TheNewsGuru

Tag: Social Media

Social Media

  • UBA revolutionises eBanking, introduces Leo, Chat Banking Personality on Social Media Platforms

    Pan-African financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA), has today, changed the face of e-banking with the introduction of Leo, the UBA Chat Banker who enables customers make use of their social media accounts to carry out key banking transactions.

    At the official launch of Leo, UBA’s Chat Banker, which took place in Lagos on Thursday, customers of the bank were given a step by step demonstration on the novel way of delivering lifestyle and quality banking through the Facebook Messenger chat platform.

    This is the first time that a financial institution in Africa has come up with this manner of solution to simplify the way customers transact. Something that has become necessary in today’s fast-paced world with demands for quick-time transactions and response.

    With the launch of the Chat Banking, customers will be able to open new accounts, receive instant transaction notifications, check their balances on the go, transfer funds and airtime top up. They will also be able to confirm cheques, pay bills apply for loans, freeze accounts, request for mini statements, amongst other things.

    At the occasion, the Group Managing Director, UBA, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, said that the launch of Leo is part of initiatives aimed at putting the bank’s customers first with UBA continuously developing strategies aimed at easing transactions for the bank’s numerous users, while ensuring utmost safety of their transactions.

    Mr. Uzoka said, “The formulation of this product, is consistent with the bank’s customer 1st philosophy, where we are doing things not the way we like, but focusing on what the customers want, where they want it, and in the exact platform they want it.’

    “At UBA, we have been working with technology giants that have the global capacity to ensure not only seamless but also effortless banking for millions of our customers across Africa. We at UBA, have collaborated with Facebook to come up with this innovation that is capable of revolutionising the way banking is done in Africa,” he said. Uzoka noted that Leo will in the nearest future, show up on other social platforms and added that all it takes to enjoy the services is simply to have a Facebook account.

    As he unveiled the character of Leo, Uzoka stated: “Leo being an intelligent personality will give you feedback instantaneously as you transact your business on the platform. A solution that is from the customer’s standpoint and is easy to use by anyone’

    Also speaking at the launch of Leo, the Group Head of Online Banking at UBA, Mr. Austine Abolusoro, who conducted a step by step demonstration on the working of Leo, reiterated that Leo is not just a chat machine, but an artificial intelligence personality meant to address any type of banking concerns raised by customers.

    “Leo is ready and waiting to help with most transactions and to deliver any form of banking services. Leo is operating a lifestyle banking platform on facebook messenger to assist with your transactions while chatting with your friends and business partners. The security with this platform is that for every transaction, an OTP (One Time Password) is generated to the phone number that is registered on your account.”

    He explained that with Leo your banking needs become easy and simple. As simple as chatting.

  • Justice Commissioner cautions youths using social media to insult elders

    The Katsina State Government has cautioned youths against using social media platforms to insult and abuse elders, as a result of political differences.

    Alhaji Ahmad El-Marzuq, the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of the state, gave the warning on Monday in Daura, Katsina State.

    He described as unfortunate and saddening the manner in which youths used social media platforms to insult elders without remorse.

    According to him, social media platforms are meant to accelerate development, now that the world has been reduced to a global village.

    Marzuq, who noted that such abuses and unguarded comments could bring about disunity and misunderstanding among people, said that all religions emphasized morality and abhorred indiscipline.

    He explained that the Nigerian legal system had adequately taken care of any action relating to insult or abuse be it in the social or conventional media, hence the need for those in such habit to desist from it for their own good.

    The commissioner, who described the judiciary in Katsina State as “highly independent”, attributed achievements in the administration of justice in the state to cordial working relationship between the three arms of government.

    He said the Gov. Aminu Masari-led administration would continue to operate within the four cardinal principles of equity, fairness, accountability and objectivity.

    Marzuq, therefore, called on the people of Katsina State to continue to support the administration’s drive in bringing development to the doorsteps of residents, irrespective of party differences.

     

  • Quick read: 6 valid tips on how to secure your social media accounts

    Social media is now an essential part of business and our daily lives; thus, making it critical that you keep your accounts safe.

    You can only imagine the damage that will be done if someone gained unauthorized access to your accounts. It can ruin your reputation depending on the content of your account that is exposed to the public.

    These tips should help in keeping your social media accounts safe and secured.

    Activate two-factor authentication

    The easiest and most effective way to secure your social media account is two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication locks out illegitimate users by requiring them to input a verification code sent directly to their mobile phone through SMS text message once they login with the correct username and password combination.

    Verify with links

    Another method to secure your social media accounts it to verify and be careful of what links you click on. Many links on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram direct to legitimate news sources, but there have been numerous incidents when this is not the case.

    Use a strong password

    This point has been over flogged but some people do not still abide by it. They use weak passwords for their social media accounts and at the same time, they use that password for all their accounts. This is risky as once the weak password is discovered, hackers can have access to all your accounts. You can use a password manager like LastPass to keep track of your passwords.

    Use emails that are not public to login

    This is an unknown tactic that very few individuals and businesses use. This means logging in to your social network accounts with a non-public email address, or an email that no one knows about.

    Limit third-party applications

    Another contributor to social media theft are third-party applications. Limiting third-party applications that have access to your social media accounts will leave them near impossible for hackers to gain unauthorised access.

    Be careful where you login

    Many malicious attackers create almost identical login pages dedicated to stealing social media credentials. Be careful where you choose to login, always verify the URL and application before allowing any form of access.

     

  • FG requests Facebook user data of Nigerians

    Facebook has announced the release of a report that reveals the federal government (FG) requested user data of Nigerians on the social media platform five times in the first half of 2017.

    The details of the latest ‘Government Requests Report’ was published by Facebook on Monday.

    TheNewsGuru reports the FG carried out five legal process requests for five different Facebook users/accounts.

    Facebook did not, however, revealed the details of the accounts governments requested their data.

    “We respond to valid requests relating to criminal cases. Each and every request we receive is checked for legal sufficiency and we reject or require greater specificity on requests that are overly broad or vague,” the social media firm said in a statement.

    The ninth Facebook transparency report showed that governments’ requests for information about users increased 21 percent worldwide compared to the second half of 2016, from 64,279 to 78,890.

    Facebook also announced on Monday that it removed nearly 3 million posts, including videos, ads and other forms of content, from its services during the period under review, following complaints of counterfeiting and copyright and trademark infringement.

    The worldwide data on intellectual property-related takedowns is a new disclosure for Facebook as part of its biannual “Transparency Report,” Chris Sonderby, a Deputy General Counsel at Facebook, said in a blog post.

    Aggregate data shows Facebook received about 377,400 complaints from January through June, with many referencing multiple posts. About 60 percent of the reports related to suspected copyright violations on Facebook.

    A “small fraction” of requests were excluded because they were not sent through an official form, Facebook said.

    The company removed user uploads in response to 81 percent of filings for counterfeiting, 68 percent for copyrights and 47 percent for trademarks, according to its report. The percentages were roughly similar for Instagram.

    “We believe that sharing information about (intellectual property) reports we receive from rights holders is an important step toward being more open and clear about how we protect the people and businesses that use our services,” Sonderby stated.

     

  • Facebook declares war against engagement baits

    Facebook has declared it will begin demoting posts with engagement baits that goad people into interacting with likes, shares, comments, and other actions.

    Facebook, in a statement on Monday, said posts similar to “God has seen you suffering, comment ‘YES’ if you don’t want to suffer anymore,” and also similar to what is on the featured image on this post, known as engagement bait, seek to “take advantage of our News Feed algorithm by boosting engagement in order to get greater reach”.

    “So, starting this week, we will begin demoting individual posts from people and Pages that use engagement bait,” the social media giant said.

    Facebook said to help foster more authentic engagement on its platform, teams have reviewed and categorized hundreds of thousands of posts to inform a machine learning model that can detect different types of engagement bait.

    “Posts that use this tactic will be shown less in News Feed. We will begin implementing stricter demotions for Pages that systematically and repeatedly use engagement bait to artificially gain reach in News Feed,” said Henry Silverman, Operations Integrity Specialist at Facebook.

    The social media firm said “Posts that ask people for help, advice, or recommendations, such as circulating a missing child report, raising money for a cause, or asking for travel tips, will not be adversely impacted by this update. Instead, we will demote posts that go against one of our key News Feed values – authenticity”.

    Publishers and other businesses that use engagement bait tactics in their posts should expect their reach on these posts to decrease, as Pages that repeatedly share engagement bait posts will see more significant drops in reach.

    “Page Admins should continue to focus on posting relevant and meaningful stories that do not use engagement bait tactics,” Facebook advised.

     

  • Twitter starts enforcing new rules on hateful conduct, abusive behaviour

    Twitter starts enforcing new rules on hateful conduct, abusive behaviour

    The new rules announced in November on hateful and abusive content and behaviour went into effect on Monday, Twitter said in a press release.

    “Today, we will start enforcing updates to the Twitter Rules announced last month to reduce hateful and abusive content on Twitter,” Twitter said on Monday.

    The company said the new rules will require any accounts associated with groups that promote violence against civilians either on or off the social media platform to remove all tweets that promote glorify violent acts.

    The company said anyone who refuses to comply will be permanently suspended from Twitter.

    It added that any account that contains hateful content or abuses in a username, display or profile bio will be permanently suspended.

    Hateful imagery, including logos or symbols that promote “hostility and malice” is now considered sensitive material under the company’s media policy, Twitter added in the press release posted on its blog.

     

  • Quick read: 5 clear indications that you are a social media junkie

    Social media has, no doubt, almost completely changed how we communicate. But, there is a point where the obsession with social media goes from harmless fun to an intrusion on your life.

    How do you know if you have arrived at this point? These signs shared by Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, will definitely help.

    It is the first thing you do in the morning

    Almost every social media addict will begin their daily routine by scrolling through what they have missed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more during your eight hours of sleep.

    Your friends only contact you via social media

    Social media has made it possible to keep in touch with friends and family. If your friends use these apps to get in touch with you, it’s because they know you’re most likely already on them. Very few people now bother to make calls.

    You check your timeline and feeds at every location

    There’s nothing wrong with checking your phone once in awhile. But when you scroll through your feeds or timeline at every location, you are simply engrossed or attached to social media.

    You hear imaginary notifications

    It is a serious case of addiction when you start to imagine notifications in your head. Many of us have experienced the imaginary phone vibration causing you to quickly check your phone for a notification that never came.

    You monitor likes and retweets

    Social media likes and retweets mean a lot to someone addicted to it. It has become a form of acceptance and after a while getting more can become an addiction. They keep monitoring who liked and did not like their pix.

     

  • Former Facebook VP says Social Media is ‘Destroying the Fabrics of Society’

    Former Facebook Vice President for User Growth has criticised social media for “destroying how society works”.

    Chamath Palihapitiya said he feels “tremendous guilt” for having created tools “that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works”.

    The YouTube video of his talk at Stanford Graduate School of Business, which took place in November, surfaced on The Verge with Palihapitiya saying it is not just about Facebook, but that the entire social media industry is to be blamed for “exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology”.

    The ex-Facebook VP claimed that he tries to use Facebook as little as possible. “I can’t control them,” Palihapitiya reportedly said of Facebook.

    “I can control my decision, which is that I don’t use that sh**. I can control my kids’ decisions, which is that they’re not allowed to use that sh**”.

    The problem isn’t just about fake news and hate speech in the US, he mentions, “this is not about Russians ads. This is a global problem”.

    He expanded this stance by pointing towards a recent incident in India where hoax messages on WhatsApp allegedly led to lynchings of innocent people. Bad actors, willing enough, are capable enough of orchestrating such incidents at their will, is what Palihapitiya believes is the problem with social media.

    He did, however, mention that Facebook “overwhelmingly does good in the world”.

    This stance amplifies the perception of major social media platforms having an unfair advantage over public discourse in the world.

    Some users believe that political incidents like Trump’s presidential win and Britain’s exit from the EU are to be blamed, in part, on manipulative information shared on platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook, both owned by the same company.

    Social media isn’t the only topic that Palihapitiya talked about at the event.

    He also said that the entire Silicon Valley venture funding model was broken as investors are apparently pumping money into “sh*tty, useless, idiotic companies,” instead of the real environmental and healthcare issues, according to Palihapitiya who runs a VC firm called Social Capital, which focuses on companies in education and healthcare sectors.

     

  • African women are supposed to bow to their husbands- Adebayo Salami a.k.a Oga Bello

    Popular Yoruba actor, movie producer and director, Adebayo Salami, better known as Oga Bello is one of the most celebrated actors in the Yoruba movie scene.

    The veteran actor who celebrated being on stage for 50 years in 2014 stated that African women are supposed to bow to their husbands.

    Speaking to newsmen, the ace actor said: “African women are supposed to bow to their husbands, husbands too are supposed to respect their wives.

    “Cook for your husbands, stop eating out. It is the cause of marriages breaking up in our society. Wives should bow to their husbands that is not to make you turn her into a slave. You must respect each other”.

    When asked If he is in support of people putting their personal lives on social media, he said: “Social media is one of the bad sides of technology. If you are trained well as an African , you will not put your personal life on social media”.

     

    READ ALSO:My wife is my number one critic- Femi Adebayo

  • Biafra: Kukah disowns comments on social media, says ‘I have nothing to do with it’

    The Bishop of Sokoto Diocese of the Catholic Church, Mathew Hassan Kukah, has disowned an article credited to him encouraging the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which has been trending online.

    The Bishop in a terse statement personally signed by him on Friday, said: “Here is a disclaimer for notice of the general public.

    “There is a spurious and an untitled piece credited to me about Biafra which is enjoying wide circulation on the social media.

    “I have nothing to do with it.”

    Part of the article credited to the vocal Bishop on social media reads: “Anyone who thinks the Biafra agitation is a nuisance and irritating should know that it is not the collective aspiration of all Igbos but especially that no one has the monopoly of nuisance. Nuisance begets nuisance. When you stay with potash loaders you too will share in their dusty hair.

    “It is in this country that the same standards are not held against all. Some can get away with anything but others cannot get away with something. I shudder at those who blame the agitators for agitating. Everyone knows what is good for them. If you don’t know what is good for you then shut up and don’t obstruct those who know what is good for them.

    “If I have my way I will cease to be a Nigerian because there is no sense of nationhood. Those who have leverage over others use it to oppress them. Otherwise how can you explain the audacious impunity of a certain section of this country. They can intimidate everybody even a sitting president and get away with it. When GEJ was president he was literally harassed by this same people until they sent him packing and we thought they will be appeased. But a las we were mistaken!”