Social Networks

Since its earliest days, the Portal line has been plagued by one major question: why? Not so much why did Facebook make it (for that I give you the following: $$$), but rather, why should people be interested, given Amazon and Google’s respective head starts in both the smart assistant and display categories?In addition to its integration with Facebook services, Portal’s original standout feature was smart panning, which used object detection to reframe its subjects. It was a clever addition -- if not necessarily enough to justify purchasing a Facebook-produced product over the competition. Since then, however, Google, Amazon and even Apple have introduced their own versions of the technology, removing Facebook’s edge.Image Credits: Brian HeaterWhile the Portal Go doesn’t address the larger question of why, it does once again showcase Facebook’s ability to think outside the smart screen box by adding portability to the mix. Honestly, it’s one of those things I’m surprised the competition hasn’t gotten on board with. Amazon discontinued its portable Bluetooth speaker,  » Read More

Member Article Friends Quest, the latest the company’s release for Snapchat, is a real-time competitive multi-player platform game where the player needs to pass a series of levels full of dangers and mysteries. Friends Quest is the third title Gismart released on Snapchat as a part of a multi-game partnership agreement signed earlier this year. Released on the 10th of September, over 4.8 million players have already played Friends Quest globally on Snapchat. Together with previous game releases, Color Galaxy and Crazy Run, Gismart games generated nearly ninety million players, with the fourth title in development. Friends Quest was developed using Snaps Play Canvas, a web-first 3D game engine where developers can build HTML 5 games collaboratively. “We view social platform games as a sustainable growing business for Gismart. With Snapchat, the chances of releasing a hit game are higher than in a hyper casual world today. For instance, Color Galaxy, our first title on Snapchat, is comparable with successful hyper-casual games both in terms of the number of players and the profit received. The game is still one of the most popular on the platform and continues to generate profit” said Lana Meisak, VP Business Development and Marketing at…

By: Tech Desk | Mumbai | October 21, 2021 1:15:06 pm Here's all you need to know about the Twitter-Sphere deal. (File) Twitter has acquired London-based group chat application Sphere. The acquisition is the latest move by Twitter to broaden its product offerings to users. As per a report by TechCrunch, the app could use the acquisition to improve its personal and group messaging capabilities. “Much like others, we’ve been watching and admiring Twitter’s growing investment in community-building with the release of Communities, Spaces, and features that promote safety,” Sphere said in a blog post. “When we met the team, we were even more impressed by how seriously they are pursuing interest-based community and how much they believe in its potential impact.” The move will also see about 20 people from the Sphere team join Twitter. A number of users Sphere had amassed wasn’t disclosed but the standalone app is expected to be brought to an end soon. “It’s been a long and exciting journey to this point. Like many startups, Sphere started with a very different mission — to help anyone find and share knowledge instantly through the creation of a ‘global brain.’ We originally built a marketplace of…

Bravo Insider Exclusive! Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more! Sign Up for Free to View Show Highlight What Raquel Leviss Really Thinks About Her Ring Bravo Insider Exclusive! Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more! Sign Up for Free to View There's no doubt about it: Raquel Leviss' engagement ring from James Kennedy is a real stunner. There is some confusion, however, around the ring's provenance. And while James had claimed that he got the ring at Tiffany & Co., and even presented it to Raquel in a Tiffany-blue box ... the ring, well, wasn't actually from Tiffany's. But, the couple offered some — ahem — clarity on the issue when they appeared on What What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on October 19.  During Raquel and James' appearance in the clubhouse,  » Read More

New York’s political elite rubbed shoulders at the Javits Center in New York City on Thursday night for the annual Al Smith Foundation Dinner, the biggest fundraising event for the Archdiocese of New York, highlighted with a keynote speech from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Potential rivals who may be flirting with a 2022 Democratic bid for Governor, took the stage together for the 75th installation of the dinner, such as Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Tish James.Cardinal Timothy Dolan welcomed the guests with an opening prayer, in which he remembered the late Colin Powell, who died earlier this week.This year’s dinner was hosted by Fox’s Maria Bartiromo.Some of the political guests were more warmly welcomed than others: de Blasio received some light boos when he was introduced.Cardinal Timothy Dolan opened the dinner with a prayer, remembering the late former secretary of state Colin Powell.VimeoNYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, former Gov. George Pataki, former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg were also in attendance — who got a massive applause and shouts of joy.Hochul’s new secretary to the governor Karen Keogh — whose husband is a lobbyist for the prominent Albany law firm Bolton St. Johns — was seen…

A lawsuit alleging that YouTube violated the Constitution's First Amendment by removing videos promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory has been thrown out by a federal judge.U.S. District Judge Beth Freeman dismissed the suit against YouTube parent company Google on Tuesday. The complaint was filed last year by a group of self-described "conservative content creators" who claimed that their rights were violated when YouTube suspended their accounts. The judge found that the plaintiffs failed to prove that Google, as a private company, was acting on behalf of the government—the only entity liable for First Amendment claims."Based on the inapplicability of any of the four state action tests outlined by the Supreme Court... the Court finds that Plaintiffs have failed to plead a proper First Amendment claim due to their failure to sufficiently allege that Defendants' conduct constituted state action," Freeman wrote in her decision.Freeman dismissed the First Amendment claim "with prejudice," meaning that the plaintiffs cannot not appeal the decision in federal court. She was not convinced by arguments that YouTube was forced to act on behalf of the government by members of Congress who "demanded that the unpopular speech dubbed 'misinformation,' and QAnon-related speech be limited and erased."Lawyers for the…