The 92nd Block: Platforms, publishers, purges
I stole this headline like an NFT thief
This week…
I recommend an annual clean-up-your-Twitter-feed exercise, as I did with mine, using TweetDelete. Don’t forget to revoke permissions after. Meanwhile, Spotify deletes hundreds of ‘problematic’ JRE episodes (maybe the problem isn’t the episodes, Spoty?), and the only party leader supporting the trucker convoy is voted out from his leadership position. I hope this cycle of the news ends soon because it’s going nowhere.
Anyway, here’s a selection of related stories on my radar, a few personal recommendations, and the chart of the week.
Of platforms, publishers, and responsibility
Matthew Ingram for CJR:
Media watchers have been quick to point out that Spotify’s platform defense—at least as it pertains to Joe Rogan—is a real stretch. (Even some Spotify employees called it “a dubious assertion” according to the LA Times.) Rogan’s podcast isn’t available through YouTube Music or Amazon Music or any other such service. He has an exclusive contract with Spotify, a relationship the company paid $100 million for. In that sense, Spotify is his publisher. As Elizabeth Spiers, former editor of the New York Observer, pointed out, Spotify’s acquisition of the Joe Rogan Experience is a clear editorial choice the company has made, just as the New York Times or the Washington Post choose whom they give a column to. If a columnist decides to say something wrong or dangerous, responsibility for those statements lies with the paper.
A well-rounded summary of the many commentaries on the Spotify (and Substack) scandal.
How podcast publishers and platforms are working to grow non-English language audiences
Sara Guaglione for Digiday:
While the U.S. provides the largest market for podcast audiences, non-English-language companies offer large and growing listener bases. China and Brazil, for example, provide the second and third biggest audiences, and podcast listening growth in Latin American countries was slated to surpass that of North America and Europe in 2021, according to eMarketer.
In order to capitalize on the potential to capture a larger international audience, publishers and audio platforms have to adapt their podcasts into languages beyond English — and they are taking a variety of different approaches, from translation to duo-language production. They’re also investing in podcasts produced specifically for non-English-language listeners.
AI accountability can’t be left to the CRTC
Fenwick McKelvey, Brenda McPhail, and Reza Rajabiun for Policy Option:
For those wondering about the extent of Canada’s commitment to artificial intelligence (AI) accountability and transparency, we now have an answer: not much. Buried in a recent decision by Canada’s media regulator (the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission or CRTC) was a clear admission that AI accountability was not a priority. The decision all but closes the door on hopes that the CRTC would push for algorithmic accountability, raising further doubts about its future in looming reforms to Canada’s institutions of Internet governance and the future of AI governance.
On December 9, 2021, the CRTC approved Bell Canada’s request to use an artificial intelligence system to block fraudulent calls. We’d offer a more detailed description, but there are few details to be had. Our research team intervened to learn how AI works in the field, but our efforts devolved into a fight for basic explanations about this system. We struggle to explain its human oversight, how it’s automated, or how it even works in much detail.
What I read, watch, and listen to…
I’m reading how the powerful clean up their digital past using a reputation laundering firm by Peter Guest for Rest of World.
I’m watching The Tinder Swindler on Netflix.
Some stray links:
Novak Djokovic and the healing water crystals by Kevin Berger for Nautilus.
On No Balls: The Cricket Podcast, England bowler Kate Cross and World Cup winner Alex Hartley reflect on the near miracle of Manuka. Test cricket is the best cricket, but women’s test cricket is the best test cricket.
Chart of the week
From Statista, with a report by Felix Richter:
the slow death of meta