Is Google About To Change The Internet (again)?

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🧨QUICK FIRE

• At TikTok's 4th annual product summit, they rolled out some cool new ad tools to help brands get creative and boost their performance. Key innovations include TikTok One, a centralised creativity portal for marketers, and TikTok Symphony, which uses AI to make content creation easier and faster. Plus, new features like performance automation and interactive ad options help brands connect with TikTok's massive audience.

• Canva Create 2024, held at the YouTube Theater in LA, featured over 50 speakers and attracted 2 million online viewers and 3,500 in-person attendees. This event marked Canva's shift from targeting individual social marketers to focusing on workplace products for enterprise teams, highlighted by co-founder (Aussie!!!) Mel Perkins' announcement of a new decade aimed at empowering organisations.

• Linktree (Another Aussie!) has surpassed 50M users and rolled out its social commerce program to more creators.

• YouTube is investigating whether OpenAI used creators' videos to train Sora.

• The Podcast Show London, now in its third year, has impressed with its vibrant community and innovative discussions on AI in podcasting. Notable trends included podcasters enhancing workflows with automation and finding creative monetisation methods, while networking opportunities and balanced gender representation also stood out.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai spoke with Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel about the company's AI advancements showcased at the Google I/O developer conference, including AI-powered search features that will soon be available globally. This new AI Overview in Search aims to provide users with summarised answers directly on the search page, potentially reducing traffic to external websites. Pichai acknowledged the concerns of content creators about this shift but emphasised that AI integration is intended to enhance user experience and overall productivity.

My Take:

While Google's AI innovations are undoubtedly impressive, they have significant implications for the broader internet ecosystem. On the one hand, these advancements could greatly enhance the user experience by providing quick, AI-generated answers to search queries. On the other hand, there's a real risk that content creators who rely on web traffic from search engines could see their visibility and revenue decline.

Google’s shift towards AI-driven search results could fundamentally alter how we interact with the web. If users start receiving all the information they need directly from Google without clicking through to individual websites, the traditional model of driving traffic and monetising content through ads could be disrupted.

Sundar Pichai believes this technology will create more user value and insists it’s a positive change. However, the concerns of content creators and website owners cannot be ignored. The balance between innovation and preserving the existing web ecosystem is delicate, and how Google navigates this will be crucial in determining the future landscape of the internet.

Instagram

• is testing a new feature called Lately, which automatically shares Stories to a tab in your Highlights bar and expires after seven days.

• is now displaying the number of times a post has been shared to stories.

TikTok

• Fan Spotlight, a new feature launched with the help of Billie Eilish. Fan Spotlight allows artists to showcase their favourite fan videos on their music tab. Artists can showcase up to five of their favourite fan videos at a time by pinning them to the top of their music tab.

• Duets feature into Branded Missions (an ad solution that pairs advertisers with content creators). Duet with Branded Mission helps brands tap into the TikTok community's native behaviours by inviting creators to duet with their sponsored videos to help increase engagement and participation on the platform. It’s part of the new ad solutions announced during its 4th annual TikTok World product summit.

• Change Makers Program, a social impact creator elevation program that provides dedicated tools, resources, and donations to designated non-profit organisations, has been announced. The first 50 purpose-driven creators have been selected.

YouTube

• Is introducing a feature to help creators understand why their videos receive limited monetisation by providing timestamps indicating guideline violations. This feature aims to enhance transparency and assist creators in complying with advertiser-friendly guidelines, though it is currently only available on the desktop version.

X

• confirms it will make Likes private so people don’t feel judged or targeted by the content they interact with. This feels very anti-Elon.

READ: Are you concerned generative AI will replace human creativity? Vox’s Rebecca Jennings explores AI's creative limitations. While AI has potential applications in enhancing visual and sound effects or automating specific tasks, its ability to replace human creativity remains questionable. Personally, I think AI will only enhance authentic, non-AI creative experiences.

WATCH: Casey Nesitat shares 3 things i learned from 800 days of vlogging. This video is a year old, but I’m just catching up on the Casey Neistat train. What a delight.

LISTEN: Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks with Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel on the latest episode of Patel’s podcast, The Decoder.