Facebook Watch was launched earlier this year in August, in the US.

Earlier this August, Facebook had launched its exclusive platform for videos called ‘Watch’. Facebook Watch is however currently available only in the US. The platform is available on mobile web, desktop, and the smartphone app as well. It is now reported that Facebook will launch Watch in India as early as the start of 2018. The timeline for the launch is said to fall between January and March.

According to a report by The Ken (via TNW), Facebook with Watch will compete against the video giant YouTube but will offer better discoverability. When it comes to YouTube, getting your content visible and discovered relies heavily on the algorithm based on “recommendations”. This may depend on the high count of views and likes or videos related to the kind of content a user frequently watches. You essentially build your own video feed on YouTube. Facebook expects that it’ll be different with Watch and the platform will be better in terms of showcasing content.

In addition to this, Facebook is also said to include regional content for videos and shows on Watch. Tapping on the regional content card will definitely earn Facebook a wider reach although the country has a majority of the English-speaking audience. Watch doesn’t function as a separate service and is available on Facebook. There are two sections on Watch called ‘Discover’ and ‘Watchlist’. In Discover, videos are categorized under sections called ‘News this week’, ‘What friends are watching’ and ‘Coming Soon’. Whereas, Watchlist will be a personalized feed where one will find their saved videos and episodes of shows followed. 

The videos that will be showcased on Watch will actually be “Shows” in a form of series with episodes. These aren’t TV shows that are available. Facebook will also consider certain factors for what kind of content will be available on Watch. Facebook explains these factors by some of the shows like Nas Daily which is a show that engages fans and community, as he makes videos with people across the globe. More examples include live shows like Gabby Gernstein’s where she engages with her fans in real time. Facebook also includes shows which have a consistent theme like Tastemade’s Kitchen Little. By consistent theme, Facebook means, “Each episode features a new child, new chef, and a new recipe.” 

Facebook will also include sports videos like the Major League Baseball, which broadcasts a live game each week for fans to watch and connect at the same time. Like Facebook’s Newsfeed, Watch will also have a personalized feed for shows that are trending among friends, or have a high number of reactions. There’s an open platform for video creators as well. Interested creators and publishers can make shows ranging from reality, comedy, and live for Watch. 

Increased mobile ad spending from marketers led to the topline growth.

Google has raked in revenues of over a billion dollars from India for the first time this year. Sales crossed Rs 7,200 crore (roughly $1.1 billion) in 2017, recording a 22 percent increase over 2016′s Rs 5,904 crore. That is only half the growth the search giant recorded between 2015 and 2016, according to reports. The majority of its revenues is driven by search ads, which is an undeniable component of digital advertising in India.

While digital ad sales is a prominent contributor to Google India’s numbers, they constitute only one percent of its parent’s revenues globally. In India, Google search ads are so critical that brand marketers reportedly spend two-thirds of their digital budgets on them. While Google has revealed its sales numbers in a filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), it hasn’t divulged profit figures. Its Silicon Valley peer Facebook though is more upfront about profit numbers. The social networking giant is said to have grown its bottomline by 31 percent in India this year. 

But more than social networking where Facebook is scoring above all, notching up 241 million users in India, it is online advertising where it has emerged as Google’s prime competitor. Riding on an upsurge in the ad business, Facebook recorded a 93 percent growth in India turnover to Rs 341.8 crore in 2017. ”Google, along with Facebook, is the most prominent force and critical to the advertising industry. They define the digital advertising industry,” a prominent advertising professional was quoted as saying. Both Google and Facebook have reaped the rewards of increased mobile ad spending in India. That is growing at 85 percent, and is estimated to cross $1.21 billion this year. With India becoming the second-biggest smartphone user base in the world, advertisers are having to reach where a majority of their audience is. While TV continues to be mass, its costs are prohibitive. And mobile’s cost-to-reach ratio is way more attractive, thus compelling marketers to park their ad dollars with Google and Facebook. India mirrors a global trend in this regard. Internet research firm eMarketer states that 67 percent of Google’s global digital ad revenue will come from mobile in 2017.

Jumanji VR content will be available on headsets, smartphones and desktop as well.

After adding 360 videos to “News Feeds” in 2016, Facebook has now begun testing virtual reality (VR) experiences in the users’ news feeds. It will reportedly begin with the upcoming “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” film that runs in VR headsets, on mobile phones, desktop and on Facebook.

“The experience, which was also co-developed by Avatar Labs and the Facebook Creative Shop, lets users embark on a kind of 360-degree treasure hunt,” Variety reported late on Friday. ”On the surface, it’s your typical promotional VRexperience, meant to give users a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming film,” the report added.

Professional wrestler and actor Dwayne Johnson tweeted: “Check out this cool, new technology that we are proud to launch with Facebook and Oculus!!

“‘JUMANJI’ is the first film to have it’s own interactive 360 VR experience with Facebook, and with that, we’re bringing you right inside the game.”

The social media giant already supports 4K resolutions in its live 360 videos. The platform now has 2.07 billion monthly active users — an increase of 16 percent year-over-year (YoY). The growth is 3.19 percent compared to last quarter’s 2.006 billion and it grew at 3.4 percent.

Reports have surfaced online claiming that Reliance Jio has stopped production of the JioPhone.

The contest's offer is giving away 50 Google Pixel units to winners.

Online giveaways are the most luring, and also easy to fall for. Especially for highly priced products, these contests manage to garner immense response from people online. While there are some genuine contests, there are many which are fake and many people fall for it. One such event doing rounds is a Google Pixel contest, which has so far managed to get over 4,000 responses on Facebook.

The contest is being held on Facebook by a page very subtly named “Official Google Pixel”. The layout and content on this page appears to be very convincing and believable, which could have led to thousands of people falling for it. The contest was announced on October 25, and the prize was 50 Google Pixel smartphones to 50 winners.

To win a Google Pixel, all one had to do was type ‘PIXEL’ on the comment section without interruption. All the letters should be typed separately in one comment each without any interruptions in between. In addition to this, contestants had to like the page, and share the post to complete the process. The contest was held for 24 hours.

Following the completion, all 50 winners of the contest were also announced. However, after the list of winners was posted on the “Official Google Pixel” page, it didn’t take long for people to realize that it was all fake. Users started commenting saying that the contest is fake. There were some who were still in disbelief, and frustrated over not winning the contest. There’s also a Peter Parker (Spiderman), and South African cricketer David Miller in the winner list. 

The giveaway contest although over, is still managing to get attention with people still commenting on the post. To make things more convincing, the fake page posted pictures of the Google Pixel series, and Pixel 2 series as well. It even tagged the official Google page on Facebook, and shared content from the “Made by Google” page. If you come across posts like these, check if the page is genuine or not. Official brand pages usually have the verified badge, and Google has it on all of its product pages.
{BGR}

Workplace announced that more than 30,000 organizations are currently using the product.

A year ago, Facebook launched its social networking app designed specifically for businesses and other organizations called Workplace. All this while the app has been running beta. Today, however, Facebook has officially announced the launch of the app on PC, Mac, Android and iOS.

Facebook also announced today that since the past year, there are now 30,000 organizations using Workplace, which is more than double the figure Facebook published in April this year. Apparently, there are more than 1,000,000 groups that have been created on Workplace to help teams work better together.

While a mobile app for Workplace has existed (though in beta) for a year, the company has today released a desktop app for Workplace Chat. The app comes with new features like screen sharing and, in coming months, group video chat, which will let people create virtual “rooms” of up to 50 people for interactive video conferences. Previously, the video features in Workplace were limited to live video broadcasts, and one-to-one video conversations. The desktop app also includes features like message reactions, mentions, and gifs that keep the conversation fun. 

Other than the new desktop app, and the added features, Facebook is also updating the overall design of Workplace to simplify the interface and make it consistent across Android, iOS, desktop and web. Facebook says that these design updates are based on feedback from customers and make it easier to connect and navigate on Workplace. 

Workplace by Facebook is a whole framework created by Facebook for use in enterprises and large companies to begin with. It brings about communication within the organization in a way that comes naturally to the digital native. So basically, instead of setting meetings and conducting Town Halls, Workplace allows employers to simply connect through a Live Video on Workplace. 

Similarly, the Messenger counterpart on Workplace is known as Work Chat. With Workplace by Facebook, you could continue working with your counterparts within the organization, as well as chat with vendors and third-party consultants who may not necessarily be on company payrolls.

{BGR}

The Facebook flaw is apparently linking the real identity and the alias accounts of these sex workers.

With roots of the world wide web deepening into our lives, privacy is becoming vital. Users need to have more control on what they reveal and what they don’t, however, that balance of control seems to be missing. In one such instance, Facebook has been recently accused of revealing the name and personal details of sex workers and porn stars using its social network.

According to a number of online reports, Facebook’s People You May Know feature, has lately been connecting sex workers’ anonymous, client-focused accounts with their personal profiles. While the exact data Facebook uses to determine friend recommendations is unknown, it is believed that the algorithm uses as many as ’100 signals’ from each account. Facebook has denied that it uses third-party app or location data for the feature.

Regarding the same, Gizmodo spoke to a sex worker who has also been apparently hit by the data leak. Going under the alias “Leila”, she explained how her real-life identity had been shared with clients’ smartphones. “The worst nightmare of sex workers is to have your real name out there and Facebook connecting people like this is the harbinger of that nightmare,” she said. “With all the precautions we take and the different phone numbers we use, why the f**k are they showing up?” 

In a separate case, IBTimes reports an instance where the manager of a virtual reality adult cam network, Ela Darling, talked of her own experience after her private account was ‘recommended’ to fans. Darling noted that she had since deleted her personal account to protect both herself and her family from harassment. 

“We’re living in an age where you can weaponize personal information against people,” Darling said. “Facebook isn’t a luxury. It’s a utility in our lives. For something that big to be so secretive and powerful in how it accumulates your information is unnerving.” 

To this, Facebook has responded saying, “We take privacy seriously and of course want to make sure people have a safe and positive experience on Facebook,” a spokesperson said, before later adding: “We want to do our best to prevent these things from happening and we do care about people’s privacy. We fell short here, and we will do better.”

{BGR}

The app has recorded over 5 million iOS downloads in two months.

Facebook has acquired a two-month old messaging app that allows users to send anonymous compliments to each other. The app, tbh, is iOS-only for now and is hugely popular among teens in the US. It has already notched up 5 million downloads, according to iTunes, and its pre-set messages ensure that there are only “positive vibes” being spread. This is contrary to bullying witnessed in the recent viral messaging app Sarahah that had set out to achieve something entirely different.

Facebook announced that tbh would continue to operate independently, thus making it similar to the social media giant’s WhatsApp and Instagram acquisitions. tbh or ‘to be honest’ engages youngsters with pre-set multiple-choice question polls about their friends. Once they choose an answer, those are relayed as compliments or positive messages to the desired user. There are questions like ’Best to bring to a party?’,  ‘Who has the best smile’, ‘Could see becoming a poet?’ and so on. The app is said to have recorded over 1 billion polls already. It is believed that the app is positively impacting the mental health of teens, and high school students in the US. 

Announcing its decision to “join” the Facebook community, tbh said, “When we set out to build tbh, we wanted to create a community that made us feel happier and more confident about ourselves. We felt that people craved genuine and positive interactions in their online experiences… When we met with Facebook, we realized that we shared many of the same core values about connecting people through positive interactions. Going forward, your experience on tbh won’t change and we’ll continue to build the features you love—now with plenty more resources.” 

According to reports, Facebook would have paid close to $100 million for the app that has about 2.5 million daily active users. However, no formal figure could be ascertained. “tbh and Facebook share a common goal — of building community and enabling people to share in ways that bring us closer together. We’re impressed by the way tbh is doing this by using polling and messaging, and with Facebook’s resources tbh can continue to expand and build positive experiences,” Facebook said in a statement to The Verge.

The technique uses facial expression mapping from a single photo to animate it.

Facebook wants you to not only react with emoji, but also become an emoji. The social networking service is reportedly working on a software that could animate your profile picture based on emoji reactions by your friends or followers. The concept is similar to Apple’s Animoji feature for iPhone X where facial-scanning technology is used to create 3D versions based on your facial expressions.

Along with Tel Aviv University, Facebook has published the results of a study that created short animated selfies by starting with a single photo. The team built a software that maps a facial expression on a reference video and applies it to the still photo. By using facial markers to map the change in expressions, the system is able to animate the photo using the same motions. This results in an emoji-like animation of the still photo.

However, there are some imperfections in the software. As DigitalTrends notes, in a still photo, where the expression did not include teeth, mapping the photo for an animated emoji creates a pink space where teeth should be. For this, researchers had to create a separate algorithm to fill in the missing details, to create better results than without the false teeth. 

The study can help build a number of apps for creating animations with some facial data. However, what is particularly interesting is that the tool could also create responsive photos on social media. So for example, if your friend clicks on the like reaction on Facebook, the image could animate a face with a smile, or for other reactions such as sad or angry. This could help build more reactions as human expressions cannot be contained in a smaller set. 

The report notes that Facebook and Tel Aviv University researchers plan to continue refining the tool by allowing the software to choose from a library of reference videos for more accurate animations, as well as expanding the work with 3D methods.

Users will be able to start a private chat with Microsoft Cortana in Skype.

Microsoft is introducing an update for its Skype chat app that will have built-in support for its digital assistant Cortana. Cortana “will be gradually rolled out” for Skype on both Android and iOS platforms, starting with the US, The Verge reported late on Tuesday. Users will be able to start a private chat with Microsoft Cortana in Skype and the assistant will give them quick suggestions while responding to text chats.

“With Cortana’s in-context assistance, it’s easier to keep your conversations going by having Cortana suggest useful information based on your chat, like restaurant options or movie reviews. Cortana also suggests smart replies, allowing you to respond to any message quickly and easily — without typing a thing,” Skype wrote in a blog post.

The update to integrate Cortana with Skype was announced more than a year-and-half ago. However, it is not clear what has been the reason for the delay, the report added. The integration would be similar to what we have seen Google do with its assistant in “Allo” and Facebook with “Messenger”.

It's new but just about the same.

Emojis continue to rule modern conversations, and two of the most popular messaging apps – WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger – are set to introduce a new set of these expressive icons real soon. Even as these emojis are ‘new’, iOS users are likely to find them familiar.

WhatsApp beta Android version, released today, comes with its own set of emojis that seem to be inspired by the iOS emojis. While they appear identical, there are subtle differences. For example, the girl emoji has different hair in the WhatsApp version as compared to the iOS set, even as they are racially diverse. Secondly, the water droplets emoji is purple in color in the beta version for Android, while on iOS, it is blue in color.

As for Messenger, the company has decided to ditch the app’s own set of emojis for Facebook emojis. According to Emojipedia, the Messenger custom emojis were introduced slightly over a year ago in a bid to make them appear same across platforms. 

A spokesperson for Messenger is quoted as saying,”At this time, we’ve decided to end our support of the Messenger emoji set to focus our attention on other features that help people express themselves and make the Messenger experience fun and engaging.”

Following the update, iOS users of Messenger will no longer have access to the custom emoji designs and instead see Apple’s own set of emojis.

With the introduction of the new emojis, Messenger users on Android and web will see Facebook’s emojis, while iOS users will continue to see Apple’s own emojis. However, some emojis, which are currently not supported in iOS will not be reflected. This is likely to change by the end of the year when Apple rolls out its new set of emojis.

Facebook to change account verification process.

Facebook is working on a facial recognition feature to help users secure the account and verify identity, reports said. “We are testing a new feature for people who want to quickly and easily verify account ownership during the account recovery process. This optional feature is available only on devices you’ve already used to log in. It is another step that were taking to make sure account owners can confirm their identity,” Facebook told TechCrunch late Friday.

The social media giant has tried a number of methods to help users regain access to a locked account. In certain cases it asks the user to identify photos of friends to verify designate several “trusted friends” who receive a code that can be asked from them to unlock the user’s account. 

Reportedly, the company is also working towards rolling out a video chat device that can recognise users’ faces. But the device has also raised fears among consumers that it could be used by the social network to spy on them, thereby casting doubt on whether the device would have all the features as intended when it is finally launched. Codenamed Project Aloha, the device is set to be released by Facebook in May 2018.

Reliance has just begun delivering the JioPhones to customers who had pre-ordered.

The shortcut button will let you open WhatsApp without the need to leave the Facebook app.

Facebook has a major share in the social media craze with it owning WhatsApp and Instagram. And now it seems to be working on channeling this craze all along its platform. A TNW report finds that Facebook is “running a trial that features its subsidiary WhatsApp a lot more prominently in the main app”.

Some Android users have reportedly been noticing a dedicated WhatsApp button in the main Facebook app. When clicked, the button acts like a shortcut, opening WhatsApp without the need to leave the Facebook app. This shortcut button has been seen placed in the menu area. If you happen to be one of the users in the control group, it should appear at the top, right under your name. But again, it is a test feature, so most of you will not even see it yet. Also, there is no guarantee if it will even make it as a legitimate feature, it may just die in the testing phase.

BGR India has reached out to Facebook to see if there is any confirmation about the feature. We will update this space as soon as we hear back from them.

The Facebook user who tipped TNW said that he found this WhatsApp shortcut button when he switched Facebook’s language setting to Danish. Now, this could also mean that the button is a limited rollout, considering Facebook recently launched a standalone video sharing app Bonfire, which was limited to just the Danish audience. 

This isn’t the first time Facebook has actually tried to integrate one of its app into the other. Last month, in a similar fashion, Facebook started testing a similar integration for Instagram. Some iOS users, including yours truly, could see the feature. 

Back in 2015, Facebook had tried to experiment with adding a WhatsApp send button in the Facebook app, so users could quickly share their photos and posts with contacts. But as you know now, the feature never made it to the official app. 

We all know very well that the social network giant Facebook always seeks to add and implement new and efficient features to its platform. However, recently the social network giant Facebook is trying out a new feature to meet people based on your contacts, simply it will help you to make new friends.

Facebook Is Testing A New Feature To Help You Make New Friends

There are many Facebook users seemed to need unnecessary status updates with colorful backgrounds and various motives. However, now get ready for something fresh and new, because this functionality did not seem to be enough for the social network.

Facebook Just Launched Colored Comments On Its Platform

Facebook releases color comments