This is my monthly reading list of stories about emerging business trends that I thought were interesting and are designed to make you think. I hope you enjoy – and if you see any up-and-coming trends for the news industry that you’d like to share, drop me a line at david@newsmediaalliance.org.

To receive ‘Expanding the View’ in your email inbox each month, click here to subscribe.

What I’ve been reading this month:

How the Pandemic Made Algorithms Go Haywire (Slate)
Algorithms have entered every market, industry and sector. This story looks at what happened when healthcare got involved.

Forget Personalisation, It’s Impossible and It Doesn’t Work (MarketingWeek)
For years, personalized marketing has been seen as the holy grail of the field. Should it be?

What Problem Blockchains Actually Solve (The Solution Space)
If recent news about cryptocurrency has you scrambling to find more about the fundamentals, this is a great place to start.

Publishers’ Secondary Market Strategy: What Happens When the Monetary Appeal of NFTs Isn’t Enough?  (Digiday)
For anyone considering using NFTs to raise money, the key question is “then what?”

The 4 Hurdles Micropayment Platforms Can’t Overcome (Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter)
Micropayments have been promised as a solution to the news industry’s woes for years. Why haven’t the promises panned out?

Notable in the Twitter-verse:

Check out these accounts for more on these and other emerging topics:

Alex Kantrowitz: @Kantrowitz
Keach Hagey: @keachhagey
Will Oremus: @WillOremus
Tech Policy Press: @techpolicypress
Julien Genestoux: @julien51

From @AKGrenier:

@netflix DON'T MESS THIS UP!

You have one of the most unique opportunities to execute monetization on a global content platform ever.

DON'T TAKE A GENERIC ADS APPROACH!!!

My brain on how to think about ads from a customer and product first approach on Netflix. …

— Adam Grenier (@AKGrenier) April 21, 2022

From @JorgeStolfi:

Every computer scientist should be able to see that cryptocurrencies are totally disfunctional payment systems, and that "blockchain technology" (including "smart constracts") is a technological fraud. Would they please say that out loud?

— Jorge Stolfi (@JorgeStolfi) May 5, 2022

From @michaelbeach:

Local video advertising will be a $55B market in 2022.

Three big questions.

— Michael Beach (@michaelbeach) May 2, 2022

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I’m here with a new monthly reading list of stories about emerging business trends that I thought were interesting and are designed to make you think. I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you’re seeing out there that you see as up and coming for the news industry. Drop me a line at david@newsmediaalliance.org.

To receive ‘Expanding the View’ in your email inbox each month, click here to subscribe.

What I’ve been reading this month:

Six Months In, El Salvador’s Bitcoin Gamble is Crumbling (Rest of World)
A deep dive on how the country’s bold crypto experiment is faring.

Web3 and the Trap of ‘For Good’(Stanford Social Innovation Review)
Confused by the big claims around Web3? Here’s a deep dive into how proponents may be wrong that Web3 will change the world.

What Google Search Isn’t Showing You (The New Yorker)
After years as the dominant search engine, is Google still the best tool out there?

Fake News about our Fake News Study Spread Faster than its Truth… Just as We Predicted. (Sinan Aral)
A study about Fake News got the Fake News treatment. You won’t believe what happened next!

Into the Military Metaverse: An Empty Buzzword or a Virtual Resource for the Pentagon? (Breaking Defense)
As industries everywhere consider their dive into the metaverse, a look at how the Department of Defense is thinking about this transition.

President Obama Delivers Speech on Disinformation’s Threat to Democracy (Barack Obama)
President Barack Obama’s Stanford speech on disinformation dives deep into how evolving social and traditional media have led us to this moment.

Chris Dixon Thinks Web3 is the Future of the Internet – Is it? (The Verge)
A long interview with famed tech investor Chris Dixon on the future of web3, crypto, and the state of VC.

Notable in the Twitter-verse:

Check out these accounts for more on these and other emerging topics:

Alan Graham: @agraham999
Aram Zucker-Scharff: @Chronotope
web3 is going just great: @web3isgreat
Big Technology: @BigTechnology
Robin Berjon: @robinberjon

From @jasonkilar:

An observation about digital media, especially video: if a company has to pay for the production of content presented on its service, ad revenue alone is very rarely – if ever – enough to result in a sustainable business long term.

— Jason Kilar (@jasonkilar) April 21, 2022

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Smith also stated that Microsoft would abide by the legislation for its search engine, Bing, if and when it is told it must do so.

News Media Alliance President and CEO, David Chavern, stated, “We were very pleased to see Brad Smith’s remarks about the bargaining code in Australia, which we see as a turning point in global efforts to create a sustainable model for professional news. I have long said that the tech platforms can and should be part of the solution, rather than an obstacle, to ensuring the preservation of high-quality journalism. And in turn, quality news can offer a solution to the out-of-control spread of mis- and disinformation we are currently witnessing across the big tech platforms. Through working together and appropriately directing revenue to the original creators of content, we can ensure that the internet is a place where truth reigns and fake news and hate are driven out.”

Chavern penned an op-ed in The Australian, published today, describing Australia’s decision as “one that could change the course of civic societies around the globe” and calling the bargaining code “brave, thoughtful and right.”

The Alliance looks forward to the Australia bargaining code being signed into law, and to other countries – including the U.S. – adopting similar legislation, such as the U.S. bill introduced in the House and Senate, the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act, which would grant news publishers the ability to negotiate collectively with the tech platforms for fair compensation for use of their content.

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