Nate Bloom has been brought on board production company Open Swim as full-time chief blockchain officer. Bloom and Open Swim founder Bradley Ross are no strangers in collaboration as they have previously worked together to build what has become Open Swim’s digital portfolio. Together they have tracked and invested in emerging properties, as well as curated over 50 NFTs from collections including Bored Ape Yacht Club, Doodles, World of Women, Cool Cats and Gutter Cat Gang. Bloom’s responsibilities as chief blockchain officer will include guiding interested partners in development to their own properties, relationships, sponsorships and fundraising.
A former car lover turned NFT connoisseur, Bloom formed his passion for all things technical working as an automotive technician for the first 16 years of his career–a skill set that came in handy when the wiring in both hero vehicles failed the day before production began on Centigrade, a film executive produced by Ross and released in the fall of 2020. Bloom’s first interaction with NFTs came from digital NBA trading cards and as he continued to explore and develop his knowledge in the metaverse, it soon became his newfound home, career and community. While still working as a mechanic, Bloom and a group of friends formed a community for NFT enthusiasts called the “Non-Refungible Network” that has continued to thrive featuring content including podcasts, blog posts, videos, Discord chats, Instagram and Twitter spaces all revolving around the education of NFTs.
“Nate has earned clout and recognition for his sharp, innovative mind in the digital properties space and is the perfect fit to shepherd web3 opportunities into the film and advertising world,” commented Ross. “This aligns with Open Swim’s mission to bring perspectives together in a non-linear way and enable creative strategies in filmmaking and storytelling.”
“We’re creating a department that will use tools like virtual land, decentralized finance, NFT curation, and crypto currencies for film financing and storytelling,” shared Open Swim’s EP Amyliz Pera. “On every set, we end up engaging in conversation about possible ways to partner with our clients in the emerging properties space. So with Nate on staff full time, we will have a dedicated expert on set with us to address those questions and help actualize ideas.”
“I already have a busy schedule of meetings with clients at Open Swim — from startups to agencies,” said Bloom. “There is definitely a need for expertise in this industry when it comes to advising and birthing projects. I’m super excited to be a part of the team and looking forward to contributing to the creative voices already on board.”
Google is blasted by UK watchdog for what it calls anti-competitive behavior through digital ads
Google was slammed Friday by U.K. regulators who say it's taking advantage of its dominance in digital advertising to thwart competition in Britain, ratcheting up pressure that the tech giant is facing on both sides of the Atlantic over its "ad tech" business practices.
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority said that the U.S. company gives preference to its own services to the detriment of online publishers and advertisers in Britain's 1.8 billion pound ($2.4 billion) digital ad market. The watchdog leveled its accusations after an investigation, and the findings could potentially lead to a fine worth billions of dollars or an order to change its behavior.
Google is a major player throughout the digital ad ecosystem, providing servers for publishers to manage ad space on their websites and apps, tools for advertisers and media agencies to buy display ads, and an exchange where both sides come together to buy and sell ads in real time at auctions.
"We've provisionally found that Google is using its market power to hinder competition when it comes to the ads people see on websites," the watchdog's interim executive director of enforcement, Juliette Enser, said in a press release.
The watchdog's charges, known as a statement of objections, arrive two years after it opened its investigation. Google's digital ad business is also the focus of a European Union antitrust investigation and a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit that's set to go to trial this month.
The CMA said that Google's "anti-competitive" conduct is ongoing, but the company disputed the allegations Friday.
"Google remains committed to creating value for our publisher and advertiser partners in this highly competitive sector," the company said in a prepared... Read More