Meta to kill off NFT support on Facebook, Instagram

Image: Meta

Meta is ending its support for NFTs on both Facebook and Instagram. The move comes less than a year since it pushed to adopt these "digital collectibles" across the platform. This update comes as the social network laid off thousands of workers and shuttered numerous projects. It wasn't elaborated on why Meta is reversing course on NFTs, but it hasn't been the only product or initiative that the company has shuttered.

“We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses,” Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s Head of Commerce and Financial Technologies wrote in an update shared on Twitter. “We learned a ton that we’ll be able to apply to products we’re continuing to build to support creators, people, and businesses on our apps, both today and in the metaverse.” In its place, the company would be focusing on “monetization opps for Reels” and “messaging payments across Meta.”

Source

Meta's 2023 layoffs may match the scope of last year's

Photo: Muhammad Asyfaul/Unsplash

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg refers to 2023 as the "year of efficiency," and part of that means more layoffs. The first wave of cuts is expected to be announced next week, with non-engineering roles being hit hard. The company is expected to shut down projects and teams in conjunction with these job cuts. Facebook's parent company is expected to do multiple layoff rounds over the coming months, resulting in another 13% cut of its workforce.

Last year, Meta cut approximately 11,000 jobs or around 13% of its employees. Among the projects expected to get axed include wearable devices in the works at its Reality Labs (Meta's hardware and metaverse division).

Click to read more ...

Facebook increases Reels max length to 90 seconds

Image: Meta

Meta is increasing the maximum length of Facebook's Reels up to 90 seconds. This is a 30-second increase from its existing time limit. Instagram Reels already extended its limit to 90 seconds last July. But both still fall far short of TikTok's maximum length of 10 minutes. Facebook users will also soon get the option to automatically sync their clips to a song's beat. Meta calls this upcoming feature Grooves, which will use "visual beat technology" to automatically align motion to the beat of a song.

Facebook Reels users will also get an easy way to generate Reels from memories alongside using trending templates for your videos. Meta says Reels is its fastest-growing format, with Reels plays on both Facebook and Instagram more than doubling over the past year and Reels getting double the reshares in the last six months as well.

Source

This is how much Meta's paid account verification badges cost

Graphic: Muhammad Asyfaul/Unsplash

We learn a bit more about Meta's new subscription service for Instagram and Facebook. Emulating Twitter's Blue service, Meta Verified allows you to pay to get verified on the services. It starts at US$11.99 per month on the web or US$14.99. On top of the badges, Meta promises extra protection from impersonation accounts and direct access to customer support. There will also be access to exclusive features like stickers for Stories and Reels and 100 star tokens (Meta's digital currency) which you can use to tip creators on Facebook. 

To prevent fake accounts, you'll need to provide a government ID that matches your profile name and picture and you must be over 18 to be eligible. Meta clarified in a statement that existing verified accounts won't be affected as these users are "authentic and notable." 

Source