Episode 98: You Win Some, You Lose Some (Billions)

02/04/22 • 36 min

Katherine Druckman and Doc Searls talk to Petros Koutoupis about how big tech navigates the ad tech landscape, for better or worse.

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Special Guest: Petros Koutoupis.

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Subprime Attention Crisis: Advertising and the Time Bomb at the Heart of the Internet (FSG Originals x Logic): Hwang, Tim: 9780374538651: Amazon.com: Books — In Subprime Attention Crisis, Tim Hwang investigates the way big tech financializes attention. In the process, he shows us how digital advertising―the beating heart of the internet―is at risk of collapsing, and that its potential demise bears an uncanny resemblance to the housing crisis of 2008.
Amazon has a $31 billion a year advertising business — Amazon revealed Thursday just how big its advertising business has become. It generated $31.2 billion in revenue in 2021, with fourth-quarter sales rising 32%, according to the retailer’s fourth-quarter earnings statement.
Facebook and Google stocks have diverged, and the reason is Apple — Facebook’s apps rely almost entirely on Apple and Google for distribution. So when Apple changed its privacy policy last year, limiting the ability of app developers to target users, Facebook was suddenly stripped of one of its most important assets.
A public apology - on screwing up by not questioning assumptions - my talk at #BIF10 - Ethan Zuckerman — About a month ago, I wrote an article about a simple idea. I asked whether anyone really believed that advertising should be the main way we supported content and services on the internet. Given how poorly banner advertising on the web worksGiven that nobody likes banner ads, and given that the current system puts users under surveillance, which in turn seems to inure us to government surveillance, I wondered whether there might be a better way.
Doc Searls Weblog · Apple vs (or plus) Adtech, Part I — If you haven’t seen it yet, watch Apple’s Privacy on iPhone | tracked ad. In it a guy named Felix (that’s him, above) goes from a coffee shop to a waiting room somewhere, accumulating a vast herd of hangers-on along the way. The herd represents trackers in his phone, all crowding his personal space while gathering private information about him. The sound track is “Mind Your Own Business,” by Delta 5.
Fighting FLoC and Fighting Monopoly Are Fully Compatible | Electronic Frontier Foundation — Are tech giants really damned if they do and damned if they don’t (protect our privacy)?
Facebook says Apple iOS privacy change will cost $10 billion this year — Facebook said on Wednesday that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature would decrease the company’s 2022 sales by about $10 billion.
Google Drops FLoC...

Katherine Druckman and Doc Searls talk to Petros Koutoupis about how big tech navigates the ad tech landscape, for better or worse.

Reality 2.0 around the web:
Site/Blog/Newsletter
FaceBook
Twitter
YouTube
Mastodon

Special Guest: Petros Koutoupis.

Support Reality 2.0

Links:

Subprime Attention Crisis: Advertising and the Time Bomb at the Heart of the Internet (FSG Originals x Logic): Hwang, Tim: 9780374538651: Amazon.com: Books — In Subprime Attention Crisis, Tim Hwang investigates the way big tech financializes attention. In the process, he shows us how digital advertising―the beating heart of the internet―is at risk of collapsing, and that its potential demise bears an uncanny resemblance to the housing crisis of 2008.
Amazon has a $31 billion a year advertising business — Amazon revealed Thursday just how big its advertising business has become. It generated $31.2 billion in revenue in 2021, with fourth-quarter sales rising 32%, according to the retailer’s fourth-quarter earnings statement.
Facebook and Google stocks have diverged, and the reason is Apple — Facebook’s apps rely almost entirely on Apple and Google for distribution. So when Apple changed its privacy policy last year, limiting the ability of app developers to target users, Facebook was suddenly stripped of one of its most important assets.
A public apology - on screwing up by not questioning assumptions - my talk at #BIF10 - Ethan Zuckerman — About a month ago, I wrote an article about a simple idea. I asked whether anyone really believed that advertising should be the main way we supported content and services on the internet. Given how poorly banner advertising on the web worksGiven that nobody likes banner ads, and given that the current system puts users under surveillance, which in turn seems to inure us to government surveillance, I wondered whether there might be a better way.
Doc Searls Weblog · Apple vs (or plus) Adtech, Part I — If you haven’t seen it yet, watch Apple’s Privacy on iPhone | tracked ad. In it a guy named Felix (that’s him, above) goes from a coffee shop to a waiting room somewhere, accumulating a vast herd of hangers-on along the way. The herd represents trackers in his phone, all crowding his personal space while gathering private information about him. The sound track is “Mind Your Own Business,” by Delta 5.
Fighting FLoC and Fighting Monopoly Are Fully Compatible | Electronic Frontier Foundation — Are tech giants really damned if they do and damned if they don’t (protect our privacy)?
Facebook says Apple iOS privacy change will cost $10 billion this year — Facebook said on Wednesday that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature would decrease the company’s 2022 sales by about $10 billion.
Google Drops FLoC...

Previous Episode

Episode 97: ID.me Vs. The Alternatives

Doc Searls and Katherine Druckman talk to Kaliya Young of the Internet Identity Workshop about ID.me, our concerns about its use as a national ID, and potential alternatives.

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Special Guest: Kaliya Young.

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Cybersecurity Company ID.me Is Becoming Government’s Digital Gatekeeper - Bloomberg — Military veteran Blake Hall’s cybersecurity company has become the government’s digital gatekeeper. Its unproven estimate—$400 billion in pandemic unemployment fraud—is also very good for its business.
ID.me CEO apologizes for misstatements on IRS facial recognition - Axios — The CEO of ID.me apologized Wednesday for mischaracterizing the facial recognition system the company uses to verify people's identity.
Homepage - Identity Woman — Shape your impact with[in] Digital Identity
Sovereign Identity Updates | Substack
The Domains of Identity: A Framework for Understanding Identity Systems in Contemporary Society (Anthem Impact): Young, Kaliya: 9781785274916: Amazon.com: Books — The Domains of Identity” defines sixteen simple and comprehensive categories of interactions which cause personally identifiable information to be stored in databases. This research, which builds on the synthesis of over 900 academic articles, addresses the challenges of identity management that involve interactions of almost all people in almost all institutional/organizational contexts. Enumerating the sixteen domains and describing the characteristics of each domain clarifies which problems can arise and how they can be solved within each domain.
Anil John - Technical Director and Silicon Valley Innovation Program @ U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Crunchbase Person Profile
SVIP | Homeland Security — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) is keeping pace with the innovation community to tackle the hardest problems faced by DHS and the Homeland Security Enterprise.
The Thoughtful Biometrics Workshop 2022 · Thoughtful Biometrics — The Thoughtful Biometrics Workshop is creating a space to dialogue about critical emerging issues surrounding biometric and digital identity technologies.
European Digital Identity | European Commission — The European Digital Identity will be available to EU citizens, residents, and businesses who want to identify themselves or provide confirmation of certain personal information. It can be used for both online and offline public and private services across the EU.
The Hymn of Acxiom - Transcription - YouTube

Next Episode

Episode 99: IdRamp and Identity Solutions

Doc Searls and Katherine Druckman talk to Mike Vesey, CEO of IdRamp, about verifiable credentials, decentralization, and real-world identity solutions.

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Special Guest: Mike Vesey.

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IdRamp Decentralized Identity Services
IIW
Reality 2.0 Episode 97: ID.me Vs. The Alternatives — Doc Searls and Katherine Druckman talk to Kaliya Young of the Internet Identity Workshop about ID.me, our concerns about its use as a national ID, and potential alternatives.