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SAN FRANCISCO Jack Dorsey, Twitters chief executive, publicly wrestled this month with the question of whether his social media service had exercised too much power by cutting off Donald J. Trumps account. Mr. Dorsey wondered aloud if the solution to that power imbalance was new technology inspired by the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

When YouTube and Facebook barred tens of thousands of Mr. Trumps supporters and white supremacists this month, many flocked to alternative apps such as LBRY, Minds and Sessions. What those sites had in common was that they were also inspired by the design of Bitcoin.

The twin developments were part of a growing movement by technologists, investors and everyday users to replace some of the internets fundamental building blocks in ways that would be harder for tech giants like Facebook and Google to control.

To do so, they are increasingly focused on new technological ideas introduced by Bitcoin, which was built atop an online network designed, at the most basic level, to decentralize power.

Unlike other types of digital money, Bitcoin are created and moved around not by a central bank or financial institution but by a broad and disparate network of computers. Its similar to the way Wikipedia is edited by anyone who wants to help, rather than a single publishing house. That underlying technology is called the blockchain, a reference to the shared ledger on which all of Bitcoins records are kept.

Companies are now finding ways to use blockchains, and similar technology inspired by it, to create social media networks, store online content and host websites without any central authority in charge. Doing so makes it much harder for any government or company to ban accounts or delete content.

These experiments are newly relevant after the biggest tech companies recently exercised their clout in ways that have raised questions about their power.

Facebook and Twitter prevented Mr. Trump from posting online after the Capitol rampage on Jan. 6, saying he had broken their rules against inciting violence. Amazon, Apple and Google stopped working with Parler, a social networking site that had become popular with the far right, saying the app had not done enough to limit violent content.

While liberals and opponents of toxic content praised the companies actions, they were criticized by conservatives, First Amendment scholars and the American Civil Liberties Union for showing that private entities could decide who gets to stay online and who doesnt.

Even if you agree with the specific decisions, I do not for a second trust the people who are making the decisions to make universally good decisions, said Jeremy Kauffman, the founder of LBRY, which provides a decentralized service for streaming videos.

That has prompted a scramble for other options. Dozens of start-ups now offer alternatives to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Amazons web hosting services, all on top of decentralized networks and shared ledgers. Many have gained millions of new users over the past few weeks, according to the data company SimilarWeb.

This is the biggest wave Ive ever seen, said Emmi Bevensee, a data scientist and the author of The Decentralized Web of Hate, a publication about the move of right-wing groups to decentralized technology. This has been discussed in niche communities, but now we are having a conversation with the broader world about how these emerging technologies may impact the world at quite large scales.

Bitcoin first emerged in 2009. Its creator, a shadowy figure known as Satoshi Nakamoto, has said its central idea was to allow anyone to open a digital bank account and hold the money in a way that no government could prevent or regulate.

Business & Economy

Jan. 26, 2021, 4:58 p.m. ET

For several years, Bitcoin gained little traction beyond a small coterie of online admirers and people who wanted to pay for illegal drugs online. But as its price rose over time, more people in Silicon Valley took notice of the unusual technical qualities underlying the cryptocurrency. Some promised that the technology could be used to redesign everything from produce tracking to online games.

The hype fell flat over the years as the underlying technology proved to be slow, prone to error and not easily accessible. But more investments and time have begun to result in software that people can actually use.

Last year, Arweave, a blockchain-based project for permanently storing and displaying websites, created an archive of sites and documents from the protests in Hong Kong that angered the Chinese government.

Minds, a blockchain-based replacement for Facebook founded in 2015, also became an online home to some of the right-wing personalities and neo-Nazis who were booted from mainstream social networks, along with fringe groups, in other countries, that have been targeted by their governments. Minds and other similar start-ups are funded by prominent venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures.

One of the biggest proponents of the trend has been Mr. Dorsey, 44, who has talked about the promise of decentralized social networks through Twitter and has promoted Bitcoin through the other company he runs, Square, a financial technology provider.

His public support for Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related designs dates to around 2017. In late 2019, Mr. Dorsey announced Blue Sky, a project to develop technology aimed at giving Twitter less influence over who could and could not use the service.

After shutting down Mr. Trumps account this month, Mr. Dorsey said he would hire a team for Blue Sky to address his discomfort with Twitters power by pursuing the vision set out by Bitcoin. On Thursday, Blue Sky published the findings of a task force that has been considering potential designs.

Twitter declined to make Mr. Dorsey available for an interview but said it intended to share more soon.

Blockchains are not the only solution for those in search of alternatives to Big Techs power. Many people have recently migrated to the encrypted messaging apps Signal and Telegram, which have no need for a blockchain. Moxie Marlinspike, the creator of Signal, has said decentralization made it hard to build good software.

The experimentation with decentralized systems has nonetheless ramped up over the last month. Brave, a new browser, announced last week that it would begin integrating a blockchain-based system, known as IPFS, into its software to make web content more reliable in case big service providers went down or tried to ban sites.

The IPFS network gives access to content even if it has been censored by corporations and nation-states, Brian Bondy, a co-founder of Brave, said.

At LBRY, the blockchain-based alternative to YouTube, the number of people signing up daily has surged 250 percent from December, the company said. The newcomers appear to have largely been a motley crew of Trump fans, white supremacists and gun rights advocates who violated YouTubes rules.

When YouTube removed the latest videos from the white supremacist video blogger Way of the World last week, he tweeted: Why do we waste our time on this globalist scum? Come to LBRY for all my videos in HD quality, censorship free!

Megan Squires, a professor at Elon University who studies new computer networks, said blockchain-based networks faced hurdles because the underlying technology made it hard to exercise any control over content.

As a technology it is very cool, but you cant just sit there and be a Pollyanna and think that all information will be free, she said. There will be racists, and people will shoot each other. Its going to be the total package.

Mr. Kauffman said LBRY had prepared for these situations. While anyone will be able to create an account and register content on the LBRY blockchain that the company cannot delete similar to the way anyone can create an email address and send emails most people will get access to videos through a site on top of it. That allows LBRY to enforce moderation policies, much as Google can filter out spam and illegal content in email, he said.

Even so, Mr. Kauffman said, no one would lose basic access to online conversation.

Id be proud of almost any kind of marginalized voice using it, no matter how much I disagreed with it, he said.

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They Found a Way to Limit Big Techs Power: Using the Design of Bitcoin - The New York Times

Generation Z, or Gen Z, is the true digital natives. Being exposed to the Internet and social networks from young ages, Gen Z presents a distinctively different online habits and social concepts, giving rise to a series of new products and services known as "the Gen Z Business".

The established social networking Apps such as Facebook and WhatsApp either help users replicate their offline relationships online or start with strangers social networking, providing users with new options to establish new relationships online and then transfer them offline. Either way, these established social networking App have a strong interest in offline connections, because they follow the social habits of the previous generations whose main demand for social networking products is to meet the needs of real life.

Gen Z, on the other hand, does not view the Internet as a supplementary part of their real life, but an indispensable lifestyle and life scene. In contrast, they are no longer satisfied with replicating offline interpersonal relationships online, and have new requirements for online social networking that are separate from offline and free from the social pressure of real relationships. Generation Z demands a completely new and different ambiance in the virtual world where they can relieve the stress and revitalize.

Soul App saw this unique market opportunity and delivered in a different way. SOUL focuses on spiritual needs of users to help them relieve the real life social pressure. The app explores users' inner characteristics, and identifies people with common interests and similar characteristics, offering them a platform to share common interest topics with each other. The matching mechanism is based on Soul's innovative big data and AI technologies.

Soul's decentralized distribution rules also place more emphasis on content quality than popularity, fairly recommending content posted by everyone so that every interesting one has a chance to be found. This design guides users to express themselves authentically, rather than consciously catering to traffic when expressing themselves, while creating a friendly social atmosphere.

In addition to one-on-one chats on topics of common interests, Soul App also helps young people extend their social circles and enjoy the sense of belonging within a like-minded community. Hashtags, posts, and group chats make it easier for souls with similarities to meet and connect.

People who feel depressed or eager to talk with someone appreciate quick responses. As Gen Z desires much more outside information and attention, they are also more willing to open up to others. It is also essential for them to release stress at work or from life. Soul App is focused on providing a solution to those needs, which have been neglected for long, and to improve the satisfaction and happiness brought by social networking.

Successful social mechanisms can help users get rid of the psychological constraints and encourage them to share their true selves. Soul App has been able to strategically capitalize on this trend by offering a platform, or a playground, for the coming Generation Z. SOUL not only strives to provide a kind and warm social networking platform for young people, but also builds a brand that represents the trend of youth and is recognized by young people.

SOURCE Soul App

http://www.soulapp.me

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Who Knows Generation Z Best? Soul App Gives the Answer as A New Social Playground for A Hundred Million Gen Z - PRNewswire

Riley Hillin may be a young 20-something, but he has already made his mark on the world of social media and cryptocurrency. With people spending more time than ever on social media sites and apps like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and others, there is a massive amount of moneymaking opportunities for those who can see them. One of those people is Riley.

Going all the way back to 2012, Riley has been involved in the world of social media in some way. He had eventually shifted into focusing on digital marketing using social media and investing in cryptocurrency. He now does these full-time, which has led to him becoming incredibly successful. Thanks to using targeted advertising on Facebook and other social media platforms, Riley has been able to reach the potential customers who have the highest chance of converting into paying customers. That is why personal and professional brands flock to Riley for help with their digital marketing campaigns.

The social media and cryptocurrency landscapes are always evolving and changing. As they do, so do the strategies Riley uses to get ahead and unlock ever-greater success. Its been nearly a decade since Riley has begun getting involved in these markets. What originally was a hobby when he was a teenager later evolved into his bread and butter.

To get his start, Riley got involved in selling social media accounts. The money he made from these sales was then invested into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It wasnt long before this rinse-and-repeat process started earning Riley the big bucks.

With the help of his networking skills, Riley has been able to reach audiences in numerous niches by following a proven formula. This has led to him using digital marketing effectively by collaborating with influencers who have a large reach.

Through selling numerous accounts and using digital marketing, Riley has developed a reputation for being someone who is trustworthy and who always delivers quality. This has led to him establishing a way to support himself, and do so very well.

When it comes to his cryptocurrency investments, he has done incredibly well by investing in the two biggest cryptocurrencies on the market: Bitcoin and Ethereum. Since the start of 2021, these have gone to the moon, taking Riley along for the ride. However, Riley has been making money with Bitcoin and Ethereum for several years thanks to being an early adopter. Even if prices dipped down sharply, as they are known to do in this space, he is still far above what his initial investment was.

Now that Riley has unlocked his own extraordinary success, he helps others do the same. By being an example of what works, Riley has inspired countless other individuals to become self-made entrepreneurs using novel tools like social media and cryptocurrency to build their wealth. Riley plans to continue running his social media business and helping other aspiring entrepreneurs along the way.

You can keep up with the latest from Riley by following him on Instagram @rileyh.

Original post:
Entrepreneur and Investor Riley Hillin Explains How to Succeed With Social Media and Cryptocurrency - SF Weekly

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LBSNS (Location-Based Social Networking Service) Market, Segment By Top Manufacturers, Marketing Channel, Global Regions And Forecast Research...

The digital media industry will give us plenty to talk about this year.

When we last surveyed venture capitalists about their media investments, the big topic was the impact that the pandemic would have on the industry, and on the prospects for new startups.

Obviously, the pandemic hasnt gone away, but when asked to predict the biggest storylines for 2021, VCs pointed to themes as varied as new distribution models, new kinds of interactivity, new tools for creators, the return of advertising business models and even the role of media in a democratic society.

We are headed toward a content universe where consumers power of choice grows to new heights what premium content to consume and pay for, and how to consume it, Javelins Alex Gurevich wrote. The consumers will have the final choice! Not traditional media and content distribution companies.

For this new survey, we heard from 10 VCs nine who invest in media startups, plus a tenth whos seeing plenty of media pitches and was happy to share her thoughts. We asked them about the likelihood of further industry consolidation, whether well see more digital media companies take the SPAC route and of course, what theyre looking for in their next investment.

Heres who we surveyed:

Read their full responses below.

Daniel Gulati: Defining medias role in a democratic society. What accountability exists when an individual companys pursuit of scale leads to the spread of disinformation? When a platforms terms of service appears to collide with constitutional rights, who makes the call and what happens? To what extent should governments support the viability of local media organizations in the face of global competition and a rapidly changing digital landscape?

These are high stakes issues that will be front and center through the year.

Alex Gurevich: The continued disruption of content distribution models, whether thats the debundling of cable via the plethora of SVOD services, or the way new content is released (i.e., on-demand at home versus movie theaters). We are headed toward a content universe where consumers power of choice grows to new heights what premium content to consume and pay for, and how to consume it. The consumers will have the final choice! Not traditional media and content distribution companies. The pandemic has greatly accelerated this trend.

Matthew Hartman: The two largest social networks, Twitter and Facebook, removed the account of a sitting president and a set of related, follower accounts. This has fundamentally reset the media stack. This will accelerate action the government had already planned to take, including to reshape Section 230. The ripples will be felt throughout media, affecting how news is distributed through social media, what startups can use bigger platforms to grow, what the exit options are for small talent acquisitions and the fragmentation already occurring.

Second, the rise of synthetic media. Algorithmically enhanced or created media is a shift we identified at Betaworks in 2018 and in 2021 it will only increase in scale and scope. Yes, this affects deep fake detection (with companies like Sensity.AI leading the way) and other nefarious uses but it will also start to fundamentally reshape the way media is created, from the cost of animation to the cost of writing stories, to editing and creating CGI.

Third, game streaming will continue to grow, with audiences that are starting to blow away those of regular TV. An enormous number of people tuned in last year to watch Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez play Among Us on Twitch with popular streamers (she hit 435,000 concurrent viewers at one point). And that wasnt even close to the biggest event ever on Twitch, David Martinez, aka TheGrefg, hit 2.4 million concurrent viewers for the unveiling of his new Fortnite skin. Game publishers have finally started to understand the power of streamers not just to launch a new game, but to revive old ones, with games that groups of streamers can play together (like Among Us or Rust) soaring in popularity this past year.

Jerry Lu: The emergence of interactive media platforms outside of just gaming.

Because of their isolation due to COVID, people are yearning for social interaction and were seeing greater engagement across platforms like Twitch and Zoom, which make interactive communications possible. Previous iterations of media platforms were top-down broadcast, whereby companies produced content they thought consumers would like. Over the past five years, weve started to see a greater shift toward the long tail, whereby content comes straight from the consumer.

Gaming and esports were at the forefront of this shift from passive content viewing to interactive entertainment experiences. I believe that 2021 will be the year when we see platforms beginning to embrace interactivity as a form of audience participation, blurring the line between viewer and active participant. Im excited at the prospect of seeing this form of interactive content consumption applied to other sectors, like education, childcare and commerce, to name a few.

Jana Messerschmidt: We will see a proliferation of products that enable content creators to build businesses outside of traditional media companies. These creators will leverage their existing brand, following and social media engagement to become entrepreneurs, building revenue streams across multiple different products.

There are a plethora of new tools for creators: for writers (Substack, Medium), personalized video shoutouts from creators (Cameo*, PearPop), new audio platforms (LockerRoom*, Clubhouse) or all-in-one tools for creators that include merch, subscriptions, tipping and more (FourthWall* ). Now is the time for creators to be rewarded by their fans for their content creation.

Historically, the big social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Snap*, Twitter, TikTok) have failed to create meaningful paths for their creators to monetize. They make money from advertisers and thus their resources are focused on those advertising customer demands.

Michael Palank: If 2020 was the year every major media company either announced or grew their direct-to-consumer video/audio/gaming offering, 2021 will be the year where those offerings optimize and differentiate or die. We expect the hunger for original content to continue, but we feel the type of content will continue to diversify from both a story and IP perspective and a format perspective. It is not unthinkable that a major media company like Apple, Amazon or Disney looks to acquire Clubhouse in 2021.

As the lines between video games and filmed entertainment continue to blur we can also envision new companies popping up to take advantage of this trend. I also feel these content platforms will need to differentiate by way of better discovery and personalization.

I fully expect every major media company from Disney to Apple to Amazon to Microsoft will be looking for new and innovative ways to separate themselves from the rest of the pack in 2021.

Marlon Nichols: I think that the continued creation of streaming platforms from content creators/owners (e.g., Disney+, HBO Max, etc.) will force downward subscription pricing adjustments across the board and streaming platforms will need to revisit advertising as a revenue stream. That said, we know that watching ads on a paid platform wont fly with consumers so I believe well see contextually relevant product placement become the accepted form of brand/content collaboration going forward. I led MaCs investment into Ryff because of this thesis.

Pr-Jrgen Prson: Institutions and legislators will have a big effect on social media platforms. I think there will be pushes on antitrust behavior, and social networks will have to behave like media meaning that they also need to take responsibility for the content thats on their platform, not only from a user agreement standpoint like today but from an editorial standpoint. I think well see many more editors-in-chief in this industry, as editorial becomes more and more important in our polarized world. This has the potential to change the social media platform landscape quite dramatically, and Im not entirely sure yet on the long-term impact commercially.

M.G. Siegler: Its sort of boring, but I wouldnt be shocked if we see a swing back toward advertising-based models. I think there are two parts to this: First, if and when the pandemic recedes, I think a lot of traditional big advertising players like travel, will come roaring back. Second, it feels like theres been a move away from advertising to paid subscriptions for a while now and I think these things are cyclical.

To be clear, I think both will continue to exist, I just think that after years of underindexing on paid subs, now were perhaps on the verge of overindexing on it Obviously, advertising never went away, I just think it may be due for a bit of a renaissance (though I say that hoping the powers that be make those ads a better user experience I think thats the only way theres not another backlash against them).

Laurel Touby: The biggest trend in digital media will be companies that dont call themselves media companies, but that clearly draw from the business model playbook of media companies. For example: Companies that monetize their communities by giving sponsors and advertisers access to their audiences; or technology startups that sell wearable products and upsell their customers with access to premium high-value content.

Hans Tung:Contextual social networks: Video and livestreaming with the likes of TikTok and with other players like Instagram and Snap will continue to drive creativity and engagement. Clubhouse is now garnering a lot of attention as audio captures the attention of a new generation. This also creates new opportunities for established audio players like YY or Ximalaya. At the same time, apps like Clubhouse are an evolution of Snap or Twitter where influencers of all sorts gather to build a new following on new platforms.

However, one of the most interesting things were seeing is the emergence of contextual social networks that are focused on solving real-life problems. We see a lot more companies taking the best of audio and video experiences and experimenting with the next iteration of apps like Headspace and Calm, to solve societal issues, personal issues such as how to deal with anxiety, etc. These social networks may not scale as quickly or grab headlines like Clubhouse but theyre designed to bring people together to solve problems. We are also seeing professionalized networks such as Valence or Chief use these audio/video networks to address issues for a particular gender or underrepresented group, or apps that create virtual networking for communities.

Digital media delivered with differentiated experiences: Peloton may not immediately jump to mind as a digital-media company but they are one of the best at producing a high-value experience using extremely high-quality content that goes far beyond simple fitness or even the need for hardware. Increasingly more categories will become Netflix-ized where content is king and the experience is delivered through your smartphone.

As with Peloton, the experience is further enhanced with social interaction, such as leader boards, access to the best instructors, etc., which in turn expands the reach of the content. Its a powerful loop that is driven by quality content, and the components feed off each other to make it more accessible. If you then couple it with Affirm to make it more affordable, youve got a flywheel on steroids. This pattern will emerge in other categories.

Consumerization of enterprise communication: Another aspect of media is communication, which we are seeing evolve in the enterprise space. It started with Slack a few years ago and Zoom more recently. Now with companies like Yak or the emergence of various conference apps, we see a higher usage frequency between companies, companies and their customers, and within the enterprise itself.

Originally posted here:
10 VCs say interactivity, regulation and independent creators will reshape digital media in 2021 - TechCrunch