iWorld
Celebrities leverage their online brand value with Twitter’s BlueRoom
Mumbai: Twitter taught us how to spill our hearts online in just 140 characters and now it is teaching celebrities to do the same through one on one interactions with their fans, The social media giant has finally gone public with its much awaited feature, #BlueRoom. Continuing its service of bringing fans and celebrities together, the platform has introduced Blue Room in India that allows fans to interact with their favourite celebs not only through tweets but in real life as well.
“The #BlueRoom is a special spot to host interviews, Q&As, performances and more, so you can expect to see a even more of your favourite sports stars, film and TV talent, and music artists direct from the #BlueRoom,” read twitter India’s official blog announcing the launch.
It’s here! A sneak peek of Twitter India’s #BlueRoom — stay tuned this week as we bring you @video & more…pic.twitter.com/2VrUJpEaQH
In a world which is ruled by likes, favorites and shares, it is essential for celebrities to keep their online popularity up. Blue Room also gives an opportunity to celebrities to increase their online presence and interact with their fans in a more connected way.
“Any kind of initiative is good news for celebrities as it puts them directly in accessible range of audiences, which is extremely important in this digital age. Whether it is music album launches or any kind of announcements, we see more and more celebrities choosing social media and other digital platform to relay such informations to their fans. If you are not interacting with your fans through facebook or Twitter you are losing out on a lot of fanbase,” shared popular celebrity management agency CAA Kwan founding partner Indranil Das Blah.
In terms of brand value as well, it is important for celebrities to maintain their online presence and leverage it with fan engagements. “More and more brands are looking at the digital space for marketing themselves. And therefore naturally looking out for a digital footprint to grow. It helps to have a brand ambassador who has a digital footprint in place already,” pointed out Blah.
Blue Room may have gone public only now but several actors, musicians, chefs, CEOs and sports stars have already tried out the Blue Room at twitter’s office in India. Actors Kalki Koechlin (@kalkikanmani) and Karan Tacker (@karantacker) kicked off some of the first @video Q&As in the #BlueRoom using #AskKalki and #AskKaran.
Several excited fans sent out questions to the actress, some even asking her to carry out funny challenges as well:
Look who’s joining us in the #BlueRoom very shortly! Tweet your questions to #AskKalki & @kalkikanmani will reply https://twitter.com/kalkikanmani/status/735353594875105280 …
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
