Tech musings - 01

Thoughts on Instagram launching tools for creators, Clubhouse app clones and Facebook, Twitter hiding posts in India

Tech discussions cannot be complete without Facebook. Love it hate it you cannot ignore the tech giant which is no more a social media giant. From communication to commerce to entertainment Facebook has a leg everywhere.

Facebook Q1 2021 earnings

However, the tech giant makes the maximum revenue from its ads. For Q1, 2021 Facebook has reported revenue of $26.17 billion, which was up 48% compared with a year prior. Facebook’s net income grew 94% to $9.5 billion, from $4.9 billion a year prior.

Facebook attributed the significant increase in revenue to a 30% year-over-year increase in the average price per ad and a 12% increase in the number of ads delivered.

Providing some insights on how Facebook’s messaging app makes money, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said there are now 1 million businesses using those "click to WhatsApp" ads.

It's also launching a new feature: business users will now be able to start creating such advertisements directly from the WhatsApp Business app, which wasn't possible before, making the ad buying process more seamless.

Instagram will launch new tools for creators

Facebook’s quest to crack the social commerce space is an ongoing one. In a recent move, the company has decided to launch new features on Instagram that will enable creators to make money.

Zuckerberg also said the company is building online shops so creators can sell items directly on the social media platform and a way for them to get a cut of the sales of products they're recommending. 

These tools will add to the existing ways of making money wherein creators make money from advertising products from brands in their photos and videos. 

Anyone remembers Facebook Shops or the initial old pitch to drop the website and instead open it on Facebook. That sales pitch won’t work in 2021?

Clubhouse and the rise of clones

The clubhouse is the new kid that has got everyone’s attention. Give me a high five if you are yet to explore the app. And I have no intention to do it.

Anyways while markets are shouting from the rooftop that audio is the present and future. The joke that is circulating in the market is that there are more podcast creators than listeners.

The Clubhouse app was all over the news last month when it was reported that Twitter was interested in taking over for $4 billion. Obviously, the sources were never disclosed and both the companies avoided commenting on the news.

Have you ever wondered that such takeover stories are released to the press for increasing the valuations?

Anyways the Clubhouse success has given to the rise of clones. And who else will lead the race - Facebook. The tech giant has announced a suite of tools and Social Audio that slightly goes beyond the Clubhouse app.

In addition to Podcasts, Soundbites (short snackable audio content), Facebook is also launching Live Audio Rooms. This is Facebook’s version of Clubhouse that will be available through the Facebook and Messenger apps by the end of summer. Live Audio Rooms will be introduced through Facebook Groups

Facebook says that:

“As part of this initial rollout — and because we know communities aren’t built just in Groups — we’ll also bring Live Audio Rooms to public figures so they can host conversations with other public figures, experts and fans.

We’re making live audio both accessible and discoverable so that public figures …can share ideas with new audiences and create a forum for discussion, without the added pressure of being on camera.”

Reddit has also launched its own Clubhouse variant - Reddit Talk. Based on Reddit’s description and images shared by the company, Reddit Talk appears to look a lot like Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, and other social audio products. Talks will “live” within subreddits, according to Reddit.

Twitter’s Q1 2021 earnings

CNBC reported that Twitter stocks were down more than 11% in after-hours trading after the company released its first-quarter earnings, missing on user growth expectations and providing lower revenue guidance for the second quarter than expected.

The company reported revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, which was up 28% from $808 million a year prior. Twitter also reported a profit of $68 million, contrasted with a loss of $8.4 million a year ago.

Twitter ad revenue grew 32% year over year to $899 million, according to the report, with total ad engagement growing 11% over the same period.

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter taking down content in India

Meanwhile in India the big tech giants Facebook and Twitter are dancing to the tunes of the government. The NYT reports that in the midst of the second wave of the pandemic the Indian government on Sunday said it ordered Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to take down dozens of social media posts critical of its handling of the pandemic.

The order was aimed at roughly 100 posts that included critiques from opposition politicians and calls for Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, to resign. The government said that the posts could incite panic, used images out of context, and could hinder its response to the pandemic.

Medianama has more on this for Twitter and Facebook hiding posts #ResignModi by mistake.

Good to know that I am not the only one who is doing mistakes.