Month: March 2024

As impressive and amusing as generative AI is becoming, the technology is backed by nothing more than data — putting datasets at the heart of all AI. At least that’s how one holding company head of tech sees it.

It’s the repetitive learning and training through data that trains machines to perform and automate tasks, synthesize information and generate content on demand. As incoming chief data and technology officer of Dentsu, Shirli Zelcer knows all about the world of data and analytics.

“Now we’re in an environment, thanks to generative AI, where all of that data is at your fingertips pretty much instantaneously,” said Zelcer, who is a bit of a rarity in the holding company world as a female head of tech. “I think that’s a huge differentiator for us right now — giving our clients access to that kind of information at their fingertips.”

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As the third-party cookie fades, advertisers have started shoring up their first-party data, more seriously harvesting it (and sometimes peddling it for additional revenue) as signal loss continues to mount.

It’s what Joelle Park, the new svp and CMO at Best Western parent and global hospitality network BWH Hotels, has spent the last eight months in her new role doing — overhauling customer insights to improve targeting.

“We’re looking across the customer journey,” Park said. “We’re using consumer insights and really understanding what is it that travelers are asking for and need to meet them where they are as we position this brand in the future.”

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It’s been four years since the pandemic caused media companies to make the overnight switch to a work-from-home model. Though many companies have brought employees back into the office since then, most large digital publishers are still choosing a hybrid model over a full-time model, with staff working only a few days a week in the office. 

And there seem to be no plans to change that system for the foreseeable future, at least among six companies including Bustle Digital Group, Condé Nast, Forbes, Hearst, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal require most of their staff to come into the office three days a week, while the other companies allow teams to determine their own in-person work requirements.

Why haven’t digital publishers gone back to working fully in person? The answer seems to be that employees are happy with the flexibility they’ve been given with hybrid work, and employers are willing to continue to offer that to them.

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Esta historia fue reportada por primera vez en Modern Retail una publicación hermana de Digiday en Español.

Cuando un equipo de ingenieros de ThredUp presentó una nueva herramienta de búsqueda basada en IA en una reunión de todos los empleados celebrada en enero, la empresa rompió a aplaudir. Durante los últimos siete años, la empresa había estado creando su función de búsqueda, pero la nueva herramienta basada en IA se puso en marcha en siete semanas, recordó el CEO James Reinhart.

“Probablemente sea una de las pocas personas con las que hablas que piensa que la IA está infravalorada”, afirma Reinhart.

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Reddit finalmente salió a bolsa el miércoles y logró su tan esperada oferta pública inicial, pero su juego publicitario no se ha puesto exactamente en marcha. Para la mayoría de la gente, incluidos los anunciantes, sigue siendo una plataforma de nicho peculiar, pero eso está bien, o al menos debería estarlo.

Los anunciantes no son precisamente reacios a la idea. Para ellos, tener una plataforma de nicho con un amplio atractivo suena como una buena adición a la lista de plataformas a escala en las que ya compran. Aun así, a juzgar por las conversaciones que Digiday ha mantenido con numerosos anunciantes en los últimos 18 meses, está claro que todavía tienen mucho que asimilar cuando se trata de Reddit.

Para empezar, está la segmentación, que no se basa en los mismos datos de comportamiento que utilizan otras plataformas. En su lugar, los anunciantes utilizan señales contextuales y basadas en intereses que proceden de los usuarios de sus comunidades.

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Una década después de la adquisición de Twitch por $1.000 millones de dólares, Amazon está tratando de llevar la plataforma de live streaming más a su redil – o partes de ella, de todos modos.

Por el momento, Amazon parece estar desmantelando Twitch, con vistas a trasplantar sus activos más lucrativos a otras partes de la empresa. El proceso ha dejado a algunos observadores preguntándose cuál podría ser el valor de la marca Twitch para Amazon en 2024.

Encontrar el valor

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The Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit against Apple says the company’s grip on iPhone users and developers is blocking future innovation in tech.

A rare case in Danish court shows how automated clicks and fake accounts can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars on Apple Music and Spotify. Experts say it’s the tip of the iceberg.

“Apple has employed a strategy that relies on exclusionary, anticompetitive conduct, that hurts both consumers and developers,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday morning.

A day after the preview of what Threads for the fediverse might look like, the beta is rolling out to Threads users in the U.S., Canada and Japan. The beta of the integration will allow users to
toggle on the feature that allows cross-platform posting and viewing “likes” from other federated platforms. ‘Federated platforms” refers to apps that have integrated with the ActivityPub protocol
allowing users to jump between a hub of decentralized apps with the same profile.