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      Facebook let Netflix see user DMs, quit streaming to keep Netflix happy: Lawsuit

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Yesterday - 20:40 · 1 minute

    A promotional image for Sorry for Your Loss, with Elizabeth Olsen

    Enlarge / A promotional image for Sorry for Your Loss , which was a Facebook Watch original scripted series. (credit: Facebook )

    Last April, Meta revealed that it would no longer support original shows, like Jada Pinkett Smith's Red Table Talk talk show, on Facebook Watch. Meta's streaming business that was once viewed as competition for the likes of YouTube and Netflix is effectively dead now; Facebook doesn't produce original series, and Facebook Watch is no longer available as a video-streaming app.

    The streaming business' demise has seemed related to cost cuts at Meta that have also included layoffs. However, recently unsealed court documents in an antitrust suit against Meta [ PDF ] claim that Meta has squashed its streaming dreams in order to appease one of its biggest ad customers: Netflix.

    Facebook allegedly gave Netflix creepy privileges

    As spotted via Gizmodo , a letter was filed on April 14 in relation to a class-action antitrust suit that was filed by Meta customers, accusing Meta of anti-competitive practices that harm social media competition and consumers. The letter, made public Saturday, asks a court to have Reed Hastings, Netflix's founder and former CEO, respond to a subpoena for documents that plaintiffs claim are relevant to the case. The original complaint filed in December 2020 [ PDF ] doesn’t mention Netflix beyond stating that Facebook “secretly signed Whitelist and Data sharing agreements” with Netflix, along with “dozens” of other third-party app developers. The case is still ongoing.

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      Five of the best books about social media

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 12:40

    From online courtroom to information manipulation, social media has radically changed communication. Here are five books to help navigate it

    From Covid conspiracy theories to recent speculations about Catherine, Princess of Wales, social media is at the heart of how we share information, and misinformation, with one another in the 21st century. For those who want to have a better understanding of social media and how it affects us, here are a selection of titles that explore how we consume, share, and manipulate information on social media platforms.

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      ‘Neighbourhood restaurants’ – really? These Instagrammable imposters are nothing of the sort | Lauren O'Neill

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 09:00

    The term evokes cosiness, affordability and community. But it’s being used as a cynical marketing ploy

    What makes a neighbourhood restaurant? The phrase itself is evocative, bringing to mind the types of local trattorias or ocakbaşları or tavernas that punters return to regularly. The definition might vary from person to person, but surely a neighbourhood restaurant is defined by some combination of its longevity in the community, an accessible feel and affordable prices.

    Over the past six months, though, I have seen the “neighbourhood restaurant” label deployed constantly in PR emails previewing a very different sort of establishment. The aim, I imagine, is to evoke a sense of cosiness and community – but there’s something off about it.

    Lauren O’Neill is a culture writer

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      Why has LinkedIn become so weird? | Coco Khan

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 2 days ago - 18:33

    It is now used as a full social network – and is changing how we think about our identities and accomplishments. Time for us all to be a lot more honest ...

    A friend recently asked me to help her look for a job. She wanted help writing a cover letter, a CV and an update on her LinkedIn profile. The first two tasks were easy, but the third? Not so much.

    If, like me, you haven’t been on LinkedIn for a while, it is – for lack of a better word – weird , now. What used to be a perfunctory, professional space sitting in stark contrast to the oversharing of other social media, LinkedIn is now full of 1,000-word polemics from unqualified people (“here’s really what makes people tick” says a “wizard of wellbeing”), photos of holidays (“work hard, play hard!”) and empty motivational platitudes (“give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to code and …” OK, sorry, I did just make that one up). It’s all a bit cultish, and work is what is worshipped. Stepford Wives, employment edition.

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      Tories are taking to heart Trump’s playbook of division and lies

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 2 days ago - 18:30

    Notorious attack ad against Sadiq Khan reflects political era where social media is used to provoke outrage

    One of the more depressing political lessons from the Brexit campaign was that it doesn’t necessarily matter if nobody believes the NHS will get an extra £350m a week, just as long as they are talking about it. And it seems to be one taken to heart by the Conservatives.

    The reaction of many in Westminster to the Tories’ swiftly notorious attack advert against the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, was initially almost baffled amusement: was this thing actually meant to be taken seriously?

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      Controversial attack ad on Sadiq Khan made solely by Tory HQ, source says

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 2 days ago - 17:02

    Spurious video on London mayor’s record on crime allegedly had no input from Tory candidate Susan Hall’s team

    The controversial Conservative attack video that portrayed London as a crime-racked hellhole was put together by the central party rather than its mayoral candidate, and has dismayed some around Susan Hall, the Guardian has learned.

    The brief but dramatic film, in which an American-accented voiceover declared the city the “crime capital of the world” and, using dubious claims, sought to blame Sadiq Khan.

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      How can Donald Trump’s lossmaking Truth Social be worth $8bn?

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 2 days ago - 14:46

    The rightwing social network’s flotation, supported by fans of the ex-president, make it a part of the ‘meme stock’ phenomenon

    Business live – latest updates

    Donald Trump’s social network went public on Tuesday and almost immediately hit a valuation of almost $8bn (£6.3bn). The valuation fell back to a more modest $6.58bn by the time markets closed in New York, but that still represented a gain of more than 15% on its initial public offering (IPO) value. That enormous success has raised questions, and not all of them are easy to answer.

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      ‘They can be exploited’: clubs help young footballers navigate digital age

      news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · 2 days ago - 12:00

    Child prodigies attract huge followings but Premier League clubs are warning against the consequences of early fame

    As a six-year-old with four million Instagram followers, Arat Hosseini was not your typical academy footballer, but although “Mini Messi” is an extreme example, the young Iranian epitomised the challenge confronting England’s top football clubs as the digital-native generation of young players comes through.

    The headline-making child prodigy has now left Liverpool, where he spent three years, but there are others: “Kid Messi” and “Kid Ronaldo”, children whose parents have documented their “careers” on Instagram, YouTube or TikTok. Boot deals are signed aged 11 and one’s fame was such that he was mobbed while playing at a recent tournament.

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      Reddit updates look after rough 6 months and ahead of reported IPO

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 30 November - 21:25

    Old Reddit logo vs new Reddit logo

    Enlarge / Left: Reddit's old logo. Right: Reddit's new logo. (credit: Reddit )

    Writing a long comment providing detail about Reddit's refreshed logo, mascot, and typeface this week, a Reddit employee seemingly rethought the post and opted to conclude it with choice words. The post's last line currently reads:

    "Edit: Obligatory 'Fuck Spez' for karma."

    The Reddit employee, going by Acidtwist on Reddit and known as Tavish, says they're Reddit's head of brand creative (Reddit says it doesn't disclose the real identities of its workers on Reddit).

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