⬛️ QR codes continue to spread
And I like it.
👋 Welcome to FWIW by David Tvrdon, your weekly tech, media & audio digest.
In this edition
QR codes everywhere
TikTok is expected to grow its ad revenue on par with YouTube's in 2024
YouTube Culture & Trends report 2022
Going contactless with QR codes at ATMs
During the week I stumbled upon a small piece of news: In Czechia, Česká spořitelna, the largest bank, launched a contactless cash withdrawal option from ATMs using the bank app that scans the QR code at the ATM. The idea is to not touch anything but the money and your phone. Simple!
Česká spořitelna is by no means the first bank to launch something like this. The same contactless cash withdrawal options have been around for years. But this is the nearest it has got to me.
Although I live in Slovakia, east of Czechia, it is interesting to see how QR codes continue to spread and become more mainstream.
People are getting used to paying invoices with their apps by scanning the QR code, some restaurants have stopped giving you menus, there is only a QR code on the table and in general, we (in Europe) have started to see more QR codes around us.
Years ago, we ran a few experiments with QR codes in the newspaper I work for. Maybe 20 people out of the 20,000 getting the paper scanned them. Not the best experiment as the target audience isn’t mobile first.
However, I hear colleagues from a German local newspaper successfully signed up hundreds of readers for their newsletter via smart use of QR codes in the paper.
Yes, I’m obsessed with QR codes and would love to see more use cases for them in this region. I mean, we are getting there, but it might take a while. Still, I don’t think we will ever catch up to China in the overall use of QR codes.
TECH
👏 After SCOTUS overturned Roe v Wade, Apple, Meta, Google, and other tech companies announce or reaffirm policies supporting staff seeking abortion services. The New York Times keeps a list of companies that have committed to helping their employees get access to reproductive care. [Fast Company]
😮 TikTok is on track to triple revenue this year to $12bn. The entertainment platform raked in nearly $4bn in revenue in 2021, mostly from advertising. TikTok is still small (1 billion montly active users) compared to FB (2.9 billion) or Instagram (2 billion). A 30-second Super Bowl ad runs about $6.5m – but TikTok can charge that rate every day for its TopView ad (the first thing that pops up on users’ feed when they open the app), Bloomberg points out. The video-sharing platform now lets merchants (in the UK, Indonesia and Thailand) set up digital stores where users can purchase products directly inside the app without any involvement from traditional e-commerce. TikTok is expected to grow its ad revenue on par with YouTube's in 2024. [Bloomberg]
😆 Crypto profiteers can’t seem to coherently explain Web3 use cases. A number of recent interviews show crypto-bulls stuck at repeating nonsense instead of simple answers. [The Atlantic]
😶 US FCC commissioner wants Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores. Brendan Carr, one of the FCC’s commissioners, shared a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai that pointed to reports and other developments that made TikTok non-compliant with the two companies’ app store policies. [CNBC]
🥰 Elon Musk hasn’t tweeted in over a week. [Axios]
🤔 Nothing Phone 1 will start selling from $397 in India. The Nothing Phone 1 is in talks with Reliance Digital for offline sales in India. It will come with Nothing OS based on Android 12, three storage options (8GB + 128GB; 8GB + 256GB; and 12GB + 256GB). It has In-Display Fingerprint Scanner and Face ID, Snapdragon 778+ 5G chipset, a 4500mAh battery and a 50MP primary sensor and a 16MP secondary shooter, and on the front, you will get a 16MP Selfie shooter. [Root My Galaxy]
😎 Snap launches Snapchat+, offering exclusive, experimental, and pre-release Snapchat features for $3.99 per month, starting in nine countries (US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, UAE). [The Verge]
📱 Review: Samsung Galaxy A13 5G. According to Wired, this $250 Android phone has great performance, more than a day of battery life, and class-leading software support. [Wired]
😯 Apple readies iPhone 14, HomePod upgrade and many new products for the fall event. The new products will include four iPhone 14 models (no mini, a Max standard version instead), three Apple Watch variations, several Macs with M2 and M3 chips, the company’s first mixed-reality headset, low-end and high-end iPads, updated AirPods Pro earbuds, a fresh HomePod and an upgraded Apple TV. [Bloomberg]
MEDIA
👀 YouTube Culture & Trends report 2022. TL;DR: 65% of Gen-Z agree that content that’s personally relevant to them is more important than content everyone is talking about and 55% of Gen-Z watch content no one they know personally is interested in; communities are an increasingly influencing factor; 57% of Gen-Z agree they like it when brands participate in memes; 59% of Gen-Z agree that they use short-form video apps to discover things and then watch longer versions; 89% of Gen-Z have used YouTube to watch soothing content that helps them relax and 69% agree they often find themselves returning to creators or content that feels comforting to them (weirdly, they also find comfort in horror content with 53% agreeing online horror content appeals to them). [YouTube]
⛱ Can Journalists be Influencers? A new report from The London School of Economics and Political Science. Haven’t had time to dive in, but from what I was able to skim, looks very interesting. [Polis LSE]
🤭 Substack is laying off 14% of its staff (13 of its 90 employees). The cuts affected staff members responsible for human resources and writer support functions, among others. Substack generated about $9m in revenue last year, yet its value said to be $650m (“a hefty premium” as The Times pointed out). Twitter thread by CEO Chris Best. [NYT]
🧐 How YouTube has spawned its own media critics. A number of creators are specializing in commenting on videos of other creators. I love how many of them take apart Gary Vee's hot takes. This piece points out that some of them are doing journalism and uncovering shady advice and dubious information. [NYT]
🤦♂️ Facebook Groups are being revamped to look like Discord and you can set up channels within. Meta is testing a new sidebar that lists your groups, you can pin your favourite and once you choose a group you will see the channels in the sidebar. Literally, like Discord or Slack. This is just lazy product development. [The Verge]
🗣 On July 7th, Semafor, the new news startup by Ben Smith and Justin Smith, is organising a pre-launch event. Semafor's editor-in-chief Ben Smith will conduct 1:1 interviews with Washington Post's Taylor Lorenz, Politico's John Harris and Tucker Carlson of Fox News (who will join remotely). Semafor's executive editor Gina Chua will moderate a panel with journalist and author Wesley Lowery, WSJ's former Washington executive editor Gerald Seib and the host of Al Jazeera's The Stream, Femi Oke. [Semafor]
🤓 75% of large subscription publishers offer discounted trials. The vast majority offered paid trials (93.3%). 76% promoted a single term or offer only and 66% offered relatively long trial periods of 3 months or more. The average trial length for primary trial offers came in at 7 months (28 weeks). [Toolkits]
👤 A profile of Kareem Daniel, the Disney executive responsible for Disney’s streaming strategy. [NYT]
3️⃣ Disney board extended the contract for Bob Chapek as CEO for another three years. [NYT]
📲 MrBeast, an OG YouTuber, argued recently Shorts are a viable way to grow your channel. Also, the better your content is the more chance for growth you have. [TechCrunch]
FROM THE FIX
2️⃣ How a Hungarian podcast network found early success with dynamic ads in a developing market
3️⃣ 25 years ago, I discovered the Internet
4️⃣ Burning questions the 2022 Digital News Report answered. And a few it created
[ 📬 Get The Fix newsletter delivered to your inbox every week with the latest insights, news, and analysis about the European media market. Sign up here > ]
AUDIO
🎧 Meta wants the metaverse to sound more like the real world. Mark Zuckerberg has been talking about their effort to make the digital sound better for the metaverse from the beginning. Now, they open-sourced a few models that should allow others to better represent real-world sound in virtual spaces. Without good sound in the virtual world, it won’t be an immersive experience. [Axios]
🤔 What are the key drivers of podcast appeal? A new study says audiences mainly want to be entertained (49%). Entertainment value should be your first and foremost consideration when making a podcast, whether it’s a scripted drama, branded podcast or educational how-to show, says the report. [Signal Hill Insights]
🎙 Spotify’s billion-dollar bet on podcasting has yet to pay off. Popular shows like Joe Rogan, Bill Simmons, and Call Her Daddy haven’t fixed the business. That’s what Bloomberg thinks and probably a few analysts as well. I think it’s still early – but, from the data available, more and more people listen to podcasts thanks to Spotify. However, its true monetization is lacking. [Bloomberg]
👏 In Italy, Chora Media, a podcast company with 1.5-3 million downloads per month, bought Will Media, a Gen-Z news-focused startup, for €5m. Will Media’s daily news digest, The Essential, is one of the most popular podcasts in the country and was bought by Spotify last year, on average it reaches more than 1 million monthly listeners. The goal of Chora Media is to build the country’s largest digital-audio media group. [Financial Times]
🤩 Cross promotional launch plan for podcasts. A guidebook to podcast marketing via cross-promotions – from the beginning of the planning phase to launch week. [Sounds Profitable]
👍 Substack upgrades its audio experience and features for writers. Nicer audio embeds, you can position them anywhere, plus you can opt-in to have Substack generate an audio version of your blog. [Substack]
💰 Podcasts are a great IP, proven again by Malcolm Gladwell’s audio company Pushkin Industries signing a film and TV deal with A24 studio. [Bloomberg]
❓ Poll: Are you a fan of QR codes?
Last poll results: Twitter Notes or Newsletters? 46% think I should give it a rest, 40% are in favor of newsletters and only 14% think Twitter Notes are a good idea.
🙏 And big thanks to Celine Bijleveld who helped me edit this newsletter. You can follow her on Substack here.