s Internet vision is winning.
Instagram, TikTok, and the Three Trends
Trends in medium, AI, and user interaction underpin Instagram’s response to TikTok, and will determine Meta’s long-term moat.
Apple and Facebook’s Pre-ATT Negotiations, Timing and Documentation, ATT’s Impact
The Wall Street Journal fills in important details about the run-up to ATT, including negotiations between Apple and Facebook. Then, ATT denials don’t hold water.