Content Aware media news: May 18, 2023

Published: 19 May 2023

CA May 18 politico twitter big tech supreme court

Writers vs machines, GA4 countdown, and publisher SEO - all in May 18th Content Aware media news highlights.

Corbidge comments on... writing out the people
Writers in Hollywood are at the forefront of a growing vanguard against AI-generated content. For them, it's about retaining rights, control, and relevance. For legislators looking at regulating AI, the debate is far wider.
https://www.gpp.io/news/ai-gets-writers-block-agffj6L3njzc

US Supreme Court backs Section 230
The law that ‘guarantees the internet’ is backed by US judges, as threats to the current assumptions of how the web works and free speech's place within it look averted.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/18/twitter-google-supreme-court-win-00097643

Doors closing to open
Vice shuts the same day as The Messenger launches. Eh? One writer tries to make sense of the most confusing of times for publishers, and concludes that the industry is in the prime position to form the model for many new success stories.
https://www.amediaoperator.com/newsletter/deals-show-niche-is-the-path-forward-for-digital-media/

Keep an eye on SEO chatter
The word on SEO Street seems to be that Google rolled out some algorithm changes which are having varied effects across sites and businesses. Keep an eye on the discussion here and perhaps have a peek at your own stats if yet to do so.
https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/5086406.htm

AI, code, and the law
AI legal expert Barry Scannell on the unfolding case of using AI to write computer code, and what it could mean elsewhere. Linkedin = login.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7063773752177651712/

Don't blink
Canadian media leader says the industry needs to tough it out against the social networks when it comes to cash-for-content discussions.
https://pressgazette.co.uk/media_law/google-facebook-canada-threats/

UA countdown: GA4 setup guide
Google sneezes, the rest of the online world has to find a tissue... If you have yet to get moving on getting GA4 setup to replace the disappearing Universal Analytics, time is running out. This guide walks you through the basic steps to get ready for July 1st. This isn't something to put off if you want analytics on your site.
https://kpplaybook.com/resources/how-to-setup-ga4/

Barry Adams on...
An hour-plus of publishing's leading SEO light on Google News, URLs, migrations, publisher revenues and more. If you need your site to make money, this is critical listening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoB_-UqxdLY

TikTok takedown
Montana goes first, others will follow. Is it constitutional, can it be enforced, and who makes the technology decision on how and what to block anyway? More of this to come no doubt.
https://fortune.com/2023/05/17/montana-governor-tiktok-bsn-first-amendment/

New Google Search reaction 1: References matter
A well-argued look at the need for new AI-boosted Google Search (as shown last week) to keep original sites and sources at the core of its results. This is key to the next gen of search not stealing all your traffic.
https://www.bigtechnology.com/p/google-generative-search-and-the

New Google Search reaction 2: AI vs ad revenue
Barry Schwarz (Err, not every expert we know is called Barry...) discusses the massive ad revenue hit Google and other search services face if they let AI run amok and ignore those who create the sources.
https://www.seroundtable.com/search-generative-experience-google-publisher-clicks-35382.html