Category: Social Media

The Guardian reports on the success of Snapchat as it quickly became the second largest tech firm to list shares publicly.

Snap’s initial public offering (IPO) potentially creates a serious rival for Facebook, which has come to dominate social media and online advertising and has shown clear signs that it regards Snapchat as a potential threat.

According to Snapchat, 158 million people use the service each day and create 2.5bn “snaps” between them. User numbers are far below Facebook’s 1bn-plus but the average user is younger and spends about 30 minutes a day on the service.

Read more at The Guardian.

Additionally, Ad Age reports that the popular app, a longtime teen favorite, is now gaining traction among adults.

Continue reading “Snapchat IPO to rival Facebook and prompt other tech companies to go public” →

Business Insider did a recent article on how Facebook is working on a new feature that will showcase lists of curated content from publishers directly in the News Feed.

Facebook has approached media and entertainment companies in recent weeks to create content for Collections, but has not given a time frame for when the feature will be made available.

Read more at Business Insider.

Image courtesy of Business Insider.

In a recent article, the Wall Street Journal outlines how a new Stanford study finds that “Preteens and teens may appear dazzlingly fluent, flitting among social-media sites, uploading selfies and texting friends. But they’re often clueless about evaluating the accuracy and trustworthiness of what they find.”

It explains that parents, educators and other adults can help teenagers develop the skills and skepticism needed to separate true from false.

To review the Stanford study itself, click here.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal or view the video article below.

There was lots of tweeting going on last night during the second presidential debate. Check out one summary that we found online. It begins by sharing:

Who won the second presidential debate? Twitter! Despite all its recent troubles, the social media platform known for not being Facebook or Snapchat once again made the case that it’s still America’s essential real-time digital watercooler.

Read more at Ad Age.

Image courtesy of Ad Age.

Quite possibly the most unexpected summer phenomen, the Pokemon Go app has pushed people outside to hunt oddly shaped virtual pocket monsters, called Pokemon. Based on a 90s video game created by Nintendo, the game morphed into cards in the early 2000s and last week ripped through social media as an app, surpassing even Twitter in daily users.

According to Fortune magazine, Nintendo’s market value even increased by $17 billion in just over a week, causing changes in company strategy and marketing. With such popularity, even stock in cell phone batteries is zooming, as the lively game tends to drain battery power quickly.

Continue reading “Pokemon Go craze a surprise, takes world by storm” →

Proving once again the impact of social media on politics, and even more so on international relations, the Department of Homeland Security is considering asking for social media handles, in specific circumstances.

A proposal titled Agency Information Collection Activities: Arrival and Departure Record and Electronic System for Travel Authorization was introduced last week by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. The policy would be optional, and would change the game for travelers entering the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program.

The proposal has gained criticism from both liberals and conservatives alike, but draws comparisons with regulation proposed after individuals in the Visa Waiver Program were discovered to have had a part in the Paris attacks last November.

Read more at KUOW.

Most of you are probably familiar with Snapchat or have at least heard about it from talking to teens in your life. If you’re wondering about the popularity of this messaging app, check out this recently released piece of data.

According to an article by Bree Rody Mantha published in Stream Daily recently , Snapchat gets a reported 10 billion video views per day!

As Ms. Mantha points out in her article “…..even though Snapchat’s posts disappear after 24 hours, Snapchat isn’t likely to go anywhere anytime soon.” According to sources such as Fortune, this company which recently raised an additional $1.8 billion in financing is currently valued at $20 billion.

Read more at Stream Daily TV.

The annual Brandcast Event held on May 5th this year featured many YouTube stars such as Lilly Singh, Mindy McKnight, Ryan Higa, Bethany Mota and Tyler Oakley. Among the exciting new developments that were discussed, it was announced that the NBA is planning to “grow its partnership” with YouTube. Even Big Bird was there to introduce Sesame Studios, an all-new educational YouTube channel from the creators of Sesame Street.

As YouTube celebrates its biggest year ever, its boss Susan Wojcicki pointed out that YouTube is reaching more 18 to 49 year olds during primetime than the top-10 TV shows combined!

Read more at Stream Daily TV.

Image courtesy of Stream Daily TV.