In an attempt to further address its ‘fake news’ problem and make the platform a better place for people to find local stories, Facebook is testing a new section in its app called “Today In.” As reported by Recode, the feature combines events, announcements, and local news items specific to a particular city. The initial test markets are New Orleans, Louisiana; Olympia, Washington; Billings, Montana; Binghamton, New York; Peoria, Illinois and Little Rock, Arkansas. The feature, which can be accessed using the bottom right menu button in the Facebook app (the three horizontal lines), brings together human curation and machine learning to surface content. It’s part of Facebook’s Journalism Project Initiative, which includes creating local news partnerships as one of its objectives. The local news publishers that appear in the new section will all be approved and vetted by the company’s News Partnerships team, writes Recode. Facebook plans to … [Read more...] about Facebook testing new feature in six US cities that shows local news, events
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Facebook Experimenting With Promoting Local News In Its App
January 11, 2018 - Written By Dominik Bosnjak Facebook is presently experimenting with a feature that promotes local news outlets in its main mobile app, Recode reported Wednesday, citing official communication from the social media giant. The functionality is called “Today In” and appears in the form of a new section present in the app. The Menlo Park, California-based company is running its latest test in six cities throughout the United States and it’s currently unclear when its availability may expand to more areas. For now, users whose profiles list them as living in Binghamton, NY, Little Rock, AR, New Orleans, LA, Peoria, IL, Billings, MR, and Olympia, WA, can expect to encounter the feature in the coming days. Facebook didn’t clarify whether the test includes Android devices but the iOS app is part of it, as suggested by the first promotional screenshots depicting the platform seen below. In practice, the service inserts the name of … [Read more...] about Facebook Experimenting With Promoting Local News In Its App
Sony Events App Is Here With The Latest Sony-Related News
January 10, 2018 - Written By Joshua Swingle Sony has announced a new app that will give Android users access to its latest announcements. Sony has made a number of announcements at CES 2018 and it appears the company is hoping to capitalize on this by introducing a brand new app which will showcase any news from the company to its users, with the main focus being mobile events. The app will provide exclusive behind the scenes 360-degree footage to those who download it, with virtual tours of the company’s booth and other content being featured. Any new product announcement or information will also be available in the app for potential customers to see. Sony traditionally has a pretty big presence at annual tech events, with CES 2018 being just one example. After all, the company typically showcases a number of smartphones at MWC in February, with this year expected to be no different. In fact, Sony is expected to showcase up to three new devices, all of which will compete in … [Read more...] about Sony Events App Is Here With The Latest Sony-Related News
Facebook testing local news and events section in its app
Facebook is trying to help people find more local news. The social network said Wednesday it's testing a new section of its app dedicated to events and news stories from local publishers and organizations. The new section is called "Today In," and it's being tested in just a few cities right now: New Orleans, La.; Little Rock, Ark.; Billings, Mont.; Peoria, Ill.; Olympia, Wash.; and Binghamton, N.Y. The "Today In" section will exist alongside the local news that already appears in people's news feeds and on publisher pages. Recode earlier Wednesday reported the news.The section will be powered by a mix of machine learning software and human workers used to surface the local content. Local news publishers will be approved by Facebook's News Partnerships team, according to Recode. The test comes as Facebook faces scrutiny over its handling of … [Read more...] about Facebook testing local news and events section in its app
Kodak stock more than doubles on news of photo-focused cryptocurrency
Photography industry icon Kodak is getting into the cryptocurrency game. In partnership with Wenn Digital, Kodak on Tuesday announced the launch of the KodakOne image rights management platform and KodakCoin, a photo-centric cryptocurrency designed to “empower photographers and agencies to take greater control in image rights management.” Share value in Kodak popped on the news, climbing nearly 120 percent to $6.80 as of writing. KodakOne will utilize blockchain technology to create an encrypted, digital ledger of rights ownership that photographers can use to register their work and license images through the platform. Kodak says participating photographers – amateurs and professionals alike – will receive payment for licensing their work immediately upon sale. The platform will continually crawl the web to “monitor and protect the IP” of images registered through the system. When an unlicensed image is detected, the platform can “efficiently … [Read more...] about Kodak stock more than doubles on news of photo-focused cryptocurrency
‘The View’ hosts reacting to the Flynn news is the definition of joy
The women of The View heard the Michael Flynn news live on air Friday morning and the reaction in the studio was jubilant to say the least. Host Joy Behar got the honor of revealing the bombshell that Trump's former national security advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty about lying to the FBI about working with the Russians. SEE ALSO: Is this why Trump has gone off the rails on Twitter this week? During the episode, she was handed a card from a member of the production team and read out the news with increasing excitement. "Michael Flynn promised full cooperation to the Mueller team ... and is prepared to testify that as a candidate Donald Trump directed him to MAKE CONTACT WITH THE RUSSIANS," she shouted before throwing her prompt card in the air with, well, unfettered joy. The crowd erupted with cheers and applause and chants of "lock them up" filled the studio. Behar in her excitement mimicked the Oprah refrain with, "He goes to jail, he goes to jail!" "It's beginning to … [Read more...] about ‘The View’ hosts reacting to the Flynn news is the definition of joy
Whoopi Goldberg is furious about a fake news story that ‘endangered’ her life
Whoopi Goldberg is taking on fake news. The comedian and co-host of The View explained on Tuesday how she and her family felt threatened by an inaccurate news story. SEE ALSO: Whoopi Goldberg calmly discusses pubic hair with Keanu Reeves "Something came out on a website — a fake news website — about me. It endangered my family's life and it endangered my life," Goldberg explained. "It turns out the entire website was created by a guy who just wanted to see how quickly stories he made up would spread." The comments in question came from conservative site The Underground Report, which falsely claimed in early March that Goldberg said the the wife of a Navy SEAL honored during Donald Trump's speech to Congress was "just looking for attention." In fact, as her co-hosts emphasized, Goldberg expressed the opposite sentiment — that she didn't think someone would use their grief for publicity. On The View, Goldberg compared the situation to last December's … [Read more...] about Whoopi Goldberg is furious about a fake news story that ‘endangered’ her life
CES 2018 Day 2: a big day for laptop news
Contributors: Verge Staff We’ve been in the desert for days and at long last, the show floor is finally opening, rain or shine (spoiler alert: it is most definitely raining here in Las Vegas.) But that’s not going to stop us from tracking down the biggest news in laptops, cars, giant screens, and larger than life tech. Follow along today for all the latest from CES 2018. … [Read more...] about CES 2018 Day 2: a big day for laptop news
Surface Pro 5 release date, news and rumors
You might suspect that the 2017 Surface Pro is the closest we’ll ever get to the Surface Pro 5, but if Microsoft itself is anything to go by, you would be dead wrong. The Surface Pro 5 doesn’t exist right now, as Microsoft Surface leader Panos Panay confirmed last May, though he claims it will come to fruition once more meaningful changes erupt from the talent at Microsoft’s hardware design lab. More specifically, echoing Panay, while there’s ‘no such thing as a [Surface] Pro 5’ right now, there will be when the time is right. When Microsoft can come up with upgrades that radically improve the dynamics of its wildly popular Surface Pro 4, it isn’t too far-fetched to presume that we’ll see a name change beyond the confiscation of a numerical value. And as the next major Windows update, along with Windows 10 S are coming in the next few months, we could see an announcement very soon. Just like the 2017 Surface Pro emerged in June 2017, … [Read more...] about Surface Pro 5 release date, news and rumors
Amy Schumer calls out ‘E! News’ for pay disparity ahead of Golden Globes
Comedian Amy Schumer put E! News on blast and is encouraging others walking the red carpet at Sunday's Golden Globes television and movie award show to do the same to promote pay equality. Schumer said in an Instagram post she'll be letting the entertainment network and audiences know she stands with Catt Sadler and equal pay for women in the entertainment industry and beyond. SEE ALSO: E! co-host leaves jobs after finding out she makes half as much as male co-star Former E! News host Sadler left the network last month after learning one of her on-air colleagues — a man — made almost double what she did. If you’re on the carpet tonight or at home post in support and ask @eentertainment what happened? We thought you would be for pay equality and say #imwithcattsad @iamcattsadler A post shared by @ amyschumer on Jan 7, 2018 at 9:21am PST The hashtag #imwithcattsad started percolating Sunday throughout entertainment circles ahead of the awards show. Many … [Read more...] about Amy Schumer calls out ‘E! News’ for pay disparity ahead of Golden Globes