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TikTok’s Future Remains Under a Cloud After CEO’s Appearance Before Congress

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TikTok’s Future Remains Under a Cloud After CEO’s Appearance Before Congress

So how did TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s appearance before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce go today?

Well, it’s hard to say – amid the regular smattering of accusations framed as questions, and vague queries that seemed to misunderstand how the internet itself works, Chew mostly seemed to provide carefully worded answers, while fending off anything too difficult by saying that he’d look into it.

In a crucial hearing, which could decide the future of the app in the US, Chew provided a passionate defense of the platform, and sought to address US regulatory concerns, with the key issue being the potential of American user data being shared with the Chinese Government.

Chew sought to dispel this notion, while TikTok also posted a public statement on this:

Chew was pressed on various aspects, relating to TikTok’s past actions on censorship (i.e. whether it censors content critical of the CCP), its accessing of US user data to track journalists, it’s algorithm, youth safety aspects, and more.

For the most part, Chew was able to navigate the various questions without making any definitive commitments. But at the same time, his appearance, by various accounts, wasn’t overly assuring, or convincing, in regards to winning over US senators.

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In particular, when pressed on whether ByteDance employees have spied on US citizens in the past, Chew deferred, saying that ‘I don’t think spying is the right way to describe it’. Chew also questioned the track record of American companies on user data, when asked about a potential divestment from ByteDance – which seems like a fair comparison, but is unlikely to resonate with US officials.

But the key statement of Chew’s appearance was this:

“The bottom line is this – American data is stored on American soil by an American company overseen by American personnel.”

This was from Chew’s pre-prepared testimony, in which Chew explained that ‘Project Texas’, TikTok’s multi-billion dollar plan to separate US user data from its Chinese parent company, will secure US user data in the US, making it entirely inaccessible to China-based staff.

TikTok’s hope is that this effort will be enough to assure US regulators that American users are safe.

But then again, when pressed on another key point, as to whether TikTok would ever consider selling user data, Chew refused to provide a firm commitment, noting, instead, that he would seek further clarification before providing an answer.

At the end of this, it still remains difficult to determine where TikTok is placed, in regards to the possibility of a full ban in the US. Even worse, the Chinese Government has once again shared its opposition to the forced sell-off of the app, which means that if TikTok is banned by the US Government, a sell-off into local hands may not be an option.

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Which, once again, underlines the fact that TikTok’s future hinges on how US politicians perceive Chew’s testimony.

Was he convincing enough in his explanations? Has TikTok done enough to assure policymakers of its intentions? Will Project Texas be enough to demonstrate separation of access within parent company ByteDance?

Really, the next steps are likely out of Chew’s hands either way, as it still feels like the rising tensions between the US and China will be the key determinate. Last month’s spy balloon incident raised the hackles of those concerned about Chinese interference, weighing further against TikTok, while this week’s meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin has further stoked concerns.

In this respect, it feels like TikTok is caught in the middle amidst a much broader disagreement between the two nations, and it another incident of this type could end up being the thing that makes or breaks TikTok in the US.

Any further indication of Chinese defiance, specifically against the US, could force the White House to act. So while Chew may have done his best, maybe there’s nothing he could do within the broader context.



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LinkedIn Adds AI-Generated Job Candidate Responses in Recruiter

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LinkedIn Adds AI-Generated Job Candidate Responses in Recruiter

LinkedIn continues to integrate generative AI elements, this time within its Recruiter platform, with AI-created messages that HR professionals can then send to potential candidates, which are customized and personalized based on InMail best practices.

As you can see in this example, the new process, built into LinkedIn Recruiter, will enable users to quickly and easily craft a message that they can then send to a potential candidate, simply by tapping the ‘Draft personalized message’ prompt at the bottom of the composer window.

LinkedIn Recruiter AI

As explained by LinkedIn:

“Using our own LinkedIn in-house generative AI model trained on successful InMails, we use the information from the candidate’s profile, job description, and the recruiter’s company to draft a highly personalized message to get the conversation started.”

Once the AI generated InMail is created, you’ll then be able to further customize the message by ticking the topic elements that you do or don’t want to include. You can then edit and send the message – which should help recruiters save time, while still maintaining personal outreach.

Though it also feels a little impersonal, like maybe this is an element that shouldn’t be automated?

I guess, when you’re dealing with such responses at scale, it’s not really personalized anyway. But as with some of LinkedIn’s other generative AI experiments, like AI created feed posts, it feels like this is taking some of the human interaction out of the platform, and removing the ‘social’ aspects out of ‘social media’.

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Maybe that’s an idealistic viewpoint, and the time savings outweigh any overarching principles at play. But it seems like some of these things should be written by a human, in order to maintain that baseline of real connection within these apps – otherwise we’re headed to a future where it’s just bots talking to bots, and when you actually have to meet in person, you’ll never know what you’re going to get.

I mean, theoretically, the candidates could also have written their application via generative AI, and they could respond to these emails with their own generative replies. And if it’s a remote position, maybe you’ll never even meet in person, and it’ll all be just simulated engagement for simulated jobs.

Seems slightly off, but maybe these tools help in some cases, potentially a lot of cases – it just feels like LinkedIn is going to get a lot less genuine than it already is as a result.

Either way, it’s happening. LinkedIn says that it’s starting to roll out AI-assisted messages in Recruiter to ‘a handful of customers’ in the US and Europe, before an expanded launch beginning next month.

You can read more about LinkedIn’s latest Recruiter updates here.

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YouTube Ad Revenue Forecast To Rise 4%, Hit $30.4B, In 2023 05/30/2023

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YouTube Ad Revenue Forecast To Rise 4%, Hit $30.4B, In 2023 05/30/2023

Advertising revenue across all
YouTube platforms, including YouTube TV, should see growth of 4% this year, to $30.4 billion and growth of 10.3% to $33.5 billion, in 2024, according to new WARC projections.

While relatively
modest, 2023’s growth will represent a turnaround from Q4 2022, when YouTube’s ad revenue dropped …



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LinkedIn Launches New ‘Find Your In’ Ad Campaign

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LinkedIn Launches New ‘Find Your In’ Ad Campaign

LinkedIn’s launching a new promotional campaign, created by ad agency Droga5, which aims to highlight how you can use the platform to find your ideal career pathway.

The ‘Find Your In’ campaign looks to showcase how LinkedIn can unlock new possibilities, so you can be whatever you imagine, with the help of LinkedIn’s connectivity.

As explained by Droga5:

It starts with a little girl who finds herself in a place that’s perfectly ordinary: the laundromat. But we quickly learn there’s more here than meets the eye. All it takes is a little bit of inspiration from a LinkedIn alert on a nearby phone to set off an unexpected and extravagant dance with her own potential. The future comes to life, teeming with opportunity and endless options to explore.”

Not sure that I felt inspired, as such, by the clip, but it is catchy, and it could prompt people to take another look at the app, and consider how they can utilize LinkedIn as a guide on their professional journey.

LinkedIn’s been working to maximize discovery, and capitalize on its record high levels of engagement, by better highlighting relevant influencers and niche creators, with a view to helping others discover new connections, and explore their passions in the app.

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That, ideally, will help more people establish networks of likeminded professionals, which could indeed facilitate new career opportunities through the same.

The campaign could help to amplify this. The new push will run across TV, web and social media platforms over the coming months.  

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