Mining The Login Data; Ello Says Hello

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ID Wars

Quartz reporter Leo Mirani details the trajectory of Google and Facebook’s crusade for login data. “As mobile phones and tablets render old tracking mechanisms, such as cookies, increasingly ineffectual, identity is becoming the single most important tool to follow web users across multiple devices,” he writes. Significantly, Mirani adds that “[b]etween them, Facebook and Google account for over 80% of social log-ins, according to Janrain, a company that helps manage social login integration. The gap between the two and everybody else is gradually widening.” Read it.

Hello Ello

The new hotness in digital platforms is Ello, a social site that’s staking its future on consumer resistance to ad tracking. In its manifesto, Ello points out that on other social platforms, “Every post you share, every friend you make, and every link you follow is tracked, recorded, and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads.” But the past few years are littered with the bodies of Facebook alternatives. More on CNET.

BitTorrent, Brand Safe?

BitTorrent, historically associated with piracy, introduced a new paygate feature that lets publishers sell bundles of digital content. Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke was the face of the release, making his solo album available for $6. TechCrunch has more. The pro-musician move comes as BitTorrent seeks to position itself as a legit place for premium advertising, as Digiday reported earlier this month.

Native GIFs

Native’s getting a mini-GIF makeover via digital image platform Imgur, Adweek reported on Friday. Through a limited number of branded campaigns, the company claims it can score engagement rates between 1 and 4%. (In this context engagement translates to number of likes, comments and shares.) Imgur COO Matt Strader said, “From a native advertising aspect, the essence of that experience works great on the Web and great with mobile—and the impact just grows more and more over time.”

Yahoo-AOL Merger Revisited

Activist investor Starboard is clamoring for a marriage between Yahoo and AOL, and with Yahoo’s cash infusion related to the Alibaba IPO, it might just be possible. But is it a good idea? Reuters notes that AOL’s ad stack, in particular Adap.tv, “could fit well with Yahoo’s recent efforts to deliver more online video programming, such as videos about technology and fashion, along with old episodes of the Saturday Night Live television program.” More. Yahoo’s content, AOL’s tech!

Nikesh Wants Content

Former Google exec Nikesh Arora is circling the wagons around content in his new role as CEO of SoftBank Internet and Media. The Hollywood Reporter says that SoftBank is “in talks” to buy DreamWorks Animation for $3.4 billion. Read it. Arora has $60 billion to potentially play with in that SoftBank was an early investor in Alibaba.

But Wait. There’s More!