The best, the worst, and the most surprising findings from 584 Netflix movies. — What’s a Netflix Original? movie Movies that had their original production commissioned by Netflix. They include documentaries, comedies, one-off specials, and a whole load of regional programming. How many movies are there? I’ve got 584 in my data set, so let’s say 584. The first went live in December 2014…

Tracking, Retail Media, and a Pivotal Paper from 2019. — 1: In 2019, a group of economists published an article that got people talking — briefly. In reality, it should have had us all talking for a lot longer. The authors had all worked on digital advertising systems for the likes of Google, Yahoo!, and eBay. The crux of their argument was that: “The benchmarks that advertising companies use — intended to measure the number of…

There is a fine line between genius and idiocy. It is a line as fine as Elon’s hair: It is baffling that the wealthiest person ever has decided to reveal his intellectual limitations to the world when, just like he did with his scalp, he could have covered them with…

It’s the most wonderful time of the quarter. Yes, it’s earnings time again! I’ve been taking a look at the latest news from Alphabet and Meta today. What do their latest numbers tell us about their current and future status? What can we infer about the wider tech and advertising…

As you know, I mainly work in higher education these days. You knew that, right? So, when I heard about a new app called Revyze, which positions itself as the “TikTok of education”, I was naturally intrigued. When I found out one of my favourite Leeds United players of all…

Somehow, the animals are always first to know — In the dusty old days of the 3rd century BC, at Ptolemy’s university in Alexandria, Euclid is teaching a class. The great Greek geometrist is working through his Elements with a group of impatient beginners. …

Should the US and the EU follow suit? — China’s data watchdog (the Cyberspace Administration of China, or CAC) released a list of 30 algorithms that have been submitted for analysis by the country’s biggest technology firms, including Alibaba and ByteDance. …

Lessons from China included. — There is a widespread assumption — a lazy one, if you ask me — that businesses need to focus on capturing “first-party data” and they’ll be fine. I see a number of challenges there, starting with: 1. The severe lack of data skills and knowledge Companies don’t have the skills to capture, synthesise, and analyse the right data. That’s…

It’s an obvious marketing opportunity, right? Well, sort of. — We’re here to ask a question, then try — perhaps in vain — to answer it. That question: Why do brands ignore gaming? We’ll start with basic syllogistic reasoning: Brands want to be where their audience spends time Their audience spends time gaming THEREFORE: Brands should spend money on gaming…