#Apple#AppleNews#Media#Journalism#News: "At the moment, Apple News is as good a partner in Big Tech as many media companies are going to find. Almost every publisher Semafor spoke to said that Apple paid well and directed eyeballs to their longer, more ambitious work. While some of the articles surfaced by the app are algorithmic and based on user behavior, the company also employs a team of journalists — led by editor-in-chief Lauren Kern, a well-regarded former New York Magazine editor — who seem to prioritize putting quality journalism front-and-center on the app. As a reader, it’s a nice product, and in many cases a better reading experience than publishers’ own homepages and apps.
But the partnership also raises some of the questions publishers avoided during the peak social media era. It incentivizes users to subscribe to Apple News+ rather than to publications directly, likely cannibalizing some potential revenue. It’s driving editorial decisions, meaning publishers are once again changing their content strategy to placate a platform. And of course the company could wake up one day and decide, like Facebook, that it no longer really wants to be in the news business, leaving news publishers stranded."
I’ve been using Apple News+ for years now. But I’m increasingly being fed bullshit stories from legitimate publications that are nothing more than thinly veiled promotions for products. I’m sure they get a cut.
“I’m a chef and this is my favorite blender and you can get it for 30% off at Amazon!”
I’m increasingly being fed bullshit stories from legitimate publications that are nothing more than thinly veiled promotions for products
This is probably content being bought or commissioned outside of what we'd think as editorial purview years ago. It could be AI gen articles, also, which eliminates the biggest cost—you not only don't have to pay wages for staff, you don't have to pay a pittance for freelancers, either!
When I maintained my own website, or did special camera review article blogs, I always put in links to Amazon in case readers were interested in buying what they were reading about. I didn't make it quite as blatant as:
“I’m a chef and this is my blender and you can get it for 30% off at Amazon!”
If that's an actual quote, it sounds like tech that's actually building live links as the page is served. I always wrote in my articles that if readers used the links I would get a commission. When I see that and I want to buy, I always used the links because... well, writers know how little they get paid.
That editorial staff on big name (you didn't state which) content providers allow this to fly does show a general tolerance for this type of thing over the last couple decades.
Can people who post links to Apple News please add the #applenews hashtag, to make it easier for those of us who don’t subscribe to it to mute those posts?
“Starting this fall, an upcoming developer beta release of visionOS will include the App Store”
visionOS seems to be mostly on the iOS 17 cycle, even if the hardware is still months away (probably not as many as you think). That means the App Store is opening up soon™.
I will be opting all my apps out of the visionOS App Store until I've had enough time with a physical unit to ship a native version. I do not intend to have the iOS versions available, even in beta
#AppleNews has been slipping further and further in quality (not that it was great) but jamming the third Jordan Peterson nonsense article in a month. Fuck. Just about ready to nuke the app.
@arstechnica Is it just me or does anyone else find all the damn articles about Prime Day coming up, or about it actually being Prime Day, just really freaking tedious? Sometimes it seems like it makes up about half of my #AppleNews feed.
If you're worried about #LLM-based #AI, you're focusing on the wrong thing and may lack imagination.
This, and related developments (I can't view them as advancements, knowing how this all will end) are what's going to end the human race as we've known ourselves.
Much good can be derived from technologies like this, but we—being as we are—will ultimately go much to far.
I don't think we're prepared for our instant evolution (and, separately, eventual mechanization).
After finishing the last two episodes of #ClassOf09 (#FX, on #Hulu) I was processing my thoughts before posting here and this #Wired#article was highlighted for me in #AppleNews.