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Tag: portal

  • Introducing PineDrama: TikTok’s Free, Ad-less Portal to Micro Drama Series, Now Live in the US

    Introducing PineDrama: TikTok’s Free, Ad-less Portal to Micro Drama Series, Now Live in the US

    For devotees of brief video content, the introduction of TikTok’s latest application focused on ‘micro dramas’ comes as exciting news. This new application is a development of TikTok’s commitment to fostering engagement and innovation in the realm of digital entertainment.

    Micro Dramas – The New Craze

    Micro dramas, also known as mini or vertical dramas, are swiftly gaining popularity in the mobile entertainment space. These dramas are segmented into brief episodes that typically last for around 60 to 90 seconds. This app, named PineDrama, has been launched in the United States and Brazil and is exclusively dedicated to this format.

    Unlike standalone videos, these mini series are designed to be viewed in order, drawing in the audience with numerous quick clips. In doing so, the potential for higher view counts increases dramatically, potentially reaching into the millions.

    Modern Day Soap Operas

    Drawing parallels with the global popularity of soap dramas several decades ago, micro dramas seem to be enjoying a similar resurgence. PineDrama tends to favor genres of romance and the supernatural, with common narratives revolving around love triangles, billionaires, vampires, and werewolves.

    One of their series, titled ‘Love at First Bite’, has already amassed 18 million views. The three most popular shows on the app have all garnered over 100 million views according to in-app counters, which speaks to the traction that this app is already gaining.

    Monetization Strategy

    Traditionally, the majority of micro drama platforms resort to aggressive monetization strategies, often involving viewer payments. In 2025, micro dramas were estimated to have generated $1.3 billion in the United States largely from these direct viewer payments.

    Typically, platforms like DramaBox and ReelShort offer a limited number of free episodes before implementing a paywall that can cost upwards of $20 a week. PineDrama is adopting a markedly different stance at its launch, allowing users to sign in with their existing TikTok accounts to access full series at no cost, with no advertisements or visible payment prompts.

    This lack of an advertising model or paywall implies that PineDrama may still be in the early stages of testing. It appears that, at least initially, TikTok is prioritizing user engagement over revenue generation.

    Questions & Answers

    What are micro dramas?
    Micro dramas, also known as mini or vertical dramas, are a rapidly growing format in mobile entertainment. They are brief episodic dramas that usually last for around 60 to 90 seconds.

    What kind of content does PineDrama focus on?
    PineDrama primarily focuses on romance and supernatural themes. Storylines often involve love triangles, billionaires, vampires, and werewolves.

    How does PineDrama plan to monetize its content?
    Unlike other platforms that use aggressive monetization tactics such as paywalls, PineDrama currently allows users to watch full series for free. This suggests that the platform is prioritizing user engagement over revenue generation during its initial phase.

  • Major new features coming to Meta’s Portal smart display

    Major new features coming to Meta’s Portal smart display

    The Portal smart display has been updated quite a few times with new features. After rebranding itself from Facebook to Meta, the social network has decided to turn its attention to the device once again.

    Earlier today, Meta announced that it has added new ways for Portal owners to use Facebook Assistant on the device. A new ability to let the Portal capture a moment during a Messenger call is now available for users, and the best thing is that it can be used hands-free by saying “Hey Portal, take a photo.”

    The update also adds the Alexa touch interface, which allows users to manage smart home devices, routines, alarms, music, smart doorbells and more by touch or directly from the Alexa app.

    As mentioned earlier, Meta is now rolling out new ways for users to stay connected with their Facebook friends on Portal, hands-free. Facebook Assistant can pull up a friend’s profile or recent posts. Portal owners can now say “Hey Portal, show me Stories” or ask about recent posts, responses and photos.

    Meta is adding group AR Effects that let people on a Messenger call to experience the same effects at the same time. Additionally, three new augmented reality games will be available for Portal owners via Facebook Assistant: Quizbee, Sequencer, and Port-a-Pet.

    Furthermore, Meta announced that starting today support for Microsoft Teams will be available on Portal, Portal+ and Portal Go. Finally, later this month, ESPN will expand from Portal TV to include Portal, Portal+ and Portal Go in the United States.

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  • The entire Retail News Editorial team wishes you a Joyful and Merry Christmas

    The entire Retail News Editorial team wishes you a Joyful and Merry Christmas

    It’s been a difficult year; we better say the most difficult year in decades with Covid-19 and all social restrictions that were put in place. But we were resilient, and prepare ourselves for a better year.

    Hopefully with more and more retail events and summits; cause that’s what we retailers live from. Showcase and demo products, networking, and meeting up with customers and vendors. It’s not that far ahead of us… we already prepare ourselves in order to get ready when the markets are ready again to shift gears.

    Thanks for being part of the largest retail community covering Asia this year. The entire Retail News Editorial team is wishing you a Happy Holiday season. We wish you joy and peace in the upcoming year. Wishing you all the joys of the season and happiness throughout the coming year.

    Thanks for support us; thanks for reading us and stay close in the new year!

     

     

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  • Facebook Shops enabling retailers to sell directly to consumers

    Facebook Shops enabling retailers to sell directly to consumers

    Social commerce is about to get a whole lot more social, with Facebook announcing the launch of its business-to-consumer marketplace offering Facebook Shops.

    The new platform began rolling out in New Zealand yesterday and will be progressively rolled out across international markets during the coming months.

    Shops will leverage the co-owned ecosystem of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to make it easy for customers to find the products they want, wherever they are, and be able to get in contact with the business selling if they need more information.

    Businesses will be able to set up a partly-customizable storefront within Facebook, which can be accessed through Facebook, Instagram, or through stories or ads.

    In the US, customers will be able to check out directly within Facebook – though this feature has yet to make it to Australia and New Zealand.

    “Over the past three months businesses of all sizes have been forced to change their business models and adapt to selling online,” Facebook Australia and New Zealand MD Will Easton said.

    “We’ve accelerated our development of new products, giving businesses better means of connecting with consumers, and helping businesses who don’t have an online presence to drive sales online.”

    Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says Shops will be free for businesses to access.

    “Our business model here is ads, so rather than charge businesses for Shops, we know that Shops are valuable for businesses. They’re going to – in general – bid more for ads and we’ll eventually make money that way.”

    And later this year the business will expand Shops into its live-streaming features, in which a business can tag products that will be on display before starting a stream to make them purchasable when going live.

    Facebook is already working in collaboration with e-commerce partners such as Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce to enable businesses an easier time getting their Facebook Shop up and running.

    Shops is the latest push by the social media giant into the world of commerce, building off the strengths of its customer-to-customer Marketplace offering.

    And according to industry firm UBS the drive toward online shopping will only become more important for businesses in a post-Covid-19 world.

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  • Job portal Mybrands launched in Singapore

    Job portal Mybrands launched in Singapore

    Retail-solutions consultancy IDA’SG is launching a niche job portal for fashion, beauty and lifestyle retail firms in Singapore.

    Called, MyBrands SG, the platform will launch on July 3 and is designed to enhance skill matching in the city’s retail industry.

    “With the launch of Mybrands.sg, we hope to help brands become more effective and efficient with managing all their hiring needs using a single touchpoint,” said IDA’SG MD Angeline Yap. “Our algorithm has been tried and tested in Japan and we are confident that it will produce results in Singapore as well. Essentially, we want our clients to be able to fill a role in the shortest time possible, with quality candidates who have the right skill sets for the job.

    “Mybrands will initially be launched in Singapore and we plan to expand the services across Asean and the rest of Asia Pacific region in the near future.”

    The platform features customizable resume templates for jobseekers and cash rewards for successful candidates who complete their probation as well as those who refer friends to the platform.

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  • New Facebook Portal devices are launching this year

    New Facebook Portal devices are launching this year

    New versions of Facebook’s Portal home smart speakers are coming out this year, while the first-gen models that launched in November 2018 will be making their way outside of the US. The Portal product lineup is the social network’s attempt to grab a piece of the smart home speaker market, where competition from Amazon and Google is stiff. Facebook’s take on the gadget is very camera-centric and allows users to make encrypted video calls through Messenger, while Portal’s camera follows them around.

    At the Code Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, Facebook’s Vice President of AR/VR, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, announced that the next-gen Portal speakers are coming “this fall.” There will be “new form factors” available as well, Bosworth said, though he didn’t elaborate on what this means, exactly. “Hardware is coming to the home, and we want to make sure that human connection, connection between two people, is a first-party experience on that hardware,” Bosworth added.

    Since one of the product’s differentiating features is the camera tracking, it’s not going anywhere, but the new models might make it even more prominent. According to rumors over the past months, Facebook may be working on a considerably smaller device than the first-gen Portals—pretty much just a camera—that can be attached to TV sets. This will also make the device cheaper and allow people to use their TVs as smart displays.

    The success of Facebook Portal was questioned ever since the company announced it. On the heels of some big privacy scandals over the past couple of years, having doubts over a Facebook-branded tracking camera isn’t all that far fetched. However, at the conference in Scottsdale, the company reassured that the first generation of Portal smart speakers sold “very well,” although the claim wasn’t backed by official numbers.

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  • Facebook Portal now has its own Android app

    Facebook Portal now has its own Android app

    If you feel that you don’t have enough Facebook in your life, you’re free to buy the company’s new smart display – Portal. Unlike Amazon and Google, Facebook had developed Portal with video calling in mind, so that’s pretty what you’ll probably want to do most of the time with it.

    The Portal, in case you didn’t know, offers Facebook users with a new way to video chat with their friends. If you don’t like texting through Messenger too much and rather talk to your friends, Facebook Portal is the perfect device for it.

    And now that Facebook has decided to launch a Portal standalone Android app, you’ll now be able to better manage photos and videos that you want to store on the smart speaker. Having the app installed on the phone will allow users to send photos directly to the Portal’s Superframe.

    Also, you can use the Portal app to call the smart speaker in your home and talk to household members. Or, you can add people in your home to your Portal so that they can use the smart speaker with their own Facebook accounts.

    It’s a nifty app that makes it easier to take advantage of Facebook’s smart speaker by adding new functionality to the device. The Portal app has already been listed in the Google Play Store and you can download it for free.

  • New Singapore jobs portal to better match jobseekers and employers

    New Singapore jobs portal to better match jobseekers and employers

    A High-tech national jobs portal was launched on Tuesday to better match local jobseekers with employers. It can prioritize search results according to the relevance of the jobseeker’s skills, and filter results to show those under government schemes to support training, among other key features.

    The new portal, called MyCareersFuture.sg, was developed by Workforce Singapore (WSG) and the Government Technology Agency (GovTech).

    It replaces the interface of the existing Jobs Bank for users, and WSG said it aims to roll out the function for employers to post jobs by the end of this year.

    For now, employers are still to post jobs on the Jobs Bank, and the posts will be shown on MyCareerFuture.sg.

    A pilot run of the new portal was conducted with 100 users in the last three months of 2017, and the site went live in January this year. It has received 280,000 visitors as of the first week of April.

    To calculate the relevancy of jobseekers’ skills, which is displayed as a percentage from zero to 100, the system uses machine learning to analyse job descriptions and identify the skills needed.

    It then compares these with skills that the jobseeker has indicated.

    For example, after searching for “communications manager” jobs, a user will be prompted to select the skills he has, such as public relations, social media, marketing, or strategic communications.

    The job results will then be listed according to how closely his skills match what is required for those positions. Clicking on a job post will also show other relevant skills that the jobseeker lacks.

    WSG group director for Careers Connect Lynn Ng said this feature is to encourage jobseekers to reflect on the skills and experience they have.

    “It’s better than just submitting applications based on the job title, salary or company name,” she added.

    Search results also display upfront the number of applications for the position and when it was posted. On the Jobs Bank portal, jobseekers had to log in using their SingPass in order to view this information.

    The Jobs Bank was launched in July 2014 as part of the Fair Consideration Framework to boost employment prospects for Singaporean professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs). Companies have to post job ads on the portal for at least 2 weeks before they can apply for an Employment Pass for the role.

    From July 1 this year, this rule will be extended to cover firms with at least 10 workers and for jobs paying under S$15,000 a month. Currently, it applies only to firms with at least 26 workers and for jobs paying under S$12,000 a month.

    So far, more than 300,000 jobseekers and about 30,000 employers have registered on the Jobs Bank. WSG said at a media briefing it does not have statistics on the number or share of successful matches, as not all employers update the status of job applications in the portal.

    It said the new portal is meant to complement the MySkillsFuture.sg portal, which was rolled out last year and caters to the wider population besides jobseekers. It provides information on career pathways and training available.

    WSG will roll out more features for the new portal later this year, such as recommending suitable candidates for employers based on applicants’ CVs, and giving jobseekers tips on how to improve their CV for each job application.

  • Retail News Asia makes it to Final with a Selection in the Top Asia Pacific Best News Websites

    Retail News Asia makes it to Final with a Selection in the Top Asia Pacific Best News Websites

    Retail News Asia is selected as one of the winners of the Top Asia-Pacific News websites list! This is the most comprehensive list of best Asia-Pacific News websites on the internet and we’re honoured to be there! Retail News Asia is the leading Retail News portal in Asia Pacific since many years and we show deep respect and bow for being selected as one of the most influencing medias in Asia Pacific.

    RetailNews.asia has always been committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest breaking retail news throughout the Asian market on a daily base since many years. With over 20 post per day with relevant Retail News, we can proudly say that we’re the leading media in the Retail industry.

    We have resources for everyone from the independently owned business owners, online-only retailers, and major chains expanding their reach throughout the Asian market.

    We Are Stronger Together

    You can quickly and easily search for the latest breaking retail news by country, or come here to keep an eye on the latest local, global and seasonal trends on our portal, watch video’s and/or follow uw with both local and international Retail Events.

    You can network, engage, and share invaluable information with other retailers. Our retailers come from a wide range of industries and expertise, meaning that whatever the question may be—we have you covered!

    We keep you apprised of the upcoming retail events, and even provide coverage and updates during many retail events.

    Thank You

    Retail News Asia wishes to congratulate all the team members, editorial and advertising departments for all hard work, overtime and sweat. We did it together says Sven, Founder of Retail News Asia

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