Meta Episodes

Facebook news and rumors, including updates on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus.
Meta Regulation

Thu. 08/19 – FTC Files Its Facebook Mulligan

Aug. 19, 2021

Headlines out of time: Amazon wants to do department stores. Google partners with GE Appliances. But Intel continues to look to the future with its new hybrid architecture chips. Facebook wants your next conference call to t…

Meta

Wed. 08/18 – WhatsApp Shuts Down Taliban “Helpline”

Aug. 18, 2021

A look at how all the platforms are dealing with the Taliban being a modern social media enterprise. Amazon is bigger than Walmart for the first time. Samsung stops cluttering its phones with ads. Attempting to hire the hack…

Meta Regulation

(SPC CST) The Facebook Antitrust Blowup With @Kantrowitz

July 3, 2021

Alex Kantrowitz of the Big Technology newsletter comes on to try to help us work out what happened with that Facebook Antitrust case blowup. Also, what does this mean for regulating other companies.

Meta

Thu. 07/01 – Instagram Is “No Longer A Photo-Sharing App”

July 1, 2021

Instagram and TikTok are on a collision course. Instagram wants to be more like TikTok, while TikTok hopes to move the goalposts first. Amazon wants Lina Khan to recuse herself. Big tech is not only taking over advertising, …

Meta

Wed. 06/30 – Facebook’s Substack Clone

June 30, 2021

Facebook launches its Substack clone. Emphasis on clone. Shopify joins the platform tax wars by going to zero. A truce between Microsoft and Google has just lapsed. A big raise in the drone space. And would you pay to get ac…

Meta

Tue. 06/29 – Facebook Beats The Rap

June 29, 2021

A judge has completely thrown out the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against Facebook and sent them back to the drawing board. Microsoft and OpenAI and Github have a tool that will suggest code to you as you code. And Sam Altman, a…

Meta

Mon. 06/21 – Can Facebook Win Audio?

June 21, 2021

Facebook’s Clubhouse clone rolls out. Here’s how it works. China really does seem to be cracking down on Bitcoin mining. Here’s why that could be important. Some power companies in Texas are remotely adjusting the smart ther…

Meta Metaverse

Thu. 06/17 – How About Some Ads On Your Oculus?

June 17, 2021

Facebook is bringing ads to Virtual Reality cause, why not, right? Stories are coming to the Xbox. Why is Google downsizing it’s healthcare team? Why are music artists flooding to Twitch? And is Facebook cornering the VR mar…

Meta

Wed. 06/02 – Facebook’s F8 Refresh

June 2, 2021

All the headlines from Facebook’s F8 Refresh. Etsy buys a used clothes marketplace. Another ransomware attack shutting down a major player in a vital industry, this time, literally in the meat-space. And you can start tradin…

Meta

Wed. 05/05 – Facebook Oversight Board Upholds Trump Ban

May 5, 2021

Facebook’s Oversight Board upholds the Trump account suspension. Signal trolls Facebook using its own ad system. An appeals court has ruled that Section 230 does not apply to app design. Kind of. It’s complicated. And the no…

Meta

Mon. 04/26 – Listen To The Podcast On Facebook, I Guess?

April 26, 2021

Facebook rolls out that Spotify integration. Roku accuses Google of making anticompetitive demands for YouTube TV. iOS 14.5 rolls out, and with it that App Tracking Transparency tool. Apple plans a big new campus in North Ca…

Meta

Mon. 04/19 – Facebook To Announce Going Big On Audio, Via Audio?

April 19, 2021

Mon. 04/19 – Facebook To Announce Going Big On Audio, Via Audio? Facebook has probably just outlined its plans to go big on audio, via a digital audio room. Clubhouse has officially announced that big new raise, probably in…

Meta

Wed. 03/31 – Everything Old Is New Again In The News Feed

March 31, 2021

Facebook has announced News Feed changes to bring chronology back. LinkedIn is working on a Clubhouse rival and I think that makes total sense. Apple actually leads an interesting investment round. Deliveroo has a disastrous…

Meta

Fri. 03/19 – A Rebel Alliance, Led By Facebook, And Born In A Clubhouse Room?

March 19, 2021

It’s app platform product news day! Instagram is working on a version of the service suitable for kids. Twitter wants you to watch YouTube in-stream. Telegram is basically adding all the Clubhouse features I’ve been dreaming…

Meta

Mon. 03/01 – Instagram Launches Live Rooms For Group Broadcasts

March 1, 2021

Instagram launches Live Rooms for group broadcasts, which, depending on how you use it is either basically FaceTime for Instagram, or another shot across the Clubhouse bow. Is the micromobility space revving up to roar back …