Making it the biggest acquisition of the year, tech giant Microsoft announced its acquisition of professional social platform, LinkedIn. In an all cash deal Microsoft will pay LinkedIn a sum of $26.2 billion at $196 per share. Jeff Weiner will continue to be the CEO of LinkedIn and will report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The acquisition is still subject to approval by LinkedIn shareholders and regulators and hence is expected to close by the end of the year. » Congratulations to Dr. Prakash M Swamy, a senior Indian-American journalist and former United Nations Correspondent, for being awarded with the highest award of Lifetime Achievement by Rotary International. The award was presented in Chennai on 11th June, by Dr. A Surya Prakash, Chairman of Prasar Bharti – New Delhi. » The Press Institute of India (PII), Chennai, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), New Delhi, have joined hands to organize a competition for the three best articles and photographs on a humanitarian subject. The article or photograph should have been published in an Indian national or regional newspaper or magazine between April 2015 and March 2016 and can be in English or in any Indian language. Entries can be submitted latest by 15 September 2016 and the results will be announced by November 2016. See more.
Microsoft
Red Ink Awards
Mumbai Press Club has invited entries for the 6th edition of its National Red Ink Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2016. Entries, in the given categories, can be submitted latest by February 29th. Outstanding Journalists will be awarded with the two awards ‘The Journalist of the Year’ and ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’. » Converged TV and Internet access provider Lukup Media joined hands to launch dual-play services on 17th February, in selected areas of Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Bengaluru. This one of its kind technology is made entirely in India and is aimed to change the way content is accessed through TV and Internet at homes. See more » Skype introduced its new group video calling feature for Android, iOS and Windows phone users. This new feature from Skype supports full HD broadcast and up to 25 users can participate in group calling. To support this Microsoft has partnered with Intel in order to optimize SILK Audio.
Key Acquisition
Microsoft is all set to enhance interaction between people and technology as it has confirmed the acquisition of SwiftKey, one of the most popular keyboard apps on iOS and Android. Microsoft has decided to integrate SwiftKey into its Word Flow keyboard for Windows and keep developing the keyboard app. » Tata Motors has decided to rechristen its new hatchback ‘Zica’, since the name resembles the ‘Zika’ virus which has recently reached epidemic proportions in Americas and spreads through mosquito bites. The car will continue to carry the current name for Auto Expo 2016, the new name will be announced a few weeks later. » At a US Home Affairs committee hearing for countering extremism, Google announced two pilot schemes. “One of the pilot schemes will make the videos discoverable on YouTube whereas the other one is to make sure when people put potentially damaging search terms into our search engine,” said Anthony House, Senior Manager for Public Policy and Communications at Google.
Erasing The Past
Google Glass as of Tuesday has shuttered all of its social accounts while also deleting most of the content published. This doesn’t come as much surprise as plans to bring Glass to the consumer market have long been abandoned, but still deleting so much old material – essentially the history of the first Google Glass – is drastic and unfortunate. Meanwhile Google has claimed that the Enterprise Edition of Glass AKA Project Aura is starting to see wider adoption among Businesses, where the company also had the most success with the original Google Glass. » Microsoft has rolled out yet another app for iOS users, branded as News Pro – a News application that greatly resembles Apple’s own inbuilt News application for iOS 9. Powered by Bing, the app aims to offer readers a personalized experience by connecting them to articles that match their current interests, while also uncovering other sites and stories they may like. Early reviewers have tagged the web version of the app as “a little under cooked”, but were happy with its performance for mobile. » MSLGROUP has expanded its presence to Sri Lanka by rebranding Publicis Groupe’s top ranking PR Agency. The move further cements MSLGROUP’s leadership in Asia as well as strengthens its footprint and capabilities in South Asia. Read Full Report.
#MediaMoves
The Economic Times appoints Ankur Singh as its new Senior Copy Editor. This Noida based journalist has previously worked with Exchange4Media, SAGE Publications, Financial Chronicle and The Hindu and can be reached @ankurwayfarer. » Ammar Zaidi gets a boost in his career as he gets promoted to Joint Editor (Business) at PTI. Earlier working as the Chief of Economic Bureau at PTI, this Delhi based journo can be reached @ammar_zaidi. » Gaytri Madhura joins Microsoft as Editor (Global Editorial Solutions). Previously worked with India Today Group and Business Standard, this New Delhi based journalist can be reached @northwind_g.
Hacker Alert
Microsoft Corp yesterday revealed that it will begin warning its consumer services including Outlook.com email users when the company suspects that a government has been trying to hack into their accounts. The policy change comes nine days after Reuters asked the company why it had decided not to tell victims of a hacking campaign, discovered in 2011, that had targeted international leaders of China’s Tibetan and Uighur minorities in particular. » It’s the last day of the year! And Google has marked this New Year’s Eve with a delightful new bird doodle, followed by a link tagged ”Watch and remember the moments of 2015”. The link allows users to explore the biggest moments of the year 2015. » Facebook can end the year on a positive note as their ‘Free Basics’ service gets support of NGO – Telecom Watchdog. Supporting the free internet initiative Telecom Watchdog said that “TRAI should not reject any proposal that offers free services to general public including the one being offered by Facebook”. The NGO further commented that there may be some vested interests for people who are opposed to any move of providing anything free to the consumers.
Tantalizing Facebook Campaign
Facebook’s ad campaigns on ‘Free Basics’ have further aggravated the temper of already irked advocates of net neutrality. The Advertising Standards Council of India has received several complaints against the ad campaign Titled ‘Save the Free Basics’. ASCI, through its official Twitter account has promised swift action regarding the issue. Facebook had launched the Free Basics initiative in India in February this year in partnership with Reliance Communications, and has been facing heat from the digital fraternity ever since. » Satya Nadella, CEO Microsoft during his visit to T-Hub said that Microsoft would like to work with them to develop accelerators and startups. “Indian talent in the area is dramatically growing and we can see their dominance in the field,” he said while addressing budding entrepreneurs. T-Hub headquartered at Hyderabad, is considered to be one of the largest incubators for startups in India. » Twitter India may soon allow users to pay bills through their site as the micro blogging platform has announced a partnership with India-based start-up LookUp. To avail this facility users can send a direct message to @lookuplite in order to book appointments, inquire about services and transact with businesses. LookUp, a chat app connecting retailers and consumers, boasts of 1.2 million registered users in India.
BingO!!
Microsoft has refurbished its Bing app for iOS. The new app moves beyond Wikipedia links and provides useful search results with deep linking to launch the actual application and open a specific page as well, directly from the result. » The Times of India gears up for ‘Clash of the Titans‘ debate today at India Habitat Centre’s Stein auditorium from 6 pm. The debate will be on “the West’s insistence on strict environmental controls is a death knell for developing countries”. » Catapooolt – India’s premier crowdfunding platform gears up for an event titled ‘CATAPOOOLT CROWDPITCH’. It will be held in DLF Cyber Hub on 27th November 2015 to bring together 10 promising start-ups. The event will give opportunity to these start-ups to raise their complete fund requirement via two months on Catapooolt.
Author 1 : Authority 0
Denied visa could not stop Pakistani author Kanza Javed from launching her book ‘Ashes, Wine and Dust’ in India. The author, due to attend the Kumaon Lit Fest for the launch of her book, coordinated with her publisher Aanchal Malhotra for a last-minute launch over Skype, after her visa request was rejected. » Taking a page out of Apple’s marketing book, Microsoft has launched a page for MacBook users that will facilitate a smooth migration to its recently launched laptop, the Surface Book. Microsoft has created quite a buzz with claims that its laptop is two times faster than Apple’s – a strategy Apple has been using for years. » Can Public Relations salvage broken trust? Taking an instance from the Maggi case study, PR news site- ‘Image Management’ gives an interesting take on how efficient PR can offer solutions in times of crisis.
An Absurd Experiment
USA Today’s experiment to use Facebook’s new emoji next to headlines on its front page appears to have quickly backfired. USA Today’s seemingly naive Editor says their goal was to show how “Social media and its icons are becoming a dominant form of communication in our world”. #FacePalmEmoji for USA Today. » Google has topped the annual ‘World’s Best Multinational Workplaces List’ for the third time in a row. Survey responses from more than half a million employees at the 2015 World’s Best, found that a spirit of camaraderie is central to employee perceptions of great work culture. SAS Institute and manufacturing firm W L Gore were ranked second and third respectively in the list. » Popular online portal, BGR is set to host an event to showcase the best in the Internet of Things, today at The Leela Ambience Gurgaon. The ‘Invite Only’ event will feature brands like IBM, Qualcomm, Oracle, Microsoft, Autodesk, Intel and Fortis Healthcare among others. For more information visit www.iotindia2020.com.
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