Author: rssmasher

Snap Inc.’s overhaul of its core app splits the social from the media—but is that enough to survive?

Publishers gained an automated ad unit from Google, which it calls “Auto” ads, on Wednesday. The technology serving the ad automatically optimizes the placement on publisher sites based on a variety
of data and insights.

Airbnb Inc’s Experiences service, where travelers book outings with local experts, has been off to a sluggish start as the company hunts for new revenue sources beyond home rentals.

Broadcom lowered its offer to buy Qualcomm by about $4 billion in response to Qualcomm raising its offer to buy NXP Semiconductors NV.

A prominent white nationalist sued Twitter for kicking him off the social network, the latest in a spate of legal attacks by members of the far-right claiming tech companies discriminate against their viewpoints and challenging the idea that they operate neutral platforms.

The advertising industry is notoriously fickle. Cast your mind back to the 1950s when large companies with larger budgets would broadcast messages to consumers, telling them what they needed. From Brillo Pads to Oldsmobiles, the same content was thrust upon a notably non-targeted audience. We’ve come a long way since then. Advertisers have been anticipating…

Ryan Reynolds is the latest celebrity to get into the alcohol business. The Deadpool star has purchased an ownership interest in Portland, Ore.-based Aviation Gin. Reynolds will now be the face of the brand and be involved in the “entire creative process for Aviation, including Aviation’s marketing and strategy,” explained Andrew Chrisomalis, CEO of Aviation…

Twitter has problems. Hoaxes run rampant, bots spread propaganda, and then there are the Nazis. On the business end, the platform experienced a significant user growth jump before plummeting back to Earth, and it constantly faces an impatient Wall Street, even after posting its first net-profit quarter in Q4. While it’s not always easy seeing…

There is a strange thing happening with content creation on the internet. From giants like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to the social media flavor of the moment, content creators are maturing and becoming more aware of the diversity of their audiences. There was a time when a content creator could rely on a new platform…

Digital media players — including Google, Facebook, Netflix and Amazon and perhaps Apple — have growing financial power to create more disruption. These companies still have a goal — to pull more
big brand national TV advertisers budgets into their coffers.