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In an attempt to further build on engagement using its avatar feature, Meta has launched a new functionality that allows users to appear on video calls as their avatar characters, on Instagram and Messenger.

 

“Sometimes, we’re just not camera-ready,” says Meta explaining how using your Meta avatar in place of your own video can be a great way to interact on video calls without having to worry about your appearance. The avatars on video calls will work by responding to and following users’ facial moves.

 

Meta Launches a New ‘Real-Time Avatar Call’ Functionality on Instagram and Messenger



Meta just announced that it is slowing down the promotion of NFTs across Instagram and Facebook and instead plans to focus on other elements to facilitate its users including creators and businesses.

 

The company hopped on the NFT bandwagon in April last year and a month later, launched a live test of NFTs on Instagram as a monetization feature for creators. It looks like Meta couldn’t gain much out of its efforts dedicated to the digital collectibles and therefore decided to amplify elements that are more profitable to the company, such as Reels and messaging.

Meta to Eventually Call off NFT Integration in its Platforms



In an attempt to further promote NFT art on its platform, Twitter has begun testing a new display feature for NFTs that shows a larger picture of an NFT along with details like title and creator, in the form of a link preview.

 

Twitter is Experimenting with 'NFT Tiles' - Link Preview Display of NFTs



Over time, AI technology has developed in new, efficient ways and among a variety of its forms, AI art has recently become popular. Creators including artists have used the technology to generate unique digital art pieces.

 

Of course Meta being a leading digital technology-driven company decided to take AI art to the next level. As part of its Generative AI research, Meta has launched a new AI system that uses machine learning to generate high-quality videos from text prompts, as claimed by the company.

 

Meta Experiments with New AI Video Technology ‘Make-A-Video’ to Create Digital Art



With Meta planning the future of the digital world via metaverse, people, especially younger ones, will not just get to experience a next-level immersive experience, but will also greatly and more frequently become subject to problems that commonly occur over social media, such as bullying, harassment, and inappropriate content. To prevent these problems, Meta is already ensuring to create a safe environment for people to interact amongst one another.

 

The company’s latest digital and virtual space, Horizon Worlds, is being updated with a new ‘mature audiences’ content rating process. Users are being prompted to set up content rating for their Horizon Worlds spaces. 

Meta Updates Horizon Worlds with a Content Rating Setting



Twitter has partnered with Snapchat to introduce a Bitmoji integration to its platform, which is designed to enable Twitter users to display their Bitmoji character as their Twitter profile image.

 

Twitter is currently experimenting with the feature, but a preview has been shared by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, where you can see an ‘Add Bitmoji’ option within the ‘pick a profile picture’ setting.

 

Twitter is Experimenting with a Bitmoji Feature Within Profile Image Settings



To further expand its avatar feature, Meta is launching a new avatar fashion store that features a variety of collections from big fashion houses like Balenciaga, Prada and Thom Browne. Meta plans to launch the store across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger.

 

In addition to this, Meta has plans of allowing digital creators and brands to design their own fashion items for the store and sell them, which ultimately makes this initiative a monetization tool as well.

 

Meta Develops Avatar Fashion Store, Set to be Released Across its Social Platforms



Meta is launching its ‘Horizon Worlds’ VR creation platform in the UK, after first launching it in the US and Canada. The platform was originally developed to share Meta’s big plans for the metaverse with the public and welcome users to contribute to the metaverse by creating their own virtual spaces using a range of 3D objects and tools.

 

Meta describes Horizon Worlds as a “creator-friendly VR environment featuring top tier social world-building tools.” To keep the platform up-to-date, Meta is integrating interactive elements into it, such as an asset library that it recently launched, which consists of pre-made items that creators can use any time they want.

 

The assets library would play a significant role in improved eCommerce display, as it would enable creators to build 3D models of their products, hence ensuring new promotional opportunities in the advancing digital space. Wendy’s, for instance, has already created its own interactive environment in the Metaverse, where users can engage with its virtual products and activations.

Meta’s 'Horizon Worlds' Creation Platform Makes its Way to UK


Meta is putting in efforts to make its digital avatars more interesting and interactive. The company had earlier introduced 3D avatars on Facebook, Messenger and within stickers on Instagram, and is now bringing avatar reactions to Instagram Stories.

 

Meta is testing the option of reacting to Stories with new Avatar reactions that have been spotted by some users on the app. The option also prompts users who haven’t created their avatars by directing them to customize their avatar characters.

 

Meta is Testing Avatar Reactions Within Instagram Stories


Meta has shared a realistic perspective on opening new opportunities for people with the Metaverse shift. In a new whitepaper from Analysis Group, in partnership with Meta, the Metaverse is defined as “a set of interconnected digital spaces, including immersive XR experiences that combine the digital and physical worlds, in which individuals can easily move between different spaces and experiences as well as interact and collaborate with other people who are not in the same physical space.”

 

Meta also chose to clarify that the Metaverse may never come to fruition the exact way it is being envisioned, however, it will materialize slowly and will need mass adoption, which would help it take a proper shape as a platform.

 

Moreover, the creation of the Metaverse will require new rules and frameworks in collaboration with different people and companies over time, including institutions like the US-based National Institute of Standards and Technology or international multi-stakeholder organizations like the Internet Engineering Task Force or the World Wide Web Consortium.

Meta Maps Out and Shares a Potential Plan for the Metaverse



The Media Rating Council (MRC) has awarded YouTube with content-level brand safety accreditation, which recognizes a platform’s capability in terms of appropriate digital advertising activities, such as the display of ads on intended sites and reaching the targeted audience.

 

YouTube is the first digital platform to receive content-level assessment by the MRC, whose auditors met with the company’s brand safety personnel on site to review the processes, as stated by YouTube.

 

The content processes were evaluated in different languages, after which, it was found that YouTube’s ads indeed reach the appropriate audience. This further confirmed the company’s transparency in relation to its ad targeting process.

YouTube’s Brand Safety Assessed and Recognized by MRC



The newest NFT display options that Instagram has been working on since June last year are finally being released, but only to selected creators in the US for now. Parent company Meta is also planning to bring NFT display options to Facebook and augmented reality NFTs for Instagram Stories.

 

Initially, the process will include integrations for Ethereum and Polygon, while Instagram plans to add additional support for Flow and Solana soon, as well.

 


For the verification of NFT ownership, NFT owners will be able to link their Rainbow, Trust Wallet and MetaMask accounts to their profiles.

 

A separate tab for NFTs will be added to accounts that share NFT content, represented with a tick in a hexagon, indicating verified NFTs. Creators will be able to share their NFTs on the main Feed, Stories, as well as in DMs in the app. The hexagon tick mark will also be attached with NFT images that creators share within the main Feed.

Meta Releases NFT Display Options for Instagram

 


TikTok is experimenting with a bunch of new features and options. The major one includes creating avatars from personal selfie photos. The avatars’ facial expressions will resemble the users’ face in their selfie photo.

 

The new avatar feature was spotted by social media expert Matt Navara who shared what the feature looks like. A face template is displayed that can be edited in-app and the avatar’s expressions can be customized. Once a user creates their personal avatar, they can then use it to respond to messages in the app.

 


The way TikTok has designed this feature is similar to Apple’s Memoji feature. Memojis can be used on iOS to engage with others, which is what TikTok is also offering through its avatar feature. If TikTok officially launches the feature, it could become part of the metaverse shift by facilitating character depictions that align with the way users want to represent themselves in the digital world.

 

Another option that TikTok is currently working on is related to group chats, where options like screen-sharing within live-streams and creator subscriptions will be offered to users. It is reported that TikTok is also creating paid subscription tools.

TikTok is Working on New, Trendy Features Including Avatars and Audio-Streaming

 


Facebook has introduced a new local business directory in WhatsApp that will show users a listing of active local business profiles in the app. Users will be able to view full profiles of businesses, which would include their products, contact details, and possibly other information.

 


The new business directory feature is Facebook’s attempt for promoting eCommerce through WhatsApp, so as to give rise to digital transformation, especially in developing regions. With billions of users, WhatsApp is becoming a powerful day-to-day digital tool and is no more just a social media platform. Digital transformation through WhatsApp has already seen a rise in countries like India and Indonesia.

 

Statistics show that more than 175 million people are already in contact with businesses in WhatsApp every day. Therefore, it seems like business discovery could be a successful addition to WhatsApp.

WhatsApp Gets a Business Directory Feature for Business Discovery

How to Pick the Best WordPress Hosting

The pandemic has cut down on all of the world's travel and trade shows, so now is the perfect time to get your website up and running or better than ever.  Digital media is the new real estate.  Google itself says that speed is incredibly important and you should aim to have your website load in under 3 seconds.  While there are lots of different options out there in terms of content management systems, WordPress is one of the most popular ones? Why? Many people are happy with WordPress as their content management system of choice given the ease of use and simplicity it offers you in publishing.  That said, there are so many different options when it comes to hosting. 

How to Pick the Best WordPress Hosting #Infographic

Top marketing trends: 2021 edition

Among all the ways of marketing, digital marketing is the most effective one, mostly because the world has now shifted to mobile phones and digital media. Moreover, in the previous year, the COVID-19 pandemic had made the world to take a mighty leap in digitalization since the entire world was shut down.

Top marketing trends: 2021 edition #infographic

Ikea will no more publish its catalogs

Ikea has always been a huge name in the furniture industry and the number one choice for the people. From premium quality furniture to useful home accessories, Ikea has everything that one is looking for. The company used to publish a catalog every year for the new products that it will feature; unfortunately, the company has decided to stop the publication. Ikea’s catalogs were sold worldwide and were extremely handy for the customers. The company was established 70 years ago, and it is the first time since the establishment that its catalogs won’t be published from now on. The very first Ikea’s catalog was put together by the company’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad, in 1951.

The main reason for discontinuing the publication for catalog is the takeover of digital technology. The company has observed that their catalogs were not getting the deserved readership, and digital attention was taking a rise. Just like every other company in the world, Ikea also had to shut down for an unknown period of time and attract the customers online. Surprisingly, the company’s online retail sales increased by 45% more globally compared to the previous year. Ikea reported as massive as four billion visits on its online stores during the pandemic. To enhance customer’s online shopping experience, Ikea worked on improving its digital as well as the physical market. The furniture giant opened small stores in city centers that people can easily reach from wherever they live.

Ikea will no more publish its catalogs

 

Sci-Fi movies and games from over the past 50 years

If you are one of those people who do not miss a single Sci-fi movie just because your heart fails to resist it, then this is exactly where you need to be. The Sci-Fi movies trends took over the film industry in the year 1968 and most people did not really understand the concept behind it at that time. But as time began to pick up the pace, the trend took over and more and more producers started working in this area. Considering the following infographic, it is evident that their decision was absolutely right!

 

Sci-Fi movies and games from over the past 50 years #infographic


The use of cryptocurrencies has been on the rise in the twenty-first century. Although financial assets have been experiencing a downfall ever since March 2020 due to the global pandemic, Bitcoin's position and status have been quite the opposite. 

The Current Status of Bitcoin #Infographic

 

The Graphic Design trends

The new year is upon us and with it, hope. This year will go down as one of the most disruptive and destructive in the modern history. The COVID-19 pandemic will leave a mark with the disruption it has caused the world. Graphic design trends are no exception as we have seen a shift in graphic trends.

The Graphic Design trends #infographic

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