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THE HEADLINES
PROPER REDIQUETTE
Believe it or not, one of the top five most frequented sites in the US is struggling to make money. Reddit, a company on track to surpass $100M in revenue for only the first time in its 13-year run, is looking to pull in more money via targeting users for advertisers.
To put their potential in perspective, Twitter, a company with a similar number of average monthly active users, brought in $655M in ad revenue in just the first quarter of 2018. Last year, Google earned itself $95B in ad revenue.
Like just about every other site on the world wide web, Reddit has some hurdles to overcome before getting ad buyers on board. The homepage of the internet’s rather hands-off approach to content has landed Reddit in some hot water in the past, and when it comes to a big brand’s image, those concerns are only magnified.
Water Cooler Talking Point: “I typically don’t side with big brands on the topic of brand image. If you’re going to take on the web, you have to be ready for anything, but the idea of being served an ad for the new Big Mac next to white supremacist propaganda does seem like it could be cause for concern …”
FRIENEMIES
Keep your friends close … and your direct competitors in the aerospace industry closer. Boeing plans to take an 80% stake in Embraer’s commercial and service business, in a deal valued at $4.75B.
Despite Boeing’s initial failure to launch in the smaller, regional jet space, appetite for the puddle jumpers has forced its hand.
The partnership comes on the heels of Airbus and Bombardier finalizing a similar symbiotic relationship. The company with by far the most literal name for a jet manufacturer, ever (Airbus) entered an agreement with Bombardier (another regional jet maker) just last week.
Water Cooler Talking Point: “’Airbus and Boeing basically have a duopoly in the US jumbo jet market. Partnering with smaller players north and south of the border is adding jet fuel to the turf war raging between the two. And I couldn’t be more excited.”
OUT OF INK
The largest tech platforms operating in the European Union let out a collective heart-shaped emoji after Parliament rejected the “fast-tracking” of legislation requiring them to censor the use of copyrighted images, a move that would be in strict violation of their First Amend– oh, wait …
In 2015, the EU announced the beginning of a “Digital Single Market,” in an attempt to break down borders online between its inhabiting countries. One of the key objectives was to modernize copyright laws for the digital age.
So what does that mean? The Union wanted Facebook, Google, and other platforms to police its user’s sharing of articles and copyrighted images … including memes. The horror.
The “new media” companies will have to wait until September when the law comes to a vote in the EU Parliament.
Water Cooler Talking Point: “Naturally, Zuck & Co. don’t want to be monitoring your Grandma when she uses the Kermit the Frog tea sipping meme to talk smack about her friends who got kicked out of bridge club. Mostly because it ain’t cheap. Here come the paywalls.”
IN OTHER NEWS
- Add this to the summer reading list. The Fed minutes from June’s FOMC meeting just dropped and its safe to assume that the US can expect to see interest rates increase at the current pace (4 total hikes in 2018).
- When it rains it pours. Daurio Speranzini, the (soon to be former) head of GE in LATAM, has been arrested in Brazil in connection to a decades-long ring of corruption which was siphoning cash from public health contracts.
- An ADP report indicates that the US economy added fewer private sector jobs than expected (177k vs. 190k estimated).
- How’s that surge pricing taste, Uber? The ride-hailing service relinquished its business in SE Asia for a 27.5% stake in regional rival, Grab. But Singaporean antitrust officials are busting Uber’s bubble, claiming the deal stifles competition. The partners could face fines or a breakup of the deal.