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Category: Social Media

  • Here’s how you can control who replies to your Tweets with Twitter’s new conversation settings

    Here’s how you can control who replies to your Tweets with Twitter’s new conversation settings

    NEW DELHI: Twitter is where people go to see and talk about what’s happening. But sometimes, unwanted replies make it hard to have meaningful conversations. The service has been working to give people more control over their conversations. To this end, Twitter has globally rolled out a new update that gives people the ability to choose who can reply to their Tweets and join in their conversation.

    These new conversation settings are available to everyone using Twitter, across iOS, Android and twitter.com. Here are some simple tips on how you can make the most of these new controls from Twitter 

    How to choose: who can reply to your Tweet
    From twitter.com or the Twitter for iOS or Android app, tap on the compose Tweet button

    Click or tap the globe icon, to choose who can reply to your Tweet from the following options: 

     Everyone

     People you follow

     Only people you mention

    Once you finalise your settings, compose your Tweet and click or tap Tweet to post

    Important to note: People who can’t reply will still be able to view, Retweet, Retweet with Comment, like and share your Tweets. Also, once you’ve published a Tweet, you cannot change the reply settings of that particular Tweet.

    How to choose: who you can reply to 

    From the compose screen, you can see the people in the conversation you will reply to. Click or tap Replying to… to bring up an editing screen with a list of everyone who is a part of the conversation. Up to 50 people who are in the conversation will be displayed. 

    Adding people to a conversation: Swipe down to close the editing screen, and then simply type their username into your Tweet.

    Removing people from a conversation: To remove people from the conversation in the editing screen, simply click or tap on the checkmark icon to deselect participants. Once someone is unselected, the checkmark icon will be unchecked.

    Blocked accounts: Accounts you have blocked will be visible to you in the recipient list, and will indicate that you have blocked them. From the editing screen, you can choose to remove the blocked account from the conversation by clicking or tapping on the checkmark icon.

    How to view participants of a conversation

    You can also view participants of a conversation from Tweets you see in your Home timeline, profile page, notifications, or from a Tweet detail. To view participants’ names, bio, and @usernames:

    Click or tap Replying to… 

    From here you can see everyone who is included in this reply. You can also follow or unfollow people in this list.

    Just like you can see the total number of likes and retweets for any tweet, you can also see how many people are participating in the conversation by the reply count. You’ll see a number next to the reply icon indicating how many direct replies the original Tweet has received. 

  • Twitter announces new labels for government, state-affiliated media accounts

    Twitter announces new labels for government, state-affiliated media accounts

    NEW DELHI: Twitter has announced that the micro-blogging site has started labelling accounts of government officials and state-affiliated media.

    The blog read that it will focus on labelling ‘Senior officials and entities who are the official voice of the state abroad.’

    For the time being, this will be applicable only to accounts from China, Russia, France, United Kingdom and the United States — the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

    The blog further emphasised that this new feature is for transparency and practicality, Twitter is starting with a limited and clearly-defined group of countries before expanding to a wider range of countries in the future. “At this time, we're not labeling the personal accounts of heads of state, as these accounts enjoy widespread name recognition, media attention, and public awareness. Institutional accounts associated with their offices that changeover depending on election results will be labeled, however.”

    “We believe that people have the right to know when a media account is affiliated directly or indirectly with a state actor. As part of the development of this process, we consulted with a number of expert groups, including members of the Digital and Human Rights Advisory group in Twitter’s Trust & Safety Council,” the blog post said.

    Twitter will no longer amplify state-affiliated media accounts or their tweets through recommendation systems including on the home timeline, notifications, and search.

  • US imposes ban on TikTok and WeChat

    US imposes ban on TikTok and WeChat

    NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump has announced that social media apps TikTok and WeChat are barred from operating in the US starting 20 September if they are not sold by their Chinese-owned parent companies.

    The video-sharing app TikTok has come under the lens of US lawmakers over national security concerning data collection, amid intensified tension between Washington and Beijing.

    The order regarding TikTok says that after 45 days "any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd" the Chinese company that owns the social media platform is prohibited.

    The ban comes days after tech giant Microsoft was in talks to acquire the US arm of TikTok, which has over 80 million users in the country.

    However, the messaging app WeChat has a much smaller presence than TikTok in the US, where it is used mainly by members of the Chinese diaspora, and its owner Tencent.

  • Microsoft in talks with ByteDance to acquire TikTok in the US

    Microsoft in talks with ByteDance to acquire TikTok in the US

    NEW DELHI: Tech giant Microsoft yesterday confirmed that it has held talks with Chinese technology company ByteDance to acquire its social app TikTok in the US. Microsoft said in a statement that it will keep working with the US government on a deal and intends to conclude talks by 15 September.

    Microsoft stressed that it "fully appreciates the importance" of addressing president Donald Trump's concerns. A full security review of the app will be conducted, the company added.

    Microsoft said it was looking to purchase the TikTok service in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and would operate the app in these markets.

    The tech firm added that it "may" invite other American investors to participate in the purchase "on a minority basis."

    "Microsoft is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury," the company said, adding that it will "move quickly" to talk with ByteDance "in a matter of weeks."

    "During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States government, including with the president," the company added.

  • Facebook introduces official music videos in India

    Facebook introduces official music videos in India

    New Delhi: Facebook today introduced official music videos on the platform and launched a new Music destination on Facebook Watch in India, to allow people to view their favorite music videos and come together through music.

    You will now be able to discover, enjoy, and interact with today’s top-charting tracks to old catalog favorites across various music genres on Facebook.

    Manish Chopra, Director, and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India, said, “Over the past year, we have been working with partners in the Indian music industry to build the foundation of a music video experience for our consumers, and are thrilled to launch official music videos on the platform. We will continue to find opportunities to add more unique social sharing experiences and bring music into the ways people share and connect on Facebook".

    Official music videos on Facebook will create new social experiences that go beyond just watching the video. On Facebook, you will be able to discover new artists and tracks through social sharing, clicking through to a song [from a Music Sticker / Music Video] shared to a friend’s story or a post in News Feed. Without leaving Facebook, you can connect with and learn more about an artist and their creative ambitions, watch the story behind their music on their Page, a label page  and connect through real-time interactions on Facebook Live.

    The music video experience on Facebook is available in India, Thailand, and the US, and you’ll be able to watch your favorites from the country’s top music labels – T -Series Music, Zee Music Company, and Yash Raj Films.

    How to access Music Videos on Facebook:

    Facebook has made it easier to find and discover music videos on its platform. You can access the videos in different ways, including:

    Music Destination on Facebook Watch where you can explore music videos by genre, artist, or mood, as well as theme-based playlists like “Top Bollywood”, “Top Artists,” among others. The music destination on Facebook Watch is available on iOS and Android mobile devices and will be available on desktop soon.

    You can also access and discover music videos directly on your News Feed allowing friends and family to share their favorite music, or through Search. 

  • Facebook celebrates the power of people coming together to support one another in the next phase of its consumer marketing campaign for India

    Facebook celebrates the power of people coming together to support one another in the next phase of its consumer marketing campaign for India

    India, August 01, 2020: Facebook today launched the next phase of its consumer marketing campaign in India – ‘More Together’, to showcase how people across the country can do more together by harnessing the power of their connections on the platform – even more so in the current situation The latest campaign is inspired by real stories and celebrates the people who came together in these trying times to help and support one another.

    As a part of Facebook’s priority of transparently communicating the role its services play in the world, the ‘More Together’ campaign showcases stories that celebrate and highlight the power of connections. The campaign includes four 30 second films featuring young parents, grandparents, two roommates and a doctor and depicts how they found support through their connections to help each other during these extraordinary times.

    Speaking about the campaign, Avinash Pant, Director-Marketing, Facebook India, said, “At the core of this campaign is our brand belief that people can do more together than alone. Over the last several months, all of us have seen and heard many stories of people across India that have been the embodiment of this idea. People who were once strangers, connected with one another through Facebook, and together addressed many challenges that have surfaced in recent times. Through this campaign, we are shining a spotlight on the real stories that have inspired us, and hope more and more of our consumers will recognise that people are indeed each other’s best resources. Sometimes all you need to do is reach out to the world”.

    The core campaign has been conceptualized and executed by Taproot Dentsu, the creative agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India. As part of the campaign, Facebook will leverage the power of its platform extensively to bring stories to life and has partnered with Dentsu WebChutney to craft the creative strategy and communication across digital and social  media.

    Talking about the inspiration behind the campaign Pallavi Chakravarti, Executive Creative Director, Taproot Dentsu explains, “When it came to looking out for each other in the months gone by, we found that Facebook was a vehicle. People were the fuel. This is the simple truth the campaign tries to capture. When times are tough, we truly can do more together than we can alone.”

    Agency credits:

    ●        Co-Founder, Taproot Dentsu and Creative Chairperson, Dentsu Aegis Network India: Agnello Dias

    ●        Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer: Santosh Padhi

    ●        Chief Executive Officer: Umesh Shrikhande

    ●        Executive Creative Director: Pallavi Chakravarti

    ●        General Manager: Ayesha Ghosh

    ●        Head of Strategic Planning: Shashank Lanjekar

    ●        Senior Creative Director: Neeraj Kanitkar

    ●        Group Head (Copy): Gauri Burma

    ●        Account Supervisor: Ana Iman

    ●        Associate Vice President: Radhika Sabherwal

    Film credits:

    Equinox Films

    ●        Director: Sandeep Modi

    ●        Executive Producer: Manoj Shroff

    ●        DOP: Mikhaeil Shah

    ●        Production Designer: Anna Ipe

    ●        Directors Assistant: Nisarg Vaidya

    ●        Costumes: Maiti Shahani

  • YouTube’s ad revenue growth slows down in Q2, subscription revenue sees good growth

    YouTube’s ad revenue growth slows down in Q2, subscription revenue sees good growth

    KOLKATA: In the pandemic-hit period, Google-owned YouTube’s advertising revenue declined in the Q2 of 2020 compared to the previous quarter. It has raked $3.81 billion for the quarter up from $3.60 billion in the year-ago period but lower than $4.04 billion in Q1. 

    “For YouTube, we ended March with a year-on-year growth rate in the high single digits, and that's reflecting a substantial headwind from brand. The headwind from brand moderated modestly at the end of the second quarter, and then we saw a further improvement in July. Direct response has been consistently strong,” Google and Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said.

    Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai also mentioned strong growth in non-ads revenues particularly from Cloud, Google Play and YouTube subscriptions. Nevertheless, content acquisition costs of the company were primarily driven by content costs for YouTube TV and paid YouTube Music and premium subscription services. 

    He also added that YouTube Premium Music and TV subscriptions performed well during the quarter. “This, in turn, is helping our partners, developers and creators earn revenue and deliver valuable services to people. We are focused on the steps to build long-term value with these opportunities,” Pichai said.

    However, while the ad market saw a bump since March, the headwind from brand moderated modestly at the end of the second quarter seeing further improvement in July. Moreover, the company added features in the quarter to make video ads more easily shoppable and browsable on YouTube as more businesses are shifting to online to offset physical store closures. 

  • Newly launched MX TakaTak hosts popular 1 mn+ digital influencers

    Newly launched MX TakaTak hosts popular 1 mn+ digital influencers

    KOLKATA: The Indian youth has taken the world by storm, showcasing their myriad talents to both India and the world, with the emerging medium of short video. To support this new wave of innovation, MX Player’s short video app MX TakaTak has emerged as the new destination for content creators, providing a world-class home-grown platform that brings together India’s short video frenzy users and short-form content across genres such as dialogue dubbing, comedy, gaming, DIY, food, sports, memes and many more.

    Currently, MX TakaTak hosts a lot of one mn+ digital influencers including audience favourites such as Jannat Zubair, Nisha Guragain and GimaAshi, who have all chosen to be a part of this large community.

    Every content creator on the platform gets access to a wide variety of content creation tools like a well organised and exhaustive background music library, advanced beautification tools, new & innovative effects/filters, sound mixing, voice-over recording and much more. MX TakaTak has truly raised the bar for mobile-first content creation tools within the app, which has opened a new world of endless possibilities for its influencers. The brand believes that the key to succeeding in this space is empowering creators with the best tools to unleash their creativity and to then find the right fit for the content with the appropriate audience community i.e. giving a personalized feed to all its users.

    MX Player CEO Karan Bedi said, “India’s millennials consume video more than any other form of digital content on a daily basis. MX has always been on the forefront of innovation in this space and has now extended this to short video, which helps this mass of creative talent pave their way to unleash their skills, increase interaction with their followers and scale the heights of fame and eventual fortune. Our youth wanted a home to satiate their diverse content creation & consumption needs and MX TakaTak is a part of our effort to empower this incredibly talented & relentless generation to create & enjoy ‘micro-moments’ that would power the next big wave of digital content consumption in the Indian market.”

    A recent eMarketer forecast says India is likely to overtake the US in terms of time spent on digital videos in 2020. Currently, adult Indians spend over two hours daily watching digital videos, which will go up to two hours 21 minutes by the end of the year. The rise of the short video is a major contributor to this growth.

    MX Player COO Vivek Jain said, “With MX TakaTak, we want to give content creators and digital enthusiasts a fun space to experiment and build their own success stories.  Our vision is to create a community that empowers hundreds of millions of Indians with a set of tools to express themselves freely. We’re already home to over one million content creators and have received great feedback from our users. We are now looking forward to welcoming new talent and more influencers in the weeks to come; we’d like to help them hone their talent and inspire them to have a career as a digital influencer.”

    MX TakaTak already has 30 million+ video uploads and enjoys a 4.3 Star Rating on Google Play. On iOS, it ranks number 1 in the top free apps category.

  • This friendship day, stay connected with friends with these unique features by Facebook!

    This friendship day, stay connected with friends with these unique features by Facebook!

    NEW DELHI: International Friendship Day is here! This is the perfect occasion to let your friends know how precious and loved they are!

    In the era where social distancing is a must, we are lucky to be a part of a generation where technology has enhanced so much, giving us plentiful online forums for social interactions. 

    Here’s how you can celebrate Friendship Day on Facebook this year – 

    Messenger Rooms

    Spend quality time with friends through group video calls with Messenger Rooms. Create a room right from Messenger or Facebook, and invite anyone to join your video call, even if they don’t have a Facebook account. Host celebrations, or just hang out on the couch with friends. 

    If you have the Messenger app, you can also be creative and explore various AR effects like bunny ears, and new AI-powered features including immersive 360 backgrounds and mood lighting, for a more interactive and fun experience.

    Start a Watch Party

    Instead of sending your friends that funny video you saw on Facebook, watch it with them by starting a Watch Party. This feature lets you watch videos on Facebook together in real time. Tap “Write post” and select “Watch Party”. Search for your videos, add to queue, and tap done. Now sit back and bring out the popcorn.

    Facebook Groups

    One step away from bringing friends together, Facebook Group helps you create memories and stay connected.

    To create a Group:

    Click the three lines on the bottom right of your mobile and select Groups.

    Tap the plus sign on the top right and set your group privacy settings to Secret

    Invite your friends to join!
    Connect with Friends on Facebook Live

    Facebook Live enables you to share your experiences and perspectives in real time, with the people who matter to you – whether you’re someone who wants to broadcast to friends and family, or connect across continents. Do away with the distance and, connect in real time with your friends on Facebook Live. 

    To share live video, simply tap “What’s on your mind?” at the top of News Feed and select the Live Video icon. You can write a quick description and select the audience before going live. During your broadcast, you’ll see the number of live viewers, the names of friends who are tuning in, and can respond to comments in real time,

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  • “We are helping SMBs build a sustainable online model”: Facebook India’s Ajit Mohan

    “We are helping SMBs build a sustainable online model”: Facebook India’s Ajit Mohan

    KOLKATA: Facebook has always expressed its interest in small businesses globally. Moreover, a large chunk of the social media platform’s advertising revenue comes from that segment. Likewise in the Indian market, the company is putting a lot of energy to help small businesses come back faster from the pandemic crisis. In terms of ad spends, that market is coming back well as well as the overall number is moving up.

    Facebook India vice president and managing director Ajit Mohan spoke about its deep-rooted commitment to small business while participating in APOS 2020. “Around the world, businesses are starting to come back and a lot of our energy is leaning towards how we can help small businesses come back faster to where they can build a sustainable model,” said Mohan.

    “Facebook is fundamentally a marketing platform that is tuned to need of small businesses. Around the world what we have seen is that most frugal marketing spend come to Facebook because this is where small businesses can grow. Through the second half of March and April, we did see a very tight lockdown in India that had an impact on the ad market. But that started to change especially in the last few weeks of June and heading into July we see the numbers moving up,” Mohan added.

    Mohan also stated that experts tend to not incorporate and count India’s vibrant online ad market. One per cent of startups and five per cent of enterprises actually do spend money disproportionately on digital to find new sources of growth.

    Covid2019 has accelerated the shift from offline to online. It has brought new cohorts of users to the digital platform. According to him, the behaviour of coming online got hyperdrive. Facebook also saw extraordinary growth for all its platforms it sees that continuing.

    Mohan, who worked alongside Jio when he was in Hotstar, is again working as a partner of the former as Facebook has acquired a minority stake in Jio Platforms. According to him, there is an alignment of the mission of two companies. While Facebook’s energy comes from the belief in giving people the power to build community online, he sees the same passion in Jio as it is playing the role of enabler in the digital ecosystem. Moreover, the alliance of WhatsApp-Jio Mart was one of the focus areas of the Facebook-Jio deal. Mohan said if they could pioneer a certain model of shopping on WhatsApp giving a lean structure to it, Facebook could take the model globally.

    “We are just at the beginning of an exciting hockey stick. If we look at the last few years, the first phase of work was all-around access. The number of 4G users has gone from 50 million to 550 million in less than four years. It has all happened in a very short period of time and that’s the foundation. In the foundation phase, it has lit up multiple sectors. Now, the next five to 10 years will be to see the impact of all the hard work that has been done on the access front,” Mohan commented on the overall ecosystem.

    “If we can bring 60 million businesses online that creates an impact for leveraging the 550 million consumers who have already come online. Connecting the dot between businesses and consumers will open up the explosive economic opportunity not for just those businesses but for others who seek to serve them. With innovation, all kinds of opportunities open up in education, health, etc., and in ways that have barely scratched the surface. We have done the hard work and set up the foundation. Now is the moment to translate that to real innovation and economic opportunity,” he added.