YOUR STORY - June 11 - Community-driven fitness brand Fittr acquired a minority stake in Wylo, an interest-based social networking platform based out of Chennai. Over the years, Fittr claims to have built a strong 2.5M community focusing on democratizing fitness. Fittr, which currently has ~350K MAU, has a minority stake in the gym aggregator platform Fitato.
by Trisha Medhi
See full article at Your Story
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TELECOM PAPER - June 11 - Carolyn Everson, the head of advertising at Facebook, has announced she is leaving the company to start "a new chapter." Carolyn Everson has been at the company for over 10 years, helping Facebook build up its advertising operations: ad revenue accounted for $84.2B of its ~$86B of revenue in 2020. Everson will be replaced on an interim basis by Nicola Mendelsohn, who oversees the group's Europe, Middle East, and Africa region and has been at Facebook for over 8 years.
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INDIAN EXPRESS - June 10 - Less than a week after banning Twitter indefinitely, the Nigerian government has joined its India-made rival, Koo. Nigeria's decision to suspend Twitter in the country reportedly came from the US-based social networking platform deleting a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari for violating rules. The Nigerian government's decision to join Koo after banning Twitter reinforces its position as an alternative platform to Twitter.
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PR NEWSWIRE - June 11 - Created nearly one year ago by Travis "TJ" Owens, SmokeSesh.Life is finalizing plans to launch as the first cannabis-focused social media site of its kind. With hundreds of users already signed up and ~$12 K contributed via Kickstarter and private funding, the collaborative network is off to a running start. The innovative cannabis-centric community provides an inclusive space for enthusiasts, brands, and other adults to connect, learn, and share.
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THE DAILY STAR - June 10 - Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) confirmed that a transnational gang involving some Bangladeshis has been trafficking young girls, using the social networking platform TikTok, and forcing them into sex work in India. This incident has proven just how unsafe online spaces can be for children and young people who are not well-versed in navigating such spaces. The authorities must launch a long-term and comprehensive awareness program to target this knowledge gap, ensuring that not only children and young people but also their guardians are aware of the pitfalls of the Internet, the potential of being "groomed" by online friends, and the importance of protecting their privacy online.
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EURO NEWS - June 10 - The popular Chinese social network Weibo has blocked several influential cryptocurrency-related accounts. No further information was given about why the accounts had violated Weibo's community rules. The crackdown on the Twitter-like platform comes as Beijing is escalating its efforts against bitcoin trading and mining online.
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MY SAN ANTONIO - June 10 - Facebook confirmed that the company is already working on its own operating system for AR hardware to optimize performance, energy efficiency, and computational capacity in normal-looking glasses. The VR glasses would be accompanied by thermal glass protection. Also, they will have a casual size to look like normal glasses but with a capacity similar to that of a computer. On the other hand, their design will be based on the microkernel architecture to be safe and reliable.
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ADWEEK - Jun 10 - Instagram will begin testing a native affiliate tool, which will enable creators to discover new products available for purchase via Instagram Checkout, share them with followers, and earn commissions on resulting conversions, all within the Instagram app. The native affiliate tool will be tested with a small group of creators and businesses in the US. Creators on Instagram who already have their own product lines can link their shop to their personal profile and business profile. This update is available globally starting Tuesday.
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AFP - June 10 - President Joe Biden revoked executive orders from his predecessor Donald Trump seeking to ban Chinese-owned mobile apps TikTok and WeChat over national security concerns. Instead of banning the popular apps, the Biden administration would carry out a "criteria-based decision framework and rigorous, evidence-based analysis to address the risks" from internet applications controlled by foreign entities.
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TECH CRUNCH - June 9 - Dispo put out a press release confirming the financing event. Though Seven Seven Six and Unshackled Ventures intend to donate profits from the app, they remain listed as investors, while Spark Capital is not. Other notable names involved in the project were also confirmed as investors or advisors. Now, Dispo is promoting the app as a mental health benefit, hoping to shift the tide away from manufactured perfectionism toward more authentic social media experiences.
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BUSINESSWIRE - June 9 - Turntable launches its platform to elation their diehard community of fans and artists alike. This all-new platform is designed for social networking with music fans, free to join, and spearheaded by one of the co-founders of the original Turntable, Joseph Perla (Facebook, Lyft). The all-new Turntable now in the app store (IOS or Android) and desktop.
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THE VERGE - June 9 - Instagram chief Adam Mosseri shed some light on how the social network decides what you see in a new blog post published. Mosseri explained that Instagram uses "a variety of algorithms, classifiers, and processes, each with its own purpose" to determine what to show users. He then broke down the "signals" Instagram uses to surface something in their feed, stories, Explore tab, and Reels.
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TECH CRUNCH - Jun 8 - Pinterest is rolling out a feature to turn users' saved Pins into purchases: a shopping list. This feature saves all Product Pins in one place. This feature also will send out notifications if the items have dropped in price. The feature will launch first in the U.S. and U.K. and later roll out to Australia, Canada, France, and Germany. Pinterest is also expanding merchant tools with its Verified Merchant Program debut, plus a merchant storefront on profile feature and new product tagging in that countries.
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EXECUTIVE GRAPEVINE - Jun 8 - TikTok is continuing to test out software that would facilitate a move into the recruitment market. Initial reports that the platform was looking to create a tool for brands to recruit employees were revealed by an anonymous employee in an Axios report. Whilst the rumored new product will apparently not be a part of the current TikTok platform itself, it will be accessible via a separate page directed through the app, where brands can post jobs emphasizing appealing to Gen-Z.
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SLASH GEAR - Jun 8 - Super Follows has been described as Patreon, where fans can pay a monthly fee of ~$4.99 for exclusive perks. Those who want to have Super Followers will need to have at least 10K followers and have posted at least 25 tweets in the past 30 days. Super Follows might be launching sooner than expected, and it's just one of the latest monetization options Twitter is offering users.
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