Mass media

Google has struck a deal worth $60 million that will allow it to use Reddit content to train its generative-AI models, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing three people familiar with the matter. The claim follows a Bloomberg report earlier in the week that said Reddit had inked such a deal, though at the time, the name of the other party remained unclear. Training AI models using human-generated content such as that found on Reddit is supposed to help chatbot tools respond in a more natural and conversational way,…

For years, Craigslist has been the go-to website for scoring a free sofa or finding an apartment. But there are plenty of other alternatives to Craigslist that do an equally fine job, oftentimes with a more attractive interface and fewer spam postings. The 5 best Craigslist alternatives are: Facebook Marketplace OfferUp Locanto Mercari Recycler While these sites may not offer the sheer number of listings or familiarity of Craigslist, or even the ability to pay in Bitcoin, but they may provide a new audience and…

The New York Times has become the first major media organization to take on AI firms in the courts, accusing OpenAI and its backer, Microsoft, of infringing its copyright by using its content to train AI-powered products such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. In a lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the media giant claims that “millions” of its copyrighted articles were used to train its AI technologies, enabling it to compete with the New York Times as a content provider. The New York Times said in the lawsuit…

Meta Threads — Meta’s rival to X, formerly Twitter — has just launched in the European Union (EU), a market with nearly half a billion people. The app launched in the U.S. to much fanfare in July, with Meta hoping to attract X users disillusioned with the turbulence on the platform since Elon Musk acquired it for $44 billion 14 months ago. The app, which bears many similarities to X in both looks and usage, got off to a flying start five months ago, picking up more than 100 million users in the first week, though…

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the organizer of the E3 video game industry expo, confirmed that E3 is dead and that it has no plans to bring the show back. “After more than two decades of serving as a central showcase for the video game industry, ESA has decided to end E3,” The ESA explained on X. “ESA remains focused on advocating for ESA member companies and the industry workforce who fuel positive cultural and economic impact every day.” The ESA E3, which stands for Electronic Entertainment Expo,…

If you’re on WhatsApp and regularly make use of the view once feature for photo and video messages, then you might be interested to learn that the feature has now been expanded to voice messages. WhatsApp’s view once feature does what it says on the tin, deleting a message after it’s been viewed a single time. It’s been available for photos and videos since 2021, but now you can also send voice messages that can only be played once before they, too, disappear from the app. WhatsApp announced the self-destructing…

Stone Staffordshire / Shutterstock Earlier this year, Verizon announced its new myPlan packages, an “à la carte” offering that lets customers pay for only the extra services they want rather than what the carrier decides is good for them. Now, Verizon is sweetening the pot with a new streaming bundle that will tie together Netflix and Max into a single $10-per-month add-on. That works out to a 40% savings compared to subscribing to the two services individually. Netflix and Max on myPlan Verizon Verizon has done a…

Earlier this fall, Puzzmo emerged as the worthiest competitor yet to The New York Times’ gaming efforts, serving as a hub for a variety of engaging puzzles that people can complete daily. Following the same trajectory as Wordle, Puzzmo just got unexpectedly acquired by another notable media company: Hearst. Puzzmo is a puzzle game website modeled off of physical newspaper pages. It’s a daily hub where players can play original games by acclaimed developer Zach Gage, including original spins on classics like Chess and…

With so much new content on the web added daily, it can be tough to keep up with what’s happening online. People try several different ways, including visiting specific websites every day, doing Google searches, or relying on social media to keep them informed. One solution that sometimes gets overlooked is an old-school one: The RSS feed. What is an RSS feed? It’s a technology that has influenced many modern internet tools you’re familiar with, and its streamlined, algorithm-free format could make it your next great…

Screenshot SiriusXM is simultaneously a legacy brand and one that’s looking toward the future of satellite radio in a streaming world. And today at a celebrity-laden event in New York City — kicked off by none other than Howard Stern — SiriusXM took a more-than 90-minute look at its history, its present, and where it’s going in 2024 and beyond. Satellite radio was perhaps a bit ahead of its time, allowing subscribers — yes, subscription radio — to listen to music, sports, and talk radio, anywhere in the country. It…