The social audio boom that grew out of COVID-19 lockdowns has resulted in a reshuffling of players in the chat app space, as Clubhouse fights to maintain its once-dominant market share against competition from newer entries like Twitter Spaces, Spotify Greenroom and Facebook audio chat. Discord and platforms focused on gaming and NFTs also offer audio conversation features, and Amazon is reportedly working on a similar feature. Founded in 2020, Clubhouse initially had only Discord to contend with, resulting in early growth and a funding round valued at $4 billion. Continue reading Clubhouse Fights to Retain Share in Now-Competitive Market

When it comes to vacuuming-up consumer data, there is no distinction between that which is “personally identifiable” and that which is not, according to recent media reports. Data collection firms are reportedly hiding behind a false notion of privacy in order to keep Congress on track to allow the industry to police itself. This would enable the companies to continue mining personal information and selling it, whether to those trying to influence election outcomes, pharmaceutical firms trying to boost sales or insurance companies sniffing around for preexisting conditions. Continue reading Lawmakers Troubled About Rampant Sale of Consumer Data

The U.S. Senate has introduced the bipartisan Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA), which if passed into law would allow independent researchers to sue Big Tech for failing to provide requested data. The move follows last week’s Instagram hearing, where leaked internal research suggested the platform’s negative effects on the mental health of teens. On December 6, an international coalition of more than 300 scientists sent an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg — CEO of Meta Platforms, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook — requesting the social behemoth voluntarily share research. Continue reading Senate Wants Social Firms to Pay for Holding Back Research

The European Commission took steps last week to require ride-hailing firms and others to classify drivers and couriers as employees, which would entitle them to minimum wage and other legal protections. Should they go into effect, the proposed rules would impact some 4.1 million people, and would make the European Union among the strictest in the world when it comes to protecting so-called gig workers. Uber and others that depend on low labor costs and limited liability are expected to fight the proposal, which must proceed through several legislative steps before being codified as law. Continue reading European Commission Advances New Rules for Big Gig Firms

Global consumer in-app spending is predicted to reach $133 billion in 2021, up nearly 20 percent from the prior year, according to market analytics firm Sensor Tower. Mobile games account for 64 percent ($89.6 billion) of the projected spend. While game revenue continues to grow, share of overall spending will by the end of 2021 have declined by 6.7 percent from 2020, due to “the persistent growth of non-game categories such as entertainment, which received a large boost from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.” TikTok is 2021’s most-downloaded app, according to the study. Continue reading Mobile Apps Trigger $133 Billion in 2021 Consumer Spending

Discord has begun testing a Premium Membership feature that lets creators monetize their communities by offering subscriptions. The program allows content providers to offer tiered-access, create subscription-only channels, or paywall entire communities (which Discord calls “servers”). “With Premium Memberships, creators and community owners will have the ability to gate part or all of their server behind a paid subscription,” the company says. Many Discord communities have been offering that sort of experience by integrating services like Patreon, Twitch and YouTube. With Premium Memberships they’ll be able to do it natively through Discord. Continue reading Discord Premium Helps Creators Monetize Within the Platform

China is making an investment statement as it attempts to take control of its financial future and set new yen-centric standards for international monetary exchange. Much is being read into Didi Chuxing delisting itself Friday from the New York Stock Exchange, where it raised billions of dollars, capping at $39 billion for the Beijing version of Uber. The message is: with money of its own and a knack for finding more, the world’s No. 2 economy feels it no longer needs Wall Street and says it will relist on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Continue reading Didi Exits NYSE for Hong Kong, China Tightens Tech Control

Consumers spent $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday, representing a 1.4 percent decrease compared to last year. The sales drop marks the first time that Adobe Analytics reported a decrease in spending on a major shopping day (the firm has been tracking e-commerce since 2012). Adobe still anticipates record-breaking online shopping activity through the overall holiday season. According to the web analytics firm, U.S. consumers spent $109.8 billion online from November 1 through Cyber Monday, marking an 11.9 percent jump over 2020 for the same period. Continue reading Adobe Analytics Reports a First Time Drop for Cyber Monday

Nasdaq says it will in 2022 begin migrating its North American markets to Amazon Web Services in a phased approach starting with the Nasdaq MRX U.S. options market. Nasdaq AWS will use a new edge computing solution the companies designed for market infrastructure that will be made available to other entities as well as leveraged across Nasdaq’s anti-financial crime, data and analytics, and market infrastructure software programs. The announcement was issued the same day Goldman Sachs said it was teaming with AWS on a suite of cloud-based solutions for financial institutions. Continue reading Nasdaq, Goldman Sachs Announce Migration to AWS Cloud

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon not only added workers to keep up with surging demand, it nearly doubled the size of its fulfillment network, adding 450 new facilities for storage, sorting and shipping, according to MWPVL International, a supply chain logistics consultancy. The e-commerce giant now has 930 facilities across the U.S. where it employs more than 950,000 people, according to its Q2 earnings report. While it’s hiring and infrastructure expansion have largely been concentrated near big cities, which helps mitigate supply-chain disruptions while also speeding shipping times, Amazon is still urging holiday shoppers to order early. Continue reading Amazon Positioned for Holiday Crunch with Network Buildout

With the success of “Red Notice” — the heist caper starring Ryan Reynolds, Gal Godot and Dwayne Johnson described as Netflix’s first stab at a film franchise — the streaming service has turned a corner, quelling resistance to making the first-run theatrical window an afterthought for direct-to-TV and Netflix’s 214 million subscriber households worldwide. Netflix has said it would spend $17 billion on original content in 2021, making it a talent magnet and major spender in Hollywood. The company plans to produce even more originals in 2022 and have them spread more evenly throughout the year (since the pipeline presumably won’t be interrupted with COVID-19 shutdowns). Continue reading Netflix Increases Its Production Spending, Acquires VFX Firm

The Sundance Film Festival is returning to Park City, Utah in January after holding its last annual event entirely online. The 2022 Festival will introduce a new hybrid format that will expand The Spaceship, a virtual venue of the New Frontier exhibition where attendees can socialize and visit virtual reality and mixed reality installations. Sundance is also introducing a new Biodigital Bridge, a human-scale screen that will connect “festivalgoers in Park City and those attending The Spaceship online from anywhere in the world — establishing the Festival as a metaverse that overlays the physical event with a virtual one.” Continue reading The Sundance Film Festival Advances Tech for Hybrid Model

Quantum startup QuEra Computing has emerged from stealth mode with a splashy announcement of $17 million in funding and completion of a 256-qubit device the company says “will be soon accessible to customers.” Launched in 2019 by scientists from Harvard and MIT, the Boston-based firm claims to have already generated $11 million in revenue from its scalable machines in a white-hot quantum space that includes tech giants including Amazon, IBM and Google jockeying for position. QuEra’s approach leverages what the company calls “nature’s perfect qubits,” based on 256-qubit atoms. Continue reading Startup QuEra Is Making Major Strides in Quantum Computing

YouTube announced it plans to expand into e-tailing with the launch of Holiday Stream and Shop, a week-long live-streaming event in which hand-picked social media stars will use the video platform to offer their own merchandise as well as branded goods. YouTube, which is part of Alphabet’s Google, has for years teased the idea of introducing online shopping, but the concept gained momentum when the COVID-19 pandemic triggered explosive growth in e-commerce. Meanwhile, NBCUniversal also plans an interactive live-streamed shopping experience. Continue reading YouTube Tests Shoppable Video, Holiday Live-Stream Events

The global shortage of computer chips has been widely documented, impeding sales of everything from cars to appliances, game consoles and medical devices, among other things. As a result, Taiwan’s giant TSMC has seen its revenue and influence increase, but scarcity has also bolstered the clout of less famous manufacturers, including Infineon, Microchip Technology, NXP, Onsemi, Semiconductors and STMicroelectronics, which supply a variety of chips for thousands of customers. Companies are using their newfound leverage to gain favorable terms, like long-term commitments or upfront payment as a means of helping to increase production. Continue reading Global Chip Shortage Reshuffles Industry’s Balance of Power