Heena Sharma Blog

After radio, WhatsApp will now run a television ad campaign in India -- a global first for the Facebook-owned company -- as it looks to crackdown spread of fake news on its platform ahead of the general elections in the country next year. WhatsApp, in a statement, said it has conducted extensive research with users in India and then developed three ad films that are based on a real user's experience. "The three films will be available on TV, Facebook, and YouTube in nine languages and reach the diverse population that makes up WhatsApp users. The campaign is timed to start just prior to the elections in Rajasthan and Telangana and WhatsApp will build on this effort headed into the national election next year," the statement added. These languages include English, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Assamese, Gujarati, Marathi and Malayalam. The latest campaign comprises three 60-second films that convey real scenarios about dangerous rumours that sprea

Music composer Shantanu Moitra feels television is no longer the sole option for aspiring artistes as youngsters have started breaking the Internet to garner praise and support for their performances. Moitra, however, admitted that channels like YouTube and other podcast platforms have been flooded with music videos and clips, making it difficult for the experts to choose from the vast talent pool. "Television is not the only hope for aspiring artistes anymore. Ten years back, a budding performer had to approach a TV studio, but he or she has independent choices now. That, in a way, has also increased competition," the national-award-winning music composer told PTI on Wednesday. ALSO READ: How borderless nature of internet makes social media regulation complicated Asked if the present Bollywood numbers were as popular as the ones released in the 70s and 80s, he said music directors work under various constraints these days. Read our full coverage on

YouTube , a video sharing platform of search engine major Google, on September 18 announced plans to retire the YouTube standalone gaming app, therefore merging its feature with the main portal. Launched in 2015, the YouTube Gaming was a dedicated app for gamers community, allowing them to watch gaming content from publishers and developers, including livestreams. The YouTube Gaming app has been a home of gamers and creators to watch, share and explore gaming content. However, from March 2019, the standalone app will shut down, forcing gamers and creators on the platform to migrate to YouTube to continue watching, creating and exploring gaming content. The YouTube Gaming app was tested and upgraded with new features such as dedicated game pages for better discoverability, super chat and channel memberships to help fans show support for their favourite creators, dark theme and live streaming.   Read Complete Article  

JioPhone 2 will be available only through online bookings on the company website for the time being Technology News : Jio is getting closer to building a closed-loop ecosystem, with multiple device, OS and data offerings with the launch of both Jio GigaFiber registration as well as the introduction of popular apps on the Jio Phone OS on Wednesday. The upgraded version of Jio’s feature phone will start registrations on Thursday. Starting Wednesday, Reliance Jio is introducing common apps such as Google Maps, YouTube and Facebook on JioPhone, the telco’s proprietary device. Currently, JioPhone users depend largely on internal apps for content consumption. Further, starting midnight on August 16, the upgrade to the feature phone JioPhone 2 will also be available for purchase through their website. Also Read >> Reliance Jio The company also started registrations for its Jio GigaFiber fiber to the home (FTTH) service on Wednesday. However details of tariff p

The key differentiating factor between IGTV app and other such services is that the Instagram video publishing platform allows long-form vertical videos, which most of the other service providers Companies News : Instagram, an app based photo-sharing platform owned by Facebook, on June 20 announced that the company now has a worldwide community of one billion. The company also introduced a new service, IGTV. IGTV is an app designed for   video creators   to showcase their work to followers in vertical all-screen format. Launched in 2010, the   Instagram   app got more than 800 million monthly active subscribers with over 300 million daily stories shared in the first year. In 2012, two years down the line, the company got acquired by social media giant   Facebook.   Since then, the   Instagram app has been updated with several new features such as filters, storyline, live stories, a minute long video story, stickers, dedicated camera app, etc. In 2016,   Instagram  

The YouTube is facing increasing competition from other platforms using more and more video Technology News : YouTube, often criticized for not compensating creators well enough, will allow them to set up paid channel memberships, the company said on Friday. Currently, the vast majority of revenue at the Google-owned service comes from advertising and that will remain a focus, said Neal Mohan, YouTube's chief products officer. "But we also want to think beyond ads. Creators should have as many ways and opportunities to make money as possible," he said. Viewers will pay $4.99 a month for channel memberships giving them access to exclusive content including livestreams, extra videos or shout-outs on channels with more than 100,000 subscribers. Creators will also be able to sell merchandise like shirts or phone cases directly on their channels, the company said. YouTube returns a small part of its advertising revenue to content creators who regu

With IGTV, Instagram, as it has done in the past, is copying features pioneered by others Technology News : Aiming to take on Google-owned YouTube, popular photo-sharing platform   Instagram   announced it would allow users to upload videos up to one hour in length, up from the previous one-minute limit, adding that it has hit the milestone of one billion users worldwide. "We launched   IGTV   (a button inside the   Instagram home screen, as well as a standalone app) at an event featuring many of the   Instagram   creators who'll make it great," the company wrote in a blog post late on Wednesday. Not just celebrities,   IGTV   will let all users be a creator and let them upload vertical videos through Instagram's app or the web. "It is a new app for watching long-form, vertical video from your favourite Instagram creators, like LaurDIY posting her newest project or King Bach sharing his latest comedy skit. While there's a standalone