The Weekly Bulletin | November 12, 2024

Hi SODP community,

Let’s recap on what’s been happening, the new content, industry updates, tips, and more.

TIP OF THE WEEK

The convergence of Privacy policies like GDPR and CCPA with the rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping the landscape of digital publishing like never before.

In June, the EU adopted the AI Act. It is crucial that digital publishers must understand the intricate interplay between Privacy policies and AI in shaping the industry's future. I believe adapting and innovating in response to these transformative changes is crucial.

Privacy regulations have compelled publishers to prioritize transparency and data protection, fostering a culture of trust and accountability. Meanwhile, AI has revolutionized content dissemination, offering both challenges and opportunities for publishers navigating this dynamic landscape.

Here are a few insights to navigate this evolving terrain:

1. Transparency is non-negotiable: Embrace GDPR and CCPA as catalysts for transparency. Communicate data usage and privacy practices clearly to build trust with your audience.

2. Harness AI responsibly: Leverage AI to enhance user experiences while respecting Privacy boundaries. Balance personalization with ethical considerations.

3. Stay agile and informed: Keep abreast of evolving Privacy laws and AI advancements. Engage in industry discussions and collaborations to stay ahead of the curve (e.g., join Day 5 panel of PubTech2024 next week)

4. Adopt a user-centric approach: Prioritize user Privacy concerns and preferences in content strategies and AI implementations. Enable users to have control over their data.

While these changes may seem daunting, they present unprecedented opportunities for innovation and growth in digital publishing. By embracing Privacy policies, leveraging AI responsibly, and prioritizing user-centric approaches, we can navigate this transformative journey together.

SODP POSTS

The Importance of Building Trust Through Secure Advertising Environments

According to a recent Edelman study, 88% of adults prioritise trust when making purchasing decisions, closely behind good value (91%) and quality (89%).

The message for brands and advertisers is clear: in a continually evolving advertising landscape, shaped by complex regulation, building and safeguarding consumer trust has never been more crucial.

The impact of privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), on the digital advertising industry has been gradual and far reaching. While GDPR has been instrumental in helping drive global standards for data privacy, compliance requirements are intricate and vary across different jurisdictions. This complexity naturally makes it challenging for brands to implement uniform advertising strategies, as they must navigate varying local laws while balancing compliance with the need to deliver impactful advertising that resonates with consumers.

READ MORE

JOB BOARD

➡️ The Los Angeles Times is seeking a director of audience engagement and platforms, a key digital strategy role that manages the audience, home page, social media and social video teams as well as the relationships with news partners like Apple News (El Segundo, CA, US). SEE MORE

➡️ The Boston Globe is looking for an experienced, digital-savvy journalist who is intimately familiar with the Boston and New England area to write and produce its daily flagship newsletter, Starting Point (Boston, MA, US). SEE MORE

➡️ LADBible is looking looking for a lead for its effectiveness offering to supercharge processes and story when it comes to the impact the content has for its clients (Hybrid/Remote, London, UK). SEE MORE

COMMUNITY BUZZ

Industry News

➡️ Google Search can show who wrote the review directly in the search results snippet. Google has this "reviewed by" rich result element next to some search results that names the author of the review. READ MORE

➡️ Google yesterday launched its next big search ranking update. The November 2024 core update will take about two weeks to roll out. READ MORE

Social Media Discussions

➡️ Florent Daudens on LinkedIn:

The Washington Post just launched "Ask The Post AI" - fascinating approach to AI + journalism. Unlike typical chatbots, it only responds when it finds highly relevant articles in their post-2016 archive. If it can't find strong sources, it just tells you it can't help.

Been experimenting with it and the source relevancy thresholds are impressive - it's clear they built this specifically for news, not just bolted AI onto their archive. Interesting to note that it's their search engine by default. Could use follow-up questions though.

Big kudos to Vineet Khosla for pushing AI products for their newsroom by their newsroom. His reasoning: search is changing, and news needs to adapt. Couldn't agree more.

The Post has been quietly building quite an AI toolkit - audio news, article summaries, climate Q&A, their "Haystacker" tool.

Worth trying out if you're interested in how AI can make high-quality journalism more accessible without sacrificing accuracy.

READ THE FULL POST

These are the highlights for the last week.

Until next!

Vahe Arabian and the editorial team at SODP