Social Media – TechLo2050

YouTube Go is one of the apps that’s part of Google’s effort to get the same information to people in developing countries while using a lot less data. There are other apps with the same concept: a lightweight version of an otherwise data-hungry app that offers the app’s core functionalities while keeping tabs on data usage.

The app is expanding to 130 countries around the world, so it’s quite a big deal. The app is arriving in the Play Store in many countries in Central and South America, Middle Eastern countries, and part of Africa. YouTube Go first launched as a Beta product in India before officially releasing in Indonesia.

Mobile internet is still considered a luxury in many parts of the world, so YouTube Go is meant to let people download YouTube videos to their internal storage where there’s good reception or a Wi-Fi network available. Users can then watch these videos whenever they want to, and YouTube Go even lets these users share videos with others without the need for an internet connection.

Similar to how Files Go sends files: if you wanted to send a video, you’d select it from the videos saved on the device and the person you’re sending the videos to would have to open the YouTube Go app and hit “receive”. This works sort of like airdrop in that the phones use Bluetooth to detect and handshake with another nearby device, then Wi-Fi direct takes over and transfers the videos.

In the past, you could only send one video at a time, but the YouTube Go app has been updated to be able to send multiple videos in one go. Of course, in order to play the video on a new device, YouTube Go needs to make a quick communication with its servers to download a decryption key. This is a precaution to keep developers from abusing the download feature.

YouTube Go on the Play Store

It’s time to “turn down the temperature” on divisive issues, says Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook will begin prioritizing the placement of local news in the News Feed, the company said today. The move means that you’re more likely to see stories from your local newspaper or television station. While the changes are currently limited to the United States, Facebook plans to introduce them globally.

Facebook said it considers publishers “local” if their links tend to be clicked on “by readers in a tight geographic area.” “People consistently tell us they want to see more local news on Facebook,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post. “Local news helps us understand the issues that matter in our communities and affect our lives.”

The move is the latest in a series of significant changes to the News Feed introduced since the beginning of the year. On Jan. 11th, the company said it would begin prioritizing posts shared by friends and family over those shared by publishers. The following week, Facebook said it would begin taking into account how trusted a news source is when determining its ranking.

By promoting local news stories, Facebook could benefit regional publishers, who have historically struggled to reach audiences in the News Feed. It could also help reduce the spread of hoaxes and misinformation on pages that are designed to mimic local news sources. In 2016 a malicious site that calls itself the Denver Guardian published a story with the headline “FBI Agent Suspected In Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide,” and it was shared half a million times, likely in part because it appeared to be the work of a trusted local publisher.

But while they are likely to cheer the news, local publishers should manage their expectations: they are still competing for a shrinking number of clicks. Zuckerberg said in a blog post this month that the amount of news in the News Feed would decrease from about 5 percent of the total to 4 percent.