The indictment of 13 Russians for interfering with the Presidential election has intensified the pressure put on Facebook, which uncovered about three-thousand Russian-linked ads on its platforms before and after November 2016. Cheddar Senior Reporter, Alex Heath, breaks down the the latest developments.
Facebook's Vice President for ads, Rob Goldman, tweeted about Russia's disinformation effort. President Trump then cited him. Facebook did not intend for Goldman’s tweets to be quoted by Trump. They thought the tweets would only be seen by a contextually-aware audience of techies and media types who follow Goldman.
Heath believes that the tweeting from Goldman and other execs is part of a carefully orchestrated PR campaign by Facebook to make itself appear more transparent and relate-able through engaged spokespeople on Twitter.
As users disengage with social media, advertisers would be wise to shift their focus to mobile games, where consumers may be more receptive, says Adam Cohen-Aslatei, vice president of marketing at Jun Group. "People report being more focused, relaxed and more engaged in a mobile game as compared to people on social media," Cohen-Aslatei says.
Disabling location history on your phone isn't enough to stop Google from tracking your whereabouts, the Associated Press revealed. To ensure your location is not being saved, Wired magazine's Emily Dreyfuss tells you how to turn off "web and app activity" tracking in your Google account.
As students prepare to go back to school, Google introduces new ways for parents to monitor their children's screen time and use mobile devices as learning resources. LaToya Drake, a Google spokesperson and media outreach lead, discusses the company's new tools and what students and educators are searching for online as they return to the classroom.
An investor with a sizable short position in Tesla said Elon Musk's most recent statement on taking the company private "was almost a confession that he committed securities fraud." The investor, Will Chamberlain, is part of a class-action lawsuit alleging the Tesla CEO didn't have sufficient basis for saying he'd take the company private at $420 a share. Chamberlain's lawyer, Reed Kathrein, says it's "pretty clear funding was not secured" before Musk's original tweet announcing his intentions.
The internet's largest platform and distributor of GIFs helps brands carve out a relevant place in online conversations, says the Giphy COO Adam Leibsohn. The company's goal is to help brands such as Absolut Vodka and Dunkin' Donuts "entertain, not advertise," he says.
Without its own supplies of fossil fuels, it makes economic and environmental sense for Hawaii to develop its own renewable sources of energy, says Connie Lau, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric Industries and chairman of Hawaiian Electric Company. To do so, the state can use its natural advantages in solar and wind, she says.
Hawaii aims to be completely reliant on renewable sources of energy by 2045, says Connie Lau, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric Industries and chairman of Hawaiian Electric Company. To do so, she said the state can use its natural advantages in solar and wind.
"The market is going to be looking at Tesla more and more as a car company," says The Motley Fool's Jason Moser. "And if that's the case, they better get some earnings in very quickly or you could see that stock get shellacked here in the near term."
The CEO of video app Cameo, Steve Galanis, said he created his platform because "selfies are the new autographs." For the right price, users can get a video shout-out from celebrities – actress Bella Thorne and NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, to name a couple.
Facebook said Friday that it won’t partner with the crypto firm Stellar, despite a report that the two companies recently held talks. Just before the report, Facebook vice president of blockchain David Marcus stepped down from the board of Coinbase, citing a conflict of interest.
