MASHABLE - According to a new report by the Financial Times, TikTok is about to launch a gaming tab on its app, allowing users to play mobile games. These games will feature ads, and users will be able to pay for additional content, the report claims. All of this could be announced on Nov 2, when TikTok is hosting its "first global gaming event," with the tagline "TikTok Made Me Play It."
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TikTok Is Getting a Games Tab Soon
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LinkedIn Takes Aim at Scam Accounts With New Security Features
PCMAG - LinkedIn is preparing to roll out new security features to protect users from scammers posing as fake corporate executives and job recruiters on the platform. One of them includes adding a new "About this profile" feature, which will show users when a LinkedIn user created the profile, and if it's been verified with a phone or a work email. The other change involves detecting AI-generated images on LinkedIn profiles pages.
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Telegram Announces Username Auctions on TON Blockchain
TECH CRUNCH - Telegram announced that will it hold an auction for usernames - for both individual accounts and channels - through a marketplace built on top of the TON blockchain. Telegram and TON Foundation are using a separate website Fragment.com as a hub for these auctions. Users will be able to log into the site using Telegram, the tonkeeper app, or their TON-based wallets.
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Turkish Competition Board Fines Meta Platforms $18.6M
REUTERS - Turkey's competition authority has fined Meta $18.63M for breaking competition law. The Turkish regulator said the company held a dominant position in personal social networking services and online video advertising and had obstructed competitors by merging data collected through its core services Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
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Nternz, Student-focused Social Network Start-up Wins Top Prize at Ignite Awards
SILICON REPUBLIC - Social network start-up Nternz won the top prize at the Ignite program showcase on Oct 25 at University College Cork (UCC). Led by founder Paddy O'Toole, Nternz has developed a platform designed to allow students to discover and connect with careers and companies, and build their professional work experience. The start-up was declared the overall Bank of Ireland Best Business Award winner at the event.
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LinkedIn Once Again Reports 'Record Engagement' in Latest Performance Update
SOCIAL MEDIA TODAY - LinkedIn has once again posted 'record engagement' as part of parent company Microsoft's latest earnings report. Microsoft has reported 'record levels' of engagement growth for the app for now 16 straight quarters, which kind of waters down the meaning a little bit. There is the note that LinkedIn sessions grew 24%, but with LinkedIn also adding more users.
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TikTok and Facebook Still Running Ads With False Info
FREE MALAYSIA TODAY - A research found that TikTok and Facebook aren't always up to speed when it comes to moderation. The researchers submitted 20 advertisements on Youtube, Facebook and Tiktok, either containing false information about the upcoming US elections or aimed at delegitimizing the electoral process and result. YouTube not only blocked the ads from running, but also suspended the channel carrying them. 2 English and 5 Spanish ads were approved by Facebook. Meta's policy also seems to apply differently in different countries. Meanwhile, TikTok approved almost all of the ads, except for one in each language, both of which indicated that Covid-19 vaccination was required to vote.
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Will Twitter Turn Into a Web3 Platform With Wallet Support for Crypto?
FX STREET - Tech blogger Jane Manchun Wong announced that Twitter is working on a wallet prototype supporting crypto. The addition of a crypto wallet would turn Twitter into a full-fledged web3 platform.
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Meta Must Cut 20% Jobs, Reduce Spending on Metaverse: Key Investor
IANS - In a sharp criticism of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a key long-term investor in the company has said that the social network needs to reduce more headcounts and stop spending too much on metaverse to get its "mojo back". In an open letter on Medium addressing Zuckerberg, Altimeter Capital Chair and CEO Brad Gerstner said that Meta needs to rebuild confidence with investors, employees, and the tech community to attract, inspire and retain the best people in the world.
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Spanish Startup Vermut Raises €1.5M for Its App Giving Retirees a New Lease of Life
EU STARTUPS - Born in Barcelona, Vermut has raised €1.5 million on its first international funding round and plans a big move to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The tech startup is driven by impact, aiming to address loneliness amongst retirees through its social app. Vermut offers older people a dedicated platform where they can sign up for activities that appeal to them and join a community to meet new people and get new friends.
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Metaverse Startup Burning Galaxy Soft Launches Social UGC Platform Another Earth
TECHNODE - Metaverse startup Burning Galaxy soft launches its immersive user-generated content (UGC) platform Another Earth. Founded by veterans from NCSOFT, 2K, Electronic Arts, Valve, JoyCity, Tencent, and PUBG, Burning Galaxy is a social network that connects reality with new virtual worlds. Burning Galaxy raised ~$10M from Matrix Partners China with a valuation of $100M in Jan 2022. Users can set up accounts and create their first hyper-realistic avatar.
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Piczo: the Internet's Influential but Forgotten Social Network
VICE - Piczo was a website builder and social networking site that launched in San Fransisco in 2005, around the same peak years as Myspace. Users could create their web pages and add photos, "blinkies" (flashing graphics), text, guestbooks, music, and other content using plain text and HTML. By 2006, the website builder and social network had become the largest teen site in the UK. Then it disappeared without a trace.
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BeReal Raised $60M in Its Series B Earlier This Year, Now Has 20M DAUs
TECH CRUNCH - BeReal, the photo-sharing app, has been a huge hit with Gen Z and beyond. The startup closed a round of $60M earlier this year. The company now has ~20M DAUs. In April, app intelligence firm Apptopia reported that BeReal had grown its installs by 315% year to date.
by Sarah Perez & Ingrid Lunden
See full article at Tech Crunch
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A Non-Toxic New Social Media App for High Schoolers Rank #1 in the App Store
BUSINESS INSIDER - Gas, a new app for high schoolers is ranked #1 in the app store right now, beating out BeReal and TikTok. The app lets users send anonymous compliments to their friends and classmates through polls. The creators are trying to dispel a human trafficking hoax they say is causing users to delete their accounts.
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