We once quipped that all anyone ever wanted to do over the internet was to __[sell you stuff](https://www.shop.hackernoon.com/)__. Didn't matter whether that was something you actually wanted or needed or even if it was something useful — as long as you were on the internet, you were a potential customer.

\
And nothing proves that point more than an __[announcement](https://about.fb.com/news/2023/02/testing-meta-verified-to-help-creators/)__ by __[Meta](https://hackernoon.com/company/meta)__ this past week to begin charging users for a so-called subscription bundle. Yes, Papa Zuck wants to ride the __[subscription-as-a-service train](https://hackernoon.com/looking-for-micro-saas-ideas-here-are-7-you-could-build-in-2023)__ by asking users to pay at least $11.99 per month to receive the coveted (?) verified badge on __[Facebook](https://hackernoon.com/company/facebook)__ and __[Instagram](https://hackernoon.com/company/instagram)__ that indicates you are who you say you are and not somebody __[pretending to be George W. Bush](https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-verification-abuse-trolls-parody-george-bush-oj-simpson-confession-2022-11)__.

 \n 

 ![](https://cdn.hackernoon.com/images/2jqChkrv03exBUgkLrDzIbfM99q2-2023-02-22T15:34:01.199Z-clefu5lo100050as65slv47ln)

\
$11.99 also gets you a slew of other benefits, including "help when you need it" with "access to a real person for common account issues," which presumably means that non-paying users will be relegated to a merry-go-round of automated messages that leaves them more confused than ever.

\
So why now? Well, 2022 really wasn't kind to Meta or its founder Mark Zuckerberg, with both __[losing billions](https://hackernoon.com/zucks-meta-ambition-is-burning-his-company-and-net-worth-to-the-ground)__ in their worth because of an insistence on a technology (aka the "metaverse") that is yet to gain widespread appeal. Despite laying off __[11,000 employees](https://hackernoon.com/the-billionaires-fcked-up)__ (with more expected in the __[near future](https://hackernoon.com/google-is-causing-the-downfall-of-google)__), Meta — which owns __[Facebook](https://hackernoon.com/company/facebook)__, __[Whatsapp](https://hackernoon.com/company/whatsapp)__, and __[Instagram](https://hackernoon.com/company/instagram)__ (among others) — is on the hook for improving profitability and sales after it burned through billions in getting people to give a damn about VR (and by extension the metaverse) with nothing to show for it.

\
Whether this experiment — which will initially be rolled out in Australia and New Zealand later this week — will bear fruit is yet to be seen. Though the last time a billionaire offered users the ability to purchase the verified check mark on their social media website, it turned out __[as well as you'd expect](https://hackernoon.com/the-billionaires-fcked-up?ref=hackernoon.com)__. 🙄

\
Instagram ranked #1 in this week's __[Tech Company Rankings](https://hackernoon.com/companies)__ while Facebook was trending on the #2 spot.

\

---

\

:::info
👋 *You’re reading HackerNoon's Tech Company News Brief, a weekly collection of tech goodness that combines HackerNoon's proprietary data with internet trends to determine which companies are rising and falling in the public consciousness. Subscribe [here](https://hackernoon.com/companies?ref=hackernoon.com) to receive the newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday!*

:::

\

---

### **Microsoft Seeks Dominance in AI, But Also Gaming.. 🏌️**

__[Microsoft](https://hackernoon.com/company/microsoft)__'s latest plan to monetize the internet has less to do with selling subscriptions and more with monopolizing its __[new-found relevance](https://hackernoon.com/google-is-causing-the-downfall-of-google)__ in artificial intelligence (though we wouldn't __[rule out subscriptions](https://www.polygon.com/23600042/xbox-game-pass-lower-sales-cannibalize-uk-regulators-cma-activision)__ just yet.)

\
Ever since ChatGPT was released to the public at large, users have been __[going nuts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPhJbKBuNnA)__ with what the chatbot can do — prompting Microsoft to bake that technology within its search engine Bing. Well, sadly for the more freaky ones out there, Microsoft has now decided to __[limit](https://blogs.bing.com/search/february-2023/The-new-Bing-Edge-%E2%80%93-Updates-to-Chat)__ the number of times users can interact with the Bing chatbot because it simply wasn't capable of __[prolonged conversations](https://blogs.bing.com/search/february-2023/The-new-Bing-Edge-%E2%80%93-Learning-from-our-first-week)__ and spewed nonsense like wanting to steal nuclear secrets.

\
In the background, however, Microsoft is already selling the idea of AI-powered Bing to advertisers so that when users ask something like "what are the best hotels in Mexico?", the chatbot could display hotel ads, Reuters __[reports](https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsofts-bing-plans-ai-ads-early-pitch-advertisers-2023-02-17/)__.

\
Meanwhile, the company is __[hard at work](https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/microsofts-president-push-activision-deal-eu-hearing-google-nvidia-also-present-2023-02-21/)__, trying to convince antitrust regulators in the EU to please, please, please let them acquire Activision-Blizzard — the producer of hits such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft — so that the video game industry becomes more "competitive." (lol)

\
__[Sony](https://hackernoon.com/company/sony)__ is having none of it and wants regulators to block the deal.

\
Microsoft was trending on the #46 spot this week.

### **Amazon Asks Employees to Return to the Office :runner:**

[Amazon](https://hackernoon.com/company/amazon), one of the largest employers in the U.S., __[issued](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/andy-jassy-update-on-amazon-return-to-office)__ an advisory to employees asking that they commute to the office at least three times a week. In a note explaining the decision, the e-commerce giant's CEO, Andy Jassy, said that learning and collaborating were a lot easier when employees worked in person, and teams bonded a lot better when they were face-to-face with each other.

\
More power to Amazon, I guess..

\
The company was trending on the #38 spot this week.

### **In Other News.. 📰**

* China's __[Tencent Holdings](https://hackernoon.com/company/tencent)__ has taken heed of Meta's __[failures](https://hackernoon.com/zucks-meta-ambition-is-burning-his-company-and-net-worth-to-the-ground)__ and decided it wants __[nothing to do](https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/343220-tencent-becomes-latest-gaming-company-to-back-away-from-the-metaverse)__ with VR and the metaverse.
* Investors are __[pulling out](https://hackernoon.com/bitcoin-just-rallied-but-coinbase-employees-are-still-being-let-go)__ of __[Binance](https://hackernoon.com/company/binance)__ __[in droves](https://www.reuters.com/technology/investors-pull-25-bln-days-binances-stablecoin-regulatory-scrutiny-2023-02-17/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Technology-Roundup&utm_term=021723)__ due to regulatory scrutiny.
* Elon Musk's __[Tesla](https://hackernoon.com/company/tesla)__ fired some employees that happened to be unionizing at its Buffalo, New York facility. It said its decision __[was not prompted](https://www.tesla.com/blog/in-response-false-allegations)__ by the unionizing efforts.
* An Indian firm is taking work-life balance seriously, __[taking steps](https://www.reuters.com/world/india/please-go-home-indian-firm-deploys-software-work-life-balance-2023-02-20/)__ to ensure that employees leave the office after their shifts are over.


***

And that's a wrap! Don't forget to share this newsletter with your family and friends!

\
See y'all next week. PEACE! ☮️

\
— Sheharyar Khan, Editor, Business Tech @ HackerNoon

This story contains new, firsthand information uncovered by the writer.

Too Long; Didn't Read

Cassandra Forward a free Cassandra-focused community event

Facebook: Now Available at an Introductory Price of $11.99

Too Long; Didn't Read

People Mentioned

@sheharyarkhan

Credibility

RELATED STORIES