facebook review 2021

Facebook and Instagram roll out personalized ‘Year in Review’ features

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has rolled out “Year in Review” features for both Facebook and Instagram. On Facebook, users can share their personalized “Year Together” card, which highlights the friends, feelings, places and people that mattered most to them in 2021. The new in-feed experience reflects on people’s year on the platform and curates it into a shareable card. The new feature is available globally starting today and will be accessible until December 30th.

On Instagram, users can share a custom end-of-year “Playback” time capsule to their IG Story. The feature leverages the Stories Archive, so users can customize and select up to 10 stories to share with their followers. To be eligible for this feature, users need to have posted more than three stories this year or have Stories Archive turned on. The platform will suggest Playback posts for you, but you’ll also have the option to pick what you want to share. Users will see a message in their Instagram feed inviting them to create their own Playback. The new feature will be available to users for several weeks.

Image Credits: Instagram

In previous years, Instagram users have created their own version of an end-of-year feature where they would post their top nine images in a photo grid. This year, Instagram is offering an in-app method for its users to create shareable end-of-year content.

Both Facebook and Instagram’s new features are fully customizable so users can add or remove content and posts that they choose. Meta notes that these two features are rolling out over the next few days to all users around the globe.

The launch of the new features comes as shareable end-of-year recaps have become increasingly popular thanks to Spotify’s  annual Wrapped experience that is widely shared across social media each year. Facebook and Instagram join many other digital giants looking to mimic the popular feature by releasing their own versions. For example, Reddit rolled out personalized recaps with stats about users’ habits this week; meanwhile, Snapchat is expected to launch its “Year End Story” this month as well.

Review: The many unseemly faces of Facebook

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Facebook Portal review (2nd gen)

The second-generation facebook portal smart display is an improvement in every way..

Tom's Guide Verdict

Despite our ongoing concerns about privacy, the Facebook Portal is excellent when it comes to video calls via Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

Excellent at video calls through Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp

Innovative camera-tracking feature

Nice design

Works with Alexa

Facebook voice assistant not as good as Alexa

Ongoing privacy issues with Facebook

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

• Price and availability
• Video call quality
• Audio quality
• Voice control

We didn’t think much of the original Facebook Portal. Aside from our trust issues with Facebook, the first Portal just wasn’t a very good smart display, especially compared to the Amazon Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub. 

The second-generation Facebook Portal is a much better device, letting you make video calls not just to Facebook friends but those on WhatsApp, too. It also looks nicer than the original, and can do more stuff, especially when you’re using Alexa on the Portal. Yes, we still have concerns about what Facebook is doing with our data, but the Portal is the best smart display if you want to make calls with Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. Read the rest of our Facebook Portal review to see if its benefits outweigh its issues.

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Display : 10 inches (1280 x 900 pixels) Camera : 13 MP, 114-degree field of view Speakers : 10-watt stereo, subwoofer Microphones : 4 Wi-Fi : 2.4/5GHz Size : 10.2 x 7 x 0.8 inches (excluding stand)

Facebook Portal: Price and availability

Facebook offers the Portal in three versions. The Portal Mini is $109, originally $129 on Amazon, and has an 8-inch display; the Portal at $145, (originally $179), we tested has a 10-inch display; and the Portal+ ($229) has a massive 15.6-inch display that can rotate from portrait to landscape mode. 

Both of the smaller Portals have 13MP cameras with a 114-degree field of view, while the Portal+ has a 12.5MP camera with a wider 140-degree view. In addition, the Portal+ has two 2-inch tweeters and one four-inch woofer, while the smaller models have less powerful stereo speakers.

Facebook also makes the Portal TV ($149), which is essentially a webcam you stick on top of your television.

• How to set up the Facebook Portal

Facebook Portal: Design

Unlike a lot of smart home gadgets — including the original Portal — the second-generation Facebook Portal doesn’t look like some wacky device from the future. In fact, it looks more like a digital picture frame than anything else, and acts as such when you’re not using it for video calls. 

In keeping with its aesthetic, the 10-inch touchscreen is surrounded by an ersatz matte border — the thing that costs so much when you go to get a picture framed. Surrounding this is a small gap between the border and the exterior of the frame, which not only serves as a nice design element, but also allows audio through, while hiding its actual speakers.

In the upper left corner of the Portal’s front is the camera, and the top edge above this is a slider that physically blocks the Portal’s camera and shuts off its microphone. You can slide the button to turn off just the camera, but leave the microphone on, too. It’s a lot more sophisticated than the cheap plastic clip that served a similar function on the original Portal.

Along the left edge are volume controls. The back of the Portal is flat and white except for the center, where a fabric woofer domes out slightly. 

With the exception of its “foot,” which extends about four inches out the back right corner, the Portal is only 0.8 inches thick, and measures 10.2 inches wide by 7 inches tall. Cleverly, if you turn the Portal so that it’s either in landscape or portrait mode, the screen automatically reorients itself.

Facebook Portal: Video call quality

Give credit where it’s due: With the original Portal, Facebook figured out a problem when making video calls from a smart display. Because you can’t carry a display around as you would a phone or tablet, you’re usually stuck in one spot, and the person on the other end of the line won’t be able to see you if you move. 

The Portal solves that issue by tracking your face and digitally panning and zooming its camera so that you remain in the center of the frame as much as possible. This way, if you have the Portal set up in your kitchen, you can walk around and prepare a meal, and the person you’re chatting with can still see you clearly. To date, the only other smart display that can do this is the Google Nest Hub Max .

Being the monolithic social networking platform that it is, the Portal lets you make calls not just to Facebook Messenger contacts, but also to people on WhatsApp, which Facebook owns. Those two services collectively account for roughly 40 percent of the world’s population, so there’s a good chance you’ll find someone you know.

As I have accounts with both services, I made calls via Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, and both came through sharp and clear. Despite my being in a somewhat dark room, the Portal’s camera produced a bright, colorful image. While the Portal’s camera-tracking can be a bit sluggish — there’s a delay of about a second from the time you move to the time the camera shifts — it was neat to watch it lock on to me, eventually. 

One fun aspect of video calls via the Portal are all the filters you can apply not just to yourself, but to the other people on the call. My wife and I spent a few minutes gawking at the virtual cats on our heads. 

As of October 2020, Facebook has also added Zoom, and expects to add more web-conferencing apps (BlueJeans, GoToMeeting, WebEx) to the Portal at some point. 

Facebook Portal: Audio quality

With its two speakers and rear-facing subwoofer, the Portal turned out pretty good audio for its size. The Beatles’ I Want to Hold You Hand streamed from Spotify was reproduced accurately with a strong bass. However, t higher tones, such as Ringo’s cymbal work, felt a little compressed. 

Audio during video calls was equally strong. Thanks to the Portal’s four microphones, callers were able to hear us easily, even if we were ten feet away from the display.

Facebook Portal: Apps

You can add functionality to the Portal by installing apps and websites; currently, there are only 12 apps available, including Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, FB Gaming, ABC News Live, Food Network, Story Time, and a web browser. 

The Portal comes with 18 bookmarked webpages, which include Yelp, ESPN, Twitch , Instagram, Google, YouTube , and, of course, Facebook. In this way, you can view your Facebook feed, but it’s not nearly as easy to navigate as it is on a laptop or through a dedicated mobile app. The same goes for other sites such as YouTube and ESPN. 

The Portal’s browser is an ok workaround — it even has an incognito mode — and something you don’t get on other smart displays, but the experience isn’t the best. However, you can expand YouTube videos to full screen. 

The Photo Booth app lets you take both stills and video, and apply the same filters as you would during a video call. However, you can’t save the photos or video, only send them via Facebook Messenger. 

Facebook Portal: Voice control

The Portal comes with two voice assistants: Facebook’s “Hey Portal” and Amazon’s Alexa. But unless Facebook makes drastic improvements to its assistant, there’s very little reason to use it in favor of Alexa. 

Let’s start with Alexa. You can pretty much do everything with Alexa on the Portal as you can on any other Amazon device: Control smart home products, play music, play games, and control the volume of the Portal’s speakers. 

More importantly, Alexa visual skills are now available on the Portal, so if you want to turn on your smart lights, a slider will appear on-screen, letting you adjust their brightness. You can even look up recipes and have them show up on-screen, so you can follow them step by step. The one thing you can’t do is make voice or video calls using Alexa, but given that Facebook wants you to use its services, is an understandable limitation.

The “Hey Portal” command can be used to start and end video calls, play music, set timers, and get the weather, but it’s not as functional, nor as accurate, as Alexa. 

“Hey Portal, play WBGO” was continually misinterpreted, as was my ask to stream 97.5 the Fanatic. When I asked the same of Alexa, Amazon’s assistant interpreted my requests accurately. 

While you can use the Hey Portal command to open the 18 web pages that come pre-bookmarked, you can’t open any other websites by asking the Portal. 

Facebook Portal: Privacy

Yes, Facebook’s myriad privacy issues have still not been adequately resolved. However, if you’re already on Facebook, you’ve likely already made this calculus in your head. And, by using the Portal, you’re not giving up any more information than you would have otherwise. 

Now, you can view everything that the Portal heard, and delete each recording individually, or all at once. You can also opt not to have the Portal save any recordings whatsoever. Selecting this option is the best course of action, for this or any other device that records what you say. 

Facebook Portal Review: Verdict

Does Facebook’s privacy issues still concern me? Yes. Is the second-generation Portal a much better device than the original? Yes. Not only has the design of the device improved — it’s much more subtle, and has a physical switch for the microphone and camera — but its functionality is much closer to that of the best smart displays. 

The Nest Hub Max is more of a well-rounded smart display: It provides you news and weather at a glance, has an equally impressive camera, and lets you stream movies and the like via Chromecast. 

But the Facebook Portal does one thing exceptionally well: Video calls using Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. If you’re on either of those platforms — and there’s a good chance you are — then the Portal is a smart display worth considering. 

Michael A. Prospero is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide. He oversees all evergreen content and oversees the Homes, Smart Home, and Fitness/Wearables categories for the site. In his spare time, he also tests out the latest drones, electric scooters, and smart home gadgets, such as video doorbells. Before his tenure at Tom's Guide, he was the Reviews Editor for Laptop Magazine, a reporter at Fast Company, the Times of Trenton, and, many eons back, an intern at George magazine. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. When he’s not testing out the latest running watch, electric scooter, or skiing or training for a marathon, he’s probably using the latest sous vide machine, smoker, or pizza oven, to the delight — or chagrin — of his family.

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Facebook reviews: your ultimate guide (all Qs answered)

Discover how to set up and start getting Facebook reviews for your business (everything you need to know).

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Table of Contents

Checking out Facebook reviews, scrolling through Instagram and generally interacting on social media is the first thing many people do in the morning and the last thing at night.

With over 1.9 billion daily active users, Facebook makes it easy to access information, discuss politics (a lot), share stories and experiences, join business networking groups, run Facebook ads and connect your product catalog , learn from industry experts and you guessed it, check out reviews (social proof).

More than ever, customers are turning to social platforms like Facebook to fully engage with businesses.

Facebook is fast becoming one of the first points of contact you have with your online customers, so, as a business, if you're not taking advantage of Facebook reviews, you could be missing out. It might seem like a minefield of information, but people do truly care about what others are saying about your business, so proactively driving positive reviews is absolutely worth your time and effort.

Why are Facebook reviews so important for businesses?

Consider this. You're in the market for a new dentist after moving cities. You've had bad experiences before, so choosing the right dentist is a big deal . What's the first thing you do? Ask your family and friends for a recommendation or search online for the best local dental surgery.

Believe it or not, this process happens millions of times every day for local businesses. When you finally do find that dentist and notice they have hundreds of glowing online reviews from existing patients (many of whom address the same concerns you have), you feel a sense of relief and a sense of trust. When we are unsure about something, we look to others for validation . Facebook reviews provide the endorsement that we are not alone; other people have done this before, and we can feel confident in looking to their experiences. Encouraging your customers to leave a review on your business will result in your future customers also feeling this sense of trust.

Besides Facebook reviews, you might have a myriad of other review sites that customers review you on (like Google or TripAdvisor ). Some great tools on the market, such as Cloutly , can help you aggregate and manage all of your reviews in one place. Cloutly’s platform will help you effortlessly drive 2-3x times more customer reviews, whilst bringing all your feedback - from Google, Facebook, Trustpilot etc - into one place, rather than all over the place.

Whilst Facebook reviews allow you to build a better business and understand the customer experience, they also provide you with an asset that delivers compounding interest: your reputation.

The most important review factors

When it comes to building trust, here's what consumers are saying matters most to them (i.e. factors that are most persuasive) when looking at business reviews on review platforms like Google as well as Facebook.

• Star-rating (between 4.5 and 4.9 stars is the sweet spot).
• Authenticity (are the reviews balanced? thousands of 5-star reviews alone set off alarms).
• Recentness (consistent feedback proves your level of service is constant; old reviews don't hold much weight).
• Response (how does the business respond? what does it say about them?)
• Volume (number of reviews).

Setting up your page for Facebook page reviews

Whether you already have an established business page or you need to create one, the benefits of Facebook reviews are irrefutable. Facebook is a powerful platform that will help you connect with your audience, acquire new customers, drive purchases and improve word-of-mouth referrals.

First of all, you'll need to set up a new Facebook business page if you haven't got one (or you've previously deleted your page ). You can do this from your personal Facebook account. Follow these five easy steps:

Step 1 - Create a Facebook page (if you don't have one) Go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/create Enter all of your business information in the panel on the left; you'll see real-time updates as you proceed. Use your business name where possible (or the name that people are likely to search by default). Use the 'category' section wisely and choose the relevant suggestions. Next, complete a short description – Facebook gives you 255 characters to play with.

Then, when you're done, hit the Create Page button down the bottom left.

Step 2 - Add some pictures Next, add your profile picture and cover photo. These will always be on display, so ensure you choose something eye-catching. If you are a public figure, use a portrait photograph; if you have a small business, use your logo, or, in lieu of a logo, you could also consider using a product image. The most important thing is that the image is recognisable.

Step 3 - Connect your Facebook page with WhatsApp (optional) If you wish, connect your business page to WhatsApp, so that customers can reach you here from your pages, or from any ads you plan to run, or, if you'd prefer to skip this bit, you can continue to the next page.

Step 4 - Choose a username Create your username, which will tell people where to find you ( and tag you ) on Facebook when they search above their news feed. Your username can be up to 50 characters, but use them wisely – ensure that your username is easy to remember. Facebook will give you a green tick if the username is available.

Step 5 - Add business information Facebook has a simple step-by-step guide to follow. When all of the details are complete, carefully consider the right call to action (CTA). This is what the public will see on your page, and may encourage visitors to shop, download your app, book an appointment or even just learn more about your business.

How to enable the Reviews tab on your page

Once you've done all this, you're ready to enable the Facebook review tab!

• Log in and navigate to your Facebook business page.
• Click on 'Settings' and then choose 'Templates and Tabs'.
• Find the Reviews tab and activate it.

How to get more Facebook reviews

Now it's time to get some glowing reviews on your business page. How do you do it? Quite simply, ask your customers ! The good news is, it's easy to request a review on Facebook. Here are a few ways you can do this:

• Reach out to your loyal customers and ask them to provide you with an honest review on your business Facebook page. You'll be impressed with the number of people that want to help.
• Use Cloutly to add your customers to automated review campaigns, which help you drive 2-3x more reviews on the review sites you've connected.
• If you have a website, you can embed your Facebook reviews so that with one click, you can redirect customers directly to Facebook. Cloutly has a range of website widgets you can use to showcase not only your Facebook reviews but your reviews from 40+ review sites.
• Ask your customers to check-in. If they do this, Facebook will remind them to leave a review on your business listing.

You rely on customer reviews to grow your business, but asking for them... sucks. Review requests are awkward, boring, and nobody wants another email asking them to complete a survey. That's why we built Cloutly. The fastest way to get your customers talking about you. pic.twitter.com/CvrciH2lCa — Cloutly (@cloutlyco) December 14, 2021

Whether you ask for a review in person, by email or by Facebook, remember to be genuine.  It is essential to ask your customer in the right way so they don't find you inauthentic about their experience and appear to be just seeking a review. If they have had a great experience, feel free to explain that reviews really help other prospective customers make comfortable decisions.

How to embed Facebook reviews

Note that you'll need to be the admin of a business page in order to to embed Facebook reviews. If you don't have one, discover how to create or delete a business Facebook account as quickly as possible.

Step 1 - Go to the Facebook reviews section Log in to the Facebook account associated with your Facebook business page and go to the business page. You will see a few tabs including Home, Services, Reviews, Shop, and others. Click on Reviews. Depending on your customization, the Reviews section might be positioned elsewhere. But it is generally found in the tabs section.

Step 2 - Filter and select the reviews to embed Once you've clicked on the Reviews tab, your business' reviews should appear. Above the Reviews section, you'll see a dropdown menu that allows you to categorize them into 'Star Rating', 'Most Helpful', 'Most Recent', and others. Select the one you would like. After sorting them, find the review you'd like to embed and click on the three horizontal dots at the top right-hand side of the display box.

Step 3 - Embedding your review When you click on the three horizontal dots, a few options will appear. If Embed is among them, click on it. If it isn't among the options, try clicking 'More Options' first.

Step 4 - Copy the Facebook embed code When you click Embed, a window containing the embed code pops up with two options: JavaScript SDK and iFrame. Choose the one that best fits your use case (though for most people, iFrame will work fine). This embed code is what you'll need to paste into your website's HTML in order to get your reviews to embed. Select the code and copy it.

Step 5 - Paste the Embed Code into Your Website With the code snippet in hand, you have one question and two options: firstly, where should I place my widget?! Secondly: you could choose to sprinkle the best reviews here and there across your website, or alternatively, create a dedicated page for your glowing testimonials where all your reviews live. Once you've got a game plan, head over to your website and paste your embed code into a HTML block (this process may be different, depending on your website builder/CMS).

How to respond to Facebook reviews

You should make an effort to respond to as many of your customer reviews as possible (the good and the bad), regardless of the platform. Your customers have taken the time to leave you a review, so it's nice to thank them for their time at the very least.

Always use their name, tell them that you appreciate their review and be specific in your reply by using keywords and addressing key points from their review. Where possible, you can use responses as marketing opportunities to announce a new promotion that might benefit them (or the 5000 other people who read your reply).

Transparency is key. If appropriate, ask them to spread the word to their friends and family.

If the review is negative, thank and reassure them that their feedback is valued. Try and take communications offline and take their best contact details. Indicate in your response that you are committed to resolving their issues.

Whatever the platform (Facebook, Google, TripAdvisor etc), it's important to have a procedure in place to respond to negative reviews. Check out our best response templates here .

How Facebook reviews affect your page rating

Facebook rates each business page on a number of metrics, such as reviews and recommendations (reviews are now synonymous with Facebook recommendations, to avoid confusion).

Various criteria form your overall rating, and only business owners who allow recommendations will be able to see this.

You can see your business’ rating by going to your page and clicking on the Reviews tab in the menu, at the top of your page.

Can I hide, report or remove Facebook page reviews?

Yes and no.

• Yes, you can hide or remove the reviews tab from your Facebook business page entirely.
• No, you can't remove individual reviews (unless they're fraudulent, and you can prove it).

Firstly, consider the content of the review and if a reply would be sufficient. Don’t forget that negative reviews can be just as powerful as 5-star reviews if you play your cards right.

All businesses make mistakes, and it is how you respond and deal with the situation that can count in your favour. Also, customers may be suspicious if you only have all glowing reviews (it doesn’t look natural).

If you receive a review that you deem fake, involves hate speech, is excessively negative or is in breach of Facebook's community standards, you can report it to Facebook and make a case for your business.

We've written a guide about removing negative reviews on Google , which is virtually the same process as on FB.

If you'd prefer, you can hide the review section on your page altogether, which will stop you from worrying about any fake or bad reviews/recommendations people might see. Be aware that this section relates to all reviews, including any new reviews, plus the five-star ratings you have already worked so hard for.

To do this, head to your Page Settings (edit page) , choose Templates and Tabs , find the Reviews tab and switch the toggle off.

As with other platforms like Google, you cannot remove reviews (unless they are against Facebook’s guidelines) from your Facebook page, even if they're malicious.

Review systems are grounded in transparency and honesty, therefore deleting and editing reviews would counteract this. The only way you can delete Facebook reviews is if you report them and Facebook confirms that it goes against their guidelines.

How to report a fake review on Facebook

If someone has posted a review that violates the platform's community standards , then you can report it. Facebook will remove the review if it includes bullying, misrepresentation, hate speech or insensitivity.

Flagging a Facebook review is simple. Here are the steps:

• Log in to your Facebook account and head over to your Facebook page on the right-hand side
• Navigate to the Reviews tab at the top and click it
• Navigate to the three dots beside the review in question (on your right). Then select Find support or report recommendation
• A pop-up window will appear. Click on the most appropriate word that describes the review

Then cross your fingers and wait for the Facebook jury to deliver their final judgement. Overly offensive and ingenuine reviews may warrant removal straight away.

Why can’t I see all my Facebook reviews?

Reviews disappeared? Can't find out where to see them? This one is usually a quick fix. Firstly, make sure that you've enabled your Reviews tab inside Page Settings (see above). Then, take a look at your page again. If you still can't see the Reviews tab, take a look under the More dropdown menu.

If it's there, you may want to re-arrange your tabs back in Page Settings and place Reviews further up the list. If it's still not there, go to the About tab and make sure you've selected a business category that Facebook recognises.

Some businesses have reported that their older reviews (star ratings) have just vanished.

If this has happened to you, you're not alone.

Since merging Reviews with Recommendations, Facebook has massively simplified the way in which people can sort through a business' feedback. Now, you only have the choice of sorting reviews by Most Helpful, or Most Recent.

While your reviews are unlikely actually gone, the limitations of this filtering system may cause them to appear like they're gone. Our advice: don't fret, they're probably still there. If you find a direct link to any of your old reviews, that will give you a definitive answer.

How to leave a review on Facebook

As most people have Facebook, it should be easy for them to leave a review for your Facebook Business Page. But, in case you have a Facebook novice wondering how to leave you a positive review, you can direct them to this guide.

• Head to the Facebook Business Page of the business you want to review
• Click Reviews from the drop down menu under the business's name and logo
• You'll see a question, Do you recommend * business name *? Then click Yes or No (but hopefully Yes )
• You can then write a review of at least 25 characters long
• Then, in the Sharing section you can select who you want to see your review. Just friends or everyone,
• Then, hit Post

Final thoughts

You're now armed with all the tools and support you need to start scoring Facebook reviews.

If you think about how many times you look at other businesses' reviews before you dine, shop or shake hands, you'll realise how important it is to continue building your reputation as an asset class.

The more reviews you get (even the bad ones), the more trust you earn, and this helps future customers make real buying decisions about you.

Which dentist would you trust: the one with a 3-star rating from two patients, or the one with a 4.8-star rating from three hundred patients?

Using a tool like Cloutly makes driving reviews easy, predictable and scalable. Instead of awkwardly asking your customers (one by one) for a review, Cloutly's review campaigns put the process on autopilot: driving 2-3x more reviews on the sites you choose, including Google and Facebook.

If word-of-mouth is important to your business, try Cloutly free for 14 days .

Lachlan Fea Twitter

👋 Co-Founder of Cloutly. Technical marketer interested in startups, SaaS, SEO, sales and UX. Passionate about bringing teams of brilliant people together and letting them do their thing.

Katie Hollamby

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Bad reviews getting you down? Read our article on how to respond to a 1-star review on Google!

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When a Logo Doesn’t Risk It All: Meta’s Brand Is Designed for Unknown Worlds

The emblem for Facebook’s new parent company is built for the metaverse, even if it disappoints in the real world.

By Gray Beltran

When Mark Zuckerberg announced last month that Facebook was changing its name , the company published a sleek animation online that showed logos of all its apps and products fusing together to form a shimmering vision of the future: a two-tone blue infinity symbol next to the word “Meta.”

The new symbol and name change were nods to Mr. Zuckerberg’s plans to refocus the Silicon Valley giant toward what he sees as the unification of disparate digital worlds into the so-called metaverse , the immersive, interconnected online space largely enabled by augmented and virtual reality. “The metaverse is the next frontier in connecting people,” he said in an announcement .

To design experts, the change by a scandal-plagued company was the latest example of efforts by corporate America to create brands that are less unique and ultimately less offensive. It was also a reflection of the growing challenge for corporate identities to exist in many different sizes and digital settings at once, from V.R. headsets to smartwatches — a challenge that is magnified for Meta as it tries to establish an identity for something that largely doesn’t exist yet.

“It checks a lot of boxes,” said Michael Evamy, the author of “Logo,” an anthology of corporate brands and logos. “It’s very simple. It’s very visible at all scales. It’s blue.” (Blue, he noted, is historically a color associated with safety and trustworthiness. The infinity symbol, devoid of corners and jagged edges, can be seen as nonthreatening.)

“But in a way it kind of looks exactly like you’d expect,” Mr. Evamy added. “Kind of underwhelming and risk-averse.”

Users and lawmakers worldwide are increasingly scrutinizing the wide reach of Facebook, whose products — including Instagram and WhatsApp — are used by more than 3.6 billion people every month . Even as Facebook grew to become one of the most valuable companies in the world, it spent the last several years moving from one embarrassing scandal to the next. Most recently, a former employee turned whistle-blower released a vast trove of internal documents , arguing that Mr. Zuckerberg and Facebook routinely placed profit over the well-being of people.

Mr. Zuckerberg said last month that the name change was a reflection of how much Facebook had evolved. “Right now our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can’t possibly represent everything we’re doing today, let alone in the future,” he said.

Facebook has long been associated with its lowercase “f” logo — a simple mark but one that became globally recognizable as Facebook grew. The company’s other apps also have bold and colorful logos, which are staying as part of the rebranding.

Because Mr. Zuckerberg’s future vision rests on virtual reality, the company wanted a new logo that felt more dynamic and immersive. In March, the company began developing a logo by focusing “solely on exploring concepts with motion, dimensionality and perspective,” Zach Stubenvoll, Sam Halle and Marian Chiao, members of its internal design team, said in an email.

When using a V.R. headset, people often use a controller to draw boundary lines of their virtual experience. Meta’s designers said the color loop in the new logo that eventually twists into the infinity symbol was inspired by those boundary lines.

The design community’s response to Facebook’s change has been largely muted.

“This symbol just doesn’t get you excited about the metaverse,” Mr. Evamy said. “The opportunity they’ve missed is to produce something really exciting and transformative in its own way.”

Many other brands have very similar infinity-symbol logos, including those of web development software sold by Microsoft, a model of Top Flite golf balls, a wealth management firm and the rock band Hoobastank. A service owned by Meta called Boomerang also uses an infinity symbol.

“An infinity loop is not very unique,” said Jessica Walsh , the founder and creative director of the design studio &Walsh. “However, unlike many brands, they’re in a privileged position where they don’t need to rely on their logo being distinct for it to be memorable.”

Paula Scher, a partner at Pentagram, a design consultancy whose clients include Bloomberg, Citibank and Tiffany, said she had seen a growing push for corporate brand logos to have motion and be multidimensional. Several years ago, for example, Google added animation to its logo. But Ms. Scher pointed out that making a logo more flexible risked making it less recognizable.

Rodrigo Corral , a book cover designer who has also worked with the rapper Jay-Z and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, often incorporates animation in his design work for clients. “But the logo has to stand on its own,” he cautioned. “It has to work without motion first.”

In recent years, brands have had to adapt their logos and identities to a wider array of digital platforms. As websites once solely viewed on desktop computers gave way to smartphone apps, logos had to function in smaller and smaller contexts — tiny squares and circles in social media feeds or miniature dots on smartwatches. Virtual reality offers yet another platform for brands to adapt to, one that is inherently defined by motion and 3-D.

Mr. Evamy noted that the new Meta logo was a departure from an era when corporate branding was much more evocative. “Big companies used to produce very brave, exciting, striking and stop-you-in-your-tracks symbols,” he said, pointing to the iconic stripes of IBM or the arrow hidden inside FedEx’s name.

But whereas a company like FedEx traditionally had to concern itself with branding on the side of a delivery truck and in TV commercials, Meta lives predominantly in the digital world across various platforms.

It is relatively uncharted territory. There is little precedent for corporate logos that can exist in 3-D within a virtual space where they can be interacted with and manipulated by a user.

“Our Meta design system is designed to grow and change with the company and as the metaverse is created,” Meta’s design team said in the email. “We needed to future-proof the symbol.”

Facebook’s new Portal Go is great for video calls, but not much else

The first battery-powered smart display, the portal go lets you bring video calling to every room in your home.

By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy , a smart home reporter who's been testing connected gadgets since 2013. Previously a writer for Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, and US News.

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The Facebook Portal Go is a portable smart display designed to make video calling in your home easier. The irony of a product that purports to bring people together being made by a company whose algorithms often drive people apart is not lost on anyone. Personally, I have friends I will not be enjoying Messenger video calls on the Portal Go with because I unfriended them on Facebook so I wouldn’t need to in real life. But for the rest of my Friends list, the Portal Go has been a surprisingly fun device to use to stay in touch. That time my 76-year-old mother and I competed at eating virtual donuts in an augmented reality Messenger Room — opening our mouths as wide as possible as we bore down on the screen — is definitely one for the memory books. Thankfully, there is no video evidence. 

The donut-eating device costs $199 and starts shipping on October 19th. A battery-powered version of Facebook’s 10-inch Portal smart display, the Portal Go has a new form factor and some new tricks. It joins Facebook’s smart display lineup alongside the Portal Mini (8-inch screen for $129), the 10-inch Portal ($179) and Portal TV ($149), and the also-new 15-inch Portal Plus ($349, which replaces the old Portal Plus as the largest screen in the lineup).

The Go still houses Facebook’s excellent wide-angle camera that automatically frames you as you move around as well as those beam-forming microphones that hone in accurately on the voice of whoever is speaking. Fun, interactive AR features that can help keep a kid engaged with a grandparent or give tweenagers hours of fun with their friends are still front and center in the Messenger calling app. And Facebook has built on all those features in this third-generation device, adding a little more fun and a lot more functionality. 

As a video calling device, it’s an improvement on previous generations. Three additions — an all-day battery so you can pick it up and move it around, Bluetooth keyboard and headset support for productivity and privacy, and calendar integration for tap and go video calling — make this actually useful for video calls, as opposed to a bit of a novelty.

It’s also as easy to set up and use as the previous versions , much simpler than setting up calling on any of the other smart displays I’ve tested. Plus, there’s handsfree calling using voice with Facebook’s “Hey Portal” voice assistant. A Facebook or WhatsApp account is still required to set up and use the Go, but the option of five different video calling services — BlueJeans, GoToMeeting, Workplace, Webex, and Zoom (with Microsoft Teams coming this year) — in addition to Facebook’s properties, helps you step outside the walled garden somewhat. 

The Portal Go comes with a small USB-C powered charging stand, so it can stay powered or move from room to room. Weighing three pounds and with an integrated handle, it is as easy to walk around with as an iPad and less awkward than a laptop. The Portal Go’s battery has a 40Wh capacity — not far off from what you’d find in a thin and light laptop. It promises 14 hours of music playback and up to five hours of video calling.

With light use (some music streaming, video watching, and a couple of Zoom calls), it lasted an average of 19 hours in my testing. A new, softer design replaces the faux-photo-frame look of the second-gen. Now fabric-wrapped and more triangular shaped for better stability, it looks a lot like a Nest Hub Max , only with less bezel and a bigger fabric base. 

The new base also houses an improved speaker system; two full-range speakers and a woofer make this a much better, if not spectacular, music streaming device and portable Bluetooth speaker. I was able to take it outside and serenade my chickens at the bottom of the garden with Adele’s newest track, and they fully enjoyed her smooth vocals, dramatic timbre, and perfect pitch. The downside here is the limited number of supported music services: Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, and iHeartRadio is all you get for streaming.

Other hardware tweaks include a new, separate physical camera shutter (similar to the original Portal’s camera cap but better integrated) and a mute button that turns the camera and microphone off. This gives you the option of just having audio on during a call.

Facebook told me the idea for the Go came from customer feedback — people wanting a device designed for video calling so that when they’re on a work call, they can use their main computer for referencing documents or multi-tasking. When it comes to personal use, being able to “move and place” this screen, as opposed to holding a device like a smartphone or tablet, can help keep a conversation flowing, the company said.

In my testing, this largely held up — it was a smooth experience to sit out on my back porch and perch the Go on a stool to take a Zoom call with eight colleagues while referencing items on my laptop. That would have been tricky to do with any other smart display — involving numerous extension cords. The video quality was excellent, superior to a laptop camera, and the 12-megapixel camera offers decent HDR capabilities, with my bright backyard background only slightly blown out. The four microphones picked up my voice clearly, and the speakers pushed the voices of my colleagues into the outdoor space with no issues. 

As nice as it is, I don’t really need to take my work calls on my back porch. And in my use the portability factor came into play with friends and family. Calls between my two teenage children and their grandparents (who were on an older-generation Portal) were a lot easier to initiate when I could pick up the device and take it to where they were. Multi-person calls (four of us on our end and two on their end) also worked better here than our previous attempts on an Echo Show 8, as the camera does a great job of keeping everyone in the frame. You can also hear voices clearly even if they’re moving around (which my kids invariably do).

When considered as a smart display, which is the category most people will put this in, the Portal Go stands out as being the first battery-powered one, and that’s about it. This is not a fully featured smart display, chiefly because of a lack of support for video streaming services (CBS News and the Food Network are the only built-in apps, Netflix, YouTube, and SlingTV can be accessed through the built-in web browser — but no Prime Video, HBO Max, or Hulu).

The Go also doesn’t do anything very smart. While you can use the built-in Alexa voice assistant to do most of what Alexa can do on an Echo Show (including calling up video feeds from Ring security cameras), there is no support for devices outside of the Alexa ecosystem and the Alexa touchscreen interface is pretty useless. As a smart display, this has limited use.

This is a great video calling device, and that’s about it

It’s not alone, though. I’ve tested virtually every smart display available, and my feeling is it’s a category searching for a purpose. Smart displays try to do too much and subsequently aren’t very good at any one thing: not great music-listening devices, not an excellent touch interface, not well-designed alarm clocks, and not very good at being a family hub. At best, they’re excellent digital picture frames — although the Portal isn’t great at that. You’re limited to your Facebook or Instagram photos or to importing pictures from your phone using the Portal app, which is just a bit too much work.

This multi-tasking is not something we really need from smart displays. Mobile devices that do everything are useful when we’re out and about, but we don’t need so much all-in-one functionality in the home, especially when a device isn’t very good at any particular task. What we need in the smart home are devices that do what they should do and do it well. I’m happy to have my dishwasher wash dishes and my oven cook the food, so I’m fine if my “video phone” isn’t also a hard-to-use smart home controller and sub-par entertainment device.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t like it if it could do it all really well, but that isn’t the case here — or with any smart display. This is a great video calling device, and that’s about it. A couple features make it a better one than competitors like Amazon and Google. Firstly, you can call the Portal from the Portal app on your smartphone — making it easy to “phone home,” just like an old-fashioned landline. Secondly, you can set up multiple Facebook or WhatsApp profiles (up to four) and protect them with a pin, so everyone has their own contacts to call. Plus, a Household Mode lets you manage access to certain apps so your seven-year-old can still call Grandma, but doesn’t accidentally Zoom your boss at bath time. Multi-user support is tricky to do on other smart displays and flat out not possible with other good video calling devices, such as an iPad. This makes the Go more like a cordless video phone for your home, something anyone in a household can pick up and use.

Whether you want a Portal Go in your home will largely come down to the answers to two questions: Are you comfortable with a device from Facebook in your home, and do you want a dedicated video phone for work or personal calls? If the answer to both those questions is yes — the Portal Go may be a good device for you. If you are more interested in a smart display that easily integrates with your smart home, acts as a second TV screen, and works in a multi-room music audio system, a Nest Hub from Google or an Echo Show from Amazon will fit your needs better. 

Agree to Continue: Facebook Portal Go

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.

In order to use the Facebook Portal, you must have a Facebook or WhatsApp account and agree to Facebook’s  terms and conditions  and  data policy or WhatsApp’s terms of service and privacy policy . In addition, the Portal has a supplemental  terms and conditions  and  data policy  of its own that you must agree to in order to use the product.

While setting up the Portal, you also are presented with the option to store voice interactions for the “Hey Portal” commands. Linking WhatsApp, Amazon Alexa, Spotify, and Pandora accounts with the Portal requires providing Facebook with access to those accounts and services.

Final tally: four mandatory agreements and more optional agreements, depending on how many services are linked to the device.

Photography by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

The little smart home platform that could

This is tesla’s riveting fix for recalled cybertruck accelerator pedals, zack snyder’s rebel moon movies are a fandom menace, the invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat, how phish turned las vegas’ sphere into the ultimate music visualizer.

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Review: Facebook Portal Go

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I’ve been using Facebook’s new portable videophone, the Portal Go, for more than a week. My 4-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter use it to talk to my parents across the country. It’s been going pretty well. It’s an entertaining, immersive experience, although it's honestly not much different from previous iterations , including the Portal TV .

But last night my 4-year-old threw an inexplicable tantrum while we were on a call. Before I could say or do anything, my daughter impatiently grabbed the Portal Go and left the living room. When my son had calmed down, I walked off to find her. She was upstairs, comfortably snuggled in her bed with her grandparents on the device reading books to her.

If you’re not a parent, it is really hard to explain just how much your kids have lost in the past two years—even if your kids, like mine, are still a little too young to fully comprehend it. There’s so much I haven't been able to give them, but I can give them this. So far, the Portal Go is the best way I’ve found to bring long-distance family members closer together.

When Facebook went dark earlier this year, I quickly learned which of the people I know have friends and family overseas and which do not. More than 3.5 billion people around the world use Facebook and its apps, especially in countries like the Philippines, where my family is from and where Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa is fighting against misinformation rampant on Facebook.

At this point, arguing about whether to use Facebook is like arguing about whether to have access to the grid. A company can have extremely questionable business practices and still provide critical infrastructure. In many places, Facebook is the internet. All of this is a long way to say that I use Facebook as circumspectly as I can, but I do use it, and that has helped the Portal Go integrate itself seamlessly into my life. 

It looks and feels like a slimmer, taller Amazon Echo Show , with a gray, cloth-colored body that conceals two 5-watt speakers and a 20-watt woofer. It has a rechargeable battery with a tiny, annoying charging port in the base. The battery is arguably the most frustrating part of this device.  An hour-long Portal call with interactive stories and some YouTube drained the battery about 20 percent. A day on my desk playing music, attending multiple Zoom meetings, and checking different apps drained it completely. It really doesn't last that long, and worse yet, it takes a while to recharge (about two hours for it to charge to full from 40 percent). 

The Portal started as a dedicated videophone/ digital picture frame , but Facebook has gradually expanded its uses. In addition to Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Zoom, you can add your Spotify, Deezer, or Pandora account; upload your calendars to a dedicated app; or search a browser. It also has built-in Alexa, although you can talk directly to the Portal with voice commands.

I am generally suspicious of smart speakers , so I used to keep the original Portal unplugged in a drawer until it was time to make a call. However, the Portal Go is much more useful. I can keep it on my desk and check the forecast, tap on the calendar to see my day, and quickly log into Zoom, where the Portal’s smart cameras help me look comfortable and great. It works as a digital picture frame, reminding me of all those vacations past, and my parents halfway across the country can read the kids a few books while I cook dinner.

If you don't already have a camera with smart panning, it's hard to overstate just how much more relaxed you can be when you're not worried about accidentally giving yourself a double chin, lighting yourself poorly, or falling out of frame. It's so comfortable that in a recent meeting, my coworker surreptitiously asked me if I'd fallen asleep. No! I was ... well. Hmmm.

The Portal Go retains most of the smart features that made it so appealing to me before. The smart camera pans and widens to pick up everyone in the frame, although the fact that it’s easier to move than ever has made that less necessary. Smart Sound picks up voices and downgrades background noise, which means my parents can still understand everyone who's talking, even when it’s otherwise absolute chaos—the fan running in the kitchen as my husband cooks, our dog barking, the kids shouting to be heard over each other.

The AR masks are just as fun, and Facebook has added new books to the Story Time app. But one of my biggest complaints is the lack of fresh material in Story Time. My kids love books and reading aloud and can easily go through three stories in one sitting. Facebook adds new stories regularly, but my personal opinion is that it needs a dedicated team adding a half-dozen stories per week. It would be nice to have much more new material. 

You can turn the camera and mic off with a physical button or a manual shutter. Since it has Alexa built-in, your kids can call emergency services with the Portal if you become incapacitated, a handy perk. There’s also a Watch Together feature that lets you watch a movie or show with someone else miles away at the same time, but this might be more useful if you have a bigger screen, like a Portal TV. 

If you plan to have the Portal in a public space in your house, you can create a Household profile that will keep your private calendar and other apps locked. This is useful if your kids frequently make calls to your family unsupervised, so they won't accidentally start a Zoom with your boss. I didn’t need to use this because I kept the Go on my desk in my office. 

Facebook knows what it’s doing. Whether it's turning Snaps into Instagram Stories or making smart glasses that are dangerously easy to wear , its gear is generally attractive and usable. The company also released a new and larger desktop version, the Portal Plus, but the image of my daughter sharing an intimate moment with her grandparents thousands of miles away will stick with me. The billions of people around the world who use Facebook aren't doing it out of ignorance. We use it because—as questionable the company is—it makes our lives better.

Nikola Bojkov

How to leave facebook reviews with the new facebook recommendations.

Learn everything about Facebook reviews and the new Facebook recommendations.

We are all aware that Facebook reviews and recommendations are extremely important for any company’s reputation.

And positive reviews or 5-star reviews from previous customers are becoming a new channel to build trust among potential customers.

What is very interesting is that 1 in 3 Facebook users are using the platform to find reviews and recommendations.

In this post, we are publishing everything you need to know about Facebook recommendations and especially how to explain to customers to leave Facebook reviews on your Facebook page.

Facebook Reviews are Becoming Recommendations

FYI: You can embed Facebook reviews widget  automatically with  EmbedReviews platform.  Start a free trial  and display your Facebook Page recommnedations now. 

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Facebook recently introduced new updates for Business Pages .

The main goal of the newly redesigned pages is to provide easier ways for people to interact with local businesses on social media.

According to Facebook’s VP of Local, Alex Himel, Over 1.6 billion people around the world are connected to a small business on Facebook. And starting from August 2018 Facebook is making new changes to Facebook Business Pages to help more people connect with local businesses.

One of the main updates is the further development of the feature Recommendations, which is an evolved version of the Facebook reviews system.

This new feature is already rolled out, and businesses will have the chance to see new reviews designed on their Facebook Page. The main change of the system is that the Recommendations option is integrated within the reviews and all recommendations that customers or other Facebook users previously gave will also be listed in this Reviews/Recommendations section.

As stated in the official update, Facebook is making Recommendations from the business’s community more helpful:

‘People use Recommendations to ask their communities where to go, where to eat, or where to shop on Facebook . We’re making those Recommendations more prominent on Pages.’

We are all aware that reviews and recommendations are extremely important for any company’s reputation.

This means that recommendations are not only the opinions given by customers directly on the business’s Facebook page but also when people respond to their friends when they look for a recommendation on Facebook.

Note: The old Facebook reviews are safe and sound, and your Facebook Page will continue to display all previous reviews that you’ve generated.

How are Recommendations different from Reviews?

Well, there are differences:

• Location – The Recommendations appear on the upper-right side,, and Reviews appear on the left-hand side (if not hidden).
• Reach – Reviews are visible to any Facebook user. With Recommendations, you can limit the reach and make it more personal.
• Format – Reviews have star ratings and comments. Recommendations have only comments.
• Reactions – Anyone can comment and like a Review, but only people in the person’s network can comment and like a Recommendation.
• Specifics – People can recommend a specific business feature (choose a tag that best describes their recommendation) and share a photo; Reviews don’t have such an option.

So, the bottom line is:

• The tab is called “Reviews”
• The feature is called “Recommendations”

How do Facebook Recommendations work?

What are the benefits of facebook recommendations.

The changes in the reviews system to recommendations are providing more options for customers to give their opinions about a certain business. Here are some of the benefits:

Increase reach with Recommendations

Your Facebook Page score will be reflected across Facebook, especially at places where customers make relevant decisions, such as Maps. Recommendations are discoverable across Facebook when people are searching for, or talking about your business. The best thing is that Facebook will show first the recommendations provided by the closest friends, which will empower the purchasing decisions and bring greater trust

Post photos about the business

This option was not previously enabled in the reviews section. Now, if you tag the business in the comments section when a friend asks for a recommendation, you have the option to also post gifs or photos. The cool thing is, that all these posts will be displayed in the Recommendations section of the business’s Facebook Page as customer reviews.

The best, mobile form for leaving a recommendation has the option to upload a photo from the phone and publish it together with the text.

Note: The character limit for a desktop recommendation is 25 and for mobile is 50.

Tag Facebook Recommendations

When a customer leaves a recommendation directly on the Facebook page, they can choose a tag that best describes their recommendation. These Facebook tags work like hashtags for businesses, and the Facebook system generates them based on words used in past reviews.

Here is an example of how the tags are displayed when you try to add a recommendation on mobile:

How the new Facebook rating score is calculated

As outlined in the official Facebook help center , the overall Facebook Page score is calculated as follows:

A Page’s rating is based on multiple sources, such as the reviews and Recommendations people share about business Pages on Facebook.

Or click the help icon below the average score in the Reviews tab, as shown below:

How to set up Facebook Recommendations?

If you’ve already activated the Reviews tab, then you don’t need to change anything. Please note that the Recommendations are a replacement of the Reviews tab and the process to activate it is the same as before.

If you still don’t have activated the Recommendations on your Facebook Page, here is how to activate the Facebook reviews tab.

Step 1: Log in to your Facebook account and go to your business Facebook page

Step 2: Navigate to the  ‘Settings’  section on your left-hand side

Step 3: Click the  ‘Privacy’ menu.

Step 3: Click the ‘Page and tagging’ menu as shown below:

Step 4: In this section, find the option ‘Allow others to view and leave reviews on your Page’ and make the toggle ON.

That’s it. Now, the reviews tab will appear on your page.

How to Recommend a Business on Facebook

This process is the one that has the biggest change.

To recommend a business on Facebook, you will need to open the business’s Facebook Page that you want to recommend.

Please note that previously, there was an option to ‘ Write a review ‘ and select the review score from 1-5. Now you do not actually leave a review for the business, but you are recommending it. You have only two recommendation options, to select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, which means you want to recommend the business or not. Simple as that.

Here are the steps for how to leave a Facebook review:

• Click the Reviews/Recommendations tab
• Click ‘Yes’ to recommend the Page
• Write your recommendation, and if you use mobile, upload a photo along with the recommendation text
• You can also choose a tag such as great service, amazing staff or similar

Additionally, you can recommend a business by leaving a comment by tagging a business’s Facebook Page when some of your Facebook friends ask for recommendations.

And this tutorial is very important for business owners who want to get more Facebook reviews so they can explain this step-by-step process to their customers on how to navigate their Facebook Page reviews tab and how to recommend their business.

The Significance of Facebook Recommendations for Local Businesses

Here’s why these Facebook recommendations have become pivotal for local enterprises:

Boost in Credibility and Trust

Facebook recommendations serve as modern word-of-mouth referrals. When potential customers see positive recommendations from their friends or others in the community, it enhances the credibility of the business. In a digital age, many customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, making these endorsements vital for establishing trust.

Enhanced Visibility and Organic Reach

When a user leaves a recommendation, it can be seen by their friends and connections. This means a local business can benefit from increased visibility without investing in paid advertising. Each recommendation acts as a mini marketing campaign, potentially reaching hundreds or even thousands of prospective clients without any added effort or expense from the business.

Influence on Buying Decisions

Recommendations can play a decisive role in a customer’s buying journey. A positive recommendation can sway uncertain customers towards trying out a local business. Conversely, negative feedback can serve as constructive criticism, allowing businesses to improve and address genuine concerns.

Enhanced Engagement and Community Building

Recommendations often spur conversations about the business, either through questions, shared experiences, or stories. This not only spreads awareness but fosters a sense of community around the brand. Engaging with these recommendations and comments can further personalize a business’s connection with its customer base, establishing loyalty and repeat business.

How to Report a Facebook Recommendation

Most of the online review platforms such as Google, TripAdvisor, and Yelp allow an option to report negative reviews that a business wants to be removed or delegated from their business listing or Facebook page in the case of Facebook reviews.

Similar to the previous option for reporting reviews, this option is now available, and you can report a Recommendation that violates Facebook’s Community Standards.

To do this, follow the steps:

• Go to the recommendation that you want to report and click the 3 dots in the top right corner
• Select “Find support or report Recommendation”
• Choose the topic and click “Submit”

In this relation, we recommend reading the following blog post:

Read more: How to Respond to Negative Facebook Reviews >>

How to ask for Facebook recommendations?

if you are a business and starting out with recommendations on Facebook, getting the first batch is very important to boost your trust in this social media network.

The simple steps on how to get more Facebook reviews are the following;

• Send emails to customers with a link to your Facebook reviews section
• Print QR codes on menus or flyers with the Facebook review link to the reviews tab
• Embed a ‘Review us on Facebook ‘  button on your website
• Add a Facebook reviews badge on your website
• Create Facebook ads  with your reviews

And for more reach and greater appeal of your Facebook reviews, you can embed them on your website. Read the section below and check the complete guide on Facebook reviews .

How to Embed Facebook Recommendations on your Website?

With the evolution of the Facebook reviews system, you can use a platform such as EmbedReviews to help you generate new recommendations posted on your Facebook Page.

The system automatically generates the ‘Yes’ and the ‘No’ recommendations, which you can display on your website with a simple embeddable code.

Feel free to try EmbedReviews , collect your Facebook Recommendations, and embed a Facebook reviews widget on your website.

If you want to read the full guide, make sure you read our article on how to embed Facebook reviews on a website .

Key Takeaways

I hope this article will help you improve your Facebook presence, and if you have any thoughts, feel free to reach out.

The Facebook reviews and recommendations system allows your customers to leave feedback and ratings on a business’s Facebook page, which provide greater benefits to your website, such as:

• Increased visibility and credibility: Positive reviews can boost a business’s reputation and attract new customers.
• Improved customer engagement: Responding to reviews can help businesses build stronger customer relationships.
• Enhanced local SEO : Facebook reviews can help businesses rank higher in search results for local search queries.
• Easy to use: Facebook reviews are easy for customers to leave and for businesses to manage.
• Insights: Review data can provide valuable insights into customer satisfaction and areas for improvement.

If you want to enable this feature via the Facebook app, follow these steps: 1. Open the Facebook app on your device. 2. Go to your Business Page. 3. Tap on the “More” option 4. Tap on “Settings”. 5. Scroll down to the “Templates and Tabs” section. 6. Find the “Reviews” or “Recommendations” tab 7. Once the tab is visible, make sure it’s set to “ON” or “Off.”

No, buying Facebook recommendations is against Facebook’s Community Standards and can result in penalties, including the removal of your page.

To post a recommendation for a business or place on Facebook, follow these steps: 1. Go to the Page of the business/place 2. Look for the “Recommendations” or “Reviews” section 3. Click on “Yes” to recommend the place 4. Write your recommendation 5. Post the Recommendation

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CEO of EmbedSocial 

Nikola Bojkov is the CEO of EmbedSocial, an entrepreneur who turns problems into products. With over a decade of hands-on experience with social media APIs, he guides EmbedSocial in its role as a technical partner for both SMEs and large agencies, maximizing the impact of their user-generated content. EmbedSocial has offices in Skopje, Tokyo and Lisbon with over 250,000 users.

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Privacy Overview

Facebook Portal+ (2021) review: Quirky traits hinder an otherwise excellent experience

Android Central Verdict

Bottom line: Top to bottom, the Facebook Portal+ (2021) is a quality piece of hardware. It not only looks great but performs equally as well. The inclusion of Alexa adds extra functionality to the device to enhance the video calling features. However, a few software missteps hold back the overall experience from total greatness.

First-rate hardware

Impressive sound quality

The camera and its features work well

Multiple video calling platforms are available

Works as an Alexa smart speaker

Very limited photo display options

Dueling voice assistants can be frustrating

Can't customize the home screen

Have to trust Facebook

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• Price and availability
• What's good
• What's not good
• The competition
• Should you buy?

The use of video calling apps has grown a lot in the past couple of years. Not only has the use of these services expanded, so have the hardware options that take advantage of them. The most common way to use apps like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp is through one of the best Android phones , but when possible, using a larger screen can lead to a better experience. That's what the new Facebook Portal+ (2021) aims to offer consumers.

Facebook announced two devices, the Portal Go and Portal+ , to provide a better experience when video calling as well as flexibility for where those calls happen. The Portal Go brings a lower price and benefit of portability thanks to its built-in battery and smaller display. The Portal+ is the flagship version of the two offerings sporting a large 14-inch QHD display and some nifty camera tricks.

I've been using the Plus model for a few weeks and putting it through some tests while staying in touch with friends and family during the holidays. The Facebook Portal+ also doubles as an Alexa smart speaker, so that feature put some work in as well.

Does this device have more to offer or provide a better experience than something like the Nest Hub Max or Echo Show 10 ? Well, it's complicated. Let me explain.

Facebook Portal+: Price and availability

Announced in September 2021, the Facebook Portal+ later went on sale in October 2021. At launch, the Portal+ retailed for $349.99 but recently sold at multiple retailers for $299.99, including Amazon and Best Buy. The device is available in a single color option for the fabric surrounding the base: light gray.

Facebook Portal+: What's good

Out of the box, I was immediately impressed with the quality of the hardware for the Portal+. It feels solid and well put together. The hinge that allows the large 14-inch QHD display to tilt is smooth and holds the screen precisely where you leave it. At the bottom of the light grey fabric-covered base is a small aluminum foot that extends to help balance the device.

The Portal+ uses a proprietary plug located below a USB-C port for power. While it would be nice to use the far more ubiquitous port as power input, it is only available as an output source to charge your phone.

When looking at the display, you'll find the physical volume buttons on the backside of the display in the bottom right corner. Resting atop the display is the camera, three of the four microphones, and a button to disable both the camera and microphones. There is a physical slider to cover the camera as an added level of privacy.

Plugging in the Facebook Portal+ plus revealed that not only does the hardware for the screen feel nice, but the actual display quality is also equally good. The colors look great on it, the text is crisp, and the auto-brightness and color tuning sensors work very well. Swiping on the touchscreen is fluid with responsive actions to taps.

After logging into my Facebook account and choosing which contacts I wanted to show up in the favorites bar along the top of the homepage, I also logged into my Amazon account. This is because, alongside Facebook's Hey Portal voice assistant, the Portal+ is also an Alexa device. All of the features you'd expect from an Alexa-enabled smart speaker are here, though there are some quirks I'll cover later.

The sound quality from the Portal+ was impressive both for calls and listening to music.

Starting a voice call can be done in two ways: tapping on a contact you'd like to talk with, or using Facebook's digital assistant. Saying "Hey Portal, call Mom" will fire up a Facebook Messenger call to your contact Mom. You can change the default calling app to WhatsApp if you choose. This assistant can also pull up the Spotify, Pandora, or iHeartRadio music apps and to answer calls.

Source: Chris Wedel / Android Central

The Facebook Portal+ has 26 apps available like Contacts, Facebook Watch, Story Time, and more. You'll also have 19 website bookmarks that include Facebook, AllRecipes, CNBC, Amazon, Google, and more available to download for quick access from the Apps button. Yes, there is a full Chrome browser on this device, and you can add any website as a shortcut within the Apps page.

Tapping on one of those bookmarks opens up the Chrome browser, which displays the mobile version of the website by default. So while Netflix isn't technically available on the Portal+, you can go it in the browser. Unfortunately, it throws an error when starting a video and won't play. However, Disney+ works just fine in a browser tab on the device.

In terms of the video calling features, the Portal+ will use Facebook Messenger when calling by default. But you can also access some of the most popular video calling apps like Zoom, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams, and more.

The camera quality is really good on the Portal+, as was the audio on both ends of the call. The callers I spoke with said my voice was clear and easy to understand, and the video looked good too. The wide-angle, 131° FOV camera is great when multiple people are trying to fit into the frame, and there's some software trickery that takes advantage of the camera hardware.

There are plenty of fun virtual background options to pick, ranging from nature images from National Geographic to offices, Harry Potter-themed to Toy Story, and many more. The Portal+ also has silly voice effects and fun AR effects like a dragon mask, jewelry, and many more to pick from. There's even an animated cloud that reacts to your facial expressions. Smile, and the cloud looks cheerful with a bright tinted filter forming over your face. But if you look less than happy, the cloud is sad, and it rains on you.

Perhaps the most useful, even if it isn't the most fun, feature the camera offers is the ability to keep you in the frame without physically moving the Facebook Portal+, via the Smart Frame option. There are three other framing features: Spotlight, Manual, and Close Up. Features like these are great when you want to move around while on a video call but still be visible to the person you're walking with.

The Facebook Portal+ is a video calling device first — which it executes quite well, and many of the features needed to accomplish this feat translate to being a good smart speaker. The company refined the Portal+ in 2021 to work great and look great sitting on a counter or desk. But, for all it does well, there are still some instances where we can find areas for improvement.

Facebook Portal+: What's not good

Though I do have many video calls in a typical week, generally they happen through Google Meet , which isn't supported. That doesn't mean I haven't found plenty of good use for this Alexa-enabled video-calling device. But I've also come across some things that put a damper on the Portal+ party.

One such issue I have is the dueling voice assistants. The Portal+ tries to straddle two worlds — one as a Facebook smart speaker and the other as an Alexa device. Both options work well through the Portal+, but remembering which you have to use for the task you want can be frustrating. Hey Portal can only play music from Spotify, Pandora, and iHeartRadio. However, if you prefer Amazon Music, it's available, but you'll need to call upon Alexa.

The split duties between the two onboard voice assistants can be a frustrating experience.

Speaking of calling upon Alexa, the hot word cannot be changed. So, if you have an Amazon smart speaker household but have moved away from calling "Alexa" to use those devices, you will be stuck remembering two different hot words for specific rooms.

Another issue surrounding the Alexa integration is the inability to use your Amazon Photos on the display of the Portal+. Facebook has locked down this feature to use photos in your Facebook albums, Instagram posts, and photos on your phone that require the mostly useless Portal app. This might be fine for some folks, but this seems like a silly restriction. There's no way to show off your pictures from Amazon Photos, Google Photos, or iCloud on the fantastic display on the Portal+.

Another area that is a letdown in terms of the display for the Portal+ isn't in the quality department. It's in the customization. Again, this comes down to Facebook's simple video focus on its Portal devices. But considering the Amazon Alexa connection, it would be great to see the ability to treat the home screen more like the Amazon Echo Show 15 .

On Amazon's official smart display's like the Show 15, there are widget options to display your smaller versions of apps like a shopping list, notes, weathers, calendar — which is something that is on the Portal+ but not as a widget — and more. These little bits of glanceable information on the large display that this device offers are very helpful and can only enhance the user's experience.

There is a lot of useful screen real estate that unfortunately can't be customized for better utilization.

On the Portal+ home screen, there are two permanent fixtures — favorite contacts and a widget with a shortcut to your three most recently used apps. As you use the device and different apps, if those apps have a widget, you'll see it show up under the permanent options. So, if you use Spotify, a widget for that app will show up with playback controls. These widgets can be swiped away if you don't want to see them.

One other potentially big sticking point for some would be that to use the Portal+, you have to use Facebook. Despite the name change to Meta, the company still has a history of data leaks , privacy issues , and antitrust violations that haven't gone away. This means you'll need to come to terms with how you personally feel about the company before considering the Portal+.

The physical camera cover is a nice bit of privacy solace for users. But what about when in a call? Well, there is the option to enable end-to-end encryption for your communications. However, it isn't on by default and must be turned on per contact. Though it is a hassle and would be better if calls were secure from the start, there is at least a way to improve that situation in the contact call settings.

Facebook Portal+: Competition

If you want to get a device that can take care of both video calls and do a better job completing the smart display circle, there are plenty of options out there. The previously mentioned Nest Hub Max matches up very well with the Facebook Portal+ in several ways. While it doesn't offer Messenger as a calling option, you will get Zoom and Google's own Duo. You also get the helpful framing feature found on the Portal+ to keep you in the frame while on calls.

Instead of Alexa, Google Assistant is the Nest Hub Max's option for your voice commands. It also means you'll have access to YouTube Music, Spotify, YouTube, official Netflix, and more. Though the display isn't as large as the Portal+ has, it allows you to display your Google Photos when it's in photo frame mode.

Should you prefer the world of Alexa and want to stay with it, a fantastic option is the Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) . It provides the same voice assistant performance as the Portal+ but without the restrictive quirks. That means you can change the Alexa hot word, use Amazon Photos for the display, and customize the home screen with useful widgets. No, the display isn't as big as the Portal+'s, nor does it have software to keep you in the frame while in calls — it has a different feature for that.

The Echo Show 10 uses hardware to keep you in the frame instead. Yep, the display which houses the camera physically rotates around the speaker base to follow you as you move around to ensure you are always in view of your caller. This feature also works great when in the kitchen. It will rotate to make the screen visible, making following a recipe that much easier. However, like with the Nest Hub Max, if you want to use Facebook Messenger for your calls, you won't find it here.

Facebook Portal+: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if...

• You use Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp regularly.
• You want a good-looking dedicated device for video calling.
• You want an Alexa smart speaker with solid camera features and great audio

You shouldn't buy this if...

• You don't trust Facebook.
• You want to be able to customize the home screen layout.
• You want to use one voice assistant for all functions of the Portal+.

When used as its primary intention — a video calling device — the Facebook Portal+ is fantastic. The camera quality and the helpful, fun software features available to use in calls work great. Facebook put a fantastic display on it, and the ability to tilt it is wonderful.

When approaching the Portal+ as a smart display, the story begins to get muddled. It's not to say the experience is bad, but it needs some refinement. If all of that can be understood and accepted, you'll have to wrestle with where you stand on Facebook's privacy policies.

3.5 out of 5

In many ways, the Facebook Portal+ is a win. From its excellent build quality to the impressive audio chops, it definitely fulfills its functionality as a video calling device. Facebook has improved on its first-generation Portal devices in the software experience too. The interface is clean and easy to understand. The hardware compliments it with snappy performance to boot.

Better integration with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant into the device is also a nice option to have alongside Facebook's own Hey Portal. However, it can be annoying at times to remember which functions the assistant can perform, paired with the quirky features missing from the Alexa experience. Despite that, using the Portal+ was an overall pleasant experience. Especially since my wife and I could each have our profiles for making voice calls, even if doing so meant giving Facebook more data for its archives.

In the end, if you want a fine-looking piece of hardware with excellent video calling features and can ignore the idiosyncrasies of the Alexa integration — oh, and you also don't mind it being a Facebook product — I think you'll be quite happy with the Portal+.

Facebook Portal+

Bottom line: Great camera features combined with excellent overall hardware make the Portal+ the perfect dedicated video calling device. The Alexa integration is welcome, even if it is slightly incomplete.

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Facebook oversight board to review system that exempts elite users

The XCheck program allows some users to be ‘whitelisted’ or allowed to post material that violates the company’s policies

Facebook’s semi-independent oversight board says it will review the company’s “XCheck” system, an internal program that has exempted high-profile users from some or all of its rules.

The decision follows an investigation by the Wall Street Journal that revealed that reviews of posts by well-known users such as celebrities, politicians and journalists are steered into the separate system.

Under the program, some users are “whitelisted”, or not subject to enforcement action, while others are allowed to post material that violates Facebook rules pending content reviews that often do not take place. The Xcheck system, for example, allowed Brazilian footballer Neymar to post nude pictures of a woman who had accused him of rape, according to the report.

Users were identified for additional scrutiny based on criteria such as being “newsworthy”, “influential or popular” or “PR risky”, the Wall Street Journal found. By 2020 there were 5.8 million users on the XCheck list, according to the newspaper.

The oversight board said Tuesday that it expects to have a briefing with Facebook on the system and “will be reporting what we hear from this” as part of a report it will publish in October.

The board may also make other recommendations, although Facebook is not bound to follow these.

The Journal’s report, the board said, has drawn “renewed attention to the seemingly inconsistent way that the company makes decisions, and why greater transparency and independent oversight of Facebook matters so much for users”.

Facebook told the Journal in response to its investigation that the system “was designed for an important reason: to create an additional step so we can accurately enforce policies on content that could require more understanding”. The company added that criticism of it was “fair” and that it was working to fix it.

A representative for Facebook declined to comment to the Associated Press on the oversight board’s decision.

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I compared famous Texas barbecue spots in Dallas and Austin. This is why Terry Black's in Dallas has the edge.

• I tried popular menu items from Franklin Barbecue in Austin and Terry Black's in Dallas.
• Franklin Barbecue impressed me with its juicy, tender brisket .
• Terry Black's sold out of brisket, but its tasty sides made it my preferred barbecue spot.

I tried two of the most famous barbecue joints in Texas and one came out on top.

On a recent trip to Dallas, I tried one of the most famous barbecue restaurants in the city, Terry Black's Barbecue, to see how it compared to my last Texas barbecue experience in 2021.

The last time I visited Texas, I ate at the world-famous Franklin Barbecue, which opened in 2009 and has been an Austin staple for barbecue ever since.

In 2011, Bon Appétit called it the "best barbecue in the country," Eater reported, while Texas Monthly ranked Franklin Barbecue first on its list of "The Top 50 Barbecue Joints in Texas" twice, in 2013 and 2017.

Terry Black's has also received quite a few accolades. Run by fourth-generation pit masters, the spot has locations in Austin and Dallas and was voted the best barbecue in Dallas in 2023 by the Dallas Observer .

Here's how the two experiences compared, and which barbecue spot my mouth is still watering for.

On a recent trip to Dallas, I visited Terry Black's Barbecue for some classic Texas barbecue.

Terry Black's has three locations across Texas: one in Dallas, their flagship restaurant in Austin, and one in Lockhart, where the restaurant's namesake, Terry Black, was born and raised and learned to master Central-Texas-style barbecue.

I'm based in New York City and visited the restaurant not only because of its reputation, but because it was one of the few barbecue spots open in Dallas at dinner time on a weekday. Many other famous spots were only open for lunch.

I visited Austin in October 2021 and also had to try some famous barbecue while I was there.

Franklin Barbecue only has one location and, like many of the barbecue spots I researched in Dallas, is only open for lunch six days a week.

Franklin is open until everything sells out, which, according to its website , is usually around 2 or 3 p.m.

When I arrived at Terry Black's at 7:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, the restaurant was heaving.

A line stretched out the door and down the block, but it was moving quickly. According to the restaurant's website, the average wait time is about 15 minutes.

In line, I was informed by an employee that three out of the restaurant's six meat options had already sold out: the brisket, pork ribs, and beef ribs.

The restaurant's sliced turkey, chopped beef, and two kinds of link sausage were still available.

Even though the main dining room was packed, there were quite a few tables still available outside and in the back dining room, which is where I was able to grab a booth.

Due to the pandemic, the dining room wasn't open when I visited Franklin Barbecue in 2021.

I placed my curbside pick-up order two days in advance on its website .

The only hang-up with ordering online was that I needed to order at least 3 pounds of meat.

When I checked the ordering website in 2024, you now have to preorder 5 pounds of meat to do a pick-up order. However, you can also visit the restaurant in person and order just the amount you want to eat.

My meal at Terry Black's was enough for one sitting, plus a little to take home for leftovers.

While the meat options at Terry Black's were limited by the time I got to order, the side options were practically endless.

It offered single, pint, quart, and gallon sizes of all the sides, which include mac and cheese, pinto beans, green beans, Mexican rice, cream corn, baked potato salad, and coleslaw.

I ordered a "single" portion, or about 5 ounces, of coleslaw, potato salad, creamed corn, mac and cheese, and a side of free pickles. I also ordered a ¼ pound of chopped beef, half a jalapeño-cheddar sausage, and a canned beer.

My order came to $35.74, plus a 15% tip, bringing my total cost to $41.66.

My meal from Franklin Barbecue was a lot more expensive, but I got enough food to last me for days.

I ordered a pound of brisket, 2 pounds of pulled pork, a sausage link, potato salad, coleslaw, and a soft drink. I spent $135.50 on my order, including taxes and a 15% tip.

Franklin is all about the meat. The restaurant only offers three side options: potato salad, coleslaw, and pinto beans in pints, quarts, and trays for preorder. I'm not a fan of pinto beans, so I only ordered the other two sides.

My order ended up being way too much food for one person to eat in one sitting, but I was able to eat it over the span of multiple days, so it didn't go to waste.

I was disappointed at first that I didn't get to try Terry Black's famous brisket, but the chopped beef blew me away.

I would describe it as if pulled pork and brisket had a baby — it was super tender, perfectly seasoned, and packed with flavor.

Mixed with the barbecue sauce that was available in large bottles right on the table, I could have easily polished off a half-pound of this tender meat.

It was juicy, slightly sweet, and paired well with the free bread offered by the joint for a do-it-yourself barbecue sandwich.

The brisket from Franklin Barbecue tasted as good as it looked.

Franklin's brisket is famous around the world. Anthony Bourdain visited the spot in 2012 for an episode of "No Reservations," waited in line for over an hour, and told the Huffington Post that the brisket was "earth-shatteringly good."

I had to agree.

The brisket had a beautiful, smoked crust on it, while the meat inside was dripping in juices and incredibly moist without being overly fatty. The portion was huge, but I wasn't complaining. 

The brisket was perfectly marbled and practically fell apart with just my fork. It was so moist and flavorful that it didn't require any barbecue sauce to amp up the flavor, though they did pair nicely together.

I also tried the jalapeño-cheddar sausage at Terry Black's.

I ordered a half-link, which I thought was the perfect portion for one sitting when combined with the other meat and sides.

The sausage's casing was crispy, with the perfect amount of snap. It was slightly spicy without being too overpowering and very moist.

Frankly, it was the best sausage I've ever had in my life.

I ordered the sausage from Franklin Barbecue, too. It was good, but it didn't impress me as much as the one from Terry Black's.

The casing also had a good snap to it, but not as much as the one from Terry Black's. I also thought the meat wasn't as flavorful as the jalapeño-cheddar variety.

I also got to try the pulled pork at Franklin Barbecue, which was tasty on its own and part of a sandwich.

The pulled pork was well-seasoned and very tender. It was the best pulled pork I've ever eaten, despite spending four years living in the South .

However, I didn't enjoy the pulled pork quite as much as the brisket. If I had to choose one, I would definitely opt for the brisket.

Terry Black's coleslaw was perfectly tangy and fresh.

Terry Black's coleslaw had kale and carrots in it, in addition to classic ingredients like red cabbage. I thought the coleslaw was tasty, and I liked the addition of the kale.

The coleslaw from Franklin Barbecue was very similar to the one from Terry Black's but didn't have kale in it.

Made with red and green cabbage, the coleslaw was lightly dressed and seasoned with pepper, which came through more than the version from Terry Black's.

The coleslaw was crunchy and light, and it wasn't made with too much mayonnaise, which I sometimes find with coleslaw.

I also tried a single serving of potato salad from Terry Black's.

It was made with baked red potatoes, green onion, and mayonnaise.

It was also topped with some sort of barbecue seasoning that looked and tasted like paprika.

The potato salad at Franklin Barbecue had a distinctly different flavor profile.

The potato salad tasted strongly of mustard, dill, and eggs.

Typically, when preparing potato salad, I opt not to include eggs, even though I'm aware they are a staple in many Texas-style potato salad recipes.

I polished off the entire side of potato salad from Terry Black's.

It was a fresh, traditional, backyard-style potato salad that's similar to the one I make in the summer — only a whole lot better.

The red-skinned potatoes added a lot of texture and flavor to the dish, and I liked the addition of the green onion and seasoning for an added kick.

I admittedly wasn't a huge fan of the potato salad from Franklin Barbecue.

While I found the potato salad to be indulgently creamy, I believe adding some celery or red onion would have provided a more desirable balance in texture.

I also got a free side of pickles from Terry Black's, which had the perfect amount of crunch and tartness.

I'm somewhat of a pickle connoisseur and was highly impressed by Terry Black's pickles. They were the perfect addition to my meal.

I also got a side of pickles and onions from Franklin Barbecue.

They were a great addition to the do-it-yourself barbecue sandwich I made.

I was also able to try two additional sides at Terry Black's, which ended up making it the winner in my book.

The mac and cheese was mind-blowingly good. It was exceptionally creamy, with a hearty helping of cheese sauce that coated each of the large macaroni noodles.

The cream corn also impressed me. It was slightly sweet and tasted almost of cinnamon, topped with the same seasoning as the potato salad. It reminded me of a New England-style corn chowder in the summer.

Ultimately, I had to give the win to Terry Black's — and I'll be back to get my hands on that brisket.

While the brisket at Franklin Barbecue certainly lives up to the hype, that was the only truly memorable menu item I tried that would make it worth the trip out west.

Overall, I was more impressed by the variety on Terry Black's menu, especially when it came to the sides. From the mac and cheese to the coleslaw and free pickles, every side blew me away. The meats were also delicious, and I understood why they were sold out of many of their most popular meat options by the time I got there.

I'll be back to Terry Black's — maybe to determine which Texas city's brisket truly is king.

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Podcast sees Jan. 6 foreshadowing in Timothy McVeigh’s act of terror

Jeffrey toobin’s chilling podcast draws a line from the 1995 oklahoma city bombing to the 2021 siege on the us capitol.

It might surprise you to learn that there are people who don’t believe Timothy McVeigh is responsible for bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

Or maybe not. In an era when media personalities like Alex Jones , Tucker Carlson , and Joe Rogan nurture enormous followings by peddling politically motivated conspiracies, of course McVeigh is viewed by some as a martyr — executed, the theory goes, by a government eager to frame the right-wing militia movement for the atrocity. (Another baseless claim asserts the real masterminds were Middle Eastern, maybe even Osama bin Laden himself.)

It’s offensive. But on the 29th anniversary of the bombing — the explosion on April 19, 1995, is still the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in modern US history — it’s worth remembering that McVeigh was proud of what he did and insulted by any effort, including by his own attorneys, to portray him as just a player in a larger conspiracy. McVeigh wasn’t some poor sap scapegoated by the feds. Nor, as the new podcast, “ Homegrown: OKC ,” makes clear, was he a lone wolf whose radical views were his alone.

The eight-episode podcast, produced by USG Audio, Western Sound, and Esmail Corp., is based on Jeffrey Toobin’s 2023 book “ Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Rightwing Extremism .” Narrated by the author, the podcast looks at the Oklahoma City bombing through a wider lens — scrutinizing the crime, prosecution, and punishment, but also where McVeigh’s extreme views originated and whether there might be parallels with the events of Jan. 6 . (Spoiler: There are.)

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The podcast serves as a mea culpa of sorts for Toobin, who faults himself (and the journalist horde generally) for covering the bombing as merely a true-crime story, reporting “the how but not the why” of it. He argues that the media — as well as Merrick Garland, then the deputy US attorney general overseeing McVeigh’s trial — focused too narrowly on “the actions of one man” instead of the twisted ideology that led McVeigh (assisted for months beforehand by his Army buddy Terry Nichols ) to park a Ryder moving truck loaded with a 5,000-pound fertilizer-fuel oil bomb outside the Murrah Building and walk away.

The blast, which shattered the front of the nine-story building, had staggering consequences: 168 people were killed, including 19 children , several of whom were babies sleeping in cribs in a daycare center inside the building; 30 children were orphaned; and 219 kids lost at least one parent in the explosion.

Coming two years after Ramzi Yousef bombed the World Trade Center , there was a predictable frenzy of anti-Muslim hysteria as thick black smoke rose over OKC. The perpetrators had to be Islamic terrorists. They weren’t. The bombing was the work of McVeigh, a decorated veteran of Operation Desert Storm — a self-proclaimed patriot — whose inspiration, it turned out, was “ The Turner Diaries ,” a 1978 neo-Nazi novel about a race war that leads to the systematic extermination of non-whites and Jews. (The podcast chronicles McVeigh’s movements in the years leading up to the bombing, including his many visits to gun shows where he hawked copies of the book, and to the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, during the sect’s standoff with federal law enforcement.)

The problem with Garland, according to the podcast, was his edict to prosecutors that they focus only on the most damning evidence against McVeigh. “Do not bury the crime in the clutter,” he told them. Garland wanted a conviction. He wasn’t interested in litigating McVeigh’s motivations for the bombing and he was fiercely determined to avoid a trial-of-the-century spectacle, a la O.J. Simpson.

“It meant let’s not overdo it. Let’s make this simple,” Scott Mendeloff, one of the prosecutors, says in the podcast. “One of the things that we all believed in was having a very tight case.”

Concerned that someone might someday claim McVeigh didn’t get a fair trial, Garland also recommended that the defense be given a blank check. Thus, with ample funds, McVeigh’s team, totaling more than 20 investigators and lawyers, traveled around the world — China, the Philippines, Macau, Hong Kong, Germany, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and South Korea — in search of the alleged co-conspirators. Alas, no luck. The cost to US taxpayers for McVeigh’s vigorous defense? $20 million.

What’s not clear in the podcast is what Garland could have done differently to prevent the threat of domestic terrorism from metastasizing as it has over the past 30 years. As the conspiracy-minded, anti-government crowd continues to grow, it’s hard to imagine that making more of an issue of McVeigh’s extremist views would have changed that.

The podcast includes a lot of interesting audio, including recollections from survivors, McVeigh’s lead attorney, and an interview with Bill Clinton, who was in the White House on the morning of the bombing. There’s a clip of a jailhouse phone call between Nichols and his mother, who tells her son: “Terry, if you made a mistake, admit it. This is big, serious trouble. A lot of people died out there.” We also hear from the guy assigned to drive McVeigh’s body to the crematorium after the execution. (Aware that McVeigh was already viewed by some as a martyr, an empty hearse left the prison first as a decoy. A few hours later, McVeigh’s body was loaded into an unmarked van and driven around for an hour — stopping at McDonald’s briefly — before finally arriving at the funeral home.)

The podcast ends on an ominous note, with the results of a 2023 survey by the nonprofit Public Religion Research Institute that reveal 23 percent of Americans — and an astonishing one in three Republicans — agree with this statement: “Because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save the country.” (Support for political violence is even greater among Americans who believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. Among those folks, 46 percent think it’d be OK to take up arms.)

“I don’t think if January 6th had happened in 1995, people would have walked away from that thinking, ‘Oh, that was somehow OK,’” says Mendeloff, who helped prosecute McVeigh. “It’s not OK and I think people have forgotten that.”

Mark Shanahan can be reached at [email protected] . Follow him @MarkAShanahan .

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Supreme Court hears arguments over obstruction law used against January 6 rioters

By John Fritze, Paul LeBlanc , Isabelle D'Antonio and Kaanita Iyer, CNN

Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s arguments over using the obstruction charge against Capitol rioters 

From CNN's John Fritze, Marshall Cohen, Tierney Sneed and Hannah Rabinowitz 

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority indicated Tuesday that it may toss out a charge prosecutors have lodged against hundreds of people who took part in the January 6, 2021, riot on the US Capitol, a decision that could force the Justice Department to reopen some of those cases. 

During over 90 minutes of arguments, most justices signaled concern with how the Justice Department is using the law, which was enacted by Congress more than two decades ago. Critics claimed the felony charge, which carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, was intended to prevent evidence tampering – not an insurrection. 

The high court’s ruling, expected by July, could affect the federal election subversion case against former President Donald Trump, who was also charged with the obstruction crime.  

Here’s what to know about Tuesday’s oral arguments: 

Traumatic day boils down to technical argument   

Mostly absent from oral arguments Tuesday was recognition of the traumatic and deadly events that took place just across the street from the Supreme Court three years ago. Instead, the discussion turned largely on a technical debate about the meaning of the words in the law – in particular, the word “otherwise.”   

That 2002 law makes it a felony to “corruptly” alter, destroy or mutilate a record with the intent of making it unavailable for use in an “official proceeding,” or to “otherwise” obstruct, influence or impede such a proceeding. Capitol riot defendant Jospeh Fischer, who brought the case to the high court, argued that, taken together, the law was geared toward prohibiting records destruction. But the Justice Department said it encompassed a wider range of actions – including physical intrusion – that would obstruct a proceeding. 

Conservatives bring up left-wing protests   

There was a heavy dose of “whataboutism” from the conservative justices, who repeatedly brought up left-wing protests while pressing both sides about which conduct they believed would be covered by the felony obstruction law.  

Justice Samuel Alito mentioned the disruptions at the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday, when protesters, angry about Israel’s war against Hamas, blocked rush-hour traffic.

Liberals appear united against January 6 rioter on textualist grounds  

The Supreme Court's three liberals appeared to be lined up in favor of the Justice Department’s position that the federal obstruction law is broad enough to include the rioters’ conduct on January 6.  

Trump looms in background

Though Trump is not a party in the case, the appeal indirectly thrust him onto the Supreme Court’s docket for the third time this election year.

Special counsel Jack Smith has charged Trump with the same obstruction crime at issue in this case. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee would almost certainly use a win for Fischer to try to further undermine the Justice Department’s prosecution of the January 6 defendants.  

Read more about the takeaways from the arguments here .

Supreme Court conservatives appear skeptical of January 6 obstruction charge

From CNN's John Fritze

The Supreme Court's conservative majority appeared skeptical of a charge federal prosecutors have lodged against hundreds of people who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

While the court’s three-justice liberal wing signaled support for the charge, the conservative majority raised a series of skeptical questions about its potential scope and whether it would criminalize other conduct, such as protests .

A decision against the government could reopen some 350 cases in which defendants have been charged with “obstructing” an official proceeding by pushing their way into the Capitol in 2021. The charge can tack up to 20 years onto a prison sentence.

Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania police officer and January 6 defendant who brought the case to the Supreme Court, argued that the law at issue, created in response to the Enron scandal in 2001, was intended to stop witness tampering, not riots.

During more than an hour and a half of arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito were among those who appeared to take issue with the government’s reading of the law.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett asks several skeptical questions

From CNN's Tierney Sneed

Justice Amy Coney Barrett had a series of skeptical questions for the government, setting up the possibility of a 6-3 ruling against the Justice Department’s use of the obstruction statute in January 6, 2021, cases.

“Tell me why I shouldn't be concerned about the breadth of the government's reading, just relying on corrupt intent and the Nexus requirements?” Barrett said, referring to two elements of the crime that Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar has said would limit prosecutors’ use of the charge to very particular circumstances.

While Barrett did not speak for most of the arguments, she had an extended exchange with Prelogar that shed light on how she was thinking about the case. She offered an alternative January 6 scenario wherein the rioters never actually breached the Capitol but the Electoral College certification vote was still stopped.

Joseph Fischer’s attorneys have noted that their client "was not part of the mob that forced the electoral certification to stop; he arrived at the Capitol grounds well after Congress recessed.” 

Barrett also picked up on other conservatives’ inquiries over hypothetical scenarios of political demonstrations that interrupt official proceedings in which prosecutors, under the Justice Department’s reading, could bring the challenge.

“Do you think it's plausible that Congress would have written the statute that broadly?” the justice asked.

Kavanaugh: Why aren't the other charges enough?

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, often a key vote in high-profile cases, threw cold water on the government's position by noting the defendant was charged with six other crimes related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Those crimes include disorderly conduct and assaulting or interfering with a police officer.

It was a key question signaling that Kavanaugh has concerns with the Justice Department's position.

Several members of conservative bloc seem dubious of DOJ’s broad reading of obstruction law

At least four conservative justices have had questions for Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar that suggest they remain unpersuaded by her arguments that the obstruction statute should be read broadly to use against the US Capitol rioters.

Several of the conservatives have offered examples of political demonstrations that interrupt official proceedings to suggest that — under the DOJ’s interpretation — those protesters would be subject to a 20-year prison sentence.

Justice Neil Gorsuch kicked off one such line of inquiry . It was picked up by Justice Samuel Alito, who grilled Prelogar on a scenario in which lawyers arguing before the Supreme Court were flustered by demonstrators who interrupted the proceeding to protest the treatment of January 6 defendants.

Justice Clarence Thomas told Prelogar that she seemed to “eschew” the approach a so-called textualist would take to this case and made other skeptical remarks when she was arguing.

And Chief Justice John Roberts appears focused on whether the provision in question should be connected to the types of crimes that tamper with evidence.

Prosecutors' use of obstruction law is limited to when defendants had knowledge of Electoral College counting, Prelogar says

From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz

Responding to a question from Justice Elena Kagan, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the Justice Department has used the obstruction law only in cases in which defendants knew Electoral College votes were being counted on January 6 and specifically tried to interfere with Congress.

At trial, Prelogar said, prosecutors are required “show that the defendants had knowledge that Congress was meeting in the joint session on that day” and “specifically intended to disrupt the joint proceeding.”

That proof of intent is why the Justice Department has used the obstruction charge on only around 350 of the more than 1,350 Capitol riot defendants, she said.

Prelogar added that some defendants have also been acquitted of the charge because of evidence that “the defendant thought the proceedings were over and wasn’t intending to obstruct,” or that a defendant “thought that law enforcement was waving him into the building.”

Also central to the obstruction charge arguments: "The fish case"

From CNN's Katelyn Polantz

One past Supreme Court case that the Justice Department must contend with, as it tries to sway the justices to sign off on the use of the obstruction charge for January 6 rioters, is a precedent sometimes referred to as "the fish case."

In the 2015 case, a commercial fisherman was catching undersized red grouper off the coast of Florida, then had them tossed back into the Gulf of Mexico, attempting to prevent federal authorities from catching his illicit fishing practices.

Whether he could face the obstruction charge came down to court's determination that fish were a "tangible object."

The court's decision: No, the fish weren't. The fisherman hadn't obstructed.

A 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court that included Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the leader of the court’s liberal wing at the time, and Justice Samuel Alito, a stalwart conservative, said a “tangible object” included items “used to record or preserve information,” such as a document – not a fish.

The case involved a separate obstruction criminal code section than the Justice Department has used in January 6 cases. So the DOJ is trying to thread the needle, writing to the court in the Fischer case: "The statute at issue here is worded and structured quite differently" from the fish case.

Gorsuch: Would heckling, a sit-in, or pulling a fire alarm be a 20-year felony?

Justice Neil Gorsuch threw out several hypotheticals — a sit-in that disrupted a trial, heckling that interrupted the State of the Union, or pulling a fire alarm that delayed a congressional vote — that suggested he was skeptical of the government’s broad reading of the statute, which carries a maximum imprisonment of 20 years.

Gorsuch asked Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar whether those actions would qualify for 20 years in prison. Prelogar tried to lay out the other elements of the crime — such as the corrupt intent and whether it was a meaningful disruption of an official proceeding — that the government would have to prove to charge and convict under the law in such examples.

Gorsuch, however, pushed back at her attempts to distinguish those circumstances from how the Justice Department is advocating for the statute to be interpreted in this case.

Chief Justice John Roberts suggests he has concerns about DOJ's position

Chief Justice John Roberts, a key vote in this case, appeared skeptical of the Justice Department's position, suggesting that the January 6 defendant in the case might have the better reading of the law.

Prosecutors say the provision at issue bars people from "obstructing" an official proceeding, and that the prohibition is a "catchall" that can cover all sorts of conduct — such as storming the US Capitol.

But Roberts focused on another way of the reading the law, as influenced by the words before it. And in this case, those words deal with evidence tampering — not riots.

Roberts said the DOJ shouldn't read the two provisions as though they are standing alone.

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