1. The De-Platforming of President Trump and Affiliated Groups (Axios)
After years of inaction, the tech world came out in force against President Trump and groups affiliated with him following the assault on the US Capitol building. The list of companies that have banned or restricted Trump’s account now includes Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, Apple, Snapchat, TikTok, Shopify, Pinterest, Stripe and more.
2. Parler CEO Says Service Dropped By “Every Vendor” And Could End His Business (Deadline)
Parler, which briefly topped US app stores, is in trouble after almost all its vendors dropped the company after Amazon, Apple and Google ended their agreements with the service. “Every vendor from text message services to email providers to our lawyers all ditched us too on the same day,” Parler CEO John Matze said. He conceded that the bans could put the company out of business while raising free speech issues, calling it “an assault on everybody.”
3. “TikTok Will Dance Its Way Onto More Media Plans In 2021” (AdExchanger)
The popularity of short-form video content has helped spur many imitators, including Instagram Reels and the recently released Snapchat Spotlight. But Matty Lin, TikTok’s managing director of monetization and partnerships predicts that TikTok will continue to grow as will its advertiser base. TikTok is not based on a social graph, he says. “We are a content platform…. People come here to discover and create content.”
After rumors began circulating earlier last week, Quibi and Roku confirmed on Friday that the two companies had reached terms for an acquisition, putting most of Quibi’s hours of original programming into Roku’s hands.
5. Major Social Media Trends for 2021 (eMarketer)
Shift from user-generated short videos to livestream commerce, brand safety in social ad spending, and growth of influencer-led livestreams are among the trends predicted by eMarketer’s US social trends for 2021 report.
6. Hopin Growing Amid Zoom’s Fatigue (TechCrunch)
Hopin has a wild growth for a company only older than a year. It grew its ARR from $0 to $20 million in nine months. It scooped up two businesses to differentiate its business, including StreamYard for $250 million just this week. Its last financing round put the the company’s valuation at $2.1 billion.
7. Cadillac Ties with Twitch to Engage Audience in a Series of Streaming Games (AdExchanger)
Cadillac, the automobile brand has partnered with Twitch, a video livestreaming service to host videogames featuring up-and-coming gaming influencers playing “Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout” with big-name gamers whose faces would be revealed only at mid-stream based on guesses coming in from the audience.