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Tag: meta

  • Meta, Sa Sa and Vita Green join Omnichat to share WhatsApp marketing

    Meta, Sa Sa and Vita Green join Omnichat to share WhatsApp marketing

    Omnichat, a one-stop omnichannel messaging integration platform that offers conversational commerce solutions, recently hosted an offline event, “Future Commerce Summit cum New Product Launch”.

    Leading global social media giant Meta and several prominent retail brands in Hong Kong, including beauty product retailing group Sa Sa and health supplements group Vita Green were invited to explore the recent retail trends this year along with WhatsApp Marketing to foster conversions and sales while delivering a first-class customer experience.

    As the WhatsApp Business Solution Provider of Meta, Omnichat also announced the launch of its latest social commerce solutions comprising automated customer journey, in-chat payment, social customer data platform (Social CDP) in tandem with “Omni AI”, the latest integration with ChatGPT. The features are designed to empower retail businesses to drive efficient customer service and better customer engagements, thus improving sales conversion rates online and offline.

    Meta builds technologies that help people connect. Adam Bowden, partner lead, GCR & global partners of Meta, said that 70 percent of consumers worldwide use instant messaging software to communicate with businesses, according to the statistics of Meta.

    “Meta has provided WhatsApp Business Platform to businesses, enabling them to meet the needs of consumers and achieve their business goals more quickly. This platform drives merchants to interact and communicate with customers anytime and anywhere, enhancing the relationship between merchants and customers and encouraging consumption. With monthly active users reaching 2.5 billion, WhatsApp has a global presence in 180 countries,” Bowden said.

    According to the survey conducted by Meta & Forrester Consulting, 88 percent of surveyed businesses said that WhatsApp has brought in more revenue. Claudia Chiu, senior strategic partner manager, Greater China Region of Meta, noted that the WhatsApp Business Platform has empowered businesses to establish a complete shopping journey.

    “WhatsApp Business Platform can tailor-make different messages to customers based on their characteristics or scenarios, such as new customers, repeated customers, and potential customers. Moreover, businesses can include different response buttons and product catalogues in WhatsApp messages.”

    Sa Sa proactively integrates its offline and online businesses to deliver a customer-centric omnichannel shopping experience. Hong Li, director of e-commerce at Sa Sa, said that using Chatbot auto-reply feature of Chat Commerce has significantly reduced the response time of customer service, enabling the team to solve other customers’ problems, thereby increasing sales conversion rates.

    “During the last Lunar New Year and 3.8 International Women’s Day, we delivered game messages and exclusive coupons to customers via WhatsApp and Omnichat’s Chat Commerce platform. Through this way, not only the customer engagement rates can be increased but also a 39-fold increase in coupon redemption rates compared to the general rate,” Li added.

    Vita Green has been continuously increasing member engagement and digital marketing automation capabilities through technology advancement. Terrence Siu, head of IT at Vita Green, said their iconic brands, Vita Green and Tea Château have been using WhatsApp to precisely send customised marketing and promotional messages to their loyal members. Salespersons can also be bound to their respective customers for providing one-on-one services, including product recommendations and customer enquiries.

    “Thanks to WhatsApp and Omnichat’s platform, our team is equipped with a new communication channel for member engagement which has boosted our sales and enhanced the overall customer experience,” Siu said.

    Across WhatsApp Business Platform, Facebook Messenger and Instagram, Omnichat empowers brands to deliver seamless online and offline communications for customers.

    Alan Chan, founder and CEO of Omnichat, said: “Our merchants can use the Social CDP to collect customer identities from various social media platforms and map them to a unique profile, building a more comprehensive customer database. Together with the automated customer journey solutions, customised marketing messages can be automatically sent out in accordance with different shopping scenarios.

    “We expect the function will empower merchants to achieve more than 20 per cent revenue growth. With the integration of ChatGPT, we further optimise the handling of customers’ enquiries, product recommendations as well marketing campaign planning. Our In-Chat Payment function is also available for merchants to send payment links and deliver a seamless Chat-and-Buy customer shopping experience.”

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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.”

     

  • WhatsApp rolls out new security features

    WhatsApp rolls out new security features

    Great news for WhatsApp users, as the company has just announced it has kicked off the rollout of some important security features meant to protect accounts. The new features will provide WhatsApp users with extra layers of privacy, as well as more control over their personal messages.

    First off, the latest update introduces a new security measure when a WhatsApp user wants to switch their account to a new device. Starting today, WhatsApp may ask users on their old devices to verify that they really want to take this step as an extra security check. It’s an important feature that will help alert users in case of an unauthorized attempt to move their account to another device.

    Another essential addition to WhatsApp is device verification. To prevent mobile device malware from taking advantage of their people’s phones without their permission and use their WhatsApp to send unwanted messages, the app has added special security checks.

    These checks will help authenticate an account (with no action needed from the user) and, hopefully, better protect the user if their device has been compromised. You can check out Meta’s post for more details on how this works under the hood.

    Last but not least, WhatsApp’s automatic security codes feature has just received an upgrade. The upgrade consists of a new security feature based on a process called “Key Transparency,” which should allow WhatsApp users to automatically verify their secure connection.

    Starting today, users can immediately tap on the encryption tab to verify that their conversation is secured. More details about the new security feature are available on Meta’s Engineering website.

    Although the new security features will automatically be added to each user’s device, two features must actually be turned on: two-step verification and use of end-to-end encrypted backups. Don’t forget to switch these on if you want an extra layer of security.

  • 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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  • Update to Instagram gives teen users a feature they requested

    Update to Instagram gives teen users a feature they requested

    Meta announced today that it is adding new features to its Instagram app that are designed to give users a break from receiving notifications and to help them manage their feeds to avoid viewing content that they don’t want to see. Quiet mode, which launches today, will prevent you from receiving notifications when enabled. When someone sends you a Direct Message, an auto-reply will be sent and your activity status will be updated to alert others that you have Quiet mode turned on.
    Quiet mode can be customized to fit the user’s schedule. Meta says that teens have been requesting a feature like Quiet mode that will allow them to focus on schoolwork at night without having to be disrupted by notifications. And here’s the thing. Once Quiet mode is disabled, Instagram will catch you up by sending you a summary of all the notifications you missed while on Quiet mode.
    While Quiet mode will be available to all users, Instagram will prompt teens to use the feature when they are using the app late at night. Quiet mode will be available starting today to Instagram users in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Meta says that it hopes to bring the feature to other countries soon.
    As we noted, Meta also wants to allow Instagram users to tell them which content they do not want to see on their feeds or recommended to them. In Explore, you can hide more than one post that you’re not interested in at one time. And when you tell Instagram that you’re not interested in a particular Explore post, you won’t see similar content in the future in Reels, Search, or wherever Instagram makes recommendations.
    To tag an Explore image as something that you’re not interested in, press on the image, tap the three-dot menu icon on the upper right next to the follow button, and tap on Not interested on the pop-up at the bottom of the screen. On videos shown in the vertical format, the three dot menu icon is the last element located along the right side of the display.
    Instagram users can already hide DMs and comments that contain certain words. You can now stop receiving recommended posts that include certain words in a post’s caption or hashtag. To create such a list, open the Instagram app and tap the profile picture in the bottom right corner. That takes you to your account page. Tap the hamburger menu icon in the upper right. Go to Settings > Privacy > Hidden Words > Manage custom words and phrases. You can add multiple words, phrases, and even emojis.
    Lastly, Instagram recently added a feature allowing parents to view their teen’s Instagram settings. If a teen changes a setting on the Instagram app, a parent will receive a notification. Parents can also find out which Instagram accounts have been blocked by their teens.
    Meta suggests that parents “Visit Family Center for conversation starters and to learn more about the available parental supervision tools, including how to set time limits, schedule breaks, be notified when teens share a report, and more. These updates are part of our ongoing work to ensure people have experiences that work for them, and that they have more control over the time they spend online and the types of content they see.”
    According to a published report, among U.S. and British teens that had suicidal thoughts, 6% in the states and 13% in England traced these feelings back to an issue they had with content read on Instagram. While ideally those teens should stop using the app, that might be easier said than done. Hopefully, the new features will help teens cope while using Instagram.
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  • Apple might be building its own version of the metaverse

    Apple might be building its own version of the metaverse

    At this point, it is somewhat obvious that Apple is done with new hardware releases for 2022. After quietly launching a couple of new iPads and a new Apple TV, the American tech giant has decided to call it a year.

    Many are bound to be disappointed by the lack of a dedicated November/October event, as is the norm and the fact that we will not be getting new MacBooks this fall. Still, it seems Apple could be building momentum for something big – namely, its VR/AR headset.

    The latter is set to make its debut sometime next year, possibly at the company’s first event for 2023 in Spring. It is hardly a secret that Apple has big plans for AR/VR technology – Tim Cook even went as far as saying that that could be the “next big thing”.

    Now we are getting the first taste of just how far the Cupertino company is willing to go. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is now beginning to work on a whole “3D mixed-reality world” and is seeking new talent.

    This information is based on a recent Apple job listing and was first brought forward by Gurman himself in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter. According to the prominent tech pundit, whose track record concerning Apple leaks is impeccable, the Cupertino company could be building a virtual environment similar to Mark Zuckerberg’s “metaverse”.

    Gurman jokingly quips that the controversial term will never be officially used by the company. Regardless of how Apple decides to name this virtual universe, one thing is certain – the rumored VR/AR headset is only the beginning.

    With Google also set to enter the fray with a headset of its own sooner rather than later, no less than three American tech giants will be looking to pave the way for our VR/AR future. It seems Tim Cook was right – that truly is “the next big thing”.

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  • 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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  • Meta is working on Instagram Malfunction

    Meta is working on Instagram Malfunction

    Instagram seems to be down for a lot of people around the globe at the time of this writing, according to users flocking to Twitter to make their plight known to the entire world (oh, the irony) and the always reliable Downdetector platform.

    The situation is already so widespread that the social network’s PR team has also taken to Twitter to apologize to everyone for the “inconvenience” of not being able to access your Instagram accounts for the last few hours (at the time of this writing).
    What Instagram parent company Meta is not ready to confirm just yet is the nature of this “inconvenience”, which appears to include random account suspensions for a worrying number of users.
    Many people claim they are not aware of having violated any rules so egregiously that a 30-day ban would be warranted, and because the Instagram app and website themselves refuse to work for a lot of these users, appealing the decision is currently impossible.

    Account confirmation is also being required of some users, which is either not possible at the moment as well or completely broken.

    In short, Meta has a PR disaster in the making, and although the company is undoubtedly “looking into” the outage and its causes, the masses are demanding (and arguably deserving) more detailed and satisfying explanations, not to mention a swift resolution. We’ll keep you posted if we find out more or if the glitches are indeed resolved soon.
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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.
  • Apple iPhone users sue Meta for allegedly stealing their personal data

    Apple iPhone users sue Meta for allegedly stealing their personal data

    When Apple started to allow iPhone users to opt-out of getting tracked by third-party apps with the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature last year, Facebook complained the loudest with CEO Mark Zuckerberg shelling out the big bucks it costs to run full-page ads in some big-time newspapers. And as it turned out, Zuckerberg knew exactly what was coming and as he figured, it was a disaster.
    According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in the year since the ATT rolled out, Facebook lost $10 billion in potential revenue. There is speculation that Facebook has come up with a way to help it generate the revenue it lost from Apple’s decision to roll out ATT. Just last month, we told you that Felix Krause, a former Google engineer, and a security researcher, alleged that Meta is tracking the keystrokes made by iOS users typing on Facebook’s in-app browser.
    Krause said that Facebook and its Instagram unit could use JavaScript to grab your credit card data, address, passwords, and more without your permission. Now comes word that two class action suits have been filed against Facebook parent Meta by three iOS users who are citing Krause’s allegations. The lawsuits were filed on behalf of all iOS users impacted and accuse Meta of committing several illegal actions, including:
    • The concealing of privacy risks.
    • Ignoring the privacy choices made by iOS users.
    • “Intercepting, monitoring, and recording all activity on third-party websites viewed in Facebook or Instagram’s browser.
    The plaintiffs claim that Meta used the data collected to collect “personally identifiable information, private health details, text entries, and other sensitive, confidential facts.” The users, whose information was allegedly stolen by Meta, had no idea that this was going on. The latest filing was made yesterday by California’s Gabriele Willis and Kerreisha Davis from Louisiana.
    Adam Polk, a lawyer, working for the law firm of Girard Sharp LLP, which is handling the case involving Willis and Davis, said it is important to stop Meta from continuing to hide their continued privacy invasions. The law firm also pointed out that in the past, Facebook (now Meta) had been fined $5 billion by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
    Polk said that “Merely using an app doesn’t give the app company license to look over your shoulder when you click on a link. This litigation seeks to hold Meta accountable for secretly monitoring people’s browsing activity through its in-app tracking even when they haven’t allowed Meta to do that.”
    The complaints related to the class action suit “revealed that Meta has been injecting code into third-party websites, a practice that allows Meta to track users and intercept data that would otherwise be unavailable to it.” Researcher Krause has determined that Meta uses code to override the wishes of Facebook users wanting to use their default browser forcing them to use Facebook’s in-app browser instead when using the app.
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  • Meta brings Community Chats to Messenger and Facebook Groups

    Meta brings Community Chats to Messenger and Facebook Groups

    Meta has just announced it will launch a new feature in Facebook and Messenger, which will allow users to start group chats directly in these apps. Called Community Chats, the new feature will first be tested in Messenger and will expand to more Facebook Groups in the coming weeks.

    The ability to start Community Chats in Messenger should allows users to create a Facebook Group, start chats and audio channels, as well as invite other people to join their group all within the app. The new experience is a mix between Messenger and Facebook Groups, but it doesn’t seem to replace either, at least for the time being.

    There will be multiple options to start a chat for group members, like a specific topic, an event chat, a view-only broadcast chat for announcements, or admin-only chat that will keep the discussions between admins and moderators private.

    In addition, admins will be able to create audio channels to allow group members to share live commentary or receive real-time support. Members of a chat group will also have the option to enable video once they’re in the audio channel.

    According to Meta, the new Community Chats feature will be released alongside a solid suite of tools meant to help admins manage both chat and audio experiences much easier. Among these tools, Meta confirmed the suite will include moderation capabilities such as blocking, muting or suspending group members, and removing members or messages, as well as Admin Assist.

    Admin Assist seems to be one of more useful tools since it allows admins to set custom filters to automatically suspend users, remove reported messages, and stop message from ineligible authors or containing violating content from being send.

    Finally, all members of Community Chats will be able to report messages to group admins or directly to Meta, block users, as well as leave a chat at any time. As mentioned earlier, Community Chats are now being tested in Messenger, but they will be rolled out to Facebook Groups in the coming weeks too.

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  • Meta expands parental control tools for Instagram and in VR

    Meta expands parental control tools for Instagram and in VR

    Back in December last year, Meta announced it will bring new parental controls to its social network products. The first set of those parental control tools launched back in March, 2022, allowing parents to view how much time their teens spend on the social network, set time limits, and be notified when their teen reported someone.

    Today, Meta has announced on its blog that the company is releasing the second batch of parental control tools, this time both for Instagram and in VR. Instagram already has a solid slew of options in the Parent Dashboard, but the new features will allow parents to:

    • Send invitations to their teens to initiate supervision tools. Initially, only teens could send invitations.
    • Set specific times during the day or week when they would like to limit their teen’s use of Instagram.
    • See more information when their teen reports an account or post, including who was reported, and the type of report.
    • Approve their teen’s download or purchase of an app that is blocked by default based on its IARC-rating.
    • Teens 13+ can submit an “Ask to Buy” request, which triggers a notification to their parents.
    • The parent can then approve or deny the request from the Oculus mobile app.
    • Block specific apps that may be inappropriate for their teen, which will prevent the teen from launching those apps. Apps that can be blocked include apps like web browsers and apps available on the Quest Store.
    • View all of the apps that their teen owns.
    • Receive “Purchase Notifications,” alerting them when their teen makes a purchase in VR.
    • View headset screen time from the Oculus mobile app, so they’ll know how much time their teen is spending in VR.
    • View their teen’s list of Oculus Friends.
    • Block Link and Air Link to prevent their teen from accessing content from their PC on their Quest headset.

    It’s worth noting that in order for parents to gain control of their little ones, they have to link both accounts together – a process that requires approval from both the parent and the teen. We see a lot of potential for tension at home with these new features but at the end of the day, it can save our kids from a lot of trouble, so it might be worth it. It’s down to negotiation skills and positive reinforcement.