A video: “How Facebook Marketplace Amassed More Shoppers Than Amazon”

  Facebook’s Marketplace Growth Massive User Base: Since its launch in 2016, Facebook Marketplace has attracted 1.1 billion users across 70 countries, making it one of the largest platforms for secondhand sales, alongside eBay and Craigslist. Engagement Strategy: Despite declining usage among younger demographics, Marketplace remains a key engagement tool, with many users logging in … Read more

A video: “How Google Maps Mapped The World”

  Key Insights by Merlin AI Google Maps Evolution – Google has been mapping the world for over 20 years, launching its Street View feature in 2007. – Initial camera systems were bulky, weighing up to 500 pounds, but have since evolved to lighter, more versatile models used on various vehicles including backpacks and even … Read more

Episode 9: The new arenas of academic self‑promotion

Here comes the new episode for Thoughts on academic life There has always been self‑promotion in academia. People mailed offprints, boasted about books, dropped famous names at dinner. But the contemporary landscape is qualitatively different: platformized, metricized, gamified.[6][8] Academics now operate across multiple, interconnected arenas: Citation and profile platforms: Google Scholar, Scopus IDs, ORCID, ResearchGate, … Read more

From Obscenity to Money Laundering: The OnlyFans Crackdown in Turkey

Recently, Sixteen detained over ‘laundering OnlyFans income’. I have asked Perplexity to round up the OnlyFans ordeal in Türkiye: OnlyFans has been formally blocked in Turkey since June 2023 and, since late 2023, authorities have escalated criminal investigations and financial-crime probes targeting creators who earned income from the platform. Access ban and legal basis Access … Read more

A (two-year-old) video: “The Tragic Fate Of Dailymotion”

Dailymotion is often remembered as the most serious early challenger to YouTube… Key Insights by Merlin AI THE STATE OF DAILYMOTION – Dailymotion was a prominent video-sharing platform in the mid-2000s, second only to YouTube. – The platform faced legal challenges due to slow responses to copyright violations, resulting in fines totaling €5.5 million. – … Read more