#entertainment news companies

[icqmuseum24]

🇺🇸 Before purchasing the iconic ICQ Messenger from Mirabilis, AOL Inc. had already developed its own internet messaging tool. Released in May 1997 as a stand-alone download for Microsoft Windows, AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) quickly became the go-to platform for online communication. Created by American Online Inc., AIM used the OSCAR and TOC protocols to connect users in real time, becoming a cultural phenomenon by the late 1990s.

💾 At its peak, AIM had the largest share of the instant messaging market in North America, particularly in the United States, where it held 52% of the market as of 2006. This figure excludes other AOL-related instant messaging software like ICQ and iChat. AIM's main competitors included ICQ (which AOL acquired in 1998), Yahoo! Messenger, and MSN Messenger. AOL had a notable rivalry with PowWow and Microsoft, sparking the "chat wars" in 1999.

🚶‍♂️ The AIM mascot, designed by JoRoan Lazaro, debuted with the first release in 1997. This yellow stickman-like figure, known as the "Running Man," appeared on all AIM logos and wordmarks and was always featured at the top of the buddy list.

👩‍🎓🧑‍🎓 AIM was particularly popular among teens and college students in the United States and beyond. Its away message feature allowed users to share their whereabouts, thoughts, and plans with friends, making it a staple of daily digital interaction. AIM wasn't just a messaging app; it was a way of life.

📉 Despite its early success, AIM's popularity began to decline in the 2010s. The rise of Gmail's Google Talk, the advent of SMS, and the explosive growth of social networks like Facebook led to a decrease in AOL subscribers. AIM's fall from grace is often compared to other once-dominant services like Myspace.

📆 In June 2015, AOL was acquired by Verizon Communications, which later merged AOL and Yahoo into Oath Inc. Unfortunately, on December 15, 2017, AIM was discontinued, marking the end of an era.

💔 Though AIM is no longer with us, its impact on digital communication remains unforgettable. It paved the way for the instant messaging services we rely on today, leaving behind a legacy of nostalgia and innovation.

[lumiereswig]

One thing I'm not noticing anyone else talking about—the production value thing is not because they think it's what the fans want. It's not. They want to go for higher production value, it's important to them. That's not a bad thing. Ryan has stressed multiple times on podcasts, behind the scenes content, even the live appearance I saw him at that it's important to him their new media is better quality than Unsolved. I think part of that is just anxiety that what they make isn't good enough, but I'm also sure it's a natural artistic yearning to want to expand and grow. Shane and Steven probably feel the same way about their shows. Ryan has also mentioned how taxing it is for so much of the channel to be about him, which he mentions again in the video with the comment about wanting to expand with other creators. And there's nothing weird about that! That's just facing realistic burnout. The vibe in the announcement video from Shane and Ryan is extremely telling of burnout. They're growing the content because (1) it's exhausting for them to make the exact same style of content for the 8+ years they've been doing it, and one of the ways to get past burnout is by pushing your boundaries and growing creatively; and (2) just making the shows, all of the shows, with themselves as the camera-facing element has to be exhausting for them.

I still think this is a bad decision but I think it's one grounded in their own creative impulses and how hard they've been working for several years now, not some urge to suddenly live the high life. They want to make stuff they're personally proud of, and right now that's beyond their means. I'd make an argument that they should opt for scaling back instead of jumping forward right now, but that doesn't mean they're making this choice because they hate their fanbase or are suddenly a big corporation. They've made a mistake, and hopefully they'll be able to tweak the Watcher TV system in the next couple days to make it more affordable for all.

[thelaurenshippen]

open ai made a little post about how they chose their chatbot voices and two things stood out to me:

a) I am genuinely pleased and surprised that the voices come from specific real people that they hired and paid, rather than being built off of all of the data open ai has scraped. the voice for siri did one job for one company 20 years ago and now she is literally everywhere without ever being compensated by apple or even acknowledged as the voice. there's simply no way she was paid enough in that original job. whereas, open ai says "each actor receives compensation above top-of-market rates, and this will continue for as long as their voices are used in our products." this could mean literally anything (what market rate are we going above? does continue mean they get residuals or get paid for doing more sessions?) but, christ, at least the actors are doing it with full knowledge of what their voices are being used for and can decide for themselves if the compensation is enough

b) the post talks about working with "award-winning casting directors" to get the voices. first of all, yay for paying casting directors! we love to see it. but they also say the CDs received over 400 submissions in a week and they state that like a big number and it's just...not at all. and look, without knowing the intricacies of the casting process, it's hard to know what approach the CDs took - it's very possible they were selective from the jump and 400 is a lot from the pool they were tapping. 400 would be a lot if you were going to the agencies directly and asking for names, but there's just no way in hell open ai went after big stars for this. so it would've been a pool of unknowns. in which case, 400 is laughably small. even if you're not using the big casting sites like actorsaccess, I've worked on projects with CDs and their own internal systems where we've gotten over 100 submissions for a single role. I've posted roles on casting sites and received literally thousands of submissions in just a few days

look, I have a very limited perspective on this - I am not a casting director (imo, one of the most important and undervalued jobs in hollywood) and I, in fact, hate the process of casting with a passion. but 400 just seemed like such a tiny pool to pull from and, idk, it heartens me! it's heartening to think that there's very little interest from actors and agents to be doing this kind of stuff. and absolutely no shade to the actors who did--I want actors to get their bag however they want as long as it's, like, safe sane and consensual, you know? but there's something encouraging about thinking that open ai hired some big casting agency to get their foot into the voice acting door and people didn't come running

[ahappydnp]

hiiii I have a phistory question ! did dnp have jobs other than youtube while living together, or did they move in together once they'd already decided to try and make a career out of yt?

they were both youtube partners before either of them left home so they did have some money coming in just from that

phil had side gigs doing apartment red (2009-2011) and battlefronters (2010-2011)

they both started hosting the super amazing project in 2011

they of course had their first bbc radio special in december 2011

they also did a couple guest spots on channels like vlogcandy but i'm not 100% sure if they got paid for cameos?

edit: i forgot about vyou!!! they both got sponsored to promote and use vyou in 2011

[syn0vial]

the sheer amount of unhealthy parasocial attachment the watcher drama has revealed is honestly kind of frightening. "i won't go CRAWLING BACK to watcher now i know they only want me for my money!" girl what did you THINK they wanted you for? your personality? your glittering conversational skills? they don't know you, and you don't know them! "this whole time i was just a transaction to them 😭" yes??? that's how this works? they provide goods and/or services in exchange for currency?? THEY'RE A COMPANY???

like, i've got zero problem with people who don't want to subscribe to the new platform or are now wary of watcher bc of the legitimate concerns their initial decision brought up (potential loss of accessible content, lack of pricing awareness, lack of transparency leading up to the decision, potential lack of financial sustainability) but i am genuinely disturbed by the people reacting like they were broken up with over a company changing their monetization structure

[nekrosmos]

Starting my day with a bang by going into town to get a christmas treat for my family, only for the entire metro to be down for 2 fucking hours, having thus to walk to the store, only for said store to end up being closed, thus leading me to walk deeper into town to another store, only to end up in a place I could have reached by taking a bus in the first place. ANYWAY

[helpimstuckinafandom]

"Oh so they're capitalists now" motherfucker it's all capitalism. Youtube having 50 ads a video with an in-video sponsor read that takes a quarter of the video is capitalism. Be real

[ultrakdramamama]

240403 dlstmxkakwldrl @griffinenter @dlstmxkakwldrl #griffin #onew 오래 기다렸지? 고마워!

[eng tran] @griffinenter @dlstmxkakwldrl #griffin #onew You waited a long time, right? Thanks!

the same photos were posted on the Griffin Entertainment instagram

griffinenter GRIFFIN Entertainment

그리핀 엔터테인먼트는 보석을 지키는 환상의 동물 그리핀처럼 각자의 색으로 빛나는 아티스트들을 엔터테인먼트라는 하나의 둥지에서 지키고 보호하며, 그들이 가진 재능과 역량을 꽃피울 수 있는 둥지가 되는 것을 목표로 하고 있습니다.

아티스트들의 안식처가 되는 곳, 그리핀 엔터테인먼트입니다. 그리핀의 1호 아티스트, 온유를 소개합니다.

-

GRIFFIN Entertainment, drawing its name from the legendary guardian of priceless relics, is dedicated to safeguarding and nurturing our artists. We strive to provide a sanctuary where artists can thrive and let their distinct gifts and talents illuminate the world.

We would like to introduce Griffin's first artist - ONEW.

[dynamitekansai]

The last shining ember of Queen's Quest burns out as darkness befalls the once Golden Phoenix and dying along side it, their eternal rival Oedo Tai. In name, at least. Now to be known simply as HATE. Following behind Konami, Saya Kamitani has officially joined the rebranded faction led by the new World of Stardom Champion, Natsuko Tora. HATE IS HERE.

[hwanswerland]

I just...I miss feeling excited about ateez. don't get me wrong, I love them and I love listening to their music and watching their videos, but at the same time I'm basically just waiting for another announcement that someone is sick or injured at the same time as another fucking world tour or another comeback. how can I fully enjoy an artist when I know they're working towards burnout at ultrasonic speed? the thing is I can't because they're human beings first

[chichiricatsan]

I haven't been on here much for a lot of reasons in my personal life, but I'll address the elephant in the room.

Yes, I've seen the new Life is Strange trailer. No, I'm not happy about it.

I'm sorry. Yet, I'm not sorry. Not at all. Max's story, for me, is done and has been done since the end of the first game.

I have a lot of reasons why I feel this way, but there's been a lot of people who share the same sentiments as me and I'd be repeating their opinions at this point. Sorry, Deck Nine. Not interested. In fact, I'm quite disappointed. I felt like True Colors was a step in a better direction for them, but this just feels like a huge step back. I'm more interested in DontNod's new game, Lost Records.

Not to be a downer if you're excited about Double Exposure, but I'm just...not.

[icqmuseum24]

🇺🇲 The summer of 2008 marked a turning point for AOL. Time Warner was in discussions to sell its internet division to either Microsoft or Yahoo, a move that would significantly impact the online advertising market.

➡️ Beyond its search engine and e-mail service, AOL's most notable brands included the instant messengers ICQ and AIM, the iconic web browser Netscape Navigator (which dominated the '90s and was a key player in the browser wars with Microsoft), and Winamp (the legendary media player from Nullsoft, acquired by AOL in 1999).

💵 In January 2001, AOL merged with Time Warner in a $165 billion deal, the largest merger in U.S. history. This merger was intended to create a media powerhouse, but instead, it led to a slow decline. The dot-com bubble burst, and AOL's dial-up internet service quickly became outdated. The anticipated synergies never materialized, leading to massive losses and internal conflicts.

💻 By 2008, AOL was a shadow of its former self. The potential deals with Microsoft or Yahoo underscored the intense battle for dominance in the tech world. Yahoo, under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn, was in a proxy fight to avoid a takeover by Microsoft, which had its sights set on both Yahoo and AOL.

📈 Analysts predicted that acquiring AOL would significantly enhance the buyer's online advertising power, reshaping the digital landscape. Despite AOL's eventual spin-off from Time Warner in 2009, the company could not reclaim its former glory. However, the legacy of its pioneering services like ICQ, Netscape Navigator, AIM, and Winamp continues to be fondly remembered by many.

[bargainsleuthbooks]

Book Reviews Children's Edition: Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz; Halfway There: A Memoir; The Terrifying Tales of Vivian Vance; How to Explain Climate Science to a Grown-Up #GraphicNovels #Manga #NetGalley #ChildrensBooks

Time for another round-up of book reviews: this time I tackled some manga, graphic novels, and a children's book about climate science. Read about the history of the Peanuts comic book, a memoir about being mixed-race, and a YA horror story. #ARCReviews

I have been connecting to my kids more with their reading. The two youngest adore manga books and the reason I have a Barnes & Noble membership is because the county library and school library do not carry the series’ they are interested in. I’ve also been picking up some graphic novels and manga, including some ARCs. Here are some reviews of my most recent finds: Most books can be found at the…

[vacalimpia]

oh we're so doomed i just saw an ad from the energy provider from my country using generative AI to make an animated character and voice over ... we are so doomed oh my god this small country where the opportunities for local animators are little already has companies opting to use AI instead of our talent we're so doomed😭😭😭

[zikadraws]

I couldn't exactly get what I wanted for Halloween done, sooo you're getting some OC stuff.

Her name is Salomé, and she's been 11 for twelve thousand years.

Happy Halloween.

[bastardbvby]

i miss my old supervisor so god damn much :(