COVID-19
Just in time for TikTok’s emergency sale, Instagram Reels is finally here, releasing in 50+ countries this week, including the US. Reels allows users to record and edit 15-second multi-clip videos with audio, effects, and a variety of creative tools. Users can then share their Reels with followers directly in Instagram’s feed, and/or by posting […]
The TikTok frenzy What a fascinating (and tiring) few days it has been. Shortly after the Big Tech antitrust hearings and subsequent earnings reports, news broke that Microsoft was considering an acquisition of the US operations of ByteDance’s TikTok. If the idea of Microsoft’s foray into social consumer technology wasn’t surprising enough, later in the […]
Wednesday’s Big Tech congressional hearing provided considerable insight into the inner workings of the largest tech companies in the US. The hearing, at which the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google participated in virtually, lasted for almost six hours and covered topics ranging from Chinese intelligence to cloud computing, political donations, and app store […]
Welcome back to PMG’s latest summer briefing. It’s going to be a busy week, so let’s get to it. Hurricane Season, Protests, and COVID-19 Big Tech’s Big Week The Week Ahead Hurricane season, protests, and COVID-19 Two severe weather events threatened parts of the country over the weekend, kicking off hurricane season in the Americas. […]
Welcome back to PMG’s summer briefing series. I spent most of this weekend perusing NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service and binge-watching an unhealthy number of Friday Night Lights episodes. If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to download the app and check it out. In it, you’ll find original content, classic TV shows, and more — […]
Wednesday afternoon, dozens of prominent Twitter accounts, including those of President Obama, Bill Gates, Kanye West, and Elon Musk, were hacked in an apparent coordinated social engineering hack turned Bitcoin scam. Unable to put a stop to the attack, Twitter disabled the ability for people and brands with verified accounts to Tweet for several hours. […]
TikTok is facing renewed scrutiny over its data collection and sharing practices amid the US and Australia reportedly considering a ban on TikTok and other Chinese social apps, which has enlightened a frenzy of commentary and debate on censorship, data privacy, and national security. The State of TikTok Concerns Growing anti-Chinese sentiment across industries has […]
If you’re in the Northeast, we hope you had a quiet, safe weekend tucked away from Tropical Storm Fay. Everyone else, we hope you had a quiet and safe weekend, too. There’s plenty to catch up on, so let’s get to it. News you might have missed The Genius Bar Index What’s up with TikTok? […]
What a time to be alive. I can’t recall a season when so many different pressing issues dominated the news cycle. The Black Lives Matter movement, the pandemic, returning to school, tech vs. journalism, free speech and civil liberties, the Facebook ad boycott, China-US relations, and several more that escape me. Amid all this, I […]
I hope you had a refreshing few days watching Hamilton and illegal fireworks. It’s a slower week than normal on the world stage, so let’s jump in. The second lockdown Markets rollercoaster The week ahead The second lockdown The cat’s out of the bag and America is facing an unanticipated surge in cases, and likely […]