Social Media Notes
Here’s this week’s round-up of social media (& tech) news. Come by each week for what I hope to be a fun & informative blog post on social stories that caught my eye throughout the week!
- It’s a done deal. Facebook now officially owns messaging app WhatsApp. They closed the deal for $19 billion.
- If WhatsApp, Messenger, and god knows what else (also just normal texting) isn’t enough – rumour has it Google is in the process of creating its own mobile messaging app too.
- We’re all part of the experiment. Twitter will pay MIT’s Media Lab $10 million to analyze every public tweet ever made. Researchers will then build data visuals and develop apps and tools based on the info they glean from tweets.
- Google’s version of Siri – Google Now – may be the ‘future of mobile search’ according to this Forbes column. I didn’t know a lot about what Google Now was (launched in 2012) but this is a nice primer.
- It’s crazy who your tweet may reach… this was a really interesting read on what led to a blonde, tattooed girl from Texas getting ISIS fighters tweeting marriage proposals to her.
- Looks like you could soon send money to a friend through Facebook Messenger. Idk about this.
- Mobile payment company Square is now worth $6 billion. I think Square is a fantastic service! Good for them.
- Facebook has its hands in a lot of different pots… looks like stepping into healthcare is next on the list. “The company is exploring creating online ‘support communities’ that would connect Facebook users suffering from various ailments.
- An end to the Facebook/LGBT name saga? After a week of backlash over Facebook’s real name policy, the company has apologized for any pain the policy might have caused, and promises improvements will be made.
- Did you see this week’s Cat Saturday photos?! My favourites are3, 5, 6, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22 and 24!
Thoughts on these stories? Tweet @ me or leave a comment below!
Linda
