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The internet is a community, but can it be a nation-state? It’s a question that I have been pondering on and off this year, what with the rise of digital nomads and the deeply libertarian ethos baked into parts of the blockchain community. It’s clearly on a lot of other people’s minds as well: when … Read moreThe nation-state of the internet
Netflix just broke new records on consumer spending in its mobile apps, according to new data app intelligence firm Sensor Tower has shared with TechCrunch. In November, Netflix pulled in an estimated $86.6 million in worldwide consumer spending across its iOS and Android apps combined — a figure that’s 77 percent higher than the $49 … Read moreNetflix just had a record-breaking November on mobile
If you’re reading this post, you probably want to watch the first trailer for the new Avengers movie. So go ahead, watch it. I’ll wait. It doesn’t show much that viewers of “Avengers: Infinity War” hadn’t already guessed (spoilers!): Namely, that the galactic warlord Thanos has succeeded in his plot to eliminate half the … Read moreThe next Avengers movie has a title and a cryptic first trailer
Last month, Pandora announced it would soon be bringing its “Genome” technology to a new space outside of music: it would leverage a similar classification system to make podcast recommendations, too. Initially, the feature was only available to select users on mobile devices, ahead of a broader public launch. Today, Pandora says its Podcast Genome … Read morePandora’s Podcast Genome Project goes live for all
Movies Anywhere, the Disney-led movie service operated in partnership Universal, WB, Sony Pictures and 20th Century Fox, is adding its first pay TV partner. Starting today, Comcast Xfinity TV customers will be able to sync their accounts with Movies Anywhere in order to access their movie purchases from the Xfinity Digital Store alongside those from … Read moreDigital movie collection app Movies Anywhere adds its first pay TV partner, Comcast
Amazon Music, reportedly the third-largest subscription-based music service worldwide, is doubling down on voice. The company is today announcing the launch of a new set of features that will allow Amazon Music customers to chat with Alexa in a more natural way in order to find and play the music they want to hear. The … Read moreAmazon Music customers can now talk to Alexa more naturally
Spotify arrived on the Xbox One back in August 2017 to give gamers the option of streaming their own tunes while in a gaming session. Today, Spotify is upgrading its app with a few key additions, including most notably support for Cortana voice control, along with other personalization features. With Cortana, gamers will be able … Read moreSpotify for Xbox One now works with Cortana voice commands
Mobile intelligence and data firm App Annie is today releasing its 2019 predictions for the worldwide app economy, including its forecast around consumer spending, gaming, the subscription market, and other highlights. Most notably, it expects the worldwide gross consumer spend in apps – meaning before the app stores take their own cut – to surpass … Read moreApp Stores to pass $122B in 2019, with gaming and subscriptions driving growth
India finally has its answer to Spotify after Reliance Jio merged its music service with Saavn, the startup it acquired earlier this year. The deal itself isn’t new — it was announced back in March — but it has reached its logical conclusion after two apps were merged to create a single entity, JioSaavn, which is … Read moreJioSaavn becomes India’s answer to Spotify and Apple Music
In order to have innovative smart city applications, cities first need to build out the connected infrastructure, which can be a costly, lengthy, and politicized process. Third-parties are helping build infrastructure at no cost to cities by paying for projects entirely through advertising placements on the new equipment. I try to dig into the economics … Read moreThe economics and tradeoffs of ad-funded smart city tech