The Tech Landscape #202 đŻ
Twitterâs Tip Jar, Clubhouse on Android, and TikTok extends itself: this is issue 202 of The Tech Landscape, a weekly collection of news about consumer digital technology. Stories are selected by me, Peter Gasston, with a little insight and opinion where appropriate.
This week I want to take a little dump on a tweet I read. Iâm not going to link to it (Iâm not that person), but it basically said something like: âI’m afraid to Google something because I don’t want the algorithm to think I like it, and I’m afraid to click a link because I don’t want the algorithm to show me more like it⌠what a cage.â
When I was at school, a new kid joinedâletâs call him Paul. We became friends, and a few months later he invited a group of us to his birthday party. Of course, we didnât know him well, so we asked him what he liked, and he said he liked a series of booksâletâs say Mr Men (Iâm sure we were too old for them, but I genuinely canât remember the series). So on the day of his birthday we all bought him Mr Men books. He wasnât very happy. Over the years weâve all got to know him better, and learn more about his tastes, and can buy things we know he likes, or has a reasonable chance of liking. He doesnât get 10 of the same books for his birthday anymore.
Thatâs âthe algorithmâ in real life. Itâs observing what someone likes or does, then trying to make recommendations for more things like itâwhether thatâs books, TV shows, clothes, advertising, or whatever. It works on probability, so itâs going to make better guesses the more it knows you; if you like ten things of type A, then liking one thing of type B shouldnât be enough to completely change its recommendations. The problem is, we donât like âthe algorithmâ if it doesnât work, and we donât like it if works too well (âcreepy!â). But itâs not sinister, and itâs not a cage.
âThe algorithmâ is the best way to navigate a world of infinite choice; imagine you went to a record shop (remember them?) which had every recording ever released; how would you find new music? Youâd either buy music by bands you know you already liked, or youâd take a pure gamble on somethingâwhich most of the time would be a miss. So youâd ask a store worker, and theyâd recommend the music they likedâbut thatâs no guarantee youâd like it. A good worker would ask what type of music you like, and recommend music based on thatâyou might not like all the recommendations, but thereâs more of a chance youâd like some. Thatâs just what âthe algorithmâ does.
And yes, I know thereâs no such thing as âthe algorithmâ.
OK, letâs get on with it. Hope youâre well!
Payments and Subscriptions
Twitter announced Tip Jar, for select accounts to receive donations from followers. Twitter doesnât handle the payments or take a cut. Approved accounts will have a Tip Jar icon on their profile, and on Android will have the option to show it in Spaces.
blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2021/introducing-tip-jar.html
Twitter bought Scroll, which removes ads from select publishers for a monthly fee. Itâs expected to be integrated into the platform to provide ad-free browsing as part of a subscription model. Iâve used Scroll since it launched and it works well; better than an ad blocker as the publishers get paid.
axios.com/twitter-acquires-scroll-e076eebe-b6c4-4c1e-a8ff-11c2fd0945cc.html
WhatsApp confirmed that its payments service is available again in Brazil. The service premiered last year in Brazil but the countryâs central bank quickly banned it. The problem seems to have been cleared up now, though. Payments have since also launched in India, but arenât available globally yet.
twitter.com/davidmarcus/status/1389671822405214210
Social & Messaging
TikTok released its first two software development kits to extend the platform with or into third party apps. Sound Kit lets music and audio apps share songs and sounds into TikTok, and Login Kit lets users log into apps using their TikTok credentials. Itâs a way to extend the reach of TikTok; Snapchat has been doing similar for a few years now.
newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/share-sounds-and-login-with-tiktok-through-all-new-developer-kits
Clubhouse released its Android app on the Play Store in the US. The launch blog post acknowledges that its popularity lies largely outside of the US, so it seems more convenient than well-planned to release in the US onlyâpossibly another mis-step in growing the service.
joinclubhouse.com/blog/welcome-android-users
Instagram added an auto-captioning feature to Stories. People using the app in English can add a sticker to automatically transcribe speech, which can then be edited manually. Itâs useful for accessibility and for sound-off viewing, and should be coming to Reels in the future. TikTok released a similar feature last month.
theverge.com/2021/5/4/22417837/instagram-captions-sticker-stories-accessibility
Facebook launched Neighbourhoods, a space in the app for people to connect with their local community. If youâve used Nextdoor, this should feel very familiar. Itâs a further example of the move away from the News Feed towards communities of shared interests.
about.fb.com/news/2021/05/connecting-local-communities-on-facebook/
Facebook announced new features for Messenger, including visual replies and hands-free voice messages. Messenger is integrated with Instagram in some countries but not yet everywhere, so the features arenât available to everyone.
about.fb.com/news/2021/05/better-ways-to-express-yourself-new-messenger-features/
Snapchat is launching a Creator Marketplace for brands and businesses to hire Lens developers. Itâs a straightforward way for Lens creators to earn a revenue cut from the platform, and will open up to all Snapchat creators later in the year.
newsroom.snap.com/en-GB/newfronts-snapchat-2021
Everything Else
Warner Music Group announced a partnership with Wave, a virtual concert platform. Wave hosted events with artists including The Weeknd and John Legend last year, and also has a partnership with Tencent in China. Virtual concerts proved they have an audience during the pandemic, and even when physical performances are allowed again the virtual can reach a wider audience.
wmg.com/news/warner-music-group-announces-groundbreaking-partnership-and-investment-wave-35401
Entertainment
PUBG Mobileâs latest content update brings a crossover with the Godzilla vs Kong movies. PUBG was the âoriginalâ Battle Royale game before Fortnite took off, but it seems the makers have learned some lessons about cross-promotions with entertainment franchises.
pubgmobile.com/webplat/info/news_version3/35372/60662/60663/60724/60725/60765/m22521/202105/889275.shtml
Entertainment
Google launched Entertainment Space for video, games, and books on Android tablets. It works in a similar way to Google TVâs interface, and indicates a new desire by Google to promote entertainment beyond the Play Store. And also that it still cares about tablets.
blog.google/products/android/entertainment-space/
Entertainment
Google extended some features of Assistant, including Broadcast and Family Bell. Broadcast, which sends a message to all connected Assistant devices, will now work with Family groups; and Family Bell, which schedules alarms for Family groups, will now ring on all connected devices.
blog.google/products/assistant/plan-perfect-weekend-new-google-assistant-features/
Assistants & Voice
Google announced its intention to make everyone use two-step verification in future. This means using a prompt on your phone to log in to accounts, adding an extra level of security.
blog.google/technology/safety-security/a-simpler-and-safer-future-without-passwords/
Security
Google Play will require all apps in its store to declare their security and privacy features from 2022. Apps will have to state that they meet certain requirements, and the data they capture and the purpose it will be used for. This is similar to Appleâs App Store requirements introduced earlier this year.
android-developers.googleblog.com/2021/05/new-safety-section-in-google-play-will.html
Privacy
Google released its Gboard software keyboard for Wear OS devices. The release of a keyboard on smart watches isnât usually worthy of comment, but there are finally signs that Google is investing in Wear OS again, and rumours of a Pixel Watch coming this year.
support.google.com/wearos/thread/108870878/new-gboard-app-arrives-on-wear-os?hl=en
Wearables
Stat of the Week
Sales through social platforms accounted for 44% of all ecommerce in Southeast Asia last year. Total ecommerce was around ÂŁ78bn, so close to half of that is not to be sniffed atâand gives you some idea of why Facebook, in particular, is rapidly scaling up Shops.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-06/facebook-chats-power-a-new-48-billion-market-in-social-commerce
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