French social media app BeReal, which has users post unfiltered daily selfies at random times and is now available in eight languages, took App of the Year honors from Apple’s 2022 App Store Awards, which recognized 16 global “apps and games that inspired users to engage more deeply with the world.” Fitness tracker Gentler Streak won in the Apple Watch category, with genealogy program MacFamilyTree 10 voted best Mac App of the Year, while Spanish-language app ViX took the TV App of the Year category. GoodNotes 5, which takes digital note-taking to the next level for Apple Pencil support, was named best in class for the iPad. Continue reading Apple Reveals the Best in Apps, Games, Music for This Year

Fireside, a streaming platform co-founded by Mark Cuban and Falon Fatemi, has acquired Stremium, which it will use to leverage Fireside onto Amazon Fire TV, Roku and other connected smart TV devices. Fireside is a streaming app that offers members an opportunity to interact with the platform’s founding talent, including Jay Leno, Craig Kilborn, Melissa Rivers and “Entourage” creator Doug Ellin as they appear live on their Fireside networks or shows. Stremium is a cloud DVR and live TV platform that lets consumers link their live channel providers through a single portal. Continue reading Mark Cuban’s Fireside Acquires Stremium to Gain TV Access

Walmart has planted its flag in the metaverse, launching Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play on Roblox, a virtual worlds game platform that emphasizes user-generated content. Roblox community members can check out the Walmart “isles” to collect “verch,” or virtual merchandise, “catch top music artists and unlock exclusive interactive content,” the company says. “Roblox is one of the fastest growing and largest platforms in the metaverse, and we know our customers are spending loads of time there,” Walmart CMO William White said, citing the platform’s 52 million daily active users. Continue reading Walmart Begins Metaverse Build-Out on the Roblox Platform

Thirdweb — licensor of a development toolkit that simplifies creation of Web3 products including games, smart contracts, NFTs, marketplaces and more — has raised $24 million in a Series A funding round with buy-in from Shopify, Coinbase, Polygon and Haun Ventures. The new investment translates to a valuation of $160 million for the startup, which provides cost-effective turnkey solutions for non-coders (or coders that want to save time) to try Web3 while waiting for it to hit critical mass. The company currently has operations in London, San Francisco and Brooklyn. Continue reading Thirdweb Attracts Investors for Its Web3 Development Toolkit

Mining on the blockchain is a notorious energy hog and bad for the environment. Ethereum is on the verge of a big change aimed at substantially reducing its carbon footprint. After seven years of using the traditional proof-of-work mining technique, Ethereum is switching to the more efficient proof-of-stake method that is expected to reduce energy consumption by 99.5 percent. That change, known as The Merge, is scheduled to take place September 14. The Merge will see Ethereum’s proof-of-work blockchain fused with the proof-of-stake Beacon Chain, which launched in December 2020 but has yet to process its first transaction. Continue reading Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake Method Will Reduce Energy Use

Intellectual property protection is leveraging the power of AI using search. MarqVision is a firm built around monitoring e-commerce and general content platforms policing IP rights, with particular attention to blockchain and NFTs. The Los Angeles-based startup has raised $20 million in Series A funding to further its goal of detecting counterfeits and having them removed from points of online distribution and sale. Originally incubated at Y Combinator, MarqVision has put together a client base that spans from luxury brands LVMH, Ralph Lauren and Baccarat to the more populist Pokémon. Continue reading MarqVision Raises $20 Million to Help Monitor and Protect IP

Mojang Studios, creator of the wildly popular “Minecraft” game, has taken a public stance banning NFT integrations and blockchain functionality. The Stockholm-based company, owned since 2014 by Microsoft, stated this week that “integrations of NFTs with ‘Minecraft’ are generally not something we will support or allow.” Mojang says it is updating terms of use with further details explaining its position, but a blog post emphases ensuring “Minecraft” players have “access to the same content.” In a blog post, Mojang concludes NFTs “can create models of scarcity and exclusion that conflict with our guidelines.” Continue reading ‘Minecraft’ Developer Mojang Rejects Blockchain, NFT Tech

The Walt Disney Company has announced the six companies to participate in its latest business accelerator program. The 2022 Disney Accelerator focuses on tech startups involved in Web3 and immersive experiences through work in augmented reality, NFTs and artificial intelligence. The six participants are: Flickplay, Inworld, Lockerverse, Obsess, Polygon and Red 6. Disney will offer participants investment capital, co-working space, guidance from Disney’s senior leadership team and an executive mentor. The Accelerator program will conclude with a Demo Day this fall at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California. Continue reading Disney Accelerator Startups Focus on Web3, Immersive Tech

HTC is launching its Desire 22 Pro smartphone, which emphasizes VR and AR integration centering around HTC’s own Vive ecosystem and the open-source metaverse platform it calls the Viverse. The Desire 22 Pro’s preloaded Viverse app lets users access and manage NFTs and cryptocurrencies and other metaverse content. In February HTC announced the Viverse, where people can attend meetings or concerts, build avatars and play games. Optimized for HTC’s 5G products and Vive VR devices, users can join the Viverse from any phone, tablet, PC or VR headset. Continue reading HTC Desire 22 Pro Phone Integrates Cypto, NFTs, Metaverse

Meta Platforms is sweetening the pot for creators on Facebook and Instagram by deferring revenue sharing to 2024 and allowing paying subscribers on other platforms access to subscriber-only Facebook Groups. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says Meta is testing an Instagram destination creators can use to get discovered and paid for content. Meta will also be opening its Reels bonus program to more Facebook users and letting a wider range of creators participate in Facebook’s Stars tipping feature. The company is also expanding last month’s Instagram NFT test as eBay announces purchase of the KnownOrigin NFT marketplace. Continue reading Meta Touts Creator Monetization Tools and NFT Collectibles

Madison Avenue continues to scale in the metaverse, which is experiencing a land-grab for the best storefronts as brands like Gap and Nike unveil digital-only versions of their goods competing against — and sometimes collaborating with — digital-first brands like sneaker maker RTFKT and fashion house Fabrikant. Mobile game destination The Sandbox has already sold more than 70 percent of its “land” to businesses including cryptocurrency exchange Binance and video-game maker Atari. Even traditionalists like NASCAR and JPMorgan Chase are pitching virtual tents. The bank has signed a lease in Decentraland, a 3D online world. Continue reading Major Brands Are Starting to Experiment with the Metaverse

E-commerce company eBay is launching eBay Live, a live shopping platform that lets people browse, chat and purchase items from anywhere in the world using beta technology that combines entertainment with instant purchasing. The first series will offer a curated selection of rare trading cards from top eBay seller Bleecker Trading, and will be hosted by trading card enthusiast DJ Skee. The new platform is designed for social shopping, “allowing our community to come together over shared interests and merchandise,” explained eBay vice president of collectibles, electronics and home Dawn Block. Continue reading Collectibles Come to Social Shopping via eBay Live Platform

Adobe is releasing an open source developer toolkit that aims to prevent the spread of visual misinformation by including additional metadata that Adobe calls Content Credentials. The system is also designed to help content creators indelibly tag authorship to their work. Announced in 2019, the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) project has released a whitepaper introducing the system, which is integrated into Adobe software. The CAI has teamed with hardware manufacturers and newsrooms to help ubiquitize its vision. The Associated Press, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have signed aboard. Continue reading Adobe Debuts ‘Content Credentials’ to Battle Misinformation

As blockchain projects diversify into sales marketplaces for creative works, many find themselves dealing with copyright problems due to uncertainty as to how existing law applies to things like NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations). For instance, while purchase of an NFT confers certain rights, copyright isn’t one of them, unless the buyer applies for a standard copyright license. Spice DAO spent $3 million to purchase director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1970s illustrated pitch for an unfilmed version of “Dune,” only to have the “Dune” copyright holder block the ability to turn the storyboards into an animated film. Continue reading IP Protection for NFTs and Blockchain Assets Is Still Unclear

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are riding the crypto wave, with some asking if their notion of distributed decision-making marks an evolution from crowdfunding through platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to crowdsourced creativity on a blockchain. It’s already been demonstrated that tokens can be used for smart contracts and to designate property ownership. The film and television industries are just becoming aware of the potential impact of NFTs, which have already disrupted the worlds of art and gaming, driving creator economies. The wisdom of the crowd might be tapped to find fresh stories, too. Continue reading Are DAOs About to Revolutionize the Film and TV Industries?