Libra: the currency for developing economies — Stories of Mobile Madness Epsode 4
TL;DR
- A rundown of key insights from the Reuters Digital News Report
- The business model of media is changing — find out what you need to know to get ready for it
- Facebook has revealed that their cryptocurrency — Libra — is going to be supported by Visa and Mastercard
REUTERS REPORT ON THE STATE OF MEDIA MARKETING TRENDS
Every year Reuters Institute publishes its Digital News Report. They incorporate feedback from 38 individual countries, and 75, 000 people, and what’s interesting is that there is definitely a global consensus.
Three major takeaways that we discovered at the conference also include exciting news for us at Tappable.
- Monetizing news still remains the most prevalent issue. The US is half as likely to pay for news as their European counterparts, even though people are now used to paying for online services and will do so on an ongoing basis. Paywalls are increasingly turning people off rather than making money.
Yet ‘subscription fatigue’ is showing that it is increasingly likely that consumers will only pay for one source of news. Competing against large tech like Netflix and Spotify is making it more difficult for news to keep up, as these giants can keep their subscription rates low thanks to alternative income. - Around 66% of people in the world now use their smartphones to access news at least once a week. In fact, smartphones are becoming the number one way people are accessing all kinds of information. This means that smart publishers will tailor their work to keep the audience engaged on a smaller screen.
- Working to engage people on the small screen is exactly what we’re doing here at Tappable. Not only did we get some great coverage at Reuters, but we’re making speedy progress with our development are starting to plan the first pilots.Don’t forget to sign up for early access on tappable.co
WHAT’S THE BUSINESS MODEL OF MEDIA?
According to Steffen Damborg, a Danish media consultant, publishers aren’t paying enough attention to what users really want and when they want it.
Even though they have the data as well as the tools to analyze customer behavior. His research shows that only 25% of the editors are evaluating user data on a daily basis. And there’s less than 15% of the journalists who do so.
Cosmin Ene, the CEO of LaterPay emphatically stated that sticking to the subscription model may not be the solution. Cosmin makes a very strong case for the contribution model backed up by in-depth data analysis and innovative customer acquisition strategies.
So perhaps it’s time to assess the difference in how we market media, and switch from anything to do with subscriptions into letting people decide what they want to contribute and letting them.
WHO’S BUYING INTO FACEBOOK DOLLARS?
Every day Facebook lifts another tip of the veil that hangs over the launch of its GlobalCoin or Libra cryptocurrency. Now we know that Visa and Paypal have endorsed the project, and it seems like there are many other companies ready to jump on the concept of Facebucks.
Some rumors have suggested Mastercard, Stripe, and Booking.com are ready to jump onto the platform. In fact, it’s anticipated that a consortium of 100 administrators will be joining in, paying $10 million each.
This seems to be another way for Facebook to facilitate sales, and with its 2.5 billion subscribers, if any company can do it, Facebook can. The platform has already established itself as an easy way for people to interact across borders without restrictions.
If Facebook can offer a way of breaking down the limitations people often feel with international transfer, such as high exchange rates, transaction fees, or delays in execution, it may prove to be a winner. Facebook is promising payments that are instantaneous, exchange risk-free, and presumably also free of charge.
In countries like Kenya, more than 30% of e-commerce is done via Facebook groups. Facebook will give this informal economy a major boost. But of course, Facebook will essentially be creating themselves as the master of all platforms, where you can do everything: search, compare, communicate, shop and pay.
While trust in global financial organizations is at an all-time low, is it a good idea for Facebook to do this? The company has had problems with data harvesting and breaches, so it leaves us with perhaps the most definitive question: we know they can, but should they?
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