Introducing New Tools for Creators to Build Businesses on Facebook and Instagram

"At Meta, we’re building products to help creators reach an audience, grow their communities and earn a living. During Creator Week 2022, we’re inviting creators around the world to join us in growing their careers, connecting with peers and building a future together. We’re also announcing new ways creators can earn money on Facebook and Instagram."

Pritish Bagdi

Updates to Digital Collectibles

Creators will soon be able to make their own digital collectibles on Instagram and sell them to fans, both on and off Instagram. They’ll have an end-to-end toolkit — from creation (starting on the Polygon blockchain) and showcasing, to selling. People can easily support their favorite creators by buying their digital collectibles directly within Instagram. We’re testing these new features with a small group of creators in the US first, and hope to expand to more countries soon.

We’re also expanding the types of digital collectibles that you can showcase on Instagram to include video and adding support for the Solana blockchain and Phantom wallet, in addition to the blockchains and wallets that we already support. Lastly, information for select collections where the metadata has been enriched by OpenSea, such as collection name and descriptions, will now be available on Instagram.

Audience Support for Creators

We’re making it easier for people to show appreciation for their favorite creators across our apps, which helps creators strengthen their community and build their business.

Subscriptions on Instagram

We’re expanding access to subscriptions on Instagram to all eligible creators in the U.S., so more creators can earn predictable income and connect more deeply with their most engaged followers. Since launching subscriptions earlier this year, we’ve seen creators like Cole Sprouse (@colesprouse), Alan Chow (@alanchikinchow) and Skai Jackson (@skaijackson) use subscriptions to get even closer to their most engaged supporters.

Stars and Gifts

We are making it easier for people to discover Stars on Facebook by automatically enabling Stars on public creator content — including Reels. This means that people can learn about and use Stars in more places across Facebook. We are testing with a select number of creators globally.

For creators already using Stars, we’re launching new features to make it easier to earn Stars and interact with Star senders:

• Bringing Stars Party to Reels. A Stars Party is a Stars community challenge that ends in a celebration if the creator reaches their goal.

• Testing a new set of virtual gifts tailored to specific content. For example, if you’re watching a puppy reel from your favorite pet creator, you’ll be able to send that creator a dog-themed gift.

• Giving creators more tools to engage with Stars senders, like adding a filter in Comments Manager that displays all of a creator’s Stars comments in one place. In this surface, creators will be able to reply to multiple comments at once.

• Bringing Stars to non-video public content like photos and text posts.

We’re introducing gifts on Instagram, starting with Reels, so creators have a new way to earn money from fans who love their Reels. To support their favorite creators, fans can send gifts on Reels by purchasing Stars within Instagram. We’re testing this with a small group of creators in the US first, and hope to expand to more creators soon.

Professional Mode for Facebook Profiles

We’re launching professional mode for Facebook profiles, a new profile setting that allows creators around the world to build a public presence while maintaining their personal Facebook experience. Professional mode offers creators, and anyone that wants to become a creator, a set of tools and opportunities to begin growing a global community from their personal profile. With professional mode, creators can become eligible to earn money through Stars, ads on Facebook Reels, in-stream ads and Reels Play. They will also have access to content and audience analytics, educational resources and more.

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Meta ordered to offload Giphy by competition watchdog

Meta has been ordered to offload its Giphy business by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In a ruling the CMA said takeover of the gif-creation website could harm social media users and advertising competition. It is the first time an acquisition of a tech giant was blocked in the UK.

Swati Bhat

Facebook parent Meta

In 2020 Meta acquired Giphy, the largest supplier of animated gifs to social networks such as Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter. In the early days of the CMA’s investigation Meta failed to cooperate, resulting in a 50.5. million pound fine.

According to the BBC, Meta had hoped its purchase of Giphy would improve finding gifs and stickers on its social networks Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook. “While Meta maintained that Giphy would be ‘openly available’ to other social networks, the CMA's investigation found the buyout would harm competition in social media and advertising.

Meta appealed against this decision, but in July the Competition Appeal Tribunal found in the CMA's favour on all but one ground, which was related to third-party confidential information.

The CMA said Meta's ownership of Giphy would not only limit choice for those on social media but it would also reduce innovation in digital display advertising in the UK.

In a statement, Meta said it accepted the CMA’s decision: "We are grateful to the Giphy team during this uncertain time for their business, and wish them every success. "We will continue to evaluate opportunities - including through acquisition - to bring innovation and choice to more people in the UK and around the world."

Article source: BBC

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Mark Zuckerberg takes Meta a step further with launch of advanced headsets

Mark Zuckerberg has revealed a new line of advanced headsets, taking his company Meta into the next stage of metaverse-based development.

Swati Bhat

During a Meta Connect event, Zuckerberg and guests discussed virtual reality’s (VR) future through presentations and later revealed the new device, Meta Quest Pro, which aims to bring together the physical and digital worlds.

The headset is available to pre-order now and will begin shipping on October 25, with a price of just under 1,500 dollars.

In a release, Meta, formerly Facebook, said the device was its first in a new line of advanced headsets built to expand on the possibilities of virtual and mixed reality.

It comes in an intentionally reduced size, with a curved battery pack, full-colour visuals, high-resolution outward-facing cameras and inward-facing sensors to capture facial expressions and eye tracking.

The sensors will be applied to a person’s avatar, which will also simultaneously adopt facial expressions, in a bid to improve social presence.

Alongside an array of other new features, Meta also previewed its next generation of Meta Avatars, including that of full-body avatars in VR.

Many of its improvements ensure a more inclusive experience for users, with additional body types and skin shades to also be added for representation purposes.

Meta’s Avatar Store will also be launching in VR later this year, allowing users to shop virtual clothing, which the company has developed through partnerships across sports, entertainment and fashion.

The company has already revealed collaborative collections with the likes of Prada, Balenciaga and Thom Browne.

Meta said it hopes to develop this marketplace for interoperable digital goods, allowing an item to be worn on any app.

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