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  • Facebook and Instagram with new parental tools to enhance teen safety

    Facebook and Instagram with new parental tools to enhance teen safety

    Today’s teens are digital natives in an Internet-centric world. They experience the benefits of online exploration, self-expression, and staying informed, but also encounter negative experiences like bullying and harassment. In a move to prioritize the safety and well-being of young users, Meta has unveiled a range of new parental control tools across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.

    Meta’s Family Center will offer new parental tools, featuring a hub in Messenger for parents to oversee their teen’s online activities. The tools also enable blocking unwanted messages on Messenger and Instagram to prevent harmful interactions and send reminders to teens to take breaks from their online engagements.

    These newly introduced tools grant parents or guardians access to their teen’s privacy and safety settings, enabling them to monitor changes in the Messenger contact list and assess the amount of time spent on the app. Parents will also receive notifications when their teen reports someone.

    If, for example, your teen reports someone, they can choose whether or not to notify you by sending a notification. And if you wonder how to react, Meta’s Education Hub is available to parents and provides guidance on addressing issues and supporting their child in the best possible way.

    In addition to the parental control tools, Meta is implementing notifications to alert teens when they have spent 20 minutes on Facebook, encouraging them to set daily time limits, which can also be set by the parent. For Instagram users, the company is exploring a new feature that prompts teens to close the app if they have been scrolling through Reels late at night.

    Given that teenagers spend an average of 7 hours and 22 minutes per day in front of screens, this feature might just be what all other online platforms should have.

    While Facebook has long provided parental controls for its Messenger Kids platform, the new tools are specifically designed for the main Messenger app, catering to parents with teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18.

    It is important to note that using these parental control tools requires mutual consent and awareness between the parent and the teenager. Either the parent or the teen must initiate an invitation to enable the tools.

    The new parental controls will be launched in the US, the UK, and Canada. However, Meta has expressed its commitment to expanding the availability of these tools to other regions across the globe. And this initial batch of parental supervision tools might be just the beginning, as Meta plans to introduce additional features and enhancements over the next year.

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  • Facebook updates enhance reels creation, audience growth, and content monetizing

    Facebook updates enhance reels creation, audience growth, and content monetizing

    Meta is rolling out new updates to Facebook to attract more creators and generate more video content for the platform. While nearly 3 billion people worldwide currently use Facebook, Meta still has to compete with social media giants like TikTok, especially considering its continuous growth among younger generations.

    The latest Facebook updates are designed to simplify the process of creating reels on the platform, provide new features in ProMode to assist creators in expanding their following, offer valuable insights for content creation, and broaden monetization options across the platform.

    Facebook has introduced an Inspiration Hub within the Professional Dashboard to make creating reels easier. This hub brings together popular reels, hashtags, topics, and music to inspire creators in their content production. Additionally, a mobile app update combines audio, music, and text into a unified editing screen, streamlining reel editing process.

    Another aspect Facebook has improved is audience growth. Any Facebook user can switch to Professional Mode and become a creator. ProMode creators can appear in the ‘Creators to Follow’ unit on the feed, increasing their chances of being discovered by more people. Moreover, when ProMode creators comment on public posts, a follow button may appear alongside their name, allowing them to attract new followers through conversations.

    And, of course, if you want to be a creator, you are probably interested in how to monetize your content. The new update lowered some of the monetization eligibility requirements, and creators now need to have garnered 500 followers over the past 30 days to qualify for monetization, compared to the previous requirement of 1,000 followers in 60 days. This trend of expanding income opportunities aligns with YouTube’s recent adjustments.

    Facebook’s objective is clear: to entice more creators to the platform by simplifying content production, enabling monetization, and fostering the growth of followers. Most new updates are available only for users in ProMode, but the company is saying that they hope to bring them more broadly over time.
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  • Meta is pulling the Facebook Messenger app from the Apple Watch

    Meta is pulling the Facebook Messenger app from the Apple Watch

    After this month is over, Meta is pulling the Facebook Messenger app from the Apple Watch. Starting on June 1st, Apple Watch users can no longer send or receive messages using the app. The news got out after some users of the wearable spotted a notification on the Apple Watch Messenger app titled “Changes to Messenger on Apple Watch.” The notification said, “After May 31st, Messenger won’t be available as an Apple Watch app, but you can still get Messenger notifications on your watch.”
    A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the news and pointed out that those who want to send and receive messages using Facebook Messenger can still do so via the iPhone app, through their desktop, or by using the website. For some reason, Meta hasn’t shared this decision with many and it has yet to release a public statement. Apple is expected to release watchOS 10 in September, focusing on widgets instead of third-party apps.
    I also remember back in the day when Facebook had special integration so that you could make posts and upload photos directly without having to open the app. Obviously this meant people didn’t need to open the app as much, and that meant less ads, so they removed it.”
    If you use the Facebook Messenger app on your Apple Watch, you have less than three weeks to enjoy using it unless Meta changes your heart. Since its decision to eliminate the Apple Watch app might have to do with money, please don’t hold your breath hoping for Meta to reverse its decision.
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  • Meta’s ad platform experiences huge glitch wiping out some customers’ advertising budgets

    Meta’s ad platform experiences huge glitch wiping out some customers’ advertising budgets

    Facebook advertisers say that they experienced a strange glitch last weekend forcing them to pay as much as twice the usual ad rates. These advertisers were charged rates as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars for ads they claim that no one was able to view even though Facebook parent Meta denied this. This happened at 2 am last Sunday and for a brief period Meta removed all ads from its network and at the same time, it barely spoke with its advertising customers.
    The glitch affected mostly advertisers on Facebook, although some Instagram advertisers were also affected. A Meta spokesman said, “A technical issue that has now been resolved caused ad delivery issues for some advertisers.” Last Sunday not only did advertisers notice that they were being charged more than Meta was supposed to charge them for ads, but they also spent more money that budgeted for specific campaigns.
    Amazingly, complete advertising budgets were wiped out in just a few hours. And the ads were not being shown to any more users than usual and didn’t even drive more clicks despite all the money being drained from advertisers’ accounts. And as we mentioned earlier, some advertisers said their ads were not being viewed.
    The Meta spokesman added that the issue “resulted in some miscalibration for advertising campaigns that were focused on optimizing for certain sales objectives. This caused faster campaign spending, resulting in more variable costs. We do not have evidence that we charged customers for ads no one saw. If no impression occurred, the advertiser would not be charged.”
    Typically, a company might lay out money for a two-week ad campaign. Say the company budgeted $5,000 for the campaign. Meta would control exactly how much money would be spent and when it would be spent. Advertisers would have access to metrics showing how well the ad campaign was working but wouldn’t know anything beyond that. They can look at a status page that shows them when Meta’s systems are down.
    Meta allows the platform to spend 25% over the daily amount budgeted by each company. The Meta spokesman said, “We do not have evidence of exceeding this 25% increase on daily budgets amid the technical issue on Sunday, however.”
    The advertisers affected by the glitch were forced to make a tough decision. They could temporarily pause their ad campaigns or keep the status quo and hope that Meta would straighten things out. For small companies that depend on these ads to generate business, the problem could be a major one. Advertisers dislike making a big fuss and noise because Meta and Google own 50% of the digital advertising market.
    Long-time advertising consultant Barry Holt, who has a decade’s experience managing Facebook advertising campaigns, said, “We shouldn’t have to take action when Facebook has a bug. But for the small business who don’t have an ear at Facebook, there aren’t a lot of options. Meta is just counting on advertisers to bend over and take it.” Holt adds, “Meta is extremely opaque and always has been. All we get is a generic explanation that ‘we are aware of an issue.’ That’s better than nothing, but it’s not enough.”
    Meta has admitted that the events of last Sunday did happen and promised to initiate its “normal refund policies.” But as the ad consultant notes, this is not a quick, smooth, and painless process. “You can burn hours and resources complaining and begging them for refunds and credits. Sometimes it works, but it may not be worth the investment,” Holt said. “And when the restitution comes, it can be months later.”
    Media strategist Eric Seufert wrote in a tweet last week, “Meta’s ad platform experienced an irregularity today that saw many advertisers’ campaigns dramatically increase spend with poor performance. Meta’s communications about this situation with advertisers have been woefully inadequate. This is unacceptable and insulting.”

     

  • YouTube TV announces improvements in picture quality and major fixes for Apple TV

    YouTube TV announces improvements in picture quality and major fixes for Apple TV

    YouTube TV has announced via a post on their official Reddit account that it has made some updates to improve picture quality on its apps. The updates have been implemented in response to complaints from users about the streaming quality of YouTube TV and some major bugs specifically on the Apple TV platform

    On the Apple TV, a major update (version 1.13+) is coming which will address difficulties with the app opening up to a dark screen, will allow HDR implementation, and fix some bugs with 4k playback. Not addressed with this app version, but available in the app store very soon, will be a solution to the issue in which the application would crash on the first-generation 4K Apple TV when it is left on.
    Lastly, the team offered an immediately solution for users experiencing a momentary black screen when switching between content, explaining that this is happening because of the SDR/HDR transitioning that is taking place. The fix involves either setting SDR as content as your default format or disabling range matching altogether, both of which you can change from the Settings > Video and Audio menu.
    Aside from the major fixes for Apple TV, the team also announced some new features that will impact all platforms where YouTube TV runs, including mobile.
    YouTube TV successfully implemented “Multiview” to all its subscribers in response to the fervent demand during March Madness. Now, the company is working on further enhancements to the feature in order to ensure a seamless experience once the NFL season rolls around. No specific updates were shared in the blog post about what type of enhancements we will see, but as the Football season draws near, we can expect to receive more details soon.
    Since we are on the subject of Football and the NFL, YouTube TV added that its users can now access NFL Sunday Ticket by navigating to the “Memberships” page in their settings. Alternatively, they can head to the “Movies & TV” section on YouTube to sign up for the service or explore the various plans that are currently available. For a limited time, interested parties can sign up for a full season package at a discounted price until June 6th.
    YouTube TV is also addressing the issue of picture quality on their streams by conducting a series of tests on transcoding modifications in the next few weeks. The tests will involve a boost in bitrate for live 1080p content on all devices that are compatible with the VP9 codec and that benefit from fast internet connectivity. Assuming a successful outcome of these tests, the intention is to make this a permanent fixture by the upcoming summer season.
  • Facebook might owe you a slice of its $725 million class-action settlement

    Facebook might owe you a slice of its $725 million class-action settlement

    Back in 2018, it was revealed that 87 million Facebook subscribers had their personal data used without permission by now-defunct political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica. Over 70 million of those subscribers were Americans and late last year a federal judge ordered Facebook parent Meta to pay $725 million to settle a class action lawsuit related to the use of this personal data. So now, those who used Facebook between May 24th, 2007, and December 22nd, 2022, and lived in the U.S. during that time, can submit a claim for a share of this money.
    Don’t start buying a new car or call real estate brokers to find a ritzy new place. This is not the same as signing a contract in the NBA. Typically the lawyers make out great while members of the class get a few coins taped to a postcard. Still, it doesn’t hurt to submit a claim if eligible and if enough people can’t be bothered to do so, the larger the payouts will be. You have until August 25th to submit your claim and this is how you do it.
    First, visit the Facebook, Inc., Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation page by directing your browser to facebookuserprivacysettlement.com or by tapping on this link. There are some important dates listed on the page. For example, you can wait until July 26th to decide if you want to withdraw from the settlement and bring your own lawsuit. For the majority of those eligible to submit a claim, filing a lawsuit is not a financially feasible plan.
    So let’s assume that you are going to submit a claim. The first box under the heading of “Summary of your legal rights and options in this settlement” is titled “Submit a claim.” Tap on the link that says “Submit your claim form online” and you’ll be whisked away to the proper page. Now it’s hard not to get excited when the very first request on the page asks you to decide which platform you want to be paid on. You can choose a prepaid Mastercard, or get paid via Venmo, Zeille, or directly to your bank account.
    Fill out all of the information requested and if you still have your Facebook account up and running, you will not have to remember exactly when you started using the platform. The whole process will probably take up to 10 minutes of your time. Individual payments will be based on the number of Facebook users that submit a claim and how long each person has been a Facebook subscriber.
    The final approval hearing is scheduled for September 7th at 1 pm PDT. Hmm. That might come just in time to order a new iPhone 15 model.

     

  • Gambling ads, adult content make Facebook ‘toxic’

    Gambling ads, adult content make Facebook ‘toxic’

    Facebook frequently displays ads soliciting gambling, which is illegal in Vietnam except at licensed casinos, and adult content even in accounts whose owners never search for them.

    Hoang Quan, an office clerk in Da Nang’s Thanh Khe District, says ads with scantily dressed women and gambling games often appear when he surfs the message board or watches Reels on Facebook.

    “The ads are suggested by Facebook and displayed at specific times: After 4 p.m. it is gambling; in the evening it is sexy and suggestive content,” he said.

    Tuan Phuong of Ho Chi Minh City, another Facebook user, sees similar ads pop up constantly.

    “Toxic content appears next to posts. Every time I scroll through a few posts of my friends, the News Feed inserts a gambling ad,” he says.

    He says he is flustered when he sees Facebook live streams with inappropriate content while sitting with his child in the evenings.

    In a survey this month 96% of participants said they had seen gambling and other offensive ads on Facebook, with 81% saying they are frequent.

    The situation seems to have worsened in March, with members on some technology forums suggesting Facebook’s censorship filter could be faulty.

    The contentious ads are usually in the form of a live stream and direct users to gambling websites. As soon as the live stream ends the video is removed from the platform by Facebook fan pages, leaving no trace.

    According to online marketing expert Mai Thanh Phu, the Facebook censorship system only looks at the beginning of a live stream and not the whole of it.

    “In the beginning, the live stream will not have any objectionable content. After Facebook approves the live stream and starts charging for the advertising, the fan page will become a gambling ad.”

    He says buying a fanpage to livestream or Facebook ads is simple and costs just a few million dong (VND23,600=US$1).

    Users can turn them off and report violations though there is no guarantee the same content will not appear again, he warns.

    The Facebook representative in Vietnam has not commented on the above issue.

    According to Ha Hai of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, it is illegal for Facebook to allow gambling ads according under the Law on Advertising.

    “Facebook must actively control, block and remove illegal content, and not wait for users to report or authorities’ instructions.”

    In the past Facebook users have reported seeing ads for cannabis seeds and poppy though Vietnam has stringent drug laws.

    Last November Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said the ministry plans to start inspecting advertising on cross-border platforms.

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  • Zuckerberg copies Musk announcing Meta Verified for Facebook and Instagram

    Zuckerberg copies Musk announcing Meta Verified for Facebook and Instagram

    It looks like Twitter isn’t the only company willing to put a little blue checkmark next to your name in return for a stream of monthly payments. As you probably know, Twitter is asking $8 per month or an annual payment of $84 to join Twitter Blue, which, among other features, will allow you to have your identity verified with a blue checkmark next to your name. Today, Meta co-founder, chairman, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta will test a new service called Meta Verified.

    Meta calls Meta Verified a subscription bundle for Instagram and Facebook and includes a verified badge that shows that you are who you say you are and have verified your identity using a form of government ID. The bundle also helps protect subscribers from having their identities impersonated by using “proactive account monitoring.” Meta Verified members will also have access to a real person to handle common issues that an Instagram or Facebook user might have.

    Other features of the program will give Meta Verified users increased visibility and reach. This means that subscribers will have their posts prominently appear in certain areas of the Instagram and Facebook platforms such as “search, comments, and “recommendations.” Lastly, the subscription bundle offers users exclusive features that will allow them to express themselves “in unique ways.”

    The Meta Verified subscription bundle will be available starting later this week in Australia and New Zealand as a direct purchase on Instagram and Facebook. Make the purchase on the web, which will cost the equivalent of $11.99 per month. If you subscribe via the Facebook or Instagram app on iOS or Android, the price is the equivalent of $14.99 per month. Hmm. Why should an in-app purchase from the App Store or Google Play Store be 25% more expensive (wink, wink)?

    To be eligible to sign up for the program, accounts have to show that they were active in the past with a prior posting history, and the account owner must be at least 18 years of age. Those applying for a Meta Verified subscription must submit a government ID to Meta showing their name and photograph (like a Driver’s License, for example) which must match the name and photo used on their Facebook or Instagram account.

    Meta says, “We’re also committed to continuous monitoring and review of reported violations, as well as taking swift action against those who try to evade our systems.” There will be no changes to accounts on Facebook and Instagram that are already verified based on previous requirements.

    The company states, “Long term, we want to build a subscription offering that’s valuable to everyone, including creators, businesses, and our community at large. As part of this vision, we are evolving the meaning of the verified badge so we can expand access to verification and more people can trust the accounts they interact with are authentic.”

    After being tested in Australia and New Zealand, Meta says that it hopes to bring Meta Verified to the rest of the world soon.

    Back when the company was known as Facebook, it made what is arguably the best acquisition of all time in the tech industry by paying $1 billion for Instagram back in 2012. Some believe that Instagram is now worth in excess of $100 billion. Instagram has matured from a camera filter app to a broader, more well-rounded social media site.

    In 2014, Facebook announced its purchase of messaging app WhatsApp for an initial price of $16 billion. By the time the deal closed a few months after it was first revealed, the final price tag of the transaction had ballooned to a range of $19 billion-$21 billion due to Facebook’s increasing stock valuation.

  • Facebook drains users’ cellphone batteries intentionally

    Facebook drains users’ cellphone batteries intentionally

    A long-standing rumor suggests that the Facebook and Facebook Messenger apps drain the battery on cellphones that have the apps installed. If you believe former Facebook employee George Hayward, a data scientist, Facebook can secretly drain the battery on its users’ cellphones on purpose.  There is actually a name for what it is that Facebook is doing, It is called “negative testing” and it allows tech companies to secretly run down the batteries on someone’s phone to test features on an app or to see how an image might load.
    Facebook parent Meta fired Haywar for refusing to participate in negative testing. “I said to the manager, ‘This can harm somebody,’ and she said by harming a few we can help the greater masses. Any data scientist worth his or her salt will know, Don’t hurt people,” he told the Post.
    Meta axed Hayward in November and initially filed a lawsuit against the company in Manhattan Federal Court. The 33-year-old worked for Meta’s Facebook Messenger app, which delivers text, phone calls, and video calls between users. In the suit, Hayward’s attorney, Dan Kaiser, pointed out that draining users’ smartphone batteries puts people at risk, especially “in circumstances where they need to communicate with others, including but not limited to police or other rescue workers.”
    The suit had to be withdrawn because Meta’s terms of employment forced Hayward to argue his case in arbitration. Kaiser says that most people have no idea that Facebook and other social media companies can drain your battery intentionally. Commenting on the practice of negative testing, the lawyer added, “It’s clearly illegal. It’s enraging that my phone, that the battery can be manipulated by anyone.”
    Originally hired in 2019, Hayward was receiving a six-figure annual paycheck from Meta. But when it came to the company’s request to perform the negative testing, Hayward said, “I refused to do this test. It turns out if you tell your boss, ‘No, that’s illegal,’ it doesn’t go over very well.”
    At one point during his employment at Meta, the company handed Hayward an internal training document titled “How to run thoughtful negative tests.” The document included examples of how to run such tests. After reading the document, Hayward said that it appeared to him that Facebook had used negative testing before. He added, “I have never seen a more horrible document in my career.”
  • Messenger rolls out default end-to-end encrypted chats to more people

    Messenger rolls out default end-to-end encrypted chats to more people

    End-to-end encrypted chats isn’t a new feature for Messenger. Six years ago, the feature was introduced via Secret Conversations, but default end-to-end encrypted chats has been a beta feature for very long time (and it still is). However, Meta has decided that now would be a good time to enroll more Messenger users into the beta program.

    In a new announcement released this week, Meta revealed that it has started to expand testing default end-to-end encryption for Messenger gradually. The feature should become available for more people over the next few months. According to Meta, people who will receive the beta feature will be notified in individual chat threads.

    As far as the method of choosing who’s going to get their chats upgraded with an extra layer of protection, Meta says that it’s been designed to be random “so that there isn’t a negative impact on our infrastructure and people’s chat experience.”

    But that’s not the only thing messenger users will get in the coming months. Along with default end-to-end encrypted chats, Meta announced the introduction of some new features, like chat themes, custom emojis and reactions and a few more, which will be available into Meta’s end-to-end encrypted experience.

    Group profile photos is another new feature that will allow Messenger users to pick group profile photos for different chats. The link previews feature has been redesigned for end-to-end encrypted chats to let users see where a link is taking them before they actually click on it.

    The new Active Status feature lets Messenger users see when you’re active. Thankfully, the feature can be turned off, which comes in handy if you don’t want to be disturbed. Finally, Bubbles (a circle with a friend’s picture) allows Messenger users to read and reply to messages while Messenger users to read and reply to messages while they’re using other apps. It needs to be enabled to make the bubble appear whenever you receive new messages. Sadly, Bubbles is only available on Android for the time being.

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  • Vietnam collects $146M from online platforms such as Facebook, Google

    Vietnam collects $146M from online platforms such as Facebook, Google

    Forty-two foreign suppliers, including Facebook, Google and TikTok, have paid VND3.44 trillion ($146.40 million) in taxes to Vietnam this year, according to the new portal of the General Department of Taxation.

    The portal was established in March to make it easier for cross-border giants to pay their taxes in Vietnam, the department said in a report released Thursday.

    Vietnam is forecast to collect VND1,460 trillion in taxes and fees this year, exceeding its earlier estimate by 24.3%. This is an 8.5% increase from 2021.

    Sixteen out of 19 tax areas recorded growth for the year, such as state-owned companies (up 8.7% year-on-year), foreign direct investment (2.5%), and the private economy (1.4%).

    Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City each collected over VND300 trillion in taxes and fees for the year.

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  • Facebook launches new privacy tools to protect teens

    Facebook launches new privacy tools to protect teens

    Facebook is taking another step toward strengthening teens protection by introducing a new set of privacy tools. The social app announced today some updates to its policy of protecting young people from harm. After releasing similar features last year to restrict adults from messaging teens they aren’t connected to, this year Facebook plans to introduce new ways to protect teens from messaging suspicious adults they aren’t connected to.

    As per Facebook’s statement, a “suspicious” account is one that belongs to an adult that may have recently been blocked or reported by a young person (among other things). Additionally, Facebook introduced another layer of protection by removing the message button on teens’ Instagram accounts when suspicious adults view them. Both these features are now being tested by Facebook and will be made generally available if they prove to be efficient.

    New safety tools have been announced too, in the form of notifications which will prompt teens to report accounts after they block someone, as well as safety notices that contain information on how to navigate inappropriate messages from adults.

    More importantly, Facebook released new privacy defaults for teens using its social app. Starting today, Facebook users under the age of 16 (or under 18 in certain countries) will be defaulted into more private settings when they join the service. Those who are already on the app are encouraged to use these more private settings for:

    • Who can see their friends list
    • Who can see the people, Pages and lists they follow
    • Who can see posts they’re tagged in on their profile
    • Reviewing posts they’re tagged in before the post appears on their profile
    • Who is allowed to comment on their public posts

    Finally, Facebook announced that it’s working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to create a global platform for teens who are worried intimate images they made might be shared on public online platforms without their consent.

  • Meta cuts 11,000 jobs as it sinks more money into the metaverse

    Meta cuts 11,000 jobs as it sinks more money into the metaverse

    Meta Platforms Inc said on Wednesday it would cut more than 11,000 jobs, or 13% of its workforce, as the Facebook parent doubled down on its risky metaverse bet amid a crumbling advertising market and decades-high inflation.

    The mass layoffs, one of the biggest this year and the first in Meta’s 18-year history, follow thousands of job cuts at other tech companies including Elon Musk-owned Twitter, Microsoft Corp and Snap Inc.

    Like its peers, Meta hired aggressively during the pandemic to meet a surge in social media usage by stuck-at-home consumers. But its business has suffered this year as advertisers and consumers pull the plug on spending in the face of soaring cost pressures and rapidly rising interest rates.

    “Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in a message to employees.

    “I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.”

    Meta, once worth more than a trillion dollars, is now valued at $256 billion after losing more than 70% of its value this year alone.

    Shares rose 4% on Wednesday as investors cheered caution by a company that has been pinning its future on the metaverse with pricey investments that Zuckerberg himself says will take a decade to bear fruit.

    “The market is breathing a sigh of relief that Meta’s management or Zuckerberg specifically seems to be heeding some advice, which is you need to take some of the steam out of the growing expenditure bill,” Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Sophie Lund-Yates said.

    The company now expects 2023 expenses between $94 billion and $100 billion, compared with the $96 billion to $101 billion range projected previously. It also narrowed its 2023 capital expenditures forecast range.

    Other than the job cuts, which will impact units across Meta with a disproportional hit to the recruiting and business teams, the company will also reduce office space, lower its discretionary spending and extend a hiring freeze into the first quarter to rein in expenses.

    Metaverse cash burn

    Still, more of the leftover resources will go toward the Reality Labs unit responsible for its metaverse investments. The business lost $9.44 billion between January and September this year, with losses expected to grow significantly in 2023.

    The spending spree has drawn the ire of Wall Street and shareholders, with one investor recently calling the investments “super-sized and terrifying”. Analysts have also questioned how long Meta can pour money into the project in a weak economy.

    “They’re going to have to continue to rightsize … next year is going to be a difficult environment for them,” said Paul McCarthy at Kisco Capital, which previously owned Meta shares.

    McCarthy added that he was skeptical about the company’s metaverse bets, and that rising interest rates and a gloomy macro environment could continue to weigh on the ad market.

    As part of the severance package, Meta will pay 16 weeks of base pay and two additional weeks for every year of service, as well as all remaining paid time off.

    Impacted employees will also receive their shares that were set to vest on Nov. 15 and healthcare coverage for six months, according to Meta, which had 87,314 employees as of the end of September.

    The company did not disclose the exact charge for the layoffs, but said the figure was included in its previously annou

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  • Zuckerberg’s net worth is down $70 billion this year

    Zuckerberg’s net worth is down $70 billion this year

    This has not been a good year for Mark Zuckerberg’s wallet. Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature, which allows iPhone users to opt-out of being tracked for the purpose of receiving personalized advertising, is expected to cost Facebook $10 billion in revenue this year. That is a mighty big chunk of change and led investors to dump Meta’s stock.

    Since the beginning of the year, Meta’s stock has declined 61.7% dropping from $338 to the current price of $129.82. That decline has cost Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg a whopping 70% of his net worth. And things will get even worse tomorrow morning. After the markets closed in New York this afternoon, Meta dropped a stinker of a third-quarter earnings report sending the stock down in after-hours trading to $104.30 for a $25.22 decline or nearly 20%.

    Not including what the damage will be tomorrow morning, Zuckerberg’s net worth has declined from $125 billion to $55.3 billion since the start of the year. Tomorrow morning, Zuckerberg could take another $10 billion hit, although he still might not need you to start a Go Fund Me page for him.

    Meta reported $27.71 billion in third-quarter revenue, which was a 4% decline from the $29.01 billion that the company grossed during the same time period last year. Still, it topped the $27.38 billion estimate made by Wall Street analysts. Operating margin, the percentage of profit remaining after subtracting costs, dropped to 20% from 36% a year earlier. Net income took a big hit, declining 52% from last year’s $9.19 billion during Q3 to $4.40 billion during this year’s third quarter.

    This year’s earnings per share during the three months from July to September fell 49% to $1.64 from the $3.22 Meta reported during the 2021 third quarter. Wall Street forecast that Meta would report earnings per share of $1.89. That 25 cents a share shortfall was part of the reason for the stock’s huge decline.

    Other problems included Meta reporting average revenue per user of $9.41, short of the $9.83 that Wall Street was looking for. The number of Daily Active Users (DAUs) met estimates of 1.98 billion people during Q3 while at 2.96 billion the number of  Monthly Active Users actually topped forecasts of 2.94 billion.

    Commenting on the results for the third quarter, Zuckerberg said, “Our community continues to grow and I’m pleased with the strong engagement we’re seeing driven by progress on our discovery engine and products like Reels. While we face near-term challenges on revenue, the fundamentals are there for a return to stronger revenue growth. We’re approaching 2023 with a focus on prioritization and efficiency that will help us navigate the current environment and emerge an even stronger company.”

    Besides owning Facebook, Meta also owns Instagram which it bought for only $1 billion in 2012. With an estimated value of $102 billion, the purchase of Instagram is considered one of the best acquisitions (if not the best) made in the tech industry. A bit over two years later, Facebook closed on its purchase of WhatsApp, a deal that cost the social media company $21 billion by the time the deal closed.

    Also helping to take Meta’s shares down in after-hours trading was the company’s forecast that fourth-quarter revenue would be in the range of $30 billion to $32.5 billion. Wall Street was predicting that Meta’s gross for the current quarter would be $32.2 billion.

    If Meta does open tomorrow at around $104, it will be the lowest price since November 2015 or approximately seven years ago. If you’re Mark Zuckerberg, tonight is just another bad night from a bad year that has seen his standing among the world’s richest people decline to number 20. This is a good example of how those entrepreneurs who see their wealth grow exponentially due to the stock they own in the company they founded, can easily see the process work in reverse when the shares fall.

  • Zuckerberg announces $1,500 Meta Quest Pro and takes a shot at Apple

    Zuckerberg announces $1,500 Meta Quest Pro and takes a shot at Apple

    On Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Meta’s new $1,499 Quest Pro Virtual Reality (VR) headset. VR gives the user the immersive experience of being in a fabricated environment that is not real, no matter how realistic it looks. Meta’s CEO and co-founder took a shot at Apple which is supposed to unveil its own pricey mixed-reality headset early next year.”
    While not exactly mentioning Apple by name, the executive did make some comments referencing Apple’s so-called “Walled Garden.” Mark said, “In every generation of computing, there’s been an open ecosystem and a closed ecosystem, there was Windows and Mac, then Android and iOS. Closed ecosystems focus on tight control and integration to create unique experiences and lock in. Although most of that value ends up flowing to the platform over time.”
    The executive goes on to say, “I see our role is not just helping to build this open ecosystem, but making sure that the open ecosystem wins out in this next generation of the internet.”
    Zuckerberg has been angry at Apple ever since last year when the company gave iPhone users the opportunity to opt out of being tracked by apps and websites for the purpose of receiving customized ads. And that hit Meta hard as the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature cost the company more than $10 billion in revenue. And while that wasn’t the only factor involved, for the year to date Meta’s shares are down $210 or a whopping 62%.
    Last month, CBS News calculated that Zuckerberg’s net worth had declined by $71 billion because of the stock decline. Ouch! That has got to hurt. And we get the feeling that Mark blames Apple for much of the hit he has taken personally.
    Zuckerberg sees VR and Augmented Reality (AR) as the building blocks of a new platform that could be found on a new device that could become more popular than the smartphone. First, let’s tell you that AR allows users to see computer-generated data superimposed on top of a live video feed. A good example of this is Google Maps’ “Live View” which can be activated while walking.
    Users see the view in front of them thanks to a rear camera. On top of that image are arrows that give the user navigation directions while other computer-generated icons point out landmarks and notable locations.
    Apple’s upcoming headset, nothing more than a rumor at this point, will reportedly be powered by an Apple M2 chip and could feature 16GB of memory. Rumored pricing has Apple’s headset costing over $2,000 and perhaps reaching $3,000.
    After these headsets are released, it appears that the next item on the agenda is AR glasses similar to Google Glass. Many see AR glasses eventually replacing the smartphone as the glasses can project data into your eyes while doing everything that a smartphone can do. Apple is supposedly working on AR glasses although they are believed to be a few years away.
    Zuckerberg made it sound as though Meta is also working on a similar product. “The fundamental technologies across the stack to build augmented reality glasses are coming together. We’ve got displays, sensors, silicon, AI, and more,” the CEO said.
    In early April of 2012, Google unveiled “Project Glass” to the world releasing “a day in the life of” video that showed how the specs could handle the things that a smartphone could do. But the pricey glasses led many bystanders to wonder if they were being photographed or recorded without permission. Some movie theaters banned Google Glass as they worried that the user could be recording a bootleg video that would be sold illegally.
    Eventually, users became known as “Glassholes” and Google stopped selling the device to consumers. Google is reportedly taking another shot at this device and is said to be working on its own AR specs for the public that will look different than Google Glass and more like regular eyeglasses.