Topic: digital media
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Stereogum's Survival Guide for the Streaming and AI Era
Stereogum, founded in 2002 as a pioneering music blog, has evolved into a major voice in music journalism and recently underwent a significant relaunch to adapt to challenges like AI in media. The site's recent updates include technical improvements, a visual refresh with dark mode, and a shift t...
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Merriam-Webster's 2025 Word of the Year Revealed: 'Slop'
Merriam-Webster has named "slop" its 2025 Word of the Year, formally defining it as low-quality, mass-produced AI-generated digital content. The year saw a split in industry response, with some major platforms implementing policies to curb AI slop while others, like Meta and OpenAI, launched appl...
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HBO Max Expands Password-Sharing Crackdown Worldwide
HBO Max will begin a global enforcement rollout to curb password sharing in 2026, following stricter measures already implemented in the United States. The company aims to convert shared accounts into new revenue streams, particularly in newly launched international markets, to help achieve a tar...
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Adobe's AI Can Now Change the Emotion in Any Voice Recording
Adobe has demonstrated AI technology that can transform the emotional tone of any audio recording while preserving the speaker's original voice characteristics. The system analyzes acoustic properties like pitch and tempo to seamlessly inject new emotions, with potential commercial release expect...
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Snapchat's Quick Cut Automatically Edits Your Videos
Snapchat launched Quick Cut, a built-in video editor that automatically transforms saved photos and clips into polished, music-synced videos, simplifying content creation for users without advanced skills. The feature automatically syncs music to visuals and allows for song changes and Lens appli...
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Pete Davidson and Michael Irvin Star in Netflix's First Original Podcasts
Netflix is launching its first two original video podcasts this month, featuring comedian Pete Davidson and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, marking its strategic entry into the podcasting arena. **The Pete Davidson Show** premieres January 30th with weekly, unfiltered discussions from his garage...
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Peacock's App Opens With a Flurry of Ads
Peacock is introducing "arrival ads" on its profile selection screen next year, expanding its ad inventory by targeting viewers immediately upon launching the app. Subscribers to the ad-free Premium Plus tier will be exempt from these new profile screen advertisements, which the company describes...
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Humble Bundle Founders Launch New Game Discovery Platform
Digiphile is a new digital marketplace launched by former Humble Bundle executives, focusing on community-driven curation and partnerships with creators and charities to reshape digital media discovery. The platform features limited-time collections curated with experts, includes The Digiphile Ex...
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From Online Warrior to Congress: Her Fight Against the Far Right
Kat Abughazaleh is learning that engaging voters in person demands different skills than online activism, using creative tactics like offering hot sauce to spark conversations about her policies. She represents a wave of young, left-leaning candidates challenging the Democratic establishment, wit...
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Kamala Harris Launches Gen Z Progressive Content Hub
Vice President Kamala Harris has rebranded her former campaign social media account into a new, independent Gen-Z led progressive content hub called @headquarters_67, focused on sharing political news and updates. The hub is a partnership between a digital agency and an advocacy group, with Harri...
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Rate Your Favorite Shows and Movies on HBO Max
HBO Max has introduced an interactive rating feature with options "Love," "Like," or "Not For Me" to personalize content recommendations and curate sections like "Because You Love." The feature, tested extensively last year, mirrors competitors like Netflix and is accessible across all platforms ...
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Tech's Next Target: The Scraps Teens Fight Over
Automation is rapidly replacing the entry-level jobs traditionally held by teenagers, such as retail and food service roles, with advancements in AI and robotics making this shift inevitable. Teen labor force participation has significantly declined, dropping from over half in 2000 to just 34.8% ...
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Netflix Bets Big on Video Podcasts
Netflix is adding video podcasts to its platform through partnerships with Spotify’s podcast studio and The Ringer, featuring 16 series including popular sports and entertainment titles. The podcasts will stream without Netflix-inserted ads, though original ads from Spotify remain, and the servic...
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YouTube TV to Add Custom Multiview and Channel Bundles
YouTube TV is introducing a fully customizable multiview feature, allowing users to watch multiple live streams of their own choosing simultaneously, such as a sports game alongside an unrelated entertainment show. The service will also launch new, topic-focused channel bundles, like a dedicated ...
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Major Outage: Cloudflare Disrupts X, ChatGPT, and Downdetector
A widespread outage at Cloudflare caused significant disruptions to numerous popular internet platforms, including X, ChatGPT, and Downdetector, with services now showing initial signs of recovery. The disruption was triggered by an unexplained spike in unusual traffic targeting a core Cloudflare...
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Study: Video Games May Boost Kids' IQ
New research indicates that playing video games is linked to a small increase in children's intelligence, with above-average gaming time associated with an IQ rise of about 2.5 points more than average. The study found that watching TV or using social media did not show a clear positive or negati...
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Garmin Adds Nutrition Tracking to Its Fitness Features
Garmin Connect Plus subscribers can now track nutrition within the Garmin Connect app, integrating caloric and macronutrient data with fitness activity for a holistic wellness view. The app simplifies meal logging with a global food database, barcode scanning, photo capture, and on-wrist summarie...
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ESPN Ends Bet Service, Forges New DraftKings Partnership
ESPN is discontinuing its ESPN Bet service and forming a new partnership with DraftKings, ending its collaboration with Penn Entertainment. The ESPN app will integrate DraftKings' sportsbook, daily fantasy contests, and Pick6 feature starting December 1st, with full integration expected by 2026. ...
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Apple Music Replay 2025: See Your New Listening Stats
Apple Music Replay is an integrated annual recap that provides subscribers with detailed personal listening statistics, including top artists, songs, and genres. The feature includes a shareable highlight reel for social media and offers a consolidated view of how musical preferences have evolved...
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Amazon edited guns out of James Bond movie posters
Amazon digitally removed James Bond's iconic Walther PPK handgun from movie posters for James Bond Day, leading to clumsy edits and immediate fan backlash. Following criticism, Amazon replaced the altered posters with still frames from the films, but these images also avoided showing firearms, an...
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Block Slashes Nearly Half Its Staff in AI Pivot
Block is cutting over 4,000 jobs, nearly half its workforce, as part of a strategic shift to prioritize AI-driven efficiency and a leaner company structure. CEO Jack Dorsey stated the layoffs are not due to financial distress but a conviction that AI tools, combined with smaller teams, are fundam...
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Fandom CEO Exits Company in Surprise Move
Fandom's CEO Perkins Miller has unexpectedly stepped down after six years, prompting an interim leadership structure while the company searches for a permanent replacement. Users have criticized Fandom for its heavy advertising, which disrupts page stability and usability, despite the company's e...
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Dead Ends: A Fun, Macabre Medical History for Kids
The book "Dead Ends! Flukes, Flops, and Failures that Sparked Medical Marvels" by Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal presents historical medical errors as engaging educational stories for young readers, highlighting how failures led to discoveries. It features examples like Robert Koch's Tubercul...
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YouTube Arrives on Apple Vision Pro
The official YouTube app for Apple Vision Pro launches this Thursday, providing native access to the platform's full library, including standard videos, Shorts, and immersive content. YouTube initially had no plans for a Vision Pro app but reversed its stance shortly after the headset's release, ...
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Google's AI-Generated Headlines Spark User Backlash
Google is testing AI-generated headlines in its Discover feed, which are often inaccurate and misleading, sparking significant user backlash. The AI headlines, which lack clear labeling, misrepresent articles with poor summaries, risking damage to publishers' reputations and eroding trust. Google...
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Adobe Animate to Shut Down Next Month
Adobe is discontinuing Adobe Animate, ending sales next month, citing newer platforms as better meeting animators' needs and concluding the software's nearly 30-year legacy. Current users can download files until March 2027 (2029 for enterprise), with the app remaining available and supported unt...
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