Bits: Farhad and Mike's Week in Tech: The Unstoppable Facebook

The (relative) decline of Apple, the ascendance of Amazon and the continuing dominance of Mark Zuckerberg's social network.

Disney Crossy Road Updated With The Jungle Book, 25 New Characters

Disney released a new content update for Disney Crossy Road on mobile, bringing The Jungle Book to the game. In addition, Disney announced that the game has surpassed 10 million downloads since its release April 7.

Created in partnership with Hipster Whale, Disney Crossy Road challenges players to survive as long as possible by tapping to advance across lanes while avoiding obstacles like cars, animals and more. The game features worlds based on The Lion King, Disney Pixar's Inside Out and more.

With this update, players can unlock the Jungle Book world instantly by purchasing one of its characters via in-app purchase. Players can also unlock the world for free by winning one of its characters in the game's prize machine.

While playing in the Jungle Book world, players must avoid forest fires, which are triggered by lightning strikes. Once lightning strikes a square and causes a fire, the fire will spread to nearby squares, sometimes blocking areas of the path.

The Jungle Book update includes 15 characters such as Mowgli, Kaa, Baloo and Shere Khan, among others. The set includes four secret characters, which are not available to purchase. In total, the game's latest update includes 25 new characters, but 14 of these are secret.

Disney Crossy Road is available to download for free on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store and Amazon Appstore.

#ComcastCaresDay Immediately Backfires on Twitter

Who could have possibly seen this coming.

Héctor Elizondo And Julia Roberts Paid Homage To A Classic 'Pretty Woman' Scene

If there's one thing you can count on in a Garry Marshall film, it's an appearance by Héctor Elizondo.

The actor has been cast in all 18 of the director's feature films since the two first worked together in the 1982 comedy “Young Doctors In Love.” Marshall once told Entertainment Weekly that Elizondo was his “lucky charm.” And with the premiere of “Mother's Day” on Friday, the duo's tradition remains intact.

“We have an almost non-verbal communication now,” Elizondo told The Huffington Post Thursday.

It was Marshall who cast Elizondo as hotel manager Barney Thompson opposite Julia Roberts' character Vivian Ward in the unforgettable 1990 classic “Pretty Woman,” which remains one of the actor's most iconic roles. In the director's third holiday-themed film, which interweaves several characters and motherhood storylines together, Roberts and Elizondo reunited on-screen to portray TV shopping network star Miranda Collins and her agent Lance Wallace, respectively.

"We paid an homage to 'Pretty Woman,' and [in] one particular scene at the diner we tipped our hat to the 25 year anniversary of that movie," Elizondo told HuffPost. "The audience loves that movie and so do we. I said we have to pay some kind of homage because our relationship in this movie, even though [my role is] a cameo, is similar. I play her friend, her agent and I give her some advice in the diner very subtly, very oblique and she takes it, concerning the relationship with her daughter."

In the scene, Elizondo's character even points to "the salad fork" -- a reference to when Barney taught Vivian dining etiquette in "Pretty Woman" -- for true die-hard fans. Elizondo described filming the scene as a moving moment on set for everyone.

"That moment, I had to repeat it two or three times because for some reason I got emotional," Elizondo said. "I was looking at [Julia] and suddenly my body realized it, and this is unconscious, 'good lord, this happened 25, 26 years ago!' And I'm there looking at this wonderful woman and we've had a life experience. So for some reason I said 'Stop! Stop! I gotta do this moment again.'"

At first, Elizondo said, Marshall and the film crew weren't sure why he couldn't run through the scene until it happened again.

"They didn't know what happened and I excused myself, came back and tried it again," he continued. "And again I couldn't do it. I said 'I'm getting emotional.' Then they understood what was going on. They came back from video village, where they're watching the shoot from, and everybody had tears in their eyes because the same people were there. Garry and his crew were there 25 years ago and, of course, Julia. So it was a moment of great emotion and we were all hugging and crying, 'Oh my god, can you believe it!?'"

While Elizondo's role in the film is rather brief, the Nuyorican actor says this film won't disappoint audiences.

"The movie is another Garry Marshall feel-good, makes you laugh and cry movie," Elizondo said. "He loves happy endings, he makes sure there's something to work through in the middle and things work out OK. And I especially like the fact that it's a nod to mothers, a very contemporary nod to mothers."

"Mother's Day" opens in theaters nationwide on Friday. 

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Here's What it Looks Like Right Now at Playlist Live 2016!

What's Trending is living up the life at Playlist live!

Dog Makes Weather Forecast The Funniest Part of the News

We need something to make us laugh today.

Graham: U.S. must respond to Saudi 'complicity' in 9/11

Bob Graham, co-chair of the 9/11 congressional inquiry, faults the U.S. for not responding to the Saudi "complicity in the murder of 3,000 Americans."

Technophoria: Kahoot App Brings Urgency of a Quiz Show to the Classroom

The learning game, made by a Norwegian start-up, is sweeping American schools. Over a third of elementary and secondary students used it last month.

Bits: Microsoft Goes on Offensive Against Justice Department

The software giant argues in a lawsuit that law enforcement is too aggressive in seeking gag orders on its information requests.

Algorithms and Advertising: The Real Impact of Instagram's Changes

One month ago today, Instagram announced that it would shift to an algorithmic feed.

Now several weeks on, the dust has settled and the different reactions have emerged. With a little more time to reflect, now is a good time to explore a bit more deeply and see what the real reasons are for the change.

In a post last month, I explored my predictions for the longer-term changes, but all the way back in 2014, a report outlined the circumstances that would lead to this change in the first place.

Is the party over?

In a 2014 Forrester Research report titled, “Use Instagram Now,” Nate Elliott, vice president and principal analyst of Forrester, laid down the facts in no uncertain terms:

As users and marketers flock to Instagram, clutter will increase and Instagram will likely begin filtering out brands' posts in the name of relevance. Marketers must use Instagram now, before it changes the rules–and they must be ready to move on to another social site when Instagram's phenomenal engagement rates disappear.

At the time, Instagram posts returned an outstanding engagement rate (58 times higher than Facebook and 120 times higher than Twitter). On the back of such great engagement, brands and users flocked to the platform. With the surge came the clutter. With that clutter came reduced engagement rates (2.3 percent for top brands in 2015 versus 4.2 percent in 2014).

Now that Instagram “changes the rules” and introduces its new algorithm, is it time for marketers to “move on to another social site?” It depends who you listen to.

The inevitable resistance to change

As creatures of habit, people are inherently resistant to change. The chorus of opposition to Instagram's recent change should come as no surprise. But how valid is this opposition and how likely is it to have any impact?

Many voices have joined in the debate–users, influencers, marketers and a whole host of others have voiced their concerns about the negative impacts these changes will have.

Influencer Jaime King has come out on the front foot and called the changes “dangerous and wrong on every level,” linking the changes to an unhealthy focus on likes, which can affect someone's value and self-worth.

Musician John Mayer has come out in support of up-and-coming artists and creators who he feels will be impacted by these changes–a stance taken by this Change.org petition, but also expanded to include small businesses.

Others claim that the shift to an algorithmic feed undermines the very essence of Instagram and that ranking and aggregating content will impact the community.

A common complaint doubts how effectively an algorithm can even predict someone's tastes, as articulated by Mayer in his post:

My tastes, interests and curiosities change every day, if I'm not even sure what's relevant to me, how will you know?

The majority of these complaints are valid, but they are unlikely to make any difference: The changes will roll out regardless.

Businesses need to make money

It's time to address the elephant in the room.

When Facebook bought Instagram for close to $1 billion, it wasn't just for the fun of it. Such a large scale investment would not have been made without a vision to make a return on that investment. That return will come through advertising revenue.

Let's address it clearly: The shift to an algorithmic feed is a key part of Instagram's monetization strategy.

Since introducing the first sponsored posts in 2013, Instagram has been slowly refining the ad platform and brands are getting some great results. The next logical phase in the development of the advertising proposition is to gain more control over what is displayed in the feed.

By aggregating the feed, Instagram has greater control over what is shown, and it is able to reduce clutter. By doing so, it can serve more relevant and engaging content to increase time spent on the platform and, important, create more space for ads.

As such, it appears that the resistance to the changes is futile–not because the opposition arguments lack merit, but because the profitability goals of the platform are more important.

In a world where everything seems “free,” it's easy to forget that platforms like Instagram are in fact businesses and, by definition, need to make money to survive.

With that in mind, rather than trying to resist the changes, it's time for brands and influencers to rethink their Instagram strategies to take advantage of the changes as best as possible.

This will mean a greater focus on delivering what your target market really want-high-quality, relevant content. It will require a greater investment of time, energy and money. Integrating paid advertising into your Instagram strategy will gradually become a necessity.

And although the party of organic reach isn't over just yet, the lights are on, the music has been turned down and the cops are on their way: Best to start planning ahead now!

Francis Trapp is CEO of Brandnew IO, a platform for global influencer marketing.

Ponder's 'Anti-Social Network' Is Instagram Meets Reddit

Ponder announced the official launch of its “anti-social network” on iOS. The application allows users to swipe up or down on photos and videos like one would upvote or downvote content on Reddit.

With Ponder, users are presented with a feed of curated photos and videos. When users see a post they like, they can swipe up to “push” the content up, or swipe down to “pass” on it.

Pushing content will spread it to a larger audience, including to friends or users with similar states, while passing on a post will keep it private. If users swipe in the wrong direction, they can shake their device to undo the choice. Finally, users can double-tap on a post to follow its uploader and see more of their content in their feed.

In addition to browsing content in their personalized stream, users can discover new content in the “most recent” feed, or browse the app's trending content on a trending tab. Overall, as users push posts and follow others, their personalized streams will display more posts from users with similar tastes.

When posting their own content, users can upload photos and videos from their camera rolls or capture new pictures and videos within the app. Users can add captions to their posts, and they also have the option to post their content anonymously.

In a statement, William LeGate, co-founder and CEO of Ponder, commented:

The key differentiator is that posts are designed to spread beyond your network of friends and followers. We show you a user-curated feed of photos and videos that have been pushed by your friends and others with similar tastes. We are democratizing the discovery and distribution of your photos and videos, so instead of it being a popularity contest, it's a place where the best content spreads.

Ponder does not allow users to post comments on content, and it does not display the number of followers each user has.

Ponder co-founder and chief marketing officer Tyler Mateen added:

On Ponder, you could have 50 followers and regularly get more than 50 pushes on your posts-something that's not currently possible on other apps. We are leveling the playing field for every single person to have their content be seen by a larger audience. It doesn't matter if you're a celebrity or an influencer: You have the same opportunity as everyone else to have your content be discovered.

Ponder is available to download for free on the iTunes App Store. The app is backed by Mark Cuban, the founders of Tinder and Greylock Partners.

Twitter Names China Managing Director

Twitter may be blocked in China, but that isn't stopping it from exploring business relations there.

Co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey announced in a tweet that Kathy Chen has joined the company as managing director for China.

According to TechCrunch, Chen previously served as general manager for China at Microsoft.

Prior to that, she held a similar position at Cisco Systems and served as CEO of Computer Associates-Jinchen Software, a joint venture between Computer Associates International (now known as CA Technologies) and China's Ministry of Public Security.

Twitter said in a statement shared by TechCrunch:

As a global platform, we are already engaged with advertisers, content providers and influencers across greater China to help them reach audiences around the world. Going forward, we will look to Kathy's leadership to help us identify ways in which Twitter's platform and technology assets can be utilized to created further value for enterprises, creators, influencers, partners and developers in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

A big welcome to Twitter, @KathyChen2016! She joins us as our MD for China!

- Jack (@jack) April 15, 2016

Photo courtesy of Kathy Chen's Twitter account.

Feature: The Minecraft Generation

How a clunky Swedish computer game is teaching millions of children to master the digital world.

Mobile Game Roundup: Versus Run, Mars Mountain and More

If you're looking for a new mobile game to play this weekend, there are plenty of new options for you to try, like Fear the Walking Dead: Dead Run from AMC and Versus Evil. The running game is based on the television show Fear the Walking Dead, and challenges players to escape Los Angeles while running from zombies.

In addition, Bandai Namco Entertainment released its newest game this week: SailorMoon Drops. The puzzle game asks players to help the Sailor Guardians complete match-three puzzles.

Are you looking for something different to play? Here's a look at some of the additional games released this week.

Versus Run (Free on iOS, Android) – This endless survival game from Ketchapp and Plexonic challenges players to survive as long as possible while running away from an AI opponent on the screen. Players tap on the left and right sides of the screen to move forward, and must avoid other blocks in the world. Gamers are challenged to move quickly to avoid being caught by the character behind them. Users can collect gems as they play, and spend these on new playable characters.

Dungenious ($2.99 on iOS, Android) – From Noizoo Games, Dungenious is a dungeon-crawling trivia game, which allows players to explore dungeons and answer trivia questions to attack enemies. The game features 50 question topics, and also allows users to create their own questions. During battle, the faster players answer questions correctly, the stronger their attacks will be. Gamers can upgrade their hero's skills over time.

Immortal Legends (Free on iOS, Android) – From TapStar Interactive and T-Rex Games, Immortal Legends is a tower defense game set in mythical China. The game features 115 battle modes across 23 maps, and allows players to collect and deploy allies as their “towers” on the field. Gamers can also move their hero around the environment to attack enemies. The game includes over 50 unique monster enemies, which players can capture and use as their allies in future battles. These allies can be evolved over time.

Wonderland Saga (Free on iOS) – From Dragondawn Studio, Wonderland Saga is a side-scrolling multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, allowing players to team up and fight against other players in three-on-three battles. The game includes multiple heroes to choose from, each with their own unique outfits and skills.

Oil Capitalist (Free on iOS) – This clicker or idle game from ROM Games allows players to become an oil tycoon by constructing a variety of buildings and vehicles for their business. Players begin with an oil mine, which generates oil over time. Oil can be turned into cash, or used as currency to purchase specific buildings. Other structures, such as a Gasoline Tanker and Car Wash, generate money over time. Players can spend money on additional buildings or upgrades for their existing buildings. While a building is under construction, or is being upgraded, players can rapidly tap on the screen to speed up the building or upgrade timer. Players will create pollution as they construct and upgrade buildings, and will need to buy “Eco” buildings to reduce the amount of pollution they generate. These Eco buildings are available to purchase using diamonds, the game's premium currency. Some diamonds can be earned for free by completing in-game achievements, or by watching video ads.

Trial Moto X: Tournament Edition (Free on iOS) – From X3M Games, Trial Moto X: Tournament Edition is a racing game with multiplayer competitions powered by Skillz. Gameplay sees players complete timed obstacle courses by tapping buttons to balance their bike while driving. After players complete a course, their time is compared to another player's time, and the player with the fastest time receives tokens. Players must wager one or more tokens each time they begin a new match. The Skillz platform also supports real-money gaming, as users can add real money to their Skillz account and compete for cash prizes.

Fancy Tale (Free on iOS, Android) – This fashion-themed match-three puzzle game from European Games Group and Sublinet asks players to make matches with fashion-themed symbols to create clothing items for their animal customers. In each level, players have a limited number of moves to complete a specific goal. Fancy Tale is also available to play for free on Facebook.

Forged in Battle: Man at Arms ($1.99 on iOS, Android) – From Defy Media, Forged in Battle: Man at Arms is based on the YouTube series Man at Arms: Reforged, which follows blacksmiths and craftsmen who create weapons based on pop culture and gaming franchises. This mobile game allows players to forge their own weapons through five mini-games, and defeat enemies in battle.

Astro Attack (Free on iOS) – This endless arcade shooter from Blocky Pixel challenges players to defeat aliens by dragging their finger on the screen to move their spaceship, which automatically shoots at enemies. Enemies may drop weapon power-ups or coins when they're destroyed, and gamers can spend their coins on new ships. Games end when players hit an enemy projectile or ship. Players can earn extra coins by completing missions or watching video ads.

Toby: The Secret Mine ($4.99 on iOS, Android) – From Headup Games and independent developer Lukas Navratil, Toby: The Secret Mine is a platforming adventure game, challenging players to help Toby rescue his missing friends. The game takes place in a dark world filled with enemies and traps, as well as puzzles to complete. Toby: The Secret Mine is also now available to download on Apple TV and Android TV.

Mars Mountain (Free on iOS, Android) – From BulkyPix and Tastypill, this endless survival game asks players to tap on the left and right sides of the screen to move their character down a mountain while avoiding a variety of obstacles, including meteors, fireballs and spikes, among others. Players can collect stars as they play, and spend these on new playable characters.

In addition to these new releases, here are some of the previously released games which have come to new platforms:

War Dragons from Pocket Gems – Free on Android; previously released on iOS.

Camp Pokémon from The Pokémon Company – Free on Android; previously released on iOS.

S.E.D.: Special Enquiry Detail from G5 Entertainment – Free on Amazon; previously released on iPad.

Balancing App Monetization With the User Experience

Application developers today enter the mobile arena with the hopes of creating the next Clash of Clans, Angry Birds, WhatsApp or even Yo!. But just because they have a great idea for the next game, messenger or fitness app doesn't mean that success is guaranteed. Developers today need to understand that consumers are finicky, and they must delicately balance the user experience with a monetization strategy so that both company and user win.

While the app economy is hyper competitive, with large developers fighting to increase their share of app revenues, there is a tremendous opportunity for middle-market developers to carve out their piece of the pie. Be it from paid downloads, ad networks and/or in-app purchases, developers must carefully consider the best business model that will cultivate loyalty and long-term customer retention for their apps (then let those dollars keep rolling in).

To that, there are multiple business models that developers must consider (more on these in a minute):

• Completely free with in-app advertising


• Freemium/free download with in-app purchases


• Subscriptions


• Paid apps

As such, the developer must choose its business model carefully so that UX considerations and revenue generation can be aligned; and knowing when it's time to pivot and adjust the business model is also critical to lasting success. Projecting where revenue is going to come from is paramount to creating long-term and successful apps.

To choose the business model, developers must consider key factors, including:

• What category does the app fit in and how are competitors monetizing? It's not just knowing what category the app fits in, but also as important is its subcategory. Understanding what models work for established and successful apps provides a hint to the best method to use.


• What is unique about the app versus competitors? How does the app differ from others in its category and, as such, is there a reason to copy or differentiate from what they're doing from a design perspective?


• What features would consumers pay for? Some features are ubiquitous across all apps within a category. If those features are already considered table stakes to compete, creating new, unique features can entice a user to lay down their cash.


• What is the timetable for generating revenue? If the app is well-funded, then the developer may be able to wait longer to generate money. However, developers that work on tighter budgets may need to monetize quicker to support operations and growth. Paid user acquisition and offering in-app enticements to download and use an app can be effective ways of acquiring downloads and moving up app store charts. Developers must understand that the lifetime value of these customers and balancing that with acquisition costs is critical to knowing if this is viable.

Those are a lot of factors to consider, each with their own set of considerations. Your sweat equity and potential livelihood are on the line. If you're reading this, you're probably vacillating with the No. 1 question: What is my go-to-market strategy? With that in mind, let's take a look at the four most popular business models for launching an app and weigh the pros and cons of each:

Completely free with in-app advertising

In this model, consumers can download the app at no cost and play the game without ever spending a dime. The goal with strategy is to quickly generate downloads and then gather information on the users so that publishers pay to insert targeted ads in your app. The longer they play, the more ads they see, and the more money the developer makes. This is why a stellar UX is crucial for apps utilizing this model.

Pros:

• Easy to generate downloads, as there is no cost to try the app.


• Mobile apps can collect a ton of data on their users–including in-app behavior, location, age, sex, gender and more–that is extremely valuable to advertisers.


• Spending on mobile advertising is on the rise, and there is no shortage of companies looking to target an app's audience when it aligns with their target customers.


• It is a highly effective way of promoting long-term use if ads don't dominate the users' experience but instead are limited to expected instances during use.

Cons:

• Depending on how the ads are displayed, it can compromise the user experience by taking up valuable screen size.


• The app or its content needs to keep bringing value to the user so that they continue to use it and advertisers remain interested in its active user base.


• Too many ads during use can be annoying to the user and lead to churn and abandonment.


• It can take time to recoup investment while generating a sufficient user base to support the app.

Freemium/free download with in-app purchases

This strategy involves offering the app for free download, allowing consumers to try the app with no risk. The app is then monetized by selling goods within the app for a profit or by offering premium features at additional cost. In-app purchases can include virtual goods such as in-game boosts, virtual currency, ad removal and/or add-on features.

Pros:

• Also easy to generate downloads, as there is no cost to try the app.


• Can be used by multiple app categories due to adaptability.


• Easy to determine and adjust premium features based on history of user purchases.


• Virtual goods and data-driven selection of items placed for in-app purchases can lead to deeper levels of engagement and reduce user churn since they are invested in the app.


• For gamers, in-app purchases can make game tasks easier or reduce the time it takes to level up creating a desire to purchase more and more.


• Flexible model that can include affiliate programs and partnerships that drive referral revenue.

Cons:

• App stores take a cut of purchases made within the app or on the marketplace.


• Apps historically have not been always been transparent about their in-app purchases and have received some bad press about children spending thousands of dollars in-game.


• Balancing what is free and what is paid for can be challenging. Too few features and people will churn; too many and people won't pay.


• Difficult to align the free experience with the paid experience since it is initially being offered in a limited capacity.

Subscriptions

Usually, this model focuses on gating content instead of features. Users get access to a predetermined amount of content for free and then must subscribe to get more. This model is best suited for service-focused or content-heavy apps, and it allows brands to earn revenue on a recurring basis.

Pros:

• Users can experience all of your app's features for a set period of time.


• Improves in-app session lengths and lowers user churn.


• Provides a continuous flow of revenue since subscriptions usually auto-renew.


• Subscribers are more likely to be loyal and engaged app users.


• Puts the onus on the developer to create more and fresh content to keep users subscribed long-term.

Cons:

• Does not work for most verticals.


• It can be hard to determine where and when to place a subscription paywall.

Paid apps

These are exactly what they sound like: Users pay to download and use the app. The key to finding success with this model is in the ability to showcase value of the app in stores so that people know before paying exactly what they're going to get.

Pros:

• Revenue is earned upfront with every new download.


• Paid users are more likely to use the app for longer periods of time since they're invested.


• Cleaner interface and user experience due to lack of ads.


• The developer can focus on innovation and not monetization, since people expect paid apps to be extremely robust.

Cons:

• Most users eschew paid apps for less feature-rich free apps.


• App stores take part of the revenue from the download cost.


• 90 percent of paid apps are downloaded less than 500 times per day (cost-barrier to gaining a large number of users).

Conclusion

For app developers, their go-to-market business model will be just as important as the type of app being developed. Strategies can always be changed, and none of these is mutually exclusive; finding the right mix of monetization strategies and balancing that with the user experience is ultimately what will help get that app to No. 1 on the charts.

Sergei Kovalenko is the co-founder of mobile app capital provider Aprenita.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Data Selfie Wants to Demystify Data Collection for Internet Users

While social media may seem focused on content, the real power source behind all of it is data. As marketing and targeting have gotten more sophisticated, data collection has become more nuanced and more prolific. A new browser plugin called Data Selfie seeks to demystify data collection for internet users and to help them understand why companies want their data.

The plugin was created by Hang Do Thi Duc and Regina Flores Mir, second-year Master of Fine Arts students in the Parsons at the New School design and technology program, and will be available both as an iPhone app and a Chrome browser plugin. It crawls Facebook user activity and collects the kind of data advertisers look for, which is everything from likes to text that has been typed but not posted.

Do Thi Duc told Motherboard the goal is to show users how complex data collection is:

People don't seem to understand there's not a one-to-one correlation of the things that you do online, it's the seemingly mundane things you do online that are predictive of who you are.

Data collection and analysis is well understood in the ad industry, but users are much more hesitant about data collection. 77 percent of users surveyed last year thought the internet was becoming more dangerous, and 75 percent of users didn't believe that companies were doing enough to protect their data. And those users are right to be so skeptical.

Many high-profile leaks have demonstrated that lots of personal data is improperly secured, and users aren't helping the situation by choosing bad passwords or failing to practice good security hygiene. If any progress is to be made, then internet users need to understand the kind of data that companies collect, and how their online behavior exposes them.

Online security has become more contentious than ever, and the transparency reports aren't even 100 percent transparent. If users are to be involved in the process of making data security better, they need adequate tools to understand the landscape, and Data Selfie sounds like a solid starting point. For widespread security to work, we need widespread adoption and understanding, and it can't just be left to the nerds.

Game of Thrones 360-Degree Video Sets Facebook Mark

HBO's Game of Thrones now occupies the Iron Throne of Facebook 360-degree video views.

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post Friday that the 360 video of the opening sequence for the drama series became the social network's most-viewed 360 video, with some 5.3 million views over a 24-hour period.

The social network said in an email to SocialTimes that HBO teamed up with Elastic, designers of the show's opening sequence, to create a 360 video and virtual reality version, adding:

This new version includes the classic maps of the various kingdoms, the moving models of the Wall and cities-all rendered to be viewed and explored as a 360 video and in immersive VR. The video is exclusively available on the Game of Thrones Facebook page now and is coming to Oculus Video for Gear VR and Rift soon.

Readers: What do you think?

In Cramped and Costly Bay Area, Cries to Build, Baby, Build

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7.0 earthquake hits Japan's Kyushu Island

CNN's Natalie Allen speaks to Nobuaki Sato, of the Japanese Red Cross, about the aftermath of the earthquake that rocked Japan.

The Final American Idol is Crowned!

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Erik Bauersfeld, Voice Of 'Star Wars' Admiral Ackbar, Dead At 93

Erik Bauersfeld, the veteran radio actor who memorably voiced the beloved “Star Wars” character Admiral Ackbar -- and delivered the iconic line (turned meme), “It's a trap!” in “Return of the Jedi” -- died on Sunday at his home in Berkeley, Calif. He was 93.

The death was confirmed this week by his manager, Derek Maki. Cause of death was not released. 

Sad we have lost a true friend. Erik Bauersfeld, to STAR WARS fans as the voice of ADMIRAL ACKBAR, has died pic.twitter.com/q8scIVLtli

- Derek Maki (@derekmaki) April 4, 2016

Bauersfeld provided the voice to Ackbar in both 1983's “Return of the Jedi” and last year's “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” He also voiced the character of Bib Fortuna in “Jedi,” and did voice work for Steven Spielberg's “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001) and Guillermo Del Toro's “Crimson Peak” (2015).

While Bauersfeld, who was raised in New York, will be remembered for his work in movies, he often said that those forays were merely a side-note in his career. In a 2011 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, the esteemed radio dramatist and producer revealed he'd been fascinated with radio since he was a child. 

For more than three decades, Bauersfeld worked as the drama and literature director for radio station KPFA, and oversaw several productions including “The Black Mass” and “Taos: A Visitable Past.”  

As he explained on the website for Bay Area Radio Drama, his nonprofit dedicated to developing and promoting the art of radio:

“The voice work I did in movies was accidental, I was working with [Oscar-winning sound designer] Randy Thom on radio dramas at his technical quarters at Lucasfilm. One day Ben Burtt, sound designer for 'Star Wars,' came by and asked if I would audition for a voice in the movie. It became two voices, Admiral Ackbar and Bib Fortuna.” 

Voice work in movies wasn't “an occupation I had time to pursue," he said.

He also admitted that he was “flattered but a bit perplexed” by all the attention he received for his “Star Wars” appearances. 

“The fans who write say they'll never forget 'It's a trap!' I don't even remember how I said it,” he said. 

Still, the actor always made time for his fans. He told the Chronicle that he received several letters a week from “Star Wars” lovers seeking autographs, and he responded to every single one with a typewritten note. 

Bauersfeld was reportedly not alone in his dying moments. According to KPFA, Thom was there holding his hand, and his friend, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, was reading to him over the phone. 

This week, fans, including actor Darren Criss, took to Twitter to share their love for Bauersfeld. 

RIP Erik Bauersfeld, who gave us Admiral Akbar's voice, and one of the best line readings in voiceover history. May the force be with you!

- Darren Criss (@DarrenCriss) April 5, 2016

RIP Mr. Erik Bauersfeld. Thank you for being part of my childhood.

- JKB (@JayHooft) April 4, 2016

I wish this was a trap :( RIP Erik Bauersfeld https://t.co/JB8MBhmTCb

- Aimie Drinkwater (@AJDrinko) April 4, 2016

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2 Republican Senators Revoke Support For Garland Hearings

The wall of Republican opposition to the nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland to the Supreme Court has been shored up by two Republican senators revoking their support for holding confirmation hearings.

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Mike and John on Annotation Terror and Annoying Video Alerts

Some discussion of an app that can post criticism of one's work and of Facebook's new live video push and how users are pushing back.