From the category archives:

media

Apple, Shazam, and the Song Recognizing Speaker

by Ian Rosenwach 12.12.2017

The benefits to Apple Music from the Shazam acquisition are clear. The Music Industry Blog did a great job outlining the prospects of Apple using Shazam’s underlying data and customer knowledge to boost Apple Music. I want to look at it from another angle – HomePod and the voice-controlled speaker market. This is an area with […]

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Five Predictions for 2017

by Ian Rosenwach 1.2.2017

Here’s my shot at predicting what 2017 will bring – 1. Privatization – Federal government programs from healthcare to social security will be under constant threat of privatization. It’s already been floated for the VA healthcare system. It’s not a fun year to be a federal government employee – our institutions will be scrutinized like […]

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What is “Fake News”?

by Ian Rosenwach 11.15.2016

Yesterday Google and Facebook both announced they were cracking down on “fake news” sites that are using their ad networks to make money. First some background: Google and Facebook have publisher networks that display ads sold by Google or FB on their site.  The revenue from those ads is split between the Publisher and Google/FB. […]

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AT&T, Time Warner, and Digital Convergence

by Ian Rosenwach 10.25.2016

“The question is, are people really going to watch what we make on a computer screen or not,” said Bewkes. “I think an awful lot rides on whether that happens or not.” – Jeff Bewkes in 2000 at the time of the AOL/Time Warner merger (to Kara Swisher) AT&T is in the process of acquiring Time […]

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Twitter is Dead. Long Live Twitter.

by Ian Rosenwach 5.6.2014

Twitter has had a lot of explaining to do of late. They need to onboard and activate new users while keeping existing users happy. They have to help Wall Street and the media understand Twitter’s business. Last but not least, they have to ensure advertisers see the value in Twitter as an ad platform. How is […]

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With Paper, Facebook thinks like a Media Company

by Ian Rosenwach 2.4.2014

Yesterday Facebook released Paper, a new stand-alone app to browse content. Paper represents a dramatic departure from Facebook as a place to connect with your friends. Paper aims to connect users with the rest of the world. It’s also the first step towards Facebook becoming a media company. Your Friends – Just a Channel Paper […]

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Is the Internet a public utility?

by Ian Rosenwach 2.3.2014

The question is, Has the Internet become so fundamental to our lives that it is, in essence, a utility that should be subject to regulation? (NYT) Nick Bilton poses the above question today on the New York Times’ website. It’s a question that is at the heart of the net neutrality debate. Net neutrality refers […]

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Aereo

by Ian Rosenwach 1.12.2014

Aereo has also gotten legal backing from a Silicon Valley consortium that represents companies including Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Pandora, who have argued that a loss for Aereo could threaten cloud computing in general. (re/code) This past Friday the Supreme Court agreed to consider the legality of online-video service Aereo. This case has far-reaching implications for […]

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