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YouTube’s hold on long videos to be broken; Zuckerberg’s making it happen on Instagram

Facebook owned social network, Instagram launched a mobile app on Wednesday called IGTV dedicated to user-generated videos up to an hour long, intensifying the competition for consumers’ time among ad-supported streaming services such as YouTube

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Facebook owned social network, Instagram launched a mobile app on Wednesday called IGTV dedicated to user-generated videos up to an hour long, intensifying the competition for consumers’ time among ad-supported streaming services such as YouTube.

The service plans to feature videos from rising internet celebrities, artists and pets, some of whom have tens of millions of social media followers.

“Teens are now watching 40 percent less TV than they did five years ago,” Instagram Chief Executive Kevin Systrom said at an event to announce the launch in San Francisco.

“It’s time for video to move forward and evolve.”

Facebook shares rose 2.3 percent on Wednesday to $202.06 after earlier crossing the $200 mark for the first time. Instagram, which was founded in 2010 as a photo-sharing app, has surpassed 1 billion users, Systrom said.
Tech firms such as Facebook, Alphabet Inc’s YouTube and Snap Inc’s Snapchat have been spending heavily to grow mobile video services that will attract both users and corporate brand advertising.

Courting stars to post videos is part of their strategies. Instagram said it has signed up personalities such as Lele Pons, who has 25 million Instagram followers, for IGTV.

Pons said she did not plan to choose sides between two of Silicon Valley’s largest companies. “I’m still going to be posting on YouTube as well as on Instagram,” she told reporters.

Facebook on Tuesday launched a separate effort to lure video makers away from YouTube, offering ways to make money on the Facebook app. YouTube said it plans to update its commercialization options this week.

Instagram does not immediately plan to share revenue with video creators but may in the future, Systrom said. IGTV will be available as part of Instagram’s app and as a separate app, he said.

Instagram, which Facebook bought in 2012 for $1 billion, has grown by adding features like messaging and short videos. In 2016, it added the ability to post slideshows that disappear in 24 hours, a copy of Snapchat’s popular “stories” feature.

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Facebook returns to Uganda after 4-year ban

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After four years of being in the cooler as a result of suspension by government, Facebook, now Meta, is making a return to Uganda after prolonged negotiations saw the Ugandan government reverse the ban it placed on the platform since 2021.

The suspension of the social media platform had stemmed from accusations by the government that Facebook was meddling in the country’s political affairs during the 2021 presidential elections which arose after it deleted government-affiliated accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation.

This ban of Facebook has led to widespread disruptions across the nation, affecting not only political discourse but also personal connections and business operations.

But according to reports, with a potential re-launch on the horizon for December 2024, Facebook’s comeback could be a game-changer with approximately 2.5 million Ugandans poised to reconnect on the platform, while the Uganda Revenue Authority stands to gain financially from its revival just as businesses, especially smaller enterprises, stand to benefit from advertising incomes.

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20 African tech-preneurs embark on Korean innovation tour

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The African Development Bank Group’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab has selected 20 promising tech entrepreneurs from various African technology ventures and enterprise support organisations to embark on a two-week study tour of the Republic of Korea, with the aim of seeking investment and insights from the country’s innovative tech ecosystem.

The selected entrepreneurs are from 133 ventures that participated in last month’s Africa Tech Startup Forum.

The forum which will hold under the auspices of the lab’s “Leveraging the Entrepreneurial and Innovation Success of Korea to Strengthen African Enterprise Support” project, had selected entrepreneurs who pitched the best business models during the week-long virtual market access and acceleration programme preparing, training, and connecting technology ventures with opportunities.

The 20 young tech-preneurs were selected from eight African countries including Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda, with the delegates spanning various sectors in the technology space.

While in Korea, the African delegates will pay visits to prestigious institutions such as Global Startup Centre, LG Science Park, the Korea Software Technology Association, and the Global Digital Innovation Network.

Speaking on behalf of the delegates, founder of Kenya-based health technology venture Zuri Health, Uche Ezadinachi said:

“I am excited to go to Korea because the country has made serious technological developments. The country is a technology-driven society, and this tour is an opportunity for me to see how we can bring such technology to Africa.

“We will share experiences with our Korean counterparts; they will learn from us as much as we learn from them,” he added.

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