1. Maryland Enacts New Online Advertising Tax (The Washington Post)
Maryland voted to adopt a new tax targeting online advertising on Friday as other US states nationwide take fresh aim at an industry that has posted billion-dollar profits during the pandemic. The Washington Post reports that State lawmakers across the country are exploring similar new taxes targeting Amazon, Facebook, Google, and other Internet giants.
2. Bitcoin Extends Its Rally To An All-Time High Close To $50,000 (Bloomberg)
Bitcoin’s volatile, fivefold advance over the past year towers above the returns from more traditional investments like stocks, gold, and commodities. It reached another record, by rocketing to an all-time high of $50,000. The token climbed as much as 3.6 percent to $49,913 in Asian trading Tuesday, according to a composite of prices compiled by Bloomberg.
3. Social Media App Parler Resurfaces Online, Now On Self-Reliant Technology (MediaPost)
Social Media Platform Parler is back on Monday after a month-long absence due to the withdrawal of host support by Amazon Web Services. Parler states that it is not going to rely on others this time and it is planning to build on sustainable, independent technology.
Horizon Next is developing a new model that allows product development teams to measure digital and traditional media. The team is working with automatic content recognition (ACR) data, which helps analysts understand how viewers watch a show and the impact it has on transactions and sales performance says Gene Turner, president at Horizon Next. This model is expected to bring more measurement and accountability to all types of video such as OTT and connected TV.
5. Private Equity Firm Marlin Snatches Up E-commerce Optimization Platform Lengow (TechCrunch)
French startup Lengow has a new landlord as Marlin Equity Partners has acquired a majority stake in the company. Lengow operates a software-as-a-service platform to optimize e-commerce listings. The terms of the deal are undisclosed. Lengow helps businesses list their listings on multiple e-commerce platforms at once, thus making it easier for the seller to put up their listings.
6. Microsoft Testing xCloud Game Streaming For The Web (The Verge)
Microsoft has started testing its xCloud game streaming through a web browser intended to enable Xbox players to access their games through a browser and opens up iCloud to work on devices like iPhones and iPads also. iCloud currently works on Android tablets and phones.
7. Jigsaw Scores $3.7M To Slow Down Your Dating Swipes (TechCrunch)
Jigsaw, an “anti-superficial” dating app, has scored £2.7 million ($3.7 million) in seed funding to put toward US expansion. The app, as the name suggests, adds a little cryptic fun to the experience of the users. In addition, digital filters are banned on the app and they only want “real” selfies. So, no cute bunny ears, etc. Jigsaw has 150,000+ registered users with 50,000 in the US.
