ITV

Category: Social Media

  • Facebook started FDI avalanche in India during pandemic: Mukesh Ambani

    Facebook started FDI avalanche in India during pandemic: Mukesh Ambani

    KOLKATA: At the beginning of the Covid2019 pandemic, Jio attracted its largest global investor – Facebook, which announced a $5.7 billion investment in the telco. At the inaugural Facebook Fuel for India 2020 event, Reliance Industries chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said that the social media giant had set the ball rolling for overall foreign investment in India. Since then, record FDI has flown into the country.

    During a virtual session with Facebook founder, chairman & CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Ambani mentioned that Jio and Facebook have become value creation platforms for consumers as well as small businesses.

    He went on to explain that while Jio brings digital connectivity, WhatsApp now with WhatsApp Pay brings digital interactivity, and the ability to move to close transactions. On the other hand, Jio Mart offers unmatched online and offline retail opportunity, which gives the small shops dotting India’s villages and small towns a chance to digitise and be at par with everyone else in the world.

    “To my mind, more wealth creation means more employment and more business. And together with our platforms and the tools that we will provide to small businesses and to individual consumers, I believe will drive India to a $5 trillion economy and will make a much more equal India, with more equal wealth growth at the bottom of the pyramid,” Ambani added.

    Zuckerberg also agreed that the vision of helping small businesses lies at the core of the partnership. Facebook supports more than 50 million WhatsApp Business App users globally every month and more than 15 million of these are in India, he shared. With communities around the world now in lockdown, there are a lot of entrepreneurs who need digital tools that they can rely on to find and communicate with customers and grow their businesses. He added that this is something that the Facebook-Jio partnership can really help with.

    “We are looking forward to your (Facebook’s) involvement and innovation in India, creating benefits for hundreds of millions of people and then taking this innovation to the rest of the world. I hope that the rest of the world learns from Indian policy, and what Facebook is able to achieve in India. And we as Indians will be very proud, if Facebook says we did it first in India, and then took it to 100 countries. And I look forward to working with you on that,” Ambani reiterated.

  • Akshay Kumar & Rana Daggubati’s Socialswag to launch in February 2021

    Akshay Kumar & Rana Daggubati’s Socialswag to launch in February 2021

    NEW DELHI:  Actors Akshay Kumar and Rana Daggubati are coming together to create India’s first influencer-led online marketplace – Socialswag. The app is set to be launched nationwide in February 2021.

    Socialswag is a new age platform that will enable consumers to connect with celebrities, influencers, bloggers, and other inspirational individuals through personal interactions and learning forums. By combining entertainment and learning, the app will enable interactions in multiple ways – masterclasses, live-chats, shout-outs, virtual selfies to name a few.

    Akshay Kumar commented, “I have seen so many opportunities in the digital domain this year and I believe this platform, with some of our products like my masterclass or a virtual selfie, will give not only me but all my peers an additional opportunity to closely connect with fans in these changing times.” 

    Rana Daggubati added, “This is a very fast-growing space and I’m super excited to be partnering with Akshay sir. We will bring the best of sport, entertainment and vocational opportunities to this platform and look to make it best in class. Our launch with our first few products will be in the first quarter of next year and the team is working towards making the fan experience a unique one for the global Indian audience.” 

    Socialswag is designed to focus on two aspects – education and entertainment. While there have been many fan engagement apps that have entered the market over the last few months, the coming together of these two superstars promises to deliver a unique experience to the consumer.

  • Brand Twitter describes 2020 in one word

    Brand Twitter describes 2020 in one word

    NEW DELHI: As 2020 draws to a close (finally!), many are convinced it was a cursed year, when everything that could, did go wrong, and there was little cause for cheer. Of course, most of the blame was apportioned to the Covid2019 pandemic, but there were challenges on several other fronts too – which impacted the environment, people and businesses. So when Twitter’s official handle said to describe ‘2020 in one word’ and put it out in the universe, everyone had a lot to say. And Brand Twitter wasn’t far behind in expressing its thoughts on ‘the worst year in recent memory.’

    While some brands were all for the year to be over and done with…

    Windows

    Adobe

    YouTube

    Subway

    Others had a rather existentialist view of things…

    Netflix

    LEGO

    Zoom

    Microsoft Edge

    A few tried to look on the bright side…

    Shaadi.com

    Kerala Tourism

    Dolby India

    Meanwhile, Thrive Global founder & CEO Arianna Huffington has chosen ‘resilience’ as her word of the year. Resilience, or the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, “is the quality that was summoned in us by all the challenges of 2020. It’s also the quality that’s going to carry us forward into 2021,” writes Huffington. And that’s a word to live by.

  • Facebook ad revenue up 22% in Q3

    Facebook ad revenue up 22% in Q3

    New Delhi: Facebook has announced its third quarter results. The ad revenue for the social media giant stood at $21.2 billion dollar up by 22 per cent for this quarter. The corresponding figures for the same time in 2019 stood at $17.3 billion.

    The total revenue for the quarter also stood at $21.5 billion up by 22 per cent. The corresponding revenue for the same duration in 2019 stood at $17.6 billion.

    The net income for the quarter stood at $7.8 billion up by 29 per cent. The corresponding net income for the same duration in 2019 stood at $6.09 billion.

    The earnings per share is $2.71 up by 28 per cent. The corresponding earnings in 2019 was $2.12.

    Facebook founder & CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "We had a strong quarter as people and businesses continue to rely on our services to stay connected and create economic opportunity during these tough times. We continue to make significant investments in our products and hiring in order to deliver new and meaningful experiences for our community around the world."

    The daily active users for FB stood at 1.82 billion on average for September 2020, an increase of 12 per cent year-over-year. The monthly active users were at 2.74 billion as of 30 September 2020, showing an increase of 12 per cent year-over-year. Family daily active people were at 2.54 billion on average for the quarter showing an increase of 15 per cent year-over-year. Family monthly active people (MAP) were at 3.21 billion for the same time showing an increase of 14 per cent year-over-year. Capex including principal payments on finance leases were $3.88 billion for the third quarter of 2020. Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were $55.62 billion as of 30 September 2020. Headcount was at 56,653 as of 30 September 2020 witnessing an increase of 32 per cent year-over-year.

    The company further stated that it continues to face a significant amount of uncertainty in 2021. Facebook believes that the pandemic has contributed to acceleration in the shift of commerce from offline to online, and the company has experienced increasing demand for advertising as a result of this acceleration. Considering that online commerce is the company’s largest ad vertical, a change in this trend could serve as a headwind to our 2021 ad revenue growth.

    Facebook further expects more significant targeting and measurement headwinds in 2021. This includes headwinds from platform changes, notably on Apple iOS 14, as well as those from the evolving regulatory landscape.

    There is also continuing uncertainty around the viability of transatlantic data transfers in light of recent European regulatory developments. The social media company is closely monitoring the potential impact on its European operations as these developments progress.

    It expects the fourth quarter 2020 year-over-year ad revenue growth rate to be higher than the reported third quarter 2020 rate, driven by continued strong advertiser demand during the holiday season.

  • Facebook India’s head of public policy Ankhi Das steps down

    Facebook India’s head of public policy Ankhi Das steps down

    NEW DELHI: Facebook India’s head of public policy Ankhi Das has moved on from her current role. She was with the organisation for over nine years and was a core team member.

    A statement by Ajit Mohan, Facebook India's managing director, said: "Ankhi has decided to step down from her role in Facebook to pursue her interest in public service. Ankhi was one of our earliest employees in India and played an instrumental role in the growth of the company and its services over the last nine years. She has been a part of my leadership team over the last two years, a role in which she has made enormous contributions. We are grateful for her service and wish her the very best for the future."

    “When I joined Facebook in 2011, internet growth in the country was woefully low and I often wondered how social and economic asymmetries will be addressed,” Das said in a post announcing her resignation.

    “We were a small unlisted start-up back then guided only by our mission and purpose to connect people in India. After nine long years, I feel that the mission has largely been met. There is an enormous amount I have learnt from incredibly smart and talented people in the company, particularly from people on the policy team. This is a special company and a special group of people,” she added.

    The resignation follows after Das was accused of allowing hate speech and not moderating political content well on Facebook pages. Several human rights commissions were actively pursuing the case and had called on the social media giant to place her on leave until it finishes conducting an ongoing audit of India operations.

    A few days ago, Das appeared before a joint parliamentary committee looking into data protection and privacy, and was reportedly questioned for two hours.

    Facebook was told by the panel that it should not draw inferences from user data for commercial benefit of its advertisers or for electoral purposes.

  • #HaveYouFollowed the brightest talent in Indian entertainment? Get up, close and personal with Twitter India’s new series

    #HaveYouFollowed the brightest talent in Indian entertainment? Get up, close and personal with Twitter India’s new series

    MUMBAI: Twitter, a space that connects people through the power of conversation, is set to bring you closer to some of the most promising talent across the entertainment industry in India. Launching the #HaveYouFollowed series, Twitter will be putting the spotlight on director AratiKadav (@AratiKadav), whose debut feature, the sci-fi film Cargo, has been appreciated by cinema lovers across the country. The initiative will also feature a Tweet chat between Arati and noted filmmaker VikramadityaMotwane (@VikramMotwane), the Executive Producer of Cargo and Arati’s mentor, on her journey, voice and future goals as a filmmaker.

    The #HaveYouFollowed series aims at engaging with some of the brightest talent from entertainment segments such as film, music, TV, web, comedy, literature, theatre, by bringing their work under the spotlight. By showcasing these artists, Twitter looks at giving them a space to connect with their fans as well as to inspire young aspirants to learn from their journeys.

    In the first leg of the series, AratiKadav via her handle @AratiKadav, shared 5 things that she wants people to know about her, and her work. She will also share an exclusive sneak peek to her next work.

    Talking about the activity,Arati commented, “As a newcomer in the entertainment industry, it feels joyful and energizing to be noticed and appreciated for your work. I have a lot of gratitude for the positive response my film Cargo has received from people across the country and on Twitter. I am thrilled to now make my debut on Twitter’s new#HaveYouFollowed series, and eagerly look forward to engaging and connecting with people directly.”

    As part of the activation, VikramadityaMotwane (@VikramMotwane) will have a conversation with Arati, asking her questions about the inspiration behind her work, her journey to becoming a filmmaker, and her favourite memories from Cargo. The interaction will take place using Twitter’s latestconversation settings that give people control over who can reply to their Tweet – everyone (this is the default setting), people one follows, or only people they mention. Fans on Twitter will be able to Tweet in their questions using the hashtags #HaveYouFollowed and #AskArati, and get to know her first hand.

    VikramadityaMotwane, too, shared his thoughts on the activation, saying, “I’ve worked with Arati very closely, and she’s an incredibly talented filmmaker. I am happy that through the new#HaveYouFollowed series, Twitter is turning the spotlight on well-deserving talent in the entertainment industry, and creating a fun space to promote interaction between them and those who admire their work.”

    Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) has also curated a List titled “#HaveYouFollowed”. A List is a curated group of Twitter accounts. While browsing online, it can get overwhelming to discover the latest conversations that one may find interesting. Hence, anyone can create their own Lists or follow Lists created by others, making it easier to find what they are looking for.

    Talking about the series, Cheryl-Ann Couto, Partnerships Manager at Twitter India, said, “Twitter’s audiences have always been super enthused about entertainment updates and often take over the service to appreciate and engage with their favourite artists. It only seemed fitting to take these conversations a step further by turning the spotlight on some of the brightest talent in Entertainment so that their fans and future fans know where to find and interact with them and their work. We’re excited to launch the #HaveYouFollowed series and hope to bring as many deserving artists and their work to people’s attention.”

    With subsequent episodes under #HaveYouFollowed series, the service would keep on adding the participating talent to this List, making it easier for people to follow them and get to know more about their work.

  • Facebook launches another phase of More Together campaign

    Facebook launches another phase of More Together campaign

    NEW DELHI: Facebook has launched the next phase of its ‘More Together’ campaign in India ahead of the much-awaited cricket and festive season. The campaign underlines the brand belief that people can do more together than alone.

    Facebook unveiled its first ‘More Together’ campaign in India earlier this year with an objective to showcase how people across the country can do more together by harnessing the power of their connections on the platform. The underlying theme of the campaign was further amplified by real stories about how people came together on Facebook during the lockdown to help and support one another which was reflected in the second phase of the campaign. As we move closer to the widely celebrated cricket and festive season in the country, the latest phase showcases the power of connections and people coming together to help, support and celebrate with each other. 

    Read more news on Facebook

    Speaking about the campaign, Facebook India director-marketing Avinash Pant  said, "Over the last few months we have witnessed really powerful stories of how people came together through our platforms to face and conquer challenges during these unprecedented times. Our last two phases of the More Together campaign were a testament to this collective power. As we head into the festive season that's set to be unique this year, we wanted to highlight how our collective actions can create beautiful outcomes. We hope people are inspired by these stories, and see a world made better when they come together".

    The campaign will have four 30 second films over the course of the tournament and will be available in 6 languages. The first film showcases a girl making a post on Facebook expressing her desire to bring the cheerful atmosphere of a live cricket match into her house. This gets all her friends enthused and the excitement spreads.  And just like that, we see a jersey manufacturer getting a big order. 

    The core campaign has been conceptualized and executed by Taproot Dentsu, the creative agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India. 

    Talking about the inspiration behind the campaign Taproot Dentsu  senior creative director  Neeraj Kanitkar explains, “Our previous campaign told stories of people using Facebook to really look after each other. The upcoming cricket season presented us an opportunity to tell new stories- of the profound power of small but collective actions on Facebook which could lead to a deep and meaningful change in the lives of so many. We will keep rolling out such stories through the duration of the tournament, serving as an inspiration to people to keep sharing their ideas on the platform. And hopefully set in motion the wonderful consequences of people coming together.”

  • YouTube starts rolling out YouTube Shorts, a TikTok like platform, in India

    YouTube starts rolling out YouTube Shorts, a TikTok like platform, in India

    KOLKATA: After TikTok was banned in India, the short format video app category has seen a rapid explosion of small and big players attempting to fill the void. While the first wave of these players were the homegrown apps, the second wave is seeing interest from the tech giants. YouTube is rolling out a new short-form video creator called YouTube Shorts in India.

    It is launching a beta version of the new feature in India which includes a new camera and a handful of editing tools that will be rolling out over the course of the next few weeks. YouTube will continue to add more features over the coming months. The new platform will let people make 15-second videos.

    “This is an early version of the product, but we're releasing it now to bring you — our global community of users, creators and artists — on our journey with us as we build and improve Shorts. We’ll continue to add more features and expand to more countries in the coming months as we learn from you and listen to your feedback. Here are more details on what to expect,” YouTube said in a blog post.

    For android users in India, users will see the “Create” icon has moved to the middle of the bottom navigation bar to make it easier for them to create videos right from the YouTube app. 

    Read more coverage on India’s short video ecosystem 

    Recently, Instagram has launched the short video platform Reel to fill the vacay created by TikTok. It has been able to divert the media spends but has not created an impact like TikTok yet. Now, time will say how it pans out for YouTube which has created cultural phenomenon across the years. 

  • Chingari’s explosive short format video journey

    Chingari’s explosive short format video journey

    KOLKATA: Chingari is a Hindi word which means spark.  But Chingari is also a homegrown short format video and user-generated content app which Is firing ahead on all cylinders, attracting millions of users. That too in a short period of time ever since the Indian government placed a ban on TikTok, which had 200 million users in India. Of course, other Indian apps – like Mitron and Roposo – have also stepped into the vacuum created by the Chinese platform’s banishment. However, Chingari has been getting some plaudits as well as funding from investors which have been more than pleased with its performance. It recently raised 1.4 million dollars in funding, even as it was rated as the Best App in the social category in the recently-held #Atmanirbhar Bharat Challenge.

    “India is a land of myriad cultures and colours. Each has its own flavour. We have seen many through films and other media. Yet, there’s so much more to explore – The raw talent hidden in the remotest of alleys and quietest of villages,” says Chingari co-founder and COO Deepak Salvi.  “The sheer potential of the masses. This makes ours a land of possibilities. All we needed was the right platform. One that was proudly ours.”

    Media reports say that within 24 hours of TikTok’s ban, Chingari recorded 26 million video views, with three million videos swiped per hour and 10,000 users per minute. The app pays its users based on the virality of the video. For each video a user shares on the app, the content creator gets points per view, and these points can be redeemed for money.

    Salvi says Chingari has attracted over 28 million users on the platform majorly in the 14 to 38 age bracket. The users span across tier-1, 2 and  3 cities. The app has also lured some major social media influencers and content creators, and more and more of them are hopping onto it by the hour.

    Chingari is available in English, Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. The homegrown app recently partnered with Alt Balaji to further aid both the platforms in strengthening their reach and increase their audience base across ‘Bharat.’ The short format video platform will introduce a verified account/page of ALTBalaji through which Chingari users will be able to follow and receive the latest updates from the streaming platform.

    Read more news on short video format category

    “We are getting calls for brand integrations as Chingari gets more acknowledged over time. While it recently entered a partnership with ALTBalaji, the coming months will see many such strong partnerships with brands,” reveals Salvi.

    Chingari is not just limited to video-sharing but allows users to read local and international news, check the city-specific weather forecast, play games, participate in quizzes, and win prizes. Media reports say that it has plans to foray into social commerce in the next six to nine months but with the core focus being, making it the best short-form video app platform.

    “Believe it or not, but we haven’t spent a single penny on marketing or promotions yet. ‘word of mouth’ publicity has been our best way forward so far. However, as we expand, we have a lot of research-backed innovations and strategies in place which we are ready to roll out, in case the market dynamics require us to,” he added.

    Interestingly, the app has investments from some of the biggest names such as Tinder CPO Brian Norgard and OLX founder Fabrice Grinda.

    “Within a short span, we were able to raise $1.4  million, which only speaks of our head-strong growth plans and the investors’ faith in us. This list too is certain to see some big names in the months to come,” explains Salvi.

    He accepts that the user-generated content platform space is getting red hot competitive as each day passes with Roposo and Moj scaling up steadily and many more pawing on the sidelines to launch.  But his belief is that Chingari certainly holds an upper edge from a first and fast-mover perspective.

    Read more news on Chingari

    “Constant up-gradation of content and influencer data and maximum activities to keep them engaged on our platform will always hold top priority to us. Like mentioned earlier, this is just the beginning of a big revolution in entertainment. Soon you will see, not just the nation, but the entire world adopting short video formats of entertainment, at large,” he contends.

    Media observers however, aver that it’s early days in the homegrown UGC short format space. “TikTok had finetuned its service over years and with hundreds of millions of dollars being invested in technology, research, and innovation,” says an industry veteran. “The platform was also managing scale operations with hundreds of millions of concurrent users and generating revenue worldwide. Indian short-form video platforms have to climb that learning curve, they have to make mistakes and learn. It’s not an easy space to be in, if one is not careful, cash can burn up pretty fast. Investors will have to have tough as nails stomachs until the platforms scale up and prove their business models and start generating cash. Chingari will have to keep its spark burning bright for some time to come.”

  • MX TakaTak touches 1 billion daily video views in 1 month

    MX TakaTak touches 1 billion daily video views in 1 month

    KOLKATA: Homegrown short video app MX TakaTak has clocked 15 mn+ video uploads and has set a new benchmark with its daily video views, growing from 0 to 1 billion+ only within a month of its existence. 

    MX Takatak, in this short span, has also garnered over 10million daily active users and 45mn monthly active users with the average time spent per user per day being 20 min per user, and generating daily 1 billion+ video views and 100+ video views per user. 

    MX Player COO Vivek Jain elaborated saying, “Be it nurturing the talent of the young influencers who are associated with us, curating personalized content buckets that millions of users are watching on the app or the advertisers who come onboard to reach out to segmented audiences – MX Takatak has something to offer everybody. We’re overwhelmed by the response the platform has received and we look forward to scaling new heights from here on.” 

    Currently, it hosts the largest number of 1Mn+ digital influencers including audience favourites such as Gima Ashi, Manjull Khattar, Somya Daundkar, Khusi Punjaban and Ayush Yadav who have all chosen to be a part of the app. Additionally, a lot of community influencers such as Neetu Bisht and Lakhan Pratap Singh have also joined the app. 

    The app enjoys a 4.1 Star Rating on Google Play and ranks number one in the top free apps category on iOS. It offers short-form content across genres such as Dialogue Dubbing, Comedy, Gaming, DIY, Food, Sports, Memes and many more.