The Tech Landscape #193 đ
Facebook Shops UK, Instagram Live Rooms, and Alexa Conversations: this is issue 193 of The Tech Landscape, a weekly collection of news about consumer digital technology. Stories are selected by me, Peter Gasston, with a little insight and opinion where appropriate.
A couple of people have commented on the increased number of stories on gaming in the newsletter this past year or so. To clarify, itâs not all gaming that I post about here, but a very specific area: social+ gaming. Social+ is defined, broadly, as platforms which have a social graph that isnât the main reason for using it. The social graph is critical to Facebook and Twitter, for example; the feed exists because of the connections youâve added, and if you donât follow anyone, thereâs little use for them. Whereas in Fortnite and Twitter, for a further example, you go there to play, to create, to learn, or otherwise be entertained, and the social graph improves your experience but isnât necessary for it.
So while I, as a gamer, enjoy narrative-heavy single-person gaming, what I post about in this newsletter is social+ games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Fortnite, Roblox, and so on. Theyâre interesting to me because of the social aspect, because of their in-game economies and opportunites for customisation, and because theyâre games that enable creation as well as consumption.
Anyway, hope youâre well. Letâs get started.
Top Stories
Facebook launched Shops in the UK (and Canada). App users will see a new tab in their menu with product catalogues and curated collections from followed and recommended retailers. Thereâs no in-app checkout; the âbuyâ button takes you out to the sellerâs website. If youâve been paying attention to my newsletters at all, youâll know Iâve been banging the drum for social ecommerce for the past 18 months or so; I think itâs got the potential to be transformative. A shift from people finding products, to products finding people.
socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-rolls-out-shops-to-businesses-in-the-uk-and-canada/595561/
Social Commerce
Instagram released Live Rooms, which lets up to four people to go live in the same stream. Key in the launch announcement is this phrase: âweâre exploring more interactive tools such as⌠audioâ; this is a feature which could be Facebookâs response to Clubhouse, but with the added option of video.
about.fb.com/news/2021/03/doubling-up-on-instagram-live-with-live-rooms/
Social
Everything Else
Amazon announced Alexa Conversations, a new approach to building Skills for more natural interactions. It lets developers define the core dialogue, and uses automated learning to work out alternative phrasings and conversation paths. The feature has been in testing for a year or so, but is now generally available in US English.
developer.amazon.com/en-US/blogs/alexa/alexa-skills-kit/2021/03/announcing-general-availability-for-alexa-conversations
Assistants & Voice
Microsoft announced Mesh, a new online service which lets users from across different mixed reality platforms communicate together. It will focus on Microsoftâs own products (including HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality headsets, and the AltspaceVR software) but the hope would be to extend to rival software and hardware platforms in future.
news.microsoft.com/innovation-stories/microsoft-mesh/
XR
Google announced that it will completely phase out the use of identity tracking for advertising across the web. It previously announced the end of third-party cookies, to be replaced by its new âprivacy sandboxâ tools. With Appleâs increasing refusal of any kind of tracking in its browsers and a wave of regulation on the horizon, this is Google getting out ahead. However, it does mean that smaller advertising rivals may find it harder to compete with it in future.
blog.google/products/ads-commerce/a-more-privacy-first-web/
Advertising
Twitter extended its trial of its new audio product, Spaces, to Android devices. People wonât be able to start a Space yet, but they will be able to join them. Itâs unusual for Android to be prioritised so early, but itâs a bit of a PR move from Twitter as the much-hyped Clubhouse remains iOS only, whereas thereâs a lot of opportunity in Android markets like India.
twitter.com/TwitterSpaces/status/1366767412117458946
Social
Epic Games acquired Mediatonic, the British developer behind the popular Fall Guys game. The game will benefit from features already available in Fortnite and Rocket League, such as cross-platform play and squad-based modes.
mediatonicgames.com/blog/mediatonic-joins-the-epic-games-family
Gaming
Googleâs released its latest âPixel Dropâ of exclusive features for its phones. Audio clips recorded with its (very good) Recorder app can now be shared on the web, Smart Compose now works in selected messaging apps, and the Pixel 5 now works underwater with Dive Connector (which is, er, niche).
blog.google/products/pixel/march-2021-feature-drop/
Operating Systems
The latest release of the Chrome browser has new APIs to connect with external hardware. WebHiD, WebNFC, and Web Serial let web pages interact with the host deviceâs communication ports, allowing access to (for example) the popular Raspberry Pi. Apple has already ruled out implementing these APIs as it says they can be used for anti-privacy means.
developer.chrome.com/blog/new-in-chrome-89/
Browsers
Brave, best known for its privacy-focused browser, announced plans to launch its own search engine. It says the engine, which it acquired from a previous effort called Tailcat, is the first truly open rival to Google and Bing.
brave.com/brave-search/
Search
Google announced the second major version of Flutter, its cross-platform app development toolkit. With this new release, a single codebase can be used on Android, iOS, MacOS, Windows, Linux, and the web. An increasing number of Google apps are built with Flutter, and some large international apps like WeChat and Grab.
developers.googleblog.com/2021/03/announcing-flutter-2.html
Apps
WhatsAppâs desktop apps now support voice and video calls. The MacOS and Windows apps permit one-to-one calls for now, with group calling to roll out later.
about.fb.com/news/2021/03/introducing-private-and-secure-whatsapp-calling-on-desktop/
Messaging
TikTok added a Q&A feature, letting fans ask questions for creators to reply in later videos. This has long been a user behaviour on the platform, so this is really just making it concrete. Useful for businesses and educational content too.
newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok-q-and-a
Social
Pinterest announced Premiere ads, which offer exclusive placement in the home feed or category page. The news came at its first advertiser summit, aimed at attracting more advertising to the platform.
newsroom.pinterest.com/en/post/draft-pinterest-presents
Advertising
Amazon released a visual Alexa app for Xbox. While youâve been able to control certain Xbox functions with Alexa for a while, this adds access to other features including email, calendar, and connected smart cameras.
theverge.com/2021/3/4/22313052/amazon-alexa-app-xbox-new-visual-features
Assistants & Voice
Amazonâs Halo fitness wearable now has an Alexa Skill for querying health stats.
theverge.com/2021/3/4/22312179/amazon-halo-fitness-tracker-alexa-integration-rollout-availability
Healthcare
Amazon opened its first London branch of its cashier-less store chain. The stores, branded Amazon Fresh in the UK, use computer vision and your Amazon account to let you choose your groceries and walk out. The Ealing branch is the first outside of the US, but more are planned; the UK is actually one of the most advanced grocery markets in the world.
bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56266494
Commerce
If youâve found this newsletter valuable, why not buy me a coffee? I appreciate every single one. Alternatively, perhaps you could consider telling a friend or colleague about this newsletter instead? Thatâs just as valuable to me, honestly.