ICYMI: NewFronts, a new fashion website and a new look at the week that was

What a week. We promise no taco bowl jokes here, just strictly a rundown of the best reporting from Digiday — and its new sister site Glossy. In case you missed anything, or are simply eager to read it again, let us commence forthwith and recap.

It’s NewFront season again. The sheer number of events, the amount of money spent and the names of the companies involved suggests it’s an exciting time to be in the video business. It also, reports Sahil Patel, reeks of desperation. We’re trying to approach the big dance with a gimlet eye. So, here’s what we’ve gleaned so far:

• The CNN-backed video network Great Big Story swears it’s “not a social video network,” even though two-thirds of its 40 million monthly video views are on Facebook. 
• AOL wants a slice of the live video pie, while Condé Nast is betting big on virtual reality.
• If they were really smart, though, publishers would follow BuzzFeed’s lead (all roads lead to where BuzzFeed has already been) and double down on food porn.

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Meanwhile, did we mention that Digiday Media launched a new site? We took the wraps off Glossy on Monday. The site will do for fashion and luxury what Digiday does for media and marketing — take a no-BS look at how technology is disrupting an industry that doesn’t necessarily welcome the disruption. Toward that end, Hilary Milnes lays bare the biggest myths in the luxury industry. The idea that the industry luxury fashion complex can maintain control — over content, over exclusivity — was a big one. So too is the notion that you can buy luxury at a cost. 

Glossy comes complete with its own podcast (a nice accompaniment to the Digiday Podcast, which you already subscribe to). This week shopping app Spring’s founder and CEO, Alan Tisch, holds court on why retailers are slow to move (legacy structures), and why chatbots are the next big thing (customers are already used to texting their stylists). 

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Meanwhile, across the pond, the Financial Times has put a curious amount of resources into cultivating its comments section. This comes at a time when most publishers are ditching their comments — typically the septic tank of a media site — in favor of taking the conversation to social media. But the FT lives behind a paywall, and as such it has found the comments can be a lovely walled garden in themselves. 

Also across the pond — and also behind a paywall — is the Times of London. The paper has no plans on tearing down its wall, but it is gingerly experimenting with poking holes in it to entice new subscribers. 

Finally, speaking of subscribers, you can receive this weekly digest in email format by subscribing to our ICYMI newsletter here.

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