Social Media and E-commerce Sites in News 2023, Latest Current Affairs

The ‘Social Media in News’ section provides up-to-date information regarding popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp, which are essential for competitive exams. The section features the latest social media-related news of 2022, including only the significant ones that are relevant for competitive exams

Last Update August 2023

E-commerce in News

Amazon in News

▪ India Post has recently signed an MoU with Amazon to boost the digital economy and extend support to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

▪ Amazon India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) and the Cottage and Rural Industries Department, Gujarat, to support and promote e-commerce exports.

▪ Amazon India has launched its first-ever floating store on Dal Lake in Srinagar under its “I Have Space” program.

▪ The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has signed an agreement with Amazon India for collaboration in the media and entertainment space.

Shiprocket and Pickrr

India Post has signed an MoU with both Shiprocket and Pickrr to enhance e-commerce delivery services.

Social Media in News 2023

‘Twitter’ in News

▪ Twitter owner Elon Musk has replaced Twitter’s iconic bird logo with X.

What is the best Twitter logo? pic.twitter.com/zTSsqQn5nN

— Dexerto (@Dexerto) July 31, 2023

▪ Recently, Twitter Inc. has been merged with X Corp. a technology company established by business magnate Elon Musk in 2023 as the successor to Twitter, Inc.

▪ Blue tick, recently seen in the news, is a premium service provided by the popular microblogging (combination of blogging and social media) site Twitter.

▪ Recently, social media platform Twitter has launched a new feature “Circles”.

▪ Tesla CEO Elon Musk will serve as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Twitter, the social media company he just bought for $44 billion.

▪ Virat Kohli has become the first cricketer to have 50 million followers on Twitter.

▪ Samiran Gupta has been appointed to head public policy for Twitter in India.

▪ Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently announced his vision for a new decentralized web platform that is being called Web 5.0.

‘Facebook’ in News

▪ Meta recently launched SeamlessM4T, a new AI model that can translate and transcribe text and speech in up to 100 languages.

▪ Recently, India AI has partnered with Meta for collaboration in the field of AI and
Emerging Technologies.

▪ The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, have jointly launched the Amrit Generation campaign. The campaign aims to empower and engage the youth of India by encouraging them to express their aspirations and dreams for the future. The campaign is open to young people between the ages of 16 and 18, and participants can create Reels on Instagram or Facebook showcasing their aspirations using the hashtag #AmritGeneration.

▪ Meta, the parent company of Facebook, recently announced the launch of its new chatbot named LLaMA

▪ Facebook-parent Meta has appointed Sandhya Devanathan as its new head and vice president of its India business.

▪ Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has partnered with Facebook’s parent company Meta to support five lakh women-led small businesses across India.

‘Instagram’ in News

▪ Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have launched “Artifact”, a new artificial intelligence
(AI)-powered personalized news feed application.

▪ Instagram has announced a new campaign called the ‘Take a Break’ concept in all countries including India.

Take a Break will alert users scrolling on Instagram to periodically take breaks from the platform and focus on other things.

▪ Instagram alternative Rossgram was launched by Russia after Instagram stopped its operation in Russia due to the Russia-Ukrainian war.

‘WhatsApp’ in News

▪ Recently, the Child Rights Commission of Delhi launched its WhatsApp chatbot named ‘Bal Mitra

▪ Indian Railways recently launched Zoop, a WhatsApp-based food delivery service

▪ It was recently announced that a team called Bhashini, an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), is developing a WhatsApp chatbot powered by ChatGPT.

▪ Recently, the Kerala High Court ruled that admins of WhatsApp groups are not liable for objectionable posts made by group members.

▪ Kerala Tourism has launched a 24×7 WhatsApp chatbot ‘Maya’, which will provide virtual assistance to Tourists to access information and updates about the tourism ecosystem in the state by just sending a ‘Hi’ to WhatsApp no. 7510512345, or by scanning a QR code to access the service.

▪ WhatsApp mobile application has launched the SMBS Sathi Utsav initiative to help small businesses by helping them adopt digital mediums.

More Science and Technology Current Affairs 2023