Video is paying off big time for Facebook

When Facebook decided to make video a priority on its platform, Mark Zuckerberg saw it as a big step for the company. Based on the most recent quarterly earnings call, it looks like the company is really raking it in, thanks to video.

Apart from increasing engagement from users through video comments, Facebook’s Marketplace has become a popular outlet for  video ads. The company’s average revenue per user has increased 49.1 percent in the US and Canada, reports Tech Crunch.

Zuckerberg had this to say about the effect of video regarding viewer engagement: “What is enabling video to become huge right now is that fundamentally the mobile networks are getting to a point where a large enough number of people around the world can have a good experience watching a video. If you go back a few years and you tried to load a video in News Feed it might have to buffer for 30 seconds before you watched it, which wasn’t a good enough experience for that to be the primary way that people shared. But now you can — it loads instantly. You can take a video and upload it without having to take five minutes to do that.”

Sharper cameras, bigger screen, better video-making tools also supplement increased user engagement. They allow amateur creators to share their work on the mobile platform.

Facebook is currently adding video filters and effects, selfie masks and overlaid graphics (similar to Snapchat), among others, thanks to its acquisition of AR lens startup MSQRD.

Apart from big-brand video ads, Facebook is also bringing in small businesses into the video format. COO Sheryl Sandberg explains that current smartphone technology allows these businesses to shoot their own video and effectively advertise themselves without the need for a costly production crew.

To increase effectivity, Facebook is also doing some deep research into AI to try to figure out what is in the content that people and advertisers post, then how to get said content to the target audience.

“When we think about video ads and what platform they run on, we really believe that over time the dollars will shift with eyeballs and our goal is to be the best dollar and the best minute people spend measured across channels,” Sanderberg says.

Facebook has done well to ride the changing times and has managed to stay above its competitors. With its kind of planning and foresight, it would appear that the status quo won’t be shifting any time soon.  Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

Man proposes to girlfriend using ‘Super Mario Maker’

To boost the relationship ‘to the next level’, a gamer in Arkansas, United States, devised a catchy way to ask his girlfriend’s hand by using Super Mario Maker, a forefront feature in the classic video game Super Mario Bros.

Pro gamer Shane Birkinbine purchased a 2015 version of the video game and designed a level to tickle his girlfriend, Pam Edwards. The latest version allows gamers to craft and rearrange levels for entertainment purposes, according to Daily Mail.

The memorable and romantic video was uploaded on video-sharing site YouTube with the caption, “Hope everyone enjoys just a bit of our special moment. Geeks do it better!”

In the trending video clip that stockpiled 756,000 views, Edwards was seen playing the game until she lurches at the Super Mario modified level.

Birkinbine asks his significant other,  “Babe, what does that say?” as Edwards glances at her name, which is spelled out in the hollow blocks. Then, the ultimate question popped out.

Astonished as ever, Edwards ecstatically replies his endearing question with a sweet ‘yes’. The video ended with the couple confessing their love to one another.

Many YouTube users were swayed with the proposal’s creativity and in return, Birkinbine thanked the people who gave optimistic remarks in a YouTube comment, “Just never thought it would come from our little corner of the world. This video is nothing without her reaction. She is the star. ” Gianna Francesca Catolico

source: technology.inquirer.net

WATCH: Zuckerberg shares story of Filipina factory worker helped by Internet.org

Another Filipina was the subject of a video posted by Facebook founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg for using Internet.org.

The video, which runs for more than a minute, shows a Filipina named Marissa who works in a factory but dreams to start her own business selling dolls.

“Everyday at the factory is the same. I work long hours. But I also have dreams of my own,” Marissa said in the video.

“Someday, I’ll be a businesswoman,” she said, adding that she has started saving what she earns from the factory as capital.

Marissa said she uses Internet.org to “find great sales” to help her build her dream business.

“If you see me in 10, years, you won’t recognize me,” she said.

The video of Marissa came days after the video of Filipina Riza Mae Tachado was featured by Zuckerberg for finishing her degree with the help of Internet.org.

Internet.org offers free data connectivity through service providers like Smart, Globe, and Sun Cellular.

“Being connected means having opportunity. We’re connecting the world so one day everyone can fulfill their dreams — just like Marissa,” Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post that accompanied Marrisa’s video. CDG

source: technology.inquirer.net

Video of Singaporean woman doing ‘pull-up dance’ goes viral

SINGAPORE — Need to lose some flab after all the Chinese New Year feasting?

A video of a Singaporean woman doing a “pull-up dance,” which has been viewed at least 60,000 times, may offer some inspiration.

The video shows Ming Leong, clad in a tight red dress, doing pull-ups from a bar installed at the bathroom door, while dancing to Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance.

She uploaded the 15-second clip on her Facebook page on February 19, the first day of Chinese New Year.

By 6:30pm on February 22, it had 27,000 views. Her video was also picked up by citizen journalism site Stomp, where it was viewed about 15,000 times.

Ming, who goes by the moniker Suzie Wong on Facebook, told The Straits Times that she decided to try the dance at her mother’s home while she was visiting for Chinese New Year.

She had been challenged to it by others who had viewed the original dance by personal trainer Marissa Inda from the United States.

Ming, who described herself as a “health nut,” said: “Many people showed me the video, and kind of challenged me to it. I honestly thought I couldn’t do it at all.”

The fitness instructor wears many hats. She does pole dancing, aerial fitness, and cross-fit. On top of that, she goes jogging four or five times a week. She also owns a pole dancing studio and co-owns an aerial fitness studio.

She said that there are people who follow her fitness journey on social media. She posts four to six times a day on her Facebook and Instagram accounts to document her journey.

She said: “Being an older woman and being fit, many people tell me that they are inspired by my fitness.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

Gayes vs Pharrell, Thicke

LOS ANGELES—The family of Marvin Gaye has won a round in a court battle over allegations that last year’s blockbuster hit song “Blurred Lines” ripped off the late Motown legend’s work.

A US federal judge on Thursday denied a motion by singer Robin Thicke and songwriter Pharrell Williams, who wanted a court to reject the plagiarism accusations made by Gaye’s children. 


The ruling clears the way for the dispute to head to a celebrity trial set to open in LA in February.

The Gaye estate says “Blurred Lines” copied elements of the singer’s 1976 track, “Got to Give It Up.”




The two sides brought in music experts who dissected the songs’ structures to debate the merits of the claim.

Sufficient showing 


“Defendants have made a sufficient showing that elements of ‘Blurred Lines’ may be substantially similar to protected, original elements of ‘Got to Give It Up,’” ruled Judge John Kronstadt of the US District Court for Central California.

“Genuine issues of material fact are present as to the extrinsic similarity of the works. The intrinsic similarity of the works is a jury question,” he wrote.

“Blurred Lines” was already controversial.

The song contains the refrain “I hate these blurred lines/I know you want it” and has been condemned by critics who say the lyrics refer to the issue of sexual consent.

Naked women

The video features naked women parading before Thicke.

The R&B singer has said that he was fond of “Got to Give It Up” when he went out to record “Blurred Lines.”

But in court, Thicke insisted that he had embellished the connection as he liked being called the “white Marvin Gaye” and contended that Williams—who later recorded the smash hit “Happy”—did all the writing on “Blurred Lines.”

The judge said: “Thicke’s inconsistent statements do not constitute direct evidence of copying.”

Thicke and Williams brought to court a musicologist, Sandy Wilbur, who testified that the melody, harmony and rhythm of the songs were different. She said that only one note in the songs’ key phrases had the same pitch and placement, but did not last the same duration.

But an expert for Gaye’s family, Judith Finell, pointed to eight similarities and said that Wilbur erred in “microscopically analyzing” each musical element in isolation. AFP

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

3 girls crush wailing puppy to death

MANILA, Philippines—A new “crush video” is making the rounds on social media showing three girls in shorts stepping on a wailing puppy until it died.

The barefoot women, whose faces were shown on the video, are allegedly Filipinas.

It caught the attention of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), which has launched a search for the women and other people involved in the production of the video.

“If someone can actually give us the names and addresses of the people in the video, we can file the case immediately,” the animal welfare group said, adding it has forwarded the video to the Bureau of Animal Industry-Animal Welfare Division.

“Crush videos” are sexual fetish films in which small animals are maimed or killed through extreme brutality. Cruelty to animals is punishable under Republic Act 8485 or the Animal Welfare Act of 1998.

“Crush videos” first surfaced in the Philippines in 2011 as scantily clad girls crushing to death small animals were sold as fetish films online.

A couple in Bacnotan, La Union was caught that year for hiring girls aged 12 to 18, who tortured and killed animals in crush films sold for P100 to P1,000 per video.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Lizzy Borden’s new take on Silent Night

Lizzy Borden have released a new take on Silent Night, in which they explore some of the Christmas carol’s more obscure melodic potential. Hear it below.

The band mark their 30th year in 2013. They say: “We will be celebrating with a brand-new show, created from the ground up, just for the monumental anniversary. The new show will encompass songs from each and every Lizzy Borden record to date, including classic songs like Me Against The World, American Metal and Master of Disguise – plus songs the band has never performed live.”

source: classicrockmagazine.com

Lynyrd Skynyrd had a Good Teacher

Lynyrd Skynyrd have released a lyric video for Good Teacher, taken from recent album Last Of A Dyin’ Breed. View it below.


The band – who played an exclusive 30-minute set to invited guests at Classic Rock’s eighth annual Roll Of Honour awards night last month – got their name from a teacher called Leonard Skinner.

But given the lyrics in the song: “He showed me the ropes, good whisky and smoke, and how to tell a dirty joke” they’re probably not talking about Mr Skinner.

source: classicrockmagazine.com

No Doubt Cast Themselves As Truckers in 'Settle Down' Video

When No Doubt finished recording Push and Shove, their first album in more than ten years, they turned to esteemed director and good friend Sophie Muller to direct the video for "Settle Dow." "I’ve worked with them so long, it was kind of natural that I would do this one," Muller tells Rolling Stone of the clip, premering tonight at 8 p.m. on E!. "They sent me this song and said 'Do you like this?' And I was like, 'Yeah, I love it.'"

Muller, who has worked with Eurythmics, Coldplay, and Sade, has directed eight videos for No Doubt throughout their career including "Don’t Speak" and "Simple Kind of Life." "We collaborate completely," she says. "I’ve become friends with them. When you have a working relationship with a band, it’s a very comfortable and lovely process."

In the video for "Settle Down," No Doubt cast themselves as truck drivers as they steer their own highly stylized rigs to a celebratory reunion party. "I think (bassist Tony Kanal) came up with the idea that we should do something with trucks," Muller says. "The idea is they are all driving to meet after having had their separate lives over the last 10 years."

To honor his heritage, Kanal drives a garishly decorated Indian-style truck to the party. Drummer Adrian Young has his kit fastened to the top of what Muller describes as a neon Transformer. Overflowing with speakers is the Jamaican-flavored rig of guitarist Tom Dumont. And Gwen Stefani drives a "proper, old-fashioned Seventies truck" that the band lifted straight from the 1977 Burt Reynolds comedy Smokey and the Bandit.

"It’s such a mix of cultures, their band, and what their music is like," Muller says. "We tried to do something that resembled different parts of the world rather than a specific place."

Although there’s a joyous atmosphere throughout, Muller said she tried to portray the uncertainty in Stefani’s lyrics.

"Lyrically it’s not really a party song," she says. "It’s got a real emotional desire to get through something. You have a combination of this party feel with her struggle to be able to express herself."

In addition to helping cultivate the image of female icons such as Courtney Love and Annie Lennox, Sophie Muller has worked alongside Stefani on both No Doubt and her solo material.

"The amazing thing about Gwen is her unbelievable enthusiasm," Muller says. "You could feel her absolute love for making videos and her total commitment to every single scene that she does. It’s just lovely."

source: rollingstone.com

Shinedown Release New Music Video, “Unity”

Shinedown, whose latest album, Amaryllis, debuted at No. 1 on the album-sales charts, have released a new music video, for the track “Unity” off the record. Check it out below, and check out Shinedown live on the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival later this summer.

source: revolvermag.com