Never Fully Read #77

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🤖 eCommerce news:

😍 YouTube Shorts launches monetisation from February 1st “Shorts ad revenue sharing begins February 1, 2023. To be eligible, monetizing partners will need to accept the Shorts Monetization Module – terms that let you earn from ads and YouTube Premium in the Shorts Feed. If you accept the Module after February 1, 2023, Shorts ad revenue sharing will apply to your channel’s eligible Shorts views starting on the date you accept. Shorts views accrued prior to accepting the Shorts Monetization Module are not eligible for Shorts ad revenue sharing.”

💰 Oro, an open source B2B e-commerce platform from Magento’s co-founder, raises $13M Oro, an open source e-commerce platform co-created by Magento’s co-founder and former CTO, today announced it has raised $13 million in a strategic growth round of funding. Founded in 2012, Los Angeles-based Oro’s platform constitutes a range of applications, including OroCommerce, its flagship B2B e-commerce platform for building storefronts and marketplaces; OroMarketplace, an end-to-end management platform specifically for marketplace businesses; a customer relationship management platform (CRM) called OroCRM; and OroPlatform, a rapid web app development platform.

👀 Shein valuation reportedly plummets by a third as it seeks $3B Shein, the fast fashion behemoth that has swept across the world, is raising a significant down round as the startup world braces for a funding crunch. The e-commerce platform known for jaw-dropping outfit prices and savvy TikTok marketing is seeking $3 billion at a valuation of $64 billion, down from the $100 billion price tag in April, according to Financial Times.

❌ Amazon fined by regulators for unsafe warehouse work conditions. Federal regulators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that three Amazon warehouse facilities had violated legislation designed to require employers to provide safe working environments. Investigations found that Amazon workers are at high risk for back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), especially in warehouse environments that prioritize speed over safety. “While Amazon has developed impressive systems to make sure its customers’ orders are shipped efficiently and quickly, the company has failed to show the same level of commitment to protecting the safety and well-being of its workers,” said Doug Parker, an assistant secretary at OSHA.

💊 Amazon launches RxPass, a $5/month Prime add-on for all-you-need generic drugs covering 80 conditions More than two years since announcing Amazon Pharmacy to take some of the prescription drugs business away from big (and smaller) drug stores, Amazon is launching a new product to expand its reach in the space. Today, it’s taking the wraps off RxPass , a service where Prime users in the U.S. can pay a monthly flat fee of $5 to get as many generic versions of medications as they need. Amazon said that initially the service will cover generic drugs for 80 common ailments — they include, for example, Losartan (the generic for the hypertension drug Cozaar) and Sertraline (the generic for antidepressant Zoloft) and hair-growth pills — and it would not comment on its plans to expand the list.

🎶 [TikTok’s 2023 Marketing Calendar Infographic)

📸 Meta Signs New Deal with Shutterstock Over Usage of Content for AI Creation Tools "AdWeek has reported that Meta has struck a new deal with Shutterstock that will enable Meta to utilize Shutterstock’s library of visual and audio content to fuel its AI tools. As reported by AdWeek: “Shutterstock says the expanded partnership will allow the two companies to bring new creative offerings to market, build on Shutterstock’s ecosystem to compensate and connect contributors to creators, and enable Meta to use Shutterstock’s expansive content library to develop, evaluate and train its machine learning capabilities.”

⚠️ A new antitrust suit against Google threatens its advertising empire In the latest lawsuit, which has been expected for some time, the Biden administration alleges Google abuses its dominance in the digital advertising space to shut out competition. The claim says Google has engaged in a “systematic campaign” to control all the tools used to buy and sell digital advertising. “Having inserted itself into all aspects of the digital advertising marketplace, Google has used anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful means to eliminate or severely diminish any threat to its dominance over digital advertising technologies,” the lawsuit says. This is the first legal action the current White House has taken against a tech giant. And it raises a lot of questions about the ramifications and future action.

🚀 YouTube unveils new program that enables students to earn college credits YouTube announced today that it’s partnering with Arizona State University and educational video company Crash Course to launch a new program that enables students to earn college credit. The Google-owned company says the new program, called College Foundations, is designed to create an affordable and accessible way to earn college credit. Starting today, students can sign up for four courses that start on March 7, 2023, and are eligible for transfer credit. The program does not require applications or a minimum GPA for enrollment. It includes common first-year college courses, including Intro to Human Communication, Rhetoric and Composition, Real World College Math and US History to 1865.

🛍 Gen Z is driving luxury sales as wealthy shoppers get younger "Generation Y, also known as millennials, and Generation Z accounted for all of the luxury market’s growth last year. Analysts and luxury executives say the appeal of luxury brands to ever-younger consumers is tied to a surge in wealth creation over the past few years, along with social media. Luxury sales have so far been largely immune to rising interest rates, a slowing economy and high inflation."

📈 Top trends:

🇨🇳 China records first population decline in 60 years

"China’s population shrank in 2022 for the first time in more than 60 years, a new milestone in the country’s deepening demographic crisis with significant implications for its slowing economy.

The population fell in 2022 to 1.411 billion, down some 850,000 people from the previous year, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced during a Tuesday briefing on annual data.

Analysts said the decline was the first since 1961 during the great famine triggered by former leader Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward.

“The population will likely trend down from here in coming years. This is very important, with implications for potential growth and domestic demand,” said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management."

🎥 Netflix blows away expectations on subscriber numbers

"Netflix added 7.66 million paid subscribers during the fourth quarter, more than the 4.57 million Wall Street expected.

This is the first quarter that Netflix’s ad tier is reflected in its earnings.

Founder Reed Hastings is stepping down as co-CEO and will be executive chairman."

🎓 More universities are banning TikTok from their campus networks and devices

"Public universities across a widening swath of U.S. states have banned TikTok in recent months, and two of the country’s largest colleges just followed suit.

The University of Texas and Texas A&M University are two of the latest colleges to take action against the social app, which is owned by Beijing-based parent company ByteDance.

The flurry of recent campus TikTok bans was inspired by executive orders issued by a number of state governors. Public universities in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Dakota and now Texas have taken measures to restrict access to the app, blocking it from campus Wi-Fi networks and school-owned devices."

🙉 Stand out creator:

My favourite creator at the moment is singer Cian Durcot

Link to his Tik Tok account here

He released his new song “All For You” for pre-save February 2022

It went viral straight away after he opened it up for an open verse challenge

This is where he gets Tik Tok users to duet his video adding their own verse

The song catches an absolute viral wave reaching all the way and reaching singer and X Factor Ella Henderson

Who now is officially featured on his new track!!

Cian has implemented so many viral tactics to promote the song

The videos that have caught the internet's attention involve creating flash mobs in public

Cian now walks around different public locations with a choir that miraculously joins in moments after he starts singing creating a public spectacle

Locations have involved the tube, train stations and busking in the street

This video in a mall got over 10.2 million likes…

What I love about the age of social media is that now the only barrier to entry for talent to get found is creativity

It has really democratised the industry

Just look at where Cian ended up just 9 months later

🐦 Twitter thread of the week:

Link to the thread here

😂 Meme of the week:

🤝 Hot jobs:

MOJO - Creative Lead

"If you’re a creative storyteller and love the idea of working for an early-stage startup because you want to define a challenger brand, creating something from nothing gets you going, and changing people’s lives is the important thing you want to do with your career… our Creative Lead role might be for you.

Our perfect hire will be a creative communicator and hyper-organised hustler who can work closely with Performance Marketing to turn insights into powerful impact. That might mean you are from an agency background and are a mix between a Creative, Strategist, and Account Manager. Or perhaps you’ve worked on in-house branding or digital marketing teams. You could be from a venture-backed startup, and you’re hungry to step up and lead creative. You get the idea."

Jaded London - Chief Growth Officer

"This role is responsible for leading the next stage of growth for Jaded Ldn and will repor directly to the founders. In this newly created role you will be the first C suite addition to the business and will oversee marketing, B&M, operations and production and will be a critical stakeholder within the organisation"

Block Labs - Head of Growth

"As Head of Growth for Tamadoge, you will lead the growth and user acquisition efforts for the game. You will work closely with the Product, Marketing, and Development teams to identify and prioritize growth opportunities, and develop and execute a growth strategy to drive user engagement and retention."

Reporting into the CEO, you will oversee all aspects of the rapid growth of our titles across web and mobile.

That concludes another edition of Never Fully Read, where we bring you the latest and greatest in eCommerce, culture, and more, all in a quick and easy 5-minute read.

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