Blockchain media project Civil turns to Asia with fund to kickstart 100 new media ventures

By Jon Russell

Civil, the blockchain-based journalism organization, is casting its eye to Asia after it set up a $1 million fund that’s aimed at seeding 100 new media projects across the continent over the next three years. The organization has teamed up with Splice, a Singapore-based media startup which will manage the fund, according to an announcement.

There’s been a lot of attention lavished on Civil for its promise to make media work more efficiently using blockchain technology and its upcoming crypto token, CVL. The organization has raised $5 million in financing from ConsenSys, the blockchain corporation led by Ethereum co-creator Joe Lubin, and its ICO takes place next month with the goal of raising around $32 million to launch its network and actively onboard new media companies worldwide.

But the company is waiting around. Civil has already actively jumped into the media space — providing financial backing to the newly-formed The Colorado Sun — but the scope of the project in Asia is different in trying to kickstart a wave of new media organizations by giving them money to get off the ground.

Alan Soon, co-founder and CEO of Splice, told TechCrunch that …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

Tesla is making a $1500… surfboard?

By Greg Kumparak

Tesla is no stranger to branded merch. Its got the standard company swag — the hats, the shirts, and the mugs. It’s got quirkier stuff, like miniature Teslas for kids and USB chargers shaped like the Superchargers that juice up their vehicles.

And now they’ve got… surfboards?

While it’s now gone for some reason, a product page went live in its shop early this morning detailing a $1500 Tesla-branded board (we’ve asked Tesla for insight, but it sounds like they sold out.) Electrek caught the description before the page vanished:

“Designed by the Tesla Design Studio in collaboration with Lost Surfboards and Matt “Mayhem” Biolos, surfboard shaper for World Surf League Championship athletes. The Limited Edition Tesla Surfboard features a mix of the same high-quality matte and gloss finishes used on all our cars. The deck is reinforced with light-weight “Black Dart” carbon fiber, inspired by the interiors in our cars, and featuring tonal logos in subtle contrast gloss.”

(Update: the page is back up now, and it is, in fact, sold out)

While its unclear why the product page vanished, a Google cache of it is visible here, and a few people on Twitter mention being …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

Facebook also removes 4 Infowars videos, including one it previously cleared

By Jon Russell

Days after defending its decision to give a voice to conspiracy theory peddler Alex Jones and his Infowars site, Facebook has removed four of his videos for violating its community standards.

But one of the four had already been allowed to slip through the firm’s review system. A source within Facebook told TechCrunch that one of the videos had previously been flagged for review in June but, after being looked over by a checker, it was allowed remain on the social network. That decision was described as “erroneous” and it has now been removed.

Facebook’s removal of the videos comes days after YouTube scrubbed four videos from Jones from its site for violating its policies on content. The Facebook source confirmed that three of the videos it has removed were flagged for the first time on Wednesday — presumably after, or in conjunction with, them being highlighted to YouTube — but the fact that one had gotten the all-clear one again raises question marks about the consistency of Facebook’s review process.

Contrary to some media reports, Jones has not received a 30-day ban from Facebook following these removals. TechCrunch understands that …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

The Detroit Auto Show is finally moving out of the cold

By Kirsten Korosec

The Detroit Auto Show—otherwise known as the North American International Auto Show—is moving its annual event out of the cold confines of January and into the warm embrace of June starting in 2020. The move aims to reverse an exodus of automakers that have opted to showcase their upcoming products at tech-forward shows like CES held in Las Vegas.

Organizers expect the shift to June, which industry experts, analysts, and weary automotive journalists have recommended for years, will save money for exhibitors. By eliminating November, December and January holidays from the move-in equation, exhibitors will see reduced overtime labor costs for builds, organizers said in a statement Sunday. The show will also have a shorter move-in schedule of three weeks, significantly reduced from the average eight weeks that it takes now. The show is run by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association and its executive board.

There’s another benefit to the move: outdoor demos. The annual show’s current January time slot holds attendees hostage in the a massive Cobo Center. A June show date will allow automakers, and even mobility tech startups, to hold demonstrations and first drives on the streets of Detroit. Autonomous and automated driving demonstrations will surely pop …read more

Source: Tech Crunch