Monday, December 23

Tag: Facebook

Facebook Tests Splitting Its News Feed Into Two
News

Facebook Tests Splitting Its News Feed Into Two

The Facebook News Feed, the centrepiece of the world’s largest social network service, is a streaming series of posts such as photos from friends, updates from family members, advertisements and material from celebrities or other pages that a user has liked. The test, which is occurring in six smaller countries, now offers two user feeds, according to a statement from the company: one feed focused on friends and family and a second dedicated to the pages that the customer has liked. The change could force those who run pages, everyone from news outlets to musicians to sports teams, to pay to run advertisements if they want to be seen in the feed that is for friends and family. The test is taking place in Bolivia, Cambodia, Guatemala, Serbia, Slovakia and Sri Lanka, and it will lik...
How China is Blocking the World’s Most Popular Websites
ANALYSIS

How China is Blocking the World’s Most Popular Websites

You might be visiting China and already know that you cannot access your Facebook account and post pictures of your tour, but there are a lot more popular websites that are blocked in China. An army of Chinese government blocks and filters some of the most popular websites in the world. Besides the world's most popular American-video sharing website YouTube and Alphabet Inc's Google, even Twitter and Instagram are blocked in China. This operation of filter is world's biggest operation of online censorship aka The Great Firewall of China. China has 731 million internet users which have really tight restrictions around them. During the Communist party in October, China cramped up its online crackdown, blocking American service- Whatsapp and pornographic websites like hdtubemovies in...
Facebook To Launch News Subscription Feature, Some Big Names Opt Out
News

Facebook To Launch News Subscription Feature, Some Big Names Opt Out

Facebook Inc said on Thursday it has signed up 10 news publishers including the Washington Post and The Economist to take part in a trial that gives its mobile app users access to a limited number of articles a month and then the option to subscribe via the publishers’ own websites. The move is a shift in strategy for the world’s largest social network, which previously has tried to keep users within its own service, and may help restore its image by strengthening ties to respected news organizations after the spread of false news stories on Facebook in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.  It may also help soothe relations with some publishers, which often see their articles widely shared among Facebook’s more than 2 billion monthly users but have found it hard to transl...
Facebook To Sell Portable Headset For Virtual Reality
News

Facebook To Sell Portable Headset For Virtual Reality

Facebook Inc is launching a new virtual reality headset that does not require a separate computer to operate, allowing more mobile uses than the company’s existing Oculus Rift product, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday. Zuckerberg, speaking at a conference for virtual reality developers, said the “Oculus Go” device would cost $199 and ship early next year, too late for this year’s holiday shopping season but likely ahead of rivals. Facebook has invested heavily in virtual reality hardware in hopes the technology, which offers a 360-degree panoramic view of faraway or imaginary spaces, will move from a niche interest to a widely used platform for gaming, communication and business applications. In 2014, Facebook paid $3 billion to acquire Oculus and retain its emplo...
Looking For An Uber? Book It Through Snapchat’s ‘Context Cards’
News

Looking For An Uber? Book It Through Snapchat’s ‘Context Cards’

Snap Inc’s Snapchat on Tuesday introduced “context cards”, a new feature that will allow users to book an Uber ride or reserve a seat at a restaurant without leaving the messaging app. The new feature is aimed at increasing the time a user spends on the app by providing contextual location-based search, potentially helping the company to get more advertising dollars. Snapchat, popular with young people for applying bunny faces or other filters to their pictures, competes for ad dollars with the likes of Facebook Inc’s Instagram. The new cards allow users viewing stories to swipe up and get relevant information about a business such as reviews, directions or contact information, the company said in a blog post. RELATED Snapchat Removes Al Jazeera Channel In Saudi Arabia ...
Google Uncovered Russia-Backed Ads on YouTube, Gmail : Source
USA

Google Uncovered Russia-Backed Ads on YouTube, Gmail : Source

Google has discovered Russian operatives spent tens of thousands of dollars on ads on its YouTube, Gmail and Google Search products in an effort to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a person briefed on the company’s probe told Reuters on Monday. The ads do not appear to be from the same Kremlin-affiliated entity that bought ads on Facebook Inc, but may indicate a broader Russian online disinformation effort, according to the source, who was not authorized to discuss details of the confidential investigation by Alphabet Inc’s Google. Microsoft Corp said separately on Monday that it was looking at whether Russians bought U.S. election ads on its Bing search engine or other Microsoft-owned products and platforms. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment further. ...
Mark Zuckerberg Seeks Forgiveness For Division Caused by his Work
News

Mark Zuckerberg Seeks Forgiveness For Division Caused by his Work

Facebook Inc founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg asked for forgiveness for ways his work was used to divide people in a Facebook posting marking the end of Yom Kippur, the Jewish holiday of atonement on Saturday. “For the ways my work was used to divide people rather than bring us together, I ask forgiveness and I will work to do better,” Zuckerberg said in the post. He did not refer to specific issues in the message, which comes as Facebook and other technology companies are under increased scrutiny amid a U.S. investigation into potential Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election campaign. Facebook said on Sept. 6 it had found that an operation likely based in Russia spent $100,000 on thousands of U.S. ads promoting divisive social and political messages in ...
Whatsapp Co-founder Brian Acton To Quit The Company
News

Whatsapp Co-founder Brian Acton To Quit The Company

Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp, now owned by Facebook Inc (FB.O), will leave the messaging service company to start a new foundation, he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. Acton spent eight years with WhatsApp, which Facebook bought in 2014 for $19 billion in cash and stock. ALSO READ   Capture Your Travel Journeys On The Go With TraveLibro     A Stanford alumnus, Acton co-founded WhatsApp with Ukrainian immigrant Jan Koum in 2009. The duo worked at Yahoo before starting WhatsApp.   Like this PRESS RELEASE? Submit yours here.
How Authentic Are The Facebook Numbers : Report
News

How Authentic Are The Facebook Numbers : Report

Figures Facebook Inc gives advertisers about its potential reach differ from U.S. census data, an investment analyst said on Tuesday, renewing questions about how tech companies verify the value of their digital marketing space. (more…)