bdpatoday | Social Media

The Facebook Company rebrands by changing its name to ‘Meta’

MENLO PARK, CA—Thursday during Connect 2021, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Meta Platforms, Inc., doing business as Meta, as an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company, which brings together Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp technologies among others under one new company brand. Meta’s focus will be to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses. Zuckerberg calls the metaverse, “the successor to the mobile internet.”

The metaverse will feel like a hybrid of today’s online social experiences, sometimes expanded into three dimensions or projected into the physical world. It will let you share immersive experiences with other people even when you can’t be together — and do things together you couldn’t do in the physical world. It’s the next evolution in a long line of social technologies, and it’s ushering in a new chapter for the company.

The annual Connect conference brought together augmented and virtual reality developers, content creators, marketers and others to celebrate the industry’s momentum and growth. This year’s virtual event explored what experiences in the metaverse could feel like over the next decade — from social connection, to entertainment, gaming, fitness, work, education and commerce.

New tools were announced to help people build for the metaverse, including Presence Platform, which will enable new mixed reality experiences on Quest 2, and a $150-million investment in immersive learning to train the next generation of creators.

^{— Source and photo: Meta}

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Facebook Supports Climate and Clean Energy Provisions in the Budget Reconciliation Bill

MENLO PARK, CA—As elevated by the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, science shows that the next decade will be the defining period for dramatic emissions reductions to limit the worst impacts of climate change. Facebook recognizes the urgency of climate change and is committed to help tackle this global challenge. Earlier this year Facebook announced that our global operations are supported by 100% renewable energy and reached net zero emissions, completing the goal set in 2018. Facebook already set a new goal that in 2030, we will reach net zero emissions across not only our own operations, but also our value chain. However, the work is far from over and it is acknowledged that responsibility to help influence policy and technology will not only impact the carbon footprint of Facebook’s business, but of the global community.

Tablets For Teens — Students using new tablet PCs for homework and STEM projects

Facebook supports the United States’ goal to curb emissions as set out by the Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement. Strong, forward-thinking domestic policies that prioritize economy-wide climate and clean electricity solutions are crucial to achieving this goal. Action from both the private and public sector is needed to drive change.

Facebook appreciates the tireless effort by members of Congress to pass meaningful legislation that will enable the US to meet its global commitment. Facebook urges Congress to ensure that strong climate and clean energy provisions are passed — including those provisions currently included in the budget reconciliation bill and the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Facebook supports legislation that encourages investment into climate and clean energy to ensure that the US continues to innovate and sets our country up for success over the next decade. Federal policy must be enacted to make good on the Paris Agreement. Future generations are counting on it.

^{— Source: Nick Clegg, Facebook Vice President of Global Affairs}

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Pinterest files with SEC for proposed IPO

SAN FRANCISCO — Visual search engine Pinterest, Inc. (Pinterest) this week announced it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of shares of its Class A common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.

According to The Verge, Pinterest, which launched in 2010, generates revenue by attracting advertisers to its platform where users create boards in which they self-identify their interests. Advertisers try and sell the products that closely match user interests. According to Pinterest, more than 250 million monthly active users have created more than 4 billion boards with a cumulative 175 billion pins saved. The platform itself has processed more than 2 billion searches, many of which Pinterest attempts to visually process using machine (ML) learning-based methods like object and image recognition. Last quarter, the Pinterest rebuilt their infrastructure behind its “product pins.” This update brought to their app current pricing with stock information for all product pins to monetize their platform with new advertisers.

The Verge also reported such an influx of money could drastically shake up the Bay Area landscape by creating waves of new millionaires, a capital injection that could reshape San Francisco and, as a result, the tech industry itself due to the ripple effects it could have on new startups and investments.

— Sources: Pinterest and The Verge

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Here is why the NAACP wants you to boycott Facebook

BALTIMORE, MD—NAACP remains concerned about data breaches and numerous privacy mishaps that tech giants have encountered in recent years, and is especially critical about those which occurred during the latest presidential election campaigns.

According to the NAACP, Facebook’s commitment to the Honest Ads Act – an act that would mandate that political ads be clearly labeled as such – was a good first step towards reconciliation of their gross negligence – however; NAACP feels much more needs to done to ensure that African Americans will not unfairly bear the brunt of Facebook’s business model.

In March 2018, press reports revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a British big data firm, gained access to the personal information of 87 million Facebook users without the users’ consent. The misuse of data of 87 million users was negligent at best and exploitative at worst.

Earlier this year, the National Fair Housing Alliance filed a lawsuit alleging that “Facebook continues to enable landlords and real estate brokers to bar families with children, women, and others from receiving rental and sales ads for housing. Facebook has created a pre-populated list of demographics, behaviors, and interests that make it possible for housing advertisers to exclude certain home seekers from ever seeing their ads.”

NAACP’s understanding of recent revelations, that Facebook hired an opposition research firm and their work with other deeply partisan strategy firms, calls into question notions that Facebook operates with a non-partisan view. To discover more or continue the dialogue about these concerns, visit NAACP.org.

— Source and images: NAACP

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NFL to Launch Tri-Cast distribution model with Twitter

Twitter is exclusive NFL partner delivering live OTT digital streams of Thursday Night Football

SAN FRANCISCO [CNBC] — Last March, Twitter and Facebook, along with other tech companies, faced off over which of them would get the rights to live-stream National Football League (NFL) games on Thursday nights. Twitter, in a rare win against larger rivals, emerged victorious with the deal.

The NFL announced it has selected Twitter as its exclusive partner to deliver a live OTT digital stream of Thursday Night Football to a global audience across devices and for free during the course of the 2016 NFL Regular Season. Twitter will stream the 10 Thursday Night Football games broadcast by NBC and CBS, which will also be simulcast on NFL Network, securing the league’s “Tri-Cast” distribution model of broadcast (NBC/CBS), cable (NFL Network), and digital (Twitter).

This week, CNBC reports this deal may bode very well for Twitter. Partners since 2013 through the Twitter Amplify program, the NFL and Twitter will provide free, live streaming video of Thursday Night Football without authentication to the over 800 Million registered and non-registered users worldwide on the Twitter platform on mobile phones, tablets, PCs and connected TVs. Read more …