Silicon Valley Blues: This should be the best of times in Silicon Valley. There’s a gusher of venture capital, IPOs are back again, Facebook versus Google versus Apple makes for great competition, and valuations are sky high. And yet there is unrest because some fear that, for all these achievements, Silicon Valley has become a hollow place. The problem, I think, is money. There’s so much of it right now that Silicon Valley has inevitably attracted a fair amount of grifters, recent business school grads looking to flip a lame startup, too many people starting companies that aren’t really companies, too many business model ripoffs, and too many overfunded and overhyped efforts like Color. The debates over The Bubble are more debates over the state of Silicon Valley, the world’s innovation hub. While Google and Facebook vie to be the place where people waste more time, world economies continue to shrink, the environment continues to worsen, etc. There is a valid question whether Silicon Valley has its priorities straight with its Groupon clones, social media dashboards and the like, as noted well by Hermione Way.
Stat of the Day: New York Times content is tweeted or shared every four seconds of the day.
Google+ Publishing Platform: It often seems like 80 percent of the posts on Google+ are about Google+. But there’s clearly a ton of interest in what the social platform becomes. Some have gone so far as to close up shop on Facebook or their blogs and double down on Google+, where conversation is easier. That’s seems more than a bit extreme. It’s reminiscent of when Silicon Valley cheerleader Robert Scoble declared Friendfeed the future. That didn’t work out so hot. But Google+ is attractive for its easy integration with other Google content publishing and sharing services. Schafer believes its future likes in content. No doubt, but you could argue that Facebook’s future lies there just as much. People will gravitate to whatever platform has the best tools but also, most importantly, where their friends are to access that content.
Spotify Finally Arrives: The Yeti of music services, Spotify, is apparently finally, really truly coming to America. This has been the greatest tease for some time. Spotify’s proponents rave about it, so it will be interesting to see if it can put a dent into Apple’s stranglehold. Check it out.
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Magna 2023 forecast paints a resilient U.S. market, thanks to retail media and streaming
In its latest ad forecast, Magna is expecting a resilient U.S. market this year – boosted by retail, streaming and the auto industry’s bounceback.
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How agencies are shaping the future of DEI beyond their own walls
Agencies are acknowledging that diversity efforts don’t stop with their companies. In addition to improving employee representation, now agency efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion are aimed at supporting clients and external partners.
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Newsletter publishers say they continue to see uptick in revenue despite advertising slowdown
At a time when larger media companies are feeling the pressure of the economic downturn and advertising slowdown, newsletter businesses continue to be in a period of revenue growth.
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SponsoredHow advertisers are fostering more effective publisher partnerships
Michael Weaver, senior vice president, business development and growth, Al Jazeera Media Network An everyday conversation between publishers and advertisers goes like this: The publisher invites the advertiser to a meal to talk about their business, attempts to delve into specifics on what the media buyer is looking to achieve, their audience breakdown and how […]
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TikTok’s CEO faces bipartisan skepticism in first Congressional hearing on security concerns
The hearing comes amid calls to remove TikTok from government devices and in some cases even ban it entirely.
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Media Briefing: What to expect at the Digiday Publishing Summit
As DPS draws nearer, top pain points for publishers are coming to light.
