Paul Melcher is the founder of Kaptur and Managing Director of Melcher System, a consultancy for visual technology firms. He is an entrepreneur, advisor, and consultant with a rich background in visual tech, content licensing, business strategy, and technology with more than 20 years experience in developing world-renowned photo-based companies with already two successful exits.
The first iteration of the internet, the one we are still somewhat experiencing, was built on the fundamental belief that content should be free. In its early days, it was to be this fantastic social experiment where anyone and everyone would be able to share anything, anytime, with anyone. ItContinue Reading
Shutterstock’s acquisition of 3D marketplace Turbo Squid is significant for a few reasons, some of which might not be obvious. The first and well-understood purchase trigger is that the microstock company is under pressure to expand its offering horizontally. There is a known ceiling to the paid licensed still imagesContinue Reading
2020 has made screens our primary interface to the world. While pre-pandemic, we were mostly physically interacting with the world, using all of our six senses, the past year has been essentially just visual. Except for our immediate family, it is via a digital representation, text, photos, or video thatContinue Reading
According to a recent study, over 63% of Americans say they often come across fake images online. Whether those images are truly faked or perceived as such, the damage is done. We are rapidly losing trust in what we see, our evolutionary number source of information. If this trend continues,Continue Reading
A little less than a week before he takes the stage at the 2020 edition of the Visual 1st Summit, we sat down with Paul Kruszewski, founder, and CEO of wrnch.ai for a sneak preview of his talk on human-centric AI-enabled cameras. – A little about you, what is yourContinue Reading
Some speculate that overall fake news could cost the economy $39 billion a year. Quite a market to grab for a savvy tech startup, even at 1%! But while fake news and in particular deep fakes have been accused of wreaking havoc on minds and economy, there is surprisingly only a minimal amount of companies offering tools to combat them. The reason?Continue Reading
While damages are very real and can go far beyond a bruised reputation, companies and people are left unprotected against deepfakes and synthetic media. Only a handful of companies offer solutions to this growing threat. Deeptrace Labs, a startup based in the Netherlands, offers to change that. We discussed with co-founder and CEO Giorgio Patrini on how it works :Continue Reading
There are three types of fake photos and yet, no real net to catch them. For an industry built on illusion, it is not such a surprise.Continue Reading
Facebook’s acquisition of the Gif search engine Giphy proves, once again, that whoever controls visual content also controls audiences.Continue Reading
The battle is on. The forces of truth against forces of deception. With visual AI making it easier to fake visual content, its credibility is at stake. And with it, the income of thousands upon thousands of people worldwide who depend on the credibility of visuals to thrive: Newspapers, magazines,Continue Reading