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Twitter considers charging users for special content, in revenue push
San Francisco (AFP) - Twitter said Thursday it plans to offer a subscription service in which users would pay for special content from high-profile accounts, part of an economic model to diversify its revenue. The globally popular social media platform announced the potential new Super Follows service at its annual investor meeting, as it searches for new revenue streams beyond targeted advertising. "Exploring audience funding opportunities like Super Follows will allow creators and publishers to be directly supported by their audience and will incentivize them to continue creating content tha...
AFP
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GameStop share ride: shooting star or rocket to the moon?
San Francisco (AFP) - After rocking the stock market at the end of January due to a speculative buying frenzy, shares in video game store chain GameStop are buzzing anew on Wall Street. GameStop shares more than doubled in price on Wednesday then rocketed further on Thursday in trading so heated that stock market operators tapped the brakes to cool the situation. GamesStop ended the formal trading day at $108.73, up 18.56 percent, but lost ground in after-hours trading. Trading driven by emotion or risk-taking rather than business fundamentals put the spotlight back on GameStop's wild ride, wh...
AFP
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Facebook launches PR campaign to defend targeted ads in spat with Apple
San Francisco (AFP) - Facebook is not backing down in its fight with Apple over a new privacy feature that could curb tracking needed for the social network's targeted ads, launching a major media campaign to defend a practice that is a big revenue generator. The "Good Ideas Deserve To Be Found" initiative unveiled on Thursday includes television, radio and digital spots. "Every business starts with an idea, and being able to share that idea through personalized ads is a game changer for small businesses," Facebook said in a statement, citing examples like a farm that offers goat yoga classes....
AFP
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Google fires another lead AI ethics researcher
San Francisco (AFP) - Google said Friday it fired a lead artificial intelligence ethics researcher, following controversy last year over the tech giant's dismissal of a Black colleague who was an outspoken diversity advocate. "I'm fired," Margaret Mitchell announced on Twitter. Google told AFP that after reviewing "this manager's conduct, we confirmed that there were multiple violations of our code of conduct, as well as of our security policies, which included the exfiltration of confidential business-sensitive documents and private data of other employees." Mitchell's dismissal came a day af...
AFP
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Controversial social network Parler announces relaunch
Washington (AFP) - Social network Parler, which is popular with supporters of Donald Trump, announced Monday it had relaunched after being forced offline over incitements to violence on the platform. Parler, which calls itself "the free speech social network", came under scrutiny following the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Apple and Google pulled the network's app from their download platforms and Amazon's web hosting service cut ties as well. "Parler was built to offer a social media platform that protects free speech and values privacy and civil discourse," interim CEO Mark Meckler sa...
AFP
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Family sues trading app Robinhood over suicide
San Francisco (AFP) - The family of a college student who killed himself after thinking he'd lost a fortune using Robinhood sued the free trading app Monday. A message left behind by Alex Kearns asked how it was that a 20-year-old with no income could get access to nearly $1 million of financial leverage using Robinhood, according to the suit filed in Silicon Valley, where the app is based. "Robinhood's website entices young, inexperienced users," the suit contends. "By marketing its online trading platform like a video game, it implied that trading stock and options was a fun way to make mone...
AFP
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Parler social network fires chief exec John Matze: report
San Francisco (AFP) - Parler has fired the chief executive from the ultraconservative-leaning social network embroiled in controversy stemming from the deadly attack on the US Capitol, Fox News reported Wednesday. Fox cited a memo sent by John Matze to Parler employees saying the board of directors booted him from his position as top executive on January 29. "Over the past few months, I've met constant resistance to my product vision, my strong belief in free speech and my view of how the Parler site should be managed," Matze was quoted as saying in the memo. Nevada-based Parler, which launche...
AFP
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Pandemic lifestyle delivers earnings boon for Amazon, Google
San Francisco (AFP) - Pandemic-driven lifestyle changes that have put the internet at the center of seemingly everything proved a financial boon for Amazon and Google in the final three months of last year. Google-parent Alphabet and the Seattle-based e-commerce colossus reported large earnings Tuesday on thriving internet advertising and the booming market for online shopping. "We are proud that people continue to choose Google's products to stay informed connected and comforted during uncertain times," chief executive Sundar Pichai said on an earnings call with analysts. Alphabet said its qu...
AFP
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Alphabet profit rockets, fueled by Google ads
San Francisco (AFP) - Google parent Alphabet on Tuesday reported that its quarterly profit rocketed some 50 percent to $15.2 billion at the end of last year as its digital ad business thrived. Alphabet revenue in the final three months of last year hit nearly $57 billion, compared with $46 billion in the same period in 2019, according to the internet titan. The strong quarter "was driven by Search and YouTube, as consumer and business activity recovered from earlier in the year," Alphabet chief financial officer Ruth Porat said in the earnings release. Google is among the technology titans tha...
AFP
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Google pays $3.8 mn to settle pay-hiring bias complaint
San Francisco (AFP) - US labor regulators late Monday said Google has agreed to pay $3.8 million to resolve allegations it discriminated against women engineers and Asian job-seekers. The US Department of Labor said most of the settlement money will go to 2,565 female employees in engineering positions as back pay and interest, and to nearly 3,000 women or candidates of Asian descent who were not chosen for engineering jobs. Google said the discrepancies were turned up during a routine internal analysis and it agreed to the settlement to correct the situation, denying it violated any laws. “We...
AFP
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