Survey Shows Good Growth in Digital Ad Demand in Second Quarter, But It’s Slightly Lower than First Quarter of 2024

According to the second quarter survey of digital advertising by Wedbush, digital ad spend is performing well but not as strongly as in the first quarter. Pinterest and Meta are doing the best among other social media apps. Analyst Scott Devitt says that this survey shows that there is still a strong demand for advertisers, though they are less incrementally positive compared to the first quarter survey.

The survey was based on 200 US advertisers and the results showed that there is high demand for CTV and video. The demand for buying ads on social media sites is still there but it is a little moderate. The survey also shows that 45% of the advertisers increased their spending by 10% year-over-year in the second quarter, compared to 48% in the first quarter. There is a chance that this growth will decrease as the year progresses.

For the full year, 57% of advertisers expect digital ad spending to increase by at least 10%, down from 61% in the first quarter. Meanwhile, 90% of advertisers plan to increase their budgets for digital ads this year, compared to 82% in the first quarter. Only 1% of advertisers want to decrease their digital ad spend. Social media and retail media saw the most decrease in the second quarter of 2024. Conversely, CTV and streaming videos are seeing an increase, with 26% of advertisers wanting to increase their budget in this medium.

Meta’s growth has also increased because of Instagram Reels, with 44% of advertisers planning to increase their budget on Meta's platforms. Pinterest continues to attract advertisers, with 88% planning to increase spending there. YouTube shows strong but decelerating growth, leading to mixed advertiser sentiment. The Trade Desk was also included in the survey, with 25% of advertisers using it currently and 79% of advertisers planning to increase their budget there.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

X's Ad Revenue Falls 20% as Musk Touts AI Targeting; Major Advertisers Remain Unconvinced Amid Safety Issues

Adweek reports that Elon Musk is trying to make his relationship better with the Cannes Lion Festival after not taking advertisers seriously on X. He said that he is going to use artificial intelligence to improve targeting on X. No advertisers want to come back on the app and Musk will have to do a lot to lure them back on the app. Mark Penn, CEO of Stagwell, was asking advertisers to not advertise brands on the app because of brand safety issues. But now it is asking marketers to advertise brands because there is a large group of consumers on the app and X has improved its safety due to AI and Community Notes.

An executive told Adweek that X cannot connect agencies to customers because it doesn’t have the manpower to do so and clients are not willing to invest their ad spend on X. According to Sensor Tower, X had 26.2 million daily users in June 2024, which is 13% less YoY. 73 out of 100 big advertisers left X as soon as the acquisition of the app happened in October 2022 because they were concerned about new rules and safety of their brands on the app.

MediaRadar reported that ad dollars have also dropped 20% YoY, from $788 million in 2023 to $628 million in 2024. Buyers are nervous because of Elon Musk’s anti semitic and anti trans comments on the app. Now as the elections are approaching, X is going to become more political and brands are nervous if they want to advertise their products there or not.

X’s AI powered ad targeting tool also cannot help that much. Google and Meta have already been using their AI powered ad targeting tools but X hasn’t tested the tool on any live campaign because there is not much ad spending on the app. X also does not have performance driven tools like its rival apps like Snapchat, Meta and TikTok. There are already several other apps for advertisers to advertise their products so why would they go to a platform which doesn’t have many tools for the advertisers?

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

The Integration of Threads with Fediverse: What Are the Implications?

Recently, Meta Platforms has integrated Threads with Fediverse, making its ambit vast by allowing users to share content across social media platforms conveniently, without switching from one social media platform to another.

Meta has introduced the feature in more than 100 countries for now, and users above 18, running public accounts, can now share content across many social media platforms via Fediverse.

Understanding the Fediverse

Fediverse is a set of federated social media, united and running under open-source and decentralized ActivityPub protocols. The protocols, which are rules used in building up social media platforms, allow different social networks to communicate with one another: posts on one platform could be shared on another platform.

By now, Mastodon, Threads and WordPress are the biggest platforms on Fediverse. So users can share their Threads posts on any Mastodon servers or any other federated platforms.

Benefits of Joining Fediverse on Threads

Fediverse enables users to make all their posts visible on all Fediverse platforms, increasing their public reach exponentially. For example, their Thread post may receive comments from someone on Mastodon.

Switching from one social media platform to another to access data is now redundant, for Fediverse allows access to all platforms instantaneously.

A potential drawback of using this feature is that Meta is not responsible for your data on any other server, nor can it delete it on other servers at your request.

The Future of Fediverse after Meta’s Integration

Threads and Mastodon are the largest platforms using ActivityPub protocols. They are also in the race to replace X, whose alternatives are both as well as Bluesky. Threads being the main contender to win the race might also take over Fediverse altogether. The end result might be this one, factoring in the potential future of open-source and decentralized social media.

How To Use The Feature on Threads?

Meta has conditioned users to post federated Threads in phases; in its first phase, you can still share Threads on other federated social media platforms.

Follow the steps to activate the feature:

1) Open Threads and go to your profile.

2) Click on the two lines above your profile photo.

3) Go to Settings and click on Accounts.

4) Then select Fediverse sharing.

5) Click on Next and then select Turn on sharing.

As it is its initial phase, only limited access is allowed with certain conditions. You must be running a public profile to share content across social media, and no post containing pictures, polls, and restricted replies can be shared. Also, you cannot even repost from someone across social media who has not activated the feature yet.

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by Ehtasham Ahmad via Digital Information World

Study Finds that Internet Addiction in Adolescents Can Lead to Changes in their Brain Connectivity

A study published in PLOS Mental Health says that use of the internet is connected with brain development in adolescents. Adolescence is an important period of development in an individual’s life where they go through different biological, social, physical and cognitive changes. The aim of this study was to find out how internet addiction can take part in functional connectivity of an adolescent brain. Meta analysis, a technique used to derive results from multiple scientific studies, was conducted for this study.

For this analysis, databases from PubMed and PsycINFO were studied which involved clinical diagnosis of internet addiction between adolescents from ages 10 to 11. The study included adolescents with internet addiction, using imaging techniques like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), peer reviewed publications and studies between January 2013 to April 2024. After going through 238 studies, the researchers selected 12 studies which were primarily from Asian countries like Indonesia, China, Korea, etc. and had an average of 12 to 31 participants.

The study found out that default mode networks (DMN) and reward networks are the reasons for altered connectivity in adolescents with internet addiction. Posterior cingulate, an important part of DMN, showed connectivity patterns with adolescents and internet addiction. The executive control network (ECN) is responsible for cognitive responses that showed reductions in functional connectivity of adolescents. The salience network which identifies and responds to important stimuli showed moderate decline in connectivity. This shows the adolescents have a hard time in managing their attention but they respond to internet cues effectively.

The study also found out that there is also a connection between internet addiction and other forms of addiction like gambling and drugs. The lead author of this study said that adolescents who are diagnosed with internet addiction can also get affected in their development and behaviors. There are many underlying reasons behind internet addiction and we need to know them first if we need to work on adolescents with internet addiction.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Top 10 Benefits of Implementing Process Automation Software in Your Business

Process automation software will change the way your business functions. Stop for a second and imagine a world where the execution of repetitive tasks is automatic, errors are minimized, and productivity skyrockets. It is a present-day reality and is within the grasp of Hylands Process automation software solutions. Here are the top ten process automation software benefits:

Image: Adobe Stock

1. Increased Efficiency

Automation software simplifies the workflow process by taking control of repetitive, time-intensive tasks. Think about data entry, invoicing, and schedule planning. If automated, they can be done quicker and better, which leads to employees having more time and resources to complete strategic, business-driving activities.

2. Reduced Error

Human error is a part of human nature, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a part of your process. Automation essentially eliminates the risk of human error. Using patient data management in the healthcare industry as an example — data needs to be inputted in a patient’s file with a high degree of accuracy.

3. Cost Savings

Some process automation software benefits are especially appealing, like the cost-saving capabilities. Short- and long-term ROI for this practice is extremely high because it cuts down on labor costs and streamlines efficiency, so returns can be seen in months.

4. Enhanced Productivity

Once your employees are free from the execution of mundane tasks, they can be redeployed into value-added roles. Think about the time your sales team will have to talk to leads when no more time is wasted on data entry.

5. Improved Compliance

Many industries (like finance and healthcare) are heavily regulated. It is a big headache and requires a lot of manual work to comply with everything. With  the tools to automate compliance, however, you never have to worry about it again.

6. Better Customer Experience

Automating your processes directly leads to happier clients! It can speed up customer service functions, leading to faster response times and better customer experience. If a retailer uses an automated order processing system, they can slash delivery time substantially.

7. Scalability

The tool can save you time and reduce the workforce by growing your business. This scalability is crucial to keep your processes productive during growth. Now, it’s important to sustain performance!

8. Enhanced Collaboration

With process automation software, the only business processes your organization has to manage are the ones that no one has automated yet. It produces increased collaboration by having departments work together and sharing the same views of the process.

9. Data-Driven Insights

The software looks at the data and provides the insights needed to make a decision. That decision may propel a strategic initiative where you activate a new segment of the market or improve an existing activity.

10. Competitive Advantage

Businesses that automate processes early will benefit from significant market advantages. When you automate a business process, you make it faster, more efficient, less costly and produce a better customer experience. You have a profound lead over competition that has yet to experience those same advantages. Market leaders, such as Amazon, are the evidence of the potential of these technologies.

by Asim BN via Digital Information World

Study: Cryptocurrency Owners Show Unusual Personality Traits, Including Extremism

A new study by researchers at University of Toronto and University of Miami reveals that many people who own cryptocurrency show unusual and obsessive personality traits. Nearly four in ten Americans own crypto, including Donald Trump. A survey of 2K+ American respondents owning crypto proved that nearly 30% of these people are more likely to be extremist and believe in conspiracy theories. They also show signs of psychopathy, machiavellianism, sadism and narcissism.

There were also other traits among people who owned crypto. These included having a higher income, feelings of victimhood, argumentative and maleness. These kinds of traits are not surprising because people go for cryptocurrency because they want to find a profitable and equitable alternative to mainstream sources of income. So, they are more likely to not believe in a centralized financial system and centralized media control.

These kinds of personality traits also conclude that having fringe beliefs can result in people buying crypto. Although this study doesn’t apply to all individuals who own crypto, it is still interesting to see if people buying crypto in future will have the same personalities as described in this study.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

The Greatness Of ChatGPT Coding Exposed: Is The Popular AI Tool Really Worth It?

AI models have only come into being thanks to the greatness displayed by programmers who spend years writing out codes for the respective systems. Now the question is how well such AI code generators compare to human programmers.

Thanks to a new study published last month, we’re getting more knowledge about how such codes produced by famous AI tools like ChatGPT compare against those produced by human generators.

The authors looked at complexity and security and where they could be used. And it’s safe to mention that the results had a wide range of success in terms of functional codes. Interestingly, the codes ranged between 0.66% to 89% accuracy, all related to how complex the task at hand was.

In most situations, the AI generator may have rolled out better codes than an average human mind but that did not come without some serious concerns from experts.

A leading expert from Glasgow University shed light on how AI code generation might give rise to major leads concerning bettering productivity and ensuring software development was automated in nature.

Therefore, it’s so important to realize how the pros and cons of such models vary with time.

A comprehensive analysis revealed how several issues are linked to the popular AI chatbot. And that’s where authors sat down to reveal the faults in detail.

It’s interesting to note how a programmer who spent decades producing a code is now getting replaced by an AI generator that can do it in seconds (but again to some extent).

The result of the research study proved that there was a wide range of success in terms of functional codes and a more in-depth analysis proved how exploring these drawbacks might become easier.

When we’re speaking in general, ChatGPT did a great job at solving issues in various coding languages. This was very true in terms of solving issues linked to LeetCode before the year 2021.

When algorithm issues were looked at after the year 2021, the tool’s ability to produce correct code was impacted. Therefore, this results in a failure to understand the true meaning that such queries have, even if it’s for easy problems.

The world of coding keeps evolving today and therefore the ChatGPT tool is yet to be exposed to new issues. Remember, it cannot think like a human and may address issues that it’s familiar with. This might explain why it’s better at addressing old coding issues than new ones.

Some experts fear ChatGPT could generate wrong codes as it does not understand the meaning behind algorithm issues. The study proved how the tool did a great job with smaller runtimes and reduced memory overheads when they were compared to the rest 50%.

Meanwhile, the researchers were seen exploring the chance for ChatGPT to fix coding issues after getting feedback. They were randomly selecting 50 coding situations where the tool rolled out wrong coding, simply because it failed to understand the content that was in front of it and what issues were at hand.

Usually, ChatGPT is deemed to work great at fixing errors but in this case, it was not great at fixing errors that it was making alone.

Researchers found that codes rolled out by ChatGPT did have a small number of vulnerabilities like missing null tests but a lot of those could be fixed.

So we can conclude by stating how developers using ChatGPT for coding must take the error factor into effect and also provide additional data to the AI chatbot to get the best results.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World