And By ‘Coins,’ We Mean Money Transfers on Messenger
Facebook Messenger just thought of a new way to remind you when you owe someone money. According to the The Verge, the social network is testing out what we’re calling a new ‘pay back feature.’
Here’s how it works: Let’s say you’re chatting with your friend about a recent night out. During the convo, someone drops words like ‘IOU’ or ‘ you owe me.’ Facebook’s feature with the help of chat assist and machine learning will pick up on those words or similar phrases. The feature will then prompt you or your friend to make a payment right then and there. While the feature does this automatically, it’s up to each party to decide whether they want to settle their debts right there on Messenger or keep their ‘IOU’ status a bit longer.
Just another sign that Facebook’s trying to get deep into the payments game. The company didn’t stop there. It’s also introduced group chat polling to help planning nights out with friends a bit easier. Turn all the way up tonight or do something more chill and low-key? That could be the question.
U.S. Facebook users are in luck because both features are only available Stateside – for now.
What do you think? Good move by FB or completely unnecessary? Tell us what you think in the comments or take our poll!
Good to Know: Need to kill some time on a Friday? Google ‘solitaire’ or ‘tic-tac-toe’ and get your game on…Enjoy!
THE SKINNY
When You’re Doing An About-Face …
Messaging app WhatsApp was hell-bent on protecting its users privacy, but things change.
When You’re Not Selling Out Completely …
To be fair, WhatsApp isn’t completely going back on its word. It just announced that it’ll be sharing ‘limited data’ (including phone numbers) with Facebook, it’s parent company. In case you forgot, FB bought WhatsApp for a whooping US $22 billion back in 2014.
When You’re Not Sure Why This Is Happening …
There are a number of reasons for the change. Better friend suggestions is one … Getting better FB ads and just having a better experience with the app generally are others … And, even helping businesses offer better customer service is also on the list. In other words, WhatsApp need to make money.
This week, rapper Frank Ocean released his long, looooooooong awaited album called, Blonde. Ocean released his latest work independently and got his work to the masses via iTunes and Apple Music. Turns out this is a nightmare scenario for record labels. If artists aren’t happy with their record label contracts, what’s stopping them from putting out music on their own then turning to music streaming services for distribution? Well, the answer is nothing (assuming the artist is no longer under contract). Record labels are shaking in their boots. We’ve even heard that Universal Music Group is banning ‘streaming exclusives’ for its artists. Ocean’s the first to break away from a major record label and do something like this. Now the question is … Who’s next? Bey? Drake? How much longer before music labels are a thing of the past?
Check out this 11-minute video and President Obama’s Yosemite National Park visit in VR (formally known as virtual reality). The video is courtesy of Facebook-owned Oculus and VR content studio Felix and Paul Studios. Or skip the video and check out the President watching himself in VR.
President Barack Obama watches a virtual reality film captured during his trip to Yosemite National Park earlier this year, in the Outer Oval Office, Aug. 24, 2016. Personal aide Ferial Govashiri sits at her desk at left. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
These days you gotta meet people where they are … That’s why Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are forking over $$$ for ads on Snapchat. Video ads are where it’s at to reach America’s youth.
Cars You Drive and Those That Drive Themselves…
Somehow Uber managed to drain US $1.27 BILLION dollars in just 6 months. In Uber’s world, it’s literally a drop in the bucket. Price competition from Lyft and drivers’ subsidies are partly to blame. Speaking of Uber drivers, retirement plans are in their future (sort of). Uber’s linked up with robo-advisor Betterment to set up drivers with IRAs or Roth IRAs.
When you did it first … Singapore’s nuTonomy just became the first company to get the world’s first self-driving taxis on the road. Still in test mode but still a very big deal. Uber and Google are working on it but aren’t there yet.
Add Amazon to the automotive list. It’s launched a new hub to help those in the market for new rides compare specs, prices, and get smart before making a purchase. It’s all about building that ‘automotive community.’
How to Avoid Being Hangry …
More on Amazon … It’s taking a cue from Walmart. Shop groceries with the online retailer and then pick up your loot at a nearby drive-in location. No more wasting time by waiting for those deliveries at your door. Yay! That’s the plan at least… Amazon’s still testing things out.
Southern Global Hospitality…
It hasn’t been smooth sailing for home sharing service AirBnB as of late. It’s been dealing with some heavy subjects like racism and discrimination on the app. But, not every host on the app is a jerk. Over 300 hosts are taking in people for free that have been devastated by the natural disasters in Italy, Louisiana, and Cali. It’s all part of the company’s disaster response program. #GoodWork
Keep Me Entertained …
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. First Instagram, now Apple. The iPhone maker is working on a video feature reminiscent of Snapchat.
Pandora just got a new partner, and it makes sense. The Root’s Questlove and the music streaming service are doing a lil collabo called “Questlove Supreme,” a weekly radio show. The ‘black nerd version of NPR’ kicks off on Sept. 7.
Introducing Fans.com, a social network for all things concerts.
So, North Korea’s apparently working on a Netflix-type service called ‘ManBang.’ Interesting move since a ton of North Korean citizens aren’t even allowed to access the InterWebs. Things that make you go hmmm…
So Not Entertaining …
Internet trolls truly outdid themselves this week. If you remember, not too long ago the Cincinnati Zoo had to unfortunately take down Harambe (one of its gorillas). People were outraged and started trolling not only the zoo but it’s director on social. Things got so bad, the zoo said ‘screw this, we’re out.’ It got off of social.
Things went from bad to worse when we learned that also this week, Saturday Night Live and Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones was hacked. It’s been a rollercoaster summer for the celeb who was the target of vicious racist attacks on Twitter. We thought things calmed down, but that was a mistake. Hackers got access to some explicit pics of Leslie and her passport info then posted them to her official website (complete with racial remarks). The website’s been taken down, other celebs rallied behind Leslie, and the Department of Homeland Security is investigating. #DoBetter
MAKIN’ MOVES
Tech magazine Wired is losing another exec. Mark McClusky turned in his two-week notice and will be heading back to Sports Illustrated to run its digital division.
Microsoft thought it was doing a good thing when it introduced “Tay,” an AI chatbot, to the world earlier this week. The company built Tay to mimic stereotypical millennials’ “caszhh” speak aka casual speak by learning from 18-24 year olds Twitter and messaging apps Kik and GroupMe.
But, Then Things Went Left VERY Quickly …
Things started innocently enough with Tay responding with playful comments. But in just half a day, Tay transformed into your racist, homophobic, xenophobic, politically incorrect relative that you are forced to see at least once a year. Tay was spewing things like: “WE’RE GOING TO BUILD A WALL. AND MEXICO IS GOING TO PAY FOR IT.” We’ve heard that somewhere before …
Apple’s first TV series will be an unscripted show that’s centered on something it knows well – apps. Musician will.i.am and TV producers Ben Silverman (former executive producer of The Office) and Howard Owens are in.
Snapchat reportedly dropped $100 mill Bitstrips, the company responsible for the Bitmoji app.
Google just made its Nik Collection, a collection of desktop plug-in, free. It would usually run you about US $149. #GoodDeal
Good to Know: It’s almost festival season … Super cool tech and music festival South by Southwest kicks off this weekend. Even, U.S. President Barack Obama is making a cameo. #Jelly
THE SKINNY
When You’re Trying to Get Your House in Order …
These days, we’re used to hearing about the Googles and the Facebooks of the world trying to bring Internet access to emerging and underrepresented areas. But, this week, President Obama is keeping things closer to home. The Administration announced new broadband plan for the U.S. called ConnectALL.
When Things Aren’t As They Seem …
Over the past 15 years, Internet access has been growing like gangbusters in America but is still very much out of reach for some households. ConnectALL intends to bring broadband access to underserved communities.
Billionaire media mogul and former New York City Michael Bloomberg bowed out of getting into the U.S. presidential election as an independent. It’s unfortunate for some, including sharing economy companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, AirBnB, etc. The word is Bradley Tusk, who led Bloomberg’s NYC campaign, would’ve incorporated these services into Bloomberg’s would’ve-been campaign. Tusk figured since there’s no blue print to run as an independent, the sharing economy would’ve been the perfect match to get things going for field operations (e.g., hiring Ubers to get people to the polls). Oh, what would’ve been!
About 47% of Americans surveyed are #TeamApple, and we’re not talking Apple Martin aka the daughter of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and rocker Chris Martin. Most Americans in a recent Pew survey are siding with the smartphone manufacturer in its beef with the U.S. government over encryption.
THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’
Not an astronaut? No worries, Amazon CEO and owner of space startup Blue Origins Jeff Bezos is working on test flights for regular folks beginning in 2017. The goal is to make things offisch by selling tix for short suborbital flights to us in 2018. Your move, Elon Tusk & SpaceX …
Anonymous messaging app Yik Yak is probably getting tired of always being in the middle of controversy. User names are now a thing for the app.
Facebook and Google want to share their data center designs with you via the Open Compute Project. It’s a win-win … People get to give these companies a hand in advancing Internet hardware and the companies get to keep their hardware costs low, low, low, low …
BTW, Facebook isn’t back down from competitor Snapchat. The OG social media platform (relatively speaking) just bought video filter app Msqrd.
It’s getting’ hot out there … You know what that means? Let the trip planning begin. Not sure where to go? Google it, duh! The search engine’s got a new feature called Destinations to help with your planning needs.
Instagram just pulled the kill-switch on “Being,” its app intended to give users an inside look into another user’s Insta for discovery purposes. Probably for the best on account of all its technical problems.
When You’re Coming Up with Solutions, Not Problems …
Google wants to create an open source platform intended to map out the virus’ spread and i.d. potential outbreaks by looking at things like travel and weather patterns and other data points. Why stop there? Well, it’s not. The Internet industry vet also wants people to learn more about the virus via a new web-based campaign among other things (i.e., develop a vaccine since one doesn’t currently exist).
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
When You Just Need to Get Used To It …
We’ll probably be talking Apple v. FBI for a while. This week, both sides took their arguments to U.S. Capitol Hill. And now, FBI Director James Comey is saying “our b.” During a hearing, Comey admitted that the FBI made the wrong decision by changing the Apple ID password linked to one of the San Bernardino shooters’ phones – a “180” from the agency’s previous statement.
When You’ve Watched One Too Many Episodes of ‘Lock Up…’
uberMoto, Uber’s motorbike hailing service, is now a thing in Bangalore, India. The company responsible for putting ride-hailing apps on the map is stepping its international expansion game all the way up. It’s shelling out US $250 million to get into areas like the Middle East and Africa. As of today, Uber’s now live in Pakistan.
Tired of seeing pics of your friends’ kids every two seconds on FB? France may be the place for you. The government’s telling parents in the country to stop posting pics of their kids on FB in the name of protecting their privacy and security. Seems like it could be a win-win for everyone involved.
Watch out, Skype and Google Hangouts … New chat app Slack is coming for you with its soon to be launched video and voice feature. Side note: Slack is killing the fundraising game! The startup has raised over a billion dollars in just a year. #Impressive
Not so great news for SurveyMonkey employees … The cloud-based polling service is working to better its business offerings and will drop about 100 employees along the way.
BTW, new app No More Voicemail wants people to talk less and text more #YesPlease
Good to Know: We all know what it’s like to have the case of the Mondays but turns out that people actually hate Thursdays more according to posts on the Whisper app.
Park took the app and allegedly posted a message threatening black students and faculty at the University of Missouri (Mizzou), the sister campus to Missouri University of Science and Technology. The actual words used were “I’m going to shoot any black people tomorrow, so be ready.”Umm… terrifying … Black students fled campus before police arrested Park on suspicion of making terrorist threats.
Posters Beware …
College kids are very into Yik Yak, but most of them probably didn’t read the fine print. The app says it can hand over users’ information (e.g. Internet protocol address, GPS coordinates, date and time of message, etc.) to police if there’s a subpoena, court order, or search warrant involved. But, all that paper work isn’t needed in the event of an emergency like death threats.
Not the First Time …
Park’s threats along with some others surfaced on Yik Yak after Mizzou’s President and another senior university official were forced to step down. Their departure came after weeks of protests calling out the university’s handling of students’ concerns over racial incidents on campus. The app has a history of users’ posting these types of messages. In recent weeks, a few arrests have been made on college campuses across the U.S. for similar threats by other students. Yik Yak founder Brooks Buffington says the app is not meant for this type of behavior.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
Paying Your Fair Share …
AirBnB was fired up when it scored its major “W” by shutting down San Francisco’s Proposition F, which would have been bad news bears for short-term rentals. But now, the home-sharing service is taking things down a notch. This week, the company’s out with what it’s calling the “AirBnB Community Compact” to mend relations with local governments. AirBnB is willing to pay taxes, share unidentified data on its hosts and guests, and banning illegal hotels for participating on the platform.
When Someone Tries To Put You in a Box …
“Don’t do it,” says Chinese Internet company Alibaba. The company thinks it can do better and is looking to expand its empire. Alibaba is getting into U.S. territory by throwing money at high-tech U.S. startups. The company also wants to export goods from U.S. small and medium-sized businesses over to China. Btw, the company’s setting the record straight … It’s no e-commerce company. Instead, it wants to help other businesses compete with the Amazons of the world.
We Still Need Confirmation …
The U.S. and EU are working hard to figure out a deal that will allow American companies to transfer Europeans’ data back to the States. The EU may have some new stipulations. EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova says it may want American companies to turn over reports detailing just how many times U.S. intelligence agencies are reaching out to them and inquiring about EU residents. You know, just to double-check that things aren’t getting out of hand.
THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’
Social media company Facebook’s out with its new “breaking news” feature called Notify. You get your pick of what type of news you want to see from over 70 publishers.
Apple wants you to be able to make instant payments to your friends. It’s rumored to be working with banks to figure out a mobile peer-to-peer payment service.
Ride hailing app Uber wanted to get Nokia Maps in its corner to improve its navigation service, but things didn’t work out. Uber has moved onto navigation company TomTom and worked out partnership deal.
Online music streaming service Spotify’s trying to get you to the next big show with concert recommendations curated just for you.
IAC/Interactive Corp, owner of brands like OkCupid and CollegeHumor.com, wants to add Angie’s List, reviewer of local businesses, to its collection via a merger. Angie’s List is thinking things over.
LinkedIn knows it sends way too many emails and is working on a tool to fix that. Internally, the tool is known as Air Traffic Controller.
