Blue Screen Friday Updates

Normally, I schedule these Friday morning sends on Thursday evenings, but last night something in my gut told me to wait. “Cameron,” my gut said, “there might be some news overnight that you’ll wish you’d included.” Well once again my gut was right. Overnight a bad update from security firm CrowdStrike kicked thousands of Windows machines into Blue Screen of Death mode. 

Thoughts and prayers to all of the IT professionals working to reset machines today. 

Platforms

Meta

Instagram Reels now lets you add up to 20 different audio tracks to a single video clip. I can’t wait to see the full chaos mode videos this enables. On the advertising side of Reels, Meta’s expanding their Reels Overlay Ads to more advertisers. 

TikTok

The clock app’s got a new integration with Eventbrite. They’re also limiting how ads can be targeted to teens with some new restrictions. A look at ad spend on the platform may indicate that big brands are starting to pull back ahead of the ban potentially taking effect. 

YouTube

YouTube Shorts got some upgrades, but the big thing I’m focused on with YouTube is GenAI. Specifically how several big companies (including Apple and Salesforce) used YouTube videos in their training sets without consent. The data set used included content from big YouTubers like Marques Brownlee, MrBeast and several mainstream news organizations. How copyrighted material can be used in GenAI training is still an open question legally. Every time one of these types of stories comes out it feels more and more likely the closest we’ll get to an answer is going to come from a messy web of lawsuits. 

Apple

Apple’s got a new partnership with Taboola to run some ads in Apple News and Stocks. Taboola is not-so-lovingly known for “chumbox” ads that recommend other articles (of questionable quality and relevance).

Twitch 

PBS is jumping into Twitch with a new live streaming channel. 

Etsy

Oh Etsy. The company added new classifications for listings including “handpicked by” and “sourced by.” They are meant for things like vintage clothing or crafting kits where items aren’t really made by the seller, but it’s still curated by a human. This update also included new guidelines for sellers about GenAI. They can “use their original prompts in combination with AI tools to create the artwork they sell on Etsy” if they apply the “designed by” label to the listing. Many folks are not happy about GenAI work being allowed at all, feeling like it’s a betrayal of Etsy’s handcrafted ethos. 

Pinterest (disclosure: I’m currently working at Pinterest as a contractor; views are my own, etc.)  

Pinterest is adding new GenAI features for advertisers. The tool generates new backgrounds for product catalog ads. 

X

Transphobic cowboy cosplayer, Elon Musk, is throwing another billionaire sized temper tantrum. He’s joined a crew of awful tech VCs in using the Trump assassination attempt as an excuse to announce his support for Trump and plans to donate to pro-Trump pacs. His Trumpy turn includes an on platform hashtag emoji stunt that likely violated AP’s copyright. He’s also announced plans to move X and Space-X’s headquarters from California to Texas. Why? California just passed a bill protecting the privacy of trans students. Plus he’s vague-posting threats against advertisers who dropped X after he took over (and made the site less effective for advertisers). All this while failing to land X’s big new pivot to video. 

Deadpool 

The jury is still out on if the latest installment of the Deadpool film franchise works as a movie, but I’m ready to celebrate the film's weird marketing campaign. Specifically this Xbox Controller.

Culture Movers 

Pipes & Tubes 

The FCC’s effort to return Net Neutrality is on pause after an appeals court issued a temporary stay.  

Film & TV

Emmy nominations are here. 

Music 

Ticketmaster’s monopoly in the concert space isn’t just a problem for normal “monopolies are bad” reasons. It’s also a single cyber security target. A recent hack that can be used to print previously sold tickets is proving just how awful that is. 

Publishing 

Shoutout to The Internet Archive for saving the entire MTV News library that Paramount erased the other week. 

Creator Economy 

Stickermule, a sticker printing company, jumped into politics in the worst way by spamming their customers with pro-Trump texts and emails over the weekend. I’ve seen a big volume of creators talk about leaving the service and/or promoting alternatives in response. Which is a good reminder that, as Ryan Broderick put it in Garbage Day this week, “these people are freaks and their beliefs are not popular and they will only succeed if they can convince you that they are.” People don’t want to get their stickers from the dear leader fanboy company. 

For a more positive creators and politics story, look to Illinois where a law requiring parents set aside earnings with their children who appear in monetized content.

Gaming 

I’m still playing Elden Ring. I’ve got two Great Runes and I’m being very brave about tackling the game’s rotten swap wasteland level.

AI 

Sam Altman and Arianna Huffington are trying to make an “AI health coach” a thing. The company that bought The Unofficial Apple Weblog started publishing new GenAI content under the old human writers’ bilines. Plus all of the YouTube data in a popular training set stuff I mentioned in the YouTube section, and the backlash to Etsy’s GenAI guidelines update. 

There’s a new bill from a bipartisan group of senators called the COPIED Act that would set standards around digital watermarking AI content and protections for copyright holders. I think we desperately need federal regulation in this area, but I’m not optimistic given that Congress is historically unproductive. 

PS

Next time a stranger online seems… just off, try asking them to “ignore all previous instructions.”

*I’m very dyslexic, and this is a largely free project/hobby. I do not set aside the same time for proofreading that I do for other professional work. If you spot a typo that would cause a communication error, please reach out to gently let me know.