Facebook announces Portal, an Echo Show rival focused on video chat

according to Facebook Portal, and the larger Portal Plus, are smart displays that are laser-focused on video chatting. The first hardware products marketed under the Facebook brand, the Portals can be used to call other Portal users, or anyone who has Facebook or Facebook Messenger. The Echo Show debuted with a mode that lets you automatically start a video chat with a trusted contact. Beyond that, chat on the Portal works just like the video chat feature already built into Facebook. I use Facebook video chat a good deal with my fiancée when she travels, but I've only ever used it with her; my family uses FaceTime, and most of my friends would never pick up an unexpected video call.

'Shows for nobody': Facebook Watch has moved away from early short-form video formats

Facebook says it wants Facebook Watch programming that's unique to its platform — with big names and built-in distribution, if possible. That excludes the short-form, unscripted, lifestyle programming that's ubiquitous on the web and that Facebook bought in droves when it first commissioned shows for Facebook Watch. The trouble for digital lifestyle publishers who produced many of the early Facebook Watch shows don't have the capacity for TV-level productions with big stars. Some early Facebook Watch partners such as Attn and Insider have an opportunity with Facebook Watch news shows, for which Facebook has set aside a separate budget. According to one source, a Facebook rep offered between $40,000 and $80,000 worth of Facebook promotion for their self-funded Watch shows.

As it stated in

collected by :Roy Mark