EFF is the latest organization to leave X

EFF is the latest organization to leave X

X’s decline in engagement and its ability to drive traffic is the topic du jour, with several days of bad PR for the Elon Musk-owned social network. Over the weekend, X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, and data analyst Nate Silver, previously of FiveThirtyEight, feuded over whether or not X was still capable of sending…

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Netflix launches a standalone app for kids’ games

Netflix launches a standalone app for kids’ games

Netflix is launching a new standalone app for kids’ games called Netflix Playground, the company announced on Monday. Netflix Playground is available as part of a Netflix subscription, and doesn’t have any ads or in-app purchases. Netflix says the app gives children access to an “ever-growing” library of games for kids. Netflix Playground is launching…

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Netflix confirms it’s raising prices again

Netflix confirms it’s raising prices again

Netflix has quietly hiked its prices once again. The streaming giant’s most affordable, ad-supported tier now costs $8.99 per month, up from the previous $7.99 monthly subscription fee, Netflix confirmed to TechCrunch in an email. The standard plan without ads also now costs $19.99 per month, a $2 increase from the previous $17.99 subscription fee,…

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How soap opera-TikTok hybrids became a billion-dollar business

How soap opera-TikTok hybrids became a billion-dollar business

Over the past few years, a new category of mobile apps has quietly exploded into a multi-billion dollar business. They’re called “micro dramas” — short-form, mobile-first scripted shows designed to be watched vertically on your phone. Think soap opera meets TikTok, complete with secret billionaire romances, disapproving werewolf mothers-in-law, and cliffhangers engineered to keep users tapping. The leading…

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BuzzFeed debuts AI slop apps in bid for new revenue

BuzzFeed debuts AI slop apps in bid for new revenue

BuzzFeed, the U.S.-based media company known best for its quizzes, listicles, and, for a time, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism division, is reinventing itself for the AI era. At least, that’s the pitch. At the SXSW conference in Austin, BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti introduced the company’s next media foray: a spin-off called Branch Office,…

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