フェイスブックが仮想空間に注力する「メタヴァース企業」になる準備を進める方針を、このほどCEOのマーク・ザッカーバーグが明らかにした。この構想からは、いまや“バズワード”と化したメタヴァースを同社が収益化しようと考えていることや、そのアイデアが退屈で本質との間に大きなギャップがある点である。
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WhatsApp photos and videos can now disappear after a single viewing
WhatsApp said that it would soon let users send disappearing photos and videos and this week the feature will be rolling out to everybody. Anyone using the Facebook-owned messaging app can share a photo or video in “view once” mode, allowing a single viewing before the media in question goes poof. Media shared with “view […]
Fake accounts and likes were being used to sway elections globally
When she wasn’t working to scrub away vanity likes, [Sophie Zhang] diligently combed through streams of data, searching for the use of fake pages, fake accounts, and other forms of coordinated fake activity on politicians’ pages …. Was it more import…
Substack doubles down on uncensored ‘free speech’ with acquisition of Letter
Substack announced last week that it acquired Letter, a platform that encourages written dialogue and debate. The financials of the deal weren’t disclosed, but this acquisition follows Substack’s recent $65 million raise. Newsletters are all the rage — Facebook launched its exclusive, celeb-studded Bulletin platform last month, and Twitter acquired the newsletter startup Revue earlier […]
Facebook Users Are Buying Oculus VR Headsets To Get Customer Service Prioritization
Some Facebook users are so desperate to retrieve their hacked accounts that they’re buying Oculus VR headsets to get prioritized by customer service. NPR reports: When Marsala got hacked, she tried dialing Facebook’s headquarters in Silicon Valley. But…
Zoom reaches $85M settlement in ‘Zoombombing’ lawsuit
Zoom has agreed to pay $85 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the video conferencing giant of violating users’ privacy by sharing their data with third parties without permission and enabling “Zoombombing” incidents. Zoombombing, a term coined by TechCrunch last year as its usage exploded because of the pandemic, describes unapproved attendees entering and […]
A ‘safe space for racists’: antisemitism report criticises social media giants
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and TikTok failing to act on most reported anti-Jewish posts, says studyThere has been a serious and systemic failure to tackle antisemitism across the five biggest social media platforms, resulting in a “safe spac…
Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work
CEOs want workers back at their desks. Employees and the virus have other plans.
Big tech’s big week raises fears of ‘Blade Runner future’ of mega-company rule
Amazon, Google, Apple and Microsoft all reported record-breaking profits amid a pandemic bonanza but recent Biden administration moves suggest US tech’s easy ride is overBig tech provided the world with some startling numbers this week. In the last thr…
Yat thinks emoji ‘identities’ can be a thing, and it has $20M in sales to back it up
I learned about Yat in April, when a friend sent our group chat a link to a story about how the key emoji sold as an “internet identity” for $425,000. “I hate the universe,” she texted. Sure, the universe would be better if people with a spare $425,000 spent it on mutual aid or something, […]