iWorld
Fashion Models and Bloggers come together for a unique web reality show
MUMBAI: FameBox, the multi-channel online talent platform, has announced the launch of ‘American Swan Beauty &the Blogger’,a unique online reality show where fashion models and bloggers come together to set social media buzzing. The show involves teaming up of fashion models with bloggers to compete for viewers’ attention online. The team that garners the maximum social media influence will be declared the winner.
The call for entries is currently on and interested participants can register on the American Swan Beauty & the Blogger site.
After the initial call for entries phase which started from 7th April April, 8 models and 8 bloggers will be shortlisted. These models and bloggers will then be paired in teams. These teams will face-off against each other over 3 days where they will be competing on social media in real time through a series of challenges set against a luxurious beach resort. Video content created through the challenges will be uploaded across social media platforms including YouTube.
The winning team will win exciting goodies and opportunities to showcase their talents. The winning ‘Beauty’ will becrowned the face of American Swan whereas the ‘Blogger’ will be designated the social media brand ambassador for American Swan for 2014. The team will also win the chance to host their own exclusive show on YouTube under the FameBox network. Besides this, there will also be a cash prize and merchandise from American Swan.
The event will be hosted by popular actor and VJ, Cyrus Sahukar.
While American Swan, a leading online fashion brand in India, is the presenting sponsor for Beauty & the Blogger, Famebox has also roped in TRESemme, salon qualityhaircare product,as the Associate Sponsor.
Speaking about Famebox’sinnovative web reality show, Dhruvank Vaidya, Director, FameBox said, “The ‘Beauties’ provide the glamour while the ‘Bloggers’ buzz social media live, making for extremely engaging and entertaining viewing. By putting the power of digital video and social media together we are breaking new frontiers of entertainment on the web. This also provides a platform to highly talented models and bloggers to showcase themselves and take their popularity to the next level.”
For registrations, please log on to: http://www.fameboxnetwork.com/beauty-n-blogger.phpor email profiles and pictures tobeauty&theblogger@fameboxnetwork.com.
Stay tuned for more action and updates on: https://www.facebook.com/FameBoxNetworkand www.twitter.com/FameBoxNetwork
iWorld
Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
