Why Meta Platforms Stock Topped the Market Today
Meta Platforms (formerly known as Facebook) is planning to roll out a web version of its micro-messaging service, Threads, which caused investors to trade Meta's stock up by over 2%.
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Posted 8/21/2023, 10:42:00 PM
fool.com
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This article mentions that Threads, which is a competitor to Twitter developed by Meta Platforms, gained 100 million sign-ups within five days of its launch. Many readers of The Information were among the users who signed up for Threads. The majority of respondents to The Information's survey stated that they had used Threads and most of them seemed satisfied with the platform. Approximately 80% of Threads users rated it 3 or higher on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best rating.
- Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, is exploring the development of artificial intelligence (AI) products to assist creators in connecting with their fans.
- CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned the potential use of AI agents or chatbots to facilitate interactions between creators and their audiences.
- The company aims to create experiences that enable people to connect with the creators they admire and help creators build and nurture their communities.
- The specific AI products and features that Meta Platforms plans to develop for this purpose were not disclosed.
- This move aligns with Meta's broader strategy of focusing on the creator economy and enhancing user experiences on its platforms.
- Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) reported 11% growth in revenue for the second quarter, outperforming Google in ad growth.
- The company projected third quarter growth of up to 24.5%, which would be the first time since late 2021 that Meta has achieved 20% or more growth.
- Meta's stock rose as much as 8% in after-hours trading, reaching its highest point since February 2022.
- However, the improvement in Meta's business is partly due to diminished foreign exchange pressures, which weighed on revenues last year.
- The third quarter projection assumes that the dollar will add three percentage points to reported growth.
- Meta is planning to roll out AI-powered chatbots with different personas on its social media platforms.
- The chatbots are designed to have humanlike conversations and will launch as early as next month.
- Meta sees the chatbots as a way to boost engagement and collect more data on users.
- The chatbots may raise privacy concerns.
- Snapchat has also launched an AI chatbot, but faced criticism and concerns.
- Mark Zuckerberg mentioned that Meta is building new AI-powered products and will share more details later this year.
- More details on Meta's AI roadmap are expected to be announced in September.
- Meta reported 11% year-over-year revenue growth.
The main topic is Meta's decision to block Canadian access to news links and stories on Facebook and Instagram in response to a new law that would require them to pay publishers for their content. Key points include the passing of the Online News Act in Canada, Meta's decision to end news availability in Canada, Google's plans to follow suit, the decline of the news industry and the controversy surrounding the new laws. The article also mentions Meta's previous financial contributions to the news industry and the potential impact of these laws on social media platforms in the future.
Main topic: Meta's integration of ActivityPub into Threads and its potential impact on decentralized social networks.
Key points:
1. Meta's promise to integrate ActivityPub into Threads could upend how we think of social networks.
2. The rise of decentralized platforms represents an opportunity for a more open web and tearing down walled gardens.
3. Interest in the fediverse and decentralized social media has been growing, with larger platforms like Tumblr and Mozilla starting to experiment with ActivityPub.
Meta is introducing non-personalized content feeds on Facebook and Instagram for users in the European Union in order to comply with the Digital Services Act, allowing users to switch off AI-driven "personalization" features that track and profile individuals. The move comes ahead of the August 25 deadline and follows a similar announcement by TikTok.
Meta, the company behind Facebook, is taking a different approach from other AI developers by releasing its AI models for download and free commercial use, sparking a larger debate about access control to AI models and their potential risks and benefits.
Threads.net, the web-based version of the social media platform Threads, has launched, allowing users to access the service through their browsers, install it as a progressive web app, or pin it to the Edge Sidebar, expanding the platform's accessibility beyond Android and iOS devices.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is allowing users to delete personal information used in training generative AI models through a new opt-out tool featured on its website.
Meta Platforms is outpacing its competitors in the advertising industry's rebound, thanks to its investments in AI, while Google and Snap struggle to show significant growth, strengthening the bullish thesis for Meta and weakening the theses for Google and Snap.
The Canadian government has released draft regulations that would require Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook) and Alphabet Inc. (Google) to pay news outlets a minimum of 4% of their annual revenue in Canada, but Meta has stated that it will continue to block users in Canada from seeing news stories on Facebook.
Facebook's parent company, Meta, plans to remove the News tab in the UK, France, and Germany, prioritizing short-form video content instead. This follows previous actions to devalue news on the platform and emulate TikTok. Facebook News will only remain in the US and Australia after the changes take effect. Users will still see news article links on their feeds, and publishers can utilize Reels and the ads system to reach broader audiences. Meta will fulfill existing obligations with publishers until December, but no new deals or products will be offered in those countries. Meta is also considering ad-free paid subscriptions in Europe to address data collection and privacy concerns.
Facebook's parent company Meta is pulling the plug on Facebook News in the U.K., Germany, and France, as part of its efforts to align investments with its most valued products and services.
Meta is discontinuing Facebook's News tab in the UK, France, and Germany, signaling a broader shift away from news content on the platform, although news organizations can still post links and users will still have access to news content.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has announced that it will remove the dedicated news section from its platform in the U.K., France, and Germany, and instead focus on short-form video content like Reels, as news represents less than 3% of what users see in their feeds.
Meta Platforms (META) is testing the 50-day and 21-day moving averages, with the stock bouncing off the 21-day line and nearing an early entry point, after a strong year driven by improving advertising business, AI products, and cost-cutting measures.
Facebook: The Unreliable News Distributor
Facebook, or rather its parent company Meta, has been making waves in the news industry recently. First, it got into a tussle with the Australian government over news payments. Then it quietly removed its revenue-sharing News tab in the US. And now, it has imposed a complete news link ban in Canada. But the drama doesn't end there. Meta is now killing off the News tab in France, Germany, and the UK, and ending funding for a local news project.
This change in policy comes ahead of impending legislation in the European Union and the UK that may require Facebook to pay for the news it shares. Meta's unwillingness to pay for news content is at the core of all these changes. While news makes up just a small percentage of content viewed on Facebook, it plays a crucial role in keeping users engaged on the platform. However, news media have been hit hard by the shift to online platforms, losing out to the advertising dominance of Google and Facebook.
Over the years, Meta has tried various strategies to financially support news organizations, but nothing has been successful. Now, it seems that Meta is giving up on paying for news altogether. This decision has faced criticism, especially from smaller publishers who rely on Facebook for referral traffic and engagement. The company's flip-flopping approach to news has highlighted the fragility of the relationship between traditional media and tech giants like Facebook.
But what does this mean for users? Well, the News tab, which most users may not even be aware of, will be removed from the Facebook app in Europe. This may not make a significant difference for users, but it does mean the end of payments to news media. Instead, Facebook will shift its focus back to video content.
In conclusion, Meta's decision to abandon news comes at a time when legislators are demanding that Facebook pays for news. The company's resistance to legislation, as seen in Australia and Canada, raises questions about its commitment to supporting news organizations. As news media look for alternative ways to reach their audiences, the future of journalism and its relationship with social media platforms remains uncertain.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is reportedly developing a powerful new AI model to compete with OpenAI's GPT-4 and catch up in the Silicon Valley AI race.
Amazon and Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) are predicted to join the $2 trillion market cap club in the next 10 years, driven by factors such as e-commerce growth, cloud computing, and advances in artificial intelligence (AI).