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When it comes to sharing Instagram Reels with friends, the process of three taps to get a Reel from A to B can feel surprisingly tedious. Now, Instagram has addressed that issue with its latest feature: Instagram Blend. Announced on Thursday, Blend lets users create invite-only, personalized Reels feeds with friends. By tapping a new two-emoji-hugging icon (the Blend icon) within a chat, you can start or accept a Blend. Once active, Instagram will begin recommending Reels for both users in a shared feed, powered by an algorithm. The feature works in one-on-one DMs as well as group chats. These recommendations, refreshed daily, are said to be unique to each Blend and based on prior activity on the platform. “We want Instagram to be a place where people connect over creativity, and this is one more way to do that. Its a really fun way to not only share your interests, but to learn a little bit about your friends interests and then you can actually start conversations about that content that you discover,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a Reel. View this post on Instagram A postshared by Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) Instagrams newest feature offers something social media users currently cant find elsewhere (Im looking at you, TikTok). It arrives at a time when several platforms are positioning themselves to capitalize on TikToks uncertain future. Blend is most comparable to Spotifys Blend playlistsshared playlists that merge the music tastes of two or more users. But instead of listening to music while hanging out, youre scrolling Reels together. For Instagram, Blend could boost watch time by encouraging shared short-form content consumption and allowing users to get to know each others algorithmic preferences. It might also increase Reel discovery, as the feed surfaces a mix of yours and your friendsor, if youre feeling bold, your loversrecommendations. You just have to hope they havent recently fallen into any particularly weird corners of the internet.
Category:
E-Commerce
Shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) plunged by more than 22% Thursday morning after the company reported underwhelming first-quarter earnings and revised its full-year outlook. The health insurance giant lowered its 2025 earnings forecast, now projecting net earnings of $24.65 to $25.15 per share and adjusted earnings of $26.00 to $26.50 per share. This marks a downgrade from its January guidance, which anticipated net earnings between $28.15 and $28.65 per share and adjusted earnings in the range of $29.50 to $30.00 per share. UnitedHealth Group grew to serve more people more comprehensively but did not perform up to our expectations, and we are aggressively addressing those challenges to position us well for the years ahead, and return to our long-term earnings growth rate target of 13 to 16%, CEO Andrew Witty said in a statement. The outlook was a result of two factors, the company revealed. First, UnitedHealthcares Medicare Advantage plans saw more people using medical services than expectedespecially visits to doctors and outpatient care. This increase was clear at the end of the quarter and was much higher than the company planned for 2025, although it was similar to high usage levels it saw in 2024. On top of that, Optum Health, a division of UnitedHealth Group, had some unexpected changes in its patients. Some health plans left certain areas, and the people covered by those plans didnt use services much in 2024, which affected the planning for how much money would come in for 2025. Also, more patients than expected were “complex” cases, people with serious or multiple health issues, and were heavily affected by past cuts to Medicare funding. The number of people served by the companys offerings for seniors and people with complex needs grew by 545,000 in the first quarter and remains expected to grow up to 800,000 in 2025, according to the report. The company said these factors are highly addressable over the course of 2025 and it looks ahead to 2026. Other insurance stocks are tumbling, too The health insurance sector saw significant stock sell-offs following what appeared to be surprising financial troubles at industry leader UnitedHealth, according to the Wall Street Journal. Humana, for instance, saw an 8% decline. Elevance Health and CVS Health saw their stock prices fall about 6% each early Thursday morning. UnitedHealth Group reported revenues of $109.6 billion, marking a $9.8 billion increase year-over-year, with first-quarter earnings from operations totaling $9.1 billion.
Category:
E-Commerce
Google has acted illegally to maintain a dominant position in online advertising, a federal judge ruled on Thursday. The tech giants exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Googles publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web, Judge Leonie Brinkema wrote in her 115-page ruling, which followed another federal judges ruling last year that Google had monopolized the search market. Google was found liable under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act for actions in the ad exchange and tool sectors, but not that it operated a monopoly on ad networks. Google told Fast Company it disagreed with the courts decision, and would appeal it. We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half, said Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice president, regulatory affairs, in a statement. The latest decision is a big hit to the company, and acts as a prelude to further crackdowns in other jurisdictions, which some suggest could impact its operations. This is a very big deal, says Stacy Mitchell, co-director at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. The chokehold that Google has over the flow of information and ideas online, and its power to pocket the ad dollars, has been killing off local news outlets and undermining a key foundation of democracy. Jason Kint, CEO of the trade association Digital Content Next, says the ruling underscores the global harm caused by Googles practices, which have deprived premium publishers worldwide of critical revenue, undermining their ability to sustain high-quality journalism and entertainment. Kint believes the decision is a significant step toward restoring competition and accountability in the digital advertising ecosystem. Yet for all the headlines the decision will generate, theres still uncertainty about how much itll change Googles practicesand the wider web. While theres a recognition that the decisions will likely change how Google works, what impact that will have is uncertain. Frankly, the ad exchange market is so complicated that it’s hard to know what the impact of any changes to Google’s operations in that area might mean for internet users, says Anupam Chander, a law professor at Georgetown University. Chander believes any changes compelled by this decision may not immediately be obvious to rank-and-file users. If Google is forced to spin out its ad exchange market or forced to open it up to more competitors, it’s not clear that the results will be visible to users, he says. The ruling could also present a Catch-22: While it may open up the ad market and benefit online publishers, it could also lead to increased data collection of users (since a raft of third parties would compete to gather more data on users to supplant Googles current single supply). Still, the decision, whatever it means for end users, is another drumbeat in a wider shift in power between big tech giants and the governments trying to regulate them. And while attention is on the U.S. right now, its decisionmaking elsewhere that could have the more longer-lasting impact on the web. The U.S. courts decision will likely energize European regulators, who are conducting their own investigation into Googles ad tech practices. A decision there is expected imminentlyand could carry more weight. After years of imposing fines that Google has shrugged off as a mere cost of doing business, the European Commission has the chance to break free from this cycle of whack-a-mole enforcement, says Stephen Kinsella, an independent legal expert with 30 years of experience in antitrust regulation. European regulators may be prepared to go further than their American counterparts, potentially reshaping the digital ecosystem by compelling the breakup of Googles intertwined businesses. By taking decisive action and mandating a structural break-up, the EU can go beyond slapping big tech companies on the wrist, says Kinsella. It can restore a thriving, competitive and fair digital economy that works for its citizens, not entrenched monopolies. This is a moment that Europe cannot afford to let pass.
Category:
E-Commerce
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