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Today — 16 January 2025Tech News

As TikTok teeters, YouTube, Meta, Snapchat and more race to claim its ad dollars with incentives, discounts

16 January 2025 at 21:01

With TikTok’s fate in the U.S. dangling between the Supreme Court and President-elect Donald Trump, competitors are moving in to try and claim its ad dollars.

Snapchat, for example, isn’t holding back. In recent pitches to marketers, the app’s ad sales team has highlighted the notable audience overlap between Snapchat and TikTok in the U.S., both on a daily and monthly basis, according to two slides shared with Digiday.

The first slide shows Snapchat’s claim that 60% of U.S. users over the age of 18 also use TikTok daily, while the second slide highlights that 77% of Snapchat’s U.S. users aged 18 or over use TikTok monthly. Both slides strongly indicate that anyone seeking a possible replacement could at least find a majority of their TikTok users over on Snapchat.

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

Discord’s advertising push continues: A Q&A with new Discord CBO Jules Shumaker

16 January 2025 at 21:01

As Discord’s budding romance with brands and advertisers continues, the platform has hired its first-ever chief business officer to scale up its sales and partnership business.

Jules Shumaker, Discord’s new CBO, comes to the company with over two decades of gaming advertising experience. Most recently, she served as CRO of Unity between 2021 and 2024; prior to Unity, she worked as a vp of advertising for the game publisher Zynga. Her first day as Discord’s CBO was Jan. 6.

Shumaker’s entrance comes at an opportune time for Discord. Having established itself as the gaming community’s dominant text and voice chat platform, the company hired a team of experienced platform and gaming executives to launch its first ad product, Play Quests, in March 2024. In October of last year, Discord launched its second ad product, Video Quests. Both are rewarded ad formats — ads that give users an in-app reward in exchange for their engagement and attention — that prompt Discord users to play a certain game or engage in other activities to receive on-platform digital prizes such as profile-picture overlays.

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Twitch streamers lament likely loss of TikTok as an audience referral engine

16 January 2025 at 21:01

The impending U.S. TikTok ban could threaten some creators’ ability to grow their audiences across all platforms — not just the embattled Chinese-owned short-form video app.

As the United States marches toward a TikTok ban on Jan. 19, livestreaming creators in particular are lamenting the potential death of the platform’s so-called “clipping culture,” which they believe had an uplifting effect on their followings on both TikTok and other platforms.

“TikTok is pretty commonly used now for Twitch growth,” said Gappy, a Twitch streamer who asked to keep his real name private. “When we think of the new age of Twitch streamers — Kai Cenat, CaseOh, Jynxzi — they all got their virality through TikTok.”

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

Telcos in ad tech, haven’t we seen this movie before?

16 January 2025 at 21:01

Telcos and ad tech: the media world’s messiest on-again, off-again relationship. T-Mobile’s $600 million cash swoop for outdoor ad specialist Vistart is the latest reunion in this turbulent love story.

Slated to close this spring pending approval, its ad tech’s first notable deal of the year arrives as outdoor advertising cements itself as the sector’s rising star.

What truly stands out, though, is the deja vu. The bit where hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, exchange hands only to come crashing down years later? Haven’t we seen this movie before?

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

SpaceX's Starship explodes during ascent in its seventh test flight

16 January 2025 at 19:44

The Starship's seventh test flight ended in an explosion when the vehicle's upper stage "experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn" over the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX chief Elon Musk posted a video of the event, with debris streaking across and lighting up the sky. During the company's webcast, Dan Huot from SpaceX's communications team said they "saw engines dropping out on telemetry" by the end of the ascent burn and that they ultimately lost contact with the Ship, which is what the company calls the vehicle's upper stage. SpaceX said in a tweet that it will continue reviewing data from the test to understand the explosion's root cause. 

Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed! ✨
pic.twitter.com/nn3PiP8XwG

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025

The Federal Aviation Administration issued an advisory for pilots after the incident, warning them about falling debris in certain areas. SpaceX said before the test that it's meant to "launch a new generation ship with significant upgrades" and it was supposed to conduct Starship's first payload deployment test with the help of 10 Starlink simulators.

Despite the Starship's upper stage burning up, the test was still partially a success. The Ship's Raptor engines fired up during the ascent burn before the ground team lost contact with it around 8 minutes into the flight. SpaceX was also able to retrieve the Super Heavy booster, catching the vehicle's first stage with the mechanical arms on its Starbase launch tower. 

Mechazilla has caught the Super Heavy booster! pic.twitter.com/aq91TloYzY

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 16, 2025

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/spacexs-starship-explodes-during-ascent-in-its-seventh-test-flight-034440913.html?src=rss

©

© SpaceX

A rocket on its launch pad.

Sony cancels an unannounced live service God of War game

16 January 2025 at 19:17
God of War

Just a couple of years ago, Sony had a dozen new live service games in development, but that number keeps dropping. It was already down to six by the end of 2023, before the well-received launch of Helldivers II and the disaster that was Concord in 2024. Now, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has confirmed with Sony that two unannounced live service projects have been canceled.

One was from Syphon Filter and Days Gone developer Bend Games, while Schreier reports the other shuttered title was a live-service God of War game that Bluepoint Games “has been working on for the last couple of years.”

Bluepoint Games is one of several developers Sony acquired in recent years as it was building up a queue of live service projects, with many ports and remasters under its belt, including Demon’s Souls, the first three Uncharted games, Shadow of the Colossus, and others. Now, Schreier says the studios won’t close, but there’s no word yet on what their next projects will be.

The live service approach to gaming once seemed wide open following the success of Fortnite and other titles, but games like Concord, Anthem, and Redfall have shown how difficult it can be. At Sony alone, the list of canceled service titles Bloomberg has already reported on included the Spider-Man game revealed by the Insomniac ransomware breach, Twisted Metal, and a Destiny-linked game from Bungie called Payback.

However, we’re still expecting to hear more about Bungie’s revived Marathon extraction shooter and Fairgames, a PvP heist title from Haven Studios.

PlayStation did not say whether the cancellations will lead to layoffs but did say the studios will not close. A spokesperson for PlayStation tells Bloomberg the company is working with Bend and Bluepoint to determine their next projects

Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-01-16T23:13:09.439Z

Apple brings Store app to Indian market

16 January 2025 at 18:45

Apple launched its dedicated Apple Store app in India on Friday, deepening its retail presence in the world’s most populous country as the iPhone-maker seeks to capitalize on growing consumer demand. The app, available for download on India’s App Store, lets customers purchase Apple products directly while receiving personalized shopping recommendations, the company said in […]

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SpaceX successfully catches giant Starship rocket mid-air for the second time

16 January 2025 at 18:21

SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of rocket technology, achieving another milestone with the successful mid-air catch of its Super Heavy booster during the Starship Flight 7 test. The booster was caught using the towering “Mechazilla” launch tower at the […]

The post SpaceX successfully catches giant Starship rocket mid-air for the second time first appeared on Tech Startups.

Apple Watch Crash Detection credited with saving 55-year-old man who passed out while driving

By: Zac Hall
16 January 2025 at 18:03

No, that voice you heard wasn’t a call from the other side. It was emergency services calling to help thanks to Crash Detection on Apple Watch. That’s exactly what happened to a 55-year-old Apple Watch customer in Massachusetts after passing out while driving and ending up in his upside down car in someone’s pool.

more…

RedNote Scrambles to Hire English-Speaking Content Moderators

By: Zeyi Yang
16 January 2025 at 18:07
Job listings posted in China this week indicate that Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, is struggling to handle an influx of new users joining the platform from TikTok.

Here's how to pre-order the PS5 Midnight Black accessories

16 January 2025 at 17:21

Pre-orders are now open for four new PlayStation 5 accessories in a new colorway: Midnight Black. That's better than other types of black because it stays up past bedtime. The collection includes the DualSense Edge wireless controller, the Portal remote player and the Pulse Explore wireless earbuds — each going for $200 — and the Pulse Elite wireless headset, which is selling for $150. All four are expected to ship February 20. 

Sony announced the collection earlier this month and the new accessories join the already-available Midnight Black standard Dual Sense controller ($75) and PS5 console cover ($55). Like PlayStation's 30th Anniversary collection, the Midnight Black accessories let you add a bit of personalized flair to your gaming setup, but these are far more sleek and brooding. If previous PlayStation releases are any indicator, there's a chance these new accessories will sell out before everyone gets one, so if Midnight Black feels as sexy to you as the video makes it look, you might want to start adding things to your cart.  

Pre-order the DualSense Edge wireless controller for $200: Compared to the standard DualSense controller, the Edge model gives you a few more features and options for customization. Buttons below the sticks change button assignments while switches adjust the triggers' pull length. It comes with two sets of rear paddles as well as extra joysticks, all magnetically swappable. A matching case is also included. Also direct from PlayStation

Pre-order the Portal remote player for $200: The Portal remote player got a lukewarm assessment from us back in 2023, but we started to come around once Sony started cloud gaming. The gateway has an 8-inch LCD screen (1080p at 60fps), haptic feedback and connects to your PS5 over Wi-Fi. 

Pre-order the Pulse Explore wireless earbuds for $200: The earbuds connect both via Bluetooth and Sony's own PlayStation Link tech, that promises ultra-low latency connection to a PS5, PC, Mac and the Portal remote player. AI-powered noise rejection technology will make sure your banter is heard clearly. A Midnight Black charging case is included. Also direct from PlayStation

Pre-order the Pulse Elite wireless headset $150: The Elite headset comes with a headset charging stand so you can show off your new accessory properly, while making sure it's ready for next time (and yes, the stand is the same late-night hue). These have the same dual-connection tech and AI-powered noise cancellation as the earbuds. Also direct from PlayStation

Most of the accessories are limited to one per customer from Sony's site.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/heres-how-to-pre-order-the-ps5-midnight-black-accessories-012150262.html?src=rss

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© Sony/Playstation

DualSense Edge Midnight Black collection on a blue background

FAA had to divert flights because of SpaceX Starship explosion

16 January 2025 at 17:08

The Federal Aviation Administration told TechCrunch it had to “briefly” slow and divert a number of aircraft near the area where debris was seen falling after SpaceX’s Starship exploded during a test flight Thursday. Multiple flights could be seen entering holding patterns or completely changing course in the airspace near Puerto Rico shortly after the […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

They Went After the Hawk Tuah Crypto Promoters. Now They're Suing Pump.Fun

16 January 2025 at 16:44
The same lawyers handling a lawsuit over the infamous Hawk Tuah crypto coin are bringing a new class action against memecoin platform Pump.Fun for allegedly putting investors in high financial risk.

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