Soul Machines debuted a synthetic Marilyn Monroe last week at SXSW. The New Zealand-based company teamed on the Digital Marilyn project with Authentic Brands Group, a New York management firm that represents a host of fashion labels as well as personalities such as Elvis Presley, David Beckham and Muhammad Ali. The result is a sophisticated chatbot that Soul Machines describes as an “interactive experience.” Drawing on biological AI, Soul Machines is packaging a “personalized engagement opportunity” for fans and brands, which could lead to new approaches in advertising and promotions. Continue reading Soul Machines Aims for Photorealistic Marilyn Monroe Chatbot

Elon Musk’s X social media service will soon launch two new monthly subscription tiers, a $16 X Premium+ plan with no ads, and a budget-priced $3 option with “most” of the same features “but no reduction in ads.” Musk had for some months been discussing new paid subscription options as part of an effort to fight spam and bots on the platform. In November, the company began offering an $8 monthly X Premium subscription (formerly Twitter Blue) that includes blue check verification and the promise of some boosted post exposure. Musk is also envisioning a digital wallet with financial services, business applications to compete with LinkedIn, and a news wire service. Continue reading X to Launch Paid Tiers in Next Move Toward ‘Everything App’

Netflix introduced a password sharing option for non-household members in the United States this week. Netflix subscribers can “buy an extra member” for an additional $7.99 per month for streaming users who live outside the home. Simultaneous with the rollout, Netflix said it will start blocking unauthorized users of borrowed passwords. “Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with — your household,” Netflix emailed its U.S. customers, providing instructions on how to “check who is using your Netflix.” The company is also making paid sharing available in additional international territories. Continue reading Netflix Expands Crackdown on Password Sharing to the U.S.

Twitter appears to be angling for a slice of the newsletter market, with tweets of up to 10,000 words now available to Twitter Blue subscribers in the U.S. That’s more than double the 4,000-character limit paid accounts were extended in February. Those using the platform’s free tier are still allowed only 280-character tweets. The lengthy posts are intended to help users monetize through subscriptions, which can be priced at $2.99, $4.99 or $9.99 per month. In addition to the character cap increase, Twitter Blue subscribers will also gain access to support for bold and italics text formatting. Continue reading Twitter Pushes Subscriptions and Increases Its Character Cap

The U.S. and a coalition of international government agencies have issued joint guidance that aims to get software companies to heighten security for their products. “Shifting the Balance of Cybersecurity Risk: Principles and Approaches for Security-by-Design and -Default” takes the position that today’s software is insecure by default and it is the customer’s burden to take steps to make it safe. Manufacturers should make their products safe before they ship by taking steps including deprecating the “default password,” writing their programs using only secure coding languages, providing free patches and setting up vulnerability reporting programs. Continue reading U.S. Agencies Join Global Coalition in Secure Software Push

The waitlist has officially opened for Meta Verified checkmarks on Facebook and Instagram in the U.S. The blue checkmarks, which cost $12 per month on the web and $15 for mobile apps, were first introduced in Australia and New Zealand last month. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram’s Meta channel Friday that in addition to a badge, Meta Verified offers “proactive impersonation protection and direct access to customer support.” To be verified, users must be at least 18 years old, agree to two-factor authentication and provide a government-issued photo ID. Continue reading Facebook and Instagram Users Can Sign Up for Meta Verified

Meta Platforms is introducing a subscription bundle called Meta Verified that allows Facebook and Instagram users to authenticate their online identities. “We want to make it easier for people, especially creators, to establish a presence so they can focus on building their communities,” the company said in introducing the feature, which costs $11.99 a month for PC and Android users and $14.99 per month on Apple devices. “We’re starting with a gradual test in Australia and New Zealand later this week to learn what’s most valuable,” with the rest of the world to follow, Meta said. The news follows a similar move by Twitter with its subscription features. Continue reading Meta Verified Subscriptions Coming for Facebook, Instagram

Netflix is expanding its paid sharing program to Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. The program, which was tested last year in several Latin American markets, is the company’s attempt to crackdown on the unauthorized password sharing that deprives the company of what one analyst estimates is billions of dollars per year. Where the program is live, subscribers can pay to add non-household members to their account at the rate of an extra CAD$7.99 a month per person in Canada, NZD$7.99 in New Zealand, Euro 3.99 in Portugal, and Euro 5.99 in Spain. Continue reading Netflix Password Sharing Plan Added in Four Global Markets

Big Tech’s battle with news publishers has moved to the U.S. where Congress is considering legislation to help publishers collectively negotiate compensation from social media sites disseminating their copyrighted content. Meta Platforms reacted strongly to the bill, called the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act. “If Congress passes an ill-considered journalism bill as part of national security legislation, we will be forced to consider removing news from our platform altogether rather than submit to government mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard any value we provide to news outlets through increased traffic and subscriptions,” the company tweeted. Continue reading Meta and Alphabet on the Frontlines of Big Tech News Battle

As it continues trying to close its $44 billion sale to Elon Musk, popular social networking service Twitter is taking steps to update its image, introducing multimedia posts for Android and iOS users, who can now augment text with photos, GIFs and videos in a single tweet. Previously, each tweet only accommodated one type of media, though multiple attachments of a single format were permitted. Simultaneously, the company has begun rolling out the “edit” button to U.S. subscribers using the premium Twitter Blue platform, which price increases from $2.99 to $4.99 this month. Continue reading Tweets Go Multimedia, Edit Button Rolls Out for Twitter Blue

Popular social networking service Twitter is adding an edit button for published tweets, the platform’s most-requested feature to date. Users will have to pay for it, at least initially. Edit Tweet, which is being tested internally, will expand to a public test in the coming weeks, rolling out to a select subset of Twitter Blue subscribers who will have 30 minutes from publication to Edit Tweet, doing things like fixing typos and adding missing tags. Tweets that have been edited will carry a label that even those not participating in the test will see. Continue reading ‘Edit Tweet’ Becoming Available for Twitter Blue Subscribers

Snap Inc. is beginning the rollout of Snapchat+,  a subscription tier promising “exclusive, experimental and prerelease features” as well as priority support for a monthly fee of $3.99. Targeting “our most passionate users,” Snapchat+ will be available at launch in the U.S., Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with plans for further expansion as the tier evolves. The Snapchat+ launch follows similar moves by Twitter, with Twitter Blue, and Meta Platforms, with Facebook Subscriptions as social platforms seek to supplement advertising with additional revenue streams. Continue reading Snapchat+ Subscription Tier Launches in Limited Territories

In the wake of criticism for its response time with regard to takedowns of videos of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, Meta Platforms has released metrics that show it removed 21.7 million pieces of violent or incitement content from Facebook in Q1 2022, nearly doubling the number from the previous quarter. The Buffalo gunman used a helmet-mounted camera to live-stream his killing spree to Twitch, owned by Amazon, and recordings circulated on platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and Google’s YouTube. Platforms were challenged by the speed of downloads and reposts even after the footage was removed. Continue reading Social Media Rapid Response Tested in the Wake of Violence

After months of negotiations, Electronic Arts’s EA Sports and the FIFA World Cup governing body are parting ways after nearly three successful decades of game collaboration that generated tens of billions of dollars in revenue and helped popularize professional soccer around the world. Having decided not to renew the partnership with a new contract, the parties have agreed to extend the existing contract — which was to end in December after the World Cup in Qatar — through the summer of 2023 and the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Continue reading FIFA and EA Sports Go Separate Ways After Long Partnership

Twitter has entered into a deal with FOX Sports, which will create and distribute exclusive content on the social platform for all upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 tournaments. Appearing at the IAB NewFronts this week, Twitter also talked-up new and expanded deals with media partners NBCUniversal, E! News, Condé Nast, Essence and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Revolt Media. The NewFronts announcements are important for Twitter, which accepted a buyout offer by Elon Musk that has some advertisers worried. Continue reading Twitter Announces Deals with FOX Sports and NBCUniversal