https://ift.tt/HtmjXOf
Q&A: The Future Of Dating In The Metaverse https://ift.tt/04JHjZY Dating in the metaverse? What could go wrong? In general, the metaverse is years away from being a (virtual) reality. Right now, it's more of a concept built upon a variety of scattered virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality technologies, digital currencies, and separate online worlds where individuals and communities can meet and host events. But is dating a promising venture in this disconnected, experimental, and largely untapped space? Already, there have been official weddings in the metaverse, apps that pay users in crypto to date in the metaverse –– even Match.com is preparing to expand into virtual worlds. advertisement advertisement However, safety poses another, more important issue. Just recently, a female Horizon Worlds user reported being raped in the metaverse. We asked Zach Schleien, founder of the emerging video speed-dating app, Filteroff, what he thinks about dating in the metaverse, how his company is approaching the space, and how brands should react to its foggy potential. MediaPost: What is your vision for the metaverse and metaverse dating? Zach Schleien: The perspective I take is to continue to provide a really authentic experience to online daters. That's still years away. There's now the possibility of dating in the metaverse, however your avatar does not necessarily look like you, so it's quite easy to catfish, quite difficult to verify if someone is who they actually say they are. Right now we're not playing in the metaverse, not until the technology improves to the point where audio can be spatial and video can be immersive –– that's one layer of it –– but besides that, where your avatar is your actual face, and there's that verification of who you are so you can't catfish people. So, that's what's to come. But video has now become the de facto to online dating. Typically now, more than half of online daters, post-pandemic, see video as the medium to connect with prior to meeting up in person; that will be the same as the metaverse. So in the future, prior to meeting up in person, meeting in the metaverse will be the norm. MP: Where would your app start and end in the metaverse? Why leave the metaverse to go on a "real date" if it's a fully immersive experience? ZS: You see video games like World of Warcraft and people get addicted and they don't leave their rooms––you always hear those stories––and there will be those stories about the metaverse as well. But through Filteroff's lens, we want you to meet and find your person or have some sort of human connection. Video is just a medium to see if they are someone who you're interested in meeting. The metaverse, we believe, is just another medium –– a more authentic medium when the technology advances –– to see if you have chemistry, if you're attracted, if you vibe with this person before meeting up in person. So, could you theoretically never leave? Of course. Is that healthy? I would say no. MP: How soon do you see your company approaching a mixed-reality model? ZS: All I care about is providing an authentic experience: date people, not profiles, right? Video is the one that makes the most sense. Video has just exploded from people being super disconnected from friends and loved ones and now turning to video for work with a more nomadic workforce. So we're in the right place at the right time...In the future when the technology is there, we'll play there -- but there's still a lot to go with video and infrastructure around that. MP: Do you know if any brands are approaching dating apps in virtual worlds right now? ZS: I've never heard of any video-dating company that's been successful in the metaverse. I just think again that it's quite premature and doesn't lead to an authentic experience. Maybe you just want to socialize with people but is it a pure dating app? I just know for a fact based on the data that people want authentic experiences, and even the apps that are audio-first aren’t doing well either. It's still profile-dominated with Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, Match.com. And now we're doing quite well because people are sick and tired of profiles. MP: Do you think metaverse dating would attract a specific type of audience? ZS: "I would imagine someone who isn't looking for anything serious. They're more just looking to connect with someone. The audience we cater to is a more intentional dater. They don't want to waste their time, they don't want to go on bad first dates, they don't want to be catfished. Online dating is almost a second job for people, so when they go on our platform they can go on 10 video speed-dates, 3 minutes each, theoretically every night––that's a no-brainer for them because one of those 10 may be a really good match, and they've already got to know them on video briefly. MP: What type of old online platforms best compare to what you see the metaverse being like at this point in time? ZS: Like a Chatroulette or a Mingle. Those were not dating apps, but a way to socialize through a video experience. So you could argue they used video as a platform, but not for an intentional dater. It was a totally different audience. It was just a fun way to kill time because you're bored. You're not going in there thinking 'I'm gonna meet someone on Chatroulette and build a relationship.' That's definitely not an audience we go after. MP: What are the brand implications for dating in the metaverse? You have to be really careful in terms of security and privacy. Our app is 18-plus. You don't want a minor going in there with an avatar that looks like a 30 year old. Like those AOL chat rooms back in the day where people could be all ages and you don't know who you're talking to. There are major implications. We take privacy and security really seriously. We encrypt in storage and transit. We do face-certification. It's video-first so there is no catfishing. We have proprietary algorithms to detect scammers and any sort of bots. So we do a lot on video experience to take out any bad actors or people who don't want to show their face. With the metaverse, it's a step higher to make sure that users are who they say they are. MP: What role does advertising play for you now? ZS: We don't have any in-app advertising but different companies can run their own virtual speed-dating events for free. For example, if you are a religious community, a nonprofit, a for profit -- you could create an event for your audience. It's a way to bring your community together with a way to provide experience, grow your community, because you can collect the data if you're running an event on our platform, and you can also monetize –– you can sell tickets on our platform as well. MP: Can you see a brand running a metaverse dating event with you? ZS: We're already doing virtual speed-dating; we've done that with a number of companies and nonprofits. Video is just a medium. The metaverse, once it's more advanced, will just be a medium for connection. What you're seeing with us can be seen on the metaverse at some point as well. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/wcimJ5C May 31, 2022 at 05:59PM
0 Comments
Microsoft Collaborates With Knight Center For Journalism In Americas Launches Digital Storytelling5/31/2022
https://ift.tt/Fbe4SuP
Microsoft Collaborates With Knight Center For Journalism In Americas, Launches Digital Storytelling https://ift.tt/3hJVPlm Microsoft and the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas announced a partnership to create an online course that aims to reach Latinx, a gender-neutral or nonbinary word used as an alternative to Latino or Latina. The course, announced Tuesday, specifically targets Gen Z and Millennial storytellers. Latinxs are “severely underrepresented” in media despite the many gains and contributions they have made to newsrooms, film, and television in the last decade, according to according to the Government Accountability Office. Latinx made up between 11% and 12% of the media industry workforce from 2014 to 2019, and in 2019, only 8% of newspaper and publishing staff were Hispanic. Today this group makes up 25% of all Gen Z and 21% of all Millennials in the United States. The first online course — Digital Storytelling for the Next Generation of Latinx Journalists — will run from June 20 through July 17, 2022. It is open to Latinx college and university students in the United States. advertisement advertisement Amara Aguilar will lead the four-week program that features learning and professional development opportunities. It will introduce students to the tools necessary to empower their journeys for a career in media, according to the partners. Aguilar teaches at University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She teaches journalism for mobile and emerging platforms, social media storytelling for Latinx audiences, visual journalism, engaging diverse communities, public relations strategy, and interactive design, among other courses. At USC, she co-founded Annenberg Media's award-winning bilingual outlet, Dímelo, focused on serving Latinx audiences. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/wcimJ5C May 31, 2022 at 02:55PM
https://ift.tt/Fbe4SuP
Brandtech Group Content Company Mofilm Taps Google Veteran As Its New CEO https://ift.tt/H0yrtKu Marketing services company The Brandtech Group has appointed Michelle Vincent Global CEO of Mofilm, a platform that provides content tools and services for a network of more than 10,000 content creators. Mofilm clients including Target, DoorDash and Unilever. She succeeds Suzanne Spence who has shifted to the role of Global CEO of sibling unit Mobkoi, a mobile marketing tech platform. Vincent joins from Google where she was Head of Industry, Automotive, spearheading business partnerships for clients including Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Jaguar Land Rover since 2019. Previously she spent a decade at Google from 2007 to 2017 in several roles including Head of Industry for the Education and Travel verticals. In between Google stints she spent two years at Facebook where she led media and creative strategies for several of the top global online travel companies. According to Brandtech, its Mofilm operation is poised for significant growth—it estimates that the “creator economy” is exploding, with the market currently worth an estimated $104 billion and with a record $1.3 billion in funding deals in 2021. Vincent’s remit includes expanding and diversifying its creator network, which is spread across 182 countries. The includes infusing its with culturally diverse creators as well as specialists in the burgeoning field of metaverse content. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/wcimJ5C May 31, 2022 at 09:20AM
https://ift.tt/Fbe4SuP
DoubleVerify: Fraud Schemes Spiked 70% In 2021 https://ift.tt/ljInOHv The quality of digital content varies based on fraud and viewability rates regardless of the amount marketers spent on digital advertising — more than $440 billion in 2021, according to MAGNA, now accounting for 62% of ad spend worldwide. DoubleVerify recently released its 2022 Global Insights Report, which cites a peer-reviewed study conducted by New York University and the Université Grenoble Alpes between August 2020 and January 2021, showing articles that perpetuate disinformation generated six times more likes, shares and interactions on Facebook versus stories from trusted news sources. That's pretty amazing. The DoubleVerify 2022 Global Insights Report examines media quality and performance trends from more than a trillion ads delivered across about 2,100 brands in 80 markets. This report -- the fifth of its kind since 2017 -- provides a market-by-market analysis for North America, LATAM, EMEA and APAC across video and display impressions measured year-over-year (YoY) from January through December 2021, compared with the prior year. It covers desktop and mobile web, mobile app and connected television (CTV). advertisement advertisement In 2021, DoubleVerify detected an increase in the number of CTV fraud schemes, each more sophisticated than the last used to siphon millions in ad spend intended for premium ad inventory. The number of fraud schemes globally uncovered spiked by 70% year-over-year from 2020 to 2021. That year, a number of schemes targeted CTV and video. The most complex and sophisticated included OctoBot, SneakyTerra, ViperBot and SmokeScreen. These schemes attempted to steal between $6 million and $8 million monthly from advertisers. CTV fraud schemes also cost publishers -- with DoubleVerify estimating CTV schemes may have siphoned $144 million from publishers in 2021. While the company saw a spike in CTV schemes, quality continued to stabilize, with a 9% decline in brand safety and sustainability violations, and 7% declines in fraud violations, the data also notes a 1% increase in display viewability rate, and 4% increase in video viewability rate. New challenges and opportunities also emerged in 2021. The data identifies experienced accounts saw a 6% decline in violation rates, 23% audible and in-view on completion (AVOC), and 7% average viewable time. The data also identified 61% adoption of brand safety floor, and more than 70% increase in fraud schemes. Increased adoption of activation solutions for pre-bid and pre-render verification drove declines in post-bid violations. Advertisers who deploy verification strategies throughout the media transaction saw improvement in the quality of digital buys. Over the past year, post-bid violation rates fell 6%. This is defined by the rate of measured brand safety and suitability, fraud and geo infractions after pre-bid avoidance takes place. Devices and regions play an interesting role when it comes to quality. In EMEA and APAC, DoubleVerify monitors more ads on mobile as a percentage of total ads in their regions, compared with other regions. The data shows 12% lower display viewable rate on the mobile web vs mobile apps, 8% lower video viewable rate, and 120% higher brand suitability violation rate, respectively. While APAC favors mobile apps, EMEA favors the mobile web. Viewability is generally lower on mobile web, and brand suitability violations are higher. This may be one reason why EMEA still sees high brand suitability violations and has the lowest display viewable rates of all the regions. More than 80% of web traffic in North America comes from high-volume domains, about 70% of traffic in LATAM and 60% of traffic in APAC. EMEA gets nearly half its traffic from longtail domains. One likely reason for this trend is the EMEA markets covered by DoubleVerify are translated or appear in more languages than do the markets the company covers in other regions. The majority of high-volume sites globally are still in English, but longtail domains can help reach consumers on non-English content. Longtail websites in aggregate, however, tend to drive more brand suitability violations, which the data suggests contributes to EMEA lagging behind other regions in this area. In North America, viewability rates are still just below the 70% threshold recommended by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). North America continues to lead globally when it comes to brand suitability, with violations falling by 10% year-over-year. Fraud and system integration verification and tests fell somewhat year-over-year, but North America still has the highest fraud rate and is responsible for driving up the global average. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/wcimJ5C May 31, 2022 at 07:12AM
https://ift.tt/l15g8Hv
Zoom Fatigue: 5 Simple Tips for Better Virtual Meetings in B2B Marketing https://ift.tt/pNAmyuZ When the pandemic broke out in 2020 and forced most marketers into remote work, there was a big looming concern you’d often hear about: Zoom fatigue. In a profession where meetings are frequent and essential, the danger of video-call burnout seemed to be acutely high. Would the endless reminders of our isolation and disconnection become too much to bear? As it turns out, these concerns were somewhat overstated. Recent Pew Research found that usage of videoconferencing tools is very common, as expected … (Source) … But the percentage of professionals who report experiencing the dreaded “Zoom fatigue” is much lower than than the zoomsayers forecasted, with three in four saying they are fine with the amount of time they spend on video calls. (Source) That’s good to see, and I think it speaks to something I wrote about here a few weeks ago: the resilience and adaptability of human beings. We make the best: embrace the good, and find ways to mitigate the bad. Of course, a marketer’s aspiration is not just to adapt, but to keep innovating and pushing the envelope while doing so. Achieving greater collaboration, productivity, and – most simply – enjoyment out of virtual meetings can make a big difference in the success of a team. With this in mind, here are some tips to conduct better virtual meetings and keep Zoom fatigue from creeping in.Keep Perspective on What Video Calls Make PossibleThis is how you can “embrace the good.” Yes, for most of us, there is a diminishing factor to communicating with someone through a screen, rather than in person. However, the format also enables us to connect in real-time with anyone, anywhere on the planet. [bctt tweet="“Embrace the good! Virtual meetings have downsides, but enable us to connect in real-time with anyone, anywhere on the planet. #ZoomFatigue #B2Bmarketing.” — Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"] Sometimes, when I’m growing a bit weary on days crowded by video calls, I find it helpful to remind myself of the major advantages that come along with the downsides. I can have a face-to-face chat with teammates all around the country – from Portland to San Diego to Denver and beyond – at any moment. In fact, these technologies make it practical to have teammates (and clients) from all around the world to begin with!Take Yourself Off the ScreenResearchers from the University of South Florida found that staring at yourself on-screen can be one of the biggest contributors to Zoom fatigue. It only makes sense. When able to see ourselves, we have a natural tendency to keep an eye on what we’re projecting to others. But this leads to an unnatural level of fixation, which can be distracting and cause us to be overly self-conscious. The study found this impact to be more pronounced for women, who are consequently more likely than men to report experiencing Zoom fatigue. No matter who you are, it’s wise to consider removing your feed from the video call so you can fully focus on the other people there instead of yourself, as you would during an in-person meeting.In Fact, Consider Turning Off the Display Entirely at TimesFurther studies have shown that videoconferencing has a negative impact on creativity and idea generation, which can be especially problematic for marketers. Researchers concluded that this issue comes down to focus and attention. Specifically, we’re directing too much to the faces on the screen. "In the virtual condition people are looking significantly more at their partner – almost double – at the expense of their broader environment," said Melanie Brucks, an assistant marketing professor at Columbia University. "I always suggest turning off the camera during idea generation, so you can walk around, you can look around." [bctt tweet="“I always suggest turning off the camera during idea generation, so you can walk around, you can look around.” — @MelanieBrucks #VirtualMeetings #B2Bmarketing" username="toprank"] If you’ve noticed that your ideation process isn’t as strong through a video call, you might give this a try. Keep the sound on so you can still interact, but turn off your camera as well as the feeds of other participants, so your mind can roam free without any concern for how you or anyone is showing up on the screen.Take Advantage of Features in Videoconferencing ToolsPlatforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Webex often have slick little features and functionalities that are underutilized. In many cases they can make your meetings far more interesting and engaging. Capabilities you might consider using include:
Master the Art of Conversing VirtuallyJust like conversing in-person, there are tricks and techniques to become a more effective communicator through a screen. Fundamentals of exemplary virtual body language include a confident posture, looking into the camera to simulate eye contact, and using hand gestures.Adapt and ThriveAs hackneyed as it’s become to call something “the new normal,” that term really does seem to apply to video calls in the business world. They were already fairly common and now they’ve become standardized as the de facto method of meeting. By putting their adaptive and innovative instincts to good use, B2B marketers can maximize the benefits and minimize the detriments. And we can keep winning the battle against Zoom fatigue.The post Zoom Fatigue: 5 Simple Tips for Better Virtual Meetings in B2B Marketing appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®. Mobile Marketing,SEO via Hubspot https://ift.tt/ozSBpMV May 30, 2022 at 05:36AM
https://ift.tt/tTOVrbx
Digital Fashion’s Enfant Terrible Is Being Sued By Hermès https://ift.tt/bTniYRj Mason Rothschild and Ericka del Rosario, creators of Metabirkins, a virtual fashion brand being sued by Hermès for trademark issues, are now bringing NFT culture to real life with their brick-and-mortar boutique, Terminal 27.Get More Ideas With The PSFK Daily Newsletter Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ May 29, 2022 at 08:55AM
https://ift.tt/CkB81wb
Nike Is Taking Over The Metaverse With Direct-to-Avatar Sales https://ift.tt/DSsAba9 Sports giant Nike expands its direct-to-avatar sales approach through the launch of its RTFKT CryptoKicks and other branded merchandise in the Nikeland Roblox metaverse.Get More Ideas With The PSFK Daily Newsletter Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ May 29, 2022 at 08:48AM
https://ift.tt/EJ0m3Ff
Full-Body Avatars Upgrade The Metaverse Experience https://ift.tt/MDkqFgo Photo-realistic, full body digital avatars from companies like Ready Player Me are allowing users to purchase and unlock exclusive NFT wearables plus other unique accessories across different metaverse platforms. Get More Ideas With The PSFK Daily Newsletter Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ May 29, 2022 at 08:48AM
https://ift.tt/mS5hva3
Foursquare Founder Gains Funding For Web3 Social Network Startup https://ift.tt/azEM8eT Dennis Crowley, founder of the popular independent location-data platform Foursquare, along with two other partners –– Matt Miesnieks, founder of a 3D mapping startup, and designer John Gaeta, known for his Matrix Trilogy work –– have banked $4 million in early funding from DCVC, Eniac Ventures, Anorak and Matthew Ball, reports TechCrunch. The project in question –– called LivingCities –– remains somewhat of a mystery. The current website describes experiencing "the social metaverse like never before.” Miesnieks provided more detail in a commentary on Medium. “We’re building a social layer intertwining the Metaverse and reality, so we can more richly express who we are to each other,” writes Miesnieks. “What this will look like is a consumer experience, ultimately delivered over open web3 protocols as a 3D space, where the virtual world looks & feels like a real place and is aligned with that place.” advertisement advertisement The team, Miesnieks says, is largely interested in creating a social network and mapping company that exists only on the web and mobile web, without involving app stores or trying to compete with current leaders of virtual or mapping companies like Apple Maps, Google Maps, Niantic, Snap, or Meta. “LivingCities is building one layer above today’s mapping platforms,” writes Miesnieks. “This time we are focussing on delivering the user-experience using tech that is here today, while being ready for a magical experience leveraging the tech that’s coming soon.” Crowley told TechCrunch that he and his co-founders are asking themselves questions about what role new technology can play in bringing people closer together. “What are the things that we want to see exist in the world?” Crowley asked. “What are experiences that are only now recently possible because of what’s changed in how people use their phones or other devices? It has always seemed like there’s an opportunity to do more, to bring the digital and real world together in an interesting way.” “I think that the core idea that software can change the way that people interact with the world is still meaningful and unsolved in many ways, and that’s what keeps drawing me back to the challenge,” added Crowley. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/ncwgd4V May 27, 2022 at 02:56PM
https://ift.tt/mS5hva3
Cadent Intros Cross-Device Programmatic Bidding https://ift.tt/wJROV1g Cadent has integrated a new feature into its Aperture platform that enables programmatic guaranteed bidding for addressable and connected TV (CTV) across set top boxes (STB), smart TVs, mobile devices and desktop applications on inventory distributed by publishers. The solution works across all TV inventory types, including programmatic linear, on-demand linear and linear via private marketplace. According to the company, it allows inventory owners to intelligently place addressable ads using historical data, offer greater flexibility and bypass time-consuming manual direct sales processes. Its capabilities include maximizing yield across scheduled and addressable ads on the same networks; associating audience segments with households via Aperture Viewer Graph for CTV and addressable TV planning; forecasting available inventory for programmatic guaranteed OTT/CTV, video on demand and addressable TV deals to predict future market pressure trends; and managing delivery of direct-sold addressable TV campaigns against programmatic guaranteed demand, Cadent reports. advertisement advertisement Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/ncwgd4V May 27, 2022 at 09:15AM |
CategoriesArchives
April 2023
|