Mike's Industry View - Issue #118
AI / Voice / Creativity
China's 'AI newsreader': Which of these isn't real? — www.bbc.com
Xinhua news agency says it has developed an artificial intelligence newsreader.
Much more than a chatbot: Xiaoice mixes AI with emotions and wins over millions of fans — news.microsoft.com
She has a staggering 660 million online users worldwide. And, while they know she’s not real, many prize her as a dear friend, even a trusted confidante. Xiaoice is Microsoft’s China-based chatbot phenomenon that has enthralled digital audiences across the world’s most populous nation for the past four years.
Business / Marketing / Adv
Amazon sends out toy catalogue with no prices ahead of the holidays — www.engadget.com
Watch out Argos. But you'll need to go online to find out how much each product costs.
Brand Relevance Index: Top UK Brands of 2018 — www.prophet.com In the 2018 Brand Relevance Index®, Prophet identifies top brands in the UK through a survey of more than 45,000 consumers. See the results here.
Interestingness
The $6 billion blunder that killed Sears — www.cnn.com Would $6 billion in cash have kept Sears out of bankruptcy?
Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Fendi partner with streetwear brands — www.businessinsider.com Luxury fashion brands like Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, and Fendi have been partnering with streetwear brands including Supreme and Palace.
Video
Half of YouTube viewers use it to learn how to do things they’ve never done — www.theverge.com A research study dives into the reasons people use YouTube, including entertainment purposes, news gathering, and product reviews. The study also gives some insight into the popularity behind children’s videos on YouTube.
Beano launches kids consultancy to build short-form video outside its brand — digiday.com Beano clients like Stella McCartney, Ted Baker and Harper Collins are asking for short-form video, that sits outside the Beano ecosystem
Platform News
Instagram Stories Research: We Analyzed 15,000 Instagram Stories from 200 of the World’s Top Brands — blog.bufferapp.com We partnered with Delmondo to analyze more than 15,000 Instagram Stories from 200 of the world’s top brands in one of the largest Instagram Stories research studies to date.
How People Listen to Podcasts — medium.com Anchor makes it easy for anyone to start a podcast, no matter who or where you are, how many subscribers you have, or how much money you have (it’s free). As a result, the flood of shows people have…