And for His Next Act, Ev Williams Will Fix the Internet
But while other tech leaders enter the confessional booth, Mr. Williams, 46, seems to be emerging with a new outlook — a blend of old-fashioned Silicon Valley optimism tempered with the caution of a tech veteran who has seen well-intended products hijacked by horrible people.
Last week, Mr. Williams sent me a kind of mini-manifesto — a two-page document containing his thoughts about technology’s potential, the problems with ad-supported media and the regulation of social media platforms. We followed up with a phone interview, in which he expanded on the ideas, some of which he has been thinking about and refining for years but had yet to make public.
“One of the things we’ve seen in the past few years is that technology doesn’t just accelerate and amplify human behavior,” Mr. Williams wrote. “It creates feedback loops that can fundamentally change the nature of how people interact and societies move (in ways that probably none of us predicted).”
Last year, after that strategy failed to catch on, Medium laid off a chunk of its staff and turned to a subscription model. Users can now pay $5 per month for access to premium stories, and writers can earn small amounts of money when their stories get positive feedback (known as “claps”) from other users. The company has also hired human editors in order to elevate substance over fluff.
Mr. Williams wants people to find Medium valuable enough to pay for, but he doesn’t necessarily want it to be the kind of site that people visit 10 times a day. He has become a fan of the work of Tristan Harris, a former Google design ethicist who has criticized the addictive qualities of popular internet services.
(The company recently solicited proposals for tools to help it measure “conversational health.”)
See the full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/business/ev-williams-twitter-medium.html
Facebook Restructures With Executive Shuffle, New Divisions
Facebook is undergoing the biggest reorganization in the company’s history. Messenger, WhatsApp, and Facebook’s core app will get new leaders, while the company’s product and engineering organizations will be reorganized into three main divisions: the “Family of Apps” group, run by chief product officer Chris Cox, will include social apps Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp; the “New Platforms and Infrastructure” group, managed by CTO Mike Schroepfer, will cover AI, AR, VR, and blockchain tech; and the “Central Product Services” group, headed by VP of growth Javier Olivan, will handle shared features across products and apps, including advertising, analytics, and security.
While the roles of top execs Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg will not be impacted during the changes, the company is appointing Jeff Zients as a new board member. Zients was director of the National Economic Council under President Obama.
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/facebook-restructures-with-executive-shuffle-new-divisions/
Facebook Establishes Team to Integrate Privacy into Products
In the wake of criticism over data privacy issues and in anticipation of the European Union’s stricter data regulations, Facebook has formed a new team devoted to privacy. The 300-person team, headed by product director David Baser, is tasked with integrating stronger privacy features into all Facebook products. The first such tool is Clear History, which the company introduced at last week’s F8 conference. This feature allows users to opt out of Facebook collecting and matching their browsing history to their profile.
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/facebook-establishes-team-to-integrate-privacy-into-products/
TaTaTu: Blockchain-Based Entertainment and Social Platform
The brainchild of producer Andrea Iervolino, TaTaTu rewards viewers for watching content including movies, TV shows, sports, and gaming — and adds rewards when their friends also watch.
TaTaTu rewards content consumption with digital tokens; “blockchain lets TaTaTu record each transaction in an open distributed ledger, which ensures users and content providers get rewarded.” The platform also includes a blockchain-based digital rights management (DRM) system, which provides “an accurate record” for “all talent, distributors, and studios.”
“We need the blockchain to create a unique token that is universal and can be used as a rewarding system for our community of users,” explained Iervolino. “We want to create an ecosystem based on trust and fairness embodied by the principle of the blockchain community.”
“The DRM is built on the blockchain to ensure film rights do not get lost,” he continued. “There are many examples of studios being bought, going bust, and rights getting lost.”
To build TaTaTu, the company has put together “a team of over 250 developers, as well as adding a dedicated blockchain team.” Content offerings will begin with movies and videos “but it will also expand to providing music, sports, and games on demand.” Iervolino stressed that TaTaTu does not compete with Netflix or Amazon “as they are subscription-based, nor with platforms like Hulu, which focus solely on advertising.”
“Our business model is unique, as we reward users — focusing on the relationship between the advertiser and the content viewer,” he said. “It is something completely new in the market and that we believe is the future.”
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/tatatu-blockchain-based-entertainment-and-social-platform/
Will CEEK be taking VR to the next step
CEEK, a VR company with an already successful VR headset, has partnered with major artists like U2, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and the recently announced World of Dance, to give fans immersive virtual concert experiences. Not content to maintain the status quo, the CEEK team is also working on some trailblazing blockchain developments that will revolutionize the way celebrities and fans interact.
The core aspect of CEEK’s blockchain upgrade revolves around the tokenization of the virtual world. This allows the platform to not only run more efficiently but also operate more cost-effectively. A key feature is the ChainLink, a secure Blockchain middleware that lets Ethereum smart contracts on the CEEK platform connect to external resources through outside data feeds. As a result, CEEK can offer services such as “on-chain” subscriptions for direct purchase through the use of smart contracts.
Fundamentally, CEEK is the monetary unit with which users can purchase access to the platform’s VR features. It also has a voting function, allowing users to stake or vote on which content they want the platform to provide.
The CEEK Virtual Mint is a token conversion protocol that allows celebrities to create custom tokens or coins for their fans. These tokens serve as “in-game” currencies and can be used for an array of purposes, including the creation of custom virtual goods and items. This includes concert tickets to a VR concert with special backstage passes; virtual skins, ....
What’s more, celebrities will be able to create unique, custom VR experiences for their fans, only accessible through the CEEK platform.
See the full story here: http://bitcoinist.com/will-ceek-taking-virtual-reality-next-step/
AR Sunglasses – Cycling racing
We got a preview of Solos Wearables’ new augmented-reality sunglasses back in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, and the company has now formally announced its retail availability. The fancy shades incorporate a tiny see-through heads-up display that sits right in front of your eye for an always-there view of key data, such as speed, distance, power output, heart rate, and even turn-by-turn directions.
Other features have been added in the past few months, too, such as integrated music control, the ability to quickly communicate with other Solos-equipped riders, interchangeable lenses, and adjustable nosepieces to help fine-tune the fit.
More information can be found at soloswearables.com, and retail price is US$499. We’re expecting a sample shortly, so stay tuned for a full review in the near future.
See the full story here: https://cyclingtips.com/2018/05/froomes-legal-defense-what-scares-sagan-augmented-reality-sunglasses-daily-news-digest/
Microsoft’s AR thrust is exactly what the market needs
Despite its boring name, Microsoft Remote Assist is admittedly fancier. It mashes up group video chat, screen sharing, and real-time collaboration in one hi-tech scenario. Almost all of these have existed before, separately and in different forms. The innovation here is in fusion of hardware and software into one, seamless, augmented reality.
Augmented reality and mixed reality needs time to grow, especially in terms of “serious” applications. That market also needs an influx of investment and profits to keep it from sinking.
See the full story here: https://www.slashgear.com/microsofts-ar-thrust-is-exactly-what-the-market-needs-08530003/
Facebook changes an Oculus division’s name, invents term “Facebook Reality”
"Oculus Research has a new name—starting today, we will be known as Facebook Reality Labs (FRL)," he wrote (using Facebook, no less).
He then described a future in which mixed-reality technologies will usher in "the second great wave of human-oriented computing." Abrash did not lean into his division's new name and describe any upcoming products as "FR" or "Facebook Reality" experiences.
Today's name change is likely the first step in blurring the lines between the social-media network and its virtual-interface arm as Facebook comes up with more ways to deliver both products at the same time.
see the full story here: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/05/facebook-changes-an-oculus-divisions-name-invents-term-facebook-reality/
Facebook Partners With RED To Develop High-End VR Camera
In an attempt to bring ultra high-end VR filmmaking into the mainstream, the social media giant has teamed up with one of the leading providers of digital cinematography technology to develop a VR camera capable of capturing volumetric scenes in both 360-degrees, as well as 3D, in stunning 8K resolution. According to Facebook the camera will also support a six-degree field of view, allowing users to move about their scenes freely. This is made possible thanks to the company’s Surround 360 platform, which processes captured video into a 360-degree volumetric light field.
There’s no word yet on a release date or pricing, but seeing as RED cameras aren’t exactly known for their entry-level prices, you should probably expect a sizable price tag on this volumetric, 6DoF beast-of-a-device.
See the full story here: https://vrscout.com/news/facebook-red-vr-camera/