Content Aware media news: November 30, 2023

GAIA speaks your lingo, the unHelpful Content Update, and radioactive dolphins - all in this week's Content Aware. 

Published: 08:13, 01 December 2023

Say Hello, Hola, Ciao, Olá, こんにちは, مرحبًا to GAIA Translate
Publishing still doesn't quite have the full equivalent of the Babel fish from THGTTG, but we're getting close: we announce the release of GAIA Translate, which, to no surprise given its name, allows the creation of international editions of content with the click of a button. Read more here.
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The great Google Trial and how we nearly never saw it
Luke Goldstein's riveting American Prospect read about the Google anti-trust trial reveals how close it was to being a secret trial without public oversight or scrutiny. We all owe the New York Times a debt of gratitude for helping lever into light the mountains of evidence Google would rather have remained unknown.
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The unHelpful Content Update update
If you have been recently hit by algorithm updates and your traffic graphs resemble a dropped handful of spaghetti, read Glenn Gabe's research into the effect of the HCU: you are not alone.
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How Google's no-click-required search works
Google's new Generative Search Experience, the one which hopes to stop people ever needing to visit publisher sites to learn information, was recently patented. Here's how it works. Know your enemy and all that.
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From one Prospect to another
Despite the name the UK's Prospect Magazine is unrelated to its US soundalike above, however both feature in Content Aware this week. Its excellent Media Confidential podcast brings together journalistic goliaths Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger to discuss the media and some of its best-known people and issues. This week's episode is a fantastic interview with legendary photographer Sir Don McCullin which we recommend as excellent listening - as are previous episodes.
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"Well, I didn't expect THAT..."
What do radioactive dolphins, an Oxford University research project, and hacker hackathons have in common? They all fall under the microscope of our resident contrarian Rob, who studies the power of counterintuitive news and its ability to reshape opinion.
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Business people are people too!
The secret to talking well to customers in B2B settings is to remember they are exactly like anyone else you speak to: people.
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Don't lose access to "that" email
Google is closing unused accounts in a clean-up programme beginning this week. If you're reading this on email, breathe easy - that's all it took to keep the lights on. However organisations should beware of nearly-forgotten special emails linked to registering or administrating accounts, apps, services, and other things commonly set up once and rarely needed to be used again: you might just find you can't access your own properties any more.
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That sound? A wallet being prised open
Google smells the way the Tim Horton's is blowing and ponies up a bargain $100m to Canadian regulators to distribute to publishers in the country, acknowledging the extra revenue usage of their content helps bring in to its coffers. Facebook meanwhile has scuttled off and continues to insist it's better for it to block Canadian content than to be treated as a serious destination for news in the country.
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Maybe Meta has other things on its mind
For Meta, the Canada Situation likely pales in possible cost compared to what the Stealing Kids' Data Situation could potentially add up to. No wonder it is distracted.
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Missed previous editions? Catch-up with them here.