Oddly enough, we have a second announcement today about automated video creation. This is from GliaStudio, which enables “customers to generate quality videos simply from their news content, social posts, live sports events, and even statistical data in minutes.” They’ve just made this available on the Google Cloud Platform Marketplace.
Just two days after the United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced a record $240 million GDPR fine for British Airways, the ICO announced a $123 million penalty against Marriott. Like the British Airways fine, this was for a data breach. But it does suggest that marketers should pay serious attention to the ICO’s savage criticism of real time ad bidding.
Martech financial activity in general was up during the quarter just ended, according to LUMA. Martech accounted for by far the largest share of acquisitions and financing within the digital media sector, which also includes adtech, digital content, and direct to consumer brands. CDPs Segment, Tealium and Blueshift all raised significant new funding.
Tech is fun but a little caution is always a good idea. This Pentagon-funded report on blockchain says that, whatever its theoretical virtues, existing real-world implementations contain major security weaknesses. Raise your hand if you’re shocked.