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☆ An ex-Instagram employee says Meta's 'impatience' has hurt its shopping efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But as Instagram axes shopping products, ex-staffer Meghana Dhar points to Meta's "impatience." The moves have left many asking: What's going on with Instagram shopping? While at Instagram, Dhar worked on Instagram's early shopping features, from onboarding brands to getting John Mayer to host a live shopping event with laundry company The Laundress. But it's also had a tendency to launch and then axe shopping products, like Instagram (and Facebook) live shopping and affiliate marketing. Scaling back on shopping, for now, could also be a blessing in disguise for Meta, Dhar added.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the 15-slide pitch deck Smartrr's CEO used to raise $10 million, despite VCs saying it wasn't the right time to fundraise while she was pregnant
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Smartrr, a startup building subscription-enablement software, raised a $10 million Series A.Smartrr CEO Gabriella Tegen says she felt that she had to hide her pregnancy while fundraising. Some VCs had told her it wasn't the right time to fundraise. Despite that, she completed the fundraising process in three months and closed a $10 million Series A round in the first week of January, just a few days after she gave birth to her daughter. Smartrr has raised $17 million in venture funding in total and is valued at $45 million, according to PitchBook. Smartrr's goal is to help brands improve the lifetime value of their customers, Tegen said.

☆ Why Twitter's SMS 2-factor authentication is changing — and how can you keep your account secure without paying to subscribe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It recently announced it would restrict SMS two-factor authentication to Twitter Blue subscribers. Users who don't want to pay can use an authenticator app or a security key to access their account. Here's how to secure your Twitter account without paying up for Twitter Blue. Security keyA security key also generates a code for a user to enter — but unlike an authentication app, it's a physical device. Under "settings and support," navigate to the "settings and privacy" menu to "security and account access," then to "security," and finally to "two-factor authentication."

☆ Meta's nascent subscription service could bolster earnings — and keep us as investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Meta Platform 's (META) new subscription service could boost profitability at the Facebook parent, leading to further upside for the stock — and that could help keep us a long-term shareholders. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Sunday announced the company is launching a paid verification subscription service for its Facebook and Instagram platforms. Bank of America on Monday called the Meta Verified plan a "potential high margin business with marginal incremental costs." The bank maintained its buy rating on Meta stock and a price target of $220 per share. Meta's subscription offering comes shortly after social media competitors Twitter and Snapchat (SNAP) both unveiled new subscription models in recent months.

☆ Meta's and Twitter's subscription plans show they care more about money than free speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On Sunday, Mark Zuckerberg – still stinging from his botched metaverse launch – unveiled Meta Verified, a new subscription service costing $12 on web and $15 on iOS and Android. The timing of the launches of Meta's and Twitter's subscription services seems to be no coincidence, then: They're introducing paid-for services at a time when they're being squeezed of digital ad revenue. Meta says its new subscription service is primarily for content creators, but this feels disingenuous because everyone on its service is, in effect, a "content creator." Charging for it illustrates a clear misunderstanding Zuckerberg has of Facebook and its users: Facebook is responsible for vetting who gets access to its platform, not users themselves. Just 0.2% of Twitter users in the US had signed up for Twitter Blue, Musk's subscription service, by the end of January.

☆ Meta to test monthly subscription service priced at $11.99
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/File PhotoFeb 19 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) on Sunday announced that it is testing a monthly subscription service, called Meta Verified, which will let users verify their accounts using a government ID and get a blue badge, as it looks to help content creators grow and build communities. Meta Verified will be rolled out in Australia and New Zealand this week, with gradual launches in other countries to follow. Meta's foray into subscription services follows Twitter, which announced last month that Twitter Blue will be priced at $11 per month. Other social media apps, like Snap Inc's (SNAP.N) Snapchat and messaging app Telegram launched paid subscription services last year, as a new source of revenue. Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru, editing by Deepa Babington and Nick ZieminskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meta is rolling out a new paid verification subscription service for Instagram and Facebook users
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Visitors take photos in front of the Meta (Facebook) sign at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on December 29, 2022. Meta is rolling out a new paid verification subscription service called Meta Verified, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in an Instagram update Sunday. Meta has historically granted verification to notable users like politicians, executives, members of the press and organizations to signal their legitimacy. The company's new subscription service is similar to Twitter's revamped service called Twitter Blue, which also grants users a verification badge if they pay a monthly fee. Twitter launched its updated Twitter Blue subscription service in December after the company's new owner Elon Musk pulled and delayed the initial launch in November.

☆ Meta is launching a paid verification service
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Meta is testing a subscription service which will allow Instagram and Facebook users to pay to get verified, Mark Zuckerberg announced on Instagram Sunday. In a statement, Meta clarified there will be no changes to accounts that are already verified. Verification was previously for users who are “authentic and notable.”“We are evolving the meaning of the blue badge to focus on authenticity so we can expand verification access to more people,” a Meta spokesperson said. Twitter relaunched its own verification subscription service, Twitter Blue, in December, after an onset of fake “verified” accounts forced it to pull the feature. The check mark options now have different colors to differentiate between accounts: gold checks for companies, gray checks for government entities and other organizations, and blue checks for individuals, whether or not they are celebrities.

☆ A Google manager who got laid off liked working with his colleagues so much he's trying to set up a new company with 6 of them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A laid-off Google manager said he's setting up a firm with six colleagues who also lost their jobs. Henry Kirk told Insider he's giving himself until the end of March to set up the design studio. He said Google cutting his work email after eight years "stinks," but he's ready to do his own thing. "I think of working at Google as not like a job, but more like attending Google University. But the positive working environment he experienced at Google is something he wants to carry on into his new business.

☆ Twitter to charge users to secure accounts via text message
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Twitter said on Friday it will allow only paid subscribers to use text messages as a two-factor authentication (2FA) method to secure their accounts. Twitter said on Friday it will allow only paid subscribers to use text messages as a two-factor authentication (2FA) method to secure their accounts. After March 20, "only Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to use text messages as their two-factor authentication method," the company tweeted. Two-factor authentication, meant to make accounts more secure, requires an account holder to use a second authentication method in addition to a password. Twitter allows 2FA by text message, authentication app and a security key.

☆ Twitter to charge for SMS two-factor authentication
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Twitter Blue subscribers will be the platform’s only users able to use text messages as a two-factor authentication method, Twitter announced Friday. Twitter users will have two other ways to authenticate their Twitter log-ins at no cost: an authentication mobile app and a security key. As of 2021, only 2.6% of Twitter users had a 2FA method enabled – and of those, 74.4% used SMS authentication, a Twitter account security report said. Disabling text message 2FA won’t automatically disassociate the user’s phone number from their account, Twitter said. Musk responded “Yup” to a tweet claiming a telecommunications company used bot accounts “to Pump 2FA SMS” and that Twitter was losing $60 million a year “on scam SMS.”

☆ Twitter will reserve text-message authentication for Twitter Blue subscribers because it's being 'abused' by 'bad actors'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter said only Twitter Blue subscribers can use text messages to secure accounts from March 20. Text message two-factor authentication was being "abused" by "bad actors," the company said. A Twitter Blue subscription costs $11 a month on Android or iOS. It believed that text-based two-factor authentication was being "abused" by "bad actors," according to a blog post published Wednesday and shared in Twitter's latest announcement. Shortly after Elon Musk's takeover last October, it introduced Twitter Blue, which allows users to pay for the blue checkmarks previously reserved to high-profile figures.

☆ Temu: The online shopping upstart that's become the most downloaded app in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —A new online shopping platform linked to one of China’s top retailers has quickly become the most downloaded app in the United States, surpassing Amazon and Walmart. Temu, a Boston-based online retailer that shares the same owner as Chinese social commerce giant Pinduoduo, made its Super Bowl debut on Sunday. Climbing the chartsTemu, pronounced “tee-moo,” was launched last year by PDD, its US-listed parent company formerly known as Pinduoduo. “Temu soared to the top of both US app store charts in November, where the app still holds the top position now,” he told CNN, referring to iOS and Android mobile app stores. “Temu aims to continue to experiment in marketing and offerings, which is possible thanks to its resource-rich parent company,” she wrote in a report.

☆ Meta's cold war with Apple over privacy is coming to a critical moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Meta's ads unit will only recover if it continues to innovate so it doesn't need to track user data to sell ads. In 2021, Apple changed its iOS operating system to limit the abilities of apps to track user behavior. Apple CEO Tim Cook, for his part, has criticized Facebook's business model several times over the years, with Apple going so far as to declare privacy a "human right." It's clear from Meta's most recent earnings report, and its drive for efficiency and cost-cutting, that this cold war with Apple is taking its toll on the bottom line. "It's forced Meta to move so quickly to building the workarounds, not just to accommodate Apple's changes, but really where it sees the state of digital advertising data use going," Shmulik said.

☆ U.S. Justice Department escalates Apple probe - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has in recent months escalated its antitrust probe on Apple Inc (AAPL.O), the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters had previously reported the Justice Department opened an antitrust probe into Apple in 2019. The Wall Street Journal report said more litigators have now been assigned, while new requests for documents and consultations have been made with all the companies involved. The probe will also look at whether Apple's mobile operating system, iOS, is anti-competitive, favoring its own products over those of outside developers, the report added. The DoJ declined to comment, while Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ The DOJ appears to be looking at Apple's App Store and iOS, says WSJ's Tilley
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe DOJ appears to be looking at Apple's App Store and iOS, says WSJ's TilleyThe Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley joins 'Closing Bell' to report the Dept. of Justice has drafted a potential antitrust complaint that targets Apple's App Store and mobile operating system.

☆ Can you get an ATM card for a savings account?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Ana Staples | Elizabeth Gravier | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

While savings accounts typically don't offer a debit card, some come with an ATM card, making it easier for you to access cash from your savings when you need it. The Citi® Savings Account stands out for providing an ATM card even if you don't have a checking account with Citi. Having quick access to your savings with an ATM card can be convenient, but it's best not to make withdrawing money from your savings account a habit. Savings are an essential part of your financial well-being, and a savings account is meant to keep these funds intact. That's why unlike a checking account designed for daily spending, a savings account has features in place to prevent frequent withdrawals.

☆ Why Apple, Google, Microsoft passkeys should soon replace your own passwords
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Barbara Collins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Passkeys are an example of what security should be: seamless and invisible to the end user," said Moriarty. Avoiding human error, and hackersFrom a safety standpoint, passkeys are much more secure than passwords for a number of reasons. Even worse, choosing simple passwords (think "abc123" or "password") creates the perfect target for hackers to easily access individuals' accounts. Google began rolling out passkey support for Chrome on Android, Windows and macOS in December 2022. The only potential disadvantage to using passkeys happens if a user loses the secondary device they use to gain access to their accounts.

If you're dating someone new, here are five red flags around money you should be looking out for:1. Pros Check mark icon A check mark. Low annual fee for investment accounts; crypto trust investments available Check mark icon A check mark. Tax-loss harvesting Check mark icon A check mark. Mobile app and investing and retirement tools Check mark icon A check mark.

☆ Amazon is the latest threat to Facebook as ad targeting suffers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

"So many people start their shopping on Amazon," Hassett said in an interview. People take selfies in front of the logo of Facebook parent company Meta on November 9, 2022 in Menlo Park, California. Liu Guanguan | China News Service | Getty ImagesFor Loftie, Amazon and Google provide better value because a shopper is showing intent by searching for a particular item. "In the near term, we expect Meta ad share to decline further in '23 given macro headwinds and the pivot to Reels," they wrote. Rachel Tipograph, CEO of marketing technology firm MikMak, said there are other unforeseen costs tied to Amazon advertising.

☆ See Bing's breakout week in charts as Microsoft taps new ChatGPT technology to go after Google's search lead
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft unveiled an updated Bing search engine on Tuesday, powered by the tech behind ChatGPT. On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled an updated Bing search engine powered by the technology behind ChatGPT. Google app downloads, remained steady between 300,000 to 320,000 per day in the same period, Apptopia data shows. In the end, all this is about gaining a higher share of the highly lucrative search engine market. As of February 9, Google had 93.21% of the worldwide search engine market.

☆ Apple and Google have a symbiotic deal: ChatGPT will pressure the former to evaluate this relationship
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Google has long benefited from a costly deal to be the default search engine on Apple devices. On top of the Apple deal, Google controls Android and Chrome, with roughly 71% and 65% of the smartphone and browser markets, respectively. Based on its understanding of Google's deal with Apple, Bernstein believes that a 3-year default search deal is coming up for renewal later this year. It's unclear whether Apple would want to change the default search engine to Bing, but it's always had a contentious relationship with Google. Apple's services business, which includes the search deal, was a bright spot in the company's most recent earnings report.

☆ Commercial real estate's biggest investors are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the grittiest land in America. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Big commercial-real-estate players from Brookfield to Fortress are snapping up industrial land. Brookfield is one of several big-name investors that are paying increasing attention to lowly industrial land. Industrial land also generally has lower operating costs and taxes compared to other real estate. It's hard to find big enough portfolios of industrial landThere are challenges, too, in breaking into the business of owning industrial land. Atkins said he has been impressed by the robustness of the IOS market, even with fears about the broader economy.

Millennials have lived through two recessions and might be facing a third as their parents retire. Talking money with your parents isn't going to be fun, but it's a good idea to know their status. A major part of that preparation is figuring out where the money will come from to care for their parents. Decide who can provide the financial caretakingSo should millennials be saving for their parents' care? But Williams, the financial planner, doesn't advise millennials to focus their saving efforts on their parents' care.

☆ The AI war set off by ChatGPT is ramping up and Google stock is poised to spike 21% as it joins the fray, Bank of America says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Google is ready for 'battle' in the AI-services space, and the stock could rise by another 21%, says Bank of America. Microsoft and Baidu have joined the race to capitalize off the growing hunt for AI tools set off by ChatGPT. Google introduced its Bard AI service on Monday. Google introduced Bard on Monday, with CEO Sundar Pichai describing it as "an experimental conversational AI service" - which sounds much like ChatGPT, which launched in November. "Per industry experts … Google may have more data to access than ChatGPT, Google has extensive computing infrastructure to build on and, of course, Google search has a large distribution advantage with iOS and Android," said Post.

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