Messenger Rooms available on groups and eventsLess than a month after Messenger Rooms was rolled out, Facebook has given this videoconferencing feature more room to grow by availing it on events and groups.
Category: Social computing
Facebook zooms Rooms
Hold video calls for up to eight persons now — up to 50 in coming weeks, (Photo source: Facebook)
Can’t say this was unexpected. The demand is high and the need, urgent. In response, Facebook has launched Messenger Rooms, its videoconferencing service for the masses.
Google Ads: Identity please?
All advertisers on Google will have to show proof of identity and where they operate from as part of the search giant’s move towards greater transparency to users.
Facebook takes 10% stake in India telco Jio Platforms
Facebook is investing US$5.7 billion or a 9.99 percent stake in India’s Jio Platforms. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, Jio will use the new invesment to pursue new opportunities for businesses of all sizes, especially small merchants, micro-businesses and farmers, and create digital ecosystems that will empower, enrich and uplift the lives of all 1.3 billion Indians.
Zendesk launches Gather and Sunshine Conversations
Zendesk has launched Gather, which lets companies provide trusted and transparent support to customers through online community forums. They can engage with each other and company experts to offer guidance and insight beyond what a single customer support agent might be able to handle.
Huawei bucks the trend as global smartphone shipment shrinks in Q1
While its competitors struggled, Huawei strode ahead and emerged the winner in the worldwide smartphone market in Q1. Though it’s still behind market leader Samsung, the China-based smartphone giant narrowed the gap with an astounding 50 percent growth in the quarter, according to IDC.
Facebook plays matchmaker
Singapore has joined 18 other countries, including Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, that can access Facebook Dating, the social media platform’s dating feature.
Goodbye, Google Plus!
Google Plus aka Google+ will be no more — for consumers, at least. The search giant is shutting down its social media service after discovering security lapse that put the data of half a million users at risk.Facebook to give SEA startups a leg up
Social media giant Facebook is partnering with Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore to give Southeast Asia startups a head start in developing data-driven technologies.
Googles turns 20
By Edward Lim
It may have seemed like forever but Google just celebrated its 20th anniversary today. It’s not even an adult yet by human age but the search giant has grown massively over the past two decades.
Singapore launches unified payment QR code
The number of QR codes for payment is akin to the number of credit card offerings in the market — it keeps growing, making it more of a hassle than convenience for merchants and consumers. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has stepped in to solve this problem with the launch of the Singapore Quick Response (SGQR) Code.
Facebook to build S$1.4b data centre in Singapore
Hot on the heels of Google’s announcement last month that it will build its third data centre in Singapore is Facebook, which declared today that it will be establishing its first Asia data centre in the country.
China wins battle for AI investments
A battle of sorts is taking place in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). It has been widely reported that China is ramping up its focus on the technology that is expected to transform businesses and industries. Numbers from ABI Research point to a swing in favour of China.
Free WhatsApp backup on Google Drive
WhatsApp backup will no longer count towards Google Drive storage quota, thanks to a new agreement between the two companies.
StatX takes on Telegram with messaging and information app
Blockchain startup StatX has launched a mobile app that combines information-sharing and messaging features the crypto and blockchain community. While traditional messaging apps such as Telegram is more conversation centric than information-centric.
Chrome marks http as “not secure”
HTTP has been synonymous with an entire generation of Internet users but what many are unaware is that the protocol is not secured. Anyone with the right skills can change the contents of the site before it reaches the person browsing. To combat this, Google is marking all HTTPsites as “not secure” from today so users are more aware of the sites’ security status.
StumbleUpon stumbles out
After 16 years, discovery engine StumbleUpon, which pushes web contents to users, has shut down.
Myanmar startup Goama launches mobile gaming app in India
Myanmar startup Goama has launched its “Netflix of Games” mobile gaming subscription app in India. Called Go|Games, the Android app has more than 700,000 subscribers in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
YouTube Music and YouTube Music Premium now available in ANZ and South Korea
Australia, New Zealand and South Korea are the first in the region to enjoy YouTube’s new music streaming service available from yesterday.
App to teach children responsible mobile device usage
Help is at hand for parents who need help in teaching their young children the dos and don’ts of using smartphones and other mobile devices. They can now turn to Tittle for Parents, an app that lets parents protect their children on mobile devices and teach about safe and appropriate use.
ICT spending in APAC (sans Japan) to hit US$1.5t in 2021
Information and communications technology (ICT) spending in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) will hit US$1.5 trillion in 2021, according to IDC.
YouTube rolls out new music streaming service
Spotify, beware! YouTube has announced a revamped version of YouTube Music that will be competing for music lovers.
Coming soon: WhatsApp group call
Conference calls is coming to WhatsApp! While group chats have been around for a while, the messaging app will be adding group voice call in the coming months, according to Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook at his keynote address at F8 developer conference.
SmugMug acquires Flickr
SmugMug has acquired Flickr, a move that brings together two big photo-sharing sites.
Amazon Echo Spot heads to Australia
More smart speakers are heading to this part of the world. Amazon has announced that the Echo Spot is ready for pre-order in Australia.
New SAS division to fight fraud with AI and analytics
SAS has formed a global Fraud and Security Intelligence Division to help organisations better detect and
Spotify makes successful public listing
Spotify made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange and closed the first day at US$26.5 billion, about 30 percent above analysts’ prediction.
Something old, something new
The telecommunications industry, specifically mobile communications, is converging in Barcelona this week. Even before Mobile World Congress (MWC) kicks off today, two companies have fired the first salvo with something old, something new.
5 things to do when your social media platform is down
When WhatsApp was down for a few hours last Friday (November 3), Facebook timelines were filled with panic posts by people unable to communicate on WhatsApp. Snapchat is reported to be down at the point of writing and again, there is frenzy over the outage.
Beware of fake Facebook accounts
It’s become something of a daily routine. Friend requests are coming from people we don’t know on Facebook.
Entelechy Asia 