Social – Page 11

Snapchat reduces total payouts for Spotlight creators • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 27, 2022Posted in Apps, Snapchat, SocialNo Comments

Snapchat has changed the way it pays creators through its Spotlight reward fund. Creators that use Snapchat’s TikTok clone, Spotlight, will now be paid millions per year, a source familiar with the matter told ZebethMedia. This marks the second time Snapchat has reduced the payout. In 2021, the company rewarded creators millions per week, down from $1 million a day in 2020. While Snapchat is lowering the amount, the source noted to ZebethMedia that it’s paying more creators in more markets. It’s also important to note that the minimum payout per Spotlight will remain at $250. Last year, Snapchat paid $250 million to over 12,000 creators. They also pointed to other ways Snapchat creators earn a profit, including the Creator Marketplace, Sound Creator Fund, its accelerator program for black creators, Spotlight Challenges and in-app gifting. In February, the app tested revenue sharing on ads in Snapchat stories for Snap Stars. Snapchat recently announced it’s awarding a total of $100,000 across 12 Spotlight Challenges for Halloween. The move to lower fund spending for Spotlight was likely made as another way to boost profit and spend less of its revenue. Earlier this year, CEO Evan Spiegel announced that Snapchat was testing ads on the Spotlight. In August, Snapchat downsized its workforce by 20%. Last week, Snapchat reported its Q3 results, missing analyst expectations on revenue. The company still did relatively well, earning $1.13 billion, an increase of 6% for the quarter. However, Snapchat’s net loss rose to $360 million. On a more positive note, the company said Spotlight performed well this quarter and helped increase the overall total time spent watching content.

YouTube’s ad revenue is declining, but creator economy experts aren’t worried • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 27, 2022Posted in creator economy, Google, Jellysmack, Social, YouTubeNo Comments

The social platforms that power the creator economy might seem like they’re starting to slip. YouTube’s quarterly ad revenue declined 1.9% year over year, per Google parent company Alphabet’s quarterly earnings report this week. Overall, Alphabet missed analyst estimates, earning $69.1 billion in revenue, about a billion dollars less than expected. For many YouTubers, ad revenue is a significant source of income, with members of YouTube’s Partner Program earning 55% of ad revenue generated on their videos. So, a decline in ad revenue could be cause for alarm. Still, creator economy experts are prepared to weather the storm. Digital services that make their money through advertising have faced intense headwinds in recent quarters. Between the overall macroeconomic downturn, global uncertainty around the war in Ukraine and major changes to Apple’s iPhone software that makes it more difficult for advertisers to track users, social media platforms aren’t posting great numbers. Russia’s invasion has also introduced new policy complexity for social platforms, which have been forced to navigate a delicate geopolitical situation while also serving as essential news gathering platforms over the course of the war. Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Snap and Meta all halted ad sales in Russia, and Russia blocked some of these apps and websites as well to block information about Ukraine. According to Amanda McLoughlin — CEO of Multitude Productions, an independent podcasting company, and longtime online creator — this decline in revenue is expected. “This is a really normal reaction by companies to any type of uncertainty in the world. Advertisers are overcorrecting to the specter of a recession by slashing budgets. If a recession actually hits, we’ll probably see ad spending bounce back faster than you’d expect. Uncertainty is much scarier than reality for companies,” McLoughlin told ZebethMedia. “This just happened in early lockdown; ad spending disappeared in March, April and May of 2020, but rebounded once we settled into the new normal (economically).” Like YouTubers, podcasters leverage advertising to support their creative endeavors. McLoughlin had previously written in the Wall Street Journal that when much of the United States went into lockdown in March 2020, she fretted for the future of her company, as well as her ten friends and collaborators who relied on their podcasts for income. She found that offering fan subscriptions was a more consistent source of income than advertising. “Direct audience support had always been part of the way we made our living, but I was stunned to see a surge in new Patreon supporters during those first few months of the pandemic,” McLoughlin wrote. “Even as so many of us were cutting back on expenses, there were dozens of people making supporting creators a new priority. Those supporters kept us going — and more than a year later, they are still here.” YouTube’s ad revenue stats do not include revenue from subscription services like YouTube Premium and YouTube TV. On YouTube Premium, subscribers can watch videos without ads. But YouTube shares some of the subscription fee with creators to compensate for any lost ad viewership. So, an increase in YouTube Premium subscribers could be a small factor in this decline in ad revenue. Jim Louderback, the former CEO of the YouTube-focused creator conference VidCon, pointed out some reasons for this less-than-stellar report in a LinkedIn post. He wrote, “The rise in short-form swipable viewing, led by TikTok, has eaten into time spent with YouTube’s traditional long-form content. Marketers are shifting dollars from Instagram and YouTube to TikTok — and Shorts isn’t ready yet to significantly arrest that.” YouTube Shorts, the company’s TikTok clone, is poised to give TikTok a run for its money, though. Next year, creators will be able to earn ad revenue on short form YouTube videos, an important step that TikTok has not yet taken. It’s a new way for short form creators to make money, but it’s an opportunity for advertisers as well. A number of creator-focused startups like Spotter, Creative Juice and Jellysmack rely on YouTube ad revenue as part of their own business models, which help expand creator businesses. Jellysmack president Sean Atkins isn’t too concerned about YouTube’s ad revenue decline either. “Cyclical moves in advertising might cause short-term discomfort, but the underlying opportunity for YouTube and creators will have staying power far beyond the near-term economic challenges,” Atkins told ZebethMedia via email. “We’ll also see savvy creators, who have invested in multiple platforms beyond YouTube, finding advantages during this period with diversified revenue streams.” McLoughlin agrees, pointing to this moment as a reminder for creators to never rely too heavily on one platform to pay the bills. “This should be another reminder for creators to diversity your revenue streams and allow your audiences to support you directly,” she said. “People have much better judgement than companies, and your audience will come through when ad dollars don’t.”

Google acquires Twitter-backed AI avatar startup Alter for $100 million • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 27, 2022Posted in AR, augmented reality, facemoji, Google, SocialNo Comments

Google has acquired Alter, an artificial intelligence (AR) avatar startup that helps creators and brands express their virtual identity, for about $100 million, a source familiar with the matter told ZebethMedia, in a push to boost its content game and better compete with TikTok. The acquisition was completed about two months ago, the source said, but neither of the companies disclosed it to the public. Some of Alter’s top executives have updated their LinkedIn profiles to share that they have joined Google without acknowledging the acquisition. The source requested anonymity because they are sharing nonpublic information. A Google spokesperson confirmed to ZebethMedia that the company has acquired Alter, but declined to comment on the financial terms of the deal. Alter started its life as Facemoji, a platform that offered plug-and-play tech to help game and app developers put avatar systems into their apps. The startup received $3 million in seed funding from investors including Play Ventures, Roosh Ventures, and Twitter. Facemoji later rebranded as Alter. Google hopes to use Alter to improve and ramp up its content offerings, a person familiar with the matter said. Alter founders Jon Slimak and Robin Razka did not respond to a request for comment.

Meta’s metaverse wager is also a bet on founder control • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 27, 2022Posted in EC Consumer Applications, EC Newsletter, Facebook, meta, meta earnings, reality labs, Social, The ExchangeNo Comments

Meta’s other bet is making Alphabet’s long-running Other Bets segment appear cheap, both in cash and market cap terms. Shares of Facebook’s parent company plummeted after the company reported huge costs and losses associated with its future-facing metaverse project, accompanied by a revenue decline that, while forex-impacted, was still far from the heady days when Meta only seemed to grow no matter the business climate. And the company is signaling that more spending is coming. The Exchange explores startups, markets and money. Read it every morning on ZebethMedia+ or get The Exchange newsletter every Saturday. Meta’s trailing results and future operational guidance pushed its shares down just under 23% in pre-market trading. That the company is not changing course even after shedding more than half of its value, measured from 2021 highs, amid public calls from investors for a course-correction is notable. Today, I want to go over the company’s results as they relate to Reality Labs, or what is colloquially known as the Meta metaverse project, and what the company said in its earnings report. Meta, I believe, is behaving like a startup — wagering a large portion of its wealth on building what’s next. If you don’t agree with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the future, I feel you.

Now Elon Musk says he won’t fire 75% of Twitter’s staff • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 27, 2022Posted in Apps, Elon Musk, Media & Entertainment, Social, TwitterNo Comments

Elon Musk told Twitter employees Wednesday that he’s not planning on laying off 75% of staff when he takes over the company, Bloomberg reports, citing “people familiar with the matter.” This is a walk back from what Musk reportedly said last week. The celebrity executive denied the previously reported number when he addressed employees at Twitter’s San Francisco office on Wednesday. The “Chief Twit” as his Twitter profile now describes, posted a video of himself walking into Twitter headquarters before the meeting holding a sink with the caption “Let that sink in!” Musk has casually made mention of laying off staff when he takes over Twitter, a $44 billion deal that’s expected to close on Friday. However, immediately losing 75% of Twitter’s staff, or about 5,600 employees, would probably leave the social media company inoperable. Twitter employees are still anxious about expected staff cuts as part of the takeover, according to the report.

Y’all really made Mark Zuckerberg defend himself to investors because of your memes • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 26, 2022Posted in Mark Zuckerberg, meta, metaverse, SocialNo Comments

On today’s quarterly earnings call, Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was on the defensive when it comes to the company’s investment in the metaverse. Once again, the company lost over $3 billion dollars to its Reality Labs division this quarter, and Meta’s net income took a big hit. Since rebranding from Facebook to Meta, Zuckerberg’s company has gotten a lot of flack for its complete nosedive into the metaverse. But perhaps one of the most brutal moments came in August, when the CEO posted a selfie in front of a metaverse Eiffel Tower to celebrate the expansion of VR social platform Horizon Worlds into France and Spain. Image Credits: Facebook His selfie looked so bad that it became a meme, which he had to address by posting another mock-up of what avatars will look like in the future. Clearly, Mark took the criticism to heart, as he brought it up again on today’s earnings call when an investor asked if Meta’s progress so far has lived up to his expectations. “I know sometimes when we ship products, there’s a meme where people say, ‘You’re spending all this money and you produce this thing,’” Zuckerberg said. “I think that’s not really the right way to think about it.” He continued, “I think there’s a number of different products and platforms that we’re building, where we think we’re doing leading work that will become… launching consumer products and then eventually mature products at different cadences, different periods of time over the next 5 to 10 years.” Some of these consumer products include… legs. He added that he thinks that the Reality Labs teams are making good progress, and that there’s no indication that suggests that VR and AR won’t be dominant technologies in the future. But he changed the way that he characterized products like Horizon Worlds, describing it as something that Meta is building out in the open and iterating upon in public. “Obviously it has a long way to go before it’s going to be what we aspire for it to be,” Zuckerberg said about Horizon Worlds. “We think we’re doing some leading work there, but obviously we need to get that into the product and continue innovating on that.” Still, Zuckerberg continues to project confidence that the billions of dollars Meta is pumping into VR is a good idea. “A lot of people might disagree with this investment,” Zuckerberg said. “But from what I can tell, I think that this is going to be a very important thing, and I think it would be a mistake for us to not focus on any of these areas, which I think are going to be fundamentally important to the future.” Zuckerberg sounds a bit more human than normal when he points out that VR and AR are big opportunities for growth in the tech industry. But Zuckerberg’s vision for the metaverse — one in which we are constantly strapped into our headsets — remains a bit hard to swallow. The Quest 2 is actually pretty cool piece of technology, and the next consumer grade headset is sure to be even better. Already on the Quest 2, you can play extremely realistic ping pong with friends from across the world and talk to them like they’re standing right next to you! But do we really want to spend our nine-to-five with a giant screen right against our eyeballs? Would we rather hang out in Horizon Worlds than grab IRL coffee with a friend? Not me, at least.

Meta posts another revenue decline as investors voice metaverse concerns • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 26, 2022Posted in Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, meta, SocialNo Comments

Earlier this year, Meta posted its first quarterly revenue decline. Once again, Meta’s financials aren’t inspiring much faith in its investors this quarter. Meta’s revenue declined 4% year over year to hit $27.7 billion; but Meta CFO David Wehner pointed out on the earnings call today that some of this decline is owed to inflation. Meanwhile, net income was just $4.395 billion, down from $9.194 billion year over year. This decline in income is mostly due to Meta’s huge investment in the metaverse. Reality Labs, Meta’s virtual reality division, lost $3.672 billion this quarter. The same thing happened in Q1, when CEO Mark Zuckerberg justified a $3 billion loss by saying that the 2030s will be “exciting.” Image Credits: Meta (opens in a new window) “There’s still a long road ahead to build the next computing platform. But we’re clearly doing leading work here. This is a massive undertaking and it’s often gonna take a few versions of each product before they become mainstream,” Zuckerberg said on today’s earnings call. “But I think that our work here is going to be of historic importance and create the foundation for an entirely new way that we will interact with each other and blend technology into our lives, as well as the foundation for the long term of our business.” Meta also casually dropped the news that it will launch its next consumer-grade Quest headset next year, which is responsible for some of these costs. Meta just shipped its first high-grade Quest Pro headsets this week. Zuckerberg also elaborated on Meta’s overall plans for the metaverse. He’s now referring to Horizon Worlds, the company’s underwhelming social VR platform, as something that Meta is “iterating on out in the open.” He also called the platform an “early product.” “Obviously it has a long way to go before it’s going to be what we aspire for it to be,” Zuckerberg said about Horizon Worlds. “We think we’re doing some leading work there, but obviously we need to get that into the product and continue innovating on that.” He also emphasized Meta’s commitment to developing VR and AR technology in general. When it comes to social media, Zuckerberg shared some updated figures. He said that there are now more than 140 billion Reels plays across Facebook and Instagram, which is a 50% increase from six months ago. Across all platforms, Reels has a $3 billion annual revenue run rate. As the company has stated in past earnings calls, Meta is investing heavily in AI content discovery to compete with platforms like TikTok. Meta also shared that hiring will significantly slow next year. The company added 3,700 net new employees in Q3, down from 5,700 net additions in Q2. “We expect hiring to slow dramatically going forward and to hold the headcount roughly flat next year relative to current levels,” Wehner said.

Elon Musk is at Twitter HQ • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 26, 2022Posted in Elon Musk, Social, TwitterNo Comments

Shortly after changing his bio to “Chief Twit,” Elon Musk posted a video of himself walking into Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters. “Entering Twitter HQ — let that sink in!” he wrote. The video depicted him walking into the office holding a sink, referencing a years-old, stale meme, as is par for the course with him. Last week, the Washington Post reported that Musk plans to lay off 75% of Twitter’s staff if he takes over. So, it’s a bold gesture to walk in with a kitchen sink when you’re likely going to axe 5,600 jobs. Why is Musk at Twitter HQ? Per instructions from Judge Kathaleen McCormick, who is presiding over the Twitter v. Musk case, the billionaire entrepreneur has until this Friday to close his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. Musk previously had tried to back out of the deal, stating that Twitter had lied about the amount of bots on the platform. If Musk’s presence at Twitter HQ is any indication, it looks like he’s getting close to making this thing final. Musk reportedly spoke with bankers on Friday as part of the final steps before getting the cash. These banks are said to be providing $13 billion in debt financing to help with the deal. According to Bloomberg, Twitter’s head of people and chief marketing officer Leslie Berland sent a memo to staff saying that Musk will address staff directly on Friday, the deadline for the deal to close. Musk was dead set on getting out of this deal, so why the sudden change of heart? A few weeks before court proceedings were to begin, the court published a trove of Musk’s texts about the deal, uncovered through the discovery process. In the messages, his certainty about the deal waned as economic conditions worsened around the world. Another twist came when Judge McCormick approved Twitter’s request to review texts from Musk’s inner circle related to a mysterious anonymous email that Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro received on May 6. In the email, which was sent through ProtonMail, the sender identified themself only as a former Twitter executive and asked Musk’s team to follow up on a different platform. So, Musk could be going through with the deal because he’s hiding something — or, he could have just realized he was definitely not going to win at trial. Perhaps the rising stock price of Twitter helped seal the deal, too. Right now, the stock is trading at about $53 per share, the highest it has been all year. Then again, this whole deal has been a complete fiasco since the moment Musk announced his intent to buy the platform in April, so let’s not count our chickens until the SEC filing has hatched. If you work at Twitter and have inside information, or want to anonymously share your reaction to Musk’s potential takeover, DM me on Signal, an encrypted messaging app, at 929 593 0227.

Elon Musk’s Twitter deal has to close by Friday or the trial is back on • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 26, 2022Posted in Elon Musk, Social, TwitterNo Comments

Elon Musk’s on-again off-again plan to buy Twitter is on track to culminate in the billionaire taking control of the company this week. Musk is expected to close the deal by Friday, October 28, putting him officially in charge of one of the most prominent social networks in the world. Musk reportedly informed bankers of his plans to adhere to an October 28 deadline in a call on Monday. A collection of banks including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America is footing his purchase with $13 billion in debt, which they plan to hold onto, at least in the short term. Twitter’s stock traded around $53 on Wednesday, barely shy of the $54.20 a share Musk offered for the company earlier this year. Musk’s agreement with the banks helping him finance the deal isn’t the only thing holding him to a deadline. The more pressing matter here is that the Delaware Chancery Court judge overseeing the litigation between Musk and Twitter set a deadline for this Friday if Musk intends to avoid his day in court. Failing to seal the deal by the date would mean that Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick could initiate a November trial. Twitter issued this statement about today’s news: We received the letter from the Musk parties which they have filed with the SEC. The intention of the Company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share. — Twitter Investor Relations (@TwitterIR) October 4, 2022 Twitter sued the erratic SpaceX and Tesla CEO over the summer to force him to buy the company. The two sides traded arguments and documents in court filings in the subsequent months, while Musk doubled down on his insistence that he had the right to walk away from the deal. Musk’s legal team grasped at straws, including making some misleading and generally confusing claims about Twitter’s user number measurements, muddying the waters further. In the mean time, the legal fight surfaced a trove of private messages between Musk, his financial advisors and other close contacts who he talked to about the deal. In early October Musk did another 180, agreeing to buy the company — if he could kill the trial scheduled for October 17. After another round of back-and-forth court filings and furious letter writing, Judge McCormick agreed to hold off on the trial if Musk gathered his financing and finished the acquisition by October 28. Musk also signaled his plans to finish the deal this week, changing his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit” and his location to Twitter HQ.

Hyph set to launch a music creation app with an emphasis on remixing • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 25, 2022Posted in Apps, Music, SocialNo Comments

Music startup Hyph announced an upcoming mobile app, which aims to be a music creation and remixing tool for everyone to use. With the creator economy estimated to be worth $100 billion, Hyph is targeting the over 50 million people worldwide who identify as content creators. Hyph allows users to create original songs by taking music from the app’s library and customizing it by adding instrumentals like bass, lead guitar, strings, drums and piano, or a voice recording of them singing. Users can choose music based on genre or mood. Hyph will be available in the U.S. via an invitation this fall. The app is slated for a Spring 2023 launch and will be available on Android and iOS devices. Along with sharing to social media platforms, users can also share their creations in the app with a backdrop of their chosen photo or video. The music-creation-centered social media app will also let users take songs made by other users and republish them with new edits. Image Credits: Hyph The New York City-based startup was founded this year by Max Renard, Anthony Kennedy Shriver and Alexander Dessauer. It raised $26 million in seed funding from private investors. The company aims to launch an app that allows everyone with a smartphone to “create professional-quality music,” Hyph wrote in its announcement. “Hyph will do for music creation what smartphone cameras did for photography, which provided anyone with a smartphone the ability to produce quality photos without the financial commitment and time previously required,” Renard said. Renard notes that Hyph is targeted at Gen Z, a “hands-on generation who want to be a part of the creation process.” A recent survey found that 45% of Gen Z wants to make money creating content. The Hyph team says that the purpose of the forthcoming app isn’t for creators to make money as professional musicians but to have fun making songs and sharing them with friends. Hyph owns the rights to all songs created on its app, but the company plans to share the proceeds with song creators and music contributors. In-app ads will make Hyph accessible and free for all users. However, it will have paid features and the option to remove ads for a fee. Those premium options will range from $0.99 to $29.99, the company told ZebethMedia. Renard notes that Hyph doesn’t rely on AI-generated music, instead providing a catalog of songs recorded by session musicians.