NewsBytes Briefing: Chip shortage cripples the auto industry, and more
Global chip shortages are getting ridiculous. Ford has projected its earnings will be slashed by an eye watering $2.5 billion as a consequence. That's 1.1 million fewer vehicles from just one auto maker. Meanwhile, the world's largest chipmaker TSMC admitted that the situation won't improve until 2023. That is, of course, if China doesn't usurp Taiwan, which is widely expected to happen by 2025.
'Disaster Girl' makes a fortune selling infamous photo as NFT
Not every disaster leads to monetary loss. The girl behind the "Disaster Girl" meme has made $500,000 selling a photograph of her reacting to a fire as an NFT. There are NFT agents who help meme makers cash their creations. One such agent has reportedly made his internet-famous clients richer to the tune of $2 million by selling their memes as NFTs.
Google's sweeping policy changes puts scammy app developers on notice
For the average user, the Google Play Store is a mine field replete with scammy clones of popular apps, with some even being used to spread malware. This is largely because of Google's lax app moderation and approval systems. However, that is about to change as Google has put scammy developers on notice by announcing sweeping changes to Play Store guidelines.
Facebook woos journalists to its Substack clone with $5 million
That brings us to Facebook's latest endeavor. This time around, it is aping Substack's model of crowdfunded journalism by roping in veteran journalists. The social media giant has kept aside $5 million to woo US-based reporters to join its platform. Journalists are supposed to be smart, so it remains to be seen how many will bite, given Facebook's track record with content creators.
YouTube borrows SoundCloud's annotation feature
While we are on the subject of Big Tech thievery, YouTube is testing a SoundCloud-like video annotation feature. The extremely limited beta test of the feature allows YouTube comments to be annotated to specific video timestamps. Given how spicy YouTube comment section is, it's almost certain the company will regret this decision the moment it rolls out to the wider audience. If at all.
