*By Conor White*
After losing $136 billion in market cap in less than a week, Facebook is looking for ways to reinvigorate its outlook at a time of slowing ad revenue growth, [continued fallout](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebook-stock-crushed-after-disappointing-earnings) from the Cambridge Analytical data privacy scandal, and the [latest revelation](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/31/us/politics/facebook-political-campaign-midterms.html) Tuesday that it's detected attempts to influence this November's midterm elections.
"It's been a long 2018 for Facebook," said Madison Malone Kircher, an associate editor at New York Magazine. "Which brings us to the one thing Facebook is doing right, and that's the Stories platform. It works really well on Instagram, which Facebook owns, and they've really been trying to push to make it work on Facebook."
Instagram Stories has 400 million daily users, double the number of users of rival Snapchat, and Facebook has been trying to lure advertisers to the Stories platform.
Kircher said in an interview Tuesday with Cheddar that neither of the social media companies has figured out how to make user-generated stories on their platforms profitable.
"Snapchat, which is the creator of this style of posting, has also struggled with it," Kircher said. "They rolled out a new platform called 'Commercials' this week, which is similarly trying to figure out how to sell ads against this style of content."
In the end, Kircher said Facebook can push Stories to advertisers all it wants, but it won't be successful until it's popular with users.
"It's a two-fold problem Facebook has," Kircher said. "One, trying to convince advertisers to buy ads in this space, but first they have to figure out how to get us to use it."
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebook-pushing-stories-feature-to-advertisers).
Amazon's free video service for Fire TV owners, reportedly in the works, is a dual play, said Michael Simon of PCWorld: sell Fire TVs and keep Prime customers signed up for life.
Tesla's chief people officer is on an unexplained, extended leave of absence, just when the company needs to project an image of stability, says Brian Deagon of Investor's Business Daily. What the electric car maker really needs, Deagon says, is for CEO Elon Musk to get some rest.
The Endowment for Clean Oceans is holding a contest for anyone with an idea that could remove some of the plastic choking our oceans. Founder Daniel Perrin said there's emerging technology that could help the process, and he wants to jumpstart it.
Personal loan and credit monitoring company MoneyLion has named a new marketing chief. Bill Davaris was previously at ad giant Ogilvy and joins Cheddar's Tanaya Macheel for an exclusive interview on the company's strategy.
We break down what primary election results in Flordia and Arizona mean for the upcoming midterm elections. President Trump steps up his criticism of Google and other big tech companies. Amazon is reportedly planning to a launch a free, ad-supported video streaming app. And we sit down with Ash Cash to get his take on why Kanye West might actually have some worthwhile career advice.
Galileo Russell, Founder of HyperChange TV, believes if Apple makes a move in the automotive industry, it won't contract out its hardware, but instead build a car from the ground up. Apple is on its way to a $2 trillion market cap, and some experts believe the "Apple Car" could push the tech giant over the edge.
Jim Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, told Cheddar that Americans are just beginning to wake up, after years of complacency, to the fact that constant social media use is harmful to children.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland is headed to Washington to continue trade negotiations with the U.S. On Monday, Mexico and the United States agreed to terms for a new trade deal.
Electronic Arts is canceling three qualifier events for its 'Madden NFL 19' tournament in the wake of Sunday's deadly shooting in Jacksonville, Florida. The company says it will conduct a review of safety measures to ensure the security of competitors and spectators.
And Kathy Ireland, Chairman Emeritus and Chief Brand Strategist at Level Brands, joins Cheddar after ringing the Opening Bell Tuesday morning. She talks about what has driven the recent success of Level Brands, a brand management and licensing company.
Gene Munster thinks so. The managing partner at Loup Ventures said Tim Cook could help rein in the ambitions of Elon Musk. But a merger won't be likely unless Tesla runs into real financial troubles.
