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Mark Zuckerberg holds his first live Facebook Q&A on June 14th
Now that Mark Zuckerberg has talked to astronauts using Facebook Live, he's ready to talk to the Facebook community at large... and it might just be one of the biggest showcases of the streaming service to date. The social network founder will use Facebook Live to host a Q&A on June 14th at 2:30PM Eastern, and he's using comments on the announcement post to determine what he'll answer. If you've been yearning for a big new feature or have a question about Facebook's artificial intelligence efforts, you might just get your voice heard. Suffice it to say that there will likely be a lot of people watching -- it's not often that Zuckerberg gets to address the people who made his site what it is.
Mark Zuckerberg's lesser-known social accounts get compromised
Mark Zuckerberg's biggest social network presence is undoubtedly on Facebook, but he has other accounts, too -- and he's learning the hard way that those accounts are just as sensitive. Hackers appear to have briefly compromised Zuck's Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter accounts, in some cases defacing them for the sake of bragging rights. It's not certain that they have his personal email address, but that would make sense if it's a common thread between the accounts. It's alternately possible that LinkedIn's 2012 password breach is at fault.
Mom behind most-watched Facebook Live video visits its HQ
It's only been a few months since Facebook opened up live video streaming to everyone, but with over a billion daily users the emergence of a massive hit was inevitable. Late last week an odd yet charming video stream of Candace Payne amusing herself by trying on a Chewbacca mask went viral, and currently stands at 143 million views with more than 3 million reshares. According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg that makes her video the most-watched Facebook Live video ever, and just that quickly, she's on the company campus riding bikes with guess who -- Chewbacca.
Mark Zuckerberg chimes in on Facebook's trending topics
The swirling debate over how Facebook chooses stories for its trending topics section -- and whether it is muffling stories from politically conservative sources -- refuses to go away, and now the company's leader has spoken up. In a post on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that soon he will invite "leading conservatives and people from across the political spectrum" to talk things over. He says the site is building a platform for all ideas, and says the company has found no evidence that an anonymous report of bias in its process is true.
What becomes of Facebook when people start to value privacy?
Facebook's role in the world has changed though I didn't expect to have an epiphany about that while sitting in the pews of a drafty, 11th-century church. It was at a wedding earlier this month, and the program handed out bore a disclaimer that would have been mystifying a few years ago. "Roger and Stephanie* would like to request that guests DO NOT post any photos of the ceremony, or share anything to social media relating to the day." Instead of wanting to broadcast their special moments to the world, they were actively asking people to do the opposite. The truth is that Facebook was designed for people to spill their guts, but now more people are deciding that their privacy is more important.
Pro-ISIS hackers threaten Facebook and Twitter over crackdowns
Surprise: ISIS isn't happy that social networks are taking down accounts sympathetic to its cause. Vocativ has obtained a video from a pro-ISIS hacking group that threatens retaliation against Facebook and Twitter for joining the US' campaign to fight online terrorist propaganda. The clip insists that the group will take 10 accounts for every one that Facebook or Twitter shuts down, and promises to eventually "delete" the sites entirely. There's also a segment where images of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter's Jack Dorsey are riddled with bullet holes.
Zuckerberg finds it funny some still don't trust Internet.org
Despite onstage sweat, several wireless microphone issues and pointed (but important) questions from his interviewer, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held his ground at Mobile World Congress tonight. For the most part, the keynote discussion wasn't very different from his previous talks at the conference, which included a recap of Facebook's recent initiatives. But Wired's Jessi Hempel, who moderated the chat, pushed him to open up around India's recent ban of Facebook's Free Basics program (a part of the Internet.org initiative).
Facebook eyes millimeter-wave wireless to power free internet
Despite a major setback in India, Facebook is still working on expanding its Free Basics service (part of internet.org) for developing nations. The company told the Verge that it's researching wireless networks that use extremely high-frequency millimeter-wave bands. It applied for at least two patents on the tech, which is similar to that proposed by Starry, the company led by fomer Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia. "This work is part of the Connectivity Lab which supports the mission of Internet.org -- to connect the four billion people who don't have Internet access," a representative said.
Facebook has banned person-to-person gun sales
Apparently you could buy and sell guns on Facebook before today. Note the past tense there. The New York Times says that this change is in response to President Obama's recent push for Zuckerberg and Co. to cull the person-to-person transactions from the social network and Instagram -- similar to how it treats sales of marijuana, prescription drugs and other illicit substances. Licensed gun dealers are still fine; the idea here is curbing the background-check-free sales that can occur on a person-to-person basis.
Inhabitat Week in Green: All the EVs at CES, and more!
Want to see the future of transportation? Look to CES 2016, where innovators debuted the state of the art in high-tech mobility. Chevrolet kicked things off by launching the first electric car for the masses, the 2017 Bolt EV. It gets 200 miles per charge and will cost around $30,000. (Check out our interview with GM engineering chief Pam Fletcher here.) Meanwhile, the mysterious startup Faraday Future showcased an insane 1,000-horsepower electric vehicle that looks like a rocket ship and Ehang showcased an autonomous helicopter that can carry you up to 11,000 feet without a pilot. And a Chinese "hoverboard" company made the news when federal marshals raided their booth over copyright concerns.
Mark Zuckerberg is writing his own AI assistant
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is legendary for giving himself personal challenges every year, such as learning Mandarin. However, his goal for 2016 is rather ambitious. He's planning to write his own artificial intelligence to both run his home and help out around the office -- as Zuck puts it, this would be the Jarvis to his Tony Stark. He wants to start on voice control around the house, but he'll expand to things such as a smart door that uses facial detection to let friends in. In the workplace, he'd like the AI to "visualize data" in VR (no doubt on an Oculus Rift headset) and help him understand where Facebook is going.
Zuckerberg: Facebook will fight to protect Muslim rights
It's hard to open a laptop or cellphone these days and not be appalled by the latest awful or just plain factually incorrect thing Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has said on the campaign trail. Thankfully, the list of prominent voices speaking out against him (even among his own party) continues to grow. The latest addition? None other than Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. The Social Network head responded to the priapic real estate mogul's calling for a "total and complete" shutdown of Muslims immigrating to the United States, saying that his Jewish upbringing means he was raised to stand up against attacks on all communities.
Mark Zuckerberg will donate 99 percent of his Facebook shares
While birth announcements are common on Facebook, founder Mark Zuckerberg's post is a little different than most of the new parent pics in your newsfeed. That's because along with welcoming daughter Maxima to the family, he and his wife Priscilla Chan announced their commitment to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares -- currently worth about $45 billion -- to fund the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative that will try to "advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation." The two joined the Giving Pledge in 2010, promising to use most of their wealth for philanthropic efforts, and today's announcement sheds more detail on how that will happen.
Gates, Zuckerberg and Bezos invest in huge clean energy fund
After announcing the Mission Innovation program to convince nations to double their clean energy investment budgets, Bill Gates has launched another massive initiative at the United Nations Climate Change conference in Paris. The Breakthrough Energy Coalition is backed by a who's who of tech leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma and Richard Branson. The idea is to develop new green technology that will increase the world's energy output -- especially in poor countries -- without contributing to global warming. Such tech, however, poses a risk that regular investors might shy away from. "We need the basic research, but we need to pair that with people who are willing to fund high-risk, breakthrough energy companies," said Gates.
Instead of dislike, Facebook is testing 'Reactions' animated emoji
Last night Engadget brought you a sneak peek at Facebook's new "Reactions" feature, and today the social network confirmed it's now in testing. Instead of the often-requested "dislike" to counter the existing Like button, founder Mark Zuckerberg explains (in a video embedded after the break) that this idea is just about giving more options to express yourself. Whether or not the feelings of love, sadness and empathy are what you're trying to project, the test is currently limited to users in Ireland and Spain. If you are there (or use a browser proxy service like Hola to fake it) you'll see something like the picture above, after long pressing the Like button on the website or mobile apps. Depending on how things go, this could roll out to the rest of the billion or so Facebook users soon, but it looks like any official support for dislike is never going to be in the plans.
Now that everyone dislikes Facebook, it's getting a 'dislike' button
For all of those times when "liking" a pal's Facebook post just doesn't seem appropriate, it seems you'll soon have another option. During a Q&A session today, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the social network is indeed working on a "dislike" button. Zuckerberg said Facebook didn't offer the option from the start for fear of a Reddit-like battle of upvoting and downvoting. However, the company discovered we have a range of emotions we'd like to express in addition to affirmation, most notably a way to show empathy. It turns out the button has been in the works for a while, and Facebook plans to launch it in the near future. We'll be curious to see how it'll be deployed, but it sounds like we won't have to wait long to find out. And we pretty much know what it'll look like.
1 billion people used Facebook on Monday
What were you doing Monday? According to Mark Zuckerberg, it probably included using Facebook. He just posted that for the first time, the social network notched one billion individual users in a single day, calling it "just the beginning of connecting the whole world." With that kind of scale, it's no wonder the exec is focused on drones, lasers and satellites to connect the rest of the world to the internet ASAP, because he's got an idea what they'll be logging in to eventually.
Facebook made a solar-powered plane to deliver internet
Facebook started teasing its internet-beaming planes last year, but now we're seeing one that it actually built. Pictured above is Aquila, a solar-powered, 140-foot unmanned plane that's designed to deliver internet connectivity from altitudes of 60,000 to 90,000 feet. The UAV, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and weighs roughly 880 pounds, will be able to circle a specific area for up to 90 days when deployed -- a feat possible thanks to its dependence on nothing but solar energy. What's also interesting is how it gets up in the air; Facebook says it uses a balloon to carry Aquila to the aforementioned altitude range, although it's still unclear how the Federal Aviation Administration plans to control this type of traffic.
Mark Zuckerberg shows off Facebook's internet lasers
Most of us use Facebook to show off a new car, an engagement or a particularly notable lunch, but Mark Zuckerberg does it a bit differently. In a Q&A session yesterday Zuckerberg referenced his company's plans for using lasers to connect more areas to the internet, and today he posted a few demonstration pictures from the Connectivity Lab. According to the Facebook founder, we won't actually be able to see the beams (that's just for show) but the connections will "dramatically" increase the speed of sending data over long distances, and this is just one of the connectivity projects in development. Last year Facebook mentioned combining this laser tech with drones and satellites to help connect the next billion people with its Internet.org initiative, and it appears that work is still moving along.
Zuckerberg reveals Facebook's AI, VR and Internet.org plans
In a Q&A on his profile today, Mark Zuckerberg explained how he and his team are preparing Facebook for the future. In it, he revealed that he believes the ultimate communication technology will allow us to send thoughts to each other. "You'll just be able to think of something and your friends will immediately be able to experience it too if you'd like," he said. But until that happens, the company is focusing on developing (1) AI, because the company "think[s] more intelligent services will be much more useful" to consumers, (2) VR, as it's the "next major computing and communication platform," and (3) its internet.org project, since it's "the most basic tool people need to get the benefits of the internet," including jobs, education and communication.
