German sexual wellness brand Billy Boy launched a new digital privacy solution for protection over non-consensual recordings by blocking the camera and microphones of people’s phones, acting like a “digital condom”, according to the company’s website.
Billy Boy, in collaboration with Innocean Berlin, launched a mobile application known as CAMDOM. This application works like a digital condom to protect users’ privacy.
“It prevents anyone from taking photos, films or recordings without your consent by blocking the cameras and microphones on your phones. It’s very easy to use. Simply download the app from your store and lock your smartphones together. As soon as someone tries to disconnect, an alarm sounds,” said the company on its website describing the product.
“CAMDOM is an app that works like a digital condom,” they said.
Comscore partners with IAMAI for study on CTV Landscape
Comscore, a leader in media planning and evaluation, has announced a partnership with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) to conduct a detailed study on India’s Connected TV (CTV) landscape. This initiative comes as digital streaming and internet access continue to grow rapidly in India, positioning CTV as a significant player in the media ecosystem.
The upcoming study aims to provide valuable insights for brands, publishers, OTT platforms, agencies, and broadcasters, enabling them to make informed decisions and drive business growth. With IAMAI’s backing, the study is expected to reach a wider audience across India’s digital landscape.
Alejandro Fosk, EVP International at Comscore, remarked, “India is one of the most dynamic media markets globally, and Connected TV is a pivotal platform for content consumption and advertising. Our study will offer actionable insights for stakeholders to better understand the CTV ecosystem.”
Moneycontrol Pro with over 1 million paying subscribers, ranks amongst top 15 globally
Moneycontrol Pro, the subscription service from Network18’s Moneycontrol, has reached a significant milestone by crossing 1 million paying subscribers. This achievement not only secures its status as India’s largest news subscription platform but also places it among the top 15 subscription services globally, standing alongside renowned international platforms like the Financial Times and Barrons.
The surge in subscriptions underscores Moneycontrol Pro’s reputation as a trusted source of financial intelligence for investors navigating India’s capital markets. The platform has continuously enhanced its offerings, providing subscribers with robust tools and insights to make informed investment decisions.
Key features include:
- Spot Winners: Over 200 stock scanners that identify potential high-performing stocks.
- Deep Dive: Quantitative insights for detailed analysis.
- Trade Like a Pro: Technical ratings and market trends to guide trading strategies.
- Track Holdings: Insights into portfolios managed by market experts and industry leaders.
- Expert Edge: Regular investment ideas tailored for both short and long-term strategies.
Javed Sayed, Chief Content and Strategy Officer of Moneycontrol, remarked, “The fact that over a million people chose to repose their trust in our content and offerings is a great vote of confidence for Moneycontrol Pro. This tremendous achievement places us among the top 15 news subscription platforms in the world.”
IAB Tech Lab launches ‘Ad Format Idol’ to standardise CTV ad innovations
IAB Tech Lab, the global digital advertising standards body, unveils its latest initiative, “Ad Format Idol,” to define and standardise emerging Connected TV (CTV) ad formats. As the CTV landscape experiences rapid growth, the project targets the adoption of consistent ad formats across platforms, enabling ‘build once, serve everywhere’ solutions for the industry.
IAB Tech Lab CEO, Anthony Katsur stated, “CTV is experiencing explosive growth, but we’re still in the early innings of figuring out how to make it work at scale. The industry is full of new ad formats that show promise but lack the technical standards to take off. ‘Ad Format Idol’ is about cutting through the noise, finding what works, and giving it the structure needed to thrive. As we have done for early web advertising and with digital video, we want to set up the whole CTV ecosystem to succeed.”
The ‘Ad Format Idol’ initiative invites digital advertising stakeholders to submit successful CTV ad formats from 22 October to 22 January 2025. A task force from the Advanced TV Commit Group will evaluate the entries, while the advanced TV and programmatic supply chain working groups will then update specifications to reflect the winning formats. The aim is to address key challenges identified in IAB’s latest report on CTV ad format growth and standardisation.
YouTube Adds Poll Stickers for Shorts
YouTube has added a new poll sticker option for Shorts, while it’s also updated its “Views” display to reflect the rise of Shorts viewing, and is experimenting with a new gamification element for Super Chat.
First off, on Shorts polls. Now, you can drive more engagement with your Shorts by asking your audience for their opinion, via a new, dedicated poll sticker for your Shorts content.
“Up till now, if creators wanted to poll their communities, they could only do so by creating a poll post, or by asking users to comment on a video. Now creators can add a poll sticker directly to their Short and have their viewers tap an option to vote.”
As you can see in the above example screens, creators will be able to see the percentage of votes for each option in a Shorts poll, as well as the exact count of total votes on the sticker.
67.5 percent of the world’s total population uses the internet today.
A total of 5.52 billion people around the world were using the internet at the start of October 2024, equivalent to 67.5 percent of the world’s total population. This impressive figure means that internet users are now a “supermajority”, with more than twice as many people using the internet as not.
Internet users continue to grow too, with the latest data indicating that the world’s connected population grew by 151 million users in the 12 months to October 2024.
At 2.8 percent, this year-on-year growth rate is somewhat slower than the top growth rates that we saw during the middle of the last decade, but it points to represents healthy momentum in internet adoption.
Moreover, regular delays to the processing and publishing of research into internet adoption likely mean the real growth rate may be higher than these latest figures suggest.
Youtube introduces shopping affiliate programme in India
Youtube has launched its shopping affiliate programme in India through Myntra and Flipkart. With this programme Youtube is empowering creators to get their products tagged in their videos directly at the time a purchase is made on the website of the retailer. A blog post has been released by Google where it states: “We have always been committed to providing creators with diverse revenue streams and innovative tools to succeed. The YouTube Shopping affiliate program gives creators yet another way to earn from their content and to deepen their engagements with their communities.”