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The Winner of the Attention Economy

The Winner of the Attention Economy
May 3, 2022

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If you’ve ever scrolled on TikTok -- you know, the never-ending supply of 15-second to 3-minute videos -- you know that it is very addictive. Scroll long enough and you might find yourself on a video of a concerned user calling out the harmful effects of the platform on our brains and attention spans. “Put your phone down! Read a book! Keep your attention span!” Some pleas from neuroscientists or anthropologists border on conspiracy theories: “THEY want to destroy your attention. Don’t let THEM.” Meanwhile, time spent on the app keep shooting skyward.

The Attention Economy
TikTok’s owner Bytedance is not the first to try and capture our attention in order to capture ad spend. The concept is called the Attention Economy, and it has existed since radio shows mentioned toothpaste, and newspapers featured coupons for shoe polish. Technology has just gotten more sophisticated. Now, rather than billboards or magazines, we have apps that deliver well-researched dopamine hits that have us physically craving (and mindlessly clicking on) our social media icons.

TikTok Features
TikTok allows users to record short videos, add subtitles or voiceovers, and create custom backgrounds. All innovations and additions to this social media platform rely on those platforms that came before it (namely, Snapchat and Instagram). But at the same time, the copying goes the other way, with Instagram’s Reels feature serving as a direct copycat of TikTok, a snide but successful method of bringing more eyes and attention to their platform by allowing users to upload their TikTok content to Instagram.

Influencer Marketing
“TikTok famous” now means sponsorship deals in the thousands and millions, which means the influencer marketing industry overall is on the rise. Mavrck acts as a go-between for TikTokers with sizable followings and enterprise clients wanting to reach these audiences. Afterparty is a platform for content creators to engage with their audience through Web3 (don’t know what that word means? Read this).

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Since last week, PrivCo has added:
1,004 Companies | 307 Funding Activities | 179 M&A Deals

Funding & Deal Highlights:
 

Hello Heart raises $70MM from Stripes Group 

Healthcare Technology • Round D • Menlo Park, CA


Accern raises $13MM from Fusion Fund

Data Processing • Round B • New York, NY


LinearB raises $50MM from Tribe Capital 

IT Consulting • Round B • Santa Monica, CA


Impact.com raises $100MM from W Capital Partners

SaaS • Equity • Santa Barbara, CA 


Kelonia raises $50MM from Alta

Biotechnology • Round A • Boston, MA 


Concerto raises $21MM from Matrix Partners

FinTech • Equity • Austin, TX 


Bounce raises $12MM from Andreessen Horowitz 

SaaS • Round A • Sacramento, CA


Open raises $50MM from IndiaInfoline

Fintech • Round D • Bengaluru, India  


Genome Insight raises $23MM from Dunamu 

Biotechnology • Round B • La Jolla, CA 


Trusting Social raises $65MM from Sherpa

Fintech • Round C • Singapore City,Singapore    


Darling Ingredients acquires Valley Proteins

Recycling • Acquisition • Winchester, VA


Providence Bank & Trust acquires Leaders Bank

Banking • Acquisition • Oak Brook, IL

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