Thursday, March 28

Tag: Social media

Facebook Rolls Out Light Messenger App For Emerging Markets
News

Facebook Rolls Out Light Messenger App For Emerging Markets

Facebook Inc launched a stripped down version of its popular Messenger app for emerging markets on Monday as it seeks to expand its international footprint. Messenger Lite, which uses less data and is designed to work in areas with slower internet connections, will roll out in Kenya, Tunisia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Venezuela. Facebook said it will expand to other countries in the coming months. Facebook has largely saturated Western markets, including North America and Europe, and has set its sights on developing countries, in part by rolling out "lite" versions of its main Facebook app and now Messenger, which have fewer capabilities than the main apps. Users with Android phones will still be able to use the core features of Messenger, including the ability to send text messages...
Instagram Advertisers Goes Double in Six Months
News

Instagram Advertisers Goes Double in Six Months

Facebook Inc's Instagram said on Thursday its advertising base more than doubled to exceed 500,000 in the last six months. Instagram, the popular picture-sharing app that uses Facebook's ad technology to target highly specific audiences, has gained traction as the preferred platform used by ad agencies for social media campaigns. The app, which has more than 500 million users, also said more than 1.5 million businesses had switched to its Business Tools program in the two months since its launch earlier this year. The program allows businesses to promote posts and create custom profiles on Instagram that allows potential users to contact them by phone, e-mail or text messages. The company, which was bought by Facebook for $1 billion in 2012, is expected to generate $1.5 billion...
Twitter Discontinue Engineering Tasks in India, Lay Off Employees At Bengaluru Development Centre
News

Twitter Discontinue Engineering Tasks in India, Lay Off Employees At Bengaluru Development Centre

Microblogging site Twitter has decided to discontinue engineering tasks in India, a move that will lead to lay offs at its development centre in Bengaluru. The company, however, did not disclose the number of people being handed pink slips. When contacted, Twitter in an emailed statement said: "As part of our normal business review, we have decided to stop the global engineering work at the Bengaluru development centre. We thank the impacted individuals for their valuable contributions and are doing as much as we can to provide them a respectful exit from our company." The company "remains committed to India as a strategic market for users, partners and advertisers," it added. The company further said: "Today, India is one of our fastest growing markets worldwide and we continue to...
LinkedIn Launched Mobile Lite Version For Indian Users
News

LinkedIn Launched Mobile Lite Version For Indian Users

Professional networking site LinkedIn today launched a lighter version of its mobile website and other products as part of its efforts to tap into students and young professionals beyond the metros in India. The company has followed the footsteps of Facebook, which picked up India as a testbed for the lighter version of its app. The lighter versions are designed to work on slow and often patchy telecom networks in the country. India, which has 37 million LinkedIn members, is the second largest userbase for the US-based company after its home market. "We are deeply focused on localising our products and services to create much value for Indian members and customers," LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner told reporters here. Lite version loads four times faster and provides a better experience t...
Facebook Launches Tools to Help Businesses Expand Internationally
News

Facebook Launches Tools to Help Businesses Expand Internationally

Social networking giant Facebook has announced the launch of new tools to help businesses go global. As per the new tools launched, there are three new solutions to help businesses expand internationally, which include finding new customers in new countries, under which businesses can now use a new feature in the lookalike audiences tool to reach customers in new countries who are similar to their existing ones. They can do this by uploading a list of existing customers or high-potential leads. Secondly, finding new countries to grow your business. Under which any business who wants to increase installs of app, increase engagement in app or increase conversion on site can now target people worldwide or in a specific region. Facebook will then deliver ads to selected regions and then opt...
Inspiring Story of a Student From 25000 Loan To Winning 3 Lakh Facebook Bug Bounty Program
INSPIRATIONAL

Inspiring Story of a Student From 25000 Loan To Winning 3 Lakh Facebook Bug Bounty Program

I did my 12th on scholarship. Got 65% marks in 12th and failed to qualify IIT-JEE and AIEEE. Dropped a year to prepare on my own, was not able to afford the extra financial pressure of coaching . Next year result was better but not good enough to get admission in government colleges. My father said “we can’t afford engineering, join the local college for B.Sc”. That was tough for me, I contacted few private college and got to know I can get admission on my present rank and 12th marks. But “Where’s the money ?” dad asked. “Give me 25K , that’ll confirm the admission and then we’ll talk to banks for education loan” I replied. “I earn 8k per month, 25k is big deal but don’t worry I’ll ask my boss if he could help” dad replied. Next day he borrowed 25k from his boss, asked one of his fri...
Facebook to Help Jodhpurs Handicraft Artisans in Growing Business
News

Facebook to Help Jodhpurs Handicraft Artisans in Growing Business

Social networking giant Facebook has come forward to help handicraft artisans of Jodhpur, which has a global imprint on handicraft manufacturing and exports. A business promotion team from Facebook will be in the city next week to hold seminars and one-to-one meetings with the artisans and train them to harness the social media platform for growing their business. In pursuance of an MoU between the Rajasthan government and Facebook, this team will help the artisans promote their products through a Facebook page and train them in the entire process, right from making a page to operating it effectively so as to maximise their reach. "Normally these artisans are engaged in completing the orders placed by the handicraft exporters and could never think of getting access to the glob...
WhatsApp to Share User Data With Facebook: HC Seeks Govt Reply
INDIA

WhatsApp to Share User Data With Facebook: HC Seeks Govt Reply

WhatsApps recent decision to share user data with parent company Facebook today reached the doorsteps of Delhi High Court, which sought the governments response on the modification. A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra issued notice to the Centre on a plea by two users of the most popular instant messaging service, alleging that WhatsApp, Facebook Inc and Facebook India Online Pvt Ltds new private policy "compromises the rights of its users". Taking note of the concern by petitioners Karmanya Singh Sareen and Shreya Sethi, the high court wished to examine the issue and asked the concerned authorities to file their reply by September 14. "The privacy policy is in stark contrast to the Privacy Policy existing from July 7, 2012. In its first revised modificatio...
Facebook CEO Says Group Will Not Become a Media Company
News

Facebook CEO Says Group Will Not Become a Media Company

Facebook will not become a media company, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday, telling students the firm would remain a technology platform. An increasing number of users are turning to social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, to find their news, but Zuckerberg said his firm had no ambitions to become a content provider. "No, we are a tech company, not a media company," said Zuckerberg, after a young Italian asked him whether Facebook intended to become a news editor. While acknowledging the role Facebook has in supplying users with news through their connections and stressing the advantages of obtaining information from different parts of the world, Zuckerberg said Facebook was "a technology company, we build the tools, we do not produce any content". ...
Facebook Changes ‘Trending’ Feature to Rely Less on Human Editors
USA

Facebook Changes ‘Trending’ Feature to Rely Less on Human Editors

Facebook Inc changed its popular "Trending" feature, which shows users the most-talked about topics of the day, to make it more automated and further eliminate the potential for human bias, the company wrote in a blog post on Friday. The update is Facebook's latest attempt in recent months to stress its neutrality as its influence grows. The feature came under scrutiny in May after a news report alleged it suppressed conservative news, which prompted a demand from Republican members of the U.S. Congress for more transparency. Facebook said an internal probe found no evidence of bias. The Trending feature shows users the most-talked about stories and topics on the top right-hand corner of Facebook's home page with one-sentence descriptions. To eliminate the potential for bias, Facebook...
Mark Zuckerberg Donates $95M Facebook Shares in Charity
News

Mark Zuckerberg Donates $95M Facebook Shares in Charity

IANS- In the first gesture to fulfill his pledge that he and his wife made last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has sold $95 million of the social networking giant's shares. According to a US regulatory filing, The Chan Zuckerberg Foundation and CZI Holdings LLC sold Facebook shares worth $95 million before taxes, Forbes reported on Saturday. The sales likely netted more than $85 million after capital gains taxes, the report added. The couple plans to give away no more than $1 billion worth of stock each year through 2018. Last December, Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook shares - about $45 billion - to advance human potential and promote equality for children. Declaring the "Chan Zuckerberg Initiative" as they welcomed their first...