Industry News
SELECTED ITEMS OF INTEREST TO THE MEDIA COMMUNITY
Posting in the Post-Twitter Universe
Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover has led to many users leaving the platform. Digiday is providing a roundup of alternatives, including:
- Hive Social, where feeds are posted chronologically rather than by algorithm. While some analysts say it’s been helpful for small businesses it doesn’t target with ads, which can be a downside for marketers. Hive has also had some data vulnerabilities.
- Mastadon has feeds, trends, hashtags, and communities of interest similar to Twitter, and many users who were banned by Twitter have switched there. But some find the site difficult to navigate, and it doesn’t currently have advertising.
- Post.news, created in November, resembles Twitter in appearance. It’s described as “an outlet for premium news without subscriptions or ads,” and USA Today is the first publisher to sign on. But the platform’s full business model hasn’t been revealed yet, and there’s a long waiting list for potential users.
Digiday also covers Reddit, Discord, and Tumblr. Read more of the Digiday roundup here.
#media #strategy #consulting
Should Non-Compete Clauses Be Banned?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed a rule prohibiting non-compete clauses. If enacted, U.S. workers would have more choice about what jobs – and salaries – they accept. They could more easily take positions aligning with their current skills, work for rival companies, or start their own companies with less fear of being sued by former employers.
The FTC estimates the proposed rule could increase wages by $300 billion a year and impact 30 million Americans. It’s believed that as many as 50 percent of people in high-skilled and high-tech jobs have non-compete clauses in their contracts. The proposed changes are supported by consumer and labor groups – and opposed by organizations representing business interests, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which argue that noncompete clauses protect investment in employees and sensitive business information. Read more of the Vox story here.
#media #strategy #consulting
Are longer promotional periods for new subscriptions short-sighted?
Many publishers offered aggressive Cyber Monday promotional deals, betting that months of low-cost or essentially free subscriptions will convert down the road. But longer promotional periods may also make it difficult to accurately predict how many new subscribers will stay when promotional offers expire -- and what price they’ll be willing to pay. Among the findings in a Toolkits survey of the 100 most popular subscription sites for U.S. consumers:
- The average promotional period offered to new subscribers on November 28 (Cyber Monday) was 165 days, 14% longer than the 145-day average offered on November 10.
- The average subscription price available to new subscribers dipped 17% on Cyber Monday to reach $0.079 per day.
- On Cyber Monday, 48% of publishers offered new subscriptions of various lengths for a commitment of $1 or less.
Read the complete Toolkits story here.
#media #strategy #consulting
