Snapchat lowers payout for Spotlight creators for the second time

by Hansraj Agrawal | Oct 28, 2022 | Technology

Popular social media platform Snapchat has reduced payouts for creators of its Tiktok-like feature, Spotlight.

Creators will now be paid millions of dollars annually, report TechCrunch.

The payout has been reduced for the second time by the company. The company paid out millions to creators each week in 2021 as opposed to $1 million every day in 2020.

The base payoff for each Spotlight will continue to be $250. Over 12,000 creators received $250 million from Snapchat in 2017.

However, the creators can earn profit in other ways including the Creator Marketplace, Sound Creator Fund, its accelerator program for black creators, Spotlight Challenges and in-app gifting, the report said.

Recently, the company had reported that its revenue grew 6 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to $1,128 million in the third quarter of 2022.

According to the company, revenue increased by 6 per cent to $1,128 million compared to the prior year. Net loss was $360 million, including restructuring charges of $155 million, compared to $72 million for the previous year.

Daily active users (DAUs) were 363 million in the third quarter, an increase of 57 million, or 19 per cent YoY. It increased sequentially and year-over-year in each of North America, Europe, and the rest of the world.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Instagram users report problems with server connection, logging in

by Hansraj Agrawal | Oct 28, 2022 | Technology

Thousands of users from many parts of India and the world reported problems with photo-sharing app Instagram on Thursday.

On Downdetector, an online platform that provides users with real-time information about the status of various websites and services, over 900 users in India reported issues with Instagram on Thursday evening.

Many users took to microblogging platform Twitter to report the issue. “Instagram freezes using Google Chrome browser. Cannot see stories or open users’ pages. It keeps loading,” an Instagram said in a tweet.

“Everything quit working. Force closed and cleared cache. Even restarted my phone. Can’t see notifications. Can’t reply to comments,” another user commented.

At Downdector reports for the outage spiked at around 7:30 p.m. with 50 per cent users said they were facing issues with logging in, while 33 per cent reported issues with server connection and another 17 percent have issues with app.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Global smartphone market sinks 9.7% YoY in Q3; only Apple in green in top 5

by Hansraj Agrawal | Oct 28, 2022 | Technology

Worldwide smartphone shipments declined 9.7 per cent year-over-year to 301.9 million units in the third quarter of 2022 (3Q22), according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC). Among the top five, Apple is the only smartphone company to register positive growth of 1.6 per cent at 51.9 million shipments in Q3.

“A majority of the decline came from emerging markets where lack of demand, rising costs, and inflation impacted consumers with lesser disposable incomes,” said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team. “While Apple is the only vendor to deliver positive growth this quarter, it still faced challenges as its growth was stunted in many markets, including China, due to the poor macroeconomic situation.”

Despite the changing market dynamism, positioning in the top five did not change from last quarter. According to IDC data, Samsung continued to hold the top spot with a 21.2 per cent share, Apple came in second with a 17.2 per cent share, and Xiaomi came in third with a 13.4 per cent share. Vivo and OPPO ended the quarter tied for the fourth position, each with an 8.6 per cent share. Except for Apple, all other smartphone brands in the top five suffered year-on-year declines. While Samsung and Xiaomi registered a drop in single digits, Vivo and OPPO continued to decline in double digits.

Apple on Thursday announced an eight per cent year-over-year gain to $90.1 billion in Q3 revenue. During the company’s earnings call late on Thursday, Apple said it had reached a new revenue record for the quarter and continues to perform incredibly well in emerging markets with very strong double-digit growth in India, South East Asia and Latin America.

Apple’s positive growth in the September quarter could be attributed to its performance in emerging markets where other smartphone brands faced hard times due to macroeconomic factors such as inflation.

“We’re seeing some unique dynamics unfold across the globe regarding smartphone sales,” said Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile and Consumer Device Trackers. “Developed markets that often sell more premium devices are faring better than emerging markets where smartphones sell for a fraction of the cost. We believe this is largely supported by the expansion of installment plans offered through telcos, retail channels, and even direct from vendors. Promotional activity around trade-in offers also supports that shift. However, as we look toward next year and beyond, if the global market is going to grow, it will need a strong recovery in emerging markets to make that happen.”

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Joe Belfiore, face of Windows phone, to leave Microsoft after 32 years

by Hansraj Agrawal | Oct 28, 2022 | Technology

Joe Belfiore, known as the face of the Windows phone and a Microsoft veteran, has announced his retirement from the software giant after 32 years.

Belfiore was the head-of-product and co-manager of the Office team.

In a tweet on Friday, he said: “Today I shared with my team that after 32 fantastic years, I will be retiring from Microsoft.

“I’m staying on until summer to help with the transition, then focus on the two kids still at home and the 1 who just started college.”

A user commented on Belfiore’s tweet to congratulate him and said: “Thank you for your efforts, Joe. I still miss Windows Phone to this day. Good luck in your future endeavors and enjoy the family time.”

Another user commented: ” I just want to thank you for what you have done. I have been a windows phone user since lumia 800. And held on to the platform until around 2016 with a 930xl. I still miss my WP Home Screen everyday.”

In 2017 after struggling to sell Windows smartphones as Google’s Android and Apple iOS Operating Systems (OS) surged, Microsoft had admitted that the software giant will no longer develop new features or hardware for Windows 10 mobiles.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Apple sets new revenue record in India, logs double-digit growth in Q3’2022

by Hansraj Agrawal | Oct 28, 2022 | Technology

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that the company has made a new revenue record in India in the July-September period, and continues to perform well with strong double-digit growth in the country, which is next on Apple’s big manufacturing plans.

Apple posted a September quarter record revenue of $90.1 billion globally, up 8 per cent year over year. Annual revenue was $394.3 billion, also up 8 per cent year over year.

“Across nearly every geographic segment, we reached a new revenue record for the quarter and we continue to perform incredibly well in emerging markets with very strong double digit growth in India, South East Asia and Latin America,” Coll told the analysts during the company’s earnings call late on Thursday.

On iPhone revenue, Apple CFO Luca Maestri said that acewe set September quarter records in the vast majority of markets we tracked”.

“And our performance was particularly impressive in several large emerging markets, with India setting a new all-time revenue record and Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico more than doubling year over year,” Maestri added.

In a fillip to India’s thrust on local manufacturing, Apple last month confirmed it has kicked off the production of new iPhone 14 in India, a first for the tech giant as it narrows down the manufacturing period of new iPhones in India with China.

The locally-assembled iPhone 14 will go on sale in the country in the fourth quarter.

“The new iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking new technologies and important safety capabilities. We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” according to Apple.

Foxconn is assembling the new iPhone 14 at its Sriperumbudur facility near Chennai.

As India doubles down on local manufacturing of technology products, Apple is likely to move 5 per cent of its new iPhone 14 production to India by the end of this year, and 25 per cent by 2025, according to a JP Morgan analysis.

Buoyed by the ease-of-doing business and friendly local manufacturing policies, Apple’s ‘Make in India’ iPhones will potentially account for close to 85 per cent of its total iPhone production for the country this year.

Responding to questions from analysts, the Apple CFO said that “we are seeing very strong double digit growth in places like India, Indonesia, Mexico, Vietnam and many places where we have done incredibly well”.

“And obviously in local currency, those growth rates are even higher. It is important for us to look at how these markets perform in local currency because it really gives us a good sense of customer response for our products, the engagement with our ecosystem and in general the strength of the brand,” Maestri added.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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YouTube introduces @ Handle feature: Know what is it, how it works and more

by Hansraj Agrawal | Oct 28, 2022 | Technology

Google is set to introduce the @ Handle feature on its streaming platform YouTube. This feature would enable new ways for users to find and connect with creators. YouTube says it is gradually rolling out the ability to choose a handle for all channels over the coming weeks, and creators will receive another email and a notification in YouTube Studio when they are able to create a handle. YouTube will automatically assign a handle to the channel, which the creator can change in YouTube Studio, starting on November 14 – if the creator has not selected a handle for the channel.

What is a YouTube Handle?

It is a new way for viewers and creators to find and connect with each other on YouTube. While multiple YouTube channels can have the same channel name, handles are unique and start with the “@” symbol. For example, @youtubecreators. They are short channel identifiers separate from the channel name. The handle will automatically become a part of the channel’s URL. For example, youtube.com/@youtubecreators.

When can a user choose a handle?

YouTube is currently rolling out handles to all channels. Once you can choose a handle, you will be notified in YouTube Studio and via email. You will then have until November 14 to choose a handle. If you do not choose by then, YouTube will automatically assign you one.

If you have a personalised URL, the unique part of the URL will become your handle. But, if you do not have a personalised URL, or you want to choose something different, you can select a new handle or use the automatically generated handle. Note, in certain cases your preferred handle may not be available but you will be able to select another option.

How to choose or change a handle?

Step 1: Go to youtube.com/handle on your device with the YouTube app

Step 2: Select account and click on choose handle or change handle

Step 3: You can choose one of the suggested handles or type in the handle field to check the availability of your preferred handle

Step 4: Once you have found an available handle, click Confirm selection.

How is it useful?

As the handles are unique identifiers, it is easy to confirm whether you are engaging with the right person/channel/creator or not. It lets people find the right channel on YouTube and tag accounts in videos. You can also use handle to direct people to your channel even when they are not on YouTube. With the help of URL, you can promote your channel on different social media platforms and websites.

YouTube has provided handles’ open access to everyone and removed the 100-subscriber threshold. It will appear in the shorts tab, search results, comments and mentions. On the channel page, it will appear alongside the channel name.

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