Meta Tag

In news that likely won’t have a huge impact, Meta is alerting users that its ‘New Releases’ community video viewing option soon to be depreciatedwhile continuing to work on consolidating its various video offerings.

As you can see in this user posted screenshot Gerry McGuire (and shared by matthew navarra), Meta removes its ‘Premiere’ option as of August 22. If you want to schedule an upcoming video stream, you’ll need to use a regular scheduled video post instead, while you could also host a live stream, if you were looking to increase publicity around a specific event and date.

Though that’s not exactly what ‘Premieres’ was created for.

Originally released in 2018, Premieres allows Approved publishers to stream pre-recorded content via what is essentially Facebook Live, although the videos are labeled ‘Premiere’ and not the usual ‘Live’ moniker.

As Meta explains:

“When you schedule a premiere, an announcement post is automatically added to your Page and viewers can like, share, and comment on your upcoming video. People can also subscribe and receive notifications about your next video. During the premiere, your video is broadcast live with a premiere badge. Viewers can like, share, and comment in real time. Unlike a regular live stream, a Page admin doesn’t need to be present during a Premiere stream.”

The idea is that this allows fans to consume and interact with video content in a more communal atmosphere, while the more specific ‘Premiere’ tag helps avoid confusion with a live stream.

Therefore, it is a live broadcast of a pre-recorded video to maximize participation.

I thought not for much longer.

It’s unclear why, exactly, Meta is removing the option, but it has been working to make similar premieres available as paid events, and it may be that this works better as a direct video-on-demand event option, rather than such a dedicated feature.

Either way, I suspect it hasn’t been a much-used feature, which should mean the impact, overall, is minimal.

Amid various reports that it is restricting certain messages about abortion-related resources, following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Meta reiterated that his stance on this has not changed, despite some recent errors in his systems.

This week, Vice and NBC News conducted their own investigations into potential censorship of abortion-related content on Facebook and Instagram, with both finding that certain hashtags and posts appeared to have been restricted in Meta’s systems.

goal spokesperson Peter Andy responded to these claims, explaining that there had been no change in its official policies on the matter.

Instagram has since released an update, noting that its sensitivity screens have been applied to some posts they shouldn’t, which is an issue it is working to fix.

Which seems very fortuitous, and despite Meta’s assurances, I suspect that there may have been an internal change to comply with the updated law, even, perhaps, with respect to advice to moderators to err a bit more on the side of caution with such.

But Meta’s official line is that there hasn’t been a final amendment to its policies yet, and as such there shouldn’t be any impact on content sharing under existing guidelines.

For reference, here’s Facebook’s official policy on what’s not allowed when it comes to prescription drugs, which Stone references in his tweet:

You might suspect that at some point there might be additional legal requirements on this as per the Supreme Court ruling, but as of yet there has been no change, Meta presenting also a full log of policy changes here.

Objective Recently announced the launch of a new wallet to support value interaction in Metaverse. Objective Paymenta new Facebook branding Paymentwill continue to perform these same functions in the past. However, it will expand as a universal way to pay for goods and services in Metaverse.

Objective Payment will replace Facebook Pay.

The company announced the launch of a new digital wallet that supports the utility economy in the next iteration of metaverse of Objective. The wallet, nicknamed Objective Paymentit will be an evolution of Facebook Pay. He Still support the range of payments it currently handles. However, a new focus on digital identity and land forecasting will be added.

According to the CEO of ObjectiveMark Zuckerberg Objective Payment it will be a solution to two problems of the metaverse Nope Accessibility with digital assets and property protection.

I declared: ” A the future, there will be all a lot of digital items you might create or buy – digital apparel, art, videos, music, experiences, virtual events, etc. Proof of ownership will be important, especially if you want to take some of these items with you to different departments. »

To discover: eBay announces the acquisition of the NFT marketplace KnownOrigin.

Objective Payment to aim for standardization in the metaverse

Ideally, anything purchased in part of Metaverse Should be available on another platform with the same functions and features, Zuckerberg said. This is one of the goals that Objective try to achieve with Objective Pay. It is aboutan identity Web3 that binds the purchase of digital goods to a single digital identity.

Zuckerberg added: ” THIS type of interoperability will provide much better experiences for users and greater opportunities for creators. That is, the more easily you can use your digital assets, the more you will value them, which is the most important market for creators. »

Learn more: Matrixport offers new institutional security services for NFT through Cactus Custody.

Additionally, Zuckerberg believed that a common global payment method would provide many opportunities for content creators. Indeed, the benefit of consumers could buy their content. However, this can only be achieved with a certain degree of standardization.

pay the reminder, Facebook changed its brand image to Objective in October to capture the progress of the company’s main ambition, which is to build the metaverse. After then, Objective I started renewing these products to match the company’s new brand image. For example, Oculus quest is now Objective quest and Facebook Portal is now Objective Gate. It is logical that Objective also change its payment experience, especially since it get ready for the metaverse.

Given the current volatility in the crypto markets, which have been intrinsically connected to the current NFT trend, it seems like an odd time for Meta to be giving NFTs and their various NFT projects a bigger push in their apps.

But that’s what it’s doing, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announcing upcoming digital payment options, and Meta previewing new NFT features, along with a new guide on how NFTs work to help. people to enter the market.

First of all, about payments: As part of a broader confirmation of the name change from ‘Facebook Pay’ to ‘Meta Pay’, Zuckerberg has also announced that Meta is working on a new ‘wallet for the metaverse’, which will provide a more integrated way to securely manage your digital identity and purchases.

As Zuckerberg explains:

“In the future, there will be all kinds of digital items that you might want to create or buy: digital clothing, art, videos, music, experiences, virtual events, and more. Proof of ownership will be important, especially if you want to take some of these items with you across different services. Ideally, you should be able to log into any metaverse experience and anything you’ve purchased should be there. There’s a long way to go, but this kind of interoperability will deliver much better experiences for people and greater opportunities for creators.”

This is Meta’s big long-term vision, that users will be able to own digital items beyond a single app or space, so if you buy an outfit for your character in Fortnite, you’ll be able to wear that same outfit. on your Facebook avatar at a business meeting, theoretically.

There’s a long way to go to make this a reality, as Zuckerberg points out, but Meta also recently signed up for a new ‘Metaverse Standards Forum’ to establish interoperability standards for the metaverse space, while this new wallet would also seek to connect with other apps and tools, beyond Meta apps, to facilitate such connection.

It will take time and many agreements to allow it. But this is another indicator of where Meta is headed and the opportunities of the next digital connection space.

Which is also where NFTs theoretically come in, and after launching an initial test of NFT display options on Instagram last month, Meta is now looking to expand that to more creators ‘in a handful of additional countries’, as it seeks to establish another medium to facilitate digital connection.

“Creators and collectors will be able to share their digital collectibles on Facebook and Instagram after we begin rolling out the feature on Facebook with select US creators at a later date. Soon we will also start testing NFT on Instagram Stories with SparkAR.”

Instagram NFTs can already be viewed in AR, and the integration into Stories will provide another advanced means of displaying digital artwork in the app, which could help spark more interest in the broader trend of NFTs.

Although, as noted, that interest is waning, and NFT search traffic is declining over time.

And as more collectors get burned by rug pulls and the ongoing crypto market crash, it looks like the NFT craze will wane significantly, but the bigger picture, as Meta points out, is that digital items will see a greater focus on as we move on to the next. scenario, perhaps not as profile pictures of boring apes, as such, but as variable digital objects, which could be exchanged and displayed through the same means as today’s NFTs.

Which has merit. Personally, I don’t think anyone will be impressed by your horrible jpegs of poorly drawn characters in the future, but I do see that the ability to purchase digital items and retain ownership of them in all slots will be of significant value at some point. .

That’s why it’s worth learning about NFT and understanding the underlying processes, which Meta is also looking to make easier with its new NFT overview.

It’s a basic explanation of the basics of NFTs, which are somehow getting a bad rap because of all the NFT brethren and the misplaced focus on fraudulent “art” projects at this early stage.

And then again there is the market crash, which makes this a strange push, but maybe now is the right time to learn, before NFTs become something else entirely within the metaverse space.

Not surprisingly, Meta’s new NFT ads were originally timed to coincide with the large-scale NFT NYC event taking place this week, in which large groups of middle-aged men made their way through the city streets and took videos. of Instagram of digital works of art pasted on buildings

Despite many proclamations, that is not the future of digital connectivity, but the underlying process of NFT trading may well be a key aspect, which is why these new Meta announcements are important, even in the current bear cycle for the crypto space.

As it continues to build on the short-form video trend, Meta is adding new ways for users to remix content in Reels on Instagramwhile also adding the ability to create Reels from your existing videos within Creator Studio.

First, on IG, as shown in this example, posted by lindsey betSome Instagram users are now notified of a new ‘Photo Remix’ option when posting static images to the app.

As Instagram explains, Remix for Photos allows users to create Reels based on the content of their feed post, which they can then download themselves, within their own clips. Which means people can reuse your content however they want, but you can turn the option off in your settings if you’d rather that doesn’t happen.

This is how it looks in practice:

It’s another way to react to content in the app, which has become a popular use case on TikTok, as the platform’s participatory nature essentially builds on meme trends by allowing users to provide their own takes. , instead of just consuming the latest content. .

Instagram now also allows users to remix any video they watch in the app, providing more inspiration for Reels content, and now that Reels contributes 20% of all time spent on the app, it makes sense that Instagram leans into the trend where it can and adds more options for Reels engagement.

In terms of branding, this could be particularly useful for inviting grabs for new products or brand announcements, and users can share a quick response via Reels clips. That could also lead to criticizing brand ads through the same process, but getting your audience to engage with your posts could be a good way to increase reach and engagement.

On another front, Meta has also added the ability to create reels in Creator Studioblending your existing videos into shorter clips.

As you can see in this example, posted by a Facebook marketing expert blacksmith husband (and shared by matthew navarra), Meta notifies Creator Studio users of its new process for trimming your existing videos into Reels clips.

The process guides you through the editing process to create Reels and Stories clips, using the best parts of your existing video uploads.

It’s another way that Meta helps brands and creators merge with Reels content, which aligns with broader usage trends, while also giving Meta even more Reels content to show to consumers. people, while continuing to look for new ways to duplicate in short. -Video trend form.

In fact, a new strategic description from Meta has outlined how it plans to make Reels an even higher priority on Facebook, due to how short-form video has become such a transformative trend in the social media space.

According to Facebook App Manager Tom Alison:

“The current short-form public video genre opens up new ways for people to create and discover content. While Facebook’s discovery engine is designed to support many different formats (text, photos, video, and eventually Metaverse experiences), our biggest gap today is around short-form video, and we’re focused on integrating Reels at Home, Watch, In Feed. Recommendations and Groups.”

So more Reels, in more places, because Facebook essentially fears that if it doesn’t align with changing consumer trends, it will quickly lose relevance and, as a result, user engagement.

Which is already happening. Various reports have suggested that people are now spending more time on TikTok than on the Facebook app, while the very nature of TikTok’s short-form, fast-scrolling clips is actually altering a user’s attention span and changing the way in which people consume content.

In this sense, Facebook already feels pretty old-fashioned, so now it’s working to catch up with TikTok once again, by displaying more Reels, more often, in more places within the app.

These new updates align with that broader trend and will help guide users towards the same.

Of course, there is also the possibility that Meta will change tactics at some point and stop prioritizing Reels, as it has done in the past with other video content. But again, the usual nature of short-form video feels more permanent, in many ways, changing the way users interact.

It’s definitely worth more brands looking to experiment with Reels, if nothing else, and these updates bring more capability on this front.

Meta is launching new parental supervision tools for its Quest VR headset, along with new educational resources to help parents protect their children in a more immersive virtual environment.

The move comes as the acceptance of virtual reality continues to rise, and with reports already indicating that some users are being sexually harassed and even assaulted through their digital avatars, Meta must get ahead of these concerns before they have much more significant impacts.

Meta’s new parental control panel inside the Quest headset, which originally debuted in March, will allow parents to approve their children’s downloads and purchases, block specific apps that may be inappropriate, view children’s screen time headphones, monitor the connections of your children’s friends and more.

Teen users will need to initiate the parental link to their account, making sure they are aware of the process.

That could give parents more peace of mind, and with Meta anticipating that eventually more and more people will spend more and more time inside their VR environments, there certainly needs to be a level of protection for younger users (note: users must be over 13 to create a Quest account, which probably not all users meet, but that’s the minimum age threshold set by Meta)

In addition to this, Meta will also launch a new parent education hub for Meta Quest, which will include guides to its VR parent monitoring tools and other resources.

As Meta looks toward the metaverse and a more immersive take on online engagement, there are also significant safety concerns to be aware of for young users, especially given the harm we’re already seeing as a result of social media use. .
If teens are already experiencing mental shocks as a result of current online engagement, you can only imagine this will be much worse within completely closed virtual spaces, where it can seem like there is no escape.

The hope is that Meta gets ahead of himself before he becomes a bigger concern, something he didn’t do in his initial “move fast and break stuff” era. In fact, throughout its history, Meta has shown little concern for the impacts its apps may cause, until well after the fact (and after much outside criticism), which doesn’t inspire much confidence in its approach to the Metaverse. .

Will Meta incorporate the lessons it learned from the early stage of social networking and connecting online at a foundational level of its Metaverse?

Early updates like this are a positive sign that, along with voice controls and personal limits in VR, should help provide more protection.

But misuse of these more immersive environments will likely occur in ways we haven’t yet considered. And on that note, I hope Meta doesn’t move too quickly, or things could break even more than ever.

Of all of Meta’s current offerings, their ‘Horizon Worlds’ VR creation platform provides the most indicative view of their future metaverse plans.

And starting this week, more people will be able to share in that vision, with Horizon Worlds launching for users in the UK, as well as the US and Canada.

As shown in the video above, Horizon Worlds allows users to create their own virtual spaces, complete with a variety of 3D objects and tools that they can use to create interactive environments.

Meta launched Horizon Worlds with all users in the US and Canada in December, and is now expanding it to the UK, before opening up access to all EU users in the coming months.

According to Goal:

“From the beginning, we envisioned Horizon Worlds as a creator-friendly VR environment that features world-class social worldbuilding tools. And by building those tools and listening and incorporating feedback from creators, that’s exactly what it is. But we are always working to make it even better. For example, last month we launched our first asset library, a collection of pre-made items that creators can use whenever they want. In addition, we have also committed $10 million dollars to help creators get their worlds off the ground.”

The asset library will play a big role in the next stage of the metaverse, with Meta looking to help brands build 3D models of their products, to enhance e-commerce visualization, which can then also be made available in Horizon Worlds for use. in user projects.

That will provide new promotional opportunities in this emerging digital space which, as noted, gives us the clearest indicator of what the metaverse will look like, at least in Meta’s current view, as a consumption tool.

We’ve already seen some hints of the marketing implications in this regard, with brands like Wendy’s creating their own branded environments in Horizon Worlds, inviting users to come and engage with their virtual products and activations.

That, again, is where the metaverse is headed, with individuals and brands able to create Minecraft-like interactive spaces, where users can fully immerse themselves in virtual reality, or potentially through other means as well, in their creations.

Although it is quite basic at the moment, in its early stages of development. Eventually, as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has shown, the metaverse will incorporate a wide range of fully immersive and interactive environments, allowing you to create and explore all kinds of new worlds, beyond anything you’ve ever experienced.

We’re nowhere near that yet, in terms of fully functional, interactive, avatar-driven participation in these VR worlds. But ultimately, that’s where Meta is headed, and if you want to get a sense of what’s coming and what Meta sees as the next evolution for brand pages, Horizon Worlds is your current best indicator on this front.

But the commitment to virtual reality also opens up new forms of harassment and abuse, in an even more closed and immersive space. Which is another element Meta needs to address.

On this front, Meta has also announced the addition of ‘Voice Mode’ in VR, which will allow users to choose whether they want to hear other users speaking within the VR environment.

As Meta explains:

“[Voice mode] It will allow you to choose how you listen to people who are not on your friends list, including the option to not listen to unwanted conversations. By default, you’ll hear all nearby users at the same volume, but with Voice Mode, you can easily switch to Distorted Voices, where the voices of non-friends come across as friendly, unintelligible sounds.”

As shown in the image above, when a user selects “Distorted Voices”, strangers will see an indicator that they cannot hear them in space. Users will be able to change this setting at any time, but it provides another security measure to help protect users in VR, where there have already been some concerning cases of abuse, even in its early, rudimentary state.

At the end of last year, one Horizon Worlds beta tester reported being groped by a stranger in VR, while another experienced “gang rape” by male users in space, which he described as a “very real” feeling.

Those incidents prompted Meta to add a new ‘personal limit’ feature, which allows users to keep others at a distance from their avatar.

Meta has now also added new pop-up warnings that are displayed to people behaving disruptively in the VR space.

Therefore, there are measures to mitigate the risks, to a certain extent. But it looks like this could become a much bigger concern moving the platform forward, and Meta needs to make sure it’s fully addressed before rolling out a broader implementation of its metaverse.

Will that really happen? Meta doesn’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to addressing potential issues like this before they become major concerns, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Meta went ahead with expanding their vision of the metaverse over anything else, including the user security.

Which, in some ways, seems to be happening with Horizon Worlds expanding to the next stage, though Meta hopes its developing security tools will be enough to provide adequate protection for users in virtual space.

The way we interact has changed as a result of the pandemic, whether due to reduced face-to-face interaction, increased online connection, working from home, virtual reality meetings, audio rooms, etc.

And while we are slowly returning to a level of normalcy, many of these trends will result in permanent changes, which brands must take into account in the way they communicate with their audiences and the processes through which users seek to connect. in this new state

That’s the focus of a new three-part investigative report from Meta, in which it sought to explore “how the demand for deeper human connection has brought about a profound reset in our relationships.”

The Meta Foresight (formerly Facebook IQ) team surveyed 36,000 adults in 12 markets.

Among their key findings:

• 72% of respondents said the pandemic made them reprioritize their closest friends
• Young people are more open to use more immersive technology to foster connections (including virtual and augmented reality)although all users indicated that technology will play a greater role in improving personal connections in the future
• 37% of people surveyed around the world reported that they re-evaluated their life priorities as a result of the pandemic

Meta says these trends will also spill over into brand relationships, with consumers increasingly seeking deeper and more authentic connections with brands, which could offer new opportunities for community building and connection.

Some interesting trending notes: You can check out the first part of Meta’s ‘Reset Relationships’ report here, or take a look at the summary below.

Amid rising costs and a tightening economy, Meta has announced some significant changes to its product roadmap, with several of its hardware projects put on hold or delayed for the time being.

According to various reports, Meta is:

The changes significantly alter Meta’s ongoing plans, which also include developing retail stores as part of a broader push into consumer tech products, diversifying beyond its social platform roots.

Meta also recently scaled back its social audio developments, while several other projects are under review.

The company has been looking to cut costs while focusing on building its metaverse-aligned initiatives, while also dealing with the compounding impacts of Apple’s new data privacy changes. Last year, Meta noted that Apple’s new ATT updates, which prompt users to turn data tracking on or off, will likely cost it around $10 billion in lost ad dollars in 2022 alone. Meta also reported a loss. operating $10 billion in its Reality Labs division for fiscal 2021.

The announcements, logically, scared the market and caused Meta’s shares to plummet, from which they have not yet recovered. This latest update to the product roadmap is part of Meta’s broader plans to maintain balance through expected economic uncertainty, while also noting job losses and delays in several divisions.

And it’s not the only social platform in this boat. Last month, Snapchat issued an earnings warning, with its Q2 unlikely to return to the targets it had communicated just a month earlier, due to ‘a macroeconomic environment that has deteriorated faster and faster than expected‘. Twitter is terminating job offers and cleaning up its executive ranks, while ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, lost $100 billion in market value over the past year.

Increasing regulation, slowing spending and broader economic pressures are making it that much harder for tech platforms to make big bets, causing all of them to pull back on their efforts to expand and evolve into new areas.

Meta, of course, has already made this a key focus, and is eager to continue its path into the metaverse, through further adoption of VR headsets and other aligned tools.

As such, it’s not completely cutting off your hardware development.

As Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth noted:

So while we may not be getting a Meta Watch any time soon, Meta is still working on a wrist control device for VR, which will broaden its metaverse focus, while also continuing to invest in new metaverse-related technology. Like this week’s announcement. of a new partnership with game creation platform Crayta.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said he feels “a responsibility” to invest in changing the metaverse, so it’s unlikely Meta will move away from that focus entirely anytime soon. But these latest announcements signal an upcoming period of pain for the sector, which likely means the second quarter earnings period won’t be much fun for most.

What will that mean for ongoing development and upcoming changes in the space? It’s impossible to say, but with increasing pressure from shareholders, accelerated revenue measures tend to emerge, which could be good, in terms of providing new ad options and reach, while it could also be bad, as it includes more ads in the sources and it has an impact on the user experience. .

Meta is well aware of these impacts and as such is less likely to generate a new flood of ads (although Instagram users have anecdotally noticed more ads in their feeds lately). But clearly, the squeeze is definitely underway, and that could lead to a number of changes as the rigs adjust to a bumpy road through the second half of the year.

Meta has announced a new set of Pride-themed features for Messenger and Messenger Kids, providing more ways for users to participate in Pride Month celebrations.

First of all, in Messenger: the addition of Meta new word effects, camera stickers, and 3D avatar stickers for your existing Pride collection, which already includes various 360 backgrounds, sticker packs, and chat themes.

According to Goal:

“#ConnectWithThePride using the new word effects in Messenger, a fun cascade of emojis with everyday words and phrases you already use in your chats. Once you select your Pride chat topic, try ‘Beautiful’, ‘Queer’, ‘Community’, ‘Proud’ and ‘Transgender’, or create your own Word Effects to level up your conversations with friends and family on the celebration of Pride. .”

Word Effects, which Meta launched in Messenger last year, allows you to choose an emoji to pair with a certain word or term, which will then cause an on-screen explosion of that emoji character each time it’s used within your chat (hence the rainbows in the image above). That can add a more festive spark to your discussions, and using the terms above, like Meta notes, will trigger an emoji response throughout June.

goal is new Meanwhile, the 3D Avatar Pride stickers will be available in feed and stories on both Facebook and Messenger, while their chat themes will also be available on Messenger and Instagram.

“Later this month, we will also launch a new conversation-inducing sticker pack about support and love, designed in partnership with the incredibly talented London-based non-binary artist and creator. Wednesday Holmes (they/them)”.

Meta also seeks to highlight inspiration LGBTQ+ voices and artists, including actor and model Kais Boukthir and interpreter JoJo Siwa.

“This month, you can check jojo goes, a new docuseries hybrid format that follows JoJo and her famous friends as they go on some crazy and hilarious adventures that they’ve always wanted to experience but never had the chance to try before.”

In Messenger Kids, Meta will also be bringing back her Pride camera stickers and camera frame, as well as her rainbow AR effect.

Meta’s also announced a variety of Pride-themed activations on Facebook and Instagram, providing a variety of ways for people to participate in the event. And for brands, Meta also launches a updated Global LGBTQ+ Cultural Guide later this month, which is designed to “educate and inspire authentic ways to support the LGBTQ+ community.”

Pride Month is an important opportunity to share your support, which can be very important to those within the LGBTQ+ community who often still deal with prejudice and prejudice based on who they are. A simple note of support, or even the use of a hashtag on your profile, can go a long way toward improving tolerance and acceptance, and it’s worth taking that extra step with your own personal social media presence. or brand.