Meta’s tie-up with Rolling Stone highlights the importance of creators: Events at cultural festivals will give emerging trendsetters and artists a forum to gain support.

Tencent’s WeChat lowered its SMB fees in response to a government directive, and CBDC adoption may complicate business further.

Is crowdsourcing the future of content moderation? Twitter seems to think so, as it rolls out its Birdwatch initiative to more US users.

UK fintech limits freelancers’ income see-saw: SteadyPay, which bagged a $5 million Series A, extends no-interest loans to gig-economy workers that they can access during months when they have lower income.

Proposed crypto mining freeze in New York gains traction: Legislation to freeze mining that uses proof-of-work (PoW) and fossil-fuel plants for three years got two new sponsors in the state assembly.

Companies in several markets are offering crypto products that act like bank accounts, and regulators have taken notice.

Insider Intelligence spoke with David Sykes, head of Klarna’s North America division.

Can membership programs provide a new revenue stream for retailers? Best Buy and Walmart are taking a page from Amazon Prime and AppleCare as they build out their programs.

Professional services players don’t think being in the “Russia business” is worth it: Accenture becomes the first major company in the marketing and advertising industry to entirely pull out of the country over its Ukrainian invasion.

Kroger turns to personalization to encourage consumer spending and loyalty: The grocer hopes customized rewards will keep value-conscious shoppers in the fold.

Instacart expands its commitment to diversity: The grocery delivery platform launches an initiative to support women-owned brands for Women’s History Month.

Wendy’s expansion relies on nontraditional retail formats: The fast-food company plans to open up to 200 ghost kitchens in 2022 to better reach underserved markets.

Honda and Sony join forces to design, build, and sell EVs: The alliance foreshadows a blurring of the lines between automakers and tech companies that will reshape personal transportation.

TV squeaks past online and mobile video to become the top video ad channel among US agency and marketing professionals. In October, 47% ranked TV—including connected TV (CTV) and OTT—as the No. 1 video type for achieving their advertising goals. That’s more than the 46% who put online and mobile video in first place.