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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and for the first time, the major social platforms are running big, even full-screen promotions for their own subscription offerings and products within their apps. Which, in some ways, makes perfect sense, maximizing their reach capacity to boost their business. But in others, it feels a little intrusive, and in some cases, even a little desperate. First off, X has started running full-screen pop-up promos for X Premium, which are difficult to even get rid of on screen, due to the “x” in the top left being obscured by the coloring. Yes, X is still super keen to get people to pay to use the app. Despite the app losing users , and despite less than 1% of its audience actually paying for X Premium thus far. Subscriptions had been a key pillar of Elon Musk’s initial growth plan for X , with Musk projecting that X Premium subscriptions (which, at that stage, was called “Twitter Blue”) would rise to 9 million users by this stage of his reformat of the app, bringing in millions of dollars in supplemental revenue. Thus far, around 1.3 million profiles are estimated to have signed up for the program. Musk also projected that X Premium would reach 104 million subscribers by 2028, thereby diluting X’s reliance on ad revenue. And if it still wants to reach those goals, it’s going to need to enact more pushes like this full-screen takeover to maximize awareness. Like, also, X Premium gifting : Look, I don’t think anything is going to get millions more people signing up for X Premium, which is just not that enticing an offering for most at this stage. But X is still keen to make Premium happen, and it’s using whatever means it can in the app to maximize take-up. Meta is also using its valuable ad space to promote its VR headsets, which are the key to its future metaverse ambitions. As you’ve no doubt seen for yourself, right now, Meta is running top-of-feed promotions for Meta Quest, on both Facebook and IG, as it seeks to get more people into its VR experiences. Though similar to X Premium, the hard sell for Meta is that there aren’t that many good reasons to buy a VR headset as yet, as the available experiences just aren’t that compelling. The technology is amazing, and more and more games and features are being rolled out, which will no doubt attract more interest over time. But at this stage, it’s not a must-have tech gadget, with the available VR apps still fairly limited. But either way, exposing ads to billions of users can’t hurt. Finally, Snapchat is also pumping out promotions for Snapchat+, directly into user inboxes. That feels a little intrusive, and all of these promos are a little overbearing, making these apps feel more like shopping tools than social platforms. But they’re also pretty easy to ignore. And in the modern age, we’ve all gotten much better at ignoring the influx of promotions being pumped into our feeds. But it is an interesting shift either way, with the apps becoming more direct commercial entities, and transforming into large-scale advertisers in their own right. And they have access to the most attention-grabbing promo options in their own tools. Which is probably not a great trend, but as social apps look to further commodify their experiences, this may be the new norm.

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Abu Dhabi : An earthquake of 2.2 magnitude struck in Falaj Al Mualla area in Umm Al Quwain , United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday. In a post on X, the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) in UAE said that the quake struck at 5:51 pm UAE time, at a depth of 4km. The earthquake was not felt in the region with no effect. A 2.2 Magnitude Earthquake is recorded in Falaj Al Mualla at 17:51, 28/12/2024 "UAE time” According to the NCM “National Seismic Network” Such small earthquakes are relatively rare in the UAE. Experts at the NCM continue to monitor seismic activity in the region as part of their ongoing efforts to analyze and predict seismic events.

Rule of law firstLOGAN SQUARE — A Logan Square brewery at the center of a lengthy trademark dispute with Ravinia Festival is closing its neighborhood taproom next month and changing its name under a rebrand, the brewery announced Tuesday. Ravinia Brewing Company — now Steep Ravine Brewing Company — will host a farewell party Dec. 14 at its Logan Square taproom, 2601 W. Diversey Ave., though it will still use the space to brew beer, according to a press release. The name change to Steep Ravine Brewing stems from a legal settlement reached after Ravinia Festival, the Highland Park outdoor concert venue, sued Ravinia Brewing for trademark infringement . While the two organizations had coexisted under a 2018 agreement, the opening of the brewery’s Logan Square taproom in 2021 led to Ravinia Festival filing suit, alleging the brewery violated the agreement. The dispute at one point threatened Ravinia Brewing’s existence and prompted a community fundraising effort that raised over $20,000 for legal expenses. Steep Ravine Brewing Company will retain the brewery’s signature “Tree Guy” mascot and award-winning beer portfolio, the company said in the release. Steep Ravine is the name of the brewery’s flagship IPA, “magically packed with citrus piquancy, aromatic pine, and plenty of adventure,” a description of the beer on the Steep Ravine website reads. “This rebranding gave us the rare opportunity to reflect on who we are and what makes us special,” Jeff Hoobler, managing partner of Steep Ravine Brewing, said in the release. “By putting our ‘Tree Guy’ and our Highland Park heritage front and center, we’re staying true to our identity.” Ravinia Festival “provided assistance for the rebranding,” the release said. The Logan Square taproom closing party will feature special beer releases, a “curated menu” and a chance for the brewery’s fans “to reminisce about the incredible stories that shaped the taproom’s journey,” the release said. Steep Ravine also operates a taproom in suburban Highland Park, which will remain open. Limited-edition Steep Ravine Brewing Company cans are exclusively available at both taproom locations while supplies last. The brewery is working on new social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook. More information on current events and future updates can be found on Steep Ravine’s website . Get a free print! Help us reach our goal of 900 subscribers by Dec. 31 to sustain and expand our coverage and you’ll get a free neighborhood print. There are three ways to qualify: Purchase a new subscription , upgrade your current subscription or gift a subscription . Don’t wait — support Block Club and we’ll send you a print of your choice! Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast: Related

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Gorakhpur: Protests erupted at AIIMS Gorakhpur after an MBBS student accused a security guard of allegedly attempting to sexually assault her on the campus, officials said on Saturday. The incident occurred around 9 pm on Friday when the student was heading to her hostel near gate number four, police said. Guard Satpal Yadav allegedly passed inappropriate comments but she ignored him and walked ahead. He then allegedly followed her, forcibly grabbed her hand and attempted to drag her into the nearby bushes, they said. The student resisted and raised an alarm prompting other students to intervene, they added. In the commotion, students managed to apprehend the accused but other security guards intervened and allegedly helped him escape, the officials said. Enraged, students staged at a protest at the gate demanding Yadav’s arrest and action against those who aided his escape, they said. AIIMS officials and police rushed to the spot to pacify the students and by 12.30 am police detained Yadav from Pipraich. The protest was called off after assurances of strict action against the accused, they added. A case has been registered under Section 74 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, AIIMS Medical Superintendent Vikas Srivastava said. Yadav was intoxicated at the time of the incident, he added. Authorities are also probing the role of other guards and an unidentified biker, the official said. AIIMS Executive Director Prof. Ajay Singh termed the incident “grave” and assured stringent action against those responsible. Superintendent of Police (City) Abhinav Tyagi said that further investigation is underway.THE DALLES — A new head coach, a positive outlook, and some new team members have bolstered The Dalles High’s 2024-25 swimming outlook this season. “I’ve been an assistant the last seven years, but this is my first year ever as a head coach,” said Coach Pat Shortt, whose staff includes assistant coaches Nate Timmons and Shea Macnab. “We have kind of a unique coaching philosophy with our staff and all three of us have an equal amount of input toward the team. So being head coach doesn’t really mean that much to me, but it’s unique having that title for the first time.” The Riverhawks started practice Nov. 18 at The Dalles Fitness and Court Club pool with hopes of a more successful season. Last season, the Riverhawks didn’t have any swimmers advance to the state swim meet, and that’s something that they’re hoping to change this year. The Riverhawks begin their 11-meet Special District 1 (SD1) 2024-2025 schedule with a season-opening event Dec. 7 at Redmond. The SD1 Class 4A/3A/2A/1A district meet is at Madras on Feb. 14-15. The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) Class 4A/3A/2A/1A state meet is Feb. 21-22 at the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton. The eight-member girls squad will be led by seniors Rowena Benjamin and Alaina Casady, who is competing in her first season ever on the Riverhawks’ swim team. The Riverhawks have six swimmers who are competing on the team for the first time. Casady is a talented runner who took second place in the Class 4A state cross country state meet Nov. 9. Timmons said: “All of these kids know how to swim, but some of them have never been on our team before. They’re all really fun to work with and we’re just kind of teaching them techniques to help them improve.” Sophomore Kaiya Doty will once again compete in two winter sports simultaneously, as she also is a member of the Riverhawks’ ski team. “Kaiya did really well last year on both the swim and ski teams, and obviously she’ll have a good chance to advance to state,” said Shortt. “The group of kids that we have are just fantastic and quite frankly that’s why Nate and Shae and I keep coming back year after year.” Other girls team members are freshman Adele Black, sophomores Riley Elliot and Lillen Vaught, and juniors Laura Black and Vicky Gonzalez. The boys team includes juniors Jesus Chavez, Everest Lenardson, Kaeyden Linker, Aiden Nunez, and Cruz Peral. The eight-member squad is rounded out by sophomores Maverick Varland, Rhett Loughmiller and Sawyer Dray. Shortt said: “I think Everest, Sawyer, and Maverick definitely have the potential to reach the state meet. Since we have such a large group, I think we’ll also have a good chance to qualify for state with our boys relay team. I think if we don’t have any individual state qualifiers, we’ll have a talented group of kids who could have a very good shot at making it to state in relays.”