Video-sharing platform Portal Wants Each User to be a 'Mini-HBO'
*By Christian Smith*
New video-sharing platform Portal wants to help online video creators cash in on their content, says company founder Jonathan Swerdlin.
"Portal is the first video sharing platform that everyone can use that completely skips the ad model and introduces really easy ways for users to pay each other," Swerdlin said in an interview on Cheddar. "Everyone can be their own mini HBO."
Portal's "freemium" model allows content creators to decide whether to share their content for free or monetize it through subscriptions, paywalls, or tipping, at rates that can range from one cent to $100 per video. Swerdlin said that many content creators offer a few videos for free to hook users, and then require payment to view the rest of their content.
Swerdlin created the company, which counts Mark Cuban among its investors, with the intention of eliminating advertisers' control over digital content, which Swerdlin believes has broken the internet. Free speech is a key component to Portal's function, but Swerdlin notes there are some limitations.
"We have pretty clear guidelines around hate speech," Swerdlin said. "We're going to go on a case-by-case basis, but we're very committed to free speech."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-portal-is-giving-power-back-to-the-internets-video-creators).
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. in the current fiscal quarter will be sourced from India, while iPads and other devices will come from Vietnam as the company works to avoid the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on its business. Apple’s earnings for the first three months of the year topped Wall Street’s expectations thanks to high demand for its iPhones, and the company said tariffs had a limited effect on the fiscal second quarter’s results. Cook added that for the current quarter, assuming things don’t change, Apple expects to see $900 million added to its costs as a result of the tariffs.
Visa is hoping to hand your credit card to an artificial intelligence “agent” that can find and buy clothes, groceries, airplane tickets and other items on your behalf.
Skift Editor-In-Chief Sarah Kopit discusses how summer travel plans remain uncertain for most as many international travelers are leery to travel abroad. Watch!
