#52 - Power The Creators
In recent months, more tools have been made for creators to connect with their fans and make money from their work. Substack sees this as a part of a seismic shift in the media economy, one that is transferring more power to creators. This trend is quickly catching on. Since the beginning of this year, nearly every major platform has expanded its toolkit for creators. Buzzfeed Inc told investors this week that AI & creators are the future for digital media, Twitter now lets its 'Blue' users offer subscriptions, TikTok lets creators make their own special camera effects, and the new AI-powered news app, Artifact, has chosen to prioritize serving writers over merely catering to readers. These platforms know that to attract audiences, they must first and foremost facilitate creators.
Enjoy this week's selection! (AI links are at the end this time)
IN FOCUS
If you are going to read one thing this week let it be this piece by A.G. Sulzberger the publisher of the New York Times. Admitted it’s a long, long read (it will take you at least an hour) but it’s been a long time since I have read such a clearly elaborated essay on the core of journalistic entrepreneurship and the value of objectivity.
Meanwhile Vice Media Group filed for bankruptcy. Here’s a further analysis on why Vice failed and an overview of the major moments in Vice Media’s commercial history.
PRODUCT
The perfect news product organisation doesn’t exists – but Joddie Hopperton brings together industry wisdom that is worth considering as you navigate the continous flux of your news product development.
New media start-up, The Messenger, is introducing The Messenger Scale, a new system designed to cut through the noise and help you understand what really matters in the news. It’s like the “Richter scale” for measuring earthquakes, but in this case they will be assigning a simple 1-10 number based on input from a panel of more than 80 "news seismologists".
+ The Washington Post today announces the launch of Deep Reads, a dedicated home for immersive and narrative reporting.
NEWSROOM
This year’s International Journalism Festival was full of insights on how to be an effective and intentional newsroom leader. Here are five quotes collected by the Reuters Institute that are particularly relevant.
And Shirish Kulkarni thinks we should talk about "frustrated sense seekers" rather than news avoiders. People are making a rational decision not to consume our products. That failure is therefore on us, but it also means there are opportunities to address that frustration - largely by telling different stories in different ways.
SEARCH
The Rebooting has a good piece on the future of the webpage. The webpage will not go away, of course, but it stands to reason that it too will undergo a radical change, and secular decline in importance, as search enters a new phase. Over the next few years, generative AI will replace the majority of static content, and audiences will begin to expect all content to be curated and dynamic with embedded intelligence.
Last week Google announced something that got less attention than it deserved. A new ‘perspectives’ filter will appear at the top of search results to showcase more personal videos, images and written posts that people have shared on discussion boards, Q&A sites and social media platforms as a way to introduce more ‘personal perspectives’ into search results.
+ a longer analysis by Ben Thompson (Stratechery) on the new paradigm for search & Google I/O’s updates.
AI
Sam Altman testified in the US Senate this week. He urged lawmakers to regulate AI because: “If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong.”
With hundreds of new AI start-ups being launched every day it’s hard to know which ones are actual business opportunities. Here’s an interesting model to separate quick productivity boosters from real value creators.
领英推荐
MORE AI
VIDEO
The Washington Post has become one of a handful of newspaper brands to launch a FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channel. Output on the newspaper’s channel is a mix of its video back catalogue and new live content.
New surprising numbers reveal that almost half of YouTube viewing in the US takes place on TVs. It shows the rapid changes in behaviour driven by the spread of smartTV. No wonder Google, Amazon and to a lesser extent Apple all focus on maximising their presence on smartTV.
+ A look at the state of TV and streaming. A rather US-centric view I admit, but raising some key questions that could determine the future directions of the major networks.
+ Bild introduces a new video player that allows users to vertically swipe through videos.
AUDIO
The New York Times launched a standalone audio app on Wednesday that it hopes will serve as its “audio front page.” The app is “currently an exclusive benefit for New York Times news subscribers.” The big question according to Niemanlab is: How many readers will really want to download a separate app to listen to audio content only from The New York Times?
SHORT
IDEAS
My find of the week: a celebration of creative covers & their designers. Coverjunkie is a perfect place for any addict of magazine covers.
Sheena Iyengar, a professor at Columbia Business School has compiled academic research on idea generation into a new book called “Think Bigger.” It concludes that group brainstorming is usually a waste of time.
+ The big dating app scam: Liam is one of hundreds of freelancers employed all over the world to animate fake profiles and chat with people who have signed up for dating and hookup sites.
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As always feel free to share to friends & colleagues.
Ezra