In a recent video, Patrick Bet-David and Roc-A-Fella Records founder Damon Dash discuss how AI will revolutionize the arts, especially hip-hop.

Hip-hop, a genre that has continually evolved by integrating new sounds and technologies, now faces the advent of AI with a mix of anticipation and apprehension. Artists and producers are beginning to explore how AI can be utilized not just for creating music but also for handling the business aspects of the industry.

“Dame,” a veteran in the hip-hop scene, believes AI’s utility in the business side of music can be revolutionary. AI tools like ChatGPT can automate tasks ranging from scheduling and communication to more complex operations like marketing analytics and legal documentation. “If you’re a boss, AI helps cut many costs,” Dame explained. He envisions a landscape where artists use AI to make administrative tasks more efficient, thus allowing them to focus more on the creative aspects of their work.

However, Dame is quick to point out that AI will never replace the authentic experiences that live performances provide—where the palpable energy of a physical crowd is irreplaceable by digital simulations, including advanced holograms. “You might have AI design your merch, but you still have to perform to sell it,” he said.

The creative process in hip-hop involves a blend of lyrical skill, emotional depth, and cultural commentary, elements AI has begun to engage with but cannot fully replicate. AI-generated lyrics and compositions are gaining ground as tools for artists, offering new ways to stimulate creativity and streamline the creation process. Yet, these technologies also raise questions about the authenticity and soul of the music, which has been central to hip-hop since its inception.

Moreover, the potential of AI to disrupt the traditional dynamics of the music industry cannot be ignored. From production to consumption, every facet of the industry stands to be impacted. AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data can lead to more personalized music experiences for listeners, from customized playlists to AI-curated concerts.

Yet, this integration is not without its risks. The reliance on AI raises concerns about job displacement within the industry. Roles traditionally filled by humans, from session musicians to sound technicians, could be diminished, permanently and perhaps detrimentally changing the industry’s landscape.

Furthermore, the use of AI in music raises profound intellectual property questions. As AI systems can generate music by learning from existing works, the line between inspiration and infringement becomes blurred. This not only challenges legal frameworks but also the very ethics of creativity in music.

As hip-hop artists navigate this new digital frontier, the balance they find between using AI to enhance their art and business while maintaining the authentic essence of the genre will likely define the future of hip-hop. While AI offers convenience and efficiency tools, hip-hop’s heart—the raw, unfiltered expression of life—remains a distinctly human domain. For the foreseeable future, hip-hop’s soul will resist full automation, keeping the spirit of the genre anchored in human experience even as its tools evolve.

Understanding Demand Gen Campaigns
The Demand Gen Campaign is essentially an upgraded version of the Discovery Campaign, with added functionalities to expand reach and maximize engagement. Unlike traditional campaigns that target specific keywords or demographics, Demand Gen Campaigns leverage Google’s vast network to showcase ads across all Google-owned properties, including YouTube, Gmail, and more.

Differentiating Features
One of the most significant enhancements of Demand Gen Campaigns is the ability to create video ads in addition to image ads. This opens up new avenues for storytelling and engaging with audiences on platforms like YouTube Shorts and in-stream videos.

Mana highlights the impact of these changes: “Now, marketers can leverage the power of video to captivate audiences and drive meaningful interactions. It’s a game-changer in terms of creative possibilities and audience engagement.”

Setting Up Your First Demand Gen Campaign
To embark on your Demand Gen journey, navigate to ads.google.com and create a new campaign. Select “Demand Generation” as your campaign goal and specify your target audience, budget, and other relevant settings. Mana advises, “Focus on setting up conversion tracking to ensure you’re optimizing for meaningful outcomes, whether it’s website visits, leads, or sales.”

Crafting Compelling Ads
When creating ads for your Demand Gen Campaign, prioritize visuals and messaging that resonate with your target audience. Ivan Mana recommends, “Utilize captivating imagery and compelling copy to grab attention and drive action. Remember, you compete for users’ attention in a crowded digital space.”

Mana further advises, “Take advantage of Google’s free stock images and comprehensive ad customization options to create ads that stand out and align with your brand identity.”

Optimizing Performance
Monitor performance closely once your campaign is live and make data-driven adjustments to optimize results. Mana emphasizes the importance of analyzing key metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), conversions, and cost-per-acquisition (CPA) to gauge effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.

“Continuous testing and refinement are essential in maximizing the impact of your Demand Gen Campaign,” says Mana. “Experiment with different ad formats, audience segments, and messaging strategies to uncover what resonates best with your target audience.”

Conclusion
As businesses navigate the dynamic landscape of digital marketing, embracing innovative strategies like Google Ads Demand Gen Campaigns can unlock new opportunities for growth and engagement. By leveraging the platform’s enhanced capabilities and adopting a data-driven approach, marketers can drive meaningful results and stay ahead of the competition in today’s fast-paced digital ecosystem.

With his wealth of experience and strategic foresight, Nik Pandey underscored the significance of alignment and synergy between sales, marketing, and demand gen functions. He emphasized the need for cohesive communication and shared objectives, highlighting how a unified approach can drive superior results and foster organizational growth. “In today’s fast-paced market, agility is key,” Pandey remarked. “We must remain adaptable and responsive to changing dynamics to stay ahead of the curve.”

Drawing on his extensive background in revenue operations, Pandey delved into the nuances of demand generation, emphasizing the pivotal role of data-driven insights and targeted outreach strategies. “Effective demand generation requires a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences,” he explained. “By leveraging data analytics and market intelligence, we can tailor our approach to resonate with our target audience and drive meaningful engagement.”

Complementing Pandey’s insights, Swati Paliwal brought a unique perspective shaped by her role as Marketing Head at Sprouts.ai. With a focus on customer-centricity and innovation, Paliwal highlighted the importance of personalized marketing initiatives and tailored messaging. “In B2B marketing, relevance is paramount,” she noted. “We must strive to deliver value at every touchpoint and create memorable experiences that resonate with our audience.”

Paliwal also emphasized aligning marketing efforts with sales objectives to maximize impact and drive revenue growth. “By collaborating closely with sales teams, we can ensure that our marketing initiatives are aligned with business goals and contribute to the organization’s overall success,” she stated. “It’s about fostering a culture of collaboration and shared accountability.”

Pandey and Paliwal underscored the importance of fostering alignment, communication, and a customer-centric mindset within B2B organizations throughout their conversation. “At the end of the day, it’s all about delivering value to our customers,” Pandey remarked. “By working together seamlessly, sales and marketing teams can create synergies that drive growth and enable long-term success.”

As industry leaders, Nik Pandey and Swati Paliwal exemplify the spirit of innovation and collaboration that defines the modern B2B landscape. Through their insightful commentary and practical wisdom, they inspire organizations to unlock their full potential and achieve excellence in sales and marketing. In a world where agility and adaptability are paramount, their guidance serves as a beacon for businesses navigating the complexities of the digital age.

Favicons are those little icons that show up in browser tabs when visiting certain websites. They’re a way for websites to add a little more branding, but many users find them annoying and distracting. What’s more, browser favicons have been exposed as a privacy risk, allowing bad actors to track users’ activity.

Evidently, Google still believes favicons may have a place in advertising, and is testing their inclusion, according to a tweet by Google’s AdsLiason account.

This is part of a series of small experiments to help users more easily identify the brand or advertiser associated with the Search ads they may see for a given query.

AdsLiason (@adsliason), January 24, 2022

There’s no indication when Google will make a final decision.

Research indicates that eCommerce sales will account for 16% of the total retail market in 2022– a figure far higher than the previous year’s eCommerce retail market share (13% in 2021). By 2022, eCommerce sales are expected to reach $5.4 trillion.

An enormous amount of data is generated each second, which companies are using worldwide for several purposes like web log analysis, traffic analysis, and customer profiling.

The exponential increase in big data presents tremendous possibilities for businesses.

Benefits of Using Predictive Forecasting for Ecommerce

Predictive forecasting can be used to forecast expected sales for eCommerce businesses with confidence.

This means that businesses are better equipped to make smart decisions, like how many items they should stock or whether they can afford to lower prices without sacrificing profits.

Additionally, this would help businesses effectively allocate their resources and adjust their business strategies accordingly.

Top Predictive Forecasting Trends For 2022

Predictive forecasting data suggests that a number of key drivers and technological shifts will shape the future of eCommerce in 2022 and beyond.

Here are the top predictive forecasting trends for 2022:

Competitive Website Homepages: The first is that retail websites must become more competitive on their homepages for both new and returning visitors. This will require new technologies and site improvements, such as improved personalization and localization, the ability to add products dynamically throughout the sales funnel, and an increased focus on the shopping experience.

Demand for Content Marketing and SEO: The second driver that will be shaping retail websites is the increasing importance of content marketing and personalization for SEO. In 2017, Google began using machine learning technology to process user experiences on eCommerce sites and present them more prominently in search results. This trend is likely to continue growing, which will increase the importance of sites’ content marketing efforts and user experience. Leading eCommerce agencies such as Bing Digital leverage data to upscale their client’s revenue using a combination of marketing analysis techniques. In the future, eCommerce marketing companies that will use data will always have an upper hand as compared to their competitors.

Automated Recommendations: A third driver will be the increasing use of automated recommendations based on previous shopping cart activity or searching behavior. These technologies would suggest items like: “People who bought this also bought these items,” “Customers who viewed this item also viewed these items,” or even more advanced solutions, such as “Most popular products recommended based on past purchases.”

Rise of Mobile Devices: The shift from a PC to a mobile device world is perhaps one of the most significant in recent times. In 2014, mobile surpassed PC Internet usage in the UK, and in 2016, search from a mobile device surpassed that from a PC for the first time. This shift will continue to grow as more consumers purchase smartphones and tablets. Consequently, retailers must design their websites to accommodate smaller screens and optimize speed. Mobile page load speeds have been an increasing concern for both consumers and search engines, so this is an area that many retailers must focus on improving.

Voice Assistants: Predictive data shows that consumers are becoming more comfortable with voice assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, and Apple’s Siri when shopping online. Therefore, retailers will be challenged to accommodate these new technology preferences in the future. While the technology is still in its infancy, approximately 40% of US consumers already own a smart speaker and more say they are likely to purchase one soon. The growth of voice assistants will impact how consumers search for products and consider purchases. This new technology will influence their purchasing behavior by providing product recommendations based on previous online searches and product purchases.

Machine Learning and AI: Another important technological shift is the continued growth of machine learning and artificial intelligence. For example, it is predicted that in 2022, AI will create more jobs than it will destroy. This suggests an increased need for employees with digital skills to manage these technologies in eCommerce stores to increase their online effectiveness.

One-day Delivery: One final key factor shaping eCommerce is the growth of one-day delivery. This is the result of several factors, including consumer demand for ever-faster shipping speeds and improvements in logistics technology that allow retailers to fulfill such orders. One-day delivery is already available in certain cities and regions worldwide and will become more common as eCommerce gathers pace.

Examples of Predictive Forecasting

1. In 2014, Google analyzed over 100 of the most popular Android apps and uncovered some interesting stats about how they use data. For example, Google found that most apps determine a user’s location almost instantaneously when the app is opened but then stay in the background for the rest of the day, gathering data on other habits. They also found that apps pull out personal information more often than you might think – even if it’s only done to provide a more personalized experience.

2. In 2015, Facebook implemented an artificial intelligence software called “DeepText” to analyze and understand all of its users’ posts in real-time, as well as who those posts were being shared with. This was used to help prevent the spread of violence or terrorist propaganda on their website by detecting any dangerous language.

3. In 2015, Google introduced “RankBrain” to its machine learning program to help it understand search result intent better. The idea was that if RankBrain could detect one user’s intention by recognizing their pattern of previous searches, it would be able to make accurate predictions on future searches. This proved effective for Google over the next few years, and the program has since become one of the most important parts of their business.

4. In 2016, Netflix launched a new feature called “Suggested TV,” which provides recommended TV shows based on your viewing habits. This is done through predictive forecasting by tracking your recent searches to get an idea of what kind of shows you’re watching and what you might be interested in.

5. In 2017, Google released a video talking about how they use predictive forecasting to better predict people’s flow on their website. For example, suppose a user is looking for information on a local restaurant. In that case, Google will analyze data from previous searches to determine where this person is located and show results for nearby restaurants. This allows Google to display relevant and timely information, which is important for businesses.

The above examples of predictive forecasting in the eCommerce world have been used over the years to improve website rankings, recommendations from streaming services, product development decisions, advertisement relevance, and more. There are many other examples that can be used to show how predictive forecasting has been used to improve businesses across all industries.

Challenges in Using Predictive Forecasting for eCommerce

The biggest challenge for companies using predictive analytics is to figure out which data they should be collecting and how it should be used. The type of information that would be useful for a specific company depends on their interests and what they hope to achieve through forecasted data.

Another challenge is dealing with large amounts of data. It takes a lot of planning and time before you even start gathering the data required for effective predictive forecasts. Once you have everything you need, you have to put it all together and use special software to make sense of it all. This is especially necessary if your business has a lot of customers or a high number of different products to keep track of.

Conclusion

In 2022, predictive forecasting for eCommerce will have many different applications within all areas of business operations. Combining the information from customer searches with historical data from previous purchases and other variables will help companies make better decisions about their inventory and what products they should develop next.

Matt Maloney, CEO of Grubhub, discusses with Jim Cramer on CNBC how Grubhub is in the business of driving growth for restaurants and is not just a logistics company:

The American Public Has Just Adopted Digital Ordering

This is our fifth anniversary of our IPO. The market now is ten times what I thought it was five years ago. It’s because the American public has just adopted digital ordering as their preferred way to engage with their local restaurants. We are not just marketing to Millennials. We are marketing on national television across all channels, all time zones, and hitting all segments. We just see that people realize that digitally ordering on their app or on their desktop is just easier.

Of course, our ad campaign is working. I wouldn’t have it on TV if it wasn’t working. You think about it this way. You know your LTV, your lifetime value of your customer, once they start ordering we know that they’re lifers. They’re on forever. We can make that revenue model and then we know how much it cost to put the ad on there. So yes, over time, as people see the ad, more and more it becomes less and less effective. But we’re nowhere near our LTV.

I have always been willing to be extremely aggressive investing in the future. Historically, I was bound by the amount of money I could invest. The reception of these communications just weren’t hitting the public and they weren’t working as well. Then around the third quarter of last year, we saw that we could spend way more than we had historically. I’m just talking about effectiveness. Spending it effectively. We came to the street on our third quarter earnings call and said we see opportunity and we are going long in the fourth quarter.

Yum Made $200 million Investment – They Believe in Our Story

People are going to say where’s the beef, the old Wendy’s commercial. They’re like show me the money. (We don’t have Wendy’s) but everyone talks to everyone in this industry. I think over time exclusivity is just not going to happen. (We have Yum) and Yum is the biggest restaurateur in the world. YUM is an incredible brand which includes Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut. They are very forward-thinking. They invest in technology a lot and they wanted to make a fundamental partnership and we wanted to understand what the brands needed from a partner.

Yum made a $200 million investment because they believe in our story. We didn’t need the investment because we have a very healthy balance sheet. What it did it was really bringing the support of the young brand and the franchisees into Grub. As a tight partnership, we’re able to execute on technology and growth for them in a way that nobody else in the industry is doing right now. I totally disagree (that we aren’t making money from this partnership).

We Are a Marketplace That Sells Demand Generation

We are a marketplace that sells demand generation. We sell growth. That’s what our primary product is. We’re not a logistics company. We do logistics because we know that’s an end to get to restaurant growth and make money off our logistics. The gross margins on the logistics are not fabulous. The gross margins on the demand generation are fabulous which is why I differentiate between a logistics company and demand gen company.

If you’re selling consumers, you’re selling growth and you can charge a lot for that. That’s the profitable side. Everyone else in my industry is a logistics company which has razor thin margins. One of my competitors said they’re the next FedEx. Do you really want to be the next FedEx? There’s the multiple that we can get as marketplaces and there’s the multiple that logistics companies can get.

Everyone Would Prefer to Order Digitally

I think that everyone in the country would prefer to order digitally than order on the phone. That’s why we acquired Tapingo. It’s an incredible acquisition because it gives us further scale on campuses. Tapingo is a pickup focused product. So here’s what you need to think about. We sell growth, we sell orders. I don’t care if that’s a pickup order, a delivery order, a self-delivery order, or a catering order.

Everyone else in my industry only does delivery facilitated by that platform. Because we partner with the restaurants (which means) the restaurants are subsidizing part of our transaction fee, we are always cheaper. That’s what people don’t understand. There’s a lot of bait and switch pricing going on (from competitors).

Research indicates that eCommerce sales will account for 16% of the total retail market in 2022– a figure far higher than the previous year’s eCommerce retail market share (13% in 2021). By 2022, eCommerce sales are expected to reach $5.4 trillion.

An enormous amount of data is generated each second, which companies are using worldwide for several purposes like web log analysis, traffic analysis, and customer profiling.

The exponential increase in big data presents tremendous possibilities for businesses.

Benefits of Using Predictive Forecasting for Ecommerce

Predictive forecasting can be used to forecast expected sales for eCommerce businesses with confidence.

This means that businesses are better equipped to make smart decisions, like how many items they should stock or whether they can afford to lower prices without sacrificing profits.

Additionally, this would help businesses effectively allocate their resources and adjust their business strategies accordingly.

Top Predictive Forecasting Trends For 2022

Predictive forecasting data suggests that a number of key drivers and technological shifts will shape the future of eCommerce in 2022 and beyond.

Here are the top predictive forecasting trends for 2022:

Competitive Website Homepages: The first is that retail websites must become more competitive on their homepages for both new and returning visitors. This will require new technologies and site improvements, such as improved personalization and localization, the ability to add products dynamically throughout the sales funnel, and an increased focus on the shopping experience.

Demand for Content Marketing and SEO: The second driver that will be shaping retail websites is the increasing importance of content marketing and personalization for SEO. In 2017, Google began using machine learning technology to process user experiences on eCommerce sites and present them more prominently in search results. This trend is likely to continue growing, which will increase the importance of sites’ content marketing efforts and user experience. Leading eCommerce agencies such as Bing Digital leverage data to upscale their client’s revenue using a combination of marketing analysis techniques. In the future, eCommerce marketing companies that will use data will always have an upper hand as compared to their competitors.

Automated Recommendations: A third driver will be the increasing use of automated recommendations based on previous shopping cart activity or searching behavior. These technologies would suggest items like: “People who bought this also bought these items,” “Customers who viewed this item also viewed these items,” or even more advanced solutions, such as “Most popular products recommended based on past purchases.”

Rise of Mobile Devices: The shift from a PC to a mobile device world is perhaps one of the most significant in recent times. In 2014, mobile surpassed PC Internet usage in the UK, and in 2016, search from a mobile device surpassed that from a PC for the first time. This shift will continue to grow as more consumers purchase smartphones and tablets. Consequently, retailers must design their websites to accommodate smaller screens and optimize speed. Mobile page load speeds have been an increasing concern for both consumers and search engines, so this is an area that many retailers must focus on improving.

Voice Assistants: Predictive data shows that consumers are becoming more comfortable with voice assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, and Apple’s Siri when shopping online. Therefore, retailers will be challenged to accommodate these new technology preferences in the future. While the technology is still in its infancy, approximately 40% of US consumers already own a smart speaker and more say they are likely to purchase one soon. The growth of voice assistants will impact how consumers search for products and consider purchases. This new technology will influence their purchasing behavior by providing product recommendations based on previous online searches and product purchases.

Machine Learning and AI: Another important technological shift is the continued growth of machine learning and artificial intelligence. For example, it is predicted that in 2022, AI will create more jobs than it will destroy. This suggests an increased need for employees with digital skills to manage these technologies in eCommerce stores to increase their online effectiveness.

One-day Delivery: One final key factor shaping eCommerce is the growth of one-day delivery. This is the result of several factors, including consumer demand for ever-faster shipping speeds and improvements in logistics technology that allow retailers to fulfill such orders. One-day delivery is already available in certain cities and regions worldwide and will become more common as eCommerce gathers pace.

Examples of Predictive Forecasting

1. In 2014, Google analyzed over 100 of the most popular Android apps and uncovered some interesting stats about how they use data. For example, Google found that most apps determine a user’s location almost instantaneously when the app is opened but then stay in the background for the rest of the day, gathering data on other habits. They also found that apps pull out personal information more often than you might think – even if it’s only done to provide a more personalized experience.

2. In 2015, Facebook implemented an artificial intelligence software called “DeepText” to analyze and understand all of its users’ posts in real-time, as well as who those posts were being shared with. This was used to help prevent the spread of violence or terrorist propaganda on their website by detecting any dangerous language.

3. In 2015, Google introduced “RankBrain” to its machine learning program to help it understand search result intent better. The idea was that if RankBrain could detect one user’s intention by recognizing their pattern of previous searches, it would be able to make accurate predictions on future searches. This proved effective for Google over the next few years, and the program has since become one of the most important parts of their business.

4. In 2016, Netflix launched a new feature called “Suggested TV,” which provides recommended TV shows based on your viewing habits. This is done through predictive forecasting by tracking your recent searches to get an idea of what kind of shows you’re watching and what you might be interested in.

5. In 2017, Google released a video talking about how they use predictive forecasting to better predict people’s flow on their website. For example, suppose a user is looking for information on a local restaurant. In that case, Google will analyze data from previous searches to determine where this person is located and show results for nearby restaurants. This allows Google to display relevant and timely information, which is important for businesses.

The above examples of predictive forecasting in the eCommerce world have been used over the years to improve website rankings, recommendations from streaming services, product development decisions, advertisement relevance, and more. There are many other examples that can be used to show how predictive forecasting has been used to improve businesses across all industries.

Challenges in Using Predictive Forecasting for eCommerce

The biggest challenge for companies using predictive analytics is to figure out which data they should be collecting and how it should be used. The type of information that would be useful for a specific company depends on their interests and what they hope to achieve through forecasted data.

Another challenge is dealing with large amounts of data. It takes a lot of planning and time before you even start gathering the data required for effective predictive forecasts. Once you have everything you need, you have to put it all together and use special software to make sense of it all. This is especially necessary if your business has a lot of customers or a high number of different products to keep track of.

Conclusion

In 2022, predictive forecasting for eCommerce will have many different applications within all areas of business operations. Combining the information from customer searches with historical data from previous purchases and other variables will help companies make better decisions about their inventory and what products they should develop next.

These strong results showed that Google has come out of a Covid-19 epidemic, which accelerated ecommerce purchases, online food orders, and streaming video consumption. Companies invested millions of dollars in advertising across Google Search, Maps, and YouTube to highlight the superiority of their products.

Alphabet Inc. reported second quarter revenue of $61.88 million, an increase 62% over a year prior, when it lost its unassailable advertising business to the coronavirus, which crippled the economy. Per-share earnings exceeded analysts’ expectations and profit more than doubled, to $18.53billion.

Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive, stated that there was a “rising tide” of online business and consumer activity. He stated that digital publishers and YouTube partners earned more during this period than at any other time in the company’s history.

The company made $50.44 billion from advertising. This 69% increase was due to a hot U.S. market, where ad spend is expected to be the highest in postwar years. YouTube’s advertising business generated $7 billion in revenue last year, an 84% increase over the previous year.

After-hours trading saw Class A shares rise by more than 3% The stock closed Tuesday at $2638

Other tech companies have also benefited from the booming digital advertising market. Snap Inc. reported last week that its revenue increased more than twice due to strong user growth. Twitter Inc., however, reported sales increases of 74% thanks to increased advertising.

Google’s expected sales growth is a return to form. This is a return to form from a money-making machine that has reported revenue increases every quarter over a decade. Sales fell 1.8% in June last year due to major advertisers cutting spending in the travel sector, which accounts for 15% of all sales.

Google has seen a quarterly increase in revenue every quarter since then. Travel and leisure companies are investing big to attract customers who will fly after being away for a year with vaccinations.

Philipp Schindler, Chief Business Officer, stated that retail was the most important advertising sector for the quarter. He stated that Google’s decision to include brands that were not paid advertisers in its Shopping Tab last year increased sales and improved listings. He cited Bed, Bath & Beyond, as an example of a company which had a program in place for online shopping and in-store pickup during the pandemic. This was promoted by the retailer across YouTube and Google.

Google and its competitors should see a rise in digital advertising throughout the remainder of the year. GroupM recently increased its global advertising sales forecast to $749 billion, a 19% increase over last year and above its previous expectation of 12% growth. The company did not forecast future revenue due to uncertainty following the recent increase in Covid-19 cases.

Legislators in the U.S. as well as abroad have expressed concern that Google’s resilience is a reflection of the strength of its products. Google is the largest digital advertising company in terms of revenue. Google’s search engine holds 92% of all global internet searches, while its Maps services have 89% of digital navigation services.

Google paid $270 million to French regulators in June to settle a case claiming it had abused its position as the leader in digital advertising. The European Union launched a formal investigation into Google’s digital advertising business. It also alleged that it excluded competitors from buying ad space on YouTube. Three dozen states have filed an antitrust suit in the U.S. District Court for Northern California alleging that the company has an illegal monopoly over its Play app store.

The Justice Department is also suing it, alleging that it uses exclusionary deals to protect its search engine monopoly. The trial, along with two other state lawsuits, is scheduled to start in 2023.

Google claims that it operates in a highly competitive market, where customers choose to use its services and ads because they are efficient. Google claims that its Play store is an open operating system, where customers can directly download apps from developers.

The suits, settlements, and investigations have been ignored by investors, which has led to shares rising more than 50% through Tuesday’s close. Analysts believe that Google, which reported $135.86 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments at June’s end, has sufficient resources to pay any fines.

Favicons are those little icons that show up in browser tabs when visiting certain websites. They’re a way for websites to add a little more branding, but many users find them annoying and distracting. What’s more, browser favicons have been exposed as a privacy risk, allowing bad actors to track users’ activity.

Evidently, Google still believes favicons may have a place in advertising, and is testing their inclusion, according to a tweet by Google’s AdsLiason account.

This is part of a series of small experiments to help users more easily identify the brand or advertiser associated with the Search ads they may see for a given query.

AdsLiason (@adsliason), January 24, 2022

There’s no indication when Google will make a final decision.

The company was cast in the spotlight when news broke that Dr. Gebru, one of the world’s leading AI ethics researchers had left the company. Google claimed Gebru had resigned, but she and her coworkers say she was fired.

Much of the issue stemmed from Gebru and her fellow researchers authoring a paper that raised concerns about the kind of AI Google uses in a number of projects. The controversy led CEO Sundar Pichai to apologize for how the situation was handled, although even the apology drew criticism for being tone-deaf, both from those inside and outside the company.

AI researchers within the company are now demanding changes, according to an email seen by Bloomberg. One such demand is that a company vice president, Megan Kacholia, be removed from the reporting chain. The researches said they had “lost trust in her as a leader.”

The researches also demanded the freedom to pursue research, even if it conflicted with Google’s short-term interests.

“Google’s short-sighted decision to fire and retaliate against a core member of the Ethical AI team makes it clear that we need swift and structural changes if this work is to continue, and if the legitimacy of the field as a whole is to persevere,” the letter reads.

“This research must be able to contest the company’s short-term interests and immediate revenue agendas, as well as to investigate AI that is deployed by Google’s competitors with similar ethical motives,” the researchers added.

Google’s response could have profound impacts on the company’s AI endeavors moving forward. Although it is one of the leading companies in the field, if Google loses the respect of the AI community, it could quickly find itself struggling to attract top talent — especially if that talent has legitimate reason to believe it will be censored.

Big Tech is under more scrutiny than ever before, and privacy is a big focal point. Data breaches and mishandling of consumer data in recent years has resulted in individuals and officials being more privacy-conscious. As a result, there have been some instances of groundbreaking legislations, such as the EU’s GDPR and California’s CCPA/CPRA.

It appears the FTC is increasing its own scrutiny of companies’ data practices, with an order to “Amazon.com, Inc., ByteDance Ltd., which operates the short video service TikTok, Discord Inc., Facebook, Inc., Reddit, Inc., Snap Inc., Twitter, Inc., WhatsApp Inc., and YouTube LLC.”

The FTC is specifically looking to understand how these platforms “collect, use, track, estimate, or derive personal and demographic information.” In addition, the FTC wants to know how these platforms determine which ads and content are shown to users, how they handle user engagement and how children and teens are impacted.

Some companies, such as Apple, Microsoft and Mozilla, have taken strong stands on privacy. The platforms covered by the FTC’s order, however, have based much of their business on collecting user information. In many cases, there has been a lack of transparency about what data is collected and how it is used.

Hopefully the FTC’s inquiry is the first step toward stronger data protections for consumers.

Huawei has signaled it is willing to meet any demand the Swedish government may impose to avoid being banned from the country’s 5G networks.

Huawei is under increased pressure globally as multiple countries implement bans and restrictions on the Chinese telecoms firm. While the US originally spearheaded the campaign to isolate and restrict Huawei, claiming the company poses a national security threat, other countries have arrived at the same conclusion.

Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Romania have banned Huawei from their networks, while the UK implemented a ban under pressure from the US. Sweden implemented a ban of their own, on both Huawei and ZTE, over the same kind of concerns the US has cited. Huawei challenged the ban in court and won a temporary reprieve, as the courts ordered the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority to delay its spectrum auction to allow more time for the matter to be resolved.

Huawei is determined to get back in Sweden’s good graces, and is willing to do whatever it takes according to Reuters.

“We are even willing to meet extraordinary requirements, such as setting up test facilities for our equipment in Sweden, for example, if they want to,” Kenneth Fredriksen, Huawei’s Executive Vice President, Central East Europe and Nordic Region, told Reuters.

“We are now in the middle of the court process, but we are willing to have pragmatic discussions.”

It remains to be seen if Huawei’s overtures will be successful, especially since Sweden’s ban was based on analysis by the country’s military and security experts.

As we reported this morning, AT&T CEO John Stankey told Reuters in an interview that the company was looking at offering $5 to $10 off of plans in exchange for displaying ads on the user’s phone. In our report, we raised issues with what we labeled “quite possibly one of the worst, most consumer-unfriendly ideas put forth by a company in recent years.”

It seems that Senator Blumenthal agrees, slamming the wireless carrier for its plans.

”I am alarmed that AT&T’s announcement threatens to create a race to the bottom, trampling over long-held consumers expectations and leaving privacy as a right exclusive to the rich,” wrote Blumenthal in a letter to Stankey.

Senator Blumenthal also takes issue with AT&T’s plans to monitor and track users across devices, and says that customers should not have to choose between privacy and cost.

“The prospect of AT&T monitoring consumers’ phone and internet records, matching them across devices and data broker records, and then using that private information to manipulatively target people is outright chilling.

“AT&T should not hold privacy above consumers’ heads for additional cost. Rather than a benefit, it is clear that AT&T is seeking to legitimize more intrusion into consumers’ lives and more aggressively commoditize subscribers. AT&T’s announcement would create a “pay-for-privacy” standard in the increasingly consolidated phone market, driving prices up for those who want to opt out. You also acknowledge that an ad-supported wireless plan would cross-fertilize its AT&T data broker and ad targeting products, adding to the race to the bottom that exists in the internet ecosystem. In holding out nominal discounts in exchange for the intrusive surveillance and aggressive monetization of private information, AT&T is manipulatively pitting consumers’ welfare and privacy against constrained budgets.”

Senator Blumenthal has requested a written response by October 18. Given the sweeping implications of AT&T’s proposed action, hopefully this quick pushback will cause them—and any other companies considering such ideas—to reconsider.

TSMC is currently benefiting from multiple industry trends. The global pandemic has increased demand for datacenters as companies are turning to the cloud to continue running.

Similarly, US officials have placed greater emphasis on in-country semiconductor manufacturing, as the pandemic showed the dangers of relying solely on overseas manufacturing. Capitalizing on that, TSMC announced its plans to build a semiconductor factory in Arizona

While not immediately benefiting TSMC, another factor that should help it in the long run is Apple’s decision to move Macs from Intel chips to custom silicon. TSMC already makes the custom silicon in Apple’s iPhones and iPads. It stands to reason TSMC will likely handle the chip manufacturing for Apple’s Macs as well.

As a result of these various factors, according to Bloomberg, TSMC “reported sales of NT$120.88 billion ($4.1 billion) for June on Friday. That likely means TSMC’s revenue grew about 29% to NT$310.7 billion last quarter, based on previously reported figures, beating the NT$308.8 billion analysts expect on average.”

It’s likely TSMC will continue to rise, both in the short and long-term. These various factors will also help offset lost business from Huawei, as the US has greatly restricted TSMC’s second-largest customer.

As governments, schools and companies take drastic measures to stop the spread of the virus, unprecedented numbers of individuals are staying home. With restaurants and bars closed in many areas, and grocery store shelves running light, people are having to rely on their home supplies and online shopping like never before. The new status quo has strained supply chains, prompting even Walmart to adjust hours to help give stocking crews a chance to catch up.

Amazon has likewise felt the strain, and is now taking major action to try to meet demand.

“As COVID-19 has spread, we’ve recently seen an increase in people shopping online which has had an impact on how we serve our customers,” reads a company blog post. “So in the short term, we are making the decision to temporarily prioritize household staples, medical supplies and other high-demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so we can more quickly receive, restock and ship these products to customers. Products already on its way to our fulfillment centers will be accepted. This does not impact products being delivered to customers, or products currently in stock in our store. Customers can continue to buy any in-stock product in our store, and we will continue to deliver them.”

Amazon’s announcement is a major change and will likely have far-reaching financial consequences for companies that rely on Amazon to sell their products. Amazon has already faced tremendous skepticism from retail companies who are reluctant to rely on the company’s cloud solutions, as Amazon is one of their biggest competitors. Now that many companies are seeing one of their primary order fulfillment avenues suspend shipment of their products, even temporarily, companies may be more hesitant to rely as heavily on Amazon in the future.

Microsoft has already had issues keeping up with demand, as users in Europe experienced problems Monday with Teams being barely usable. According to OnMSFT.com, Microsoft is taking measures to avoid similar issues and informing users via email.

“In light of the situation, Microsoft recently sent out an email to Office 365 subscribers notifying that it will be making temporary adjustments to select ‘non-essential capabilities’ of the service,” writes OnMSFT.com, confirming they had seen copies of the emails.

As the pandemic continues to move users to cloud-based solutions, companies will likely have to take similar measures until their infrastructure can catch up with demand.

The AirPods Pro were released on October 30 and represent a significant upgrade from the original AirPods. The earbuds add active noise cancellation, a transparency mode to let outside noise in, a charging case that can be charged wirelessly and more. AirProds Pro have received almost universally good reviews and Apple has struggled to keep up with demand.

MacRumors reports that “Kuo expects Chinese company Goertek to begin assembly of AirPods Pro in the first half of the year. The addition of a second supplier alongside Luxshare Precision should help improve supply of the popular earphones, which continue to face multi-week shipping estimates on Apple.com.”

The popular earbuds are proof that innovation and cult-like followings can be achieved with even the smallest devices.

As mid to high-end phone cameras have grown more complicated and incorporated multiple lenses, the demand for these sensors has gone up. According to Bloomberg, Sony estimates its share of the market is 51 percent, and the company is aiming to have 60 percent by 2025.

Terushi Shimizu, the head of Sony’s semiconductor unit, told Bloomberg the company will run its factories through the holidays for the second year in a row, in an effort to keep up. Sony is even doubling its investment in the business, to $2.6 billion, as well as building a new factory in Nagasaki. Even that may not be enough, however.

“Judging by the way things are going, even after all that investment in expanding capacity, it might still not be enough,” Shimizu told Bloomberg. “We are having to apologize to customers because we just can’t make enough.”

With 5G phones starting to roll out, 2020 has the potential to be a major upgrade cycle for many manufacturers. Apple alone is predicted to sell between 80 and 100 million 5G iPhones in 2020. At that rate, Sony may find itself struggling to keep up for some time.

According to a report by TechCrunch, the FBI has been using “legal powers — known as national security letters — to compel credit giants to turn over non-content information, such as records of purchases and locations, that the agency deems necessary in national security investigations. But these letters have no judicial oversight and are typically filed with a gag order, preventing the recipient from disclosing the demand to anyone else — including the target of the letter.”

Tech companies have been dealing with national security letters for some time but, following the Edward Snowden revelations, the laws were changed in 2015 to give companies the right to petition for release from the gag orders. As a result, tech companies routinely publish transparency reports, disclosing how many times the government has requested their assistance.

In the wake of these documents becoming public, at least three senators have expressed concern. Republican senator Rand Paul and Democratic senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren have written letters to the three credit agencies, questioning why the agencies have never disclosed the FBI’s requests.

“Because your company holds so much potentially sensitive data on so many Americans and collects this information without obtaining consent from these individuals, you have a responsibility to be transparent about how you handle that data,” the letters said. “Unfortunately, your company has not provided information to policymakers or the public about the type or the number of disclosures that you have made to the FBI.”

Senator Wyden, in particular, has been a vocal proponent of privacy protections and an equally vocal critic of questionable and illegal spying on American citizens. With these new revelations, it’s a safe bet there will be more inquiries and possible regulation to govern how the financial and credit information of Americans can be accessed and used.

The new law, which Putin signed on December 5, goes into effect on July 1, 2020. The law requires all computers, smartphones and smart TVs to have Russian applications pre-installed. As Reuters reports, electronic companies are pushing back on the law, although few as much as Apple.

Apple has said the Russian law would require the equivalent of jailbreaking its software, something it has refused to do in the past. While the law’s proposed purpose is to allow local companies to better compete with the software that comes loaded on devices, critics believe any software the Russian government would insist be installed could, and likely would, be used to spy on people.

According to IBT, “an unnamed Apple source allegedly informed Kommersant Business Daily that a mandate to include third-party applications to Apple’s ecosystem would be synonymous with jailbreaking. The Apple source also said that it might pose a security threat, and Apple would not tolerate such kind of risk. The Russian government will come up with a list of software and apps which tech firms are required to pre-install, as well as the list of devices covered by this new law, reports The Moscow Times.”

For Apple, the stakes are far greater that just the Russian market. The company has made a name for itself as a staunch protector of privacy, going head-to-head with the FBI to fight attempts to force it to create backdoors in its software. If it gives in to Russia, it will set a dangerous precedent that other governments will no doubt seize upon.