ITV

Tag: Google

  • Bolo Indya temporarily removed from Google Playstore

    New Delhi: Google has temporarily removed home-grown social media app Bolo Indya from Playstore following a copyright complaint made by music giant T-Series. The live-streaming platform has around 70 lakh users.

    Super Cassettes Industries Pvt Ltd, which operates under the brand name T-Series is the largest music record label in the Indian music industry. Last year, the company served an infringement notice to social media and video sharing platforms to pay around Rs 3.5 crore in damages from using its copyrighted contents and “render accounts of all revenues illegally earned” by the platforms from the copyrighted content.

    While most of the companies including Mitron, MX Player’s Takatak, Triller, and Josh have settled the issue with the music company, Bolo Indya has not resolved the matter yet, according to T-Series.

    “We had sent them (Bolo Indya) various legal notices but they continued to infringe our copyrights and, thus, we wrote to Google under applicable laws to take down this infringing app from their app store. We take infringement very seriously and will not shy away from taking more stringent legal action against Bolo Indya and any other such infringing platforms to protect our copyrights,” T-Series president Neeraj Kalyan told PTI.

    Bolo Indya spokesperson said the company is temporarily unavailable from Google Playstore due to some conflicts with T-Series and it is in talks with T-Series and Google to resolve the issue at the earliest and the platform will be back on playstore shortly.

    “We assure our users that all their created content and transaction details for in-app currency purchases are safe and Bolo Indya will be back soon on playstore for them to continue having their friends download the app to enjoy the new features,” said the spokesperson.

  • WhatsApp appoints grievance officer for India

    WhatsApp appoints grievance officer for India

    KOLKATA: Amid talks over implementation of new IT rules, messaging platform WhatsApp has appointed Paresh B Lal as grievance officer in India.

    WhatsApp has updated the new appointment on its website so users can contact Paresh B through a post box in Banjara Hills at Hyderabad in Telangana state. As per a PTI report, other large digital companies like Google have also started updating their websites to reflect the respective appointments of grievance officers in these organisations. Twitter also informed the Delhi high court that it has appointed the grievance redressal officer.

    The government issued new intermediary guidelines for social media platforms on 25 February with a three-month deadline. It directed intermediaries to appoint a grievance officer based in India for a time-bound redressal of user complaints. As per the rules, a social media intermediary is also required to appoint a chief compliance officer, a nodal contact person for 24×7 coordination. They will also have to publish a monthly compliance report mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken.

    After the rules came into effect on 26 May, the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) wrote to “Significant Social Media Intermediaries” (SSMIs) asking for details of compliance.

    Under the new “the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021,” SSMIs are defined as social media companies with more than 50 lakh registered users. Hence, Twitter, Facebook, Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Instagram fall under the SSMIs category.

  • YouTube breaks out $100 mn creator fund to push Shorts space

    YouTube breaks out $100 mn creator fund to push Shorts space

    KOLKATA: The competition in the short video ecosystem has been heating up for some time now, and YouTube has just upped the stakes with the announcement of a creators fund. Dedicated exclusively for those who create short form video content, the YouTube Shorts Fund is a $100 million pot that will be distributed over the course of 2021-2022.

    The cash injection aims to reward the thousands of creators whose Shorts received the most engagement and views, YouTube said in a blogpost. The video viewing platform will also seek feedback from these creators to improve the product experience.

    The Shorts Fund is not limited to just creators in the YouTube Partner Program. Any creator will be eligible to participate if they create original content for Shorts. Its biggest rival, TikTok, also rolled out a creator fund last year, followed by Snap a little later.

    “The Shorts Fund is the first step in our journey to build a monetisation model for Shorts on YouTube. This is a top priority for us, and will take us some time to get it right. We are actively working on this, and will take the feedback gathered from our community to help develop a long-term program specifically designed for YouTube Shorts,” read the blogpost.

    The company has qualified the grant of the fund on the grounds that only “original” content would gain rewards. However, it didn’t clarify how it will go about checking to ensure the content isn’t already uploaded on another platform, like Reels, Snapchat or TikTok.

    Further details about the payments and eligibility would be available closer to the fund’s launch, which is expected sometime in the next few months.

    YouTube also plans to expand Shorts player across more surfaces on YouTube to help people find new creators, artists and Shorts to enjoy. It will also begin to test and iterate on ads to better understand creators’ performance.

  • YouTube reports $6 billon ad revenue in Q1, up 49% from year earlier

    YouTube reports $6 billon ad revenue in Q1, up 49% from year earlier

    KOLKATA: YouTube’s advertising revenue rose dramatically in the first quarter of 2021 , up 49 per cent from the same quarter in the last year. As the parent company Google/Alphabet reported its first quarter earnings, YouTube ad revenue amounting to $6 billion has trumped all expectations.

    Google and Alphabet chief financial officer Ruth Porat has credited “exceptional performance in direct response and ongoing strength in brand advertising” for the jump in ad revenue. The direct response business is now a large and fast-growing business for the segment, Google chief business officer Philipp Schindler added.

    The platform is also working on shopping capabilities of viewers on the platform. “I think we’re still scratching the surface on what’s possible really with commercial intent on YouTube,” Schindler said. He emphasised that advertisers are using YouTube to reach audience that they can’t find anywhere else. The video viewing platform is starting to see an advertiser mix of awareness and more action-oriented formats who are driving reach and results across the funnel.

    The video giant currently boasts of over two billion monthly logged users and over one billion hours of daily video consumption. Interestingly, its short video platform has also seen exponential growth. “YouTube Shorts continues to gain popularity with over 6.5 billion daily views as of March, up from 3.5 billion at the end of 2020,” Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said.

    Overall, Alphabet reported $55.3 billion in Q1 revenue, up 34 per cent year-over-year. “Over the last year, people have turned to Google Search and many online services to stay informed, connected and entertained. We’ve continued our focus on delivering trusted services to help people around the world. Our Cloud services are helping businesses, big and small, accelerate their digital transformations,” Pichai said in a letter to the shareholders.

  • Apple and Vivo pledge to aid India in Covid relief efforts

    Apple and Vivo pledge to aid India in Covid relief efforts

    NEW DELHI: As India is battling the deadly second wave of Covid2019, smartphone manufacturers Vivo India and Apple have pledged to aid the country in Covid relief efforts. Vivo India has announced that they will donate Rs 2 crore and also help to acquire oxygen concentrators. 

    Last year, Vivo India had donated masks, PPE kits, and 50,000 litres of sanitisers to India’s Covid efforts. The company also expressed its gratitude to frontline healthcare workers who are fighting to curb the spread of the Covid pandemic. The smartphone maker has also urged people to follow strict Covid restrictions to combat the challenge posed by the virus sweeping through the country.

    “In the fight against Covid2019, @Vivo_India stands united with the nation and pledges to donate Rs 2 crores to aid relief efforts and acquiring oxygen concentrators. Together, we can and will get through this,” said Vivo India senior executive Nipun Marya. 

    Apple has also extended support to India during this critical time. Apple CEO Tim Cook took to Twitter to announce that the company will provide help to its Apple family and everyone who is fighting the pandemic. 

    “Amid a devastating rise of Covid cases in India, our thoughts are with the medical workers, our Apple family, and everyone there who is fighting through this awful stage of the pandemic. Apple will be donating to support and relief efforts on the ground,” tweeted Cook. 

    Yesterday, Xiaomi stepped up to donate 1,000 oxygen concentrators worth Rs 3 crore to tackle the Covid crisis in India.

    Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has pledged that the company will “continue to use its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices.” 

    Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that the search engine giant will give Rs 135 crore for medical supplies, organisations supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information. 

    Over the last few weeks, India has been devastated by a record surge in Covid2019 cases. The country’s health infrastructure has been stretched to the breaking point, with shortages reported in medical oxygen cylinders, hospitals beds and critical drugs for Covid treatment. The number of reported cases declined slightly on Tuesday, to 323,144 from the peak of 352,991 the day before, bringing the total cases to nearly 17 million with 192,000 deaths.

  • Google, Microsoft pledge aid to India in fight against Covid2019

    Google, Microsoft pledge aid to India in fight against Covid2019

    NEW DELHI: Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his Microsoft counterpart Satya Nadella have extended their support to India amid a record surge in Covid2019 cases.

    Pichai tweeted, “Devastated to see the worsening Covid crisis in India. Google & Googlers are providing Rs 135 crore in funding to @GiveIndia, @UNICEF for medical supplies, orgs supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information.”

    Taking to Twitter, Nadella said, “I am heartbroken by the current situation in India. I’m grateful the US government is mobilising to help. Microsoft will continue to use its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices.”

    Amidst the devastating second wave of the Covid pandemic, India reported 3.52 lakh fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day spike registered since the onset of the pandemic.

    Pichai’s tweet also had a link to a blog where Google detailed ways to help with their efforts to fight the worsening situation.

    On the blog, Google India country head and vice president Sanjay Gupta detailed how the 135 crore grant from the search giant would work. “This includes two grants from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, totalling Rs 20 crore ($2.6 million). The first is to GiveIndia to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis to help with their everyday expenses. The second will go to UNICEF to help get urgent medical supplies, including oxygen and testing equipment, to where it’s needed most in India. It also includes donations from our ongoing employee giving campaign — so far more than 900 Googlers have contributed Rs 3.7 crore ($500,000) for organisations supporting high-risk and marginalised communities.”

    Moreover, Gupta also informed about increased Ad Grant support for public health information campaigns.

    “Since last year, we’ve helped MyGov and the World Health Organization reach audiences with messages focused on how to stay safe and facts about vaccines. We’re increasing our support today with an additional Rs 112 crore ($15 million) in Ad Grants to local health authorities and non-profits for more language coverage options,” he said.

    Google is already helping India with its core information products like Search and Maps, YouTube and Ads. Covid features on Search are available in India, in English and eight Indian languages, that continue to improve localisation and highlight authoritative information.

    This includes information on where to get testing and vaccines. Maps and Search surface thousands of vaccine sites. Google is also collaborating closely with the ministry of health & family welfare, and with organisations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to support vaccine awareness initiatives, wrote Gupta.

    On YouTube, Google is supporting the Indian government in their vaccine communication strategy. It ran a workshop for 200+ health officials to learn how they can use YouTube to reach audiences across Indian languages with vaccine information.

    Indian conglomerates have also pitched in the efforts to increase production and supply of medical oxygen in the country for the treatment of Covid-positive people.

    The Tata Group announced that it would be importing 24 cryogenic containers to transport liquid oxygen to help overcome its shortage. Reliance Group has also committed to increase supply of oxygen to states where Covid cases are rising; its philanthropic arm Reliance Foundation has scaled up its operations to provide 875 hospital beds to Coronavirus patients in Mumbai, which is one of the worst-affected urban centres in the country.

  • Silicon Valley techie Narayan Gangadhar joins Angel Broking as CEO

    Silicon Valley techie Narayan Gangadhar joins Angel Broking as CEO

    Mumbai: Fintech brokerage firm Angel Broking has roped in Silicon Valley veteran Narayan Gangadhar as its new CEO.

    Narayan has more than two decades of global experience leading technology businesses at top-tier Silicon Valley companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Uber. He brings operating experience leading highly disruptive businesses by driving innovation in product, technology, capability building, and processes automation.

    Gangadhar was head of technology at Uber in San Francisco where he led the company’s core infrastructure, machine learning, data platform, and data science teams of over 650+ employees across the globe. During his tenure, Uber scaled to over 400+ cities globally completing over 14 million trips daily. At Google, he led large product and engineering teams to launch the first set of the search giant’s cloud infrastructure services, such as Compute Engine, Cloud SQL, Container Engines. He also led large teams responsible for developing the overall application infrastructure which power productivity apps like Google Drive, Google Docs, etc.

    Prior to Google, Gangadhar was the general manager and director at Amazon Web Services where he developed the Cloud Database business. He was most recently the founder & CEO of a robotics start-up in San Francisco that develops automated urban mobility solutions

    “The Indian market is at an interesting juncture as more people make technology a part of their daily lifestyles,” said Gangadhar. “As a CEO, my entire focus will be on unlocking superior efficiency for all stakeholders. The overarching objective is to make the product more accessible in the mass market.”

    Angel Broking CMD Dinesh Thakkar said, “Narayan is the right person to lead Angel Broking along its journey as a leader in this industry. He is a well-rounded engineer with great leadership qualities and will add significant value to our existing digital assets. Plus, he will help us realise our aspirations to become a preferred Fintech company in India. With Narayan leading the team, I am sure we will scale new heights in making international standard apps, offering world-class customer experience, and taking best-in-class AI/ML journeys for new and existing customers to understand investing and trading well.”

  • Twitter APAC VP Maya Hari lands global role

    Twitter APAC VP Maya Hari lands global role

    NEW DELHI: Twitter Asia Pacific vice president & MD Maya Hari has been assigned a new global role as VP of global strategy and operations. She will continue to be based in Singapore, and will lead a global team.

    Hari’s commercial role will encompass product strategy, operations, innovation and automation to enable commercial and content partnerships efforts around the world. She has been leading Twitter's APAC business, excluding Japan and South Korea, for the past four years. Prior to this, she was managing director of southeast Asia and India and a senior director of product strategy and sales.

    "In my new role, I am excited to work with him and our other international leaders to grow our businesses around the world and find new opportunities for Twitter to serve the global public conversation,” she said in a statement to the press.

     

     

    Hari has been with Twitter for seven years. She previously spent more than 15 years in the digital media, mobile and ecommerce industries across the US and in Asia Pacific for brands such as Samsung, Google, Microsoft and Cisco.

    Twitter has also elevated Yu Sasamoto to head its unified regional structure that brings the microblogging site’s Japan, South Korea and Asia Pacific operations together. Sasamoto has been leading the social network's Japan and South Korea offices for the past seven years. He will take up leadership of the unified JAPAC region from 1 May, and is set to move to Twitter's APAC headquarters in Singapore. He will continue to serve as the general manager of Twitter Japan and head of Twitter Client Solutions in Japan until his successor is hired in Tokyo. The JAPAC region will cover Australia, greater China, Japan, India, New Zealand, southeast Asia and South Korea.

    Hari commented: "We are delighted that Yu-san will be stepping into this expanded role—it is a testament to everything he's achieved at Twitter to date, leading Japan to become among our largest revenue markets globally."

  • Pankaj Gupta joins Coinbase from Google Pay

    Pankaj Gupta joins Coinbase from Google Pay

    NEW DELHI: In an attempt to build a strong team from scratch, American cryptocurrency exchange company Coinbase has appointed Pankaj Gupta as its vice president – engineering and site lead for India. Before joining Coinbase, Gupta was leading Google Pay Engineering in APAC. 

    To expand its operations in India, Coinbase is all set to hire hundreds of employees across various roles in the next one or two years. 

    "For the next phase of my life after Google, I am thrilled to share that I will be joining Coinbase as VP of engineering and site lead for India. I’ll be responsible for leading and building the company’s technology hub in India from scratch. I will be hiring across India," wrote Gupta on his blog. 

    He added that India has world-class tech expertise and some of the brightest minds in the industry. He also expressed his aim to tap and develop local talent in India. 

    "The plan is to hire hundreds of employees across all levels in engineering, product management, UX design, research, and program management within the next one to two years to build out a full tech hub in India. Together, we’ll work on some of the most interesting challenges spanning the full modern tech stack — including deep tech areas like blockchains, data engineering, infrastructure, machine learning, and more," he added. 

    On 25 March, Coinbase had said that the company is planning to open a physical office in Hyderabad. The decision to expand its operations in India comes at a time when the central government is mulling a ban on cryptocurrency.