Author: Ina Fried / Source: Axios
1 big thing: Snap sees a future in services
A slew of new updates, features and services unveiled by Snap Inc. Thursday capture the Santa Monica-based “camera company” in mid-evolution — from a chat platform to a broker of value-added services modeled on China’s tech giants.
Why it matters: Snap has faced investor skepticism that its media model of youth-oriented ephemeral photo and video sharing can support an ad business on the scale of Google’s or Facebook’s, Sara Fischer reports.
- The announcements at the first-ever Snapchat Partner Summit show that Snap intends to keep growing its ad revenue while building revenue-generating services that users can access across apps to increase engagement with Snap’s products.
The details: Snap announced it will launch the Snap Audience Network, which will allow other companies to run “Snap ads” inside their own apps. Snap will allow advertisers to sell ads through its technology, while keeping a cut of the ad revenue.
- This is a big deal because it would enable Snap to dramatically expand its ad revenue to compete with the likes of Google and Facebook, which have their own ad networks.
- Yes, but: It’s not set to launch for several months, and details of the ad targeting’s workings were scant, as Recode’s Kurt Wagner notes.
Snap also announced major updates for developers and its camera, and rolled out a new gaming platform as well as a slate of original shows.
- A brand new gaming platform called “Snap Games” will allow users to play real-time, multiplayer games with their friends.
- Be smart: Tencent, one of China’s biggest gaming companies, purchased a 10% stake in the company in 2017, which sources say have helped guide Snapchat’s foray into gaming.
The big picture: The event comes just days after Apple announced a suite of new software services, including a new gaming platform, and after Google unveiled its new cloud gaming service, Stadia.
The bottom line: Tech giants are rushing to create better software to increase user engagement with their software and to make money off of things like payments, advertising and storage.
2. Google scraps controversial AI advisory board
Google has pulled the plug on an outside advisory group that was intended to guide AI work following a series of controversies, the company confirmed on Thursday.
Why it matters: Google, like Microsoft, had been looking for outside input to help shape its AI efforts. However, Google’s panel drew almost immediate outcry for, among other things, including the president of the Heritage Foundation.
Thousands of Google employees and others had signed a petition calling for the removal of Kay Coles James, citing views they said were anti-transgender, anti-gay and anti-immigrant.
What they’re saying:
- Google: “It’s become clear that in the current environment, (the panel) can’t function as we wanted,” Google said in a statement. “So we’re ending the council and going back to the drawing board. We’ll continue to be responsible in our work on the important issues that AI raises, and will find different ways of getting outside opinions on these topics.”
- Petition organizers: “So many people (over 2300 Googlers & over 300 supporters from industry, academia and civil society) answered the call to #StandAgainstTransphobia,” the petition’s organizers
Twitter
. “We thank you for your support & unwillingness to compromise on hate.”
A source had earlier told Axios that Google planned to hold firm and keep Coles, citing a desire to hear from a range of voices and draw on Coles’ free market perspective.
The group’s…
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