Re/code
Facebook is reportedly in the market for the right executive to oversee its news products. Regarding the position, Recode believes it to be a “significant new role charged with helping to combat the proliferation of so-called fake news on its service.” As such, “Facebook is talking to veterans of both the tech and media industries,” Recode reports, citing sources.
Droid Life
Instagram on Android is adding an offline mode. “The goal is to allow users to see content in the Instagram feed that has previously loaded, leave comments, like items, save media, and even unfollow people,” Droid Life reports. “While none of that would happen in real-time without a connection, it certainly will once the person’s device connects to data again.”
ZDNet
Facebook is adding several new integrations and tools to its Workplace collaboration platform. “To improve workflows, Facebook is introducing integrations with major enterprise players like Microsoft, Box, Salesforce and Salesforce-owned Quip,” ZDNet reports. “Meanwhile, Facebook is also introducing support for custom bots in Workplace Groups and Chat.”
The Next Web
Facebook is getting ready to incorporate Spotify and Apple Music directly into its Messenger service, the social giant announced on Tuesday. “The feature uses a new Messenger Platform tool called Chat Extensions, which essentially allows you to perform actions within Messenger you’d normally have to switch apps to try,” The Next Web reports. “You pick Spotify from Messenger’s app list, search for an artist or song, and then just share it right in Messenger. At no point do you need to exit your chat to browse for music in an app or webpage.”
TechCrunch
Tumblr wants users to try Cabana - a new app designed for groups to video chat while they watch videos. "The app is being introduced under the Tumblr brand, and will cater to the type of users who frequent Tumblr's blogging service - teens and young adults," TechCrunchreportss. Yet, "It's not currently designed to interoperate with Tumblr's product or take advantage of the existing relationships between fellow Tumblr users."
Engadget
Pandora announced the general availability of its Premium service, this week. As Engadget notes, the move comes about a month after the digital music debuted the on-demand streaming service. "Like just about every other streaming music service, it'll run you $9.99 per month and the app is available for Android and iOS (a web version of Pandora's on-demand service is coming soon)," Engadget notes.
CNBC
Netflix on Monday reported first-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations, while revenue mirrored expectations. Yet, "The company added fewer subscribers than expected, and forward earnings guidance fell far short of analyst forecasts," CNBC reports. Of course, "Subscriber growth is a key metric for analysts."
Medium
Mike Caulfield, director of blended and networked learning at Washington State University, Vancouver, is not a fan of Facebook's latest efforts to combat "fake news." Among other gripes, Caulfield thinks Facebook's proposed process takes too long, it deals only with "surface issues," "it targets fake news but not slanted claims," and it doesn't effectively make use of its own powerful network.
The Verge
Following a number of similar stories, The Verge suggests that Facebook's Instant Articles initiative is falling out of favor with publishers. "Two years after it launched, a platform that aspired to build a more stable path forward for journalism appears to be declining in relevance," it writes. Among other culprits, The Verge suggests that Facebook is suffocating Instant Articles by increasingly flooding users' News Feeds with video.
BuzzFeed
Perhaps even more than Facebook, BuzzFeed considers how Mark Zuckerberg increasingly tends to his personal image. Over the years, "Zuckerberg ... has evolved considerably," it writes. "He hired speechwriters ... He spruced up his uniform from Valley schlub to monochrome minimalism ... He took on a series of annual self-improvement challenges that made him into a 'lifestyle guru' for some male tech workers." Recently, some have even wondered whether Zuckerberg has political ambitions.