Tag: Internet

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Then, in December, Facebook announced a change to the algorithm it uses to determine what kinds of updates (“stories”) users see in the News Feeds. In a blog post, Facebook said it wanted to feature more “high quality” content and fewer “meme photos.”

That same month, Upworthy’s traffic dropped 25% – reaching 67 million people around the world between December 1 and December 31.

Then, in January, Upworthy traffic dipped even lower – to 48 million people.

That’s a 46% traffic decline in two months.

Facebook has killed Upworthy, or at least dealt it a dramatic blow.
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Amidst the ongoing debate over the iconic director’s alleged sexual abuse in 1992 of his then 7-year-old adopted daughter, numerous sources nationwide confirmed Thursday that a newly published blog post titled “What You Really Need To Know About The Woody Allen Scandal” will finally and categorically settle the matter in its entirety.

Good job, Onion.
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Wondering why a hand-drawn picture of a happy shiba inu surrounded by broken English in Comic Sans ended up on page 27 of today’s Guardian? The simple answer is advertising.

For those who don’t recognise the image, above, it’s an example of the doge meme – in this case, a newspaper-themed one, hence captions such as “Brekin newz: cates r ilegal” (breaking news: cats are illegal) and “pls red” (please read).

It ended up in the financial pages of the paper thanks to a business data startup called DueDil, which won a competition run by the Guardian small business network.

“We were surprised that the Guardian would let us do it,” explains DueDil’s chief executive, Damian Kimmelman.

“We got the £50,000 [of advertising space, the prize in the competition] and we were like: ‘Oh crap, how are we going to spend this money?’ We debated, and decided on Friday we were going to do something funny. We don’t really need the advertising anymore, we get enough traffic as it is.”

On the one hand: Yes, it’s pretty funny despite Doge in general harshing my mellow.

On the other: Why didn’t DueDil just refuse the prize and ask for another small business to be chosen who might have wanted the ad space?

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Given its eight years under corporate ownership, it’s near miraculous that Reddit’s verve, the unruliness that makes it appealing to so many, has survived. “Condé Nast realised pretty early they’re not a technology company,” Ohanian said. (He still serves on the Reddit board.) “They gave Reddit a ton of autonomy.” Martin called Advance Publications “extremely hands-off”.

Huffman has a different stance. He was kept on to run Reddit after its 2006 acquisition and launched the company’s San Francisco office. Huffman found Reddit’s ownership stifling and told me that by the end of his time at the company he wasn’t on speaking terms with the then-president of Condé Nast Digital. One day on Reddit, the joke of the moment – there’s always one – had been to mock the retail giant Sears, a big advertiser with Condé Nast. Sears complained, according to Huffman, who says he was told to remove certain posts, and eventually gave in. “I’ve still never forgiven them.” Huffman left the company in 2009 and now runs a travel website, Hipmunk.

Long, but worth reading, piece on Reddit and the Internet at the Guardian.
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Over the course of the next month, I’m going to put up a bunch of interviews in the 30-40 minute range—I’m aiming for two a week, but I may end up with a few more—with people in and around comics, talking about what they do and why. I don’t have a script, preferring to let the conversation go where it wants to go, but I did ask each person how they came to comics and what their comics community is like. Beyond that, it’s anything goes. This won’t be exhaustive or comprehensive, because there are literally not enough hours in the day for that. But hopefully it will be a lot at the very least.

There aren’t words to say how excited I am about David Brothers’ new comics podcast.
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That said, it’s important clarify exactly what’s going on here. Fast Company broke the story of the API in a kind of confusing way. The way we read it, Marvel is opening up its data store, not its content library (in other words, developers won’t have open license to build apps featuring Marvel characters, so we won’t be seeing an authorized, fan-created Hulk vs. Punisher deathmatch anytime soon).

What we are likely to see are apps that make it easier for casual and hardcore fans alike to track their favorite characters across different media; custom infographics that turn the data into beautiful visuals; and the opportunity for retailers to package specific storylines and data more easily on their websites.

The catch, according to the terms of use, is that opportunities for third party developers to commercialize the data through paid apps, ads or in-app purchases are significantly constrained, and Marvel has final say over how developers can promote the apps. Considering Marvel’s historical reputation of grasping tightly to its IP ownership claims, terms like these raise suspicions in the creative community.

From here.

“What if we outsource development work to the fan community? We can make it seem like we’re being generous!”

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Marvel Comics is unveiling its programming interface (API) and developer platform in a beta version tomorrow morning, swinging wide the gates to the Marvel universe of comic heroes to fans and developers around the world. The API–which will include comic book artwork, character histories, creator insights, and expanded stories–will grant members access to an expansive database of Marvel’s library of 75 years of comics, including over 30,000 comics, 7,000 series, and 5,000 creators. This move gives developers the tools to create their own Marvel-based apps and digital offerings.

From here.

File under “Things I need to get my head around.”

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Hi everyone, it’s [Patch COO] Leigh Zarelli Lewis. Patch is being restructured in connection with the creation of the joint venture with Hale Global. Hale Global has decided which Patch employees will receive an offer of employment to move forward in accordance with their vision for Patch and which will not. Unfortunately, your role has been eliminated and you will no longer have a role at Patch and today will be your last day of employment with the company. …Thank you again and best of luck.

January has been a weird/not entirely good month for work, for me – editorial changes in a couple of places –  but instead of feeling sorry for myself as I’ve been doing all week, maybe I should be happy that I didn’t find out that I lost my job in a conference call.

“I’m told that hundreds — two tipsters claim two-thirds of the editorial staff — have been laid off by Patch’s new owner, Hale Global,” wrote Jim Romenesko. Wow.