iWorld
Blinkx launches interactive video content hub my.blinkx.tv
MUMBAI: Leveraging the tremendous growth of compelling user-generated content on the web, the US online video search engine blinkx.tv has now announced the launch of my.blinkx.tv.
The new service offers users the facility to upload and store their video blogs free of charge. Users can also enter a search and save it as a “channel”, which will be automatically and perpetually updated with relevant footage.
This personal “channel” can then be viewed as a single, uninterrupted media stream, either online or when downloaded to their desktops or portable video player. In this way, blinkx is empowering Internet users to customize not only what video content they receive, but also how and when they view it, states an official release.
For example, someone can upload personal footage and commentary on Hurricane Katrina to my blinkx.tv. blinkx will then automatically normalize the content, convert it into Flash, create an audio transcript, and index the file. The user’s video clip will then become part of a living library, so that another visitor to my blinkx.tv who searched for New Orleans and weather would find that segment on Hurricane Katrina, along with other related user generated content, featured in their own customized channel, the release adds.
“There’s been a huge amount of noise about IPTV, but we’ve yet to see any real progress in this area,” said blinkx founder Suranga Chandratillake. “At blinkx, we believe that IPTV should combine the interactive, customizable experience of the Internet, with the simple, seamless way we watch TV — with my blinkx.tv, we’re collaborating with our users to experiment with how we think that might look.”
iWorld
Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
