News/Creator Economy
California AG wants warning labels on social media
Proposed social media warning labels in California: California Attorney General Rob Bonta is planning to sponsor legislation that would require social media platforms to display cigarette-style warning labels to users in the state. The proposed warnings would pop up when users open social media sites or apps, alerting them to potential mental health risks associated with social media use. The labels would apply to both young people and adults, reflecting concerns about the broader impact of social media on mental health across age groups. Bonta cites a "mental health crisis for teens and adolescents on social media" as the primary...
read Nov 6, 2024How Donald Trump’s victory could be a major boon to Elon Musk and xAI
Trump's return to power: Implications for Musk's tech empire: Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election is poised to significantly benefit Elon Musk's technology companies, particularly his AI venture xAI. Trump's win comes as a surprise to many, defying pre-election polls that showed a close race with Kamala Harris. Elon Musk, a vocal supporter of Trump's campaign, contributed substantial funding to a political action committee advocating for Trump's re-election. The outcome is expected to have far-reaching consequences for Musk's various technology ventures, from Tesla to SpaceX and beyond. Impact on Musk's established companies: Trump's presidency is likely to...
read Nov 4, 2024Meta deploys AI to detect underage Instagram users
Meta's new AI initiative for age verification: Meta is implementing an AI-powered "adult classifier" tool on Instagram to identify users who have misrepresented their age, automatically transitioning them to restricted accounts. The AI tool will analyze user profiles, examining followers, content, and engagement patterns to determine age. The system will even look for unexpected "happy birthday" posts from friends as part of its age verification process. Users will be categorized into two groups: those over 18 and those under 18, with the latter being moved to Instagram teen accounts with enhanced security and content restrictions. Key features of the age...
read Nov 3, 2024Snap’s Q3 advertiser count doubles amid AI and AR push
Strong Q3 performance for Snap: Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, reported impressive financial results for the third quarter of 2024, with revenue growth and user engagement surpassing expectations. Revenue increased by 15% year-over-year to $1.37 billion, beating Wall Street estimates The number of active advertisers on the platform more than doubled compared to the same period last year Daily active users (DAUs) reached 443 million globally, a 9% increase from the previous year Total time spent watching content on Snapchat grew by 25% Direct-response advertising and subscriptions drive growth: Snap's revenue gains were primarily attributed to two key areas...
read Nov 1, 2024Zuckerberg vows to boost AI content across Facebook
AI-generated content to flood Facebook and Instagram: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced plans to significantly increase the presence of AI-generated content across the company's social media platforms, signaling a major shift in content strategy. During Meta's third-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg expressed his intention to introduce "a whole new category of content" that is either generated or summarized by AI, or existing content curated by AI algorithms. The CEO views this move as an exciting development for Facebook, Instagram, and potentially Threads, despite growing concerns about the proliferation of AI-generated content on social media platforms. The rise of AI slop:...
read Nov 1, 2024AI-powered social media hoax lures thousands to nonexistent Halloween parade
Viral Halloween hoax grips Dublin: A non-existent Halloween parade in Dublin, Ireland, drew crowds of expectant revelers, exposing the power of social media misinformation and AI-enhanced content. The anatomy of the hoax: The false event was propagated through a Pakistan-based Facebook page named "My Spirit Halloween," which shared fabricated details about a costume contest and promised a "spectacular display." The page utilized AI-generated Halloween images and strategic hashtags to increase visibility in Google searches. Costume contest guidelines and other enticing event details were shared, adding credibility to the non-existent parade. The widespread sharing of this misinformation on social media platforms...
read Oct 31, 2024Bytedance drives 90% of AI crawler traffic, study finds
The rising tide of AI crawlers: ByteDance's Bytespider dominates AI crawler traffic to haproxy.com, accounting for nearly 90% of such visits and highlighting the growing presence of AI-powered web crawlers. AI crawler traffic constitutes approximately 1% of total traffic to haproxy.com, indicating a significant and growing trend in web crawling technology. The dominance of Bytespider, owned by TikTok's parent company ByteDance, underscores the increasing interest of major tech companies in AI-powered data collection. Implications for content-rich websites: The surge in AI crawler activity presents both challenges and opportunities for websites with substantial content. Content creators face the risk of their...
read Oct 30, 2024Reddit achieves first ever profit amid AI-driven growth
Reddit's historic profit milestone: Social media platform Reddit has achieved its first-ever profit in nearly two decades of operation, marking a significant turning point for the company. Reddit reported a net profit of $29.9 million, or 16 cents per share, for the quarter ending September. Revenue reached $348.4 million, surpassing analysts' expectations of $312.8 million. The company's stock has tripled since its initial public offering in March, rising from $34 to $110.20 per share. AI-driven growth strategy: Reddit's recent success can be attributed to its innovative AI initiatives and expanding user engagement, particularly in international markets. A new AI translation...
read Oct 29, 2024X’s AI chatbot Grok can now analyze images
Grok's vision upgrade: A leap forward for xAI's chatbot: Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, has introduced image analysis capabilities to its AI assistant Grok, marking a significant advancement in its functionality. Key features of the update: Grok can now analyze and comprehend images in addition to its existing text capabilities The AI can interpret visual content including documents, diagrams, and photographs It can understand spatial relationships within images to better describe their contents Users can leverage this feature for tasks like generating recipe ideas from ingredient photos or identifying landmarks in shared images Integration with X platform: A new...
read Oct 22, 2024X users revolt over new terms that allow AI training on posts
X's new terms of service spark controversy: The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has updated its terms of service, granting itself broad rights to use user-generated content for AI training, raising concerns among users and privacy advocates. Key changes to data usage: X's updated terms, effective November 15, 2024, allow the platform to use all user-submitted content for various purposes, including training machine learning and AI models. Users automatically grant X a "worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license" to make their content available globally by continuing to use the platform. The new terms explicitly mention the use of user...
read Oct 21, 2024TikTok parent fires intern over AI sabotage
ByteDance intern terminated for AI project interference: ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has dismissed an intern for sabotaging one of its artificial intelligence (AI) training projects, sparking discussions about the incident's implications and the company's AI initiatives. The unnamed intern was accused of "maliciously interfering" with the training of an AI model, leading to their termination in August. ByteDance rejected claims about the extent of the damage caused, stating that reports contained "some exaggerations and inaccuracies." The company clarified that the intern had no experience with the AI Lab and was part of the advertising technology team. Impact on...
read Oct 19, 2024Pinterest boosts ad campaigns with new AI and automation tools
AI-driven advertising revolution on Pinterest: Pinterest has unveiled a suite of new AI and automation features aimed at enhancing advertiser campaigns and simplifying campaign management. The new features were introduced at Pinterest Presents, the company's global advertiser summit, focusing on improving lower-funnel performance advertising campaigns. The updates are part of the newly launched Pinterest Performance+ suite, which leverages AI and automation tools to optimize targeting, manage budgets, and adjust bids automatically. Key features of Pinterest Performance+ suite: The new suite offers a range of lower-funnel ad products designed to support Consideration, Conversions, and Catalog Sales objectives. Advertisers can reduce campaign...
read Oct 18, 2024X’s new terms: Your tweets will train Grok AI
X's new terms of service: Major changes and implications: X is set to implement significant updates to its terms of service on November 15, 2024, which will have far-reaching consequences for user data, AI training, and platform interactions. The most notable change allows X to utilize users' public posts as training data for its Grok chatbot and other AI systems, with users required to agree that X can "analyze text and other information you provide" for AI model training purposes. It remains unclear whether the current opt-out option for Grok AI scraping will continue to be available under the new...
read Oct 15, 2024YouTube is testing AI-powered comment replies
YouTube Tests AI-Powered Comment Reply Suggestions: YouTube is experimenting with a new feature that uses artificial intelligence to suggest replies for creators responding to comments on their videos. The feature is currently in a small-scale testing phase, indicating YouTube's cautious approach to implementing AI-driven tools. The test is exclusively available on YouTube's mobile app, suggesting a focus on enhancing the platform's mobile user experience. This AI-enhanced feature aims to streamline the interaction process between creators and their audience, potentially saving time and encouraging more engagement. Potential Benefits for Creators: The introduction of AI-suggested replies could significantly impact how creators manage...
read Oct 15, 2024TikTok’s Smart+ promises AI gains for marketers — but it’s still a black box
AI-driven advertising tools reshape marketing landscape: TikTok's recent launch of Smart+ highlights the growing trend of AI-powered advertising solutions that promise improved performance but raise questions about transparency and control. TikTok's Smart+ joins a roster of AI-driven advertising tools offered by major platforms, including Google's Performance Max and Meta's Advantage+, reflecting a shift towards automated campaign management. These tools promise to simplify advertising processes and deliver superior results, attracting marketers despite concerns about reduced transparency and control over ad placements. The allure of AI-powered advertising: Marketers are increasingly embracing AI tools due to their potential for delivering impressive results and...
read Oct 11, 2024TikTok cuts hundreds of jobs as AI integration expands
TikTok's AI-driven moderation shift: TikTok has confirmed layoffs of hundreds of employees globally as part of a strategic move towards increased AI-powered content moderation, signaling a significant change in its operational approach. The company is restructuring its global content moderation model, with an estimated 500 employees in Malaysia being laid off. Affected staff were notified of their terminations via email on Wednesday. This move follows earlier layoffs in marketing and operations, indicating a broader consolidation of TikTok's regional operations. Current moderation practices: TikTok currently employs a hybrid system of human and automated content moderation, with AI scanning uploaded videos for...
read Oct 11, 2024OpenAI seeks head of creators to engage influencers
OpenAI's strategic shift towards creator engagement: OpenAI is actively seeking to build relationships with content creators and influencers, marking a significant change in its approach to community engagement and product promotion. The company is hiring for a new "Head of Internet Creators" position, tasked with developing sincere and trusting relationships with creators using AI tools in their creative processes and businesses. OpenAI has already hired creator and writing community specialists to act as ambassadors, with one individual now listed as an "artist manager" for Sora, the company's text-to-video tool. This strategy shift comes as OpenAI faces backlash and legal challenges...
read Oct 11, 2024NCAA study uses AI to reveal widespread athlete harassment on social media
Online harassment in college sports: NCAA study reveals disturbing trends: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has conducted its first comprehensive study on online harassment related to championship events in six sports, uncovering alarming patterns of abuse directed at student-athletes, coaches, and officials. Study methodology and scope: The NCAA employed Signify Group's Threat Matrix AI algorithm to analyze social media posts associated with championship events across multiple sports. The study examined over 72,000 flagged messages, with more than 5,000 confirmed to contain abusive, discriminatory, or threatening content. The analysis covered social media accounts of 3,164 student-athletes, 489 coaches, 197 game...
read Oct 11, 2024YouTuber Brandon B says agencies shouldn’t fear AI
YouTube's creator economy evolution: The rise of AI and social media has empowered creators to produce high-quality content for big brands, challenging the traditional agency model. Brandon Baum, known as Brandon B on YouTube, is Europe's largest visual effects artist on the platform with over 14 million subscribers and 10 billion video views. Baum's journey from self-taught YouTube viewer to successful creator and production company owner illustrates the changing landscape of content creation. The advent of AI tools has made it possible for creators to compete with traditional agencies, offering cost-effective solutions for budget-conscious marketers. The creator vs. agency debate:...
read Oct 8, 2024AI-generated images of Hurricane Helene are flooding social media
Hurricane Helene sparks AI-generated misinformation: The recent Hurricane Helene has led to a surge of AI-generated images on social media platforms, potentially hampering relief efforts and spreading false information. AI-created images of hurricane victims and first responders are circulating on Instagram, Facebook, and X, with some garnering over a million views. One viral image depicts a young girl holding a drenched puppy in flood waters, which has been used to criticize the federal government's disaster response. Other fabricated images show individuals wading through water, law enforcement providing aid, and even former President Donald Trump in a life jacket. Experts warn...
read Oct 8, 2024TikTok just launched an entire suite of AI-powered advertising tools
AI-driven advertising revolution: TikTok's Smart+ platform is the latest entrant in a growing trend of AI-powered advertising tools, joining similar offerings from tech giants Meta and Google. TikTok's Smart+ allows marketers to leverage AI for creating and delivering targeted ads aimed at driving conversions, leads, or app downloads. The platform promises to simplify and accelerate the ad creation process, potentially eliminating weeks of guesswork and A/B testing traditionally associated with ad campaigns. Adolfo Fernandez, TikTok's director and global head of product strategy and operations for commerce, emphasizes the simplicity and speed offered by Smart+. Industry landscape and competition: The introduction...
read Oct 7, 2024ByteDance’s new web scraper is hoovering up data at an unprecedented rate
ByteDance's aggressive web scraping: ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has launched a new web crawler called Bytespider that is rapidly collecting online data at an unprecedented rate. Bytespider, introduced in April, has quickly become one of the most aggressive web scrapers on the internet, surpassing the data collection efforts of major tech companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, OpenAI, and Anthropic. According to research by Kasada, a bot management company, Bytespider is scraping data at approximately 25 times the rate of GPTbot, which collects data for OpenAI's ChatGPT platform. The bot's scraping activity has shown significant spikes over the past...
read Oct 1, 2024Startup aims to pay YouTubers for AI training data
A new frontier for content creators: Calliope Networks, an AI-focused content licensing startup, is pioneering a program called "License to Scrape" that aims to revolutionize how YouTube creators can monetize their content when used for AI training. The program seeks to bridge the gap between YouTube creators and AI companies, allowing content creators to be compensated when their videos are used to train artificial intelligence systems. Unlike platforms such as Reddit, YouTube has not yet established formal agreements with AI companies for content scraping, creating an opportunity for third-party solutions. Calliope Networks' CEO, Dave Davis, envisions the program as a...
read Oct 1, 2024CGI-animated home renovation videos have taken TikTok by storm
The TikTok home renovation phenomenon: A peculiar trend of CGI-animated extreme home renovation videos has taken TikTok by storm, captivating users with their absurd premises and robotic narration. These videos often feature outlandish scenarios, such as renovating a home for "a billion children," and are narrated by an AI voice that repeatedly uses terms like "galvanized square steel." The trend originated on Bilibili, a Chinese video platform similar to YouTube, where the main character is known as "Big John" rather than "Little John" as seen in the TikTok versions. Initially intended to satirize housing issues in densely populated Chinese cities...
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