Sandhya Gupta

Amazon Launches Inspire, a TikTok-Style Shopping Feed

Amazon.com Inc. has introduced a feed Inspire, modeled after TikTok that will enable customers to purchase goods from a selected feed of images and videos.

The newest tech business to attempt to copy TikTok is Amazon. The world’s largest online retailer debuted Inspire on Thursday. Inspire is a short-form video and picture stream that enables users to browse and purchase things from content made by influencers, businesses, and other users.

According to Amazon, Inspire will progressively roll out to US users through December and is exclusively accessible through the Amazon Shopping mobile app.

The launch comes after testing conducted earlier this year when it was discovered that Amazon was exploring a TikTok-like shopping stream in its app, which at the time had a separate navigation button at the bottom.

The Inspire feed now will require tapping a light bulb icon rather than the diamond logo that was observed in testing. According to Amazon, as Inspire gathers more information about the user’s preferences by monitoring their engagement and likes, the feed will eventually become more individually tailored.

In order to further enhance the product, the retailer intends to add more shoppable elements to Inspire as well as extra in-app functionality and content.

Mae Badiyan, Practically Pursia, and other Amazon Influencers have already been invited to post on Inspire by the corporation. The Amazon Influencer Program will allow the creators to profit from user purchases.

Amazon noted, “Inspire was designed to make it easy to explore new products, discover ideas, and seamlessly shop content created by other customers, influencers, and brands they love.”

Inspire, which specializes in short-form video content but also supports photographs, functions somewhat like a cross between Instagram and TikTok. Similar to Instagram, one may double-tap and give a red heart “like”. Scrolling Inspire is also similar to TikTok’s vertical video feed, where users may swipe up and down.

Amazon has been attempting to make it simpler for customers to explore products rather than only search for specific items, as the company has traditionally used static product photos and information to create a unified catalog. Despite these efforts, the majority of clients leave the vast internet marketplace quickly.

When it comes to combining product discovery and purchase under one roof, Amazon is perhaps one of the few businesses that might meaningfully challenge TikTok. The problem is convincing customers to make purchases using the short-form video app, but TikTok has already demonstrated its ability to generate sales of everything from cleaning supplies to makeup.

Despite partial bans on the platform in a number of USA states due to cybersecurity concerns, TikTok also seems to be stepping into the e-commerce market.

As it looks to establish its own product fulfillment facilities, the Chinese video-sharing site may directly compete with Amazon in the US, according to an October Axios article. The report stated that TikTok might be considering e-commerce as a potential key source of revenue based on recent job postings that have been listed.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

The Game Awards 2022: Winners Revealed

Recently Game Awards 2022 took place in Los Angeles, California.

Game Awards 2022, the largest gaming event of the year, left behind a trove of discussion and fresh previews for gaming enthusiasts to watch and rewatch over the holidays.

Elden Ring beat out God of War Ragnarök for the top honor at The Game Awards 2022, even though the latter PlayStation-exclusive won more awards overall than the former FromSoftware game (six vs four). Elden Ring won the best game and art direction awards, but God of War Ragnarök swept the narrative, audio, and performance categories.

Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of the game, showed up on stage to receive the honor. Through a translation, Miyazaki expressed appreciation to From Software, the creators of Elden Ring, as well as the writer George R.R. Martin. Along with thanking the audience for their support, Miyazaki hinted that there might be more Elden Ring content and other ideas from From Software in the future.

Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West each received seven nominations, while God of War Ragnarok received ten total nominations, leading all other nominees.

At The Game Awards 2022, other winners included Stray, which won the best independent game, Marvel Snap, which won the best mobile game, Bayonetta 3, which won best action game, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, which won best simulation and strategy game, and Gran Turismo 7, which won best sports and racing game.

Here’s a full list of winners:

GAME OF THE YEAR: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

BEST GAME DIRECTION: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

BEST NARRATIVE: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

BEST ART DIRECTION: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

BEST SCORE AND MUSIC: Bear McCreary, God of War Ragnarök

BEST AUDIO DESIGN: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

BEST PERFORMANCE: Christopher Judge, God of War Ragnarök

GAMES FOR IMPACT: As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)

BEST ONGOING GAME: FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)

BEST DEBUT INDIE: Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

BEST INDIE: Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT: FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)

BEST ACTION: Bayonetta 3 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)

BEST VR/AR: Moss: Book II (Polyarc)

BEST ESPORTS EVENT: 2022 League of Legends World Championship

BEST ESPORTS COACH: Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)

BEST ESPORTS TEAM: LOUD (Valorant)

BEST ADAPTATION Arcane: League of Legends (Fortiche/Riot Games/Netflix)

INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

BEST ESPORTS GAME: VALORANT (Riot Games)

BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE: Jacob “Yay” Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant)

BEST MULTIPLAYER: Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR: Ludwig

MOST ANTICIPATED: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

BEST MOBILE: MARVEL SNAP (Second Dinner Studios/Nuverse)

BEST SPORTS/RACING: Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE: God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)

BEST ACTION: Bayonetta 3 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)

BEST SIM/STRATEGY: Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)

BEST FAMILY: Kirby and the Forgotten Land (HAL Laboratory / Nintendo)

BEST FIGHTING: MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)

BEST ROLE PLAYING: Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

How Jonah Peretti built a billion-dollar company Buzzfeed?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Sandhya Gupta

Internet entrepreneur Jonah Peretti is co-founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, the company, which was formerly renowned for online quizzes, “listicles,” and pop culture pieces has developed into a global internet and technology organization that covers a range of subjects, such as politics, Crafts, animals, and business. He was the co-founder of The Huffington Post, and creator of the “Reblog” project, which pioneered reblogging.

Early Life

Jonah Peretti’s life appeared to be fairly typical until he founded the billion-dollar media giant BuzzFeed. He earned an environmental studies degree from UC Santa Cruz and found work as a teacher in New Orleans.

His passion for viral media was then kindled following an email argument with sportswear giant Nike. Before going to MIT to acquire his master’s, he spent over three years instructing computer science. During his time at MIT, his email conversation with Nike regarding a request to print “sweatshop” on specially ordered shoes became viral.

Nike continued to cancel the order after several emails back and forth, so Peretti copied the emails together and forwarded them to a select group of pals. His idea became an initial email forward and eventually reached millions of people at a time when the idea of “going viral” hadn’t yet been coined.

Success Story

In 2005, Jonah Peretti co-founded the Huffington Post with Arianna Huffington after meeting her through the widely circulated Nike email. Peretti founded BuzzFeed as a side gig soon after HuffPost was acquired by AOL for $315 million in 2011. In November 2006, Peretti launched the “Internet popularity contest” website BuzzFeed.

After quitting HuffPost, Peretti started a full-time job at BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed began as an Instant Messenger bot. The bot distributed links to groups of buddies after identifying trendy content online. Although the website was initially recognized for its blend of listicles and internet memes, it was the first to report that John McCain will support Mitt Romney in the 2012 Republican Primary.

After then, the website kept expanding and the following year raised over $35 million in capital from investors. The website received an additional $50 million in funding from the investment firm Andreessen Horowitz in August 2014, almost doubling its prior fundraising rounds. According to Peretti, BuzzFeed’s audience has roughly doubled every year since its start.

Over 400 employees now work for the website thanks to Peretti, who Business Insider once dubbed “the web’s king of viral content.” Over a short period of time. Ben Smith, a well-known political journalist, was even hired by Peretti in 2012 to help develop Buzzfeed’s more serious journalism.

By 2021, BuzzFeed News had invested years into developing its investigative reporting, and it had been awarded the National Magazine Award, the George Polk Awar, and been nominated for the Michael Kelly Award. BuzzFeed news crew was a nominee for a Pulitzer Prize in the foreign reporting category in 2018. In 2021, BuzzFeed received the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for a series of investigations into the Xinjiang detention camps.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Microsoft to Offer Call of Duty on Nintendo Devices if Activision Deal Closes

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Sandhya Gupta

Microsoft has entered a 10-year deal with Nintendo to release “Call of Duty” (CoD) on Nintendo devices if the Activision Blizzard merger goes through.

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that if its $69 billion takeover of the game’s developer, Activision Blizzard, is completed, it would bring the popular video game brand Call of Duty to Nintendo systems.

Call of Duty, an enduring brand in which players engage in combat in the past, present, and future, is Activision’s flagship product. It has brought in more than $30 billion in revenue for the company.

Antitrust authorities from all around the world are currently investigating Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, the biggest consumer technology transaction since AOL acquired Time Warner in 2000. Microsoft and Nintendo’s agreement may help allay concerns about the deal’s antitrust implications.

According to Bloomberg, Microsoft officials are meeting with USFTC chair Lina Khan as well as other members this week to present their final justification for the deal’s approval.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer noted, “Microsoft has entered into a 10-year commitment to bring Call of Duty to @Nintendo following the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King.

Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people, however, they choose to play. Microsoft has committed to continue to offer Call of Duty on @Steam simultaneously to Xbox.”

The action is being taken as Microsoft awaits the FTC’s regulatory review of its proposed merger, which has been vigorously contested by Sony, the rival manufacturer of the PlayStation console, who thinks that the possibility of Call of Duty becoming exclusively available on Microsoft platforms would provide the company an unfair competitive advantage in the video game industry.

Regulators in the European Union and the United Kingdom have launched antitrust investigations into the transaction to determine whether it will harm competition. The EU is worried that Microsoft would deny competitors access to titles like Call of Duty. Microsoft has made assurances related to Call of Duty in an effort to allay concerns this week.

The company claims that the Activision acquisition will benefit players and boost industry competition. According to reports, the FTC is likely to approve the acquisition. Previously, Microsoft and Activision stated that they anticipated the agreement to be signed before the mid of 2023.

International regulators assessing the deal have frequently questioned if Call of Duty, one of Blizzard’s most popular titles, will be made inaccessible to PlayStation fans.

Microsoft has consistently assured authorities that the series would remain available on all current platforms, which at the moment include Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, and claimed that stopping PlayStation publication would be fiscally irresponsible.

Microsoft president Brad Smith had earlier this week announced that Microsoft had made a 10-year deal with Sony to make future Call of Duty games available on the PlayStation.

Sony has protested Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, claiming that doing so would limit the options available to players. Microsoft’s initial proposal to keep Call of Duty on the PlayStation for “several more years” was rejected by Sony as “inadequate on many levels.”

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Apple lets developers charge up to $10,000 per app

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Sandhya Gupta

Apple is making another move to provide greater flexibility and quell criticism of the service by altering the price strategy for the Apple App Store to allow developers to charge a wider array of amounts.

Apple updated the App Store pricing structure on Tuesday, making it possible for developers to charge anywhere between 29 cents and $10,000 for their apps. Additionally, new options for pricing across numerous countries and currencies will be available to developers.

Apple noted, “These newly announced tools, which will begin rolling out today and continue throughout 2023, will create even more flexibility for developers to price their products while staying approachable to the hundreds of millions of users Apple serves worldwide. And, in turn, help developers continue to thrive on the App Store.”

The company noted, “Under the updated App Store pricing system, all developers will have the ability to select from 900 price points, which is nearly 10 times the number of price points previously available for most apps. his includes 600 new price points to choose from, with an additional 100 higher price points available upon request.”

The departure from Apple’s long-standing 99-cent price limit occurs as the Silicon Valley giant defends itself against claims that it has a monopolistic hold on the App Store, which serves as the only entry point for iPhones.

The change significantly alters the App Store, which Apple introduced in 2008 with a focus on simplicity. In recent years, the platform has come under further fire from regulators and developers who claim that the company’s standards are excessively onerous.

Apple is under fire for the limitations and costs it imposes on developers, notably the 30% commission it charges for some of the apps available on the App Store.

Apple and small devs in the USA reached a settlement in a $100 million class-action suit last year, and one of the terms of the deal included raising prices. Apple also simplified the process for developers to challenge app rejections at the time, as well as adjustments to App Store search.

Political pressure is also being applied on Apple in the US and Europe to loosen its grip on the App Store, which has been criticized by companies like Spotify, Epic Games, and Twitter. A California judge dismissed Epic’s complaint that Apple was operating like a monopoly through the App Store in 2021.

The judge, however, disallowed Apple from forbidding developers from incorporating “external links or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms” in their apps.

New EU regulations that go into effect in May 2023 will compel Apple to allow third-party app stores and other payment methods on its iOS operating system. The Digital Markets Act will also forbid the iPhone from giving Apple’s own services, such as Apple Music or the Safari browser, a competitive advantage.

Apple’s new pricing flexibility does not solve the central issues of sideloading and third-party apps brought up in the last couple of antitrust lawsuits against the corporation. In response to requests for greater transparency, Apple has been adamant that sideloading iOS applications will lead to security issues, while conveniently omitting the fact that macOS supports user-loaded apps.

Unless compelled to do so by the courts or legislators, Apple is unlikely to abandon its App Store gatekeeping, as it did with its price tier adjustments.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

The Pixel 7 Finally Gets Its Free VPN in Google’s Latest Drop

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Sandhya Gupta

At the “Made by Google” event earlier this year, Google unveiled the Pixel and Pixel 7 Pro smartphones. The company launched free VPN services for its mobile devices via the Google One app in addition to the flagship phones and the Pixel watch.

Despite all of the wonderful features the Pixel 7 offers, up until now, it hasn’t received some of the most highly anticipated abilities. The most recent Pixel release from Google contains some of the much-heralded features of the new Pixel 7 including a free VPN via Google One.

Google has finally provided private browsing after previewing it at its Pixel presentation in October. Users of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will now get free, no-cost, subscription-free access to this VPN via the Google One app. Before this only users of Google’s $9.99/month 2TB subscription were permitted to use it.

One’s internet activity is encrypted and their IP address is hidden when using a VPN by Google One. A VPN offers users safety while utilizing a public network and also prevents location tracking. Users of the Google One application can select “Use VPN” to immediately protect their location and browsing history.

Apple offers a comparable solution for iPhones called Private Relay, but it isn’t free for iPhone 14 users and requires a membership to either its iCloud+ or Apple One services. Private Relay, however, only shields user traffic that travels through Apple’s own internet browser, Safari.

With the most recent version, the Recorder app now has speaker labels that will give people in the recording their own labels automatically. Additionally, the software will insert a line break anytime the speaker in transcriptions changes.

The devices will also have Clear Calling activated, which will aid in lowering background noise and enhancing human voice quality. Pixel 7 will be able to distinguish between several speakers and create line breaks when necessary when users record lectures or conferences.

Owners of Pixel Watches will receive Sleep Profiles, a Fitbit Premium feature, even if they aren’t subscribed to Fitbit Premium. To assess one’s sleep, this tool keeps track of ten distinct factors, including the length of your sleep, interruptions, and regularity of bedtime.

New additions for other Pixel smartphones are included in this Pixel drop as well. The upcoming single portal for privacy and security settings will feature action cards with tips on how to make your software as secure as possible.

In January, phones using the Pixel Buds Pro will also get spatial audio. Google noted, “you can also turn on spatial audio with wired headphones.”

In a subsequent update, Google confirmed that the Pixel Watch Fall Detection will arrive in 2023 and that the redesigned tiles for sunset/sunrise and favorite contacts would be available.

Google just unveiled a ranking of the top games and applications available in India’s Google Play Store. Quest has been named the “Best App of 2022” in this yearly update to Google’s top applications and games. While the battle royale game Apex Legends Mobile has been chosen as the “Best Game of 2022.”

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

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