We hope you’ve all had a relaxing kiwi summer enjoying the beaches, bush walks and outdoor beauty of Aotearoa after what was a trying 2021. Some of you were relieved to finally be able to travel and see family and friends again as covid restrictions moved into a new phase under the traffic light system. We hope the reunions were full of joy.
But it’s now back to work for most of us, so here’s to a fabulous 2022! To kick off the year the One Plus One Team has put together a snackable summary of recent industry happenings. This issue looks at Stuff’s climb to most visited news service, the rebirth of the BlackBerry, and TikTok’s top earners of 2021.
Stuff overtakes NZ Herald as top-ranking online news service
News outlet Stuff has snuck up Nielsen rankings to become the 5th most visited online service in New Zealand, reeling in more than 2.4 million unique visitors a month. Stuff surpassed its top competitor the NZ Herald, which came in 9th – the two are the only news outlets in the top 10. They follow long standing winners Google, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as government sites and Trade Me. Stuff head of news Mark Stevens said the ranking was a credit to the organisation’s journalism, and a huge privilege.
Bloomfield and Hipkins’ amuse festival-goers in music video debut
After the success of last year’s viral ‘make summer unstoppable’ video, Ashley Bloomfield and Chris Hipkins addressed thousands of festival goers this summer in a new traffic light system video message developed by Unite Against Covid-19. In a departure from their stiff press conference appearances, they targeted young people with electronic music, flashing lights and slick video editing to reinforce that masks, scanning and vaccine passes are crucial to a successful summer. Paying homage to what is arguably the most memorable media blunder of 2021, the announcement features audio from Chris Hipkins “spread their legs” quote, which won Massey University’s quote of the year competition.
No fake news: Stuff continues to tackle Covid-19 misinformation
If you’ve ever had a friend fall down an internet rabbit hole, this resource from Stuff could come in handy. Last year the news outlet launched a project called The Whole Truth, which received funding from the Google news initiative to tackle falsehoods about the Covid-19 vaccine. It also teamed up with Māori Television and the Pacific Media Network. The series has released over 50 articles, infographics and videos dissecting the false information perpetuated online. The series covers common concerns held around the vaccine such as side effects, can the vaccines be mixed, with most recent articles guiding readers on how to spot misinformation, a skill proving handier with every new Covid-19 development.
A new ‘conversation’: Andrew Jaspan launches news startup 360info
Four years after his departure from the Conversation, founder Andrew Jaspan is gearing up to launch a new rival startup 360info. Unafraid to ruffle feathers, Jaspan wants to change how academic information is shared with the wider public. Avoiding breaking news and opinion pieces, Jaspan said 360info will focus on tackling world issues from a global perspective, by getting accurate information to as many people as possible. 360info won’t be available to the public, instead targeting publishers with free expert information.
The iconic BlackBerry to be reborn as a smartphone under new ownership
The original BlackBerry, once the most coveted cell phone in the world, met its demise on the 4th January, with devices running blackberry OS 7.1 and OS 10 losing crucial services such as sending texts, calls and contacting emergency services. These include the 2014 BlackBerry Classic and BlackBerry Passport. While these older models are now extinct, BlackBerry is not dead yet. For lovers of the classic phone, mobile security company Onward Mobility has purchased the company, and has reinstated its promise to release a 5G BlackBerry smartphone, complete with its famous physical keyboard.
LinkedIn grows it’s virtual events platform
With Omicron sweeping across the globe, and covid restrictions remain in place in many places, LinkedIn has amped up its virtual events platform to capitalise on the fact an increasing number of events are moving out of the physical and into the virtual. With 150% growth in the number of virtual events between 2020 and 2021, the company has released several new upgrades in attempts to foster online communities during the pandemic. New features include raising hands in live conversations, the ability to share live events after they have occurred and new and improved creator tools.
TikTok’s top influencers collectively net more than US$55 million in 2021
A group of under-25-year-old TikTok stars are making a killing on the video sharing app. Forbes reported that the seven most successful creators earned the money through sponsored content, worth anywhere between US$100,000 to US$500,000 per post. Top earners include Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, who now have their own Hulu series, and Addison Rae who starred in the Netflix movie He’s All That. Despite their side-hustles, between 30% and 50% of these influencers’ earnings come from sponsored content. TikTok has more than 1 billion users globally and content sponsors include the likes of Amazon, Louis Vuitton and McDonalds.
Fancy being Snoop Dog’s neighbour? The Metaverse makes it possible
Investors are paying millions to buy virtual real estate, particularly in places in the metaverse where lots of users congregate, especially celebrity avatars such Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. One investor recently paid US$450,000 to be Snoop Dog’s neighbour in a virtual world called the Sandbox. The set of virtual worlds created by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, has created an online land rush. Plot prices have reportedly soared by as much as 500 per cent since its launch. Crypto asset manager Grayscale estimates the digital world may grow into a $1 trillion business in the near future as virtual worlds continue to expand into a 360 degree immersive experience using “reality goggles”.
Newsroom scopes a challenger to cancel culture and predicts potential media wars in its 2022 media landscape outlook
In a recent newsroom article, Stephen Parker looks at some key changes we may (or may not) expect to see in Aotearoa’s news and media industry in 2022. Parker alerts readers to new outlet ‘The Platform,’ created by former Broadcaster Sean Plunket. With “join the resistance” as its logo, the radio station and website has aims to combat cancel culture. A media war may also be in the works, with Tova O’Brien jumping ship from her role as political editor at Newshub to morning host on rebranded Magic talkback station ‘Today’. Set to go live in the first quarter of 2022, media junkies will have to wait and see if Tova can surpass Mike Hosking’s top ratings. On the flipside, anticipated plans for a merger between government-owned TVNZ and RNZ have yet to be confirmed, with government deliberations set to happen throughout the year. Even if approved, no changes are set to take place until mid-2023.
